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80104e No.20545607 [Last50 Posts]

Welcome To Q Research AUSTRALIA

A new thread for research and discussion of Australia's role in The Great Awakening.

Previous thread

>>20092798 Q Research AUSTRALIA #34

Q's Posts made on Q Research AUSTRALIA threads

Wednesday 11.20.2019

>>7358352 ————————————–——– These people are stupid.

>>7358338 ————————————–——– All assets [F + D] being deployed.

>>7358318 ————————————–——– What happens when the PUBLIC discovers the TRUTH [magnitude] re: [D] party corruption?

Tuesday 11.19.2019

>>7357790 ————————————–——– FISA goes both ways.

Saturday 11.16.2019

>>7356270 ————————————–——– There is no escaping God.

>>7356265 ————————————–——– The Harvest [crop] has been prepared and soon will be delivered to the public for consumption.

Friday 11.15.2019

>>7356017 ————————————–——– "Whistle Blower Traps" [Mar 4 2018] 'Trap' keyword select provided.....

Thursday 03.28.2019

>>5945210 ————————————–——– Sometimes our 'sniffer' picks and pulls w/o applying credit file

>>5945074 ————————————–——– We LOVE you!

>>5944970 ————————————–——– USA v. LifeLog?

>>5944908 ————————————–——– It is an embarrassment to our Nation!

>>5944859 ————————————–——– 'Knowingly'

Q's Posts referencing Australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=AUS

https://qanon.pub/?q=australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=koala

https://qanon.pub/?q=HouseOfCards

https://qanon.pub/?q=boomerang

https://qanon.pub/?q=45HarisonHarold

https://qanon.pub/?q=6572656

https://qanon.pub/?q=RAT%20BAIT

https://qanon.pub/?q=VERY%20important

https://qanon.pub/?q=remain%20in%20the%20light

https://qanon.pub/?q=news.com.au

Q's Posts referencing Australian citizens

Malcolm Turnbull (X/AUS)

Former Prime Minister of Australia, 2015 to 2018

https://qanon.pub/?q=X%2FAUS

https://qanon.pub/?q=call%20details

https://qanon.pub/?q=Threat%20to%20AUS

https://qanon.pub/#819

Alexander Downer

Former Australian Liberal Party politician and former Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

https://qanon.pub/?q=Downer

Cardinal George Pell

Australian Cardinal of the Catholic Church and former Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy

https://qanon.pub/?q=Pell

https://qanon.pub/?q=cardinal-george-pell

https://qanon.pub/?q=pecking

Julian Assange

Australian activist, founder, editor and publisher of WikiLeaks

https://qanon.pub/?q=assange

https://qanon.pub/?q=JA

https://qanon.pub/?q=Under%20protection

https://qanon.pub/?q=WL

https://qanon.pub/?q=wikileaks

https://qanon.pub/?q=crowdstrike

https://qanon.pub/?q=server

https://qanon.pub/?q=Seth

https://qanon.pub/?q=SR

https://qalerts.app/?q=snowden

https://qalerts.app/?q=roadmap

Virginia Roberts Giuffre

American-Australian survivor of the sex trafficking ring operated by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

https://qanon.pub/#4568

https://qanon.pub/#4728

https://qanon.pub/#1054

https://qanon.pub/?q=chandler

https://qanon.pub/?q=epstein

https://qanon.pub/?q=island

https://qanon.pub/#1001

https://qanon.pub/#1861

https://qanon.pub/#3145

https://qanon.pub/#3147

https://qanon.pub/#4578

https://qanon.pub/#3432

https://qanon.pub/#3497

https://qanon.pub/#4727

https://qanon.pub/#4797

https://qanon.pub/?q=wexner

https://qanon.pub/#4576

https://qanon.pub/#4577

https://qanon.pub/?q=maxwell

https://qanon.pub/#4569

https://qanon.pub/?q=spacey

https://qanon.pub/#4570

https://qanon.pub/?q=normalize

https://qanon.pub/?q=Prince%20Andrew

https://qanon.pub/#4579

https://qanon.pub/#4907

https://qanon.pub/#4911

https://qanon.pub/#4921

https://qanon.pub/?q=Welcome%20aboard.

https://qanon.pub/?q=dershowitz

https://qanon.pub/?q=Dearest%20Virginia

Q's Posts referencing The Five Eyes intelligence alliance (FVEY)

An anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States

https://qanon.pub/?q=FVEY

https://qanon.pub/?q=Five%20Eyes

https://qanon.pub/?q=Interesting%2C

https://qanon.pub/?q=RAT%20BAIT

"Does AUS stand w/ the US or only select divisions within the US?"

Q

Nov 25 2018

https://qanon.pub/#2501

____________________________
Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.

80104e No.20545608

Notables

are not endorsements

#34 - Part 1

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 1

>>20098506 Political, Jewish leaders: Radical cleric inaction gives ‘green light’ to incendiary ‘final solution’ sermon at Bankstown’s Al Madina Dawah Centre.

>>20098526 Labor MPs break ranks to accuse Israel of ‘domination’ of Palestinians - Dozens of high-profile Labor figures, including members of the Albanese, Minns and Allan governments, have signed an open letter declaring the human rights of Palestinians have been “grossly violated” and accusing Israel of policies aimed at “the domination of one people over another”.

>>20103721 Video: ABC presenter Antoinette Lattouf sacked after anti-Israel social media posts - Lattouf drew intense criticism after she has repeatedly said videos of pro-Palestine protesters chanting “gas the Jews” at the Sydney Opera House in October were unverified.

>>20108499 Video: Media union criticises ABC’s decision to sack radio host Antoniette Lattouf - The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has labelled ABC radio host Antoinette Lattouf’s sacking over her social media use as “disturbing” and claimed staff from “diverse backgrounds” are “disproportionately” attacked from the public.

>>20108504 Boxing Day Test: Usman Khawaja’s black armband protest not approved, faces ICC reprimand - Usman Khawaja did not have ICC approval to wear a black armband during the first Test to mark the plight of Palestinians in Gaza, leaving him open to sanctions from the governing body.

>>20114518 ASIO director to Labor MP: Pro-Palestine rallies are a ‘pressure release’ on domestic terrorism - ASIO director-general Mike Burgess advised Labor MP Michelle Ananda-Rajah that Australia’s pro-Palestine rallies served as an important “pressure release” given a “real risk of a terror ­attack”, a letter from the backbencher to a local voter has revealed.

>>20123743 Usman Khawaja denied permission by ICC to display humanitarian logo at Boxing Day Test - Usman Khawaja has been denied permission to place a peace symbol and reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on his bat for the Boxing Day Test but wore the sticker at training on Sunday.

>>20123773 Video: Pro-Palestine activists target ABC office amid Antoinette Lattouf sacking - The ABC Radio’s office in Perth has been the target of vandalism by pro-Palestinian supporters, in response to the national broadcaster’s decision to fire Antoinette Lattouf earlier this week.

>>20123786 Jessica Westcott Tweet - Free Palestine Activists at #carolsbycandlelight in Melbourne

>>20127963 Carols by Candlelight interrupted by pro-Palestine protesters in Melbourne - The actions of a pro-Palestine protester who disrupted Carols by Candle light in Melbourne have been condemned by Jewish leaders who are concerned that “guerilla type tactics” will be used at New Years celebrations.

>>20127981 Security to be reviewed after pro-Palestinian protesters interrupt Carols by Candlelight - Security at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl will be reviewed after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed the stage during a live broadcast of Carols by Candlelight on Sunday night. Children were rushed off the stage as two protesters ran across it waving Palestinian flags about 8pm.

>>20128008 Woman arrested after pro-Palestine protesters disrupt Carols by Candlelight - The incident unfolded in front of tens of thousands of people at the family-friendly event and tens of thousands more watching the broadcast live from home. A woman holding a Palestinian flag ran around the stage before attempting to wrestle a microphone off hosts David Campbell and Sarah Abo. “While you’re carolling, kids are dying in Gaza,” the woman screamed.

>>20128032 Agony of an ally: Anthony Albanese’s ‘Gaza contradictions’ - Israeli ambassador Amir Maimon has accused Anthony Albanese of contradictory messages over the war with Hamas, declared the Jewish homeland’s fight against terrorism has been held to a different standard from Australia’s own operations in Afghanistan, and lamented that his citizens did not feel secure in this country.

>>20132126 Jews say they do not feel safe in their Australian home - Nina Bassat, one of Australia’s most prominent Holocaust survivors has warned that the nation was having an “anarchic reaction” to the Israel-Hamas War and a generation of Jews at risk from a wave of anti-Semitism as anti-Israel protests erupted over the Christmas week.

Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.

80104e No.20545610

#34 - Part 2

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 2

>>20136736 Australian man, his wife and brother killed in Lebanon after building hit by air strike, family says - Ibrahim and Ali Bazzi died in air strikes on the town of Bint Jbeil in Lebanon overnight. Ibrahim Bazzi, 27, travelled from Sydney to Bint Jbeil to visit his wife Shorouk Hammoud, who recently acquired an Australian visa. The couple were planning on starting their new life in Australia, according to relatives.

>>20136757 Australian Museum to amend ‘Palestine’ display after complaints about Egypt exhibition - The Australian Museum is pulling down and rewording a display at a new Ancient Egypt exhibition after the Australian Jewish Association (AJA) complained about the use of the placename “Palestine”.

>>20141880 Australian killed in Lebanon was Hezbollah fighter, terror group says - Terrorist organisation Hezbollah has said one of two Australian men killed while in a southern Lebanese town was one of its fighters, with a ceremonial funeral taking place overnight as he “rose as a martyr”.

>>20141899 Military-style funeral held for Australian 'Hezbollah fighter' killed by Israeli air strike in Lebanon - A military-style funeral has been held for an Australian man claimed to be a fighter with militant group Hezbollah, a day after he, his brother and sister-in-law were killed in an Israeli air strike.

>>20141913 Mark Dreyfus yet to confirm killed Australian’s Hezbollah links - Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus is unable to say whether Australia was aware one of two Australian brothers killed by an Israeli air strike in Lebanon may have had links to Hezbollah before the proscribed terrorist organisation claimed him as one of their own.

>>20141940 Australians should leave Lebanon now after two citizens killed, federal government warns - Australians in Lebanon should leave the country as soon as possible, warned acting Foreign Minister Mark Dreyfus, following confirmation that two citizens were killed in an Israeli airstrike.

>>20141959 Lebanon airstrike: Albanese government raises deaths of two Australians with Israel - The acting foreign minister, Mark Dreyfus, confirmed two Australians died in the Israeli airstrike in al-Dawra neighbourhood in the town of Bint Jbeil, and said the Albanese government had been in “communication” with Israel after the deaths.

>>20141981 Carols by Candlelight protester may have had help on inside - Arts Centre Melbourne, police and the main sponsors have begun talks to determine what went wrong with the security on the night of the raid and how the activists were able to turn the event into a national embarrassment.

>>20142046 Aussie killed by Israeli strike ‘had no links with Hezbollah’, friends say - Close friends of an Australian man killed in an Israeli airstrike alongside his brother, who was claimed as a martyr by Hezbollah, have rushed to defend him after his coffin was draped in the flag of the terror organisation.

>>20142058 Hezbollah and Israel: Security agencies on martyr alert at home - Intelligence agencies are ramping up efforts to prevent local violent attacks inspired by the Middle East conflict, after an Australian man killed in Lebanon by an Israeli air strike was claimed to be a fighter and martyr for Hezbollah and given a military funeral by the terror group.

>>20147535 Hezbollah claims rocket attack retribution for ‘martyred’ Australians - Hezbollah has claimed a missile attack on an Israeli village was retribution for an airstrike that killed Australian brothers, Ali and Ibrahim Bazzi, and Ibrahim’s wife Shorouq Hammoud, among others.

>>20147601 Sydney Imam: Labor should have condemned ‘heinous Israeli crime’ that killed two Australian citizens - Imam of Masjid Arrahman in Kingsgrove, Sheik Youssef Nabha says terrorist group Hezbollah should not be condemned for attacking Israel and Labor should demand Australian-Israelis leave the Jewish homeland,

>>20152517 Video: Radical groups sharing anti-Jewish handbook - Radical groups in Australia are circulating and sharing guides for anti-Israel activists, unionists and educators to sabotage and vandalise property and evade police by using encrypted communications.

>>20163221 Revealed: How anti-Jewish activists plot to stop Israeli cargo - Radical anti-Israel activists targeting Jewish interests have ­obtained a sophisticated strategy developed in the US for tracking and blockading boats and engaging unions and the trucking ­industry, to stifle the shipping company ZIM.

>>20163322 Video: Radical Sydney cleric labels Australia’s New Year’s Eve celebrations a ‘celebration of foreskin’ - On the eve of Sydney’s biggest fireworks displays in recent years, cleric Abu Ousayd - also known as Wissam Haddad - gave an incendiary sermon at Bankstown’s Al Madina Dawah Centre on Friday, slamming the celebrations and claiming that in Judaic tradition the event was instead a “day of circumcision”.

Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.

80104e No.20545611

#34 - Part 3

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 3

>>20168982 Video: Australian serving with Israeli army killed inside Gaza - An Australian man has been killed while fighting with an Israeli armoured brigade in southern Gaza. Reserves Captain Lior Sivan, 32, was serving as a tank commander when he was killed on December 19.

>>20174745 Video: Anti-Semitic Sydney cleric: ‘Jews bloodthirsty monsters’ who ‘ran like rats’ - Footage has emerged of another southwest Sydney cleric in a raging anti-Semitic sermon, calling Jews “monsters” and “thirsty for bloodshed”, and how they “ran like rats” from Hamas terrorists on October 7. The footage shows Sydney sheikh Ahmed Zoud at Lakemba’s As-Sunnah mosque on December 22, who gave a 35-minute sermon in Arabic on, what he called, “the truth of the Jews”.

>>20187569 Sheik Ahmed Zoud’s hate rants must stop, says Tony Burke - One of Labor’s most pro-Palestine ministers, Tony Burke, has called on hate preachers in his electorate to face the full force of the law over their radical sermons and said he hoped his own government would soon legislate stronger protections against anti-Semitic hate speech.

>>20187714 Sydney Mardi Gras ‘no longer safe’ for gay Jews - A key organisation representing Sydney’s gay Jewish community says it is reconsidering its participation in this year’s Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras and Fair Day events, amid fears for its members’ safety following the release of an open letter to Anthony Albanese regarding the Israel-Hamas war by Mardi Gras chief executive Gil Beckwith.

>>20187748 Kerryn Phelps and wife Jackie Stricker-Phelps join chorus of concerned gay Jews over Mardi Gras letter - Veteran gay rights campaigners Kerryn Phelps and Jackie Stricker-Phelps have joined a chorus of members of the LGBTIQA+ Jewish community expressing dismay at an open letter on the Israel-Hamas war issued by the chief executive of the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

>>20199945 Khawaja appeal against armband sanction denied by ICC - Usman Khawaja’s reprimand for wearing a black armband onto the field during the first Test against Pakistan in Perth will stand after the International Cricket Council rejected his appeal against the sanction.

>>20199972 Melbourne Free Palestine protest marks 13th week of rallies - Thousands of protesters have braved the pouring rain to attend the pro-Palestine rally in Melbourne’s CBD for the 13th week in a row.

>>20205258 Jewish leaders take on hate clerics amid government, law enforcement inaction - Radical hate preachers face being hauled in front of the nation’s courts and human rights tribunals in a new legal push by Jewish leaders, who said they can no longer rely on governments and police to prosecute against anti-Semitism.

>>20205266 Politicians have failed to grasp ‘new reality’ of anti-Semitism - "This is not just a concern for the Jewish community. We are society’s litmus test. If Jews are not free to go about their daily lives with a sense of safety and security, then ultimately no citizen is safe." - Peter Wertheim, co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry - theaustralian.com.au

>>20205283 Pro-Palestinian Bluey shirt removed after BBC warning - A kids’ T-shirt showing the Bluey cast wearing Palestinian scarfs has been taken down from an online marketplace after the commercial owners of the children’s show said it was a counterfeit product, and criticised the “unauthorised use” of the Australian children’s character.

>>20205303 Video: Australia bans Nazi salute and public display of terror group symbols - Laws banning the Nazi salute and the display or sale of symbols associated with terror groups came into effect in Australia on Monday 8th January as the government responds to a rise in antisemitic incidents following the Israel-Gaza war.

>>20211887 Peter Dutton pushes stronger stance on hate speech - Peter Dutton has called for tougher hate speech laws to stop anti-Semitism, saying Jewish leaders should not have to pay legal bills for taking radical hate preachers to court.

>>20218499 ‘We’re coming for you, soon’: Man sends alleged ‘ISIS threat’ to Jewish group - Nour Mohamed has faced court accused of sending an Islamic State execution video to a Jewish group in Sydney with a chilling warning that “we are coming for you” from the city’s west, just days after Hamas’ attack on Israel.

>>20218516 Radical Indigenous leaders to embrace Palestinian cause on ‘Invasion Day’ - Hardline Aboriginal activists will demand “freedom for Palestine” and call on the Albanese government to cut all ties with Israel at their annual anti-Australia Day rallies, causing one Aboriginal leader to warn they will alienate longstanding Jewish supporters of reconciliation.

Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.

80104e No.20545614

#34 - Part 4

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 4

>>20224459 Antoinette Lattouf alleges racial discrimination in ABC Fair Work case - Journalist Antoinette Lattouf has amended her Fair Work case against the ABC to include racial discrimination after she was sacked by the broadcaster three days into a short-term contract in December.

>>20231382 Video: Australia involved in strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen - Australia has supported strikes launched by the US and UK on Houthi rebels in Yemen who were blocking free maritime navigation. The strikes were launched in response to the Iran-backed group blockading international shipping lanes in the Red Sea in support of Palestine.

>>20231395 Labor breaks with US on Israel ‘genocide’ - The Albanese government has again broken with the US by refusing to repudiate a genocide case launched by South Africa against Israel in the UN’s top court, as crossbench senator David Pocock urges Labor to “publicly support” the international probe.

>>20244505 Penny Wong will not go to October 7 massacre sites during Israel visit, sparking fury in Jerusalem - Foreign Minister Penny Wong will not visit the southern Israeli towns where the October 7 massacres occurred, marking another break in Australia’s position from some of its closest allies whose leaders have visited the Jewish state in the aftermath of terror group Hamas’s assault.

>>20244515 ‘Not about a photo op’: Albanese defends Wong call to skip October 7 massacre sites - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended Penny Wong’s decision not to visit any of the sites in southern Israel attacked by Hamas terrorists on October 7 as the foreign minister faced a barrage of criticism from the political right and left as she departed on a diplomatic mission to the Middle East.

>>20251103 Penny Wong urged by families to visit massacre sites in Israel - Australians whose loved ones are still being held captive by Hamas or were killed in the October 7 terror attacks are demanding Foreign Minister Penny Wong visit the massacre sites in southern Israel, declaring she has a duty to see in person the horrors of the attacks.

>>20251111 Secret WhatsApp messages show co-ordinated campaign to oust Antoinette Lattouf from ABC - The ABC sacked broadcaster Antoinette Lattouf after a high-level and co-ordinated letter-writing campaign from pro-Israel lobbyists that directly targeted the corporation’s chair, Ita Buttrose, and managing director David Anderson.

>>20256826 ’Our nation stands with you’: Penny Wong in emotional meeting with Israeli hostage families - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has held an emotional meeting with the families of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza, telling them Australia stands in solidarity with their plight and with the Jewish state as she begins the next critical leg of her diplomatic tour of the Middle East.

>>20256853 Australia doesn’t accept ‘premise’ of Israel genocide claim: Wong - Foreign Minister Penny Wong says Australia does not accept the “premise” of South Africa’s genocide case against Israel, giving the government’s firmest response yet on a legal action that has split Western and Muslim countries.

>>20256903 Video: New Sydney cleric outburst calls on Allah to kill Zionists ‘one by one’ - Sheik Kamal Abu Mariam of Sydney’s Roselands Mosque has given an incendiary sermon in which he prayed to Allah to “kill them (Jewish Zionists) one by one”, which could fly close to breaching NSW hate-speech laws.

>>20261642 Penny Wong warns Palestine Authority Gaza aid funding must not be misused by terrorists - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has told Palestinian Authority officials that Australia’s latest funding package for Gaza, intended to pay for civilian healthcare and childhood education, must be managed carefully to prevent the taxpayer resources being misused by terrorists.

>>20266707 Labor ‘dragging feet’ on Hamas massacre ruling - The Albanese government has failed to formally designate as an overseas terrorist act the massacre of 1200 Israelis by Hamas on ­October 7. The failure to make the declaration more than 100 days after the attacks means Australian Jews who lost loved ones in Israel are not eligible for financial assistance through the Victim of Terrorism Overseas Payment under the Social Security Act.

>>20266741 Delay on Hamas terror call ‘perplexing’ - One of the country’s most prominent Holocaust survivors has called the government’s delay to designate Hamas’ October 7 atrocities an overseas terrorist act “incomprehensible”, saying it sent a message that what happened to Jews “did not matter”. Holocaust survivor Nina Bassat said she was perplexed and saddened.

Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.

80104e No.20545615

#34 - Part 5

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 5

>>20266765 Clerics trigger hate-speech probe by NSW Premier Chris Minns - NSW Premier Chris Minns will tackle hate speech head-on with his government launching a wide-ranging review into the state’s current legal protections given concerns over its effectiveness amid a raft of incendiary anti-Semitic sermons across southwest Sydney.

>>20272111 Video: Labor MP Julian Hill says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is 'hell-bent on formalising policy of apartheid' - Labor backbencher Julian Hill says Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is "hell-bent on formalising a policy of apartheid" and has called on Australia to fast-track formal recognition of a Palestinian state.

>>20272130 Ignorance the basis for poisonous prejudice - "Australia’s character as a successful multicultural, multifaith, multiracial nation where everyone is equal is under threat, with anti-Semitic incidents up by over 700 per cent. Australian Jews are living in fear. How does a Middle Eastern conflict cause threats against fellow Australians? The answer is blatant anti-Semitism supported by lies and gaslighting that would make Goebbels blush. These bigots claim Israel is a colonial state; the Jews are settlers who’ve stolen Palestinian land and refuse a Palestinian state. The opposite is true. Jews are indigenous people of Israel and have lived there since before recorded history. In 700 to 600BC, their kingdoms were conquered; their homelands subject to repeated conquest and colonisation thereafter, including by the Romans, Byzantines, Arabs and Ottoman Empire. The creation of the modern state of Israel was an act of decolonisation." - Nyunggai Warren Mundine, Director of the Indigenous Forum, Centre for Independent Studies - theaustralian.com.au

>>20311665 Mardi Gras group Pride in Protest claims Zionist Jews are ‘proud of genocide’ - A Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras offshoot group has accused Zionist Jews of being “proud of genocide” and the “mass murder of children”, hitting back at LGBTIQA+ Jewish group Day­enu, which earlier this month said it was reconsidering participating in this year’s Mardi Gras because of concerns about safety.

>>20311675 Australia pauses funding for United Nations agency amid October 7 terror allegations - Australia has paused funding for a key United Nations agency in Gaza after allegations emerged some staff were involved in the October 7 attacks. On Friday, UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini revealed Israeli authorities had provided information about the alleged involvement of “several” employees in the attack. On Saturday, Australia’s Foreign Minister, Senator Penny Wong, released a statement saying the allegations were “deeply concerning” and funding for the agency would be “temporarily paused”.

>>20316774 ‘Unmask you’: Premier Chris Minns’ threat as Nazis gather in Sydney - NSW Premier Chris Minns has warned he is prepared to unmask people involved in the latest neo-Nazi gatherings in Sydney after police halted two demonstrations in less than 24 hours.

>>20344791 UN aid agency ‘saving Gazan kids’, says Penny Wong - Penny Wong has signalled she wants to quickly reinstate funding to the UN’s aid agency in Gaza accused of aiding Hamas’s October 7 massacre of Israelis, declaring it is “the only organisation” delivering assistance to 1.4 million desperate Palestinians.

>>20344826 Video: Video analysis finds no evidence of 'gas the Jews' being chanted at Sydney Opera House protest, despite witness statements - NSW Police say forensic analysis has found no evidence the phrase "gas the Jews" was chanted in videos circulating online from a pro-Palestinian rally at the Sydney Opera House in October.

>>20371174 Video: Nova Peris says Aboriginal flag ‘misappropriated’ by Palestine protesters - Former Labor senator Nova Peris has launched a campaign to reclaim the Aboriginal flag from the war in Gaza, arguing that Indigenous symbols and chants have been misappropriated at pro-Palestine rallies. Peris, who led the campaign to free the Aboriginal flag from copyright restrictions, said she was worried that Indigenous activists could be seen to be turning a blind eye to antisemitism.

>>20383178 Leak, doxxing of almost 600 Jewish creatives ‘very distressing… with really serious consequences’ - Federal Labor MP Josh Burns has called the doxxing of hundreds of Jewish creatives in a private WhatsApp group “very distressing”, warning it could result in “really serious consequences”. On Thursday, high-profile pro-Palestine activists, including feminist author Clementine Ford, began sharing on social media a link to a spreadsheet that had leaked the names, occupations and social media profiles of almost 600 Jewish creatives purportedly from the WhatsApp group.

Disclaimer: this post and the subject matter and contents thereof - text, media, or otherwise - do not necessarily reflect the views of the 8kun administration.

80104e No.20545616

#34 - Part 6

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 6

>>20389026 Leaders and business savage Australia’s rising anti-Semitism - Widespread anti-Semitic attacks on small, medium and large Jewish-linked firms have been savaged by prominent Australians and the peak business body as authorities assess evidence of offences after the October 7 atrocities. Government agencies and police face pressure to deal with a wave of attacks against Jewish businesses that also include a heavy focus on vulnerable smaller enterprises.

>>20389031 ‘This isn’t advocacy’: Social posts on distant conflict tear at close community - It was a little over a week ago that Maggie May Moshe decided that Melbourne’s Thornbury no longer felt like a safe place for Jews. She was standing amid High Street’s rumbling clatter in tears, furiously scraping at anti-Israeli stickers someone had plastered on the windows of the gift shop she’d owned and run with her husband Joshua for the past seven years. A passing young woman stopped to watch what she was doing. “You should leave them up,” the woman said. “Unless you support genocide, you shouldn’t take them down.”

>>20389043 Australian professor Ghassan Hage sacked by German research institute for ‘incompatible values’ - A renowned German research institute has sacked an Australian scholar for what it called “incompatible values” after a series of anti-Israel social media posts by the visiting Melbourne University professor. On Thursday, the Max Planck Society, funded by the country’s federal and state governments, said it had cut ties with professor Ghassan Hage. “Recently, he (Professor Hage) has shared a series of posts on social media expressing views that are incompatible with the core values of the Max Planck Society. The Max Planck Society has therefore ended its working relationship with Prof Hage. The freedoms enshrined in (the German constitution) are invaluable to the Max Planck Society.”

>>20405618 Federal government moves to criminalise 'doxxing' after publication of Jewish Australians' WhatsApp messages - The federal government will move to criminalise "doxxing" after the details of a WhatsApp group involving hundreds of Jewish Australians were published online. The government said the legislation, aimed at outlawing the practice of publishing personal details with malicious intent, would be brought to parliament as soon as possible.

>>20417036 The faces of a hideous hatred that has no place in our country - A social-justice warrior who urged people to “let Zionists know no f.cking peace”, an artist who called them “genocidal racists”, and a children’s author who praised terrorist organisations are the anti-Israel activists who helped disseminate the details of hundreds of Jewish Australians across the internet. The Australian can reveal that Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg, Zee Mazloum and Matt Chun, whose real name is Matt Jones, were prolific sharers of the leaked personal details of Jewish creatives from a WhatsApp group, which led to Anthony Albanese moving to ban the online form of harassment.

>>20417056 City of Melbourne to debate Israel-Hamas ceasefire motion - Melbourne City Council will vote on a motion calling for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war. Independent councillor Jamal Hakim has proposed the council back a motion asking the federal government to advocate for a list of seven demands. They include a permanent ceasefire, the release of all Israeli hostages and imprisoned Palestinians, and to advocate for “an end to illegal Israeli settlements and the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories”.

>>20434098 Doxxers on notice they will face jail time under new laws - Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus has signalled new anti-doxxing laws will be aimed at criminalising the disclosure of a broad range of personal information for malicious intent, putting activists and others on notice that they could face jail time for leaking private details without consent. The federal government plans, announced last week in response to the publication of the names and details of hundreds of Jewish creatives and academics by pro-Palestinian activists, has sparked a debate about what constitutes doxxing and how best to use the law to protect individuals’ privacy and safety, while balancing free speech and public interest considerations.

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80104e No.20545617

#34 - Part 7

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 7

>>20439323 Morrison accuses UN of antisemitism, decries ‘persecution’ of Australian Jews - Former prime minister Scott Morrison has accused the United Nations of antisemitism at a rally in Sydney while warning a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not currently viable. Thousands gathered in The Domain on Sunday for the event organised by a Christian pastor to support members of the Jewish community, under the slogan “Never Again” Is Now. Morrison, who travelled to southern Israel with former British prime minister Boris Johnson in the aftermath of the October 7 terror attacks, told Jewish members of the crowd “we honour you as fellow Australians”.

>>20477863 Video: Anti-Israel rally hears martyrdom glorified on city street - Martyrdom in the name of Palestine was celebrated during a Melbourne CBD street protest where jihad and support for Yemen also was raised, it has been revealed. Covert video shows supporters clapping when a speaker last week warned that the Palestinians would not be defeated, because its people were prepared to die for their cause.

>>20477871 Push to deny visa for Palestinian hijacker who praised Hamas terrorists - A Palestinian activist who hijacked two planes and labelled Hamas operatives responsible for the October 7 attacks “freedom fighters” is facing a push by Jewish groups to deny her an Australian visa. Leila Khaled is billed as the keynote speaker at June’s Ecosocialism event in Perth hosted by the Socialist Alliance and Green Left media outlet, but the Albanese government has given a strong signal it would block any attempt for Khaled to travel here, citing anti-terrorism laws.

>>20477879 Labor told to block pro-Palestinian plane hijacker from socialist conference - Prominent Jewish leaders are urging senior cabinet ministers in the Albanese government to intervene to prevent a pro-Palestinian militant who took part in two plane hijackings from appearing at a socialist conference scheduled to be held in Perth this year. In a letter addressed to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil and Immigration Minister Andrew Giles, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry urged the government to deny Leila Khaled an Australian visa warning she must not be allowed to travel to Australia or appear virtually at the event.

>>20488529 Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman describes Hamas’s October 7 attack as ‘legitimate resistance’ - Islamic Council of Victoria president Adel Salman has failed to condemn the October 7 massacre of 1200 Israelis by Hamas, and instead says it is “absolutely legitimate” for Palestinians to “resist” on that day. The Muslim community leader appeared on Radio National Breakfast to describe the actions of the October 7 terrorist attacks as legitimate. “It is absolutely legitimate for the Palestinians to try to break the siege of Gaza,” Mr Salman said. “I’m not going to condemn the Palestinians for resisting. I’m not going to condemn Palestinians for trying to break their siege on their territory.”

>>20525168 Allegra Spender ‘uninvited’ from Jewish event over UNRWA split - Teal MP Allegra Spender has had her invitation to speak at a Jewish charity event cancelled, after she pushed for funding to be restored to the UN agency in Gaza despite its links to Hamas. Ms Spender had been scheduled to speak at the 25th anniversary of Jewish non-profit B’nai B’rith’s Courage to Care initiative next week, with the community organisation telling supporters that a “mutual agreement” had been reached that she would withdraw.

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80104e No.20545619

#34 - Part 8

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>20098412 Video: NT chief minister Natasha Fyles resigns following conflict of interest claims - The chief minister of the Northern Territory, Natasha Fyles, has resigned over her shares in a manganese mine that as health minister she declined to investigate.

>>20098545 Troop boost to Middle East but no ship to Red Sea - Australia is unlikely to send a ­warship to join a dangerous new mission in the Red Sea but is set to deploy more personnel to the Middle East, amid pressure on the Albanese government to respond to a US request for Australia to be involved.

>>20103699 Anthony Albanese: peace of mind but no warship for Red Sea - Anthony Albanese has declared Australia is not just an observer in the defence of global freedom and the rule-based order at the same time as his government is set to reject a US Navy request to send a warship to the Red Sea to help ­secure a vital trade route under ­attack from Iran-based militants.

>>20103702 Why is the government afraid, unwilling or unable to send a warship to Red Sea when our allies ask? - "The Albanese government’s all-but-certain decision to refuse a US Navy request to send a warship to the Red Sea is an embarrassment for Australia. The US was not asking for a fleet, it was asking for a single ship to operate in an area where the navy has proven expertise." - Cameron Stewart - theaustralian.com.au

>>20103729 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese holds first official meeting with New Zealand counterpart Christopher Luxon.

>>20108451 Video: Terror leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika to walk free after Supreme Court order - Convicted terror cell leader Abdul Nacer Benbrika will walk free from prison on Tuesday on a strict supervision order, ending a years-long legal battle waged by the government to keep him behind bars beyond his sentence.

>>20108573 Donald Trump’s return could hurt Australia, warn business leaders - Australian business leaders have sounded the alarm about Donald Trump’s potential return to power next year, warning his trade plan would smash the economy and betray our alliance. The former president - who is leading Joe Biden in the polls and could be confirmed as the Republican candidate within weeks – is promising to hit all imports to the US with a universal 10 per cent tariff. The radical policy would breach Australia’s free trade agreement with the US and harm domestic businesses that exported $30bn in goods and services to our closest ally last year.

>>20114546 Security agencies mobilise to stem attack on St Vincent’s, operator of 10 hospitals and 26 aged-care facilities in NSW, Queensland and Victoria - Cyber criminals have hacked into one of Australia’s biggest health networks, stealing data in an attack that has set off alarm bells across the nation. Acting National Cyber Security Co-ordinator Hamish Hansford confirmed he was working with the health network, alongside the National Office of Cyber Security and the Australian Signals Directorate to contain the breach and investigate possible damage.

>>20114582 Video: Alameddine crime family associate charged over FriendlyJordies firebombing - An associate of the Alameddine crime family has been charged over last year’s firebombing of the Bondi house of political commentator and YouTube satirist Jordan Shanks, known online as FriendlyJordies. Tufi Junior Tauese-Auelua, 37, appeared at Waverley Court on Wednesday charged with two counts of damaging property by fire in company.

>>20114699 ‘Moving towards violence’: Authorities alert to radicalised sovereign citizens - The Australian Federal Police have revealed they’re targeting sovereign citizen groups who pose a risk of violence, while experts on anti-government extremists warn the threat must be balanced with the sensitive handling of mental health.

>>20128051 Indigenous voice referendum ‘not my loss’, Anthony Albanese declares - Anthony Albanese’s claim that his failed referendum was not a personal loss for him has sparked anger among top figures in the Yes campaign, with one Aboriginal leader indicating the remarks were proof white Australia would take no responsibility for the voice’s rejection.

>>20128077 ‘It feels good helping someone who helps others’: How Jess brought Christmas cheer to Maree - A free Christmas lunch has extended beyond the halls of a church in Melbourne’s north-east, as volunteers delivered meals, hampers and Christmas cheer to those in need. One of the eight households the Diamond Creek Uniting Church volunteers visited on Monday was that of Maree Minns. Volunteer Jess shared a Christmas hug with Minns and delivered a meal of three meats and a salad.

>>20128098 The horror of Islamic State, then the gift of a child: My Christmas to remember - Andrew Hastie, federal opposition spokesman for defence. He served with the SASR from 2010 until 2015 - theage.com.au

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80104e No.20545620

#34 - Part 9

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>20132098 Video: Please don’t forget about Ukraine. This war is about Australia too - "Australia has been an absolutely loyal and active friend of Ukraine during its existential fight, which continues every day on battlefields if not in your headlines. We especially thank the government for most recently extending the training it is providing in the UK to Ukrainian troops. I have written to the Australian government to warn that Russia intends to make this a brutal northern winter for Ukrainians by again targeting their energy infrastructure. Ukraine has had to ask for Australia’s further support regarding energy supply and energy equipment to keep the lights and the heat on. We need Australian coal for the winter." - Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukrainian ambassador - theage.com.au

>>20141992 Wieambilla shooting: lawyers for Donald Day Jr mount freedom-of-speech defence over alleged threats to police - A US conspiracy theorist linked to the Wieambilla shooters has argued he was not seriously expressing an intent for violence when he said “the devils come for us, they fucking die”, and as such should be protected by the US constitution’s first amendment.

>>20142018 Yakult Australia targeted in cyber attack, employee files published on dark web - Iconic probiotic company Yakult Australia has been hit by a significant cyber attack that has seen its company records and sensitive employee documents, such as passports, published on the dark web.

>>20147663 Red Sea attacks: Peter Dutton says Australian Navy should be sent for sake of economy - Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has claimed Labor’s decision to focus on its Indo-Pacific strategy over a US-led mission in the Red Sea will hurt Australians at home, as the cost of international shipping delays compounds backlogs from industrial action at local terminals.

>>20147812 Donald Day Jr, US sovereign citizen linked to Wieambilla murders, was prepared for deadly 'last stand' with police, court hears - An American extremist linked to the Wieambilla killers claims he wished he had joined in on their massacre of Queensland police officers and threatened to kill the FBI agents who arrested him, a US court has heard.

>>20147954 John Howard would not back Donald Trump to be president again - "John Howard would not vote for Donald Trump if he had a vote in the US presidential election next year because the former president failed to accept the outcome of the 2020 election and fraudulently tried to overturn the result. He said Mr Trump was utterly “unfit” to return to the presidency." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

>>20152545 Noel Pearson breaks silence on Indigenous voice referendum on stage with Stan Grant at Woodford Folk Festival - Ex-News Corp and AAP photographer, David Kapernick said on social media that Mr Pearson accused Anthony Albanese of “running away” from indigenous affairs. “Noel Pearson and Stan Grant at Woodford Folk festival discussing what to do now after referendum. Not impressed with Albanese … says he’s running away and will do nothing,”

>>20152674 Trump-Biden rematch bodes ill for US and world - "What a miserable year for American politics and democracy worldwide a Trump victory in 2024 would be. What message would it send to Russia and Ukraine? What would it do to the US relationship with China? Would it put nations such as Australia in an awkward position balancing relationships? Could US allies be even remotely certain Trump would have their back in a crisis? And what would the return of Trump say about the decline of US hegemony? The biggest risk of Trump returning to the presidency isn’t the short-term chaos. It is the long-term cultural impact such a result would have - a profound shift in how the US did business, and what might come next. This is why Trump is a threat to democracy. He represents yet another erosion in support for its ideals because if he wins he’ll do so legitimately." - Peter van Onselen, professor of politics and public policy at the University of Western Australia and Griffith University - theaustralian.com.au

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80104e No.20545621

#34 - Part 10

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>20157935 ‘Deafening silence’ from government on Indigenous affairs: Sean Gordon - Anthony Albanese is facing calls from both sides of the voice ­debate to lay out his “plan B” for reconciliation early in the new year, with Liberals for Yes leader Sean Gordon accusing Labor of “deafening silence” on Indigenous policy since the referendum.

>>20158451 Radical left-wing political journalist John Pilger dies in London aged 84 - Renowned radical left-wing political activist and journalist John Pilger has died aged 84. Mr Pilger, born and raised in Sydney, gained international fame for his long career as a writer and documentary filmmaker waging war on what he saw as political and economic injustices in the world. He was a fierce and relentless critic of Australian, British and American foreign policy.

>>20163152 Crown Prince Frederik, Princess Mary to become rulers of Denmark following surprise abdication by queen - Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson will become queen of Denmark following a surprise announcement from the country's reigning monarch, Margrethe II, that she would be stepping down.

>>20163169 How Australia’s Mary Donaldson went from commoner to Danish Queen - An unconventional journey from Australia’s middle class to European royalty began in an unremarkable bar in Sydney in 2000. Twenty-three years later, in what has been called a “real-life fairytale”, Mary Donaldson, a former real estate manager from Tasmania, is poised to become the queen of Denmark.

>>20168965 Freed asylum seeker Mohammed Ali Nadari back behind bars in Sydney - Mohammed Ali Nadari, 45, was one of the 148 asylum seekers released under a landmark High Court decision that ruled that indefinite detention was unlawful. On New Year’s Eve, the AFP revealed it had arrested Nadari for allegedly failing to comply with his visa-mandated curfew.

>>20169001 ‘This will be unsettling’: Victorian court hack may expose sensitive witness testimony - Sex abuse victims and underworld informers could be at risk of exposure after a cyberattack on Victoria’s court system gave hackers access to video recordings provided under witness protection and at trials protected by suppression orders.

>>20174768 Video: I’m evil no more: Abdul Nacer Benbrika’s first interview after prison release - Australia’s most notorious terrorist has broken his silence, claiming he is a changed man and Australians should no longer be afraid of him. Abdul Nacer Benbrika and his loved ones said their family was “just like any other”.

>>20174777 Anthony Albanese demands release of documents containing details on the Iraq War - Anthony Albanese has demanded the National Archives release unpublished records on the Iraq War, warning Labor will “take further action” if the 20-year-old documents that could shed led on why Australia joined the conflict are not made public.

>>20180437 Repost from Q Research General #24756 - ICYMI Q+ was here yesterday

>>20180437 Repost from Q Research General #24743 - V2. Nothing Can Stop What Is Coming. - https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump - Happy New Year. It will be a historic one. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

>>20180437 Donald J. Trump Truth - Happy New Year. It will be a historic one. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!!!

>>20180647 ‘Urgent need’: Albanese pushed on alternative to legislated Voice following referendum defeat - A top Indigenous group has urged Labor to act quickly after the Voice referendum to counter Indigenous disadvantage while Australians remained focused on the issue, and pushed to mandate consultation with First Nations leaders.

>>20180655 Serbian army officer Zeljko Badza accused of war crimes including killing footballer’s granddad - A former Dubrovnik army officer who fled to Australia ten years ago has been charged with war crimes committed during the Balkans conflict in December 1991. Zeljko Badza, now 63, is accused of the murder of six civilians including the grandfather of the Croatian national football team captain Luka Modric.

>>20187811 ‘Let teens access assisted dying’, says ACT Human Rights Commission - The ACT Human Rights Commission has called for teenagers to be allowed to access voluntary assisted dying, arguing that capping the scheme at the age of 18 infringes on young people's right to receive health care “without discrimination”.

>>20187942 OPINION: If Trump returns to the White House, should we rethink the US alliance? - "We know what a second Trump administration would look like - Trump and his supporters have told us. Of particular concern to our own security alliance should be Trump’s plans to pack the military and Department of Defence with loyal toadies and then use them to attack the rule of law." - Dr Emma Shortis, senior researcher in the International & Security Affairs Program at independent think-tank, The Australia Institute - theage.com.au

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80104e No.20545624

#34 - Part 11

Australian Politics and Society - Part 4

>>20193851 Republic on ice after Indigenous voice referendum failure - Labor has junked plans to hold a republic referendum in the next term of parliament, with the ­Albanese government vowing to keep its focus on the cost of living after losing public support during the voice debate.

>>20193868 Anthony Albanese confirms King Charles visit later this year - A government spokesperson told The Australian that “the Prime Minister enjoys a warm relationship with the King, and looks forward to welcoming His Majesty to Australia later this year”. The royal visit would be the first since King Charles’s accession to the throne and the first visit to Australia by the sitting monarch since Queen Elizabeth II in October 2011.

>>20199983 Voice campaigner Thomas Mayo calls to legislate the same sort of body the country voted against - One of the most prominent ­Indigenous “Yes” campaigners at last year’s defeated referendum has backed a legislated Voice to Parliament, less than three months after Australians rejected the plan to entrench one in the constitution.

>>20211922 Morrison enlists former VP Pence to write foreword for Christian memoir - Former prime minister Scott Morrison’s book canvassing his Christian faith has been endorsed by fellow high-profile Christian and former US vice president Mike Pence. Pence, who served as Donald Trump’s vice president and who is well known for his own evangelical views, has written the foreword to Morrison’s book.

>>20211957 Secret society Freemasons throws open its doors in Cairns to dispel myths - "Conspiracy theorists have accused Freemasons of being behind world wars, starting the American revolution, worshipping Satan and even riding goats. But here in far north Queensland, two men are happy to throw open the doors to their not-so-secret club to try to dispel some myths. Raja Chohan, grand master of the district Grand Lodge of Carpentaria, and fellow member Duncan Walker, are offering a glimpse into the workings of a society usually shrouded in mystery." - Phil Brandel - abc.net.au

>>20211957 Q Post #1630 - Why are Freemasons on the scene of most shooting locations? Openly giving interviews or in background shots? Symbolism will be their downfall. Q - https://qanon.pub/#1630 - https://qalerts.pub/?q=freemason

>>20218556 US government urges court not to drop charges against Donald Day, the extremist linked to Wieambilla shooting - The US government has urged a court in Arizona to reject a request by American extremist, Donald Day Jr for charges against him be dropped.

>>20218577 Woolworths dumps Australia Day merchandise from all stores, cites ‘gradual decline’ in demand - Woolies had confirmed its Australia Day merchandise has been dumped from stores across the nation and will no longer be sold, citing a “gradual decline” in demand for the merchandise over the years and “broader discussion” about the January 26 date and “what it means” to different parts of the community.

>>20224502 Video: Violence and looting erupt in PNG amid police, public servant pay ‘glitch’ - At least 10 people have reportedly died after violence erupted in Papua New Guinea’s capital on Wednesday when a payroll “glitch” sparked angry protests by police, soldiers and public servants, who surrounded the nation’s parliament and Prime Minister James Marape’s office.

>>20224522 Video: Violent riots in PNG leave 16 people dead, as MP calls for PM James Marape to step down - Sixteen people have died in violent riots in Papua New Guinea after some residents took advantage of police being on strike on Wednesday to set shops and businesses alight in the capital. Local security services described the rioting overnight as total anarchy.

>>20224547 Video: Peter Dutton blasts Woolworths for not carrying Australia Day merchandise - Peter Dutton has called for Australians to boycott one of the nation’s biggest supermarkets for its decision to stop stocking shelves with Australia Day merchandise, declaring the move by Woolworths was “against the national interest”.

>>20224564 Online safety regulator lashes X, formerly Twitter, over failure to police hate - The social media platform X, formerly Twitter, has put Australian users at greater risk since Elon Musk took over, according to Australia's eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant

>>20240946 Alleged Hells Angels chief snuck into Thailand on private jet after fleeing Sydney, say police - Rodrigo Elices, alleged leader of the Hells Angels bikie gang wanted in NSW after a drug house in Kogarah caught fire in October 2022, snuck into Thailand on a private plane with a false passport before being pulled from a luxury villa hideout, local officials claim.

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80104e No.20545626

#34 - Part 12

Australian Politics and Society - Part 5

>>20244542 The Queen made in Australia - A highly emotional King Frederik X has acceded to the Danish throne, sealing the special moment with a kiss with his wife, Australian-born Queen Mary.

>>20251136 Workforce crisis threatens to put two more Anzac frigates out of service - Defence is looking at mothballing up to two more of the navy’s frontline Anzac-class frigates as crippling crew shortages undermine the nation’s military capabilities.

>>20251146 Man facing jail over alleged Nazi salute says he still performs it daily - Prominent Melbourne white supremacist Jacob Hersant has responded to allegations he performed the Nazi salute just days after it was outlawed in Victoria, saying he does not regret it - even if it means spending time behind bars.

>>20257321 "This message needs to be viewed by every Australian; and every Australian needs to stand up for Australia .. We've bent over to appease the Aussie-haters long enough. I'm taking a stand. I'm standing up because of the hundreds of thousands who died fighting in wars for this country, and for the Australian flag." - Bob Katter

>>20261652 Grounded Taipan helicopters already stripped for parts, Australia tells Ukraine - Australia has refused Ukraine’s request to donate its retired fleet of Taipan helicopters, saying it is not feasible to return them to flying condition. In a blow to Ukraine’s bid to bolster its air defences, Australia’s 45 Taipan MRH-90 aircraft will instead continue to be dismantled, stripped for spare parts and then buried in an undisclosed defence site.

>>20261661 Wieambilla shooting: Donald Day Jr allegedly had buckets of ammunition and threatened FBI agents, US court told - A US conspiracy theorist linked to the Wieambilla shooters allegedly held a significant stockpile of weaponry, including five-gallon buckets of ammunition, and made threats to kill five FBI agents, telling them he would “come for every f*cking one of you”, court documents reveal.

>>20272208 Video: Alleged Russian gangster charged after $1m cash, explosives seized in Melbourne - An alleged member of a Russian organised crime gang and two other men have been charged after explosives, firearms and $1 million in illicit cash were seized by police.

>>20281751 Voice architect Tom Calma leads call for Australia’s first Indigenous governor-general - One of the nation’s most respected Indigenous rights campaigners, Tom Calma, has backed in the appointment of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to be the next governor-general, with the King’s current representative - David Hurley - due to wind up his five-year term by the middle of this year.

>>20281763 Cricket Australia to honour First Nations people on Australia Day - CA is keen to promote inclusivity and respect from patrons regardless of their view on the date itself, which is widely viewed as a day of mourning by First Nations people.

>>20281774 NSW Premier Chris Minns urges Cricket Australia to ‘revisit’ decision to sidestep Australia Day celebrations - Mr Minns questioned Cricket Australia’s decision, saying it was “extremely strange”. “This is a day for us all to celebrate with your family and friends, recognise that we live in the greatest country on Earth. I definitely will be doing that,” he told 2GB.

>>20281784 Victorian Coalition withdraws Aboriginal treaty support, citing cultural heritage concerns - The Shadow Aboriginal Affairs Minister and Victorian Nationals leader, Peter Walsh, said the Coalition made the decision because of mounting concerns over delays being caused by cultural heritage processes.

>>20281804 ‘Indoctrination’: Childcare kids told land stolen from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - Toddlers and pre-schoolers in some childcare centres are being taught that Australia was stolen from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, in ceremonies branded as “indoctrination’’ on the eve of Australia Day.

>>20287589 Video: ‘More appropriate date’: Pat Cummins joins push to shift Australia Day - Pat Cummins’ plea to change the date of Australia Day is set to embolden cricket bosses to defy public outrage and double down on the low key treatment of the day.

>>20287616 Video: Cricket Australia boss Nick Hockley left speechless after grilling from radio host - The boss of Cricket Australia has been left speechless over a grilling by a radio host over the sporting body’s decision to ban the words “Australia Day” during Friday’s Test cricket match. Fordham repeatedly grilled the cricket boss before saying “it’s like saying you want people to celebrate Christmas but they can’t mention Santa Claus”. An uncomfortable moment of silence followed, with only the sound of Hockley’s laboured breathing audible over the airwaves. “Are you there Nick?” Fordham asked. “I think I’ve explained our position,” Hockley said.

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80104e No.20545629

#34 - Part 13

Australian Politics and Society - Part 6

>>20287622 Key Liberals lend support to an Indigenous governor-general - Former Coalition Indigenous Australians spokesman Julian Leeser has endorsed an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander as ­the nation’s next governor-general, suggesting Tom Calma, Ken Wyatt, Marcia Langton and Patrick Dodson as viable options.

>>20287632 Medibank hacker Aleksandr Ermakov a Russian national punished with sanctions - The Albanese government has named Russian man Aleksandr Ermakov as the perpetrator of the October 2022 Medibank data breach, imposing new sanctions on the hacker over the nation’s worst-ever cyber attack.

>>20287640 Scott Morrison will quit parliament and spark Cook by-election to join a string of global strategy firms - The Australian has confirmed that Scott Morrison will quit politics at the end of February to join a string of global strategic advising firms triggering a pre-budget by-election in the federal southern Sydney seat of Cook.

>>20293914 Steve Smith joins Pat Cummins in call for Australia Day date change - Former Australian captain Steve Smith has followed the current skipper Pat Cummins in, saying he thinks Australia Day should be celebrated on a more appropriate date.

>>20293988 Scott Morrison quits to join global defence firms with Mike Pompeo, Robert O’Brien - Scott Morrison will quit politics at the end of February to join global strategic and defence firms with former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo and former Trump security adviser Robert O’Brien, triggering a pre-budget federal by-election in the southern Sydney seat of Cook.

>>20293998 Call for US and UK sanctions on Russian hacker Aleksandr Ermakov - The Albanese government has asked the US and Britain to match newly imposed Australian sanctions on Russian hacker Aleksandr Ermakov, who was named on Tuesday as the perpetrator of the October 2022 Medibank cyber attack.

>>20294008 Here’s what happens if Trump or Haley beat Biden - "Unlike his previous presidency, this time, Trump and his close advisers have mapped out exactly how they will implement their policies quickly and swiftly. Most of the commentary has concentrated on Trump’s court battles. It’s time to look at the policies. We will be dealing with a very different US. Many Australians will want Australia to follow Trump in some policies." - Robert Gottliebsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>20294025 OPINION: Divider-in-Chief seizes Republican crown, but not yet America’s - "Trump never broke 50 per cent approval during his presidency or in the years since. He was a minority president. He is the Divider-in-Chief. This year, in courtrooms across the country, he is the Defendant-in-Chief. As the reality of Trump’s being the nominee and poised to return to the White House finally sinks in big time, as it is doing at this very moment, Biden needs every edge within his grasp." - Bruce Wolpe, senior fellow at the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney - theage.com.au

>>20299952 Melbourne statues of Queen Victoria and Captain Cook vandalised on Australia Day eve - Police are investigating after a Melbourne statue of Captain Cook was sawn off at the ankles and a monument to Queen Victoria daubed in red paint on the eve of Australia Day.

>>20299956 Activist vandals ‘are ignorant of our history’ after Captain Cook statue attacked - Vandals who chopped down a century-old statue of James Cook on the eve of Australia Day have been branded as “ignorant”. Bella d’Abrera, director of the Institute of Public Affairs’ Foundations of Western Civilisation Program, described the attack as an outrage and branded the vandals as ignorant of history, as the explorer was killed a decade before the First Fleet arrived in 1788.

>>20299966 'You can only make that mistake once': How the Australian Signals Directorate identified the Medibank hacker - The Medibank hacker had a weakness: his ego. And this helped cyber warriors in the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) identify Aleksandr Ermakov as responsible for the nation's worst cyberhack, which saw private details of almost 10 million Australians leaked.

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80104e No.20545630

#34 - Part 14

Australian Politics and Society - Part 7

>>20300007 Stunning revolt back against political, corporate garbage - "I decided to collect 12 key policies of Donald Trump simply to explain to readers, including myself, what was happening below the public Trump bluster and court battles. I made a minimum of comments on those Trump polices which cover issues like migration, crime, gender, buying a house, tax cuts, tariffs, local manufacturing and of course lower energy costs as the carbon debate is turned on its head. To my astonishment, it sparked a reader frenzy. While the drawbacks of Trump were clearly expressed, the majority of readers embraced his policies with enthusiasm and urged Peter Dutton to copy them. And, of course, none of the Trump policies involved Indigenous Australians or Australia Day. Some invited Trump to come to Australia. They wanted clear policies and leadership." - Robert Gottliebsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>20300060 Kevin Rudd in rush to mend fences in case of second Donald Trump presidency - Kevin Rudd is working overtime to build bridges with Trump Republicans who would be involved in a second Donald Trump presidency, despite his previous strident criticism of the former US president. Mr Rudd had in the past variously described Mr Trump over the years as “nuts”, a traitor to the West, a threat to democracy, and as someone who pursues protectionism that retards global economic growth.

>>20306037 ‘Not a day to celebrate’: thousands protest ‘Invasion Day’ - Parliament House has been placed into lockdown after Invasion Day protesters swarmed the front of the building to protest Australia Day and Israel’s war in Gaza. A group of Indigenous rights protesters amassed on the lawn outside Parliament brandishing the Aboriginal flag, amid chants of “always was, always will be.” Others waved Palestinian flags and beat drums. One woman yelled “F-ck Israel, f-ck Australia”, in response to parliamentary security shutting the doors.

>>20306092 Invasion Day rally rife with anti-Australia sentiment - Invasion Day protesters have desecrated Australian flags and unfurled a banner imploring people to “kill the Australian in your head” on the country’s national holiday in Melbourne. About 35,000 protesters gathered outside state parliament on January 26, a day the rally’s organisers describe as an “annual reminder of invasion, occupation and genocide”.

>>20306133 Deaths in custody, statues, Gaza: Melbourne brims with tension through another January 26 - Boon Wurrung elder Jason Briggs has condemned the vandalism of a statue of Captain James Cook, which was torn down in darkness on Australia Day eve, while thousands cheered the act on at a rally in Melbourne’s CBD on Friday.

>>20306185 Video: North Sydney: Balaclava-clad, chanting neo-Nazis held on Sydney train by police - Clad in balaclavas and black military-style uniforms, about 70 members of a neo-Nazi group boarded a train full of families in an attempt to stage their own pro-White Australia Day rally in Sydney yesterday. In dramatic scenes, the group from the National Socialist Network were intercepted by police at North Sydney Station before becoming involved in a tense stand-off in a nearby park with heavily armed officers from the Public Order and Riot Squad. The group were banned from taking part in Australia Day events before being escorted up the Pacific Hwy under the watch of the police helicopter and a large procession of police cars.

>>20306205 Former Labor Premier Lara Giddings says more to fear from Trump than minority government - “People ask me about minority government, having been part of one, and I tell them I fear the rise of Donald Trump a second time in America more than I fear minority government for Tasmania in the future,” the Labor trailblazer said. Ms Giddings’ comments were backed by UTAS political analyst Professor Richard Herr. “Trump was so bereft of ideas in 2020 that the party couldn’t agree on a platform to take to the election,” Professor Herr said. “He has not improved since then and has no ideas and is just concerned about vengeance and revenge.”

>>20311664 Anthony Albanese says neo-Nazi activity has no place in Australia - Anthony Albanese has condemned the group of more than 60 men who attempted to stage an Australia Day protest as “white Australians”, and says neo-Nazi activity has no place in Australia.

>>20316821 Kevin Rudd back-pedals on Donald Trump attacks as he braces for his political comeback - Prior to taking up the top diplomatic post last March, Dr Rudd had blasted Mr Trump as “nuts”, “the most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West”.

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80104e No.20545632

#34 - Part 15

Australian Politics and Society - Part 8

>>20316869 Kevin Rudd's embarrassing Trump U-turn as Albo's US Ambassador is made to eat his own words - with President's shock re-election victory now looming - He's branded Donald Trump 'nuts' and labelled him the 'most destructive president in history'. But former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, now Australia's US ambassador, is desperately trying to build bridges with Trump's team ahead of the ex-President's possible re-election in November.

>>20322542 Video: PM Anthony Albanese booed at the Australian Open men’s final - During the closing ceremony, as presenter Todd Woodbridge welcomed the Prime Minister on behalf of Tennis Australia, the atmosphere took an uncomfortable shift. The 15,000-strong audience erupted in vociferous boos, drowning out Woodbridge’s speech and persisting through the introductions of other VIP attendees.

>>20322581 Anthony Albanese’s security pact with Tuvalu ‘at risk’ - Anthony Albanese’s much-vaunted “Falepili Union” security pact with Tuvalu is on shaky ground following the fall of the country’s prime minister, Kausea Natano, who lost his seat in the country’s general election over the weekend.

>>20322618 Army Taipan helicopters stripped, but Ukraine undeterred - Pictures have emerged online of the dismantled remains of some of the Australian Army’s MRH-90 Taipan helicopters, in a further blow to Ukraine which had hoped to take the aircraft.

>>20328447 Accused Fijian torturer Colonel Penioni (Ben) Naliva to command ADF troops - A senior Fijian military officer allegedly responsible for human rights abuses and torture has been appointed as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade, amid claims the Australian government has turned a blind eye in its bid to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.

>>20334181 Crisis talks over torture accused soldier Colonel Penioni (Ben) Naliva - The Albanese government is in crisis talks with the Fijian government on the future of a senior ­Fijian military officer allegedly responsible for human rights abuses and torture who has been appointed as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade.

>>20339499 Video: Former Fijian MP Sam Speight reveals torture by 7th Brigade Colonel Ben Naliva - Sam Speight has lived in exile from his country for more than a decade, having been forced to flee his beloved Fiji after being beaten and tortured, he claims, by the man the Albanese government has chosen to be deputy commander of 3500 Australian troops.

>>20339527 Ex-NSW premier’s son Daniel Keneally guilty of fabricating evidence - The son of former NSW premier Kristina Keneally has broken down as he avoided prison after he was last year found guilty of fabricating a statement that wrongfully landed a man behind bars.

>>20339566 Players’ passports, contracts exposed in Football Australia data leak - Australian soccer players have had their passports, contracts and other personal information leaked online in a cybersecurity incident that has potentially also affected every local customer or fan, researchers say. Football Australia leaked secret keys online, giving public access to more than 100 buckets of data including players’ personal documents and contracts, according to Cybernews, an independent cybersecurity research publication. The researchers said the leak, which was likely due to human error and not a cyberattack, included players’ passport details along with customers’ ticket purchase information, and internal infrastructure details.

>>20339611 Video: ‘You win, you run this city’: Death threats force FriendlyJordies to remove video - Ongoing death threats have led to political commentator and YouTube satirist Jordan Shanks, known online as FriendlyJordies, taking down a YouTube video. “You win. We’re taking down the video,” said Shanks in a statement posted on his website. “Congratulations. You run this city.”

>>20344843 White supremacist Jacob Hersant to involve nation’s top lawmakers in Nazi salute case - A white supremacist who was first to be charged with performing a Nazi salute in Victoria plans to drag the nation’s top lawmakers into his legal case. The Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday heard neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant, 24, required an adjournment of his matter due to a related “constitutional argument”.

>>20344860 Australian crime fighters to get better access to social media accounts - Australian law enforcement agencies tackling terrorism, child sex abuse and other transnational crimes will get sweeping access to electronic data held in the US by the likes of Microsoft and Meta under a landmark deal between the Albanese government and the Biden administration.

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80104e No.20545634

#34 - Part 16

Australian Politics and Society - Part 9

>>20365452 How Donald Trump’s election victory in November could shatter Australia-US relations - "Australian ministers, public servants and diplomats are quietly assessing the implications of a Donald Trump presidential election victory in November. Trump’s single presidential term was a disaster for the US but also for traditional alliance partners and the standing of the great republic around the world. Trump did not and does not have a coherent foreign policy, was irrational and unpredictable, prone to snap judgments and policy reversals. Even though I regard a Trump victory over Biden as unlikely, it cannot be ruled out. It makes sense for Australian government officials to prepare for this worst-case scenario." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

>>20371195 Productivity Commission pushes for state Indigenous powers and Aboriginal watchdog - Governments across the country should relinquish powers on Aboriginal affairs policy to Indigenous communities and legislate watchdogs with more authority than the defeated voice would have had, to save failing efforts to close the gap, the Productivity Commission has declared.

>>20371298 While drama continues to develop at home, PNG prime minister touches down in Australia for historic speech - Papua New Guinea's Prime Minister James Marape has arrived in Canberra ahead of a historic address at Parliament House, but a political storm is continuing to brew at home in Port Moresby.

>>20371346 ABC cancels controversial drag queen story hour for kids after ‘hateful response’ - The ABC has backflipped on a controversial decision to organise a Drag Queen Story event for children as young as three in a Sydney suburban library after questions were raised about its “appropriateness” and “gender indoctrination”. The national broadcaster had made the call-out on social media for children aged from three to five years to attend a four-hour event at Rockdale Library, in Sydney’s south, on February 22 as part of Mardi Gras. However the ABC said it had a “hateful and offensive response” to its plans and it was “considering how we can safely host it”.

>>20371367 'Dead wrong so many times': Former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon hits out at Kevin Rudd over position on China - A former advisor to Donald Trump has taken aim at Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd over his position on China during an exclusive interview with Sky News. Steve Bannon served as a chief White House strategist under the Trump administration after the former US president's election win in 2016. Speaking to Sky News host Sharri Markson on Wednesday, Mr Bannon warned Mr Rudd's attempts to stabilise the strained Australia-China relations were dangerous. "Ambassador Rudd should know we got his number," Mr Bannon told Markson. "For people in the United States, folks in Australia should know, Rudd puts himself out as the expert in the world on China and the Chinese Communist Party. "I think he's been dead wrong so many times."

>>20377050 Video: Albanese government set for ‘tense relationship’ with future Trump administration - Sky News host Sharri Markson warns the Albanese Government is set for a tense relationship with Donald Trump's administration should he return to the White House. Former strategist Steve Bannon revealed Australia's Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has been trying to “worm his way” into the Trump inner circle. "Ambassador Rudd should know we got his number," Mr Bannon told Ms Markson. Mr Bannon served as a chief White House strategist under the Trump administration after the former US president's election win in 2016. “Bannon's comments indicate that the Albanese government has cause for concern should Trump win the election later this year,” Ms Markson said. - Sky News Australia

>>20377059 Kevin Rudd attempting to 'worm his way back' into hardline Republicans' 'good graces' - Australia’s Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has been warned his attempts to “worm his way back into the good graces” of hardline Republicans will be “quite difficult,” according to former White House Trump advisor Steve Bannon. - Mr Bannon explained the former Australian prime minister had been very critical of Donald Trump while the former president was in office but had constantly had a different attitude towards the Chinese Communist Party. “I think Rudd’s attitude about the Chinese Communist Party, at least, is so different than the hardliners,” he said. “What we fought for in World War II together as allies is still on the table today and I would hope Ambassador Rudd took it as seriously as the hardline anti-CCP element in the United States." - Sky News Australia

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80104e No.20545636

#34 - Part 17

Australian Politics and Society - Part 10

>>20377086 Video: Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape urges Australia to not 'give up' on his country in historic parliament address - The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape has urged Australia to not "give up" on his country during an historic address to the federal parliament. On Thursday morning, Mr Marape became the first Pacific leader to address the joint sitting of both houses, with MPs and Senators packing into the lower house to listen. The prime minister dwelt heavily on the shared history between Australia and Papua New Guinea, paying tribute to prime minister Gough Whitlam who helped shepherd his country to independence almost 50 years ago. "It was from this parliament that many decisions were made that have helped and shaped what Papua New Guinea was before 1975, and what Papua New Guinea is after 1975," Mr Marape said. "This is why Papua New Guinea has a very special and very unique relationship with Australia. We are the only country Australia has birthed."

>>20383187 ‘Ball in Australia’s court’: Fiji lobs torture issue back at ADF - Fiji’s top military chief has reportedly told Australian Defence Force chief Angus Campbell that “the ball is in Australia’s court” to decide whether a Fijian colonel keeps his job as deputy commander of the Australian 7th Brigade, following allegations that he was involved in torture and human rights abuses.

>>20383200 Killer drone ‘in service this year’: Conroy - The Albanese government will introduce an armed drone into service this year, Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has revealed. Mr Conroy disclosed the existence of the secret drone program as he announced $400m more for the air force’s developmental Ghost Bat unmanned aircraft.

>>20387063 Victorian Labor: We're taking on Advance Australia - Victorian Labor Party telling lies and using tried and proven tactic of accusing the other side of what they are in fact doing.

>>20389048 Let local Indigenous voices be heard, Marcia Langton tells Anthony Albanese - Marcia Langton wants the Albanese government to continue to support various forms of Indigenous voices across Australia, including legislated voices, as a way of fixing the failing Closing the Gap agreement.

>>20389124 Video: ‘Yes but I hate you!’ Trump and Turnbull’s explosive phone call - Malcolm Turnbull describes his infamous call with Donald Trump over Australia's refugee swap deal as 'tough'. This is not the only revealing moment during the shooting of Nemesis, the ABC's landmark political docuseries charting nine years of Coalition government from 2013 to 2022. - ABC News In-depth

>>20389124 Q Post #479 - How much did AUS donate to CF? How much did SA donate to CF? Compare. Why is this relevant? What phone call between POTUS and X/AUS leaked? List the leadership in AUS. IDEN leadership during Hussein term. IDEN leadership during POTUS' term. Who controls AUS? Who really controls AUS? UK? Why is this relevant? Q

>>20389124 Q Post #908 - Which conversation leaked? POTUS & AUS? Why that specific conversation? Signal? We (they) hear what you are saying? Threat to AUS? Why? What do they know? Trapped? Forced? Blood. Q

>>20389124 Q Post #910 - Do not focus on the call details. We knew it would leak. We knew certain areas of the WH were bugged. We knew certain people would leak. Focus - why AUS? Q

>>20394585 Republicans ‘shameful’ for blocking Ukraine aid, says Australia’s Tony Abbott - U.S. Republicans are “shameful” for blocking fresh military aid to Ukraine and holding the country “hostage to some other political objective,” according to staunchly conservative former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

>>20394679 Kwinana Beach factory fire - The second Agricultural Chemical supplier plant I'm aware of in Western Australia has gone up in flames. The war on the food supply chain in Australia continues.

>>20400646 Tony Abbott warns ‘war drums are beating‘ - Tony Abbott says the “war drums are beating again” as dictators in Moscow, Beijing and Tehran exploit fissures in the democratic world made by an unlikely coalition of Donald Trump-supporting US Republicans and far left social activists.

>>20400665 Why the future rests on our moral and martial fortitude - "The immediate need is to re-arm Ukraine, stand by Israel, position more ships and planes into East Asia, urgently excise China from critical supply chains, swiftly rebuild our defence industrial infrastructure, be ready to mobilise armed forces that adversaries would shrink to take on, and better befriend India which should one day be America’s equal as a bastion of democracy." - Tony Abbott, former prime minister of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

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80104e No.20545639

#34 - Part 18

Australian Politics and Society - Part 11

>>20400702 WA Liberal senator and former defence minister Linda Reynolds to quit politics - Former defence minister and WA Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has announced she'll stand down from politics at the next election. In a statement posted to Facebook, Ms Reynolds said she would not seek Liberal Party pre-selection for another term beyond June 2025.

>>20400714 Defence in Boxer war with Marles as budget fight escalates - The army’s $5.7bn Boxer armoured vehicle program has become the latest bargaining chip in ­Defence’s escalating war with Richard Marles, with the department warning the government’s demands for savings are threatening the long-awaited capability.

>>20400740 UK activist Kellie-Jay Keen accuses ABC, Pesutto of defamation over Moira Deeming matter - UK women’s rights activist Kellie-Jay Keen has issued defamation concerns notices against both the ABC and Victorian opposition leader John Pesutto, as she prepares to lodge a case in the Federal Court, which could run concurrently with expelled Liberal Moira Deeming’s.

>>20405583 Labor under fire for failing to seek orders to lock up freed foreign murderers and rapists - Anthony Albanese has been accused of putting the public at risk amid revelations his government is yet to seek orders to lock up any of the dozens of ­foreign murderers, rapists or ­violent thugs freed into the community following a High Court ruling last year. It was revealed on Monday that seven murderers and 37 sex offenders, including pedophiles, were among the 149 immigration detainees who were released. Twenty-four of those freed have since reoffended, while 36 have been exempted from wearing ankle bracelets. The government’s failure to use its legislation to secure preventive detention orders for any of the released criminals comes despite the formation of a taskforce of 20 home affairs lawyers more than two months ago to prepare the applications.

>>20405592 Video: Murderers among detainees released after the High Court ruled their detention was unlawful - 7 murderers and 37 sex offenders were among detainees released after the High Court ruled their detention was unlawful. Tonight the Albanese government is accused of putting the public at risk by failing to get high-risk offenders off our streets. - 7NEWS Australia

>>20405608 Revealed: state by state breakdown of dangerous detainees - A breakdown of the 149 immigration detainees released under the Albanese government’s botched response to a High Court ruling last year has revealed that 60 live in NSW and 40 in Victoria, while a further 20 have been released in WA and 20 in Queensland. The Australian has obtained documents, ordered to be released by the Department of Home Affairs to the Senate on Monday night, containing the figures revealing how many and in which states the former detainees are now living in the community. The documents suggested there were less than five in the ACT and less than 10 in South Australia. There were none in Tasmania.

>>20405625 Video: ABC Indigenous Affairs editor Bridget Brennan is under investigation after controversial comments on Australia Day - The ABC ombudsman is investigating controversial comments made by Indigenous Affairs editor Bridget Brennan in an Australia Day news report where she declared to viewers the country “always was and always will be Aboriginal land.”

>>20405666 ASIO concerned about 'spontaneous violence' at home, not Hamas, says spy chief - The ongoing war in the Middle East and allegations an Australian was fighting for a designated terrorist organisation have not heightened the risk of terrorism at home. The national terrorism threat remained probable, with intelligence agency ASIO concerned about spontaneous violence, ASIO head Mike Burgess said.

>>20405672 Government apologises to ASIO director-general for ‘pressure release’ briefing disclosure - The federal government has apologised to ASIO director-general Mike Burgess after a confidential briefing to a Labor MP where he purportedly described pro-Palestine rallies as a “pressure release” on domestic terror was relayed to a voter. Speaking during a budget estimates hearing on Monday night, the director-general said any and all briefings were confidential, and should not have been disclosed by the member. In December, The Australian revealed how Higgins Labor MP Michelle Ananda-Rajah wrote to a Jewish constituent who had raised concerns about the location of Melbourne’s weekly pro-Palestine rallies. “On the matter of protests, the DG of ASIO, Mike Burgess, ­advised me that these (pro-Palestine rallies) serve as a pressure release, which is valuable given the real risk of a domestic terror attack,” the MP wrote to the voter.

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80104e No.20545640

#34 - Part 19

Australian Politics and Society - Part 12

>>20411034 Anthony Albanese handballs Indigenous treaty pledge to states - Anthony Albanese has passed the political minefield of treaty onto the states as he reframes his Indigenous affairs agenda following the failure of the voice, revealing Labor will “take the time needed” to establish a truth-telling body and put its ­immediate focus on practical issues such as jobs, education, housing and justice.

>>20411041 Indigenous Affairs Minister Linda Burney flags path for truth telling in school curriculum - Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney says she was in active discussions with cabinet to develop a model for a truth telling process, flagging that it could be included in the school curriculum though she remained “very open” on the framework.

>>20411053 ADF Chief Angus Campbell ‘responsible’ for giving accused Fijian torturer Penioni Naliva senior Army command job - The Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell says he is ultimately responsible for the appointment of Fijian Colonel and alleged torturer Penioni (Ben) Naliva as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade. General Campbell told Senate estimates this morning that Colonel Naliva had not been stood aside, and was “working from home at present and supporting his family in a fairly stressful circumstance”.

>>20417014 Drop Makarrata Commission to avoid further antagonism, says Ken Wyatt - Former Indigenous Australians minister Ken Wyatt has warned Labor against pursuing a Makarrata Commission to oversee truth telling because this would further “antagonise” Australians and stoke division, following the failure of the voice referendum.

>>20422699 Video: Australian Border Force investigating boat arrival at Beagle Bay, north of Broome - Australian Border Force officers are interviewing a group of more than 20 men who say they travelled by boat from Indonesia, at a small remote Indigenous community in Western Australia's north. The men, believed to be from Pakistan and Bangladesh, were in the main street of Beagle Bay, 100 kilometres north of Broome, having been found this morning. ABC reporter Erin Parke, who was at the scene, said the group appeared in good health and were wearing t-shirts and trousers, having apparently been given water at the local store. She said ABF officials arrived in the community shortly after midday to question the men.

>>20428545 Second group of asylum seekers found on property near Beagle Bay in northern Western Australia - A second group of asylum seekers has turned up at a remote outstation north of the Aboriginal community of Beagle Bay where a group of about 30 men was taken into custody by border force authorities on Friday, prompting concerns that more than one asylum boat has landed in the area in recent days and that some arrivals may still be missing or lost.

>>20428556 WA boat arrivals reignite political contest over border protection - A group of about 30 asylum-seekers from Pakistan and Bangladesh who arrived by boat from Indonesia and wandered through crocodile-inhabited mangroves before being discovered near a remote Indigenous community have reignited the political contest over Australia’s border-protection regime. The group, the second to have reached the Australian mainland since November, was discovered at 10am (AWST) in 32C heat seeking shade in the bushes by a road outside the small town of Beagle Bay, a former church mission with a population of 348. By noon on Friday, three Australian Border Force officials had arrived from Broome, 128km south of the settlement, and were “processing” the arrivals, with Peter Dutton accusing the government of having “lost control of our borders”. The Opposition Leader linked the arrival to Labor’s handling of the High Court’s landmark NZYQ decision in November, declaring that the people-smugglers could “pick out a weak leader, a weak prime minister and a weak minister, and this is what they have done”. “We have warned about this for some time, releasing the 149 criminals, watering down Operation Sovereign Borders - that sends a clear message to the people smugglers,” Mr Dutton said. “I think clearly the government has not taken border protection seriously.”

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80104e No.20545641

#34 - Part 20

Australian Politics and Society - Part 13

>>20428562 Dutton defies Border Force rebuke as more asylum seekers discovered - More than 40 asylum seekers have now been found in a remote part of Western Australia after a second group was discovered at an Indigenous campsite, adding to a political headache over border security for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Before the revelation of the latest group on Saturday, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton defied a veiled rebuke by the head of Operation Sovereign Borders and doubled down on his assertion that the Albanese government had dismantled the country’s signature border protection policy. “There’s just no question about the fact that Operation Sovereign Borders is not supported by the Albanese government,” Dutton said. “I ran Operation Sovereign Borders. I know exactly how these people smugglers work. They will react to a weak prime minister and to a weak minister. If they see vulnerabilities, they will exploit them, and that’s exactly what has happened here.”

>>20434107 Suspected asylum seekers taken to Nauru as political storm over boat arrivals intensifies - Prime Minster Anthony Albanese has accused the opposition of being a "cheer squad" for people smugglers after Peter Dutton said the arrival of 39 asylum seekers in northern WA on Friday showed the government was weak on border protection.

>>20434122 Senator distances himself from neo-Nazi’s social media post - Victorian senator Ralph Babet has distanced himself from a neo-Nazi who published a photo appearing to give the Nazi salute while posing with the politician. Nathan Bull, a member of the National Socialist Network (NSN), posted a photo of him with Babet on Saturday night on social media site X with the caption “Heil Ralph Babet, Heil our people”, followed by two keyboard characters that look like a stick figure image of a person giving the gesture. The salute is outlawed in Victoria.

>>20439287 A new fleet of warships will be the government’s response to a rising China - A new fleet of small, well-armed warships will form the centrepiece of a sweeping restructure of the navy as the Albanese government seeks to rebut claims that it has been too slow to respond to the threat posed by China. The long-awaited review of the navy’s surface fleet, to be released on Tuesday, will also retain the troubled $45bn Hunter-class frigate program in Adelaide, but with only six of the anti-submarine ships likely to be ordered rather than the initially planned nine.

>>20439353 Fears of asylum seeker influx as people-smugglers adapt - Australian Border Force fears people-smugglers are investing in faster and more modern boats than ever before, after learning two groups of asylum-seekers found on the far north coast of Western Australia last week had been ordered to wait in the bush for days while the smugglers sailed out of Australian waters.

>>20444914 Video: Tiny menaces, helpless police and no solution - It’s 8pm in Alice Springs and a group of children are about to steal a car and lead police on a dangerous chase. After being caught they are immediately returned to a ‘responsible adult’, only to continue to reoffend.

>>20444970 Navy warship fleet to increase in $11.1bn funding boost - A sweeping review of the Royal Australian Navy will see a sharp increase in the number of warships, giving the navy greater firepower and strategic options in the face of a massive Chinese military build-up. The shake-up will see the number of the navy’s major surface combatants eventually rise from 11 to 20 in addition to 6 new “optionally crewed surface vessels” armed with missiles to support the main fleet. The centrepiece of the new plan is the acquisition of a new fleet of 11 general purpose frigates, to be built both overseas and locally, to replace the ageing ANZAC frigates. The government said the new frigate fleet would be fast-tracked ‘to address the risk presented by an ageing and increasingly fragile surface combatant fleet.’

>>20461459 Yes campaign crash: Mick Gooda’s anger at Anthony Albanese’s voice strategy, and aftermath - Indigenous leader Mick Gooda says Anthony Albanese and prominent Yes campaigners are responsible for the failure of the voice referendum, hitting out at their refusal to amend the proposal after it failed to win bipartisan support and began tanking in the polls. The former human rights commissioner will use a speech on Friday to attack the “crash or crash through” approach taken by the Prime Minister and his party on the advice of campaigners such as Noel Pearson, declaring he was “angry with the Yes side” over the outcome.

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80104e No.20545645

#34 - Part 21

Australian Politics and Society - Part 14

>>20461480 Austal ready to embrace drone ships following navy windfall - One of the biggest winners from the federal government’s new navy plans will launch an autonomous vessel for Defence within months, as it looks to demonstrate that technology that will now be at the core of the nation’s navy in the years ahead. ASX-listed shipbuilder Austal is deep in the process of converting an old Armidale-class patrol boat into an “optionally manned” vessel through the fitting of autonomous and remotely operated systems. Austal chief executive Paddy Gregg told The Australian that the vessel, which has had its name changed from HMAS Maitland to HMAS Sentinel, would be ready for sea trials later this year.

>>20461544 Advance is ramping up its attack ads ahead of a by-election that could completely alter the political dynamic - Labor is up against a new model of conservative campaign that it hasn’t encountered before. Dunkley has become the testing ground, and the consequences are far reaching for both sides. The involvement of conservative campaign outfit Advance in the March 2 by-election has the potential to not only change the local outcome but also the dynamics for the next federal election. Advance claims a war chest of $250,000. Any third party that contributes six figures to a local campaign has the potential to have a significant impact.

>>20467054 Mick Gooda’s speech a decisive step away from ‘we was robbed’ rhetoric - "Mick Gooda's speech to the National Aboriginal Press Club is a turning point in discussion about the failed referendum for an Indigenous voice. For the first time, a senior Indigenous leader has conceded that the referendum campaign was fundamentally flawed. He is uncompromising in his basic verdict. He writes that he is positively angry with people on the Yes side. In his view, the referendum failed because it adopted an irresponsible “crash through or crash approach”. Doubtless, Gooda will again be called a “bedwetter” simply for calling it as he sees it. His cataloguing of the referendum disaster is entirely persuasive. The voice failed because its supporters rejected bipartisanship, refused to provide detail and could not accept that this referendum, like any other, would be a big ask. What makes Gooda’s analysis unique is that he refuses to blame defeat on a carefully produced bogeyman. Other Indigenous leaders, such as Langton and Megan Davis, attempt to blame Peter Dutton for his “rejection” of bipartisanship." - Emeritus professor Greg Craven, constitutional lawyer and former vice-chancellor of the Australian Catholic University

>>20473138 OPINION: As Morrison leaves parliament, we should honour his legacy - "This week, Scott Morrison will take his seat in the House of Representatives for the last time. There has been so much criticism of his prime ministership, recently revisited on the ABC’s Nemesis, that his achievements have been obscured in the avalanche of negatives." - George Brandis, former high commissioner to the UK and federal attorney-general - smh.com.au

>>20473270 Coalition takes primary vote lead from Labor for first time since election - Voters have lifted the Coalition to its strongest position since the last federal election by boosting its primary vote from 34 to 37 per cent despite backing Labor on its overhaul of personal income tax cuts for millions of workers. The shift has weakened Labor’s core support from 35 per cent in December to 34 per cent and given the Coalition its first lead on the primary vote in the Resolve Political Monitor in this term of parliament.

>>20474666, >>20478317, >>20482875, >>20488806, >>20494037, >>20509879, >>20515626, >>20525763, >>20529684 Videos: Q in MR ROBOT?

>>20482484 Video: Malcolm Turnbull says Donald Trump's 'creepy' embrace of Vladimir Putin a threat to Australian security - Donald Trump is a "terrifying" threat to democratic order thanks to his "creepy" embrace of autocrats such as Vladimir Putin, according to former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull. In a stark warning about the prospect of Mr Trump returning to the White House, Mr Turnbull told the ABC's Q+A that Mr Trump and parts of the Republican Party were "sympathetic" to the Russian president and "no longer committed to democracy as we understand it".

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80104e No.20545646

#34 - Part 22

Australian Politics and Society - Part 15

>>20482515 Video: ABC's Q + A: Malcolm Turnbull reveals what he really thinks of Donald Trump - Malcolm Turnbull has labelled Donald Trump a 'tyrant', had a cheeky dig at Scott Morrison and questioned whether Israel's war in Gaza is actually what Hamas wants during his latest appearance on the ABC's Q+A. Mr Turnbull fears that a Trump victory in November will threaten to turn US into an autocracy without the rule of law. 'Donald Trump does not believe the law applies to him,' Mr Turnbull told the audience. 'Donald Trump lost the 2020 election and refused to accept it and … encouraged a mob to try to overthrow the constitutional process in the Congress, tried to overthrow his own constitution.' When it was pointed out that Mr Trump was outpolling current President Joe Biden, Mr Turnbull replied: 'Tyrants are often popular.'

>>20488534 Controversial Israeli weapons company awarded $917 million Australian army contract - An Israeli company whose technology was stripped from Australian Army equipment over possible data security concerns three years ago has been awarded a fresh defence contract worth $917 million. Elbit Systems has confirmed it will provide "advanced protection, fighting capabilities and sensors" for new Korean-designed Infantry Fighting Vehicles (IFVs) being constructed in the Victorian electorate of Defence Minister Richard Marles.

>>20488543 New Tuvalu govt reaffirms relationship with Taiwan - Tuvalu's new government has reaffirmed its relations with Taiwan after the election, Tuvalu's government says, adding it wants dialogue over a new security pact with Australia. "The new government wishes to reaffirm its commitment to the long-term and lasting special relationship between Tuvalu and the Republic of China, Taiwan," the statement said. "It intends to reassess options that would strengthen and lift it to a more durable, lasting, and mutually beneficial relationship."

>>20488547 Tuvalu's new prime minister indicates he will revisit deal that gives Australia control of island nation's security agreements - Tuvalu's new government has dealt a blow to Australia's signature foreign policy initiative in the Pacific, signalling it will seek revisions to the landmark Falepili Union in order to protect its sovereignty. Australian officials were relieved when former regional diplomat Feleti Teo, who was on a panel that helped craft the agreement, won the contest to become prime minister earlier this week. But, in a sign of the political sensitivities which still surround the pact, Mr Teo's new government has today acknowledged that Tuvalu's citizens were not sufficiently consulted on the agreement.

>>20493657 ‘Video: Your cover is blown’: ASIO boss reveals politician betrayed Australia to foreign spies - ASIO boss Mike Burgess has blown the cover of a sophisticated foreign interference operation that involved a former politician betraying Australia and attempting to bring a prime minister’s relative into the orbit of foreign spies. In his latest annual threat assessment, the nation’s spy chief goes into remarkable detail about the so-called “A-team”: a dedicated unit within a foreign intelligence service that made Australia its primary target and operated for several years until at least last year. “The team is aggressive and experienced, its tradecraft is good - but not good enough,” Burgess said in a speech delivered in Canberra on Wednesday night. “ASIO and our partners have been able to map out its activities and identify its members.”

>>20493671 Video: ASIO boss Mike Burgess won’t bow to pressure to reveal which former politician ‘sold out Australia’ - The nation’s top spy has called for calm, refusing to name names after dropping a bombshell that a former politician sold out Australia to foreign spies. Mike Burgess used his annual threat assessment address on Wednesday night to reveal an ex-politician was recruited by a foreign intelligence service “several years ago” but declined to name them. Former federal treasurer and ambassador to the US Joe Hockey said the claims had implicated hundreds of officials, and said Mr Burgess had a duty to every politician to reveal who it was. “You can’t make an allegation or a statement about someone being a traitor and then expect that no one will ask questions,” Mr Hockey said.

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80104e No.20545648

#34 - Part 23

Australian Politics and Society - Part 16

>>20493681 Former prime minister’s son Alex Turnbull reveals contact with Chinese agents - Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex has revealed he was the target of suspected Chinese agents over an infrastructure project, revealing he immediately rejected the approach and reported it to spy agencies. Mr Turnbull has told news.com.au that while he did not definitively know if he was the family member ASIO chief Mike Burgess was referring to in his speech, his experience fits the sting outlined by the spy agency boss. Describing the approach as “brazen”, the activist and investor said he was contacted around 2017 when his father was Prime Minister, and he was offered equity in a company. “It was just so brazen,” Mr Turnbull told news.com.au. “My reaction was to express no interest and forward the details immediately to the authorities.”

>>20493684 Video: Joe Hockey calls for ASIO boss to name ‘traitor’ who betrayed Australia - Former treasurer Joe Hockey has called on ASIO’s Director General Mike Burgess to name the “traitor” ex-politician who betrayed Australia by working with an international spy network. Australia’s spy chief delivered the agency’s annual threat assessment on Wednesday night, including the shock details about the actions of an ex-politician. Mr Burgess did not name the country involved in recruiting the representative but said he had decided to declassify the news as a way of warning their operatives their cover was blown. “Of course he should say immediately who it is, not simply come out of the shadows, say this was a politician, then go back to the shadows and leave everyone else wondering who the hell it was,” Mr Hockey told Sky News Australia.

>>20493700 ‘It’s not me’: Ernest Wong speaks out after spy agency claims - Former NSW Labor MP Ernest Wong, who was found by ICAC to have engaged in corrupt conduct over Chinese donations, has flatly denied he is the MP at the centre of bombshell ASIO claims regarding a sting targeting a former prime minister’s family. ASIO boss Mike Burgess revealed on Wednesday night that a mystery former Australian politician had “sold out their country, party and former colleagues” after being recruited by spies for a foreign regime”. Revealing he’s never been contacted by ASIO about the claim, Ernest Kwok Chung Wong, has told news.com.au that he knows nothing about the spy agency allegation and has never met with former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s son who believes he may have been a target. “No, never,’’ Mr Wong said. “ASIO did contact me about five or six years ago, they did contact me for very general inquiries in regards to how the Chinese committee groups operated in Australia,” he said.

>>20493719 Sam Dastyari denies he is the ex-politician singled out by ASIO boss - A former Labor senator whose political career was ended by a storm over his links to a Chinese businessman has categorically denied he is the mystery figure Australia's spy boss claims 'sold out their country'. Ex-NSW senator Sam Dastyari sensationally quit politics in 2017 amid intense scrutiny over his links to Chinese real estate developer and political donor Huang Xiangmo. Mr Dastyari, who has always insisted he is a patriotic Australian, was labelled a 'Peking schmuck' by the tabloids after it was revealed he accepted money from Chinese donors. Mr Dastyari refuted speculation that has erupted on social media in the hours since. He told Daily Mail Australia the incident had 'zero to do with me', and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing. 'I'm not jumping into any commentary,' he added.

>>20498472 Victorian Labor senator Linda White dies after taking leave over health issues - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his heart is "broken" by the news Victorian Labor senator Linda White has died after taking leave this month to deal with health issues. Senator White had a long career behind the scenes of the Labor Party before being elected to represent Victoria at the 2022 federal election. Mr Albanese said the state's Labor branch was hurting after having lost MP Peta Murphy just months ago. "To lose two women in their prime within three months of each other is beyond belief, is so sad," he said. "On behalf of the Australian government and the Labor family, I offer my deepest condolences to Linda’s family and loved ones."

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80104e No.20545649

#34 - Part 24

Australian Politics and Society - Part 17

>>20498487 Video: Meta to pull $70 million from Australian news publishers, wind down Facebook News tab - Social media giant Meta has announced it will stop paying for Australian news content in an announcement that has sent shockwaves through the industry. The Facebook and Instagram parent company informed executives at the country’s largest news publishers in a series of phone calls on Friday morning that deals, worth around $70 million, would not be renewed after they expire later this year. The deals were originally struck under the Coalition government’s News Media Bargaining Code, which forced tech giants like Facebook and Google to pay news outlets for content shared on their platforms.

>>20498499 Video: ‘Not the Australian way’: Anthony Albanese blasts Meta - The parent company of Facebook will turn its back on millions of Australians who consume news content on the platform, after the tech giant announced it would no longer pay media outlets for the material they provide for the social media site. Meta’s decision to walk away from the payment-for-content deals, which are worth close to $250m a year for local news publishers, will ultimately short-change Australian consumers, according to senior media figures. Anthony Albanese accused Meta of unconscionable conduct over its decision, amid warnings that the move could threaten the viability of journalism in Australia.

>>20498518 ASIO warns naming 'traitor' politician could expose sources, as Peter Dutton cools on push to identify them - Opposition Leader Peter Dutton says he won't push to name the "traitor" politician exposed by Australian intelligence, saying he will respect the decision of the nation's spy chief not to name them. After setting a fire under parliament by revealing a former politician had betrayed Australia, but not naming who, spy chief Mike Burgess repeated late yesterday he would not be identifying who had "sold out" the country. "It is an historic matter that was appropriately dealt with at the time. The individual is no longer of security concern," Mr Burgess said in a statement. "In accordance with long-standing practice, ASIO will not publicly discuss individuals or provide operational details. "There are multiple reasons for this, including the need to protect our sources and capabilities. In this case, while we want the foreign intelligence service to know its cover is blown, we do not want it to unpick how we discovered its activities." Mr Burgess said it was reassuring to see increased awareness and discussion of foreign interference threats facing Australia.

>>20505029 Speaking up in Australia, risking retribution against their families in Asia - Members of Australia’s Cambodian diaspora community say they are willing to risk retribution against both themselves and their families back home to speak out against the regime in Phnom Penh during a visit to Melbourne by the country’s new prime minister. Hundreds of protesters, also including members of the Burmese, Vietnamese and Lao communities, converged on the steps of Victoria’s Parliament House ahead of the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit early next week. Leaders from Indonesia to Thailand will travel to Melbourne for the summit, which marks 50 years of relations between Australia and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Among the visiting leaders will be Hun Manet, the 46-year-old son of long-time Cambodian strongman Hun Sen, who took over in a transition of power in August.

>>20505061 Video: ‘Very creepy’: Americans obsess over Turnbull’s Trump sledge - A clip of former Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull describing Donald Trump’s admiration of Vladimir Putin as “creepy” has struck a nerve in America. Mr Turnbull, who served as PM during a part of Mr Trump’s first term as US president, shared his candid observations of the world leaders on ABC’s Q+A program on Monday. “When you see Trump with Putin, as I have on a few occasions, he’s like the 12-year-old boy who goes to high school and meets the captain of the football team. My hero!” Mr Turnbull said on the program. “It is really creepy … the creepiness was palpable,” he added. The clip was picked up by US talk show The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, where Colbert joked Mr Turnbull’s comment about Trump was an “insulting comparison … to 12-year-old boys”. “If a 12-year-old boy met Putin, he wouldn’t idolise him, he would look him straight in the eye and say ‘wait, we’re the same height?’”

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80104e No.20545651

#34 - Part 25

Australian Politics and Society - Part 18

>>20505097 Video: Labor holds the seat of Dunkley with reduced margin - Labor has retained the seat of Dunkley after holding onto key cost of living booths, defying a healthy increase in the Liberal primary vote that will render the seat marginal in 2025. Labor’s primary has held up at about 40 per cent, which has mirrored the 2022 result, in what the Albanese government will view as a respectable outcome. There were green shoots for the Liberal Party in some booths in the electorate’s south but candidate Nathan Conroy was expected to fall well short of the 6.3 per cent needed to defeat Labor on the two party-preferred measure. This has handed the seat to ALP community worker Jodie Belyea, with the Labor margin falling to 52.4 per cent after just under 70 per cent of the vote had been counted. The Liberal primary vote was up 6.8 per cent, a strong result in the political market for the Liberal Party in Victoria.

>>20505113 Court orders Dan Andrews to hand over documents relating to Blairgowrie teen cyclist crash - Daniel Andrews has been ordered to hand over his personal telephone and credit card records relating to a Blairgowrie car crash involving a teenage cyclist. The former premier was personally served with a Supreme Court subpoena outside his Mulgrave home last week. The subpoena requires Mr Andrews to produce a series of documents relating to the day Ryan Meuleman, then 15, was struck by the Andrews’ family car in January 2013. It can be revealed Mr Andrews has engaged Arnold Bloch Leibler to represent him in the case, the same law firm his former government used to broker a massive taxpayer-funded compensation deal over the shock cancellation of the Commonwealth Games. ABL is also acting for the former premier’s wife, Catherine Andrews, who was driving at the time of the crash. The phone records will be relied upon as part of a damages action launched by Ryan’s lawyers to ascertain who Mr Andrews called in the aftermath of the near-fatal crash, including whether he spoke to his then chief of staff, current Victoria Police Assistant Commissioner Brett Curran.

>>20505130 Daniel Andrews ordered by court to hand over personal phone and credit card records relating to controversial 2013 crash that seriously injured teen cyclist Ryan Meuleman - Daniel Andrews has been ordered by a court to hand over his personal phone and credit cards records relating to a road crash with a teenage cyclist. They are required as part of a civil suit launched by lawyers for Ryan Meuleman, who was 15-years-old and riding his bike in Blairgowrie on the Mornington Peninsula when he was struck by the Andrews' family SUV in 2013. Of particular interest is who Mr Andrews called in the aftermath of the crash and whether that included his then chief-of-staff, Brett Curran, who is the current assistant commissioner of Victoria Police. Mr Meuleman is seeking damages from law firm Slater & Gordon, who he hired in the aftermath of the crash, for allegedly failing to conduct a 'full and proper investigation into the circumstances' of the incident. He claims he was banned from discussing the crash when he accepted an $80,000 compensation payout for his injuries in 2016 from the Traffic Accident Commission, negotiated by Slater & Gordon, who he alleges failed to act in his best interests. Mr and Mrs Andrews have said Mr Meulman 'T-boned' their car but he claims he was slowly riding the bike along a gravel track when he crossed the road and the SUV, travelling at speed, 'came out of nowhere' and struck him. Mr Andrews told police according to the official report: 'The cyclist was travelling at speed and hit our car at a perfect right angle very heavily. I want to make it clear - the cyclist hit our vehicle.'

>>20510052 Video: Traitor politician was in parliament when they 'sold out' Australia, spy agency reveals - The mystery former politician who engaged in espionage for a foreign country was a serving member of an Australian parliament when they were recruited, SBS News can reveal. For the first time, in an interview with SBS News, director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) Mike Burgess has confirmed they were recruited to work for the international spy ring while representing voters and being paid by Australian taxpayers.

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80104e No.20545652

#34 - Part 26

Australian Politics and Society - Part 19

>>20519936 China revealed as country behind spy chief’s unnamed ‘A-Team’ - China’s leading spy agency has been revealed as the organisation behind the sustained targeting of Australians detailed by the nation’s spy chief in his annual threat assessment. In an exclusive interview with this masthead and 60 Minutes, ASIO Director General Mike Burgess has separately hit back at calls for him to identify the “traitor” ex-politician who he accused of betraying the nation in last week’s threat assessment. While Burgess repeatedly refused to name any overseas intelligence agency, this masthead has independently confirmed the spy unit he described as the “A-Team” in his threat assessment speech involves a division of China’s Ministry of State Security (MSS) devoted to Australia.

>>20519961 Mike Burgess, ASIO have shown ‘utter contempt’ for stabilisation process with China: former prime minister Paul Keating - Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating says ASIO boss Mike Burgess and other members of the security community have displayed “utter contempt for the so-called stabilisation process” with China and has called for the spy boss to be dismissed. Mr Keating slammed the Albanese government’s “anti-China Australian strategic policy” and “mindless pro-American stance”. “When the Albanese government was elected, the first decision it should have taken was to dismiss Burgess, Andrew Shearer and Mike Pezzullo … unbelievably, Burgess and Shearer still remain at the centre of a Labor government’s security apparatus,” he said. “These people display utter contempt for the so-called stabilisation process that the Prime Minister had decided upon and has progressed with China and will do anything to destabilise any meaningful rapprochement.”

>>20525189 Keating slammed by Labor, Libs over Wong, ASIO attack - Labor and the Coalition have hit back at Paul Keating for giving the Albanese government a spray over China, right in the middle of the prime minister hosting the special ASEAN Summit in Melbourne. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese backed Foreign Minister Penny Wong after Mr Keating accused the government of being recklessly at odds with South-East Asian nations, including Malaysia, over China. Senator Wong, Treasurer Jim Chalmers and Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley took issue with the former Labor prime minister.

>>20525348 Former Victorian Opposition Leader Matthew Guy's silence on Freemasons membership raises ‘conflict’ questions - Former opposition leader and planning minister Matthew Guy did not declare his years-long Freemasons Victoria membership, at a time when the secretive order pursued significant property developments around the state. Guy’s membership of Freemasons Victoria was confirmed by grand master Anthony Bucca, leaked internal documents and five internal Freemasons sources, who spoke anonymously due to rules prohibiting members from speaking publicly. Documents obtained by The Age show Guy was registered as a Freemasons Victoria member in 2018 in the rank of “mark mason”, which is the third level of membership of the secret fraternity. Guy lost the state election that year to Labor’s Daniel Andrews. It is not known what year Guy’s membership began, but Bucca said it had ceased in recent years, without providing an exact date, and dismissed questions about potential or perceived conflicts during the politician’s membership.

>>20525355 Q Post #1630 - Why are Freemasons on the scene of most shooting locations? Openly giving interviews or in background shots? Symbolism will be their downfall. Q

>>20529711 ‘Anthony Byrne is spy MP’: Adem Somyurek - A former Andrews government minister has told state parliament he suspects ex-federal Labor MP Anthony Byrne is the politician ASIO ­revealed as betraying Australia to a foreign power. Upper House MP Adem Somyurek used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to call on the nation’s intelligence agency to investigate the former Labor MP who was also his ex-mate. Mr Somyurek, who now sits in parliament as a Democratic Labour Party member, blames Mr Byrne for his demise four years ago as a Labor power­broker and launched a scathing attack on his integrity.

>>20541135 ‘Great port of call’: US Coast Guard endorses Cairns as key strategic destination - Drug smugglers, human traffickers and illegal fishermen will come under increased pressure from the US Coast Guard across the Pacific, with Cairns playing a crucial strategic role in operations. The USCGC Harriet Lane docked in Trinity Inlet on Thursday with crew to remain in the Far North across the weekend, before heading to Papua New Guinea early next week. The 82m vessel will work in partnership with allied nations to impose “rules-based order” in the region as part of Operation Blue Pacific patrol.

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80104e No.20545654

#34 - Part 27

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide

>>20147879 US must come clean on what it’s hiding about Covid origins - "It’s more than four years since Covid-19 broke out in China and almost four years since it was declared a pandemic. Yet we still don’t know how it started: lab leak or zoonosis. The primary reason we don’t know is that the Chinese Communist Party is determined to bury the truth, as it tries to do with everything that goes wrong on its territory. In just over a week’s time, on January 8-9, Anthony Fauci will appear before the House Covid subcommittee. This will be an opportunity for the congressional body to put direct questions to this man about his role in the secretive pursuit of gain-of-function research, the funding of such work in China by his and other American bodies, and the findings of the intelligence agencies. Pay attention. This is a process that does not happen in China." Paul Monk, former head of the China desk in the Defence Intelligence Organisation - theaustralian.com.au

>>20339584 Video: Adelaide father to get compensation after developing heart condition from COVID-19 vaccine - An Adelaide public servant is set to receive compensation for a heart condition he developed from a reaction to the COVID-19 vaccine. Daniel Shepherd, 44, developed pericarditis after a rare reaction to his third Pfizer COVID-19 jab, which he was required to have before beginning a job with the Department of Child Protection. Shepherd told 9News he now has the heart of a 90-year-old. In a landmark ruling in mid-January, the South Australian Employment Tribunal agreed to pay weekly compensation and medical bills to Shepherd. Doctors were unanimous in his case that the vaccine was the cause but the government argued emergency directions trumped the laws around workplace injury. Pericarditis is meant to clear within a few months but Shepherd's symptoms have plagued him for almost two years.

>>20482468 Video: Mandating COVID-19 vaccines for some Queensland frontline workers found to be unlawful, judge rules - A judge has ruled that mandating COVID-19 vaccines for some Queensland frontline workers was unlawful based on human rights grounds. Dozens of Queensland Police Service (QPS) and Queensland Ambulance Service (QAS) staff challenged their workplace mandates in the Supreme Court in 2022, after they refused to comply with the directives. The two groups were testing the legality of the directions on several grounds of the Judicial Review Act (JRA) and the Human Rights Act (HRA). On Tuesday, Justice Glenn Martin found the applicants "had not established any ground under the JRA of unreasonableness". However, he did find the directives breached section 58 of the HRA, which states that all public service employees must give proper consideration to human rights before making a decision, and that they must act and make decisions that are compatible with human rights.

>>20488551 Queensland’s ‘unlawful’ Covid-19 vaccine mandate ruling just ‘tip of the iceberg’: experts - A landmark legal decision “vindicating” dozens of Queensland paramedics and police officers who took on the state government’s Covid-19 vaccine mandates is just the “tip of the iceberg” of litigation attempting to overthrow pandemic orders, experts say, with cases in similar jurisdictions likely to ride on the coat-tails of the successful action. Calls for a royal commission into vaccination mandates during the pandemic were reignited on Tuesday after the Queensland ­Supreme Court found the state’s policy was “unlawful” for the frontline workers, meaning any disciplinary actions that relied on those policies are deemed invalid. Judge Glenn Martin on Tuesday ruled Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll’s December 2021 directive for all staff to be vaccinated against Covid-19 was unlawful under the Human Rights Act. He also ruled a mandatory vaccine order for paramedics, made by former Queensland Health director-general John Wakefield in January 2022, was “of no effect”.

>>20488573 Video: Dr Nick Coatsworth admits the big vaccine mistake he made as one of the country's top doctors during the Covid pandemic - Dr Nick Coatsworth has said that government officials including himself 'got it wrong' when it came to supporting Covid vaccine mandates - and that future pandemics should prioritise convincing people to get vaccinated. Dr Coatsworth, Australia's former deputy chief health officer during the pandemic, said he had to acknowledge his own role in the system promoting vaccine mandates. 'We didn't get it wrong promoting the vaccines, but the mandates, yes, I think we did get that wrong,' he told The Today Show on Wednesday. 'And I think you can say hindsight is 20/20. But hindsight gives us foresight. And if we have another pandemic, we should think long and hard whether mandates for vaccines are justified.'

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80104e No.20545655

#34 - Part 28

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 1

>>20103739 Julian Assange's 'final' appeal against U.S. extradition to be held in February - WikiLeaks' founder Julian Assange's possible final legal challenge to stop his extradition from Britain to the United States where he is wanted on criminal charges will be held at London's High Court in February, his supporters said on Tuesday. Assange, 52, is wanted by U.S. authorities on 18 counts, including one under a spying act, relating to WikiLeaks' release of vast troves of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables which Washington said had put lives in danger. Britain has given the go-ahead for his extradition, but he has been trying to overturn that decision. Campaigners said a public hearing would take place at the High Court on Feb. 20-21 when two judges will review an earlier ruling which had refused Assange permission to appeal.

>>20103745 US officials monitored pro-Assange protests in Australia for ‘anti-US sentiment’, documents reveal - American officials monitored pro-Assange protests in Australia for “anti-US sentiment”, warned of “increasing sympathy, particularly on the left” for the WikiLeaks founder in his home country and derided local media’s “sensationalist” reporting of the explosive 2010 cable leaks, previously classified records show.

>>20109793 Assange gets ‘last chance’ US extradition appeal date - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange’s possible final appeal against extradition to the United States will be held at the UK High Court of Justice in London on February 20 and 21, according to a statement released by the media organization. Assange faces 17 charges under the US Espionage Act and potentially a 175-year prison sentence. Two judges will review a ruling made in June, which had refused the journalist’s permission to make any further appeals. This “may be the final chance for Julian Assange to prevent his extradition to the United States,” WikiLeaks warned in a statement. On June 6, a UK High Court judge rejected all eight grounds for his motion, backing the 2020 extradition order.

>>20218538 Julian Assange's lawyer warns his life is 'at risk' if final UK appeal against extradition to US fails - Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is at risk of suicide if the UK High Court next month rejects his final appeal against extradition to the United States, international human rights lawyer Jennifer Robinson has warned.

>>20244569 ‘Do or die’: MPs launch urgent bid to spare Assange from US extradition - Australian politicians across the political divide have launched a last-ditch bid to prevent Julian Assange from being extradited to the United States to face espionage charges as the WikiLeaks founder faces a crucial final legal challenge in Britain next month.

>>20405682 MP makes 11th hour bid to stop Assange extradition - As part of a last-ditch attempt to stop Julian Assange's extradition, an independent MP has called on the federal government to leverage its US and UK connections and bring the WikiLeaks founder home. Assange will front the High Court in London on February 20 in what could be the final bid to prevent his extradition to the United States, after more than a decade spent evading the Americans. Tasmanian MP Andrew Wilkie has long been outspoken in his support of the imprisoned Australian and will travel to England ahead of the hearing to bear witness and support Assange's family. "I do not accept that the Australian government has done and is doing everything it humanly can to bust Julian out of Belmarsh (Prison)," he said on Tuesday.

>>20417081 Labor toughens stance on Assange, backs vote to bring him home - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sent a strong message about the need to release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from prison in the United Kingdom, voting in parliament for a motion that called for the Australian citizen’s return to the country. The vote signalled a new federal government stance by going beyond past statements from Albanese about the need to bring the matter “to a conclusion” in some way. Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie moved the motion in parliament and gained support from Labor backbencher Josh Wilson before a vote of 86 to 42 in favour of his call to end the prosecution and allow Assange to return to his family in Australia after years in prison.

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80104e No.20545656

#34 - Part 29

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 2

>>20417094 Australian parliament wants WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange back home, not sent to US - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Thursday he hoped for an amicable end to the prosecution of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange after lawmakers ramped up pressure on the United States and Britain by passing a motion calling for the Australian citizen to be allowed to return to his home country. Albanese told Parliament the days before Britain’s High Court of Justice hears Assange’s appeal next week against extradition to the United States on espionage charges were a “critical period.” “I hope this can be resolved. I hope it can be resolved amicably. It’s not up to Australia to interfere in the legal processes of other countries, but it is appropriate for us to put our very strong view that those countries need to take into account the need for this to be concluded,” Albanese said. “Regardless of where people stand, this thing cannot just go on and on and on indefinitely,” Albanese added.

>>20417100 Video: Julian Assange 'has the support of the Australian people': Gabriel Shipton - Julian Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton says the Prime Minister's support of a motion to free Assange from a UK prison is “very significant.” Mr Shipton noted the timing of the Prime Minister’s message is particularly significant. “I think it’s very significant, particularly the timing of this message ahead of Julian’s final appeal application before the UK courts,” Mr Shipton told Sky News Australia. “It’s going to send a clear message to the UK and the US that Julian has the support of the Australian people.” - Sky News Australia

>>20422899 PM’s support for Assange wins praise from jailed Aussie’s wife - Stella Assange, wife of the imprisoned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, has welcomed the support of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and the federal parliament for his release and repatriation to Australia. She told reporters in London that she hoped the motion passed in parliament on Wednesday by “an extremely strategic ally of the United States” would “mean something”, as the US extradition push returns to a British court next week.

>>20445003 WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in final legal bid to avoid extradition to the US - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has rolled the dice in a final legal bid to avoid extradition to the US - and a potential 175 year jail term. Two days of appeal hearings in London’s High Court will begin tonight as the Australian hacker’s wife Stella Assange issued a desperate plea for his release. “He’s paid with 12 years of his life in jail for doing journalistic work that was in the public interest,” she said. “This is not about Julian, it’s about receiving information that governments would prefer was not in the public domain, even if it is in the public interest, and being criminalised for publishing it.”

>>20445010 WikiLeaks founder Assange starts final UK legal battle to avoid extradition to US on spy charges - Julian Assange's lawyers will begin their final U.K. legal challenge on Tuesday to stop the WikiLeaks founder from being sent to the United States to face spying charges. The 52-year-old has been fighting extradition for more than a decade, including seven years in self-exile in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London and the last five years in a high-security prison. Assange’s attorneys will ask two High Court judges to grant a new appeal hearing, his last legal roll of the dice in Britain. If the judges rule against Assange, he can ask the European Court of Human Rights to block his extradition - though supporters worry he could be put on a plane to the U.S. before that happens. Judges Victoria Sharp and Jeremy Johnson could deliver a verdict at the end of the two-day hearing on Wednesday, but they’re more likely to take several weeks to consider their decision.

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80104e No.20545657

#34 - Part 30

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 3

>>20450464 Video: Julian Assange absent at last-ditch hearing against extradition to US - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was absent from a London court due to illness Tuesday, as his lawyers launched a likely last bid to appeal against his extradition to the United States to face espionage charges. Washington indicted the Australian multiple times between 2018 and 2020 over WikiLeaks’ publication of secret military and diplomatic files on the US-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On the first of two days of evidence before two High Court judges, the 52-year-old’s leading lawyer said previous rulings contained “errors of law” and that the US charges against him are “political”. “Mr Assange was exposing serious state criminality,” Edward Fitzgerald said, adding he is “being prosecuted for engaging in ordinary journalistic practice of obtaining and publishing classified information”.

>>20450481 Video: Anthony Albanese says he's working with Julian Assange's team on strategy to bring him home - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says he has worked with Julian Assange's legal team to strategise how to free the WikiLeaks founder. Assange faces his final appeal in the UK against extradition to the US, but was described as too unwell to attend the start of the two-day hearing in London. He published a huge trove of classified US military secrets more than a decade ago and has been detained in Belmarsh, a high security prison in the UK, since 2019. Albanese said he had raised Assange's case at the highest levels with the US and UK, and had privately made his views known that the pursuit of him had been enough. "It's time Julian Assange was brought home," he told ABC Radio Sydney.

>>20455758 People 'disappeared' after Julian Assange and Wikileaks blended hacking with journalism, court hears - People living under authoritarian regimes "disappeared" after Julian Assange blended hacking with reporting, "stole vast amounts" of classified documents and published them on his WikiLeaks website, a court has heard. Mr Assange, an Australian, is fighting extradition from Britain to the United States where he has been charged with numerous offences under the Espionage Act. He's been in London's HM Prison Belmarsh since 2019, and is running out of legal avenues to avoid being sent to America, where he could face up to 175 years behind bars if convicted. On Wednesday, a hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand was told Mr Assange had "exposed to the world the unredacted names of human sources" who had helped the US.

>>20455783 Julian Assange's father calls on government to pressure UK, US to release WikiLeaks founder - The father of jailed Australian journalist Julian Assange says the federal government should use its close relationship with the United States and the United Kingdom to secure his son's release. Mr Assange is being held in a London prison as he fights extradition to the US on 18 criminal charges related to his work with WikiLeaks. On Wednesday John Shipton spoke to his son over the phone from a London rally that was packed with supporters calling for Mr Assange's immediate release. Mr Shipton said it was time for Australia to exert pressure on the UK and the US to bring his son home.

>>20455795 Video: Assange awaits decision after two-day UK hearing ends - US prosecutors are seeking to put the 52-year-old Australian on trial over WikiLeaks' high-profile release of vast troves of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables. They argue the leaks imperilled the lives of their agents and there was no excuse for his criminality. Lawyers for the US said Assange's prosecution was "based on the rule of law and evidence". "The appellant's prosecution might be unprecedented but what he did was unprecedented," lawyer Clair Dobbin said. Assange "indiscriminately and knowingly published to the world the names of individuals who acted as sources of information to the US," Dobbin said. "It is these facts which distinguish him, not his political opinions," she added.

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80104e No.20545658

#34 - Part 31

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

>>20359662 No ‘nefarious’ cover up in Ben Roberts-Smith case, soldier’s lawyers say - Evidence relied upon in throwing out former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against Nine newspapers was at times contradicted official military documentation, the Federal Court has heard. Roberts-Smith appeared at the Federal Court on Monday morning for the first day of his appeal against a landmark defamation judgement handed down by Justice Anthony Besanko, who found that he was involved in the unlawful killings of four prisoners in Afghanistan. Roberts-Smith, who has consistently denied the allegations, is arguing Justice Besanko erred in his findings regarding the six articles in The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times, and has asked the court to set aside the judgment. Leading appellate silk Bret Walker SC on Monday argued Roberts-Smith was entitled to a presumption of innocence, and claimed Justice Besanko did not properly give regard to the gravity of the allegations when he made his findings.

>>20365364 Planting object on Afghan’s body may not point to murder cover-up, Roberts-Smith appeal told - The barrister acting for war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith in his appeal against the loss of his defamation case has told an appeal court that even a finding that Australian soldiers planted a Taliban-issued radio on an Afghan man’s body would not necessarily suggest a murder cover-up. Roberts-Smith is appealing against a damaging decision by Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko last year, which dismissed his defamation suit against The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald and found the newspapers had proven he was complicit in the murder of four unarmed prisoners while on deployment in Afghanistan. Of the four murders found proven by Besanko, one involved an allegation the former Special Air Service corporal kicked an unarmed and handcuffed Afghan villager named Ali Jan off a small cliff in Darwan on September 11, 2012, before procuring a soldier under his command to shoot him. Under the rules of engagement that bound the SAS, killing unarmed prisoners is a war crime. Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bret Walker, SC, told the Full Court of the Federal Court on Tuesday that there was insufficiently cogent evidence available to Besanko to make such a grave finding.

>>20371359 ‘Tell him to shoot him or I will’: Dispute over key SAS witness - There was “nowhere near” enough evidence for the judge presiding over Ben Roberts-Smith’s high-profile defamation case to find the war veteran ordered the unlawful execution of an Afghan prisoner by uttering the words “tell him to shoot him or I will”, his barrister has told an appeal court. Roberts-Smith’s 10-day appeal over his devastating defamation loss against The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald entered its third day on Wednesday as his barrister, Bret Walker, SC, told the Full Court of the Federal Court that murder findings should not have been made against his client.

>>20383213 ‘Not like a detective novel’: Court urged to reject Roberts-Smith appeal - Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation case was “not like a detective novel” where there could be multiple explanations for killings in Afghanistan, and a decision finding he engaged in war crimes should not be overturned, the barrister acting for the media outlets at the centre of the lawsuit has said. Nicholas Owens, SC, acting for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, urged the Full Court of the Federal Court on Friday to reject the former soldier’s appeal against Justice Anthony Besanko’s historic decision last year dismissing his multimillion-dollar defamation suit against the newspapers. Owens told the court that Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bret Walker, SC, had raised hypothetical scenarios during the appeal, including that Australian soldiers might be motivated to plant a Taliban-issued object on the body of an Afghan man killed legitimately in war to help avoid unnecessary questions about whether the killing was in fact lawful.

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80104e No.20545659

#34 - Part 32

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

>>20400727 ‘No evidence’ slain Afghan men were armed, Roberts-Smith appeal told - There was “no evidence” that two Afghan men allegedly murdered by or at the direction of Ben Roberts-Smith were armed at the time of their death, the barrister acting for the newspapers at the centre of the former elite soldier’s high-stakes defamation appeal has said. There is no dispute the two Afghan men were killed during this mission, but Roberts-Smith gave evidence during the trial that they were enemy combatants killed lawfully in action by him and a second soldier. Roberts-Smith told the court the two men were armed with a machine-gun and a rifle respectively, which were shown in a photo tendered in court. But a serving SAS soldier dubbed Person 18, who was called by the newspapers to give evidence at the trial, told the court that he found those specific guns among a weapons cache in a hay store at Whiskey 108. Besanko accepted Person 18’s account on this point and rejected Roberts-Smith’s evidence.

>>20405678 Witnesses to murder by Roberts-Smith gave strikingly similar accounts, appeal told - The evidence of three key witnesses about the murder of a prisoner with a prosthetic leg by disgraced SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith was strikingly coherent and contained only very minor differences, a court has heard. Nicholas Owens SC, acting for the newspapers, is urging the full court of the Federal Court not to overturn Besanko’s decision, and argued on Tuesday the court should believe the accounts of three witnesses, dubbed Persons 41, 14 and 24, in relation to two of the alleged murders.

>>20411157 Judges urged to ignore ‘attack’ on Afghans who gave evidence of Roberts-Smith murder - Afghan witnesses who gave detailed evidence about the murder of villager Ali Jan by Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith should be believed, despite efforts by the disgraced SAS soldier’s legal team to attack their credibility during his defamation trial, a court has been told. Nicholas Owens SC on Wednesday attacked the substance of Roberts-Smith’s appeal, urging the justices to believe the evidence given by witnesses from a remote Afghan village who were present when Roberts-Smith murdered Jan in 2012.

>>20417104 ‘Event of startling gravity’: Newspapers back SAS soldier’s account of execution - The newspapers defending Ben Roberts-Smith’s high-stakes defamation appeal have told a court an elite soldier who testified that the war veteran ordered an unlawful execution with the words “shoot him, or I will” could hardly have misremembered an event of such “startling gravity”. Nicholas Owens, acting for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, told the Full Court of the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday that a serving Special Air Service soldier, dubbed Person 14, called by the newspapers to give evidence in the defamation trial, had “stuck to his guns” when accused of lying by Roberts-Smith’s team. He was “ultimately vindicated, and powerfully so”, Owens said, because key parts of his account that had been disputed by Roberts-Smith’s camp were found to be supported by objective evidence.

>>20422752 Roberts-Smith’s barrister cautions court against ‘amateur sleuthing’ - Sydney silk Bret Walker SC, the barrister acting for Ben Roberts-Smith in his high-stakes defamation appeal, has cautioned the Federal Court against “amateur sleuthing” as he urged a trio of judges to overturn a devastating decision dismissing the war veteran’s lawsuit. Walker said “the heart of our case” was that “weight is to be given to the presumption of innocence” and “exactness of proof is expected”. In this case, “you certainly don’t have that”, Walker told the three-judge bench of the evidence marshalled by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.

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80104e No.20545661

#34 - Part 33

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 1

>>20092945 Video: Brittany Higgins's former chief of staff Fiona Brown allowed to give evidence in closed court session.

>>20098432 Lip-reader spent three days analysing CCTV footage of Lehrmann and Higgins, court told.

>>20098441 Who said conspiracy? Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC abandons cover-up claim.

>>20103761 Former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown says Brittany Higgins ‘didn’t tell me she had been raped’.

>>20103774 Linda Reynolds to seek freeze on Brittany Higgins’ assets as her former staffer leaves for new life in France.

>>20108466 Federal Court Justice Michael Lee says parts of Higgins, Lehrmann evidence ‘simply can’t be accepted.’

>>20108473 Bienvenue: Brittany Higgins and David Sharaz have arrived in Paris to start their new life in France.

>>20114415 ‘Lies, damned lies and CCTV’: Lehrmann’s barrister Steven Whybrow SC delivers blistering closing address.

>>20119265 David Sharaz: the witness who never appeared - Where was Sharaz when Lisa Wilkinson was fighting for her professional life in court? The evidence of the man dubbed ‘puppet master’ by Bruce Lehrmann would have been relevant.

>>20147701 YouTuber who allegedly uploaded unlawful videos of the Bruce Lehrmann defamation trial has been ordered to face court over alleged contempt

>>20187793 Lehrmann lawyers call for ‘substantial damages’ even if court finds he lied about sex - Bruce Lehrmann should still receive “substantial damages” in his defamation case against Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson even if the Federal Court finds he lied when he said he did not have sex with Brittany Higgins, his barristers have told the court.

>>20266894 Reynolds recruits French counsel as Higgins, Sharaz lawsuit escalates - WA Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has taken her defamation row with Brittany Higgins to her former staffer’s new home country, engaging a French lawyer in her pursuit of a freezing order over Higgins’ European assets.

>>20334205 Shane Drumgold claims ‘bias’ in Walter Sofronoff inquiry - Former ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold will attempt to prove his allegation that Walter Sofronoff KC engaged in an “unreasonable” relationship with columnist Janet Albrechtsen and The Australian newspaper while he was conducting an inquiry into Mr Drumgold’s conduct in prosecuting Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial.

>>20334220 Judge urges Brittany Higgins, David Sharaz, Linda Reynolds to settle defamation suit - WA Supreme Court Justice Marcus Solomon has again called on Linda Reynolds, Brittany Higgins and her fiance, David Sharaz, to do everything they can to settle their defamation dispute ahead of its upcoming mediation hearing, having previously spoken to the “human cost of this litigation”.

>>20359645 Lisa Wilkinson only had a ‘limited role’ in Brittany Higgins broadcast: court documents - Lisa Wilkinson’s “limited role” in producing the final broadcast of Brittany Higgins’ interview with The Project was simply to “read the pre-prepared script”, new Federal Court documents from the veteran television presenter’s lawyers show.

>>20365347 Shane Drumgold fails in bid to scrap ‘irrelevant’ evidence of Walter Sofronoff - Former ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold has failed in a bid to strike out evidence from Walter Sofronoff KC explaining why he engaged with the media throughout an inquiry into Mr Drumgold’s conduct while prosecuting Bruce Lehrmann’s rape case, with a Supreme Court judge ruling that the evidence could go some way to clarifying how contact with the press could have been “necessary or convenient for the fair and prompt conduct of the inquiry.”

>>20405635 Ten ‘intentionally cruel’: explosive Lisa Wilkinson claims - Lisa Wilkinson has set out for the first time, in exacting detail, her claims of betrayal by Ten and her “devastation and humiliation” at being removed from The Project, in previously secret documents now released by the Federal Court.

>>20405643 Sofronoff, Drumgold showdown to kick off in court - The first day of a legal throwdown brought by former ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC against the inquiry that ended his career will be heard in the ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday, in a battle the disgraced prosecutor hopes will reinstate his reputation and possibly catapult him back into his old job. Mr Drumgold launched legal action against the ACT government and the inquiry, chaired by Walter Sofronoff KC, last year, challenging findings in the final report that he engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct during the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann.

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80104e No.20545663

#34 - Part 34

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 2

>>20405648 Journalist ‘infected’ Lehrmann inquiry chair’s findings against prosecutor, court hears - Journalist for The Australian Janet Albrechtsen “infected” Walter Sofronoff KC, the chair of the inquiry into the botched prosecution of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann, with bias against former ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold, a court has been told. The allegations were made by Drumgold’s lawyer, Dan O’Gorman SC, in court in his bid to overturn findings against his client made in the high-profile probe into the Lehrmann trial.

>>20405655 Walter Sofronoff’s mind ‘poisoned’ against Shane Drumgold: court claim - Walter Sofronoff KC “poisoned his mind” against former ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold while conducting inquiry into the handling of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial, a court has heard. The ACT Supreme Court on Tuesday morning heard allegations that Mr Sofronoff was influenced by frequent communication with The Australian’s columnist Janet Albrechtsen, who Mr Drumgold’s lawyers claim favoured Mr Lehrmann in her coverage of his prosecution, while writing “negative” stories about Mr Drumgold’s conduct during the case.

>>20411134 ‘I begged Ten to own up on Logies speech’, says Lisa Wilkinson - Lisa Wilkinson has recounted how she begged Network Ten to reveal she had acted on legal advice in giving her Logies speech, as Tasha Smithies, Ten’s most senior litigation counsel who gave the speech the OK, told the court she was “not embarrassed” by it.

>>20411150 ‘Albrechtsen asked more questions’: Inquiry chair denies special treatment for journalist - The lawyer for Lehrmann inquiry chair Walter Sofronoff KC denied his client gave preferential treatment to The Australian columnist Janet Albrechtsen during the judicial probe, instead saying she just asked more questions than other journalists.

>>20417071 Lisa Wilkinson’s big win in Network Ten cost proceedings - Lisa Wilkinson has won the battle with the Ten Network over her million-dollar legal bills, although exactly how much it will be required to pay rests on who wins the defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann, a verdict not expected until at least next month. The Federal Court heard Wilkinson’s long-held position had been “vindicated” with a finding by judge Michael Lee that it was “reasonable” for her to engage her own legal representation in the defamation proceedings.

>>20422741 Sharaz tipped off Wilkinson about end of rape trial - Lisa Wilkinson had advance knowledge that ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold was about to abandon the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial because of concerns over Brittany Higgins’ mental health - allegedly thanks to a tip off from Higgins’ partner, David Sharaz. Newly released documents from the Federal Court suggest that on the morning of 1 December 2022, Ms Wilkinson learnt from Mr Sharaz that Mr Drumgold would be bringing the Lehrmann prosecution to an end the following day.

>>20444991 Bruce Lehrmann files complaint against Ten lawyer Tasha Smithies over Lisa Wilkinson advice - Bruce Lehrmann has lodged a complaint of professional mis­conduct with the NSW legal watchdog against the Ten Network’s senior litigation counsel Tasha Smithies, alleging her advice to Lisa Wilkinson contributed to the long delay in his criminal trial. In his complaint to the NSW Legal Services Commissioner, Mr Lehrmann alleges Ms Smithies “has displayed legal conduct that is wholly inadequate to uphold the fundamental principles of the rule of law”. Mr Lehrmann claims that conduct began in June 2022, when Ms Smithies advised Wilkinson that she could give the Logies speech that caused his trial for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins to be stayed.

>>20477884 Bruce Lehrmann to face committal hearing in June for Toowoomba rape case - Bruce Lehrmann, who has been charged with two counts of raping a woman in Queensland in 2021, will face a committal hearing in June, with his lawyers to cross-examine witnesses. Lehrmann, 28, is facing two counts of raping a woman, who he allegedly met in a nightclub weeks after he first appeared in a Canberra court over unrelated allegations he raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.

>>20498547 Higgins’ claims in $2.4m payout contradicted by her own evidence: lawyers - Brittany Higgins made 11 separate representations about her alleged rape in her $2.4m settlement with the commonwealth which were either false or contradicted by her own evidence in the defamation case brought by Bruce Lehrmann, his lawyers have claimed. In newly released submissions by the parties to the case, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers set out a detailed comparison of the claims Ms Higgins made in the Commonwealth deed, signed in December 2022, with her evidence in the still-to-be-decided defamation case.

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80104e No.20545665

#34 - Part 35

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 3

>>20514473 ACT pays price for Drumgold’s trial slur against Reynolds - The ACT government has apologised to former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds and paid $90,000 in damages and legal costs over accusations by former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold during Bruce Lehrmann’s rape case that the senator had engaged in “disturbing conduct” that included political interference in the police investigation. Senator Reynolds launched defamation action in December in the wake of findings by the ­Sofronoff board of inquiry that Mr Drumgold’s allegations against her were baseless and “grossly unethical”.

>>20514482 Walter Sofronoff displayed ‘apprehension of bias’ while probing Shane Drumgold: judge - Former judge Walter Sofronoff’s conduct during an inquiry into the behaviour of former ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold while prosecuting Bruce Lehrmann gave rise to “a reasonable apprehension of bias”, a judge has found. Acting Justice Stephen Kaye on Monday said Mr Sofronoff may have been “influenced” by the views of The Australian’s columnist Janet Albrechtsen through his communications with her while conducting the inquiry that ended Mr Drumgold’s career. However, he upheld almost all the findings in Mr Sofronoff’s report of serious misconduct by Mr Drumgold that the former prosecutor had claimed were unsound.

>>20519996 Linda Reynolds’ defamation action could ‘bankrupt’ Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz - Brittany Higgins and Senator Reynolds’ legal teams will come face-to-face in Perth in a court-ordered mediation over the former Defence Minister’s defamation case amid judicial warnings over the “human cost” of the legal battle. Senator Reynolds’ legal team has argued she has been left highly distressed by online trolling, and alleged that Mr Sharaz had been “a constant participant” in that trolling. Legal sources say the costs associated with the proceedings had the potential to bankrupt Mr Sharaz, who has not been in full-time work since he suddenly left his role at Southern Cross Austereo a fortnight after defamation action was taken against him by Senator Reynolds last year.

>>20529679 Brittany Higgins taken to Perth hospital after marathon court hearing - Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins was taken to hospital on Tuesday night following a marathon defamation hearing in a Perth court with senator Linda Reynolds. It is understood the 29-year-old attended Royal Perth Hospital, but a spokesperson from the hospital said there was no record of her being admitted. Higgins’ fiancé David Sharaz declined to comment. Higgins and Sharaz had been forced to travel to Western Australia from their new home in the south of France for in-person peace talks with her former boss at the recommendation of Justice Marcus Solomon.

>>20529697 Police officers sue over Shane Drumgold claims that ‘destroyed lives’ - Five Australian Federal Police ­officers have begun defamation action against the ACT government over allegations by former chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold that they engaged in “a very clear campaign to pressure” him not to prosecute the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins. Lawyers for the five officers have sent a concerns notice to the government and to Mr Drumgold over his allegations against them, which included that they had ­engaged in “consistent and inappropriate interference” in the trial of Bruce Lehrmann. The allegations were made in a letter Mr Drumgold sent to ACT police chief Neil Gaughan on ­November 1, 2022, expressing concern over “some quite clear ­investigator interference in the criminal justice process”.

>>20535301 Shane Drumgold lands new job teaching law to Canberra students - Students at Canberra University have been startled to discover the identity of their new lecturer in the law of evidence: disgraced former ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold. Mr Drumgold, who resigned as DPP last year following the damning findings of misconduct by the Sofronoff ­inquiry, began teaching a unit of the online law of evidence course at the university on January 15 and will teach another from October 21. Academics at the university have expressed astonishment that Mr Drumgold will be teaching students, particularly in an area of law which he was found by the ­Sofronoff inquiry to have deliberately flouted. “Being appointed in the middle of this godforsaken mess to teach evidence law is just - wow, you can’t make it up,” one faculty member told The Australian.

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80104e No.20545666

#34 - Part 36

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 1

>>20092959 Over 700 American AUKUS personnel to be based in Western Australia, with radioactive storage facility also planned.

>>20123645 Video: Work starts on Adelaide AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine shipyard - The most important step has been taken on the shipyard set to build nuclear-powered submarines in a $368bn program centred on Adelaide.

>>20211902 KMT victory would ‘buy time for AUKUS and Taiwan democracy’ - Taiwan’s main opposition party says its victory at this Saturday’s election would reduce the chances of a catastrophic war in the Indo-Pacific, “buy time” for Australia’s AUKUS submarines and help the island democracy of 23 million people “outlive Xi Jinping”.

>>20240970 Nuclear Power Training Unit First - Three Royal Australian Navy Officers Graduate the Program - Three Royal Australian Navy Officers graduated the U.S. Navy’s Nuclear Power Training Unit (NPTU) Charleston today, marking a significant step in Australia’s goal to operate conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs). Lt. Cmdr. James Heydon, Lt. Cmdr. Adam Klyne, and Lt. William Hall started at NPTU in July 2023, becoming the first cadre of Royal Australian Navy personnel to go through one of the Department of Defense’s most rigorous and demanding training pipelines.

>>20287647 AUKUS can survive Donald Trump if Anthony Albanese maintains relationship, says Scott Morrison - AUKUS architect Scott Morrison says a re-elected Donald Trump won’t pose a threat to the nuclear submarine pact as long as Anthony Albanese can forge a working relationship with the returned president.

>>20311768 Will Trump sink AUKUS if he wins? - "A second Trump presidency is not a certainty, but a forward-thinking Australian government would start planning for that possibility. Much more is at stake than bonhomie about alliance relations. If Trump trashes the AUKUS partnership on the false grounds that it involves America “losing” and Australia unfairly “winning” an alliance advantage, then Australia emerges with no credible defence posture in a very risky world." - Peter Jennings, director of Strategic Analysis Australia and executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute from 2012 to 2022 - theaustralian.com.au

>>20334188 US-Australia naval missions step closer under AUKUS deal - US Republican Congressmen Rob Wittman has insisted the sale of American nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact will proceed on time, potentially allowing Australia to support the United States in future naval conflicts around the world.

>>20354783 ‘Very significant milestone’: AUKUS brings another first - Australian Navy personnel will maintain and repair US nuclear submarines for the first time in a five-month training mission to Guam that marks the next step for the AUKUS pact. A group of 37 sailors and officers have arrived on the tiny western Pacific island to be embedded with their US colleagues aboard the USS Emory S. Land, the submarine tender tasked with supporting America’s nuclear-powered vessels in the region. They will then form the first crew to work on a US nuclear submarine in Australia when one arrives at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia in the second half of this year.

>>20365390 Video: AUKUS Defense Scientists Test Robotic Vehicles - Defense scientists from Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States collaboratively tested a range of robotic vehicles and their sensors during a trial at Cultana Training Area, South Australia. The Trusted Operation of Robotic Vehicles in a Contested Environment (TORVICE) trial was conducted in fall 2023 to identify and resolve vulnerabilities faced by autonomous systems in a congested electronic warfare environment. - U.S. Department of Defense

>>20365401 Nikki Haley backs AUKUS subs deal to counter China aggression - Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley said on Monday she “absolutely” backed the sale of US submarines to Australia under the AUKUS agreement to counter China’s aggression in the Indo-Pacific. Asked by The Australian Financial Review on the sidelines of a campaign event in Charleston, South Carolina, whether she supported the sale of submarines to Australia under the AUKUS agreement, Ms Haley was unequivocal. “Yes we should,” she said. “We absolutely need to strengthen that [AUKUS] partnership,” she said.

>>20365414 MAGA luminary Steve Bannon backs AUKUS and slams US support for Ukraine ‘slaughterhouse’ - Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump is likely to back the sale of nuclear sub­marines to Australia and sees the nation as a vital ally of the US, one of his more influential supporters has declared. Steve Bannon, the man who led Mr Trump’s 2016 campaign and remains a close adviser, has dismissed speculation that Mr Trump could hinder the AUKUS pact if he retakes the White House from Democrat incumbent Joe Biden this November.

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80104e No.20545667

#34 - Part 37

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 2

>>20411164 AUKUS funding caught up in US fight over Ukraine aid, border restrictions - The fate of a multibillion-dollar package needed to progress the AUKUS pact hangs in the balance, with the money tied up in a bitter political fight in the US over America’s porous border and aid for Ukraine. After months of negotiations, the US Senate finally passed a $US95bn ($A147bn) national security bill on Tuesday (local time) which included $US3.4bn ($A5.2bn) needed to fast-track submarine production and safeguard Australia’s purchase of at least three nuclear-powered boats in the 2030s. But even before the legislation was approved with bipartisan support, Republican Speaker Mike Johnson vowed to block it in the House of Representatives, leaving its path mired in uncertainty ahead of this year’s presidential election.

>>20417129 Congress pushes back on Australian industry AUKUS fears - Senior members of Congress have pushed back against Australian defence industry concerns over restrictive new AUKUS laws, saying tough standards are needed to prevent sensitive US technology leaking to adversaries. Defence contractors and universities this week sounded the alarm on the key legislation being considered by Australia’s parliament, saying new controls on military technology would hamper their ability to sell products outside the US and UK. Congressman Bill Huizenga, who introduced key legislation on the sale of US submarines to Australia, told The Australian Financial Review the Australian industry concerns should be considered. But he said Australian companies and researchers should still expect tough standards, given America had seen other countries mishandle its important military information.

#34 - Part 38

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

>>20103801 Jeffrey Epstein associates to be named after US judge rules court documents should be unsealed in full - A US federal judge has ruled court documents revealing the names of more than 170 people linked to a case regarding disgraced American financier and sex offender Jeffrey Epstein should be "unsealed in full". The documents, which relate to a 2015 defamation lawsuit filed by victim Virginia Giuffre against Epstein's accomplice and former partner Ghislaine Maxwell, are due to be made public on January 1, giving those identified in the case time to appeal the judge's ruling.

>>20108544 Jeffrey Epstein Victim Taunts His Associates Ahead of Document Dump - Virginia Giuffre, the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking victim who accused Prince Andrew of rape and received a reputed $14 million from him to settle, celebrated online Wednesday after it was revealed that more than 170 individuals linked to Epstein are due to be publicly named early next year. In a post on X, Giuffre appeared to taunt those associates of Epstein whose identities have long been hidden in the sealed documents, writing: “There’s going to be a lot of nervous ppl over Christmas and New Years… who’s on the naughty list?” Giuffre also thanked the judge responsible for the ruling ordering the unsealing of the documents, Judge Loretta Preska, praising her commitment to truth and justice.

>>20108558 Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre taunts 170 people to be exposed on his ‘naughty list’ - An alleged victim of deceased pedophile Jeffrey Epstein celebrated Wednesday after it was revealed that more than 170 people with ties to the accused sex trafficker will soon be exposed - calling the reveal an early Christmas gift. Virginia Giuffre - who settled a $12 million lawsuit over allegations Epstein sex-trafficked her to Prince Andrew - appeared to taunt the dozens of associates and ex-employees whose names will be dredged up in a trove of court documents to be unsealed in the coming weeks. “There’s going to be a lot of nervous ppl over Christmas and New Years, 170 to be exact, who’s on the naughty list?” Giuffre wrote on X. “Merry early Christmas,” Giuffre, 40, said in another tweet.

>>20180695 Confidential Jeffrey Epstein case documents unsealed - Several previously confidential documents related to Jeffrey Epstein have been made public in a New York court after a years-long battle over their release. The first of what are expected to be hundreds of documents identifying more than 150 individuals were unsealed on Thursday (AEDT) after an order last month by US District Judge Loretta Preska. The documents were filed in redacted form as part of a 2015 lawsuit against Ghislaine Maxwell, who was convicted in 2021 of participating in Epstein’s sex crimes.

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80104e No.20545668

#34 - Part 39

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>20093285 Philippines To Grant Japan Access to Military Bases - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr said tensions in the South China Sea have “increased rather than diminished” in recent months, warning that a “more assertive China” posed a “real challenge” to its Asian neighbours.

>>20098451 Chinese-Australian businessman Sunny Duong found guilty of seeking to influence former minister Alan Tudge.

>>20098559 Daniel Duggan asks to be released from jail and detained at home as he fights extradition to US - An Australian pilot accused of accepting money to illegally train Chinese military personnel has denied he is a flight risk and described himself as a model prisoner in a formal request to be released into home detention.

>>20152593 With his predecessors still missing from public view, Dong Jun is named as China's defence minister - China has named former navy chief Dong Jun as its new defence minister, replacing previous defence minister Li Shangfu, who disappeared from public view four months ago.

>>20224535 TikTok ‘name and shame’ threat over tracking code - Chinese-owned social media giant TikTok has accused the Coalition of waging a war against its users after opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson threatened to name and shame Australian companies who use the platform’s data-tracking code.

>>20231077 Video: PNG warned to protect Chinese citizens - China has demanded Papua New Guinea protect its citizens and their property after Chinese-owned shops were looted and torched during violent riots in PNG's biggest cities that claimed the lives of 16 people.

>>20231122 Australia warned over Taiwan support by China - China has issued an extraordinary warning to Australia on the eve of Taiwan’s presidential election, saying that any “miscalculations” in Canberra’s ties with the next Taiwanese government would see the Australian people “pushed over the edge of an abyss”.

>>20231153 ‘Australian people pushed over abyss’: China’s warning - "It is illogical and harmful to link China’s internal affairs with Australia’s security and safety. If Australia is tied to the chariot of Taiwan separatist forces, the Australian people would be pushed over the edge of an abyss." - Xiao Qian, Chinese Ambassador to Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>20240914 Taiwan defies Beijing and elects ‘troublemaker’ Lai as president - Taiwanese voters have given the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) an unprecedented third term as president, delivering a historic win to William Lai in defiance of stark warnings from Beijing that electing him could trigger war.

>>20240924 Taiwanese people deliver a giant vote for Beijing’s humiliation - "William Lai’s presidential election triumph in Taiwan represents a humiliation for Beijing, a strong refusal by the people of Taiwan to be bulled, a harbinger of increased strategic danger in northern Asia and both a wake-up call and a challenge for the Albanese government." - Greg Sherridan - theaustralian.com.au

>>20244531 Canberra calls for calm in Beijing after Taiwan elects Lai - Australia has urged Xi Jinping’s government to restrain from any dangerous military activities after William Lai, the candidate Beijing openly loathes, won the weekend’s presidential election in Taiwan.

>>20251115 Beijing warns Taipei of ‘harsh ‘punishment’ after Lai win - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi has warned that any steps towards Taiwan’s independence would be “harshly punished”, as a senior US delegation arrived in Taipei to help president-elect William Lai navigate the tense five-month period before his inauguration.

>>20251127 Nauru severs ties with Taiwan, switches diplomatic allegiance to China - Nauru has switched its diplomatic allegiance from Taiwan to China, securing a major diplomatic coup for Beijing just 48 hours after Taiwan elected its rival in a presidential election. Nauru President David Adeang said on Monday evening (AEDT) that the Pacific island would no longer recognise Taiwan as a separate country and that it was an inalienable part of China’s territory.

>>20256878 Nauru asked for cash help, Taiwan says - Taiwan says Nauru requested a large amount of economic aid ­before its diplomatic switch to recognise China to cover the ­financial gap left by the mothballing of Australia’s offshore immigration processing facility.

>>20256895 Video: China warns Australia to ‘stop making trouble on our doorstep’ - Beijing has demanded Australia stop meddling in its affairs by staying away from its maritime borders and refraining from commentary on Taiwan’s elections as Chinese President Xi Jinping considers an invitation to meet with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Australia this year.

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80104e No.20545671

#34 - Part 40

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>20261643 Anthony Albanese declares no detention link to Nauru switch - Anthony Albanese has rejected claims Australia’s winding down of its detention facility in Nauru contributed to the island nation recognising the People’s Republic of China instead of Taiwan.

>>20266823 Millionaire investor linked to China poison case - A property investor living in a small NSW town stands accused of being at the centre of a mysterious and deadly poisoning that has enthralled millions in China for 30 years. Sightings of the woman known as Shiyan “Jasmine” Sun, in Port Stephens, on the northern central NSW coast, have sparked a petition for Anthony Albanese to deport her to China to face questions over the case. Ms Sun and husband Feiyu “Ringo” Xie have built up a multimillion-dollar property portfolio in the region, but according to campaigners seeking justice for her alleged victim, she is the prime suspect in the 1994 poisoning of her university roommate, Zhu Ling. Zhu died a month ago, turning the long-running tragedy into a potential homicide investigation. Campaigners and fellow students have now identified Shiyan Sun as Sun Wei, the woman accused of poisoning Zhu after allegedly becoming jealous of her university roommate’s talent, popularity and love life.

>>20266862 Chinese social media networks scramble to censor poisoning posts - Chinese social media networks have scrambled to censor posts about a property investor living in Australia accused of being at the centre of a mysterious and deadly poisoning that has enthralled millions in China for 30 years. Popular social media websites such as Weibo have banned users for making posts containing “illegal content” after The Australian revealed on Friday the woman alleged to be at the centre of the poisoning, and subsequent recent death, of Chinese university student Zhu Ling in the mid-1990s, is living in Port Stephens.

>>20272188 Fears of Tuvalu turning to recognition of China - China has embarked on an extraordinary push into the Pacific after Taiwan’s election, with Tuvalu’s ambassador in Taipei, Bikenibeu Paeniu telling The Weekend Australia there are fears that after its election next week his country could follow Nauru and switch recognition to Beijing.

>>20281814 ‘Golden visas’ axed in crackdown on billion dollar passports-for-sale scheme - The crackdown follows revelations by The Australian that foreign criminals and corrupt regime officials have used the red-carpet schemes to acquire Australian citizenship. While more than 7000 Chinese citizens have been granted Significant Investor visas, not a single applicant in the past 10 years has been rejected under the character test designed to help exclude criminals or those with suspiciously obtained wealth.

>>20281818 Jasmine Sun: China poison mystery case referred to Department of Home Affairs - The Department of Home Affairs has been flooded with reports alleging a property investor living in a small NSW town changed her name and date of birth to enter Australia after emerging as a possible suspect in a mysterious and deadly poisoning that has captivated millions in China for 30 years. Online campaigners, mostly based in China, have filed hundreds of reports to the Border Watch Online Report system, alleging the woman, known as Shiyan “Jasmine” Sun, had entered Australia on a false name and date of birth. Last week The Australian revealed Ms Sun is now living on the NSW Central Coast after she was accused of poisoning her university roommate in China in the mid-1990s.

>>20322599 PNG discusses security deal with China despite links to Australia, US - Papua New Guinea is in early talks with China on a potential security and policing deal, Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said, weeks after deadly riots in the South Pacific nation’s capital.

>>20328464 PNG to ‘stick with’ Australia on security matters, Tkatchenko says - Papua New Guinea’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko has hosed down reports the country is in talks with China on a new security agreement. Mr Tkatchenko said Beijing had offered training and equipment for PNG’s police force in September, well before recent rioting in the country, and there had been no discussions on the matter since.

>>20344838 Chinese embassy confronts Australian cyber ambassador who accused Beijing of cyber attacks - A Chinese embassy official has confronted Australia's new cyber ambassador after he told a gathering of diplomats in Canberra that Beijing was responsible for a series of devastating online attacks against this country. Details of the latest diplomatic spat with Australia's largest trading partner have emerged a fortnight after China's ambassador Xiao Qian lashed out at the Albanese government's public comments welcoming Taiwan's recent presidential elections.

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80104e No.20545674

#34 - Part 41

Australia / China Tensions - Part 3

>>20344848 China warns New Zealand about joining ‘dangerous’ AUKUS - Beijing has warned New Zealand against going down the “dangerous path” of joining AUKUS after Defence Minister Richard Marles said an Australian delegation would “very shortly” travel to Wellington to brief officials on the defence technology pact.

>>20349963 Truth lies buried in China as poisoning case rocks coastal town - In a sprawling double-storey bungalow overlooking the tranquil waters of Salamander Bay on the mid-north coast of NSW, Shiyan “Jasmine” Sun is living a charmed life. To Australian friends, she’s just a normal mum. She volunteers, hosts lavish dinner parties, and is preparing to send her only daughter to a local school. But Sun, previously known in China as Sun Wei, is accused of harbouring a dark secret. In the mid-1990s, as a young chemistry student at China’s most prestigious university, she came under suspicion of poisoning her university roommate, the beautiful and popular Zhu Ling.

>>20359492 Video: Chinese court sentences Australian Yang Hengjun to death with two-year good behaviour reprieve - Australian Yang Hengjun has been sentenced to death by a Chinese court, Foreign Minister Penny Wong has confirmed. It is a suspended sentence that can be converted to a life sentence after two years subject to good behaviour. The Australian citizen, writer and democracy activist has been imprisoned in China since 2019 on charges of spying, which he has always denied. Senator Wong has called the court's decision "harrowing" and "appalling". The Australian government has petitioned for his release, but officials had not been able to attend Dr Yang's closed trial, which began in 2021.

>>20359509 Video: Yang Hengjun given suspended death sentence in China - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has announced Australian writer Yang Hengjun has received a suspended death sentence in China. "Dr Yang has been detained since 2019 on national security charges," Ms Wong said. "His verdict and his sentence have been subject to repeated delays since his closed trial on the 27th of May, 2021. "The Australian government has advocated for Dr Yang with China at every opportunity and at the highest levels. "We have consistently called for basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment for Dr Yang in accordance with international norms and China’s legal obligations." - Sky News Australia

>>20359539 Yang Hengjun sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve - Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has vowed to pursue every avenue to save Australian father Yang Hengjun, who was on Monday given a suspended death sentence in Beijing after five years of being held on vague espionage charges. In a decision that shocked Yang’s family and Australian diplomats, the pro-democracy writer was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve by a Chinese court, shattering the Australian and Chinese government’s push to stabilise relations after years of turmoil.

>>20359568 ‘Appalling’ death sentence for dissident rocks relations with Beijing - Efforts to stabilise the relationship with Beijing have suffered a serious setback after a Chinese court handed a suspended death sentence to jailed dual-citizen and democracy advocate Yang Hengjun. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was “appalled” at what she described as “harrowing news”. China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian was summoned on Monday by the secretary of Foreign Affairs, Jan Adams, for an explanation. At the same time, Senator Wong said Australian had to keep forging ahead with the rapprochement with China. “Stabilisation means we cooperate where we can, disagree where we must, and we engage in the national interest,” she said. “This is a decision within China’s legal system. Clearly this is an occasion which we disagree. However, Australia will continue to advocate for the interests of Dr Yang.”

>>20359589 Beijing gives Australian citizen Yang Hengjun suspended death sentence - Australian citizen Yang Hengjun has been given a suspended death sentence by the Chinese government almost three years after he was accused of espionage in a closed, one-day trial in Beijing. Dr Yang’s sentence, which was delivered on Monday morning, may be reduced to life in prison after two years of good behaviour. A spokesman for Dr Yang’s family said the sentence was at the “extreme end of worst expectations”. “The family is obviously shocked and devastated by this news,” the spokesman said. Monday’s sentencing came only three months after his sons had written a letter to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pleading that their father’s plight would be brought up in a meeting in Beijing with China’s leader Xi Jinping last November.

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80104e No.20545676

#34 - Part 42

Australia / China Tensions - Part 4

>>20359599 An Australian sentenced to death. Penny Wong won’t face a bigger test than this - The Albanese government’s China stabilisation strategy faces its biggest test with the shock sentence handed to Australian academic and pro-democracy writer Yang Hengjun. Harrowing is how Foreign Minister Penny Wong described Yang’s suspended death sentence, which was far harsher than many observers had expected. At best, Yang will spend the rest of his life in jail after languishing in detention in Beijing for five years on suspicion of spying. The government must now decide how strongly to press Yang’s case while bracing for possible blowback from Beijing, which bristles at criticism of its legal system. Wine growers and lobster farmers will fear they will once again be the victims of a diplomatic dispute.

>>20359623 Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng Tweet - Breaking: Australian writer Yang Hengjun was sentenced to death, suspended for two years. Yang Hengjun was arrested in August 2019 on suspicion of #espionage and has so far served more than four years in a #Beijing prison. I actually knew/met him many years ago when I was in Australia, at a Chinese Writers Association event. He later on went back to China and married a very famous "Wumao wife" called Yuan Ruijuan. This made many people raise their eyebrows… Don't know what to say…

>>20365328 Video: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese expresses 'outrage' over Yang Hengjun sentence, vows to increase pressure on China - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australia has expressed "outrage" to China over its decision to hand detained citizen Yang Hengjun a suspended death sentence. The ruling on Dr Yang's case, handed down on Monday, may be reduced to life in prison if he is found to have met good behaviour requirements, and strikes a devastating blow for advocates campaigning for his release. Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Mr Albanese vowed Australia would respond "unequivocally" to the decision. "We have conveyed, firstly, to China our dismay, our despair, our frustration, but to put it really simply our outrage at this verdict," he said. "This is a very harsh sentence on Dr Yang who is a man who is not in good health and we will continue to make the strongest representations, we of course called in the ambassador yesterday, but we will make representations at all levels. "We have said very clearly that we will cooperate with China where we can, but we will disagree where we must. We must disagree with this harsh action."

>>20365336 Australian national Yang Jun sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve for espionage; his rights fully exercised: FM - "The Beijing No.2 Intermediate People’s Court publicly pronounced the first-instance verdict on the espionage case of Australian national Yang Jun, in accordance with the law in which Yang was found guilty of espionage and was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve and all his personal property was confiscated, FM spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Monday. As state secrets are involved, the trial of Yang's case in May, 2021 was not heard in public or attended by the public according to law. In response to Australian media's hype of the case, the Chinese Foreign Ministry also noted that China firmly opposed to Australia's gross unjustifiable interference in its handling of the case and its judicial sovereignty." - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>20365339 Global warning: fear rules Xi Jinping’s security state - "Xi Jinping’s government could not put it any clearer: foreign passports are not going to protect you from China’s legal system with Communist Party characteristics. Naturalised Australian Yang Hengjun’s death sentence, albeit delivered with caveats of reprieve, confirms again just how low the ceiling is on any further improvement in Canberra’s dealings with Beijing. Monday’s chilling judgment is much bigger than the just bilateral relationship. Yang, who once lived on Sydney’s leafy north shore, has now become the face of an increasingly brazen campaign by Beijing’s security apparatus. The message, which China’s security state is going to extraordinary lengths to publicise, is this: get on its wrong side at your peril." - Will Glasgow - theaustralian.com.au

>>20371216 Who is Yang Hengjun, sentenced to death in China? - Human rights dissident, pro-democracy blogger, Chinese government official, daigou entrepreneur. Dr Yang Hengjun has had many different lives throughout his decades in China, Australia, and the United States. On Monday, the father-of-two was given a suspended death sentence by a Beijing court for espionage. The sentence effectively means the graduate of the University of Technology Sydney will spend the rest of his life behind bars and could be executed by lethal injection if he breaches a two-year good-behaviour period.

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80104e No.20545678

#34 - Part 43

Australia / China Tensions - Part 5

>>20371251 Yang Hengjun: How an Australian ended up in Beijing’s crosshairs - On the New Year’s Eve before he was arrested, Dr Yang Hengjun was on a cruise. Thirteen hours behind China, he was sailing from Miami to Central America. Yang was not just on a holiday. The cruise was also a business opportunity for the academic and pro-democracy blogger who had transformed into a self-described peddler, selling everything from jeans to aphrodisiacs to an increasingly wealthy Chinese market hungry for foreign luxuries. While Yang was on the quarterdeck looking back on a successful year, China’s security services were watching him. Less than three weeks later, he would be seized by a squad of 10 security agents immediately after arriving at Guangzhou airport in south-eastern China. Yang would spend the next five years in a 1.2-metre cell being tortured for crimes he and the Australian government say he has never committed.

>>20377014 China’s Premier Li Qiang expected to visit Australia despite Yang Hengjun’s death sentence - Preparations for the first visit by a Chinese leader to Australia in seven years remain under way despite the death sentence given to Dr Yang Hengjun, as the Albanese government argues high-level dialogue is the best way to deal with its growing list of “pointy disputes” with Beijing. The Prime Minister on Tuesday refused to comment on whether the suspended death sentence for the Australian citizen would derail the visit by Premier Li Qiang. “We’ll respond directly and clearly and unequivocally to China. What we won’t do is ­conduct diplomatic negotiations through the media,” Mr Albanese said.

>>20377033 Video: Australian Writer’s Death Sentence & Former CCTV Reporter’s TW Cognitive Warfare: Common Thread? - Australian Chinese writer Yang Hengjun was suddenly sentenced to death by the CCP after being detained in China for more than 4 years. This shocked not only Australia and the overseas Chinese community, but also the world. Yang was charged with espionage, and many people believe that he is actually a double agent. For me, his case has important implications for our understanding of the ever more complex and sophisticated cognitive warfare that the CCP is waging against the world, so today I’d like to talk briefly about his case. - Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng

>>20422775 Dysfunctional state of defence shows ALP is China’s lapdog - "Labor in opposition was very quick to condemn the Chinese buyout of the Solomon Islands government and the failure of then minister Marise Payne. It made political hay about the Chinese purchase of the strategic Port of Darwin. Yet in government Labor had a whitewash inquiry into Darwin that said there was nothing to see. The Solomons is still as deeply corrupted now as when Scott Morrison let China station a “police force” there and develop a port capable of taking Chinese naval vessels as close to Townsville as Brisbane. Maybe the Albanese government thinks Australians are just too busy with the cost-of-living crisis to care. But China will be missing none of this. It will see a PM grinning to gratuitous compliments while avoiding raising matters of genuine national interest. It will see a Defence Minister at war with his generals and not having what it takes to get more money for much-needed capacity right now." - Cameron Milner - theaustralian.com.au

>>20422838 Palau urges Australia to push US for funding, warning China could force Pacific to ‘sacrifice’ Taiwan - The president of Palau has called on Australia to intervene in negotiations with Washington over funding for the Pacific as he warns that Beijing is aggressively pursuing its interests across the region with the goal of forcing the islands to “sacrifice” Taiwan. Surangel Whipps jnr, who has led the strategically important island nation that divides Hawaii from Asia for the past four years, said the Chinese government was targeting officials across the Pacific at the same time as the US Congress delays billions of dollars in funding it promised regional leaders would be ready by October.

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80104e No.20545680

#34 - Part 44

Australia / China Tensions - Part 6

>>20439377 Detained former pilot's family 'boxed into a corner' - The wife of a man who has spent more than a year in jail facing extradition for allegedly training Chinese pilots says the United States government has his family boxed into a corner as they search for funding for his legal defence. Daniel Edmund Duggan was arrested on an extradition warrant at a supermarket car park in the NSW central west in October 2022 at the request of US authorities. His wife Saffrine Duggan's plan to sell a property on the NSW south coast to fund her husband's legal defence was rejected by a court in December, despite Australian Federal Police admitting they mistakenly identified Duggan as the director of the company that owned it. Ms Duggan said the family now had to look elsewhere to afford lawyers. "The US government has boxed us into a corner with no care for the rights of our Australian family," she said in a statement.

>>20450450 Yang Hengjun waives right to appeal Beijing’s suspended death sentence - Australian Yang Hengjun has waived his legal right to appeal his suspended death sentence in the hope that Beijing will let the democracy advocate get medical parole that could save his life. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said she respected the “difficult decision” Dr Yang had made and the Australian government would continue to advocate for him “at every opportunity, and at the highest levels”. “We will continue to press for Dr Yang’s interests and wellbeing, and provide consular assistance to him,” she said. “I acknowledge the strength that Dr Yang’s family and friends have demonstrated through this period. All Australians want to see Dr Yang reunited with his loved ones,” she said.

>>20455841 Australia taking a path of ‘arming to the teeth’ pleases US, harms itself - "Australia is making unwise decisions. Australia should not continue to follow the example of the US, using "national security" as a pretext for enhancing its military capabilities. For Australia, the navy overhaul seems to be a way to develop its military strength and elevate its position within the US alliance systems. However, Canberra's cooperation with Washington could potentially expose Australia to risky situations. Acting as a pawn in the US Indo-Pacific Strategy could lead to Australia being used as cannon fodder, ultimately benefiting the US economically and politically, while Australia may end up sacrificing its financial and human resources, which is shortsighted." - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>20455850 Analysts warn multibillion navy overhaul 'irrational and dangerous' as Australia eyes largest navy buildup since WWII - "Australia on Tuesday announced a multibillion overhaul of its navy, claiming it is responding to "increasing geostrategic uncertainty." Chinese analysts criticized the plan as being "irrational and dangerous" as it neither matches Australia's real needs in geopolitics nor its economic capability. They warned that the assertive plan may trigger an arms race and deal a blow to the security and stability of Australia as well as the whole Asia-Pacific region." - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>20493736 Di Sanh Duong jailed after guilty verdict in foreign interference test case - Chinese community leader Di Sanh Duong will spend at least 12 months in jail after he became the first person to be tried and convicted for preparing or planning an act of foreign interference when he sought to influence former Liberal MP Alan Tudge. Justice Richard Maidment sentenced the Duong, 68, to two years and nine months imprisonment, however he can be released after 12 months on a four-year good behaviour bond. The month-long trial centred around a well-publicised $37,450 hospital donation the Victorian businessman handed to former Coalition Minister Alan Tudge, who he tried to influence, in June 2020 for the Royal Melbourne Hospital. The court heard that three months after the donation, Duong sought assistance from Mr Tudge to help him obtain a travel exemption for his associate and reminded him of the financial contribution he made.

>>20493756 China's foreign minister expected in Australia for high-level talks within weeks - Officials are planning for China's foreign minister to come to Australia for high-level talks within weeks as both countries prepare for Premier Li Qiang to make a state visit later this year. The federal government has signalled it's determined to maintain dialogue with top leaders in Beijing despite tensions between the two countries flaring once again in the wake of the suspended death sentence handed to Australian academic Yang Hengjun.

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80104e No.20545681

#34 - Part 45

Australia / China Tensions - Part 7

>>20493768 Chinese police work in Kiribati, Hawaii's Pacific neighbour - Chinese police are working in the remote atoll nation of Kiribati, a Pacific Ocean neighbour of Hawaii, with uniformed officers involved in community policing and a crime database program, Kiribati officials told Reuters. Kiribati has not publicly announced the policing deal with China, which comes as Beijing renews a push to expand security ties in the Pacific Islands in an intensifying rivalry with the United States. Kiribati, a nation of 115,000 residents, is considered strategic despite being small, as it is relatively close to Hawaii and controls one of the biggest exclusive economic zones in the world, covering more than 3.5 million square kilometres (1.35 million square miles) of the Pacific. It hosts a Japanese satellite tracking station. Kiribati's acting police commissioner Eeri Aritiera told Reuters the Chinese police on the island work with local police, but there was no Chinese police station in Kiribati. China's embassy in Kiribati did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the role of its police. In a January social media post the embassy named the leader of "the Chinese police station in Kiribati".

>>20493777 'No role' for China in Pacific policing, Australian minister says - Australia's Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said there should be "no role" for China in policing the Pacific Islands, and Australia will train more local security forces to fill gaps, after Reuters reported Chinese police are working in Kiribati. The United States on Monday cautioned Pacific Islands nations against assistance from Chinese security forces, after Kiribati's acting police commissioner Eeri Aritiera told Reuters last week that uniformed Chinese officers were working with its police in community policing and a crime database program. "We are aware that they [China] are seeking a greater security role in the Pacific and we have been consistent in our view that there is no role for China in policing, or broader security, in the Pacific," Conroy said in an interview with Reuters.

>>20510160 Video: ASIO cleared of unlawfully luring Daniel Duggan back to Australia, agency chief Mike Burgess says - The spy agency ASIO says it has been cleared by the intelligence watchdog of allegations of impropriety raised by the Australian citizen Daniel Duggan as he fights extradition to the US. His legal team had raised concerns an “unlawful lure”, in the form of an ASIO clearance for an Australian aviation security identification card, may have been used to entice Duggan back to Australia where he could be arrested on behalf of the US and extradited. The ASIO chief, Mike Burgess, revealed the outcome of the months-long IGIS inquiry in an interview with Guardian Australia’s Australian Politics podcast. “Mr Duggan...has made allegations to the inspector general about my organisation. The inspector general conducted his own inquiry [with] full access to everything we did. He found all the allegations against us were unfounded,” Burgess said.

>>20514492 ‘Devastating conflict’: Penny Wong warns of destabilisation, provocation by China - Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has issued a stark warning about the risk of conflict in the Indo-Pacific as China rises to superpower status, arguing the region’s character is under threat from destabilising and provocative actions. In comments that did not directly name, but were clearly aimed at, China, Wong said: “We see claims and actions that are inconsistent with international law, particularly the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS); the legal order for the seas and oceans. “We face destabilising, provocative and coercive actions, including unsafe conduct at sea and in the air and militarisation of disputed features. We know that military power is expanding, but measures to constrain military conflict are not, and there are few concrete mechanisms for averting it.”

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80104e No.20545683

#34 - Part 46

Australia / China Tensions - Part 8

>>20520009 ASIO accused of 'whitewashing' role in detention of pilot facing extradition - Australia's intelligence agency ASIO has been accused of "whitewashing" its role in the arrest and detention of former United States military pilot Daniel Duggan ahead of his latest court hearing. ASIO director-general of security Mike Burgess told the Guardian a secret report by the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) had found his agency did nothing wrong regarding Duggan's arrest in NSW on behalf of the US in October 2022. But his supporters told 9news.com.au he has been refused access to the classified document, which resulted from a request by Duggan for IGIS - the ASIO regulator - to investigate the spy agency's role in 10 matters relating to his case. They claim Burgess also failed to reveal that Duggan's legal team is in receipt of a letter from IGIS that said it has found some "improprieties" in ASIO's behaviour. Duggan's supporters say these findings remain classified and unavailable to them and raise the question over whether he can get a fair extradition hearing.

>>20520018 Spy agency hits out at 'misleading' claim about top gun - ASIO has hit back as a "misleading" statement by an ex-fighter pilot's family that rebuffed claims by Australia's domestic spy chief concerning the former top gun. The circumstances leading to his arrest in regional NSW in October 2022 were subject to an inquiry by the spy watchdog, the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security, after Mr Duggan raised ASIO's role in 10 matters. The Duggan family on Tuesday said a letter from the inspector-general acknowledged he had found impropriety. An ASIO spokeswoman accused the Duggans of issuing a misleading statement. "IGIS found that one ASIO activity raised a propriety issue, but this did not affect the IGIS's conclusion about the lawfulness of ASIO's activities. The IGIS report is unequivocal in its findings that ASIO acted both ethically and within the law at all times in matters regarding Daniel Duggan. Therefore, the statement from Mr Duggan's public relations company is misleading."

>>20525312 Video: ‘Veil of secrecy’ over incarcerated Top Gun pilot Daniel Duggan - The wife of a former US marine pilot incarcerated in a maximum-security prison for 500 days says her family is “heartbroken” by his treatment at the hands of the Australian government. Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 after the US indicated it would seek his extradition for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. Mr Duggan is fighting extradition to his home country over allegations he illegally trained Chinese pilots. Standing outside Sydney Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, Mr Duggan’s wife Saffrine said her husband was “suffering terribly”. “Every day, I ask myself how can this be happening to my family?” she said. “He is suffering terribly and so are we.” She said there was a “veil of secrecy” over her husband’s “inhumane incarceration” and called for an end to the “cloak and dagger skulduggery”.

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80104e No.20545686

#34 - Part 47

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

>>20092981 Cardinal Becciu found guilty on auspicious day for George Pell - The guilty verdicts of Cardinal Angelo Becciu, nine other individuals and four companies in a Vatican City courtroom came on an auspicious day. Saturday, December 16, was the 57th anniversary of the ordination of George Pell to the priesthood in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. It was also the second anniversary of the death of his sister and best friend, Margaret Pell.

>>20098476 Former Sacred Heart Primary School teacher Gary Bloom pleads guilty to historical child sexual abuse. And he doesn’t have to spend a day in jail.

>>20103781 HIV-positive pedophile Jadd William Brooker jailed for 36 years with order to serve 29 years before becoming eligible for parole - Brooker, 41, pleaded guilty to 182 sexual abuse and exploitation charges following his arrest, in 2020, by SA’s elite Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team. He had more than 20 victims across Australia and around the world - some of whom he tried to infect with HIV. Brooker filmed himself in these attempts, prompting JACET to dub his crimes “the worst and most degrading” they had investigated up to that point. He compiled 4.5 million images and 50,000 messages of child exploitation - which he asked family to delete following his arrest – as the centre of an online pedophile syndicate. Brooker’s victims described him, in their statements to the court, as “an evil parasite” who “left a piece of himself” in every child whose innocence he destroyed.

>>20108528 Anglican Church finds former governor-general Peter Hollingworth failed children over reporting obligations - The Anglican Church has found against former governor-general Peter Hollingworth over two allegations of significant neglect of a child regarding his handling of a sex abuse scandal. An internal Anglican investigation into seven allegations has found against Dr Hollingworth twice on the grounds of an alleged failure to take action to protect children.

>>20114659 Paedophile ex-teacher Gary Bloom who dodged jail in Australia now running B&B in Aberdeen - A convicted child abuser and ex-teacher who avoided a prison sentence in Australia is now running a B&B in Aberdeen. Convicted child abuser Gary Bloom, 58, sparked fury when he walked free from court in Victoria, south-east Australia, with a three-year suspended sentence after pleading guilty to three charges of indecent assault. The geologist, who has worked for oil companies such as Shell, was allowed by Aussie authorities to return to Aberdeen, where he was traced by the Daily Record to a bed and breakfast in the city centre. His victim, who was 10 at the time of the attack, has told of his horror at watching Bloom evade justice, and said he now has “unfettered access to children in Scotland”.

>>20152622 Sextortion a case of ‘life and death’ for kids - Vulnerable children and teenagers are being actively encouraged to take their own lives by sexual ­extortionists, with tragic cases in Australia, the US and other countries of deaths by suicide as a result. Online safety experts and child-abuse investigators have slammed social media giants for not doing the basics to protect users from the ruthless scammers, who are trapping children into sending intimate images and then threatening to expose them to family and friends. Julie Inman Grant, head of the nation’s online safety ­regulator eSafety, urged parents to “swallow any fear or judgment or ­bewilderment” if a child admits to being targeted. Ms Inman Grant’s urgent message is for anyone caught up in “sextortion” to immediately cut all contact with and block black­mailers, seek help, and to make no payments. “These criminals are skilled and know how to manipulate,” she said.

>>20162649 Video: Satanic Temple plans ‘After School Satan Club’ at Memphis elementary school - The Satanic Temple, an organization based out of Massachusetts, is planning an “After School Satan Club” at a Memphis elementary school. The group made the announcement that the club will launch on January 10 at Chimneyrock Elementary School, the first of its kind in the State of Tennessee. The Satanic Temple’s flyer explicitly states that event is not endorsed nor sponsored by Memphis-Shelby County Schools.

>>20162749 Video: The Satanic Temple to launch ‘After School Satan Club’ at Memphis elementary school - The Satanic Temple plans to host its “After School Satan Club” at Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova. The Satanic Temple claims to be a non-theistic religion that views Satan as a figure who represents “championing the human mind and spirit.” The group says the club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. The clubs began nationwide in 2020.

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80104e No.20545689

#34 - Part 48

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

>>20162794 Video: ‘Satan has no room in this district’: Planned after-school ‘Satan Club’ sparking controversy - Faith-based leaders and school officials in Tennessee say they do not approve of an after-school “Satan Club” that is planning to start at an area elementary school. “Satan has no room in this district,” said Althea E. Greene, board chair with Memphis-Shelby County Schools. “We can uphold freedom of speech while uplifting our students and families.”

>>20162857 Video: Memphis school officials address ‘After School Satan Club’ - Officials with Memphis-Shelby County Schools took a public stand Wednesday on a new after-school program operated by The Satanic Temple. “I want to assure you that I do not endorse, I do not support the beliefs of this organization at the center of the recent headlines,” Interim Superintendent Toni Williams said. “I do, however, support the law. As a superintendent, I am duty-bound to uphold our board policy, state laws and the constitution.”

>>20162928 Video: Protests planned ahead of After School Satan Club launch - The Uvalde Foundation for Kids announced Sunday it plans to protest at Chimneyrock Elementary School in January 2024. This comes less than a week after the Satanic Temple announced the planned launch of its After School Satan Club at the elementary school.

>>20162967 Protests canceled ahead of After School Satan Club launch - The Uvalde Foundation has canceled its planned protests at Chimneyrock Elementary School. The protests were in response to The Satanic Temple’s announcement that an After School Satan Club would be held at the Memphis elementary school beginning January 10. The foundation cited unspecified threats and increased concerns about the protests interrupting students and school activities as reasons for the cancelation at Chimneyrock and another school hosting the same club in Olathe, Kansas.

>>20162967 Q Post #3967 - These people are pure evil. This is not about politics. You are ready. Q - https://qanon.pub/#3967

>>20162967 Q Post #4545 - Humanity is good, but, when we let our guard down we allow darkness to infiltrate and destroy. Like past battles fought, we now face our greatest battle at present, a battle to save our Republic, our way of life, and what we decide (each of us) now will decide our future. Will we be a free nation under God? Or will we cede our freedom, rights and liberty to the enemy? If America falls so does the world. If America falls darkness will soon follow. Only when we stand together, only when we are united, can we defeat this highly entrenched dark enemy. This is not about politics. This is about preserving our way of life and protecting the generations that follow. We are living in Biblical times. Children of light vs children of darkness. United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4545

>>20174801 Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP to celebrate memorial Mass for Cardinal George Pell on 10 January anniversary - Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP will be the principal celebrant at a memorial Mass for Cardinal George Pell at St Mary’s Cathedral from 5.30pm on Wednesday 10 January, the first anniversary of his entrance into eternal life. All are welcome to attend the Mass and pray at the cardinal’s tomb in the crypt. Archbishop Fisher recently paid tribute to him for doing more through his work for the church international and in his own country than any other Australian.

>>20224569 Sydney remembers Cardinal George Pell on first anniversary of his death - Thousands gathered at St Mary’s Cathedral in Sydney to pray and pay tribute to a man they loved for his vision and “big heart” a year after his death in Rome. Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP, the principal celebrant at the memorial Mass for Cardinal George Pell, said that no Australian has done more for the church worldwide.

>>20231597 George Pell a victim of Victoria’s ‘corrupt legal system’, says Archbishop Anthony Fisher - Australia’s leading Catholic cleric has declared that the late cardinal George Pell’s wrongful conviction and imprisonment was a result of “the corrupt Victorian legal system” following a media, political and police witch hunt. The Catholic Archbishop of Sydney, Anthony Fisher, marked the first anniversary of Pell’s death in Rome of a heart attack after hip surgery with the strongest church statements yet about the cardinal’s charges, conviction and imprisonment on sexual abuse charges and his later “unanimous High Court exoneration”.

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80104e No.20545692

#34 - Part 49

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

>>20236521 Video: FBI: Former Galleria employee allegedly recorded sexual assault of toddler in mall restroom - "A former Houston Galleria employee is in federal custody for allegedly recording videos of himself sexually assaulting at least two toddlers. According to a federal criminal complaint obtained by KPRC 2, 29-year-old Arthur Hector Fernandez III may have recorded one of those videos in a public bathroom at the shopping center. The details in the complaint are graphic and disturbing. The victims were believed to be between 2 to 3 years old. Both of the children had relatives who also worked at the Galleria, according to the complaint, and Fernandez allegedly offered to walk the kids around the mall when their relatives couldn’t find a babysitter or could not afford childcare during their work shifts. In early December, the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation contacted the FBI after four videos got uploaded to “a private, by invitation only, forum on the dark web,” according to the complaint. “Utilizing an open-source image repository, FBI HQ was able to locate a toddler that was visually similar to one of the victims depicted in one of the videos via … Facebook and Instagram pages,” the complaint reads. The FBI then interviewed one of the toddler’s relatives, who identified the toddler after reviewing a sanitized image from the video. “It’s not the white van that’s pulling up. It’s the person next door,” FBI Houston Supervisory Special Agent Torrence White told only KPRC 2 in an interview. “Oftentimes we are looking for monsters just because how heinous the crime may be, but we’re dealing with humans that are doing horrific things.”" - Bryce Newberry - click2houston.com

>>20251140 Arrest warrant issued for Australian man facing child sex abuse charges after he fails to attend court in Timor-Leste - An Australian man accused of multiple counts of child sexual abuse is the subject of an arrest warrant in Timor-Leste, after failing to show up to court last month. Prosecutors in the country's capital Dili confirmed 75-year-old Robert Trott, a kebab shop owner and one-time political adviser in Dili, did not attend a hearing to face charges in late December. Mr Trott is charged with sexually abusing a girl in Dili over a number of years. He strongly denies the allegations against him, telling the ABC "the whole case is based on lies".

>>20266925 Police warn parents of ‘sextortion’ risk as kids go back to school - “Sextortion” cases targeting teenage boys have doubled in a year, as police and crisis counsellors deal with a deluge of children blackmailed over intimate images sent online. The Australian Federal Police (AFP) is urging parents to stay vigilant as children head back to school, when they connect with new friends through gaming and social media. Police said the new school year offered a fresh hunting ground for predators to blackmail teenagers and children, by infiltrating their online friend networks.

>>20266958 Former Carey students allege historical sex abuse and grooming by teachers - Former students of the elite Carey Baptist Grammar School allege they were sexually abused and groomed by male teachers when they were enrolled at the co-educational private school in Melbourne’s east decades ago. The claims involve three male teachers, and the alleged offending was against two girls and one boy between the mid-1970s and the early 1990s. Julianne Brandon, director of community engagement at Carey, said the school was unaware of any specific details relating to the allegations and was awaiting further information. Law firm Judy Courtin Legal is preparing to issue proceedings in relation to the allegations and placed advertisements in local publications calling for witnesses.

>>20272244 Schools urged to be on lookout for signs of forced marriage as numbers rise across Australia - Federal police are calling on schools across the country to keep an eye out for the warning signs of forced marriage in a renewed bid to disrupt human trafficking in Australia.

>>20272324 Video: ‘I know about the situation at home, Dassi. I’m here to support you’ - Dassi Erlich was sexually assaulted by her school principal, Malka Leifer - and also facing abuse at home, an exclusive extract from her new tell-all book reveals.

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80104e No.20545695

#34 - Part 50

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

>>20276768 Dark web detectives say abuse videos traced to NSW holiday town - To detectives working through horrific child abuse videos posted on the dark web, mundane domestic details inadvertently captured by the abuser’s camera told them a child was suffering somewhere in Australia. Frame by frame, week after week, detectives pieced together fragments of information until, days before Christmas, armed officers descended on Port Macquarie on the NSW Mid North Coast. Investigators will allege items from the home, including clothing linked to both the man and the child, were matched to the videos uploaded to the dark web.

>>20276793 Archbishop Anthony Fisher: The courage of Cardinal Pell - "In sporting parlance, those rare players who master every position on the field are called ‘unicorns’. Cardinal Pell was such a unicorn in the arena of faith and morals. He had the imagination, focus and energy to attend to all the goods of human flourishing, more or less all the time. When the young George Pell was deciding his vocation, many possibilities lay before him: intellectual, footballer, leader. Faith and reason taught him that to flourish human beings need life and health, truth and beauty, friendship and family, work and leisure, morality and religion. It is to serve all these dimensions of human happiness and participations in the divine that the Church exists, and to which George decided to lend his considerable gifts as a unicorn playing for every human good." - Archbishop Anthony Fisher OP - catholicweekly.com.au

>>20276793 https://qanon.pub/?q=Pell - https://qanon.pub/?q=cardinal-george-pell - https://qanon.pub/?q=pecking

>>20287680 Tasmanian cop ‘abused boys for 30 years’ as other officers also accused - A pedophile policeman groomed and abused boys for over 30 years, despite concerns being raised, an investigation has found, while identifying allegations against three other officers. Tasmanian Senior Sergeant Paul Reynolds killed himself in 2018 while being investigated over allegations of child abuse and grooming, but still received a full police funeral. An independent inquiry by former war crimes prosecutor Regina Weiss on Tuesday issued an interim report, pointing to “shocking” police failures and allegations against three other former officers. “The accounts of grooming and abuse as told by the victim-survivors, their families and observers are harrowing, shocking and devastating,” Ms Weiss said in her interim report. “The betrayal of trust felt by so many is evident. What is also shocking is that Paul Reynolds’ conduct continued for over three decades despite it being known or suspected that … (he) was, at the very least, interacting inappropriately with teenage boys.”

>>20300117 EXCLUSIVE: Dassi Erlich on surviving Malka Leifer - "In the middle of the night in March 2008, Malka Leifer, then a highly respected principal of the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel School in Elsternwick, was rushed through the shadows of Melbourne Airport to board a 1.20am flight to Israel, after allegations were raised that she’d been molesting her students. The events of that evening sparked an extraordinary 15-year battle by the lion-hearted sisters - Dassi Erlich, Elly Sapper and Nicole Meyer. They became familiar faces as they fought for Leifer’s extradition to Australia, then justice through the courts. Now Dassi has shared the details of their relentless, exhausting, and all-consuming pursuit in a powerful memoir, In Bad Faith. The book not only shines a light on the strict Jewish sect which protected Leifer, but also reveals for the first time the cruel and sadistic abuse Dassi and her siblings suffered at the hands of their parents, which drove them into their abuser’s arms." - Sue Smethurst - womensweekly.com.au

>>20322661 Horror behind the gate: how internet sleuths rescued ‘Nenita’ - A prolific sex abuse ring in The Philippines has been busted by an Australian charity that uses citizen sleuths to track down child victims of heinous crimes, leading to the rescue of a five-year-old girl. Destiny Rescue was instrumental in the dramatic removal from harm of the girl and the arrest of her mother, another relative and a neighbour. A former New Zealand detective working for the charity was able to find her by following clues in thousands of messages allegedly sent by the neighbour over more than 18 months. In the end, it was a distinctive green gate in the background of imagery that led to the breakthrough, with the investigator using Google’s Street View to find the gate and locate the girl.

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80104e No.20545698

#34 - Part 51

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

>>20328494 Beyond Leifer: Dassi Erlich tells her story - "Dassi Erlich has been through so much trauma that it’s a relief to see her looking so well. As we sit down together in a cafe in Elsternwick in the heart of Melbourne’s Jewish community, she radiates a calm confidence and even smiles occasionally. It’s only been six months since Malka Leifer was sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing Dassi and her sister Elly Sapper. The verdict ruled a line under an awful chapter of her life, but she says it will take a long time for her to come to terms with everything that has happened." - Michael Visontay - plus61j.net.au

>>20334230 Church abuse survivors allege negligence in class action against own lawyers - Eight survivors of institutional childhood sexual abuse have launched a class action against one of Australia's most prominent sexual abuse law firms, which they allege failed to obtain proper compensation from the institutions responsible for their abuse. In a group proceeding commenced in Victoria's Supreme Court on Wednesday, former clients of specialist abuse law firm Waller Legal alleged that it failed to properly claim for their "loss of earnings" compensation when pursuing their legal claims, leaving some of them more than $1 million short of the compensation they were entitled to. "It is alleged that Waller Legal settled claims for substantially less than what the claims were worth, on the basis that a category of compensation (economic loss) was not properly sought," said a summary of the proceeding. "The claim in this proceeding alleges that Waller Legal were negligent and were in breach of contract."

>>20334237 Video: Malka Leifer's Survivor Dassi Erlich Speaks Out - Dassi Erlich doesn't remember ever not being scared as a child, and now that her abuser, former school principal Malka Leifer, is behind bars and she has escaped a secretive religious sect, Dassi is excited about what the future holds for her. - The Project

>>20339632 Paedophile and ex-Sunshine Coast water polo coach Dean Carelse found working as children's lifeguard at UK family resort Butlin's - A paedophile former water polo coach convicted of grooming and possession of child exploitation material offences in Queensland has been working as a children's lifeguard in the UK, after Australian police did not share evidence of international victims. An ABC investigation has traced the former Sunshine Coast teacher and coach, Dean Carelse, to Butlin's Minehead Resort, a family holiday park in south-west England, where he has worked since early last year. A UK background check of the 43-year-old failed to pick up his convictions, which include grooming a 13-year-old boy for sex and 14 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 while he was a teacher and coach at a private Sunshine Coast school in the late 2010s.

>>20339659 Dassi Erlich: In her own words - "Having watched Dassi Erlich in the media over many years as she pursued justice against her abuser Malka Leifer, who fled to Israel in 2008 and was extradited back to Australia in 2021, many may have felt that they already knew a lot about her. But in her raw and revealing memoir In Bad Faith, Dassi shares the true story behind her stoic image. She recounts the abuse she endured as a child at the hands of her parents, the abuse she suffered by former Adass Israel School principal Malka Leifer, and ways in which the abuse affected her mental health and her ability to be the mother she always wanted to be." - Sharyn Kolieb - australianjewishnews.com

>>20344883 MEMOIR: In Bad Faith by Dassi Erlich with Ellen Whinnett - The sisters who found the courage to take down sex abuser Malka Leifer - "In Bad Faith is shocking to read because of the beautiful emotional intimacy in Dassi Erlich’s voice but also because of a rarer, geographical shock: this was happening next door. That this goes on in ordinary houses and attractive streets is extremely difficult to process. How was it possible for so many people to look away? What is remarkable about Erlich and two of her sisters is that somewhere they found the courage to confront what was going on, in their own lives and in other lives. The book tells what happened when Erlich decided to speak out, when the community supported the appalling Leifer and flew her secretly to Israel where they maintained her for years until staunch, outraged people in Melbourne and across the world refused to back down and managed to bring her here to face justice." - Helen Elliott - smh.com.au

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80104e No.20545699

#34 - Part 52

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

>>20350037 Review: In Bad Faith - Dassi Erlich with Ellen Whinnett - "In 2014, when Malka Leifer was first arrested, Australian authorities had a reasonable expectation she would soon be extradited to face trial. Instead, she was released from custody, feigning a mental illness that had turned her into a zombie-like state. There is a certain irony in a perpetrator masquerading as being mentally ill, after inflicting enduring pain on the minds of her victims. The book details the behaviour of Israeli medical, legal and political figures in their efforts to prevent Leifer from facing trial. Medical reports were falsified, the Israeli minister for health was implicated in corruption of due process. Leifer was one of their own. This is a very self-aware memoir: Erlich and her sisters know they need to take control of their own narrative. They’ve worked with local and international media to ensure their story, of abuse and the protection of the guilty, is fully exposed. In Bad Faith is itself a part of this process of shaping the narrative, not the least because a draft of the manuscript became a document in the criminal trial. Dassi Erlich gives due credit to both her editor Ellen Whinnett, who is rightly credited as a co-author, and to the many others who helped her find her words. But this is her book, and one to be proud of." - Joanna Mendelssohn - theconversation.com

>>20354749 Australian-first historical forced adoption redress scheme opens in Victoria - When Jude Hudson gave birth in 1969, her daughter was whisked away before she even saw her face. Fifty-five years later, Mrs Hudson will be among the first to apply to a newly opened, Australian-first redress scheme, providing compensation and support to women who were separated from their children by forced adoption practices. The Victorian government expects more than 3,000 women who were separated from their infants at birth to apply for the $138 million Historical Forced Adoptions Redress Scheme. It offers a one-off payment of $30,000, access to counselling and psychological support, and an individual apology process.

>>20365380 'Sadistic' zoologist Adam Britton remains behind bars as sentencing for bestiality, child abuse material charges delayed again - While Adam Britton publicly marketed himself as a crocodile expert and wildlife specialist, working with David Attenborough and running a podcast, the zoologist was hiding behind anonymous online profiles, uploading pictures and videos of himself torturing and murdering dozens of animals. But hidden near his rural Darwin home was a shipping container he dubbed his own personal "torture room", where he murdered and sexually exploited dozens of dogs, including puppies. Britton routinely filmed himself torturing and sexually exploiting the animals, uploading the footage to the internet. While the videos did not usually identify him or his location, a bright City of Darwin dog leash in the background of one of the clips triggered the unravelling of his secret double life. Britton was arrested on April 22, 2022, and has been on remand in jail since. Britton pleaded guilty to around 60 charges last September, and both his lawyer and the prosecution were scheduled to make submissions to the court about what his sentence should be in December. That hearing was delayed and re-scheduled to take place on Tuesday. However, his lawyers have requested more time to examine a psychiatric report they received on Friday last week, and for prosecutors to seek their own psychiatric report in response.

>>20377117 Video: Premier apologises to Victorians put in orphanages for ‘beatings and brutalities’ - Premier Jacinta Allan fought back tears during a rare joint sitting of parliament on Thursday to mark a historic apology to children who were neglected or abused while in institutional care, as she announced redress payments for extremely ill victim-survivors will go out this year. During the speech, the premier paid tribute to the strength and resilience of those separated from their families and revealed that her own great-grandmother and aunt were among the tens of thousands of Victorians placed in state, religious or charity-run orphanages last century. “There are countless ways to harm a child and all of them leave a mark,” Allan said as more than 100 victim-survivors watched from the public gallery and nearby Queen’s Hall. “We apologise that instead of reading, writing and arithmetic many instead learnt of floggings, beatings and brutalities. For the physical scars you bear to this day, we say sorry. We also recognise that many of you bear the emotional scars. We apologise that the burden of your experience often carries on in your relationships with your children and grandchildren.”

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80104e No.20545702

#34 - Part 53

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

>>20377139 ‘A long time coming’: Victoria’s apology to care leavers offers hope for a reckoning - John Ellis is one of an estimated 90,000 Victorians who experienced various forms of abuse and deprivation while under state care between 1928 and 1990. On Thursday the premier, Jacinta Allan, will make a formal apology to those Victorians, known as care leavers or forgotten Australians. John, now 84, is too unwell to travel to Melbourne for the premier’s apology but his wife Maureen will be there in his place. “It’s a long time coming and we’ve lost a lot of people along the way, but I am glad I will get to be there to represent him,” she says.

>>20377153 Police raid former Bishop of Broome's home for second time over child sexual abuse allegations - Police investigators from the Child Abuse Squad are again searching the home of the former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders. WA Police last month confirmed they had restarted their investigation into sexual abuse allegations against the veteran cleric. Bishop Saunders has denied any wrongdoing. Half a dozen police officers are again scouring the Broome property, which is owned by the Catholic Church. WA Police said child abuse detectives were in Broome investigating historic child sex offences. It is the second time in a month the specialised police unit has flown from Perth to interview locals and search the home on Piggott Way.

>>20383245 Catholic Church loses fight to block legal action from abuse victims’ loved ones - Melbourne’s Catholic church has lost a major legal fight to block the parents, siblings, friends and families of abuse victims from suing for damages. In a landmark decision legal experts have warned will “open the floodgates” for psychological injury claims in Victoria, the High Court on Thursday refused the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne leave to appeal a Supreme Court ruling enabling “secondary” victims from seeking damages. It also clears the way for a claim brought by the father of a dead former choirboy who claims his son was assaulted by Cardinal George Pell. He is seeking damages for mental harm suffered as a result of being informed of the alleged abuse of his late son and by reason of his son’s death. Pell was convicted, then acquitted, of abusing the choirboy, who cannot be identified. The former choirboy died of a heroin overdose in 2014 having never disclosed allegations of abuse to his parents or authorities.

>>20383267 George Pell’s final gift to priests, family and friends - George Pell left hundreds of thousands dollars in cash and shares to a small number of priests, family members, close friends and religious institutions in a will signed two months after it emerged he was under police investigation for child sexual abuse. NSW Supreme Court documents reveal the former Archbishop of Melbourne and Sydney who went on to become one of the world’s most senior Catholic leaders before his death last year bequeathed at least $255,000 in the will dated April 28, 2016.

>>20422881 ‘Unfettered and direct access’: Massive penalty for Tasmanian Anglican church that protected pedophile - A man who was sexually abused by disgraced Anglican priest Louis Victor Daniels in the 1980s has been awarded a $2.39 million payout from the church’s coffers. The decision, handed down by the Supreme Court of Tasmania comes after a lengthy civil trial waged by the victim-survivor against the Tasmanian Anglican Church last year. It was the first time the Anglican Diocese of Tasmania had gone to trial since it was established in the 1840s. The now-defrocked Daniels, who was a prominent leader of the Church of England Boys’ Society (CEBS) in Tasmania between the 1960s and 1980s, is a prolific and notorious pedophile who has been jailed multiple times over the sexual abuse of more than a dozen boys. He is currently behind bars. While the church did not deny Daniels sexually abused the victim-survivor, it said it should not be held vicariously liable, and that a deed of release the man signed in 1994 should still stand. During the trial, the victim-survivor said that agreement was a “deal with the devil” - a $34,000 payout sum from the priest in return for his silence - and to protect Daniels, CEBS, the church and then Anglican Bishop Philip Newell from any liability. He argued the deed of release was unconscionable and should be overturned.

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80104e No.20545704

#34 - Part 54

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

>>20427207 Video: After School Satan Club to hold first meeting at Memphis school - The controversial After School Satan Club is set to host its first meeting at Chimneyrock Elementary School on Wednesday. Legally there’s nothing anyone can do about it. But pastors from several churches will meet at the Briarwood Community Church on Tuesday evening to discuss their options on taking a stand against the new after-school club at Chimneyrock Elementary School. “I was outraged that they would attack the young minds, the children with what they believe,” said Dr. Frederick Tappan, with Eureka True Vine Baptist church.

>>20427235 Video: Launch of ‘After School Satan Club’ draws protest at Chimneyrock Elementary - The launch of the “After School Satan Club” at Chimneyrock Elementary in Cordova drew dozens to protest Wednesday. After the club’s launch Wednesday, the Satanic Temple told Action News 5, “The kiddos had a great time.” The “After School Satan Club” has active clubs in California, Ohio, Connecticut, and Pennsylvania. This is the first in Tennessee. “There is no reason that Memphis should have ever allowed an After School Satan Club to come in,” said protestor Samantha Hardmon. “It’s time to revise policy and it’s time for parents to get on their post to pray and protect their kids.” It’s the Satanic Temple’s fifth active club in the country.

>>20427261 Citizens Gather In Protest Of After School Satan Club At Tennessee Elementary School - This month, community members gathered outside of Chimneyrock Elementary School in Cordova, Tennessee, to protest during a meeting of the Satanic Temple’s After School Satan Club (ASSC). The Satanic Temple currently maintains active after school clubs in California, Ohio, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and now Tennessee. Campaign director for the Satanic Temple’s ASSC, June Everett, previously told The Tennessee Conservative that the club “only goes where it has been invited” and that the ASSC was actually requested by a Chimneyrock parent. According to Everett, the ASSC received over 14 permission slips from parents and many of those students plan to attend future meetings. This ASSC meeting on Wednesday, January 10th, was the first of its kind to occur in the State of Tennessee.

>>20427291 Tennessee after-school Satan club holds first meeting despite protests - Children had a “great time” at the first meeting of an after-school Satan club at a Tennessee elementary school this week, organizers said, despite dozens of protesters who condemned the meeting. On Wednesday, the After School Satan Club (ASSC), a federally recognized non-profit organization and national after-school program, held its first meeting at Chimneyrock elementary school in Memphis. A club flyer said that the Satanic Temple was a non-theistic religion that views Satan as “a literary figure who represents a metaphorical construct of rejecting tyranny and championing the human mind and spirit”. “After School Satan Club does not attempt to convert children to any religious ideology. Instead, the Satanic Temple supports children to think for themselves. All After School Satan Clubs … emphasize a scientific, rationalist, non-superstitious world view,” it added. Activities promoted by the club include science projects, community service projects, puzzles and games, nature activities, arts and crafts and snacks, the flyer said.

>>20427421 Video: What is the ‘After-School Satan Club,’ and what is it doing in San Clemente? - There’s a new after-school program at Truman Benedict Elementary in San Clemente, and it’s caused quite a ruckus among parents, particularly on social media. The “After-School Satan Club,” run by the Satanic Temple, has its first meeting at Truman Benedict scheduled for Feb. 12. Despite what the name suggests, the club’s goal is to provide students with a “fun, intellectually stimulating and non-proselytizing alternative to current religious after-school clubs being offered in our public schools,” according to its brochure. The meetings are designed to promote “intellectual and emotional development in accordance with the Satanic Temple,” the brochure says, and no religious instruction will take place. The Satanic Temple is a non-theistic organization founded in 2013 that embraces Satan as a symbol rather than as a deity. Its use of satanic imagery doesn’t involve the worship of a literal Satan or hell; instead, it serves as a tool to express its philosophical and political beliefs, according to its website.

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80104e No.20545707

#34 - Part 55

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

>>20427574 After School Satan Club is coming to Orange County. It’s not what you think, organizers say - Usually, word of a new after-school program giving elementary school students a chance to explore art, science and technology would hardly make a ripple. But when it comes to a new club preparing to launch in San Clemente, supporters and critics alike seem to agree: the devil’s in the details. Next month, Truman Benedict Elementary School will play host to the After School Satan Club - only the second such group organized by the Satanic Temple in California. The club, which will have its first meeting on Feb. 12, is being promoted with a brochure that features a cartoon devil and a section titled, “Educatin’ with Satan.” Representatives from the Satanic Temple - which doesn’t actually practice devil worship, despite its name — say a Truman Benedict parent asked them to bring the program to campus after their child was handed a permission slip to a Christian-focused after-school club, which did not align with their values. “I look at us like vampires: We only go where we’re invited to,” said June Everett, the After School Satan Club’s campaign director.

>>20427631 California Elementary Welcomes After-School Satan Club: ‘Educatin’ With Satan’ - A California elementary school will be offering a new after-school program sponsored by the Satanic Temple, a choice that not everyone in the area is thrilled about, according to local reports. The Satanic Temple - a nontheistic religious organization designed to "preserve and advance secularism and individual liberties" rather than worship the devil — is hosting an After School Satan Club at the Truman Benedict Elementary School in San Clemente next month. The decision to bring the program to the elementary school was made at a parent's request after the parent's child was given a permission slip to attend a Christian-focused after-school club, the Los Angeles Times reported. “I look at us like vampires: We only go where we’re invited to,” June Everett, the After School Satan Club’s campaign director, told the outlet. The Satanic Temple views Satan as a literary figure rather than a deity or supernatural figure, according to its website.

>>20427669 Video: Satan Club at Orange County elementary school stirs controversy - A group called the After School Satan Club is putting down roots in conservative San Clemente. Its meeting spot is Truman Benedict Elementary School, which has many people concerned. "This is a public school in a public venue," San Clemente resident David Harper said. "Why call it a Satan Club if it isn't something to do with Satan? Is that some kind of attraction or what?"

>>20427816 Video: After School Satan Club returns to Jane Addams Elementary School - The After School Satan Club in the Moline-Coal Valley School District will be returning for a third year to Jane Addams Elementary School. In a Facebook post from The Satanic Temple the organization said: “In October, the Moline-Coal Valley School District prohibited the ASSC from operating on campus, citing a hoax threat made in early 2023, which they attributed to the presence of our club. Rather than allowing our club to operate alongside other religious clubs on campus this year, the district offered an alternative location several miles away. After receiving strongly worded letters from the legal team at Americans United for Separation of Church and State and hearing from The Satanic Temple Iowa and The Satanic Temple Illinois congregation members at a recent board meeting, the district responded in a letter stating, ‘In the interests of avoiding litigation, the board has determined that the ASSC may meet at the Jane Addams Elementary School as requested,’” the Facebook post concluded.

>>20427880 Video: The Satanic Temple Planning More After School Clubs in Response to Good News Clubs - The Satanic Temple (TST) is upsetting parents again as it plans to open two new after-school clubs this year, targeting schools where the Good News Clubs are already established. In Memphis, Tennessee, controversy arose following the announcement by TST of its intention to start an after-school club for children aged from kindergarten through the 5th grade at a local school. June Everett, a minister at the Satanic Ministry and campaign director for the After School Satan Club, emphasized that the club's activities are benign. "We're not sacrificing children or killing baby goats," Everett said in a video posted on the social media platform X. The club intends to teach children about nature and science, portraying Satan as a symbol of kindness and sharing.

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80104e No.20545709

#34 - Part 56

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 10

>>20428039 'Hail the eternal rebel!' Satanist gives opening prayer at county meeting in Reno as furious commissioner storms out in protest - A prominent Satanist has given the opening prayer at a Nevada county commission meeting - sparking outrage among the members. The address at the Washoe County Commission meeting on Tuesday ended not with an 'Amen', but a 'Hail, Satan.' It was delivered by Reno Satanic's Jason Miller and caused one board member to storm out in protest. 'The New Age is dawning that these decisions will play a role in,' said Miller at a point during his relatively brief spiel, which began with a bit of Latin that included references to Satan and Lucifer. 'For our liberation, for here and now is our day of joy, here and now is our opportunity,' he continued. 'May we seize this glorious day and its enchanting nights to celebrate the wonders of the natural world, as we are all part of its boundless mysteries. 'Hail, Satan,' he eventually declared.

>>20428048 Q Post #3967 - These people are pure evil. This is not about politics. You are ready. Q - https://qanon.pub/#3967

>>20428608 Video: Tasmania's Anglican Church ordered to pay $2.4 million for abuse in landmark case - John Steen says he feels "very sorry" for his 16-year-old self. Mr Steen, now 53, was sexually abused by Tasmanian paedophile priest Louis Victor Daniels on multiple occasions in the 1980s when he was aged between 10 and 16. In 1987, he disclosed the abuse to then-bishop Philip Newell, and in 1994, the church was again made aware of the allegations. "The whole story's almost all of my life," Mr Steen said. "As a 16-year-old, I did my best to try to get Daniels removed from positions where he could assault other children. That didn't happen. Again, I tried in 1994, when I was 23, to get justice this time through civil action. That didn't work very well. There was a [$34,000] settlement [paid by Daniels] and I was shut down by a legal agreement." About 10 years ago, Mr Steen told his story to the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse, which he was able to do without breaking the 1994 agreement. Through the commission's work, Mr Steen learnt more about what went on behind the scenes after he made disclosures in 1987 to Bishop Newell, and again in 1994 when another bishop, Ronald Stone, was notified. Mr Steen continued his fight, which has culminated in a civil court case against the Anglican Church in Tasmania. Tasmanian Supreme Court judge Michael Brett handed down his decision in the case on Thursday, describing the abuse of Mr Steen as "serious and damaging" and ordered the church pay almost $2.4 million in damages to him.

>>20455870 Hundreds of men snared as global paedophile video ring unearthed in Sydney - NSW Police have unearthed an international paedophile ring in which hundreds of men around the world filmed each other watching child abuse material, and they have arrested nine alleged participants from NSW. In March 2023, the child exploitation internet unit formed Strike Force Packer to investigate a child abuse ring whose members were allegedly hosting and joining video conferences to share child abuse videos. The NSW online child abuse detectives soon discovered the syndicate’s tentacles spread across Australia - and the world - with hundreds of users in Europe, Asia and the US. Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty told this masthead the investigation found “hundreds of people” with a common motive were taking part in the viewing sessions and even exposing themselves during the events.

>>20455876 Former Broome bishop Christopher Saunders charged over historical sex offences - The former bishop of Broome has been charged with multiple historical sex offences, less than six months after a special church-commissioned investigation found he had sexually assaulted and groomed numerous Aboriginal men and boys. Christopher Saunders was arrested in Broome on Wednesday night, with WA Police on Thursday morning confirming that he had been charged with two counts of sexual penetration without consent, 14 charges of unlawful and indecent assault, and three counts of person in authority indecently dealing with a child between the ages of 16 to 18.

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80104e No.20545711

#34 - Part 57

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 11

>>20455914 Video: Former bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders charged over historical sexual abuse allegations - The former bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders has been charged with a number of historical child sexual abuse offences following a 7NEWS investigation. The 74-year-old senior Catholic cleric was arrested at his home in Western Australia by detectives from the child sexual abuse squad. Saunders was led out of the property by detectives and taken to the Broome police complex about 6pm on Wednesday. He has now been charged with two counts of sexual penetration without consent, 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault, and three counts of person in authority indecently dealing with a child (16-18 years old).

>>20455917 Christopher Saunders: Former Bishop of Broome charged with rape in Australia - Australian bishop Christopher Saunders has been charged with rape and a string of historical sex offences - some against children. The 74-year-old was arrested in Broome on Wednesday, after parallel investigations ordered by Western Australian police and the Pope. He is one of the most senior Catholic clerics to face charges of this nature. Mr Saunders is accused of two counts of rape, 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault, and three counts of indecently dealing with a child as a person in authority. The alleged offending occurred in the remote Western Australian towns of Broome, Kununurra and the Aboriginal community of Kalumburu between 2008 and 2014. - Tiffanie Turnbull - bbc.com

>>20455925 Former Australian bishop charged with historical sex offenses - A senior Australian Catholic clergyman has been charged with historical sex offenses allegedly committed while he was serving as the bishop of Broome, a remote diocese in Western Australia. Emeritus Bishop Christopher Saunders was arrested on Wednesday at his home in Broome, where he became bishop in 1996, according to CNN affiliate Seven News. Police did not name Saunders in a statement, which said a 74-year-old man had been charged with two counts of sexual penetration without consent, more than a dozen unlawful and indecent assault charges, and three counts of indecently dealing with a child age 16 to 18. - Hilary Whiteman - cnn.com

>>20455930 ACBC president pledges full cooperation after Bishop Christopher Saunders arrest - Australian Catholic Bishops Conference president Archbishop Timothy Costelloe SDB has said the investigation into allegations against the former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders is “right and proper, and indeed necessary” after he was arrested by Western Australian police over nearly 20 charges of historical sexual abuse. Police launched their second investigation into Bishop Saunders after the church provided a Vatican report detailing its own Vos Estis Lux Mundi investigation last September. “Allegations against the former Bishop of Broome, Christopher Saunders are very serious and deeply distressing, especially for those making those allegations,” said Archbishop Costelloe. “It is right and proper, and indeed necessary, that all such allegations be thoroughly investigated. The Church will continue to cooperate fully with the police and take every necessary step to avoid any actions which may compromise the integrity and autonomy of the police investigation.”

>>20455946 Former Broome Bishop Christopher Saunders indicates he will plead not guilty to 19 criminal charges - One of Australia's longest serving senior Catholic clerics, Christopher Alan Saunders, has indicated he will plead not guilty to 19 criminal offences after being arrested at his WA home. The former Bishop of Broome is facing 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault, two counts of sexual penetration without consent, and three counts of being a person in authority indecently dealing with a child. The charges were read out to Mr Saunders in the Broome Magistrates Court on Thursday. In court, the 74-year-old's lawyer indicated the former Bishop would enter pleas of not guilty. He's been released on bail on a $10,000 bond and will appear in court in June and must reside at his home in the northern WA town.

>>20455946 Q Post #2894 - Many more to come? Dark to LIGHT. Q

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80104e No.20545712

#34 - Part 58

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 12

>>20461487 ‘Dystopian dragnets’: Apple’s warns proposed online safety standards could turn private companies into ‘arms of the state’ - Apple has warned the eSafety Commissioner’s proposed standards to tackle online child abuse threatens to turn private companies into “arms of the state” and create “dystopian dragnets”. The $US2.8 trillion tech titan says child exploitation is “abhorrent”. But believes online safety can be strengthened without introducing new standards which would compel tech companies to screen and hand customer data over to government agencies without a warrant or court order. “Forcing providers to comb through the private storage and communications of all its users, without any particularity, reason for suspicion, or other constraint, improperly turns private companies into arms of the state and would up-end the trusted relationship between a provider and its users,” Apple said in its submission about the new standards.

>>20488608 Video: Horror stories of multiple paedophiles at Beaumaris Primary barely scratch surface of statewide crisis, survivors say - One survivor has called it "mind-boggling" and "beyond belief". A lawyer for victims says it was "calculated" and "covered up, just like in the Catholic Church". And on Monday, a small but important step was taken in addressing the Victorian Department of Education's historical child sexual abuse crisis. After six months examining decades of crimes against students in state-run schools, the government-initiated inquiry leading the investigation delivered its findings to the Victorian governor. The government has not said when it will make the report and its response public. Although the inquiry has uncovered shocking evidence during public hearings that the Victorian Education Department knowingly shuffled paedophile teachers around the state and endangered children, its scope was limited to a cluster of offenders who taught at Beaumaris Primary School in Melbourne's bayside south-east. Active civil claims and convictions suggest that more than 100 government schools may be affected.

>>20514498 Former student of Saint Ignatius College settles $750,000 lawsuit over alleged sexual abuse by pedophile Stephen Hamra - A top private school knew a teacher was suspected of child abuse but did not fire him - nor warn the SANFL club for whom he billeted country junior players – before he raped a student, court documents allege. The Advertiser can reveal a former St Ignatius College student has confidentially settled his $795,000 lawsuit over alleged abuse by former teacher and convicted sex offender Stephen Hamra. The student alleged Hamra grabbed his arm, bent it behind his back and raped him in 2001, then threatened to have him expelled if he reported the assault. He also accused the Jesuit school’s then principal -- Greg O’Kelly, who went on to become a Catholic bishop – of negligence, alleging he had known Hamra was “under a cloud” of suspected child abuse since 1995.

>>20525232 Victorian child sexual abuse schools inquiry finds teacher linked to abuse of 60 individuals - A Victorian inquiry into child sexual abuse in state-run schools has found notorious paedophile teacher Darrell Ray was linked to the abuse of 60 children. The board of inquiry recommended the state government formally apologise to victims and construct a memorial at the school at the centre of the abuse. It examined child sexual abuse at Beaumaris Primary School in Melbourne's south-east and 23 other state-run schools from 1960 to 1999. The inquiry delivered its findings at the end of February and the report has now been tabled in parliament. Among its nine recommendations are that the government issue a statewide apology, delivered in parliament, in the presence of victims of abuse, specifically addressing the abuse at Beaumaris Primary School. It also calls on the government to work with victim-survivors to construct a memorial at Beaumaris Primary School to acknowledge historical child sexual abuse in government schools.

>>20525255 Dassi Erlich on life since she and her sisters fought and won their case against abuser Malka Leifer - For nine weeks Dassi Erlich sat in a Melbourne courtroom wondering anxiously if the truth would prevail. Then, on April 3, 2023, in a moment she describes as "absolutely terrifying", the Victorian County Court jury finally handed down its verdict in the sexual abuse case against former Melbourne principal Malka Leifer. It delivered Ms Erlich and her two sisters the justice they'd spent decades fighting for. Leifer, the principal of the Adass Israel School the sisters attended, was convicted of rape and other offences, and in August last year was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment.

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80104e No.20545714

File: be56f4ab657c907⋯.jpg (70.28 KB,400x400,1:1,OZ_Pepe.jpg)

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PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED NOTABLES

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #33 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?219df5a7cda0d924#GWu6gQVjX1tmT7LEWd3ccq3D1Qn61CKcXV8PQ4Ufa1bL

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #31 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?00fdb296b9bc6a2b#6DgUPuhZ4cp7iLaK1gxHLyY2LgsRgvkyr4LS8RnCHqUb

Q Research AUSTRALIA #30 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?c5090794bd74b3ec#4QqFqPSLLYCKt7cJS5bPHjHwGzcNanBrMhPhrxLQ9bmp

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #28 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?352f57e81e35622d#6NepKSLD9ntsy7wiZ1ZcFDpPpUdJgSvrKc9b8XLLLb5Q

Q Research AUSTRALIA #27 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?f29965e5a8e58469#Ecm3uPiBpXtW4rY1FkfMWenXGcdHMJBJ6UzpBEkxM9LJ

Q Research AUSTRALIA #26 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?fb2e9be4320aaad7#6rxx65JnceVLRNgrVx5rgbeMMssgbYEZmt76u9LpeU5L

Q Research AUSTRALIA #25 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?0de3e2661301cf20#D9nSLzcp89JSvdWnUoJve6H6fnqbfVdom3tFXfn4DNE4

Q Research AUSTRALIA #24 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?cdc8bbfe3b6014c8#9rSQgkCYGpgW5FkhDH6rU3z8RL6xcPdps7DmXAFnHZoo

Q Research AUSTRALIA #23 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?aaf4cbe6597ac4ba#rrxqv7EbQpzyuz7RW1WqL4hDsmrjM5NrSutfF6Z3QiJ

Q Research AUSTRALIA #22 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?6f84704474bf3bc9#42fhEFCH9hkXA1avbcMdRAP1HUrKmNjgJV2iosjr53c5

Q Research AUSTRALIA #21 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?f3e5147be1f24a93#EU7fzrYUAGH8AQjwSBjAiDW6N6hEvBUHwCuQLErQ4DZG

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?7eb9f6f918932cb3#G1cdy7imZ7i5e9HnJuRtXmAz7idm9HGHaZDV2aWVKnrw

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #14 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?5970a4d58b96e610#628HodVFKy2jGMRrPonLs22DkUUYApBzNuDpTb8Y4zWM

Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?23bca40c926aba6f#HRpUEDMCC5V2N9tUuWgB4E4SwBZEgvy83VTLraV5d3aA

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #11 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?805b43725f4dcb6f#5zkLzFREbjwaRxZWnRKnbW6kGHqNvQsKr7d3sHtZ1BKn

Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 ————————————–——– https://www.fullchan.net/?a5af0da9323f548d#AAotyVQzjXDDdoKX31pyoDsTMQYAxHgPyYkG1RSmn1JP

Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?11b52e36c14bb39d#4NKLrpyx7Q5vPSgJZJtAUCttLTP1DjWTUyDnrAcb8N44

Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?85edab1deeb1d12c#GQfdH63jqL2J55iVSUQRsM5MPHaDh33pzR4cd7zjQ3V1

Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?5c29ce048d4fb1ce#AP9hdf71bxUxfwSDzgW6zRd9ShYLLvbw8JsJHfm3MMrw

Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?73c7e014d9df27a3#5dbcp5j7is3o1r8RYEGajfkNhyASV2AtHiaP7SSQxVU7

Q Research AUSTRALIA #5 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?3799d676ec6e18db#3NCMbLqhpxHHgcntL6qb1wSWYTFzCc3FwbXJM8GFDe52

Q Research AUSTRALIA #4 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?3d28c742d3fe5871#3UUBL8DhrqjqUoKavJQJgVC4MoGmQQJWPZWRPEESqAVK

Q Research AUSTRALIA #3 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?73226228b35bb7ef#GvUspmhLBe57fQkmGxCU6FgQbuR2onsrNv7b2EBoiTLR

Q Research AUSTRALIA #2 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?02614aa8f500afdf#3fZScpipRo4n1v4p1SH1pZFfUNsLRTaRH27cftK6x27r

Q Research AUSTRALIA #1 ————————————––——– https://www.fullchan.net/?a5bb8e68d664b41d#87bxuF28SfZRhs1zcMoTvAk7u1eNnomq251Tf2QdTaFC

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80104e No.20545717

File: ccb3ea3d2932b3c⋯.jpg (300.17 KB,842x828,421:414,Q_908.jpg)

File: a6f1a731b3eccc9⋯.jpg (136.57 KB,842x302,421:151,Q_910.jpg)

THREAD ARCHIVES

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #11 ————————————–——– https://archive.vn/VoY1C

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Q Research AUSTRALIA #2 ————————————––——– https://archive.vn/hlJ0W

Q Research AUSTRALIA #1 ————————————––——– https://archive.vn/vJ8oH

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80104e No.20545723

File: fc03f2897a3cf42⋯.jpg (3.11 MB,2800x2000,7:5,Chairman_of_the_Joint_Chie….jpg)

CURRENT DOUGH

https://www.fullchan.net/?24b2f8e7d0d6fe36#CcBTbjqofUgmhqWvspNnpi1YyRe5TmBQGGCL6e7dsvF4

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80104e No.20545757

File: c4b16467a6d99c3⋯.jpg (1 MB,2965x1815,593:363,The_alternative_is_awful_b….jpg)

OPINION: The alternative is awful, but not even conservatives should back Trump

George Brandis, Former high commissioner to the UK and federal attorney-general - March 10, 2024

1/2

After Soviet tanks crushed the Prague Spring in 1968 – the attempt by Czechoslovakian prime minister Alexander Dubcek to introduce a more “liberal” type of communism – the socialist world was deeply split.

Some of the hard-line communists who remained steadfast with Moscow dusted off an old slogan, the origins of which are traceable to the French Revolution: “No enemies on the left.” In the teleology of the left, notwithstanding differences about ideology and tactics, ultimately all socialists were on was the same side in the greater struggle.

In recent years, we have seen a strikingly similar phenomenon emerge among elements of the right. Its most obvious current manifestation appears in attitudes to Donald Trump in the United States.

With Trump now the presumptive Republican nominee, comfortably ahead of Democrat President Joe Biden in almost all the battleground states, many on the right are anticipating a second Trump presidency with unabated glee.

Trump has long had a following among elements of the right in Australia, some of whose high-profile identities, such as Gina Rinehart, attended the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) conference in the US state of Maryland last month.

In years gone by, CPAC was a gathering of orthodox conservatives; it has now become a jamboree of MAGA Republicans. As the presidential election nears, we will see more Australian conservatives jumping on the Trump bandwagon. Elsewhere, this has begun to happen: recently, Boris Johnson endorsed him.

Politics is binary. Ultimately, one has to pick a side. For many, especially political activists, it is also tribal. For people on the conservative side of politics, even those with deep misgivings about Trump, the instinct is to stick with the tribe.

But sometimes, it is not enough to embrace a candidate for no better reason than the alternative is awful. Mimicking the old left by adopting the posture of “No enemies on the right” demands a complete abdication of critical and moral judgment.

Much of Trump’s appeal can be explained by the fact that the modern American left has become so ghastly. Weaponised by social media, political correctness and identity politics have evolved from niche attitudes into powerful vehicles for censorship, moral bullying and intimidation. Anyone who does not conform to social values deemed acceptable is marginalised and “cancelled”.

The ghost of George Orwell haunts the country’s college campuses, as prestigious American universities have degenerated from havens for free thinking to licensors of orthodoxy.

No wonder that Trump, as the left’s most despised hate-figure, is a hero not just to his evangelists, but has remained popular with so much of middle America. On other familiar conservative causes, too, including abortion, gun ownership, border control and taxation, Trump is an effective champion.

But Trump is not a conservative. A right-wing demagogue he may be. The most scornful and effective scourge of the condescending and censorious liberal elite, he surely is. But that alone is no excuse for conservatives to turn a blind eye to the threat Trump poses to values which they have always considered sacrosanct.

Those values include respect for constitutional government. A failed candidate who stubbornly refused to accept the outcome of an election, encouraged his supporters to disrupt the proceedings of Congress to prevent the result being declared, and propagated without a shred of evidence the fantasy that the election had been stolen, is no conservative.

(continued)

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80104e No.20545766

File: ed821112653e70b⋯.jpg (836.45 KB,3318x2212,3:2,A_right_wing_demagogue_Tru….jpg)

>>20545757

2/2

Nor is a person who is openly defiant of both the criminal and civil law, and seeks, in a similarly mendacious way, to discredit the US justice system as a political conspiracy against him. (Perhaps the motivation of some of the prosecuting authorities may be questionable. But all of them?) Nor is someone who openly countenances a “revenge presidency”, with all the abuse of executive power that threatens, a person conservatives should find acceptable.

It is, however, in foreign policy that Trump is most radically at variance with the honourable traditions of American conservatism. (Not for nothing did Biden, in his State of the Union speech, evoke the memory of Ronald Reagan.)

Trump’s insouciant remarks about encouraging Russian aggression against NATO (of which America is the principal security guarantor); his refusal to criticise the killing of Alexei Navalny; his indulgent attitude to Vladimir Putin; the near certainty that, if elected, Trump would pull the rug from under Volodymyr Zelensky, and thus retrospectively endorse the worst violation of international law since World War II, are the most dangerous, and revealing, telltale signs about Trump.

Yet, he is merely channelling what the Republican Party has become, some of whose loopier members buy Putin’s line about the decadence of the West, and seem to prefer his style of authoritarian government to Western liberal democracy.

In a thoughtful contribution to The Spectator last week, Tony Abbott expressed his alarm at how many Trump Republicans seem mesmerised by admiration for Putin, whom he rightly described as “pretty close to evil”.

No enemies on the right? For principled conservatives, who believe in constitutional government, liberal democracy, respect for the rule of law, and a foreign policy which stands up to aggressors and autocrats, there certainly can be. Those enemies include the demagogues who threaten those values. Donald Trump is one of them.

George Brandis is a former high commissioner to the UK, and a former Liberal senator and federal attorney-general.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/the-alternative-is-awful-but-not-even-conservatives-should-back-trump-20240308-p5fb00.html

>These people are stupid.

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80104e No.20550335

File: 13c401f08d61e1a⋯.jpg (175.85 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Executive_Council_of_Austr….jpg)

File: 39da29f9be7c06d⋯.jpg (762.54 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Anthony_Albanese_in_Tasman….jpg)

Jewish leaders back US’s ‘floating pier’ Gaza aid plan, amid calls to fund UNRWA

RHIANNON DOWN - MARCH 11, 2024

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim has urged Labor to support the United States’ plan to build a “temporary floating pier” in Gaza to deliver aid, rather than restore funding to the UN’s aid agency.

Mr Wertheim said the Jewish community supported the provision of aid to civilians in Gaza who were in desperate need but remained “totally opposed” to using the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to deliver that aid.

The call comes after Anthony Albanese signalled on Monday that Labor was considering alternative routes to funnel humanitarian aid into Gaza “through other forms” than UNRWA, saying that he was “giving consideration to the range of support”.

“The consequences of the action that’s taken place there should not impact on innocent civilians the way that it has,” he told ABC Radio Canberra. “We’ve been very clear about that.

“And we continue to call for not just humanitarian support, and we’re giving consideration to the range of support that can be given, including through other forms as well, in terms of essential food and lifesaving delivery there.”

The Prime Minister’s remarks come amid mounting pressure to reverse a pause in funding to UNRWA, which was announced following allegations some of its staff played a role in the October 7 attack, with Canada and Sweden announcing it was restoring its support.

Mr Wertheim said it would be “irresponsible” to waste taxpayers’ money supporting the UN agency, arguing that instead Australia could bolster the US effort to “establish a temporary floating pier in Gaza to deliver aid supplies to civilians in Gaza directly, and bypass UNRWA”.

“It has been demonstrated that UNRWA employees, including schoolteachers, participated in the Hamas massacre of October 7 and many others have collaborated with Hamas in other ways,” he said.

“UNRWA is so intimately connected to Hamas that no level of external control has been able to prevent large quantities of aid from being commandeered by Hamas at the expense of Gazan civilians.

“The vast resources that have been squandered in constructing Hamas’s extensive labyrinth of tunnels, much of which has now been destroyed, are testament to that.”

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman James Paterson said the government should only restore funding to UNRWA when it was “confident that there is no risk of any of that funding finding its way to Hamas”.

Senator Paterson urged Labor to wait until an investigation into UNRWA had been completed to ensure Australian money was not being “misspent”.

“The major obstacle to get aid into Gaza is not funding for UNRWA. It is the physical obstacles and operational obstacles to getting the aid in. Of course, more aid would always be welcome,” he told ABC Radio National.

“But the main obstacles are not the amount of aid, but the access of that aid into Gaza and particularly the distribution of the aid within Gaza, which is very challenging operationally.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/jewish-leaders-back-uss-floating-pier-gaza-aid-plan-amid-calls-to-fund-unrwa/news-story/901ca13fcd5b2a30b83571a57249263c

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80104e No.20550344

File: 8eaddf9a76382b9⋯.jpg (249.88 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_Vietnam_memorial_in_Ca….jpg)

File: bcdbf95afbc268f⋯.jpg (147.91 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_protestors_vandalised_….jpg)

File: 5046cf7826e8d68⋯.jpg (191.54 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_Vietnam_memorial_in_Ca….jpg)

>>20550335

Vietnam War memorial in Canberra defaced with Gaza message

JOE KELLY - 11 March 2024

The RSL National President Greg Melick has condemned pro-Palestine activists who vandalised the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra by spray-painting slogans on the monument describing Israel as a "colony" and warning of "genocide" in Gaza.

The protestors vandalised the memorial on Anzac Parade overnight on Sunday in a protest to highlight the situation in Gaza, with Mr Melick describing their actions as "contemptible" and Opposition veterans' affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce warning they had undermined their own cause.

The slogans on the national memorial – which said "eyes on Rafah" and "this is genocide" – were written in large red graffiti and had not been cleaned on Monday, which is a public holiday in the nation's capital to mark "Canberra Day." Other slogans included "eyes on Gaza," "free Gaza" and "the colony will fall" and were clearly visible to residents walking or driving by.

Mr Melick said that people were "entitled to protest, but the desecration of a memorial to those who served, suffered and died in the Vietnam conflict is to be deplored."

“The protesters should have chosen another way to get their message across. The brave Australian service personnel who served in Vietnam had nothing to do with the current conflict in Gaza and to use their memorial as a platform to protest is contemptible. On behalf of the RSL and all who have served and continue to serve our nation, we condemn the actions of the protesters,” he said.

Mr Melick warned the desecration of the memorial did nothing to enhance the cause of those suffering in the Middle East.

Opposition veterans' affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce told The Australian: "Bearing in mind that 523 Australians paid the supreme sacrifice and nearly 2,400 were wounded, that countless marriages broke down, that people's careers were left behind by men and women who unselfishly served this nation, the disgraceful actions of those who desecrate a war memorial are beyond contempt and anathema to every person from poorer suburbs to the best street.

"I don't know what you were trying to achieve, but if smashing your cause to pieces was your objective, then bullseye – you've hit it," Mr Joyce said.

One Canberra resident, Michael Webster, who took pictures of the graffiti on Monday morning expressed deep disappointment the ACT government had not taken swift action to have the memorial cleaned, saying the graffiti was an act of desecration.

"The memorial is a recognition of the service and sacrifice made by men and women in a war wholly unrelated to the situation in the Middle East right now," Mr Webster said. "It took years for Australians to reconcile about that war. The graffiti is intended to open up deep wounds in Australia for political purposes. It is intended to divide Australians. We cannot allow such behaviour in our society. Everyone is entitled to protest. But this is not a protest. This is an attack on our identity and national values."

An ACT Policing spokesperson told The Australian that police were "aware of a recent act of vandalism at a memorial on ANZAC parade."

"Police remind the community that peaceful protest is part of healthy democracy, however criminal acts will not be tolerated."

Veterans' Affairs Minister Matt Keogh said that "Australians have a right to peaceful protest, but to use the Vietnam Memorial as a platform is abhorrent."

"Those who have chosen to vandalise a memorial to those who fought and died for our country should reflect on the purpose and meaning of such memorials."

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/politics-latest-labor-to-embark-on-biggest-tariff-cuts-in-two-decades/live-coverage/f5911925706485ac74fbee85aac17bb8#138231

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80104e No.20550378

File: 869730ecc2b8bb2⋯.mp4 (15.72 MB,640x360,16:9,China_s_ambassador_to_Aust….mp4)

>>20359492 (pb)

Yang Hengjun not that sick, says Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian

Jessica Sier - Mar 11, 2024

Hopes for the release of dissident writer Yang Hengjun on medical grounds have been dampened after the Chinese ambassador said the democracy advocate was not as sick as his family has claimed.

Dr Yang, who is an Australian citizen, is facing a suspended death penalty in China after being found guilty of espionage and tried in a closed-door hearing in May 2021.

But Xiao Qian, who has been the Chinese ambassador to Australia for the last two years, said fears that Dr Yang may die in custody due to sustained ill-health and a serious kidney condition were overblown.

“His health is not perfect, but his health problems are not as serious as that has been described publicly,” Mr Xiao told The Australian Financial Review Business Summit.

“We have professional doctors looking after him during his detention in prison and we make sure that his basic medical rights are being protected.”

Australian consular officials were denied access to Dr Yang’s trial, which centred around espionage allegations.

“There are now regular visits by Australian diplomats,” Mr Xiao said. “But I want to emphasise that this is an individual case in a different legal system and different culture.

“A [suspended] death penalty doesn’t mean immediate execution. So theoretically, even if he complies to the ruling and his obligation, and serves his imprisonment without making further problems or further crimes, then … there is a chance that will he not be executed.”

A spokesman for Dr Yang’s family said his “extreme medical mistreatment” did improve after the family highlighted his plight before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s visit to China last year.

Dr Yang, who previously worked for China’s Ministry of State Security, was detained at Guangzhou Airport in January 2019 after arriving from New York. He had been living in the United States, where he was a visiting scholar at New York’s Columbia University. He became an Australian citizen in 2002.

Friends and family of Dr Yang have said has faced enforced sleep deprivation, erratic access to medication and being chained to a prison chair.

Last month, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the government was “appalled” at what she described as “harrowing news” but added that Australia had to keep forging ahead with the rapprochement with China.

“Stabilisation means we co-operate where we can, disagree where we must, and we engage in the national interest,” she said.

“This is a decision within China’s legal system. Clearly, this is an occasion which we disagree. However, Australia will continue to advocate for the interests of Dr Yang.”

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/yang-hengjun-not-that-sick-says-chinese-ambassador-20240311-p5fbgq

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/yang-hengjun-not-that-sick-chinese-ambassador-20240311-p5fbji

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80104e No.20550390

File: fbee0803752ddce⋯.jpg (4.4 MB,7728x5152,3:2,At_the_AFR_Businness_Summi….jpg)

File: 88fbe68d4dd91bc⋯.jpg (4.44 MB,7056x4704,3:2,China_s_ambassador_to_Aust….jpg)

>>20550378

Chinese ambassador says tariff discussions ‘on the right track’

Jessica Sier - Mar 11, 2024

Beijing’s restrictions on imports worth some $2.5 billion are “on the right track” to be lifted by the end of the month, China’s ambassador says, reassuring local companies that Australia’s largest trading partner would meet its ambitious growth target this year despite economic challenges.

“The relationship has stopped free-falling and stopped deteriorating,” Xiao Qian said, adding that Chinese authorities were “reviewing and investigating the tariffs imposed on Australia and things are moving on the right track and in the right direction”.

Those tariffs – on wine, lobster and red meat – were put in place from 2020, as relations between Beijing and Canberra deteriorated amid the COVID-19 pandemic and concerns about foreign influence in Australia. Trade restrictions on barley have already been lifted.

Mr Xiao’s comments follows those made by Trade Minister Don Farrell at the weekend. He said that any failure to reinstate the wine trade would result in a continued push for resolution by the World Trade Organisation.

Mr Xiao acknowledged China’s collapsing property market but said the country would meet its 5 per cent growth target – announced last week – for this year. “It’s not too high, it’s not low, it’s just an appropriate target,” he said, adding China needs to create 12.6 million jobs this year alone.

“We cannot afford to have growth that’s too low or lower than 5 per cent.”

Treasury Wine Estates was one major ASX-listed group affected by Chinese trade restrictions. Before the 212 per cent tariff was introduced, Australia’s wine export market was worth $1.2 billion to China.

Treasury Wine CEO Tim Ford said the company had kept a team of 100 people in China and, while it could take up to four years to rebuild the company’s business in the country, it would come back because “consumers in China love quality and the love brands.” “We’re ready to re-enter that market and consumers haven’t forgotten us,” Mr Ford said.

But Treasury Wine, as well as other companies stung by the tariffs, have undergone a “diversification experiment”, setting up operations in places like Thailand, Malaysia and India to make up for the lost Chinese demand.

Nicholas Moore, author of the Albanese government’s South-East Asian economic strategy, told The Australian Financial Review Business Summit that the investment that had poured into the region was unlikely to diminish as Chinese consumers again become available.

“There is no indication that people are looking away from the region,” Mr Moore, a former chief executive of Macquarie, said. “There is just too much at stake for companies to be focused on one market.”

Mr Ford said Malaysia and Thailand have emerged as strong customers for its wine in the vacuum left by China.

“Businesses are usually stealing customers from each other in developed markets, whereas in Asia there are ways to create entirely new markets,” Mr Ford said. “So that’s not something we’re going to give up on.”

The government has launched a $2 billion fund to boost trade between Australia and the ASEAN bloc, with a focus on clean energy and infrastructure.

Mr Moore warned Australian companies risk missing out on the South-East Asia economic boom through a combination of ignorance, sticking to mature markets and unwillingness to commit to the long haul to build relationships.

But Australia, which has seen its GDP growth slump from 3.5 per cent a decade ago to 2.5 per cent this year, has made a concerted effort to broaden its trade interests in the geopolitically sensitive Asia-Pacific region.

Mr Xiao said that the relationship between China and the United States was tense. “I hope the leaders in the US will realise the best way to serve the interest of the American people is to coexist, not to confront, not to decouple in the name of de-risk, because the world today is so closely interwoven,” Mr Xiao said of the coming presidential elections.

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/chinese-ambassador-says-tariff-discussions-on-the-right-track-20240311-p5fbde

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80104e No.20550396

File: 8d3f6d946f14233⋯.jpg (628.75 KB,1268x1335,1268:1335,Vice_Foreign_Minister_Ma_Z….jpg)

File: e046462ae9422ef⋯.png (290.6 KB,600x400,3:2,W020240310785573379370.png)

>>20550378

Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu Meets with Ambassador of Australia to China Scott Dewar

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China - 2024-03-10

On March 8, 2024, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu met with Ambassador of Australia to China Scott Dewar, and they had an exchange of views on China-Australia relations and issues of mutual interest and concern.

https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/wjbxw/202403/t20240310_11257062.html

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/wjbxw_new/202403/t20240310_11256960.shtml

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80104e No.20550432

File: 9cf98f4d3132e72⋯.jpg (317.6 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Pedophile_cult_leader_Will….jpg)

File: eedb8f698aa29ca⋯.jpg (413.07 KB,1841x1381,1841:1381,Costellia_Kamm_ran_a_break….jpg)

File: de6773977f86898⋯.jpg (465.61 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Police_arrest_William_Cost….jpg)

Cult leader William ‘Little Pebble’ Kamm and wife arrested over historical child grooming charges

Josh Hanrahan - March 11, 2024

A young girl was allegedly told by notorious cult leader William “Little Pebble” Kamm that she had been “selected” by God to procreate with him, during what police say was a decade of grooming.

Kamm, 73, and his wife Sandra Costellia, 58, were arrested by NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad on Monday six months after the now adult woman came forward to claim she had been groomed by the couple ever since she was six years old.

A convicted pedophile, Kamm is best known for being the leader of a cult-style religious group called the “Order of St Charbel”, who claims the Virgin Mary visits his home on the NSW south coast every day.

NSW Police Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad boss Jayne Doherty said it will be alleged that since 2010 - including when Kamm was behind bars between 2007 and 2016 for sexual assault, and then between 2021 and 2022 for breaching an extended supervision order (ESO) - he continued to groom the girl via phone calls and with letters sent from prison.

“Police will allege that over the period the child was groomed, she was advised by the religious leader and his partner that she had been selected to procreate with the religious leader and build a new sect,” Detective Superintendent Doherty said.

“While the male accused was an inmate at a correctional centre (he allegedly) utilised phone calls, letters and the female accused… to groom that child.”

Det Supt Doherty said Kamm and Costellia would be charged with grooming a child under the age of 14, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and inciting a person to carry out a sexual act without consent.

An additional charge of failing to comply with an extended supervision order will also be laid against the man known as “Little Pebble”.

Det Supt Doherty said the woman had in recent years felt “supported” enough to come forward with the allegations.

“These are horrendous allegations… these are 13 of the formative years for that young girl and she is to be commended that she was so brave to come forward now,” she said.

“She came to a point in her life where she was supported enough to come forward.”

Last week detectives from the Sex Crimes Squad working under Strike Force Gandell executed two search warrants – one at the religious group’s headquarters in Bangalee on the South Coast, and the other at a unit in Sydney’s CBD.

Det Supt Doherty said police had seized a number of items relevant to their investigation during the search of the home and two sheds in Bangalee, including gifts allegedly given to the woman which were made by Kamm while he was in jail.

Kamm and Costellia were arrested at a CBD apartment on Monday and taken to Day Street Police Station, where they are expected to be charged with child grooming offences.

Kamm ran a breakaway Catholic cult known as the Order of Saint Charbel at Nowra on the NSW South Coast until 2005 when he was convicted of the aggravated sexual assault of two children in the 1990s.

The man who believed he was “the last Pope”, destined to repopulate a royal dynasty with 12 queens and 72 princesses, ended up serving almost a decade behind bars before being released on parole.

During the years he was in jail, the cult he created warned on its website that Sydney would pay the price for imprisoning Kamm.

“The city will collapse and the Harbour Bridge will collapse with the Opera House and many people shall perish and the authorities will come to believe and understand what they have done to you,” a post on the website read.

Following his release Kamm continued to claim the Virgin Mary appeared daily at the property outside of Nowra.

On top of the child grooming allegations, police are also expected to charge Kamm with failing to comply with his ESO - which was applied for by the NSW Government in the wake of his release in 2016, and approved by the NSW Supreme Court.

Kamm, who is under the conditions of the ESO until April 14, 2025, has previously been charged for breaches of the order including using a Wordpress website to run a blog for his church and posting on Facebook.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-nsw/pedophile-cult-leader-william-little-pebble-costellia-and-wife-arrested-over-historical-child-grooming-charges/news-story/8c324726cfe764d16859dddeb3e7aa90

https://littlepebble.org/2022/07/29/message-845-16-july-2022/

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80104e No.20555418

File: 64451ccb8f23b1f⋯.mp4 (15.64 MB,640x360,16:9,Foreign_Affairs_Minister_P….mp4)

>>20550335

Wong backs Biden, urges Israel to ‘change course’

Jessica Sier - Mar 12, 2024

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned that Israel will lose further support from its traditional allies if it proceeds with further ground attacks in the Gaza Strip, backing similar remarks from US President Joe Biden at the weekend.

“Unless Israel changes its course, it will continue to lose support,” Ms Wong said at The Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney on Tuesday.

Mr Biden said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was “hurting Israel more than helping Israel” in how he was approaching its war against Hamas in Gaza.

Mr Netanyahu has said he would press ahead with a ground attack on the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million people are sheltering, despite the US calling this a “red line”.

“Many Australians, regardless of their politics, are horrified at the loss of innocent life,” Ms Wong said.

Earlier this year, Ms Wong called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza alongside representatives from Canada and New Zealand. She knocked back the assertion that Australia had “taken cover” among these other countries.

“We are trying to amplify things that we care about, and it’s pleasing to work with Canada and New Zealand,” she said.

“This is multilateralism, or middle power, diplomacy in action. It’s important because we have a particular place in the international community and when we have a lot of shared views.”

About 30,000 Palestinians have died since October when terrorist group Hamas ambushed Israel. Close to half the estimated 240 people who were abducted during the Hamas attacks are still being held captive in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

Ms Wong also said she was concerned at the growing level of both anti-semitism and Islamophobia throughout Australia during the conflict. “That’s pulling apart the fabric of what holds the country together.”

Ms Wong has spent much of her two years as foreign minister re-establishing diplomatic ties throughout the Asia-Pacific region, where China, Australia’s largest trading partner, is gaining influence.

She stopped short of promoting the US as the dominant force in the region, but noted it was “indispensable”.

“As a middle power, [Australia] does best in a world where disputes are resolved by reference to law and norms, not power,” she said.

Ms Wong threw her weight behind the AUKUS agreement, saying there is no alternate plan to subdue an expansive China. “We have to make plan A work.”

AUKUS is a security partnership Australia signed with the US and the United Kingdom in 2021. The agreement supported Australia acquiring conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, and was intended to shore up security in the Asia-Pacific region.

Last week, the Albanese government hosted the ASEAN nations in Melbourne, where the topic of China’s strength was paramount.

However, other ASEAN leaders, including the Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, warned Australia and the US against dragging South-East Asia into their problems with China.

“We are an independent nation. We are fiercely independent. We do not want to be dictated by any force,” Dr Anwar said.

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/wong-backs-biden-urges-israel-to-change-course-20240311-p5fbdg

https://www.afr.com/business-summit/middle-power-diplomacy-in-action-australias-position-on-gaza-20240312-p5fbu6

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80104e No.20555431

File: 8ed42131dedade5⋯.mp4 (13.49 MB,640x360,16:9,Journalist_Liam_Mendes_has….mp4)

>>20444914 (pb)

‘No idea what we’re facing’: Alice crime scourge escalating

Despite last year’s intense focus, violence is still on the rise and few locals expect anything to change. CCTV does little to deter the gangs in search of cars to steal – including mine.

LIAM MENDES - March 11, 2024

1/2

It’s 4am in Alice Springs and a gang of young men in a stolen ute is attempting burnouts in the middle of town.

Two of the occupants are hanging out of the rear windows with scarfs wrapped around their faces, one armed with a baseball bat.

The young driver isn’t having much luck pulling off a burnout but that doesn’t stop him careening wildly through roundabouts and across pavements.

When they notice The Australian taking photographs, they start making gang signs and set off firecrackers.

The police station is just one block away but the cops are nowhere to be seen.

The Australian has reported before on children as young as 10 driving stolen cars through town. But these aren’t kids and there’s an air of menace about them.

The baseball bat is a sign of an unwelcome but increasing trend in crime in the Territory. In the past five years, offences against the person have jumped by 37 per cent; property offences by 53 per cent.

Police have been particular targets of the violence, says NT Police Association president Nathan Finn, with an upsurge in offenders deliberately ramming police cars with stolen vehicles.

“This type of violent, reckless, dangerous offending is escalating, and our members want to know what is being done to ensure their safety,” Mr Finn said.

Yet in the past 10 years, he says, only 20 more police have been employed.

“The NT government has absolutely no idea what our members face day in, day out, and the senior police executive can only operate with the finite resources it has,” Mr Finn said.

Even judges and prosecutors have become victims.

One judge has been the target of multiple burglaries; recently, a local Crown prosecutor packed up and left town after being robbed in daylight on the street near her office.

Houses are attacked with golf clubs, assaults are carried out on joggers. Shopping malls have been left ghostlike. Store owners lock their doors even when they’re open.

Little more than a year ago, a national spotlight was placed on the town amid fly-in visits from Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton, but the intense focus was vanishingly brief and the town is again awash in grog.

No one is surprised to hear that Mr Albanese, Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney and Opposition Leader Mr Dutton, are all visiting again – and few expect anything to change.

Locals will continue to live in a state of constant hypervigilance.

Many homes are equipped with CCTV and motion-activated lights, but that does little to deter the gangs in search of cars to steal – including mine.

(continued)

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80104e No.20555433

File: cbe532b4379c0cf⋯.jpg (884.75 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Youths_in_Alice_Springs_dr….jpg)

File: 7ef7329ec5078fd⋯.jpg (416.95 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Youths_in_Alice_Springs_dr….jpg)

File: 11bc22eb3504f89⋯.jpg (152.66 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Youths_in_Alice_Springs_br….jpg)

File: f002309c8a01928⋯.jpg (300.8 KB,1352x1014,4:3,An_overturned_stolen_ute_w….jpg)

>>20555431

2/2

During several months reporting from Alice Springs over the past year, this reporter has sometimes stayed with baker Darren Clark – a fierce advocate for his town since violence and crime exploded following the lapse in intervention-era grog bans.

Last week, I was asleep, along with the other people in Clark’s house, when a group of boys discovered the back door hadn’t properly locked. The boys knew what they were looking for, ignoring my camera equipment and homing in on the car keys.

My rented Nissan X-Trail was gone; so too Clark’s Toyota.

“There’s so many of these young gangs now,” Clark says. “They’re not scared of a camera being on. If they don’t leave a print, they can’t be identified by their faces. They know they can’t be charged.”

For the past few years, Clark has been living in daily fear of burglary and violence. “I’d rather they steal my car, instead of waking up to the kids in my room, which has been happening more and more,” he said.

“The amount of stories I’ve heard where people have had machetes held to their throats and (their keys) being demanded, I’ve always left mine out on the bench in plain sight. You’re always on high alert, when we hear a noise or the dog barks or growls.

“You’re always on edge.”

The tragedy is that it is not only the victims of crime in grave danger. Late last week, local Aboriginal families were plunged into mourning after an 18-year-old youth died when the stolen Toyota HiLux he was riding in rolled and crushed him. It was stolen from a caravan park on the outskirts of town, driven through a boom gate and taken for a joy ride.

On Saturday Detective Senior Sergeant Brendan Lindner said eight youths fled the scene, leaving their friend to die on the footpath. “They showed a callous disregard for their critically injured friend and fled the scene, abandoning the 18-year old who was lying on the road in significant pain and unable to move while against the vehicle, which was billowing smoke following the crash,” Mr Lindner said.

The young man who died was facing two counts of driving and using a vehicle without consent, and had been before the courts on four separate occasions. He was also the father of two-month-old.

A war between families who want “payback” against the driver and those who fled the vehicle has begun. Over the weekend the victim’s family moved out of town.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/youth-crime-scourge-in-alice-springs-grows/news-story/f151a8d5afaebf9dafadac18865efb9e

https://twitter.com/actionforalice/

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80104e No.20555443

File: 304ee265bf2acd7⋯.jpg (2.61 MB,4541x3027,4541:3027,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 4b3c3327e245263⋯.jpg (601.84 KB,3500x2335,700:467,Anthony_Albanese_Joe_Biden….jpg)

US Navy cuts Virginia-class submarine from budget in potential blow to AUKUS pact

Farrah Tomazin - March 12, 2024

1/2

Washington: The US Navy is cutting a Virginia-class submarine from its latest budget in a move that critics fear could send a troubling signal to Australia and other nations about Washington’s commitment to the AUKUS military pact.

Three months after a divided US Congress finally passed legislation to help Australia acquire nuclear-propelled submarines, the US Navy has proposed removing an attack submarine from its 2025 spending plan, in a tacit recognition that American shipbuilding yards are struggling with the pace of keeping its local fleet healthy.

Democratic congressman Joe Courtney said if approved, the navy’s proposal could have “a profound impact” on it and the Australian Navy, and make it harder to assuage concerns about America’s ability to deliver on AUKUS while maintaining its own industrial base.

“One of the big questions with AUKUS was: will it provide enough submarines to keep the US fleet at an adequate level and will it produce enough submarines to satisfy the three boats that we agreed to sell?” Courtney told this masthead.

AUKUS was unveiled by Australia, the UK and US in 2021 as part of a broader strategy to counter China’s economic and military advances in the Indo-Pacific.

Last year, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced the US had agreed to sell three to five Virginia-class boats to Australia. But to achieve this, American submarine manufacturers would have to build at least two boats a year, from a current yearly average of 1.2.

Courtney, a ranking member of the powerful House Armed Services committee, said if the proposed cut was enacted “it will remove one more attack submarine from a fleet that is already 17 submarines below the navy’s long stated requirement of 66”.

“Given the new commitment the Department of Defence and Congress made last year to sell three submarines to our ally Australia, which I enthusiastically support, the ramifications of the navy’s proposal will have a profound impact on both countries’ navies,” he said.

Concerns about the US Navy’s budget cut came as army chiefs for Australia, the UK and the US gathered in Washington to talk up the importance of AUKUS and of shared co-operation, particularly at a time of growing instability in the Indo-Pacific, the Middle East and Europe.

“In an era of great power competition, defence and security is once again a whole of nation endeavour, but even more so, it requires us to work even more closely and in a more integrated fashion with allies and with partners,” said Australian Lieutenant General Simon Stuart.

In Congress, however, billions of dollars in funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan have been in limbo for months due to partisan divisions between Republicans and Democrats as they head towards a presidential election in November.

(continued)

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80104e No.20555446

File: c6e480253733b6e⋯.jpg (4.76 MB,7360x4912,460:307,A_Virginia_class_submarine.jpg)

>>20555443

2/2

Ukraine, for instance, desperately needs more military funding to fight Russia, but after two years of warfare, many Republicans now oppose continuing to spend billions of dollars to help the sovereign nation.

General Sir Patrick Sanders, the British Army’s chief of general staff, described the war in Ukraine as “the principal pressure point on a really fragile world order”.

Sanders also warned that failing to counter Russia’s aggression would consign future generations to a world that was infinitely more unstable and perilous.

“So for now, Ukrainian blood … and bravery is buying time, but they need our support,” he said. “It is not just morally right to do that, it is in our own self-interest because preserving our future security by supporting Ukraine is much better value than fighting a war.”

Sanders, Stuart and General Randy A. George, the chief of staff of the US Army, were speaking at a forum at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, soon after news of the Pentagon’s fiscal year 2025 priorities emerged.

However, the idea of a submarine cut had been touted earlier, prompting members of the House Armed Services Committee to write to Biden in January, warning him that “any deviation from the planned cadence of the construction and procurement of two submarines per year will reverberate both at home and abroad, with allies and competitors alike”.

Courtney said the addressing the issue would be “a high priority” for committee members in coming months.

The US Defence Department’s 2025 funding request lays out about $US849.8 billion of investments for the next financial year. Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks told reporters on Monday that the budget request had to be capped due to the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which seeks to limit government spending in the US.

“Because of these statutory caps, and as good stewards of taxpayer dollars, we made smart, responsible choices to work within those limits,” she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/us-navy-cuts-virginia-class-submarine-from-budget-in-potential-blow-to-pact-20240312-p5fbr1.html

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80104e No.20555460

File: 56b6690f02d31fb⋯.jpg (243.93 KB,999x665,999:665,The_Los_Angeles_class_fast….jpg)

File: 212befe51a0748b⋯.jpg (213.25 KB,999x665,999:665,The_Los_Angeles_class_fast….jpg)

File: dd2f6807c806006⋯.jpg (222.59 KB,999x665,999:665,U_S_Navy_Cmdr_James_Tuthil….jpg)

>>20555443

USS Annapolis Visits Australia

Commander, Submarine Group Seven - 03.11.2024

ROCKINGHAM, Australia - USS Annapolis (SSN 760) arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia Sunday.

This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN).

“Historically, we’ve had allied SSNs visit Australian ports for many decades totaling more than 1,800 days,” said Rear Adm. Matt Buckley, Head of Nuclear Submarine Capability at the Australian Submarine Agency. “Starting with USS North Carolina (SSN 777) last August, these visits are taking on a more important meaning for the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Submarine Agency as we build the infrastructure, knowledge, and stewardship needed to establish SRF-West in 2027.”

Increasing the number of SSN visits to Australia and the establishment of SRF-W comprise the first of three Optimal Pathway phases. As early as 2027, the United States will begin rotational presence in the Western Australia facility as a way to grow the RAN’s ability to operate and maintain a fleet of SSNs. Ultimately, there will be up to four U.S. Virginia-class submarines and one United Kingdom Astute-class submarine at HMAS Stirling.

The second phase of the Optimal Pathway begins in the early 2030s, with the United States selling Australia three Virginia-class submarines, with the potential to sell up to two more if needed. Phase Three sees the combination of a base British submarine design and advanced United States technology to deliver SSN-AUKUS, the future attack submarine for both Australia and the United Kingdom. Australia plans to deliver the first Australian-built SSN-AUKUS in the early 2040s.

“Having our submarines rotating through HMAS Stirling is critical to building Australia’s sovereign capability to safely and competently operate SSNs,” shared Rear Adm. Lincoln Reifsteck, the U.S. AUKUS Pillar One Program Manager. “Each visit will build upon the previous one and allow the RAN team to grow its capabilities. This visit will see Australians take a more active role in the execution of a voyage repair period.”

"For decades, the U.S. Navy, Royal Australian Navy, and Royal Navy have trained and operated together," said Rear Adm. Chris Cavanaugh, Commander, Submarine Group (CSG) 7. "AUKUS is a natural extension of our already close relationship, building unprecedented capability and interoperability that will pay dividends for generations."

“It’s an honor to be here and the team looks forward to working with the Australians and furthering our relationship,” said Cmdr. James Tuthill, Commanding Officer, USS Annapolis. “The enthusiasm and professionalism of the HMAS Stirling team is apparent, and we look forward to making this visit as productive as possible.”

Initially announced in September 2021, the AUKUS trilateral agreement is a strategic endeavor aimed at strengthening the security and defense capabilities of the three nations that also promotes stability and security in the Indo-Pacific region. Australia will acquire conventionally armed SSNs for the Royal Australian Navy under Pillar I of AUKUS via the Optimal Pathway announced by the heads of the three partner nations on March 13, 2023.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/465852/annapolis-visits-australia

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80104e No.20555470

File: 39898cf749e1e0c⋯.jpg (782.25 KB,3300x2550,22:17,Maxwell_was_convicted_of_a….jpg)

File: 2afbe8c02c77984⋯.jpg (732.37 KB,3307x2554,3307:2554,Maxwell_has_continued_to_p….jpg)

Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York

Mike Bedigan - 12 March 2024

Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021 is due to begin this week.

Maxwell, 62, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars last year, after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein.

Her appeal, which is taking place at a federal court in New York, is set to begin on Tuesday. Lawyers have argued that if her conviction is not overturned then she should be given a new trial or re-sentenced.

It is expected that during the appeal, Maxwell will claim that the four victims who testified against her at trial had “faded, distorted and motivated memories”. Her lawyers will argue that she was prosecuted as a “proxy” for Epstein to satisfy public outrage after his death in custody while awaiting trial in 2019.

The Associated Press reported that she will also claim that prosecutors breached a non-prosecution agreement, charged her with “time-barred offenses”, and recast Epstein’s crimes to make her the culprit.

They further allege that prosecutors teamed up with victims who were suing Epstein and Maxwell “whose interests were financial, to develop new allegations.”

It was later revealed that two other jurors also failed to disclose similar information to the court, which may, in certain circumstances, have disqualified them from serving.

Maxwell was found guilty of the abuse and trafficking of four young girls after a jury trial in New York in December 2021. She has continued to protest her innocence since the conviction.

She has also refused to apologise to her victims and said they should blame US authorities for “allowing Epstein to die” in an interview broadcast on TalkTV in January 2023.

At her trial, prosecutors outlined how Maxwell operated as his enabler in luring vulnerable teenage girls with promises of scholarships, gifts and financial assistance for their families, and coerced them into becoming objects for his sexual gratification.

Victims described during the trial how Maxwell initially came across as a trusting, sisterly figure, who would then work in unison with Epstein to abuse and exploit them.

Ahead of the court appearance to appeal, Maxwell’s brother Ian Maxwell told The Independent: “The American justice system and the court were biased against my sister and she didn’t get a fair trial.

“Her jury was not impartial: three of them had been sexually abused but did not disclose this, depriving the defence of the opportunity to challenge their selection as jurors. How could they fairly and dispassionately consider evidence in a sex abuse case?”

The US government has urged the appeals court to uphold her conviction, with prosecutors saying: “The government’s evidence at trial established that over the course of a decade, Maxwell facilitated and participated in the sexual abuse of multiple young girls.”

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/ghislaine-maxwell-jeffrey-epstein-appeal-b2510893.html

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80104e No.20555490

File: 41988d9de5a3389⋯.jpg (1.43 MB,4667x3109,4667:3109,Donald_Trump_s_notorious_p….jpg)

File: 85310a7cc19b092⋯.jpg (1.55 MB,5472x3648,3:2,Dr_Michael_Green_of_the_Un….jpg)

>>20545757

OPINION: How terrible would a second Trump presidency be for Australia? Terrible enough.

Peter Hartcher, political and international editor - March 12, 2024

1/2

Now that Donald Trump is the inevitable Republican candidate for the US presidency, countries everywhere need to prepare. Can Australia Trump-proof itself somehow?

Some of Australia’s most senior officials have turned to Mike Green for his advice in recent weeks. Green is an American politico-policy expert who relocated to Australia a couple of years ago to run the US Studies Centre at Sydney University.

The bad news about a second Trump presidency: “It’d be terrible,” he tells me. The good news: “It wouldn’t be as terrible as people think.”

Green is one of a particular Washington type; hyperconnected, hypersmart, hyperactive, hypertalkative. He’s also a character. He speaks Japanese, he’s worked for a Japanese politician and has a black belt in the Japanese sword martial art of iaido. But before you pigeonhole him, he’s also an expert on the bagpipes.

He worked in the White House leading Asia policy for George W. Bush, but he would never work in a Trump White House.

He was one of 50 “never Trumpers” – national security officials, all of whom had worked for Republican presidents – who published a full-page letter in The New York Times to warn voters that Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history”. They got that right.

So what advice has Green given Canberra? First thing, he says, “is what not to do – do not panic like the Europeans. They have more reason to worry than Australia or Japan.” Because Trumpworld, as he calls it, and the America First ideology are rooted in an anti-European history going back to the 19th century.

“Europe represents everything they hate – open immigration, progressive social policy like gay marriage and abortion, the growth of the bureaucracy and the weakening of the state.”

This helps explain Trump’s taunting of America’s European allies in NATO. By contrast, “a Trump administration would be full of people who are Asia-firsters. I don’t agree with them, but they are all talking about pulling out of Ukraine to shift resources to Asia.” Not necessarily because they love Asia but because they want to confront China. “So Canberra shouldn’t panic, they have something to work with there.”

Second, what of Trump’s stated intention to persecute his enemies if he should win office? Green predicts “ugly fights” as Trump pursues the Department Of Justice. But he might also go after the US intelligence community, says Green. This would worry Australian governments of any stripe.

However, “the courts and Congress will block Trump from dismantling parts of the government that the government needs to protect the country”, predicts Green.

Third, on specific policy areas, Green expects there’d be some damage: “I think the climate compact would be in big trouble.” The compact is the overarching Australia-US framework for co-operation on renewables, signed in May last year.

“There would be no movement on the transition to renewables – he hates anything to do with EVs, batteries, he’d definitely gut those parts of it.” But Green would expect the joint US-Australia agenda on critical minerals to survive a transition to Trump “because of the defence connection, and it could have upside for alliances like the Quad”, comprising Australia, Japan, India and the US.

(continued)

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80104e No.20555493

File: 63f48e06c449e5e⋯.jpg (227.03 KB,3123x1937,3123:1937,How_terrible_would_a_secon….jpg)

>>20555490

2/2

What about Trump’s plan to impose new across-the-board tariffs of 10 per cent on all imports from all countries, and 40 per cent on products from China? “It sounds cool and tough to say ‘tariff man’,” one of Trump’s self-awarded titles, “but he will be absolutely devastated if he acts” on his stated policy.

Why? “Because if Australia, Canada, the EU threaten retaliation, it could really hurt Trump in agriculture-supporting states and districts. He’d have a political gun at his head,” says Green.

He points out that Trump modified earlier trade promises that threatened to backfire, for instance renegotiating the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) rather than his promise to cancel it.

There’s also the fact that Trump exempted Australia from some punitive trade plans last time around because Australia – almost uniquely in the world – runs a trade deficit with the US. Trump thinks of trade as a zero-sum, country-by-country, accounting exercise. If the US has a surplus, it’s winning, in his mind. And, in its trade with Australia, it is “winning”.

There might even be some potential trade gains for Australia under Trump, Green speculates. An agreement on digital trade, for example.

On AUKUS, Green thinks Australia frets too much. The fact that Australia is investing in US subs-building capacity is a big plus, he says. And Green expects that the Republicans would be likely to step up funding for the US submarine program, meaning that any subs sold to – or made with – Australia need not detract from America’s production for its own fleet needs.

This brings Green to his two big worries. And they’re whoppers. One is the effect that a Trump 2.0 could have on American democracy: “It won’t collapse, but it could corrode.”

The other is how Trump would act in a major security crisis in the Indo-Pacific. “What worries me most is that there’s a Taiwan crisis and Trump says, ‘I won’t defend Taiwan’, or there’s a Korea crisis and Trump says ‘I won’t defend South Korea, I’ll meet Kim Jong-un.’”

Even if the US ultimately were to defend Taiwan or South Korea, any initial hesitation would embolden adversaries and make any war bigger, harder and more deadly.

How might Australia try to influence a Trump White House to get the outcomes it seeks? Green warns that it will be “harder for a Labor government” than it was under Coalition prime ministers because there is less ideological common interest. Trump, he points out, loves to create fights with centre-left leaders: “A Labor government has to be really disciplined”.

Australia, counsels Green, should work with like-minded allies such as Japan because “Japan is in good standing with conservative Asia-firsters – Australia shouldn’t be so proud to think that it has to go it alone” in seeking to influence Trump policy.

So how terrible? Terrible enough, it seems.

Peter Hartcher is the international editor.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/how-terrible-would-a-second-trump-presidency-be-for-australia-terrible-enough-20240311-p5fbcy.html

>They are in full blown panic mode.

>Enjoy the show.

>Each FAKE NEWS article written or attack is a badge of honor - military grade.

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80104e No.20560986

File: 5e193973d76d355⋯.jpg (141.89 KB,2048x1152,16:9,China_s_Ambassador_to_Aust….jpg)

>>20550390

Australian wine back on the menu as China to remove tariffs

ELI GREENBLAT and GLENDA KORPORAAL - MARCH 12, 2024

The Australian wine industry is one step closer to reclaiming ­access to the China market and more than $1bn in annual sales after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce released an interim draft determination that proposed a lifting of crippling tariffs on Australian wine imports.

The largest exporter of Australian wine, ASX-listed Treasury Wine Estates, whose labels include Penfolds, Pepperjack and Wolf Blass, said on Tuesday night it had been advised of the draft ­determination.

It noted it was not a final determination and was “subject to change” by the ministry.

China introduced tariffs of up to 200 per cent on imports of Australian wine in 2021, a move widely seen as part of a range of trade sanctions against Australia in the wake of political tensions with the Morrison government.

The tariffs decimated the $1.2bn wine trade to China and forced many winemakers to look elsewhere as the largest global market was shut down.

It also left many Australian winemakers, part of a $45bn sector, with excess stock as the massive tariffs made it uneconomic to sell into China.

Australian Grape & Wine welcomed the interim decision, with its chief executive Lee McLean describing it as a positive step towards resuming trade.

“We remain cautiously optimistic about the forthcoming decision and will await (the ministry’s) final determination,” Mr McLean said.

The draft decision comes after Australia and China both agreed to private discussions about the tariffs following an interim determination by the World Trade Organisation last year following a complaint by Australia.

The move comes ahead of a planned visit that could come as early as next week by China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, who is expected to visit Sydney and Canberra on a two-day visit.

TWE said it expected that a final determination would be issued regarding tariffs on Australian wine imports by the end of the month. The company has maintained a foothold in the China market in recent years by sending wine made in the US and France to China and supporting the development of the Chinese wine industry, including production of a Chinese-made Penfolds released last year.

The company’s chief executive, Tim Ford, has maintained a confidence in the future of the China market despite the tariffs.

He told investors at the company’s half-yearly results in February that the company was holding back some supplies to be ready to reenter the China market with Australian wine if the tariffs were lifted.

The company has maintained a staff in China of some 100 to maintain its exposure to the market in the hope that tariffs would be lifted.

The news should give a boost to a large number of smaller wine makers who have suffered from the closure of the China market.

TWE said it expected that the financial benefits of any new access to the China market would be “incremental” in the current fin­ancial year to the end of June.

Mr Ford is expected to ramp up sales of Australia-made wine once the tariff outlook is clearer.

The move on wine tariffs followed a decision by Chinese authorities to lift tariffs on imports of Australian barley last year following a review by the WTO. Trade restrictions on exports of Australian coal, timber and cotton have been lifted over the past year following an improvement in the Australia-China relationship under the Albanese government.

Ministry of Commerce spokesman He Yadong said Beijing was proposing a “package” deal to end the dispute. “We are willing to meet the Australian side halfway, further enhance mutual trust and co-operate on the basis of the settlement of the barley case dispute,” he said last year, according to a report in China’s official newsagency Xinhua. The Chinese government spokesman said both countries needed to “accommodate each other’s concerns”, urging Canberra to note that “China’s wine industry is very important”.

Minister for Agriculture Murray Watt said the interim recommendation to remove tariffs is good news for Australian wine growers and makers.

“While today’s development is welcome, we will keep advocating for the removal of remaining trade impediments for Australian producers and processors,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/china-to-remove-australian-wine-tariffs/news-story/fd4a15e9e63a4ce8210b0a24a4bc01de

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80104e No.20561037

File: 0eebe09c231a377⋯.jpg (4.96 MB,3819x2477,3819:2477,Los_Angeles_class_submarin….jpg)

File: 7e0238720888233⋯.jpg (4.46 MB,3640x2477,3640:2477,Commanding_Officer_of_HMAS….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20555460

US Navy’s nuclear submarine AUKUS charm offensive begins in Perth

Hamish Hastie - March 13, 2024

The United States Navy and Royal Australian Navy have launched a PR assault on Perth this week to address a looming AUKUS recruitment crisis.

The USS Annapolis Los Angeles-class fast-attack nuclear submarine docked at HMAS Stirling Naval Base on Sunday where much of its 155 crew will use their time on land to sell the job to Australians who will be needed to man the RAN’s own Virginia-class nuclear submarines over the next decade.

USS Annapolis submariners will this week play a game of American football against West Australian gridiron players and take TAFE students for a tour of the 7000-tonne warship.

At the head of the charm offensive is USS Annapolis’ commanding officer Commander James Tuthill who lead media on a tour of the submarine on Tuesday and spoke volumes of Perth.

“What I’m focused on is giving my crew time here in Western Australia, which I have to tell you is a dream scenario, really,” he said.

“From my perspective, as an American sailor, sailors wait their whole career for this opportunity.”

As part of AUKUS about 700 US Navy personnel will live and work in Perth and US Naval Attache to Australia Kevin Quarderer said every sailor wanted to come to Australia.

“Everyone has heard about Perth, they hear the great stories from the crews that return out of these visits,” he said.

“This is where people want to be.”

The USS Annapolis’ visit marks one year since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and US President Joe Biden gathered in San Diego to set the timeline of the AUKUS agreement.

It has also occurred the same week the US Navy revealed it wanted to cut a Virginia-class submarine from its latest budget which Democratic congressman Joe Courtney said could have a profound impact on both it and the RAN.

Under the three-phase $368 billion AUKUS pact, nuclear submarines from both the US and UK will have a permanent presence at HMAS Stirling from as soon as 2027 known as Submarine Rotational Force - West.

During this phase, the RAN will get a taste of what maintaining and operating a fleet of nuclear submarines is like prior to the delivery of between three and five Virginia-class submarines from the US beginning in the 2030s.

Phase three is Australia building and maintaining its own nuclear submarines using US and UK technology, with the first submarine pencilled in for completion in the 2040s.

The three phases will need a forecasted 20,000 jobs across the defence force, industry and government.

But defence and government are concerned that those roles won’t be filled, particularly in the submarine force which already has a shortage of submariners on the existing Collins-class fleet.

Australia’s submarine force commander Commodore Tom Phillips said recruitment has always been a challenge for the defence force as it competes for talent in Australia’s tight labour market.

“We compete for good people, like a number of other sectors in the community, and it’s always been a challenge,” he said.

Asked why a young West Australian should look at a career in defence over the state’s lucrative resources sector he said it offered a different sense of serving the country.

“You’re putting yourself in harm’s way sometimes for other people. That’s something I don’t know if you can do in other industries,” he said.

Phillips hoped the USS Annapolis’ presence would increase awareness of the opportunities in Australia’s submarine force.

https://www.watoday.com.au/politics/western-australia/us-navy-s-nuclear-submarine-aukus-charm-offensive-begins-in-perth-20240312-p5fbxr.html

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80104e No.20561052

File: aa3218fbe8a15e3⋯.jpg (1.57 MB,5234x3489,5234:3489,Abigail_Bradshaw_and_Brand….jpg)

Why this cyber chief thinks your electric car is a security risk

Andrew Tillett - Mar 13, 2024

Chinese technology is “inherently suspect” and deserves much greater scrutiny, a top US cybersecurity official says, as warnings grow that Beijing’s stranglehold on the electric vehicle market poses a security threat to Western countries.

In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency executive director Brandon Wales also flagged that Five Eyes members and other Western nations would step up co-operation to call out cyberattacks and act against adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

The four countries have been dubbed an “axis of autocracy” for efforts to collaborate on disrupting the international rules-based order, but Mr Wales said there was little evidence they were working together to the same extent in cyberspace.

“There’s a reason we can’t trust them. For the same reason that they can’t trust each other,” Mr Wales said in a joint interview with the head of the Australian Cyber Security Centre, Abigail Bradshaw.

“These are countries that are generally untrustworthy, and there are going to be limits to the degree of collaboration that they will undertake. They don’t have things like Five Eyes alliances. They are not dependable partners.”

With the Albanese government flagging new powers over critical infrastructure providers to protect them from cyberattacks, Mr Wales highlighted the risks by saying China continued to try to get into US infrastructure for “future disruptive and destructive attacks”.

US President Joe Biden last month instigated an investigation into technology embedded in Chinese-made electric vehicles. Officials said they could be used to track where people drive their vehicles, or even disabled remotely.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported this month a congressional probe of Chinese-made cargo cranes at US ports were fitted with modems that politicians feared could be accessed covertly. The Biden administration has announced plans to replace foreign-built cranes with US-made ones.

Asked whether such concerns were justified or paranoia, Mr Wales said: “I think that any time that you are purchasing technology from a country that has, as its stated purpose, to burrow into US critical infrastructure and hold it at risk, that technology is going to be inherently suspect.

“It should and deserves a higher degree of scrutiny.

“That being said, much of China’s targeting of US critical infrastructure is happening through vulnerabilities in technology that is designed by US companies. So, it is not enough to focus just on Chinese cranes and any other technology that’s coming directly from China.

“We need to make sure that our technology and what we’re building is secure by design because it is the mechanism by which they are getting into our networks today.”

Ms Bradshaw said the ACSC had issued advice to consumers and businesses on how to configure internet devices and manage supply chains to mitigate the risk, “but there are issues like the origin of the technology and the operation of the laws in the country of origin, which should go to inform the views of any purchaser”.

Mr Wales said measures, such as the naming earlier this year of the Russian hacker behind the Medibank cyberattack and imposition of sanctions on him by Australia, the US and Britain, were effective in changing behaviour.

“We do think it’s important that wherever possible, we have other like- minded countries operating with us because it’ll have greater impact, and things like sanctions have a greater impact when you have more countries involved in them. And so we’re always going to try to do that.”

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/why-this-cyber-chief-thinks-your-electric-car-is-a-security-risk-20240312-p5fbon

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80104e No.20561062

File: 98f9494ede6cf7f⋯.jpg (1.32 MB,5629x3753,5629:3753,Brandon_Wales_the_executiv….jpg)

>>20561052

‘Societal chaos’: US cyber chief sounds alarm on China threat

Matthew Knott - March 13, 2024

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China is hacking into rival nations’ critical infrastructure networks so it can disrupt American military activities in the Asia-Pacific and unleash societal chaos, one of the United States’ most senior cybersecurity officials has warned.

Brandon Wales, executive director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the US, Australia and other democratic nations needed to respond to an “extremely significant shift” in Beijing’s strategy from a focus on more passive forms of espionage to laying the groundwork for offensive cyberattacks.

“China’s goal is to be pre-positioned to have the ability to effect an attack when they want, and we have found evidence that they have burrowed inside of networks and in some cases have been there for several years,” said Wales, who is visiting Australia for meetings with his Australian counterparts.

Wales said Beijing was still intent on stealing political and intellectual property secrets, but had added a new mission of preparing for disruptive cyberattacks on adversaries’ critical infrastructure in the event of a conflict.

“It is concerning that we’re actually seeing evidence of it coming to fruition, and it requires a full court press from the United States and our allies around the world to stop it,” he said in an interview at the Australian Signals Directorate's headquarters in Canberra.

The Five Eyes intelligence-sharing alliance, made up of the US, Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the UK, last year accused China of launching a major hacking campaign on critical infrastructure assets in Guam, an island in the Pacific Ocean that is home to some of America’s most important military bases.

Tech giant Microsoft said the “stealthy and targeted malicious activity” had been carried out by Volt Typhoon, a state-sponsored network of hackers based in China that typically focuses on espionage and information gathering.

"I would say China is by far the most significant threat to US critical infrastructure in cyberspace that we face," Wales said.

“While obviously, other nation states like Russia and Iran have designs on US critical infrastructure the sophistication and scale of the Chinese program dwarfs those [of the] other countries.”

Wales said China had two goals when it came to targeting US critical infrastructure assets.

“In some respects, they’re looking to disrupt our ability to project power,” he said. “So if we had to support allies in the Pacific, making that more difficult.”

Secondly, he accused Beijing of “targeting a wide range of infrastructure for the purposes of sowing societal chaos inside the United States to affect US decision-making at a time and place of their choosing”.

“So if we want to have the type of geopolitical latitude that we need to advance US security interests and those of our allies, we need to ensure that China is not successful,” he said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20561064

File: 5975d88939c08ed⋯.jpg (883.21 KB,3012x2008,3:2,US_President_Joe_Biden_has….jpg)

>>20561062

2/2

Wales, who is regarded as one of the US’ top cyber policy experts, said that while criminal cyber gangs often targeted hospitals and other healthcare providers for ransomware attacks, Beijing was focused on assets such as oil and gas transportation nodes.

“But the reality is that almost any critical infrastructure can be targeted,” he said. “And we see targets in every single sector over the course of a year from both nation states and criminal organisations.”

Abigail Bradshaw, head of the Australian Signals Directorate’s Australian Cyber Security Centre, said there were “certainly similarities” between the threats faced by the US and Australia, adding that the agency had sought to raise the alarm about increased risks to Australian critical infrastructure assets from state and non-state actors.

US President Joe Biden recently issued an executive order to improve cybersecurity protections at American ports and announced an unprecedented investigation into potential security risks in the US automobile sector amid fears China could use smart cars to spy on American drivers, prompting calls for Australia to follow suit.

Wales said cybersecurity had been an “afterthought” for too long and needed to be a priority for emerging technologies such as electric vehicles and associated charging infrastructure.

Noting that the vast majority of cranes used at US ports were made in China, he added that “we have seen targeting, including from China and others who have looked to exploit port operations to potentially cause disruption”.

“When you are relying upon untrustworthy technology manufactured by countries who we know are looking to do us harm, having that be in critical elements of our infrastructure poses additional risk,” he said.

The US would increasingly look to build its own cranes or import them from friendly nations such as Japan and South Korea rather than rely on China, he said.

China has repeatedly rejected US hacking allegations as baseless, claiming that China is the world’s biggest victim of cyberattacks.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning said last month that it was “completely unfounded” to say that Chinese-made cranes posed a national security risk to the US.

“We firmly oppose the US overstretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to go after Chinese products and companies,” she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/societal-chaos-us-cyber-chief-sounds-alarm-on-china-threat-20240312-p5fbo8.html

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80104e No.20561119

File: 3a287e54558088e⋯.jpg (456.97 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_s_most_senior_he….jpg)

File: b3d98a0d7b4ed9f⋯.jpg (375.39 KB,1275x1650,17:22,0001.jpg)

File: d38083761ac57ca⋯.jpg (596.13 KB,1275x1650,17:22,0002.jpg)

File: b20f8b54070826c⋯.jpg (210.25 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0003.jpg)

File: 7038ee2725cda2b⋯.jpg (745.9 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0004.jpg)

Puberty blockers for trans kids under fresh scrutiny as NHS issues ban

NATASHA ROBINSON - MARCH 13, 2024

1/2

Australia’s children’s hospitals are increasingly being left as international outliers as Britain’s National Health Service moves to ban the routine prescription of puberty blockers in children, raising questions over the safety and clinical effectiveness of the hormone drugs that are given to children experiencing gender dysphoria.

The NHS released a statement saying “we have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of [puberty blockers] to make the treatment routinely available at this time” and announced the drugs will only be able to be prescribed as part of clinical trials. The decision is in line with a central recommendation of pediatrician Hillary Cass following an extensive examination of the care being provided to children at London’s Tavistock clinic in the wake of clinical governance concerns raised by doctors and patients.

While Australian gender-affirming doctors continue to maintain puberty blockers simply “pause” sexual development while confused children weigh up whether to progress to transition, the Cass review found that an ideologically-driven approach at the Tavistock had essentially transplanted usual clinical governance practice and usual practices of comprehensive assessment and care, and that children were being rushed onto the drugs and placed on a medical pathway that almost invariably progressed to the later prescription of cross-sex hormones and sometimes surgery.

International evidence has mounted since the interim findings of the esteemed pediatrician were handed down in Britain, with several progressive countries that had wholly embraced gender-affirming care instituting greater restrictions and safeguards and launching reviews into the model’s evidence base. Some of the original Dutch researchers who published the first papers on puberty blockers in the treatment of gender-questioning children – that provided the evidence upon which the gender-affirming model is based, including in Australia – have now questioned their own findings, prompting the Netherlands parliament to commission fresh research.

There are concerns around the drugs’ impact on children’s brain development, bone mineral density, and potentially their future fertility and sexual function especially when the patients progress onto cross-sex hormones.

Last year Norway’s independent healthcare investigator, the Norwegian Healthcare Investigation Board, published a report pronouncing that little was known about the long-term effects of puberty blockers and side effects of treatment with hormone drugs and issuing a recommendation that “puberty blockers and hormonal and surgical gender-confirmation treatment for children and young people are defined as experimental treatment”.

The world’s leading clinicians in gender-affirming care appear to accept that the model is experimental, with the president of the World Professional Association for Transgender Health openly admitting in comments from a discussion forum recently leaked to US journalist Michael Shellenberger and published by his think-tank Environmental Progress that there was no research whatsoever as to the consequences on the future fertility for children placed on puberty blockers, and that boys given the drugs at a pre-pubescent stage were later unable to orgasm.

The files also revealed deep uncertainty among clinicians at the ability of young people to provide informed consent to hormone treatment. Shellenberger, who is aligned with gender-critical activists Genspect, has taken a strong stance in opposition to gender-affirming care and has not revealed the source of the leak.

(continued)

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80104e No.20561127

File: 214d1eac9eaeccf⋯.jpg (856.47 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0005.jpg)

File: 9f8ccab3dbd4e26⋯.jpg (629.99 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0006.jpg)

File: 12d9de16b02d9cd⋯.jpg (682.34 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0007.jpg)

File: 5db23a5377b37f8⋯.jpg (604.5 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0008.jpg)

File: 43c710eece0863b⋯.jpg (590.98 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0009.jpg)

>>20561119

2/2

Australia’s leading physicians in gender-affirming care – who have authored guidelines of care adopted as quasi-national national standards in the absence of medical colleges stepping into the field – have also acknowledged their practices are somewhat of a work in progress.

In a response to the interim findings of the Cass review authored by Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne doctors Ken Peng and Michelle Telfer, co-authored by trans activist Jeremy Wiggins and published in the British Medical Journal, the physicians argued Dr Cass had ignored international consensus around the prescription of puberty blockers and that seeking to craft a policy based on “the middle ground” consensus by taking into account “those who view gender diversity as inherently pathological” was “a fallacy”.

The editorial piece said that while long-term data was “undoubtedly needed”, taking a cautious approach to the prescription of the drugs “ignores more than two decades of clinical experience in this area as well as existing evidence showing the benefits of these hormonal interventions on the mental health and quality of life of gender diverse young people”.

The article noted that “it will take many years to obtain these long term data” and that it was legitimate to proceed on the basis of “professional consensus”.

However, despite the presentation of consensus by gender-affirming care advocates, medical consensus is far from assured in Australia, with the foremost experts in children’s hormone treatment, pediatric endocrinologists, opposing the prescription of puberty blockers to children during consultation by the Royal College of Physicians two years ago. Their dissenting view was suppressed by the RACP in its published position reporting on its consultations.

Psychiatrists have also put forward an increasingly cautious view, as have the clinicians in charge at Sydney’s flagship children’s hospital at Westmead.

Despite the call for more data, RCH clinicians have published very little data on the outcomes of their patients, which have swelled in number to about 1000 from very small numbers a decade ago. Despite the oft-pronounced extreme suicide risk for transgender young people, Westmead’s published research has questioned whether the gender-affirming care pathway results in better mental health outcomes for those who progress to transition at all. This is in line with the world’s most robust study to date on the issue, published in the journal BMJ Mental Health last month by Finnish researchers. The study analysed the mental health outcomes of all of the 2083 young people referred to its gender service between 1996 and 2019. It found that although the proportion of suicides was higher in the gender-referred group of young people versus a control group, after specialist-level psychiatric treatment was controlled for, neither all-cause nor suicide mortality differed between the two groups.

The paper concluded: “clinical gender dysphoria does not appear to be predictive of all-cause nor suicide mortality when psychiatric treatment history is accounted for”.

The RCH has been approached for comment in the wake of the NHS announcement, as have the other two big prescribers of hormone drugs to children, the Perth Children’s Hospital and the Queensland Children’s Hospital, whose gender clinic is currently subject to a state review.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/puberty-blockers-for-trans-kids-under-fresh-scrutiny-as-nhs-issues-ban/news-story/5c58090a8c7a3c5dac9f2a51c626df33

https://environmentalprogress.org/big-news/wpath-files

https://drive.proton.me/urls/N7HDQPVPYC#Cq1csVm276lF

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80104e No.20565278

File: ed965de27175f25⋯.jpg (286.93 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Stella_Assange_at_the_Fore….jpg)

Stella Assange begs Anthony Albanese to pressure Americans to drop Julian Assange case

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - MARCH 14, 2024

Julian Assange’s wife has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “bring it up a notch” and publicly call for the release of the WikiLeaks founder amid fears that the United States government could secretly extradite him across the Atlantic on a military jet.

Stella Assange said that for several years Mr Albanese has been saying the case should be brought to an end, but she said that his language was ambiguous.

In response to a question from The Australian at a Foreign Press Association event in central London on Wednesday Mrs Assange said: “The terms he uses are still quite ambiguous and I would like to see a much clearer statement from the Prime Minister that Julian has to be released.”

She added: “Enough is enough, he’s been saying that for three years, you have to bring that up a notch and of course he has the backing of the Australian people and the Australian public to say it clearly now: that Julian has to be released; he needs to be released now.”

Assange, 52, is currently a remand prisoner in the high security Belmarsh prison on the outskirts of London and is awaiting a decision from the High Court whether he has grounds to launch a further appeal against his extradition to the United States.

The United States wants to try Assange on 17 spy charges and one of computer hacking in relation to hundreds of thousands of documents he released on WikiLeaks in 2010 in relation to the Iraq war, and military documents on the Afghanistan war.

Mrs Assange said if the judges won’t allow any further appeals, the only recourse is for Assange to apply to the European Court of Human Rights for a rarely granted emergency injunction.

Mrs Assange fears that the United States may extradite her husband without warning in secrecy and darkness without any time to act.

In one other case, an extradition from Britain to the United States, the US marshals took the individual within 24 hours.

“They weren’t taken to Heathrow or on a commercial flight, they weren’t where unions could take some kind of action, they were taken onto a US airfield and flown on a military jet to the United States.”

There are more than half a dozen US bases in England including two major air strips at Lakenheath and Mildenhall.

Mrs Assange said: “The show would be on the other end, it would be done in secrecy and darkness. It would be done without any time to react, the kind of show would happen once he was in Virginia in United States custody.”

She is hopeful that the British judges would announce their decision in a courtroom and that she would be given two day’s notice of such an announcement.

She said the US president Joe Biden had the authority to drop the case against her husband.

“He could do that right now’’, adding “I don’t think dropping the case against Julian would anger the voters, it would anger the intelligence community”.

She said that Australia was in a position where it “could push harder” in discussions with the Americans.

“My understanding is it comes up in meetings, but to what extent the prime minister is pushing, I don’t know and of course Australia is an important strategic partner of the United States. It is not in a position of being obsequious, it is a vital partner in the United States relationship in the Indo-Pacific and AUKUS. The Australian government could push harder.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/stella-assange-begs-anthony-albanese-to-pressure-americans-to-drop-julian-assange-case/news-story/adabcbec9c65317725e784ca8a68059f

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80104e No.20565284

File: 559188fdc956e51⋯.jpg (564.47 KB,2048x1366,1024:683,Foreign_Affairs_Minister_P….jpg)

>>20550378

>>20550390

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to meet Penny Wong in Canberra

Andrew Tillett - Mar 14, 2024

Foreign Minister Penny Wong will press her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to remove Beijing’s remaining trade sanctions on Australian exports and the need to prevent conflict in the region when she hosts him in Canberra on Wednesday.

Two days after China flagged it would remove crippling tariffs on Australian wine exports, Senator Wong confirmed she would host Mr Wang for the Seventh Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue. Mr Wang will also meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Senator Wong is also expected to raise human rights and protest the jailing of Chinese-Australian pro-democracy blogger Yang Hengjun in her meeting with Mr Wang.

It will be the first visit by a Chinese foreign minister to Australia since Mr Wang’s 2017 trip. The dialogue was last held in Beijing in December 2022 during Senator Wong’s ice-breaking visit to the Chinese capital after years of tense relations.

“Dialogue is central to a constructive relationship with China and to supporting regional peace and stability,” Senator Wong said.

“Australia’s approach is consistent; we seek to co-operate with China where we can, disagree where we must, and engage in our national interest.

“It’s Australia’s view that a stable bilateral relationship would enable both countries to pursue respective national interests if we navigate our differences wisely.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton welcomed the visit but added Australia needed to stand up for its best interests.

“It’s important for us to do whatever we can to build a relationship with big trading nations,” he said.

“We need to make sure that we can keep peace and stability in our region, and we need to make sure that we’re honest with friends, and those that we need to have an honest conversation with where our interests diverge. I think it’s important for us to be open and frank in those conversations.”

With growing tensions in the South China Sea between the Philippines and China, as well as the risk of conflict with the US over Taiwan, Senator Wong used a speech on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Melbourne last week to step up calls for “preventative architecture” to avoid war.

While not naming China, she warned about “destabilising, provocative and coercive actions”.

China’s Commerce Ministry issued a draft determination on Tuesday night indicating it would remove tariffs of up to 220 per cent on Australian wine. The tariffs are expected to be abolished by the end of the month.

The tariffs, imposed by Beijing as part of a campaign against Australian exporters as bilateral ties soured, crippled an industry that had been worth $1.1 billion in annual sales.

Beef from eight abattoirs and lobsters remain the only commodities still affected by China’s trade sanctions.

However, efforts to stabilise ties between Beijing and Canberra suffered a setback in February when Dr Yang was handed a suspended death sentence after five years in detention on vague national security charges.

Senator Wong described the sentence as “appalling” and vowed to push for more lenient treatment for Dr Yang, whose health is ailing, according to family members.

Australia-China Relations Institute director James Laurenceson said Mr Wang would push for more concrete bilateral initiatives with Australia, but “I’m not sure if they’re going to get any”.

“The Yang Hengjun verdict has shrunk the domestic political space,” he said.

Asked about the looming end of wine tariffs, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Wednesday night that China and Australia had engaged in dialogue and consultation for some time to address each other’s concerns and improve bilateral relations.

“China stands ready to continue stepping up dialogue and co-operation with Australia under the principles of mutual respect, equality, mutual benefit, and seeking common ground while shelving differences so as to promote the steady and sound growth of China-Australia relations,” he said.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/wong-to-push-china-s-foreign-minister-over-trade-security-20240314-p5fccb

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80104e No.20565302

File: 7518308d4c8761a⋯.jpg (853.79 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_national_inquiry_into_tr….jpg)

File: 2dcdca761d92eb5⋯.jpg (161.15 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Child_psychiatrist_Jillian….jpg)

File: 3a5aaa767d72325⋯.jpg (1.69 MB,1263x3806,1263:3806,Call_for_Submissions_Curre….jpg)

>>20561119

AHRC transgender rights inquiry ‘biased, waste of taxpayer funds’: experts

ELLIE DUDLEY - FEBRUARY 28, 2024

1/2

A national inquiry into trans­gender human rights focusing on “anti-trans mobilisation” and “disinformation” has been ­branded a “serious misuse of taxpayer funds” by experts concerned it fails to balance the rights of transgender people with the rights of women and girls.

Specialists and lobby groups have also flagged a possible “bias” exhibited in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s ­inquiry because it restricts submissions to experts “in trans and gender diverse matters”.

As part of the inquiry, the commission will probe “discrimination, harassment, vilification and violence” levelled at trans and gender diverse (TGD) Australians, and investigate “extremism and radicalisation”.

The inquiry, which will also examine how “education, employment, healthcare, housing, migration, service provision and the law” affect transgender Australians, is open for submissions but will only accept the opinions of experts “in TGD matters”.

Senior Queensland child psychiatrist Jillian Spencer said the inquiry fails to focus on how the rights of transgender people ­intersect with the rights of women and children.

“All they seem to want is for the transgender community to voice any bad experiences they’ve had, and they don’t want to look at the whole rights issue for the whole of the community,” she said.

Dr Spencer made headlines last year when she was stood down from Queensland Children’s Hospital because of her concerns about the treatment of children with gender dysphoria, and after voicing opposition to gender affirming care – a largely contested medical approach in which a child’s perceived gender is unquestioningly endorsed by doctors.

In her submission to the inquiry, Dr Spencer said one of the greatest threats to Australians experiencing gender dysphoria was gender-affirming care.

“Some doctors providing the affirmation model lack the clinical skills to successfully engage a young person in therapy to help them explore and overcome their gender dysphoria,” she wrote.

“These unskilled health professionals instead collude with the young person to ignore the underlying issues driving the gender dysphoria and they sell their patient a pretend solution of body modification.”

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists at the end of last year became the first medical body in the country to decline to endorse gender­ affirming care as the key intervention for children who ­believe they may be transgender, reflecting an increasingly cautious approach in some European countries amid a cited lack of evidence for the medical pathway.

(continued)

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80104e No.20565304

File: c1ac4abe6153cfb⋯.jpg (218.43 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Trans_activists_near_Parli….jpg)

File: 5e5c0351c0e9772⋯.jpg (299.44 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Professor_Patrick_Parkinso….jpg)

>>20565302

2/2

Christian Schools Australia ­director of public policy Mark Spencer said the AHRC inquiry was an “activist discussion” ­attempting to “shut down debate around what is in the best interests of young people”. “The concerning element of the inquiry is its skewed focus, only looking at threats to one small group, which is then exacerbated by the gatekeeping around who they will take submissions from,” he said.

Emeritus professor Bronwyn Winter suggested the inquiry exhibited a “bias” because it “explicitly talks about anti-trans mobilisation and restricts calls for submissions to certain groups”. She accused the AHRC of “pre-determining an outcome by saying there are these threats”.

The Free Speech Union of Australia wrote to the AHRC and commissioner Lorraine Finlay this week claiming the inquiry was not “neutrally worded”. “It appears that those with gender critical views are being cast as spreading misinformation, being extremists and even violating human rights,” the letter reads.

University of Queensland law professor Patrick Parkinson said the inquiry’s terms of reference “nail the AHRC’s colours firmly to an ideological mast” and indicate the commission has aligned with “particularly active and powerful lobby groups”.

“To launch an inquiry which is intended to gather evidence to support the claims and talking points of one lobby group is in my view a serious misuse of taxpayer funds,” he said.

Transcend Australia CEO Jeremy Wiggins, however, welcomed the inquiry, saying there “is significant evidence that tells us that trans and gender diverse Australians experience disproportionate rates of discrimination, violence and abuse”.

“All Australians deserve to live their lives with safety, dignity and respect and no minority group should be under threat,” he said.

“We hope that this process will better inform governments, human rights groups and civil society organisations about the real and present dangers faced by trans and gender diverse people and their families in their everyday lives and lead to a set of recommendations on how to increase protections and manage the actual threats.”

In a statement, the AHRC said the aim of the inquiry was to “ensure a comprehensive understanding of the challenges to the full enjoyment of human rights by trans and gender diverse individuals and to identify strategies for addressing them”.

“The project scope is to ensure the focus remains on objective analysis and safeguard the integrity of the project’s findings. This is due to the nature of the debate surrounding trans and gender ­diverse people’s rights,” the statement reads.

“Demonstrated experience and in-depth understanding of these issues is crucial due to the complexity of the subject matter.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/legal-affairs/ahrc-transgender-rights-inquiry-biased-waste-of-taxpayer-funds-experts/news-story/56437fc0babd289de85873bd895c24aa

https://humanrights.gov.au/have-your-say/call-submissions-current-and-emerging-threats-tgd-human-rights

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71025d No.20570344

File: d628ab04a7efd6c⋯.png (687.09 KB,636x628,159:157,ClipboardImage.png)

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80104e No.20570374

File: 8c23b0fb6274377⋯.jpg (1.43 MB,5019x3346,3:2,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

>>20550335

Australia to resume funding for UN aid agency

David Crowe and Olivia Ireland - March 15, 2024

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Australia will restore a $6 million funding pledge to the peak United Nations body that helps the Palestinian people in Gaza after a seven-week suspension due to claims that some of the agency’s staff took part in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians last October.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the funding would be released under “stringent conditions” in a new agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency with tougher controls to ensure staff neutrality in the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

“The best available current advice from agencies and the Australian government lawyers is that UNRWA is not a terrorist organisation, and that existing and additional safeguards sufficiently protect Australian taxpayer funding,” she said.

But the decision provoked swift criticism from Jewish community groups who believe UNRWA facilities are being used by Hamas, that some of the UN agency’s workers joined the attacks on Israel and that aid intended for civilians was being commandeered by Hamas.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the decision was “risky and reckless” because of the longstanding concerns about the UN body and the fact that the United States was yet to end its pause on funding.

The conflict in Gaza has displaced most of the enclave’s 2.3 million people, with chaotic scenes and deadly incidents taking place during aid distributions as desperately hungry people scramble for food.

At least 29 Palestinians were killed while awaiting aid in two separate Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the Gaza Health Ministry said. Israel’s military denied attacking aid centres, describing the reports as false.

In Deir Al-Balah, in central Gaza, an Israeli missile hit a house on Thursday, killing nine people, according to a Reuters report citing Palestinian medics. Residents said Israeli aerial and ground bombardments persisted overnight across the enclave, including in Rafah in the south, where over a million displaced people are sheltering.

The end of the Australian funding pause, which began on January 27, will be backed by separate moves to send a Royal Australian Air Force C-17A aircraft to deliver 140 aerial delivery parachutes for aid drops on Gaza by Jordan and the United Arab Emirates.

The government will also give $4 million to UNICEF, the UN agency that helps children, to offer help to Palestinians, as well as offering $2 million to the UN humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator for Gaza to help deliver aid.

The moves will take Australian aid to $52.5 million since the crisis began on October 7.

Australia paused the $6 million in additional funding to UNRWA after Israel claimed some of the agency’s workers had taken part in the October 7 attacks, in which Hamas killed more than 1200 Israeli people and took another 250 hostage. Hamas is listed as a terrorist organisation by Australian authorities.

Israel claimed that at least a dozen UNRWA workers joined the October 7 attacks and that more than 1400 of the agency’s employees were active members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad, but these claims have been the subject of fierce disputes.

“Of the 12 people implicated, UNRWA immediately identified and terminated the contracts of 10, another two are confirmed dead,” the UN said on February 8, while promising an investigation by the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services.

(continued)

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80104e No.20570379

File: 751fe5a9ae1df7c⋯.jpg (2.15 MB,5760x3840,3:2,Displaced_Palestinians_rec….jpg)

>>20570374

2/2

Wong has been waiting on the outcome of the UN investigation into the matter, but said on Friday it was time to release the Australian money because of the undertakings from UNRWA and the fact that other countries chose to end their funding suspensions.

Sweden and Canada ended their funding pauses last week, while the European Union said two weeks ago that it would proceed with the first tranche of €50 million ($83 million) for the agency this year out of €82 million ($135 million) promised for 2024.

Wong said the commitments from the UN agency would give Australia greater confidence about the neutrality of its staff and supply of its aid to people in need.

“The plan includes strengthened internal controls to ensure its neutrality, including rigorous requirements of staff and updated reports to donors,” she said.

The foreign minister emphasised that UNRWA was the only agency capable of delivering enough aid in Gaza to help the Palestinian people during the conflict.

“I know that there are people starving in Gaza. I know that the European Union and Canada have determined to unpause [their funding],” she said.

“I know that UNRWA is critical to providing this assistance to people who are on the brink of starving.”

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network’s president Nasser Mashni welcomed Wong’s announcement as he said it had been distressing when funding was frozen.

“It’s heartening to hear the Australian Government publicly recognise the integrity of UNRWA and to acknowledge the agency’s vital and ongoing humanitarian effort in Gaza and its support of Palestinian refugees across the region,” he said.

The Australian National Imams Council also welcomed the decision and said UNRWA was making a critical difference while Israel continued its “unrelenting and brutal campaign” against civilians in Gaza.

The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council said funding for needy Palestinians should be supplied urgently, but not through UNRWA because of the evidence that it employed terrorists.

“UNRWA does not promote the Australian government’s vision of two states living in peace, but has instead long been a significant barrier to achieving this goal and needs to be phased out as soon as possible,” said AIJAC executive director Colin Rubenstein.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry president Daniel Aghion said the government needed to find another way to feed the people of Gaza.

“Our community favours the provision of aid to civilians in Gaza who are in desperate need, but we are totally opposed to the use of UNRWA as an agency for delivering that aid,” Aghion said.

Birmingham questioned whether Wong could rely on the assurances from UNRWA about its neutrality when Australia could have waited for the end of the investigation and worked on concert with the US.

“Penny Wong should be releasing the advice that she’s relied upon – she should be detailing the assurances she’s had,” he said.

“By acting out of step with the US, we are failing to take advantage of the type of leverage that could get more effective outcomes.”

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/australia-to-resume-funding-un-aid-agency-20240315-p5fcqf.html

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80104e No.20570394

File: ddc2a7d9bf7eba6⋯.jpg (580.51 KB,2968x1979,2968:1979,Anthony_Albanese_and_Joe_B….jpg)

File: df53deee270af08⋯.jpg (2.1 MB,3600x2652,300:221,Australia_will_buy_up_to_f….jpg)

>>20555443

‘Too big to fail’: US insists AUKUS deal is not sub par

Farrah Tomazin - March 15, 2024

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Washington: The Biden administration has assured Australia that the US remains strongly committed to the AUKUS military pact after a contentious decision to halve American submarine production raised alarms about the future of the agreement.

Three months after legislation to help Australia acquire nuclear-propelled submarines finally passed in Washington, the US Navy this week proposed removing an attack submarine from its 2025 spending plan, in a tacit recognition that American shipbuilding yards are struggling with the pace of producing and maintaining the national fleet.

The proposed budget cut prompted fears about the viability of AUKUS, which was designed by the US, Australia and the UK to safeguard the Indo-Pacific from the growing threat of China, but requires the US maintain a production rate of 2.33 submarines a year to sell any subs to Australia.

Former Liberal prime minister Malcolm Turnbull said Australia had been “mugged by reality” over the deal; ALP activist group Labor Against War called on the Albanese government to freeze earmarked AUKUS payments underwriting US shipyards; and Democrat congressman Joe Courtney warned the proposed cut could have a “profound impact on both countries’ navies” if approved.

In the face of the backlash, the Biden administration has sought to assuage Australia’s concerns about the deal and insists it remains a reliable partner to deliver on the pact.

“I can tell you that AUKUS is one of the transformative agreements,” Richard Verma, the administration’s deputy secretary of state for management and resources, told this masthead. “We are very proud to be strongly supporting it and moving forward with it.”

Asked to explain the proposed cut, considering America’s concerns over China’s rise in the Indo-Pacific, he said the budget simply “reflects kind of the pace and scope and scale that all sides have agreed to” – a reference to the long-term nature of the multibillion-dollar plan – and that he had seen “only an incredible enthusiasm and commitment from our State Department, DoD [Department of Defence] and the larger technology community”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20570400

File: 1f70e34f1e334ae⋯.jpg (381.36 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 04514b20acc4101⋯.jpg (992.36 KB,3380x2248,845:562,Then_prime_minister_Malcol….jpg)

>>20570394

2/2

It’s a year since President Joe Biden, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak gathered in San Diego to announce the optimal pathway for AUKUS.

Under the deal, the US has agreed to sell at least three Virginia-class boats to Australia to fill a “capability gap” before specially designed nuclear-powered submarines are operational from the 2040s.

Part of the agreement also involves Australia spending $3 billion to boost US shipyards so Virginia-class submarines can arrive in the early 2030s – an investment that Courtney described as “pretty amazing”.

“That has never happened before, where another country has expressed their willingness to make that move because they correctly see that, you know, for this to succeed, we have to expand capacity,” said the congressman, a staunch ally of Australia from Connecticut, where the Virginia-class subs will be built.

Others, however, are far less optimistic.

“We are providing billions of dollars to the US, have given up an independent foreign policy and made Australia a parking lot for US weapons,” Greens Senator David Shoebridge wrote on X. “In exchange, we get nothing. Nothing but a big target and empty pockets.”

Turnbull, an architect of an earlier French submarine plan dumped by his successor Scott Morrison in favour of the AUKUS deal, also raised concerns.

He noted that unless the US doubles its rate of production of Virginia class submarines, it won’t have capacity to supply Australia with the subs promised, let alone maintain the numbers needed for its own navy.

“What does that mean for Australia? It means because the Morrison government, adopted by Albanese, has basically abandoned our sovereignty in terms of submarines, we are completely dependent on what happens in the United States as to whether we get them now,” he told ABC radio.

“This is really a case of us being mugged by reality,” he added.

Australia’s concerns over the AUKUS deal reverberated on Thursday (Friday AEDT) at a seminar with Courtney and Australia’s deputy chief of mission, ambassador Paul Myler, to mark the first anniversary of the San Diego announcement.

Asked by an audience member about Turnbull’s comments, Myler said: “I would never not take seriously views expressed by former prime ministers of Australia, but I think we are very confident of the future of AUKUS”.

“This was a ‘no fail’ exercise for these political leaders,” Myler added.

“If you stand up and say ‘we are going to do this’ and then you fail to do it, you massively undermine your deterrence credibility going forward.

“This is one of those exercises that is too big to fail from a deterrence perspective, so we’ve all got to put our shoulder to the wheel to make sure it succeeds.”

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/too-big-to-fail-us-insists-aukus-deal-is-not-sub-par-20240315-p5fcny.html

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80104e No.20570434

File: d042b9fec14f8e5⋯.mp4 (15.92 MB,640x360,16:9,_Incorrect_Democratic_Cong….mp4)

>>20555443

>>20570394

US congressman Joe Courtney hits back at Malcolm Turnbull’s claim Australia was ‘mugged by reality’ on AUKUS deal: 'Never stepped foot in that shipyard'

Laurence Karacsony - March 15, 2024

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US Democratic Congressman Joe Courtney has hit back at former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s claim Australia was "mugged by reality" over the production of submarine deliverables from the United States as part of the tripartite AUKUS deal with the UK and the US.

Mr Turnbull claimed on Wednesday that Australia was now at the mercy of its ally after the US announced it will halve the number of submarines it will build in 2025.

The Pentagon's budget draft request calls for just one Virginia-class submarine to be built next year, potentially jeopardising plans for the US to provide three of the models to Australia by the early 2030s.

"This is really a case of us being mugged by reality. I mean, there's a lot of AUKUS cheerleaders, and anyone that has any criticism of AUKUS is almost described as being unpatriotic. We've got to be realistic here," Mr Turnbull said.

Speaking to Sky News host Peter Stefanovic on Friday morning, Mr Courtney shot down Mr Turnbull's concerns, claiming the deal was in a "healthy" position.

"He has never stepped foot in that shipyard, he’s never gone to the job creating programs where we are building up capacity every single day, so I think that the reality is not one that’s mugging anyone. I think the reality is positive," Mr Courtney said.

"We're going to christen a submarine this Saturday, the USS Iowa. We commissioned two submarines last year, and also in December the USS Iowa is going to be released into the fleet.

"So Mr Turnbull’s comment that the industrial base is just sort of seizing up is factually incorrect. That's not happening."

Mr Turnbull said the US' decision to halve production of the Virginia class would make the country less likely to sell submarines to Australia.

"They're not only producing about half as many submarines as they believe they need, but they also are not able to maintain the submarines they have," Mr Turnbull said on Wednesday.

"The reality is the Americans are not going to make their submarine deficit worse than it is already by giving or selling submarines to Australia and the AUKUS legislation actually sets that out quite specifically."

(continued)

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80104e No.20570442

File: a6c9b66d1ea0a51⋯.jpg (36.09 KB,650x366,325:183,Former_Prime_Minister_Malc….jpg)

File: 56cc9b037d97a43⋯.jpg (37.05 KB,650x366,325:183,US_Congressman_Joe_Courtne….jpg)

>>20570434

2/2

The US has aimed to produce 2.33 submarines annually, but is currently building about 1.2 to 1.3 per year due to labour shortages and supply chain complications, with the Navy not expected to reach its two-per-year goal by 2029.

Mr Courtney said the proposed cut was about $2 billion, but the US had already spent almost $1 billion on the "exact" submarine the budget proposed to cut funding on.

"For a lot of people looking at the sub cost we already have, in that vessel, that's going to be a real problem for the Navy and the administration when they come to present the budget at full committee," he said.

Mr Courtney said despite the spending cap due to the Fiscal Responsibility Act passed last May, the notion that going back on the rate of production while increasing production cadence was one he "fundamentally" rejected.

"I think it sends a bad signal," he said.

"This is a proposed budget. This is not the final word."

When asked if there was a risk of being “mugged by reality” over an apparent change to funding, Mr Courtney said shipbuilding was a “long game” with the first burst of funding beginning two years ago.

"If you ask me that question four or five years from now and there’s a continued disruption, in terms of the production, in a reduction of the fleet size, then that’s a big problem," Mr Courtney said.

"But we’re far from a place where AUKUS is even in critical condition. It’s still healthy with lots of bipartisan support, I know that by just talking to my colleagues, even in the last few days or so."

Mr Courtney explained when the president submits a budget, under the US Constitution it is Congress who make the final decision, citing the reversal of former president Donald Trump’s aim to cut production of submarines in 2020.

Mr Courtney went back further, to the Obama administration in 2013, when Congress challenged a similar proposal, delaying the development of Ohio-class nuclear powered submarines by two years.

The US congressman said it would “absolutely” happen again for the reduction of funding to submarines would be overturned.

"The hearing process is yet to begin, the mark up process for the defence bill is yet to begin," Mr Courtney said.

"The reaction that I heard on the floor when I was there yesterday talking to both Democratic and Republican … they think that its important that we keep the same shipbuilding plan which was on the table last December.

"AUKUS is going to prevail."

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/us-congressman-joe-courtney-hits-back-at-malcolm-turnbulls-claim-australia-was-mugged-by-reality-on-aukus-deal-never-stepped-foot-in-that-shipyard/news-story/d580542d098197123177e65ef557d82e

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80104e No.20570458

File: 085cefd0f7c9a0a⋯.jpg (2.32 MB,3853x2569,3853:2569,Thomas_accepts_the_winning….jpg)

>>20561119

Women athletes launch landmark case against transgender inclusion

Sixteen student athletes making claim against National Collegiate Athletics Association after some were forced to share a changing room with Lia Thomas, a transgender swimmer who had “full male genitalia”

Matt Lawton - March 14 2024

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A group of 16 American women have launched a landmark legal case against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) over the participation of transgender athletes in their sports, with their lawyer stating that the organisation has “institutionalised cheating and discrimination” against them.

With a particular focus on Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who claimed a NCAA women’s title in March 2022, the group has filed its 156-page claim at the United States District Court in the northern district of Atlanta, Georgia.

It was in Atlanta that the NCAA Division 1 swimming championships took place, with the fact that about 300 women shared a dressing room with Thomas - at the time with “full male genitalia” - cited in the complaint. Thomas claimed the NCAA title in the women’s 500-yard freestyle event, with two Olympic silver medal-winners - Emma Weyant and Erica Sullivan - finishing second and third.

The Olympians are not among the complainants but Bill Bock, formerly general counsel at the United States Anti-Doping Agency and the lead attorney in their cases against Lance Armstrong and Alberto Salazar, is acting for the group, which also includes female athletes from volleyball, tennis and track and field. Bock has told The Times that the “discrimination against female student athletes should disqualify the NCAA from being a sport governing body”.

It represents an unprecedented action against the organisation that oversees college sport in America, and could lead to substantial claims for damages as well as a change in NCAA rules on the participation of transgender athletes in female categories, which have been tightened since 2022. The women also want to be awarded what they consider to be their rightful placing in their respective events which, if successful, would lead to Thomas being disqualified. Central to their claim is an accusation that the NCAA has made a “radical departure from Title IX’s original meaning”, which is the federal civil rights law that prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or education facility that receives government funding.

In January 2022 the NCAA updated its transgender policies, stating that it had aligned itself to policies in “the Olympic movement”. For participation in 2022, transgender athletes were required to have had one year of testosterone suppression treatment, documenting a one-time serum testosterone level that fell below the maximum allowable level for the sport in which they were competing. The documentation relevant to this had to be submitted within four weeks prior to the selection date for their championship.

From August 1 this year, participation in NCAA sports will require transgender athletes to provide documentation no less than twice annually, including at least once within four weeks of competition, that meets the sport-specific standard.

Olympic sports such as swimming and athletics now exclude transgender athletes, who have experienced male puberty, but the claim filed to the court challenges whether the NCAA policies are indeed fully aligned. The complainants claim the NCAA is only applying one out of multiple criteria, with shorter suppression periods at lower testosterone amounts. “Their form only requires an athlete to provide one testosterone result 28 days before competition, and that is not best practice as demonstrated by multiple international federations,” said Bock who this week resigned from his voluntary position as a member of the NCAA Division 1 Committee.

“It is time for each of the NCAA’s sponsors, and for all sports organisations that care about fair competition and safe sport, to recognise the NCAA has institutionalised cheating and discrimination against women and must be reformed.

“We need to hear them speak up for women and disassociate themselves from the NCAA and its conduct.”

The NCAA has been approached for comment.

(continued)

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80104e No.20570460

File: 4227eb2754aa9dd⋯.jpg (1.84 MB,3000x2000,3:2,Gaines_who_finished_tied_f….jpg)

>>20570458

2/2

While four of the women have chosen to remain anonymous for fear of possible repercussions, swimmer Riley Gaines is among those to have put their name to the complaint. She tied for fifth place with Thomas in the 200-yard freestyle event in Atlanta in 2022, and has become a voice in the US against the inclusion of transgender women in female sports categories.

In the complaint for damages, it is detailed that “without notice to female swimmers competing in the 2022 NCAA Championships, the NCAA and . . .one or more other state actors or actors with apparent state authority … changed the designation of the locker rooms to be used by the women swimmers … to ‘unisex’ locker rooms.

“And directed women swimmers and teams that Thomas was entitled to use all designated locker rooms allocated to the women swimmers and teams.

“This change was made so that Thomas, a fully grown adult male with full male genitalia, would use the same locker rooms to be used by more than 300 female student-athletes, depriving the female student-athletes of sex-separated women’s locker room facilities and bathroom and restroom facilities where their right to bodily privacy could be protected, exposing the women to shock, humiliation, and embarrassment in violation of their constitutional right to bodily privacy.”

The complaint adds that five of the 16 plaintiffs were impacted by this arrangement, adding that they are “entitled to declaratory relief, compensation, punitive damages and attorneys’ fees”.

Speaking to The Times, Bock added: “What the NCAA allowed to happen to hundreds of female athletes in locker rooms in Atlanta two years ago was nothing less than exploitation and a disgraceful violation of women’s rights to bodily privacy.

“The NCAA’s president, Charlie Baker, and university presidents and athletic directors ought to be called to testify before Congress tomorrow.

“The unfair advantage the NCAA gives to male athletes to compete against women is as bad as any doping case I have been involved in.

“The real March Madness [a reference to the annual NCAA basketball championship] is how the NCAA sold out hundreds of female student athletes.”

Reka Gyorgy, who competed against Thomas for Virginia Tech University, is quoted in the complaint, saying: “I swam the 500 free at NCAA’s on March 17, 2022, where I got 17th, which means I didn’t make it back to the finals.

“I’m a fifth year senior. This is my last college meet ever and I feel frustrated. It feels like that final spot was taken away from me because of the NCAA’s decision to let someone who is not a biological female compete. It hurts me, my team and other women in the pool.”

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/women-athletes-launch-landmark-case-against-transgender-inclusion-cddmc9m2d

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12743b No.20570471

File: fc7b7638e5a3aa0⋯.jpg (129.6 KB,750x696,125:116,1710494651150581.jpg)

Massive nationwide outage of McDonald's payment processing services in Australia.

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80104e No.20570486

File: 1120d86bcd2d07b⋯.jpg (190.06 KB,1440x953,1440:953,Ghislaine_Maxwell_daughter….jpg)

File: 81a9772edf3bc4a⋯.jpg (155.31 KB,1440x960,3:2,This_photo_provided_by_the….jpg)

>>20555470

Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer tell appeals judges that Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida plea deal protects her

LARRY NEUMEISTER - March 13, 2024

NEW YORK (AP) — Imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to toss out her sex trafficking conviction and 20-year prison sentence, saying Jeffrey Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution deal with a U.S. attorney in Florida should have prevented her prosecution.

Attorney Diana Fabi Samson’s argument was repeatedly challenged by one judge on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before the three-judge panel reserved decision.

Lawyers for Maxwell are challenging her December 2021 conviction on multiple grounds, but the only topic at oral arguments was whether the deal Epstein struck in Florida to prevent a federal case against him there also protected Maxwell in New York. Samson said it did. A prosecutor said it didn’t.

Maxwell, 62, is serving her sentence at a low-security federal prison in Tallahassee, Florida, where yoga, Pilates and movies are available.

Epstein’s lawyers made a similar argument about the force of his non-prosecution deal in Florida after his July, 2019, sex trafficking arrest in Manhattan. But the legal question became moot in his case after he took his own life a month later in a federal lockup as he awaited trial.

Maxwell was arrested a year later and convicted at trial after several women who were sexually abused by Epstein testified that she played a crucial role from 1994 to 2004 by recruiting and grooming teenage girls for her former boyfriend to abuse.

Maxwell once had a romantic relationship with Epstein, but she later became his employee at his five residences, including a Manhattan mansion, the Virgin Islands and a large estate in Palm Beach, Florida.

Samson insisted that a provision of Epstein’s non-prosecution agreement that protected potential coconspirators should have prevented prosecutors from charging her 13 years later.

Circuit Judge Raymond Lohier repeatedly seemed to poke holes in her argument that “all U.S. attorneys have absolute authority bind other districts” when they make deals with defendants. He noted that the Florida agreement identified several individuals besides Epstein who should have protected under the deal, but Maxwell was not among them.

He said he reviewed the Department of Justice manual about non-prosecution agreements and “it suggests the opposite of what you just said.” Lohier said that each U.S. attorney’s office’s decisions could not require other offices to conform.

Samson countered that the manual was only advisory and “not a shield to allow the government to get out of its agreements made with defendants.”

She added: “Denying the viability of this agreement strikes a dagger in the heart of the trust between the government and its citizens regarding plea agreements.”

Arguing for the government, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Rohrbach responded to a question from Lohier by saying that he didn’t know of any deal made by one federal prosecutor’s office that required every other U.S. attorney to agree to abide by.

Attorney Sigrid McCawley, who represents trial witness Annie Farmer, said the appeals arguments Tuesday did nothing to change “the fact that she does not get a free pass and her conviction should be upheld.”

“It took far too many years for the Epstein survivors to get some small piece of deserved justice with Ghislaine Maxwell’s conviction and prison sentencing,” she said. Farmer, now a psychologist, testified at the trial and spoke at Maxwell’s sentencing about the abuse she experienced from Epstein and Maxwell.

The Associated Press does not identify people who say they were victims of sexual assault unless they have consented to being identified.

https://apnews.com/article/jeffrey-epstein-ghislaine-maxwell-sex-abuse-f7f215e028155c71b3726a0e5eba6117

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80104e No.20575539

File: 5b6e364b928e7d2⋯.jpg (265.79 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_outside_a….jpg)

File: 555f2339a28491d⋯.jpg (250.81 KB,2048x1152,16:9,David_Shiraz_and_Brittany_….jpg)

Judge asks whether Brittany Higgins should be recalled over $2.4m compo evidence

STEPHEN RICE - MARCH 16, 2024

1/2

The judge in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case has sensationally asked whether Brittany Higgins should be recalled to give evidence about her $2.4m compensation payout, after the Ten Network suggested it would be unfair to her for the court to make findings about whether she had made false represent­ations to the commonwealth.

Justice Michael Lee emailed parties to the defamation case earlier this week after receiving a submission from Ten that allegations Ms Higgins had “committed a fraud on the common­wealth” should not be adjudi­cated in the case.

Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers had argued that Ms Higgins made 11 separate representations about her alleged rape in her settlement that were either false or contradicted by her own evidence in the defamation case.

Ms Higgins made false representation “for the purposes of securing a life-changing payment” and were a breach of the warranties made by her in the deed, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers ­alleged.

Ten had argued it was not its responsibility to act in Ms Higgins’ interest over the allegations, but said Justice Lee “should not make very serious findings of the kind alleged against an unrepresented witness who has not been heard in respect of them”.

Justice Lee noted Ten’s submission seemed to suggest there would be a denial of procedural fairness if he “considered it necessary to make any finding as to whether false representations had been made in the deed because it is relevant to any general credit finding made in relation to Ms Higgins”.

In his email, released by the Federal Court on Friday, Justice Lee accepted he should not make any findings as to the legal characterisation of any false representations but wanted to know what Ten was suggesting if the submissions were about her ­credit as a witness. The judge expressed the view that recalling Ms Higgins was unnecessary but warned that “nothing in this email indicates a view, one way or another, as to the underlying merit of any credit submission based on the commonwealth deed”.

In response, Ten barrister Matt Collins KC said it would be “inappropriate for this court to make any finding as to the characterisation of Ms Higgins’ conduct contended for by Mr Lehrmann – in substance that she was prepared to tell lies, including elaborate lies, in respect of matters that she warranted to be true and correct with the intention of inducing the commonwealth of Australia to enter into the deed which provided for the payment of a life-changing settlement sum”.

“It would be extraneous to the determination of the issues in this case to make any findings as to the legal characterisation of any findings of any false representations in the deed (should they be made)”, Dr Collins argued.

The representations in the deed could only be considered “as part of an assessment of the ­general credit of Ms Higgins in the limited relevant sense, which is in short whether it discloses a preparedness to tell lies on solemn occasions that infects the court’s assessment of the evidence she gave in this proceeding”.

The majority of the inconsistent claims in the deed had been put to Ms Higgins in cross-­examination, so Ten did not consider it necessary to recall her to the witness box to provide her with procedural fairness, Dr Collins submitted.

(continued)

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80104e No.20575542

File: 60176d339fd73d1⋯.jpg (215.06 KB,1769x995,1769:995,Bruce_Lehrmann_outside_cou….jpg)

File: ae71ecd120ba0c9⋯.jpg (199.73 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Justice_Michael_Lee.jpg)

>>20575539

2/2

Earlier this month, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers set out a detailed comparison of the claims Ms Higgins made in the commonwealth deed with her evidence in the still-to-be-decided defamation case.

Among the claims made by Ms Higgins in the settlement deed, but disputed in a submission by Mr Lehrmann’s legal team, led by Steven Whybrow SC, were:

• That Mr Lehrmann got into Ms Higgins’ taxi on the night of the alleged rape without her agreement (she testified she had agreed).

• That he directed the cab to stop at Parliament House without her agreement (she gave evidence that she “just went along with it”);

• That he directed her to get out of the cab (she testified that “I don’t know why, but when it stopped I got out too”);

• That they didn’t speak on the Monday afterwards (they had coffee and exchanged emails).

Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers also point to claims made in the deed that have been strongly disputed in evidence, including that Ms Higgins told Fiona Brown – who was the chief of staff of Miss Higgins’ boss at the time, senator Linda Reynolds – that he had ­sexually assaulted her, an allegation that has always been vehemently denied by Ms Brown.

The settlement deed also stated Senator Reynolds did not ­engage with Ms Higgins at all during the election campaign. “She avoided (Ms Higgins) and made clear she did not want (Ms Higgins) attending events with her,” the settlement deed stated.

In fact, Ms Higgins was photographed seated next to Senator Reynolds during the election.

Giving evidence at the defamation trial, Ms Higgins said she was “accidentally” seated next to the then minister because she was one of the last to arrive.

The Albanese government paid Ms Higgins $2.445m in the settlement, which relied entirely on her version of events, after a single day ­of mediation that excluded evidence from Senator Reynolds.

Earlier this year, The Australian revealed that the National Anti-Corruption Commission was examining a complaint by Senator Reynolds against Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus over his handling of the Higgins settlement, to determine if an investigation should be launched.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/judge-asks-whether-higgins-should-be-recalled-over-24m-compo-evidence/news-story/39ef256d2c44c9ecb62f5fb6f558b20f

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80104e No.20575568

File: 513a3c7d25ef991⋯.jpg (249.31 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Prime_Minister_Anthony….jpg)

File: 51d0869d34c3937⋯.jpg (267.48 KB,1500x1000,3:2,PM_Anthony_Albanese_says_A….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20570394

‘It’s a deal between countries, not a deal between individuals’: PM Anthony Albanese says AUKUS agreement has support required to survive another Trump presidency

Kathryn Bermingham - March 15, 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the AUKUS agreement has the support required to survive a second Trump presidency, declaring “it’s a deal between countries, not a deal between individuals”.

Mr Albanese, Premier Peter Malinauskas and a host of industry leaders discussed their ideas for building a bigger, better South Australia at The Advertiser’s Future SA forum at SkyCity Adelaide on Friday.

In wide-ranging comments made during a speech and panel discussion, Mr Albanese said conversations around nuclear energy were “a distraction” and there was instead “certainty in investing in renewables”.

Mr Malinauskas said Victoria’s policy of shutting off gas connections to new homes was a “bad idea” and confirmed South Australia would not follow suit.

Asked by moderator David Penberthy whether the AUKUS deal would be threatened by a second Trump presidency, Mr Albanese said support had already been shored up.

“I think that it’s beyond question now,” he said.

“It did take effort, it was essentially an idea without a plan.

“That plan is now in place. It enjoys bipartisan support here and it enjoys bipartisan support in the US.”

Mr Malinauskas said news this week that the US Navy was halving its planned submarine production next year demonstrated why the AUKUS agreement was so committed to a fourth submarine production line.

“That (US) announcement shouldn’t undermine people’s confidence in the program, only enhance it,” he said.

“What the US is essentially acknowledging is that they can’t produce submarines at a pace fast enough to be able to meet their own needs, let alone everybody else’s.

“This argument that we can simply go buy submarines from some other country to meet our strategic purposes is just not true.

“So if we want to have the capacity to protect ourselves in the form of submarines, we have to build them here.”

Mr Albanese said the perception of South Australia in the eastern states had changed “massively”, after he was asked about views that South Australia had once been the “handout state”.

“I think people look at this state and they look at the state and they look at the opportunity that’s there and the focus over the subs deal and shipbuilding here, the focus on renewables,” he said.

“South Australia was ahead of every other state in terms of the transition that is occurring.”

In his earlier speech to guests, he spoke about the role emerging industries would play in reversing the state’s brain drain.

“You will be better positioned in the future to have not just people stay here but people come here,” he said.

He pointed out that South Australia punches “well above its weight” in cabinet representation at federal cabinet, naming Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Trade Minister Don Farrell, Health Minister Mark Butler and Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth.

“South Australia was always in a position to have a really strong voice around the cabinet table and around the parliament as well,” he said.

Mr Malinauskas agreed the submarine program had already been transformative for the state and its people.

“One of the announcements that the federal government made that, just on its own, completely changes the lives of over 1000 young South Australians every year is the 1200 additional university places that are now coming our way exclusively to be able to accommodate the engineering capability that’s going to be required in South Australia for the submarine program,” he said.

But he said the state will approach the naval shipbuilding exercise not with a sense of entitlement but a sense of ambition.

“Because it is the most complex industrial undertaking this country has ever sought to achieve,” he said.

To begin the panel, the leaders were challenged to a quiz to test their knowledge on each other’s city.

Mr Albanese was able to identify Adelaide Oval and a frog cake but stumbled on the names of crows and power mascots Claude Crow and Tommy Thunda.

Mr Malinauskas picked the Harbour Bridge and identified Harry’s Cafe de Wheels, in Woolloomooloo, as a Sydney pie cart but could not name NRL team South Sydney Rabbitohs mascot Reggie Rabbit.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/its-a-deal-between-countries-not-a-deal-between-individuals-pm-anthony-albanese-says-aukus-agreement-has-support-required-to-survive-another-trump-presidency/news-story/c4d8d154439524062da85dbf71cfc476

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80104e No.20575587

File: fe5d768334aaaea⋯.jpg (564.12 KB,3800x2280,5:3,The_wide_ranging_agreement….jpg)

Fiji to stick with China police deal after review, home affairs minister says

Pio Tikoduadua says agreement has been ‘restored’ after Fiji examined controversial deal that allows for police exchanges and intelligence sharing

Ivamere Nataro - 15 Mar 2024

Fiji will uphold a policing cooperation agreement with China after reviewing the deal, the country’s home affairs minister, Pio Tikoduadua, has confirmed, despite earlier concerns within the Pacific nation over the deal.

The controversial agreement was signed in 2011 when Fiji was under military rule. Under the deal, Fijian officers have been trained in China while Chinese police have been embedded in the Fijian force. Beijing has also provided hi-tech equipment including surveillance gear and drones.

The deal has been under review after Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, raised concerns last year over the countries’ differing values and judicial systems.

Tikoduadua said the review had been completed and Fiji would be sticking with Beijing.

“We are now back on the original police agreement [with China] – that has been restored, we had reviewed it for 12 months,” he said in an interview with the Guardian.

The agreement allows for co-operation in a range of areas including the exchange of intelligence, visits, training and the supply of equipment. For example, ahead of Fiji’s 2014 election, China provided vehicles, communications and surveillance equipment.

In the past, Chinese officers have been embedded in the Fiji police force. The home affairs minister said the two countries would decide how they implemented the agreement in the future – including any exchanges of personnel – but at present no Chinese officers were embedded in the force.

“There will only be Fijian officers training in China and no embedding of Chinese officers in the Fiji police force now,” Tikoduadua said.

Shortly after coming to power in December 2022, Rabuka told local media that he saw “no need” for the police agreement with China to continue. In June last year, prior to signing a defence agreement with New Zealand to strengthen military ties, Rabuka appeared to soften his position and said the agreement would be reviewed before any decision was made.

“We need to look at that again before we decide on whether we go backward or continue the way we have had in the past: cooperating with those that have similar democratic values and systems of legislation, law enforcement and so on,” Rabuka said at the time.

When asked by the Fiji Sun newspaper this week about the China policing deal, Rabuka said he had not received any updates from the home affairs minister in relation to the agreement.

A former senior officer in the Fiji police force has raised concerns with the method of training Fijian officers receive under the China deal, highlighting the differences in values and systems between the two countries.

“Current service in the Fiji police force is not working out right now because we had copied Singaporean and Chinese kind of system, which is not relevant,” Tevita Ralulu, who worked as a senior investigative officer in Suva, told the Guardian this week.

“We are supposed to have our own culture of service and to modify a system to suit the culture of people living in Fiji, that’s why the training done in China really didn’t work,” Ralulu said.

The acting commissioner of police, Juki Fong Chew, said the Fiji police force was fortunate to benefit from various forms of assistance from regional and international partners.

“The assistance ranges from police-to-police exchange programs, technical support, study and training opportunities, capacity building initiatives, coordination and cooperation efforts based on operational needs,” he said.

Pacific nations rely on support from international partners – notably Australia and New Zealand – to help resource their police forces. China’s role in security and defence includes funding the construction of a new police training centre in Samoa in 2016 and funding police headquarters in the Cook Islands. Other assistance from Beijing includes suppling vehicles, riot equipment and uniforms to the Vanuatu police, and vehicles to Papua New Guinea.

Last year, China and Solomon Islands signed a deal on police cooperation as the nations continued to deepen ties, and after sealing a security pact in 2022 which caused alarm in the US and some Pacific neighbours including Australia. Also in 2022, China attempted to forge a regional security pact with Pacific nations but failed to secure support.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/15/fiji-china-police-exchange-intelligence-deal

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80104e No.20575610

File: 63ce442cee73f02⋯.mp4 (9.11 MB,960x540,16:9,Inside_Arkstone_Australia_….mp4)

File: 38dae8344b556e4⋯.jpg (73.63 KB,768x768,1:1,Wyong_man_Justin_Kenneth_R….jpg)

File: 08c4cb4ba5f712d⋯.png (538.36 KB,3000x1688,375:211,Op_Arkstone_infographic.png)

File: 2aede8673a2275f⋯.jpg (562.89 KB,882x802,441:401,Where_to_find_help_2024.jpg)

How two of Australia’s most vile pedophiles used childcare centre

Two of Australia’s most vile pedophiles are facing the prospect of decades in jail, as details of their crimes can be revealed for the first time.

Steve Zemek - March 15, 2024

WARNING: Graphic content.

The crimes of two of Australia’s most vile pedophiles who abused dozens of young victims in country NSW will learn their fates next month, as details of their heinous acts — including exploiting children through their access to a childcare facility — can be revealed for the first time.

The two men, who cannot be named due to a court order, faced Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday and are facing the prospect of being sentenced to decades in prison.

Their heinous crimes reverberated through the idyllic small country town where they lived after a major police investigation unmasked them as key players in a national pedophile ring.

They were arrested as part of Operation Arkstone, the country’s biggest ever law enforcement crackdown on online child abuse material networks.

Their crimes can be revealed for the first time after a court released documents, as the two men prepare to be sentenced by Judge Sarah Hopkins next month.

Many of the details of the case cannot be revealed, including the names of the men and the town where they lived during their offending, because of a court order.

In 2022, they both pleaded guilty to a mammoth list of charges.

TD, now 30, admitted to abusing 28 victims.

He pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing for more than 200 offences including multiple counts of sexual intercourse with a child, indecent assault, using a child to make child abuse material and using a carriage service to transmit child abuse material.

The younger of the two men, known as SG, pleaded guilty to abusing nine young victims.

SG, 25, pleaded guilty to more than 100 charges, including dozens of counts of sexual intercourse with a child and multiple counts of intentionally sexually touching a child and indecent assault.

According to court documents seen by NCA Newswire, TD began working at a regional childcare centre in 2017 after approaching management seeking employment.

After being hired as a casual worker, he was suspended after a child’s mother approached the centre expressing concerns about a complaint made by her son.

The complaint, that TD kissed the boy, was referred to police, and the man resigned in January 2019.

No charges were pursued at the time, however TD and his partner were arrested the following year.

When police searched TD’s electronic devices, they found child abuse images of the boy, as well as 15 other children from the centre.

Not only did the men film their abuse of their young victims, they shared their sick material with an online predator ring, which included Central Coast man Justin Radford.

When the Australian Federal Police were tipped off by overseas authorities, they raided Radford’s home and found electronic devices filled with vile child abuse material.

It set in train dozens of arrests under Operation Arkstone as detectives were able to identify and track down some of the country’s worst child sex offenders, including TD and SG.

Radford was jailed for 18 years after the former Nine Network tape library assistant pleaded guilty to 18 charges including sexually touching a child.

TD and SG were arrested, and during a search of their home officers found several devices belonging to TD, including a 500GB external hard drive and a Google phone, according to a statement of agreed facts tendered to the court,

The AFP found more than 23,000 videos and 152,000 images which were predominantly child abuse material, some of it self-produced, showing shocking exploitation and abuse of young children.

The material was found on TD’s phone under folders labelled “XXX” and “more boys”.

Descriptions of the videos and images are too vile to be published and often involved the men filming each other as they abused their young victims.

Together they communicated via Wickr using the usernames ‘randomacts123’ and ‘nocturnalking’.

Transcripts of their conversations are included in the court documents but are so depraved they cannot be published.

The two men appeared for a sentencing hearing before Judge Hopkins on Friday and will learn their fate when they are sentenced on April 24.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/how-two-of-australias-most-vile-pedophiles-used-childcare-centre/news-story/9f00bc9b45c793f5b8e68f297c24418c

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80104e No.20580396

File: 0ee249ef6771026⋯.jpg (5.59 MB,8640x5760,3:2,Palestinians_are_fleeing_d….jpg)

>>20550335

‘We are delighted’: Government backflips on cancelled Gaza visas

Matthew Knott - March 17, 2024

Several Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza who were devastated after their visas were cancelled while en route to Australia have again been granted permission to travel to the country, a move that has thrilled advocates in Australia.

Rasha Abbas, executive director of the Palestine Australia Relief and Action group, said eight of the 11 Palestinians her organisation was assisting had been told their cancelled visas had been reinstated.

“We are delighted and happy that they are able to travel to Australia,” Abbas said.

“We are working through booking the flights for them and we will work with the government on the process for the remaining visa holders.

“We are relieved the government has reinstated some of the visas – not all of them but the majority have been reinstated.”

Of the three people who had not had visas reinstated, Abbas said: “Hopefully we will have the same outcome for all of them.”

A government source, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed that several visa cancellations had been reversed to allow Palestinians to travel onwards to Australia after checks were completed.

Visas were cancelled in cases where individuals had left Gaza without explanation or where there had been a significant change in their circumstances, the source said.

Among Gazans who have had their visas reinstated is Cassandra, a mother from Khan Younis in southern Gaza whose case was highlighted by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age last week.

Cassandra, who used a pseudonym to protect her identity, said that she and her children were allowed to board a flight from Cairo, with a stopover at another Middle Eastern airport, last week after being assured they were able to travel onwards to Australia.

After being told she could not board a flight for the final leg of her journey, she said she was given the option of sending her children, who are aged under 13, to Australia without any parental supervision.

All eventually boarded flights back to Cairo together, with the children in tears.

Cassandra said she was terrified about the future because her family’s residency permits in Egypt were due to expire in 45 days and they didn’t know if they would be able to return to Gaza.

Cassandra said she had spent thousands of dollars on visa applications and flights to Australia for her family, money she feared had been wasted.

A Palestinian man named Hani left stranded at Istanbul airport after having his visa cancelled while en route to Australia has not had his visa reinstated.

The Home Affairs Department had told applicants their visas had been cancelled because it believed they may wish to stay in Australia when their visas run out.

Speaking on the ABC’s Insiders program before news of the reversals was made public, opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson suggested the Palestinians’ visas had been cancelled because of security concerns.

“They were granting visas to people that their own security advice now says they shouldn’t, and no wonder, because they were rushing them through so quickly,” Paterson said.

Abbas said the fact the government had reinstated the visas showed the Gazans in question did not pose a security risk to Australia and were simply desperate people fleeing a war zone.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-are-delighted-government-backflips-on-cancelled-gaza-visas-20240317-p5fd34.html

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80104e No.20580414

File: 0174750e0aca0b0⋯.jpg (1.05 MB,3000x2000,3:2,TikTok_faces_new_calls_for….jpg)

File: 18cc78e9ae59049⋯.jpg (4.04 MB,4934x3289,4934:3289,Coalition_cybersecurity_an….jpg)

File: 498f2d86abf36aa⋯.jpg (1.52 MB,2400x3000,4:5,Lieutenant_General_Michell….jpg)

TikTok faces new calls for bans or curbs

David Crowe and Matthew Knott - March 17, 2024

Australia should pass new laws to curb the power of TikTok and protect the community from misinformation on the social media app, a leading security expert has warned after days of political dispute over Chinese control of the popular platform.

Cybersecurity expert Fergus Ryan said it had become “trivially easy” for TikTok to influence Australian debate because it had swollen to 8.5 million users in this country while officials considered how to act on its growing power.

The comments came after Coalition cybersecurity and home affairs spokesman James Paterson labelled TikTok a “bad-faith actor” and urged the government to join other countries in trying to remove the influence of the Chinese Communist Party on its operations.

Debate about TikTok has surged after the US House of Representatives voted last week to force the sale of the platform from its Chinese owner, a stance backed by President Joe Biden but opposed by former president Donald Trump, amid uncertainty about whether the Senate would agree to the bill and whether it could withstand a court challenge.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday that the government had no plans to move beyond existing rules that forbid ministers and government officials using TikTok on phones with sensitive information.

“There are millions of Australians engaged in TikTok, who use it for communication with each other, and we think that you’ve got to think very carefully, in my view, before you start banning things as a first stop,” he said.

Paterson countered by arguing that security officials knew of problems with the platform and its owner, Chinese company ByteDance, because of the way data from Australian users could be sent to China and the potential for the platform to distort democratic debate.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton stepped up his warnings about TikTok last week but did not call for the platform to be banned, arguing instead that it was the prime minister’s job to consider advice from security experts and make the right decision, whether that was a ban or another option.

Ryan, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute who has written several papers on TikTok, said the platform had grown to such a scale that there was a case for legislation that singled it out for attention.

A key issue, he said, was the way ByteDance could harvest data from Australian users so it could “take the temperature” of national debate in real-time and make some content – including misinformation – more prominent to millions of users.

“That gives them an enormous amount of power if they wish to subtly promote or demote certain types of content on the app,” he said.

“When it comes to political discourse, they can essentially put their thumb on the scale to ensure that messages that the Chinese Communist Party supports are promoted, or things that they don’t wish to be promoted are demoted.

“It would be trivially easy for them to do that, and also extremely difficult for anyone to detect that it’s happening. So it’s a very insidious problem.”

In a sign of broader concerns about online influence, national cybersecurity co-ordinator Lieutenant General Michelle McGuinness said she believed security threats were far greater than shown by public data.

While a cyber incident is reported in Australia every six minutes, McGuinness said this was “just the tip of the iceberg” of the threat from attacks and other breaches.

She was appointed to the role last month after a 30-year career in the Australian Defence Force and a recent role as deputy director of the US Defence Intelligence Agency.

The Albanese government created the position after the 2022 Optus data breach exposed flaws in the systems used to respond to major cyber incidents.

McGuinness replaces Air Marshal Darren Goldie, who was recalled to the Defence Department last year following allegations about a workplace matter.

McGuinness said in an interview that she and Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil were preparing to launch a major national education campaign to ask Australians to take more responsibility for protecting themselves from cyberattacks.

“If you’re on the internet, if you have a smart device, then cybersecurity is your business,” she said, adding that she wanted to overturn the assumption that cybersecurity is “somebody else’s job”.

The campaign will urge Australians to use unique passwords and multifactor authentication for their online accounts and update their software regularly.

https://www.smh.com.au/ politics/ federal/ tiktok-faces-new-calls-for-bans-or-curbs -20240317 -p5fd1v. html

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80104e No.20584533

File: a0ce0156105e8a8⋯.jpg (158.19 KB,1280x720,16:9,Former_prime_minister_Paul….jpg)

>>20519961 (pb)

>>20525189 (pb)

>>20565284

Paul Keating invited to meet China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on his visit to Australia

WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 18, 2024

1/2

An “unofficial” meeting between Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy ­adviser Wang Yi and Paul Keating could overshadow the Albanese government’s diplomatic agenda during the Chinese envoy’s high stakes visit to Australia this week.

The Australian can reveal Chinese officials have invited the former Labor prime minister to a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister this week in Sydney, a jarring addition to a trip that Beijing says is intended to send “positive signals” for the relationship. Mr Keating’s audience with Mr Wang, the most senior Chinese ­official to visit Australia in seven years, would be the most extraordinary intervention yet in the Labor legend’s public campaign against the Albanese government’s foreign policy.

The former prime minister’s ­increasingly brazen interventions have frustrated the government, but have been well received in Beijing where he has been praised by China’s Foreign Ministry for his “voice of reason”.

Mr Keating, Australia’s most influential AUKUS opponent, did not respond when contacted on Sunday about the meeting. China’s diplomats in Australia also did not respond.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong, who married her long-term partner on Saturday, and her department both declined to comment.

The Chinese government’s ­attempt to set up a meeting with Senator Wong’s loudest critic demonstrates Beijing’s ongoing efforts to chip away at Australia’s bipartisan support for the AUKUS pact and Canberra’s wider efforts to work with other capitals to stop China dominating the region.

If Mr Keating agrees to the Chinese request, the meeting would likely take place in Sydney on Thursday, the day after Mr Wang will hold the “China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue” in Canberra with Senator Wong. On Wednesday, Mr Wang will also meet Anthony Albanese.

It comes only a fortnight after Mr Keating stunned regional capitals by personally chiding Senator Wong, this time as she hosted leaders from Southeast Asia. Mr Keating released a public statement accusing Senator Wong of making “anti-China” comments and rattling “the China can” in a speech about maritime security in the region.

Mr Wang was scheduled to ­arrive in New Zealand late on Sunday. His visit to the two Tasman neighbours is the first by a Chinese foreign minister in seven years.

Wellington’s interest in joining the second pillar of AUKUS is expected to loom over his meetings on Monday with his New Zealand counterpart Winston Peters and Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. Mr Wang’s diplomatic underlings in Wellington and Beijing have warned of consequences for New Zealand if it goes down the “dangerous path” of joining the non-nuclear second pillar of the security technology agreement.

The Luxon government ­expects the seasoned Chinese ­diplomat to continue that anti-AUKUS message. “He won’t say it explicitly, but it will be there,” said a source in Wellington.

During the breakdown of Australia’s relations with China, Beijing tried to create a wedge between Canberra and Wellington. At the peak of Beijing’s fury in mid-2021, China’s foreign ministry praised the Ardern government for its “mutual respect” while declaring the Morrison government “insane”.

Since coming to office in 2022, the Albanese government has worked closely with Wellington to co-ordinate approaches, particularly on the Pacific.

They have also been successful in getting endorsement from Wellington for Australia’s nuclear-powered submarine AUKUS plan, despite the New Zealand government’s nuclear free domestic stance.

New Zealand’s Prime Minister even recently backed Senator Wong after Mr Keating criticised her for alluding to China’s “destabilising, provocative and coercive actions” in the South China Sea in a speech at the ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne.

Mr Luxon, who was also at the summit, said it was an “excellent speech” that promoted peace and stability in the region.

“She’s right. If we can get all parties, where there’s tension, to actually follow the rules that keeps us all safe,” said Mr Luxon, who became PM in November.

(continued)

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80104e No.20584535

File: 9664d1d4d258a79⋯.jpg (261.14 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Paul_Keating_meets_in_mid_….jpg)

>>20584533

2/2

Jason Young, director of Victoria University’s New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre, said Wellington and Canberra were now “basically in the same boat” when it comes to “balancing the risks and opportunities of China”. “I think the only thing that really distinguishes us is that the security posture from Australia is clearer,” Professor Young told The Australian.

“New Zealand’s is similar, but there’s not a clarity of statement in the same way.”

While Beijing’s trans-Tasman wedge tactics have encountered increasing resistance, the Chinese government has had more success within the Australian Labor Party. Mr Keating has been routinely praised by China’s Foreign Ministry and Chinese state media for his sharp criticism of Australian foreign policy and America.

Weeks after the Albanese government was elected, Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, met with the former prime minister at his home in Potts Point, Sydney.

While Mr Wang’s schedule is being tightly guarded, The Australian can also reveal he will have a working lunch on Wednesday in Canberra with a group of about 10 senior China-focused Australian business figures and a clutch of think-tankers and academics. All invited guests declined to comment when contacted by The Australian on Sunday.

He will also meet with Mr Albanese, who is expected to formally invite Chinese Premier Li Qiang to Australia. That visit is being billed as a trip to mark the 10th anniversary of President Xi Jinping’s state visit to Australia, during which the Chinese leader addressed the federal parliament, signed a free-trade agreement and upgraded the relationship to a “comprehensive strategic partnership”.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham has expressed an interest in meeting Mr Wang. Sources familiar with the discussions told The Australian that the Chinese embassy was still to confirm whether a meeting would take place.

The Chinese Foreign Minister visit will be conducted almost entirely behind closed doors, although Chinese state media may be allowed access for some portions. The Australian has been told an offer to hold a joint press conference with Senator Wong was declined. Much of Mr Wang’s visit will focus on creating a receptive environment for the Chinese Premier’s visit, which sources familiar with the plans have told The Australian is expected in June or July.

Beijing has signalled it will remove its crippling tariffs on Australian wine before the end of the month, which should see the industry’s China trade rebuild to around $400m-$500m a year.

Canberra continues to work on getting China to end its black-listing of Australian live lobster and just over half a dozen beef abattoirs, the final products on a trade sanctions list that once ran to $20bn a year.

Senator Wong will also press for leniency for Yang Hengjun, the Australian who was given a suspended death sentence in February. The “positive” part of the agenda for the foreign ministers’ meeting will include climate change co-operation and a focus on green energy transition.

It may also include the future of two giant pandas in the Adelaide Zoo, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, who are on loan from Beijing and are due to return to China. They were offered as a diplomatic gift by then president Hu Jintao on a visit in 2007 after advocacy by then foreign minister Alexander Downer. South Australia’s panda enthusiasts hope Senator Wong is able to either extend their stay or secure their replacements.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/paul-keating-invited-to-meet-chinas-foreign-minister-wang-yi-on-his-visit-to-australia/news-story/43e52cae5bb68d8a794802509aa5b61f

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80104e No.20584558

File: 77c95032768134f⋯.jpg (122.06 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Keating_confirms_meeting_w….jpg)

File: 598aa03811da00e⋯.jpg (197.14 KB,2028x1141,2028:1141,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

Keating confirms meeting with Chinese envoy

BEN PACKHAM and WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 18, 2024

Paul Keating has revealed he has accepted an invitation to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Sydney this week during a key bilateral visit by the senior Communist Party official.

“As a matter of courtesy, let alone anything else, I was happy to advise the Chinese Foreign Ministry that, given I had the time, I would be pleased to sit down and discuss international matters with the Foreign Minister,” the former Labor prime minister said in a statement.

The audience on Thursday has the potential to overshadow Minister Wang’s meeting a day earlier with Penny Wong in Canberra, given Mr Keating’s strident pro-China news, his ongoing criticism of Senator Wong, and his vocal attacks on Australia’s AUKUS nuclear submarine pact with the US and UK – which Beijing opposes.

Mr Keating said the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet had offered – after the invitation was made – to facilitate the arrangements.

It’s understood the offer was extended to ensure security and appropriate diplomatic support for the meeting.

Mr Keating said he had “strongly supported” the Albanese government’s efforts to “re-anchor Australian foreign policy in the region”, and “stabilise relations with China”.

“And, given the chance, I will be emphasising these points to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Australia has moved substantially from the counterproductive baiting policy the Morrison government applied to China to now something much more civil and productive,” he said.

Mr Keating took issue at The Australian’s reporting of the invitation as an “extraordinary intervention” and a “jarring addition” to Mr Wang’s visit, as the Albanese government attempts to recalibrate relations with Beijing.

“Would The Australian so describe as ‘jarring’ and ‘extraordinary’ a similar invitation from the British Foreign Secretary to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott or Scott Morrison? Of course not,” he said.

“This is the normal intercourse of national and international discussion that takes place across the world.”

After repeatedly attacking the Sydney Morning Herald over its reporting on China, Mr Keating claimed The Australian’s reporting on the subject was “distorted” and “trenchantly anti-Chinese”.

The former Prime Minister said he supported the Albanese government "most, if not all the time".

His comments come just a fortnight after he sharply criticised Senator Wong as she and Anthony Albanese hosted leaders from South East Asia and New Zealand at the ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne.

In a public statement that stunned capitals around the region, Mr Keating said “it doesn’t take much to encourage Penny Wong, sporting her ‘deeply concerned’ frown, to rattle the China can”.

The attack came after Senator Wong criticised Beijing’s behaviour in the South China Sea in a keynote speech.

Mr Keating also chided the Albanese government for not sacking the head of ASIO Mike Burgess and head of the Office National Intelligence Andrew Shearer, who he said were part of “the anti-China Australian strategic policy establishment”.

Those incendiary comments followed an address last year at the National Press Club where he mocked Senator Wong’s diplomatic efforts in the Pacific, a key priority for the government.

“Running around the Pacific Islands with a lei around your neck handing out money, which is what Penny does, is not foreign policy. It’s a consular task,” Mr Keating said.

“Foreign policy is what you do with the great powers: what you do with China, what you do with the United States,” he said.

While the former prime minister’s ­increasingly brazen interventions have frustrated the government, they have been well received in Beijing where he has been praised by China’s Foreign Ministry for his “voice of reason”.

China’s leaders and senior officials regularly seek out meetings with select retired leaders.

Last year, President Xi Jinping hosted former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing, a pointed meeting held after relations had soured with the Philippines current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Mr Keating is the only former Prime Minister that Beijing has sought a meeting with during the visit by Xi’s top foreign affairs adviser.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politicsnow-detainee-action-on-shaky-legal-ground/live-coverage/22432db95483c15899d9679cfa4c446c#138921

https://johnmenadue.com/visit-to-australia-by-chinese-foreign-minister-he-wang-yi/

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80104e No.20584566

File: e97ede729a92c64⋯.jpg (267.4 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

File: de36ffb272a0ee4⋯.jpg (65.31 KB,1280x720,16:9,Why_did_Chinese_Foreign_Mi….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

>>20584558

What’s behind Wang Yi’s meeting with Paul Keating?

JOHN LEE - MARCH 18, 2024

1/2

Paul Keating has accepted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s extraordinary invitation to meet on the sidelines of his official visit to Australia.

It’s clear the meeting will overshadow the official diplomatic meetings Wang Yi will participate in this week, but it goes much further: China’s chief diplomat has found a novel way to insult his Australian host and advance his country’s interests at the same time.

First, the part about insulting his host.

Beijing is fully aware that the former prime minister has been levelling personal and ungracious criticisms against Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australian strategic policy more generally.

That Wang Yi’s invitation was a calculated move to belittle his Australian host is obvious. He will be delighted Keating accepted. There is cunning and purpose behind Wang reaching out to Keating. From foreign interference to economic punishment, Beijing’s aim is to divide the Labor Party and the Australian community. This is attempted through seduction or coercion to encourage voices within the government to agitate for a softening of policies towards China.

There are some in Labor who agree with Keating that our alliance with the US and arrangements like AUKUS do not serve our interests because they are an affront to China. Using the drama of an unofficial meeting to amplify the voice and standing of Keating is designed to make it more difficult for the Albanese government to stiffen future policies towards China.

The Albanese government has inadvertently created this opening for Wang Yi’s bold diplomatic move. Beijing has been praising the current government for learning from the supposed mistakes of the Turnbull and Morrison governments. And the Albanese government has been happy to accept the congratulations. There might be poor appetite for the rest of us to rake over the coals of why that breakdown in relations occurred prior to Labor retaking power. But it is important we do so because it reveals why Xi Jinping was so aggrieved with what happened before, and why Beijing believes the Albanese government can become even more compliant – this time with Keating’s assistance.

It is easy to identify the specific decisions that most enraged Beijing because it was so explicit – the Fourteen Grievances issued to Australia in November 2021 was a case-in-point.

Beijing knows many Australian policies will never align with Chinese interests. What it does not tolerate is Australia persuading other countries to adopt similar actions. For example, it wasn’t just that we banned Huawei from participating in our 5G network rollout. The greater offence was that Australia successfully encouraged others to do the same.

(continued)

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80104e No.20584568

File: bd3ec0de5210a9c⋯.jpg (1.64 MB,5881x3858,5881:3858,What_s_behind_Wang_Yi_s_me….jpg)

File: ffc468bd3639115⋯.jpg (930.73 KB,3500x2328,875:582,Foreign_ministers_Penny_Wo….jpg)

>>20584566

2/2

This was the same with Australia leading the way in demanding Beijing abide by the legally binding 2016 Arbitration Decision, which ruled against its expansive claims to the South China Sea, or starting a conversation among liberal democracies about protecting one’s institutions against Chinese interference and covert influence.

That occurred under Turnbull. Under Morrison, Australia promoted the framing that the greatest threats are from an axis of revisionist and coercive authoritarian countries led by China, Russia and Iran. It was a leading voice in warning other countries that China is preparing for war in the Taiwan Straits and the only sensible option is to deter Beijing by increasing our hard power capability and willingness to use it.

Xi was also furious with Morrison’s insistence that China take responsibility for reckless and dishonest decisions which led to a global pandemic.

In that period, Australian activism was praised by Japan, the US, Britain and Lithuania. The more economic punishments China imposed on Australian exporters, the more prominent a platform given to Canberra by entities such as the Quad (consisting of the US, Japan, India, and Australia) and the Group of Seven forum. It was a period when Beijing openly condemned Australia as an upstart and troublemaker.

We are now in a calmer period with China.

Wang Yi is not so deluded as to think that Canberra will abandon AUKUS or downgrade our alliances. But it would like to see Australia continuing to swim within the lanes China sets for us in the name of stabilising the bilateral relationship.

The current government has done some of that. For example, 19 and 13 economies joined our WTO actions against Beijing on China’s wine and barley restrictions respectively.

For the sake of improving bilateral ties, Australia dropped those cases meaning China suffered no economic or institutional injury by using bilateral processes to negotiate its way back to square one.

The Albanese government supports AUKUS but has dutifully downplayed the urgency of collective deterrence against China over Taiwan. Australia is no longer the same leading voice against Chinese maritime aggression, intellectual property theft, economic coercion or other activities that are an affront to our preferred system of rules and laws.

But the more we concede, the more China probes and pushes.

Wang Yi and Keating will express a very similar view that abandoning the international activism of the Turnbull/Morrison years is not enough and Australia must become even more compliant if it wants to have an enduringly stable relationship with China.

The former prime minister and Chinese foreign minister are hoping some members of the Labor Party and other prominent Australians will give support to their perspective after their meeting – compelling Albanese to oversee an increasingly timid foreign policy.

This is why Wang Yi issued the invitation to Keating, and what he hopes the stabilisation project with Australia will achieve for China.

Dr John Lee is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC. From 2016-18, he was senior adviser to the Australian Foreign Minister.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/whats-behind-wang-yis-meeting-with-paul-keating/news-story/33c02bd0fe804038ebb8a665bc1dea6d

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80104e No.20589267

File: 19bc3af553575d3⋯.jpg (281.5 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

File: dc60d68d89cfad6⋯.jpg (255.74 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Paul_Keating_meets_in_mid_….jpg)

>>20584533

Business scrambles for Canberra audience with China’s foreign minister as Paul Keating confirms meeting

WILL GLASGOW and BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 19, 2024

1/2

Senior Australian business figures are scrambling to get to Canberra for a secretive, hastily-organised event with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a trip that has been overshadowed by a “pointed and somewhat insulting” meeting between Xi Jinping’s top international affairs adviser and Paul Keating.

The Australian can reveal senior executives from mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP are expected to be at the closed-door lunch on Wednesday, which is being arranged by the Chinese government and the Australia China Business Council.

Executives from Treasury Wine Estates and Graincorp — two the largest Australian businesses caught up in China’s trade coercion campaign — are said to be among the 10 invited guests, although the extremely short notice means they may be unable to attend.

“Everyone’s really nervous. No one wants to do anything that upsets things,” said a source at one of the invited companies, speaking anonymously because of the extreme sensitivity.

The Australian has also learned that a protest against Chinese government human rights abuses is being organised for Wednesday morning outside Parliament House, and is expected to include members of Australia’s Tibet, Uyghur and Hong Kong diaspora communities.

It will be held as Foreign Minister Penny Wong meets with her Chinese counterpart on what will be the most senior visit by a member of Xi Jinping’s government in seven years. Mr Wang is due to arrive in Sydney late on Tuesday.

Chinese officials had been working to create “positive energy” before the visit, signalling that Beijing’s crippling wine tariff will be lifted before the end of the month.

Figures in the Australian lobster industry are hopeful they may also get good news on their now almost four-year long black-listing after Wednesday’s meeting.

But China’s decision to seek out a meeting with Mr Keating, the most prominent critic of the Albanese government’s foreign policy, has derailed Canberra’s fastidious preparations for the visit.

Members of the government were dismayed by the former Labor leader’s latest intervention.

A senior Australian business figure said told The Australian it was “the biggest Chinese diplomatic own-goal” since officials at China’s embassy in Canberra released its list of “14 demands” in late 2020.

“It’s stupid. And you know what is even more stupid? Paul agreeing to it,” the business figure said.

On Monday, as China’s Foreign Minister met his counterpart Winston Peters and New Zealand PM Prime Minister Christopher Luxon in Wellington, the former Labor Prime Minister bristled at criticism of his audience with the senior Chinese envoy.

The Australian had revealed that Chinese officials had been seeking to arrange the meeting with Australia’s most prominent AUKUS critic. It is set to be held in Sydney on Thursday.

“As a matter of courtesy, let alone anything else, I was happy to advise the Chinese Foreign Ministry that, given I had the time, I would be pleased to sit down and discuss international matters with the Foreign Minister,” the former Labor PM said in a statement.

Mr Keating said that the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet had offered — after the invitation was made — to facilitate the arrangements.

Sources familiar with the preparations for the meeting said the offer was extended to ensure security and appropriate support for Mr Keating and the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister.

Mr Keating said on Monday that he had “strongly supported” the Albanese government’s efforts to “re-anchor Australian foreign policy in the region”, and “stabilise relations with China”.

“And, given the chance, I will be emphasising these points to Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Australia has moved substantially from the counter-productive baiting policy the Morrison government applied to China to now something much more civil and productive,” he said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20589268

File: a3774ed95377136⋯.jpg (234.58 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

File: 3423504f1de5244⋯.jpg (284.67 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,On_Monday_New_Zealand_Fore….jpg)

>>20589267

2/2

His meeting with President Xi’s top foreign policy adviser will be held just a fortnight after he sharply criticised Senator Wong as she and Anthony Albanese hosted leaders from South East Asia and New Zealand at the ASEAN-Australia summit in Melbourne.

In his Monday statement, the former Prime Minister said he supported the Albanese government “most, if not all the time”.

Mr Keating also took issue at The Australian’s reporting of the invitation as an “extraordinary intervention” and a “jarring addition” to Mr Wang’s visit, as the Albanese government attempts to recalibrate relations with Beijing.

“Would The Australian so describe as ‘jarring’ and ‘extraordinary’ a similar invitation from the British Foreign Secretary to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott or Scott Morrison? Of course not,” he said.

“This is the normal intercourse of national and international discussion that takes place across the world.”

After repeatedly attacking the Sydney Morning Herald over its reporting on China, Mr Keating claimed The Australian’s reporting on the subject was “distorted” and “trenchantly anti-Chinese”.

In his public statement on March 5 that stunned capitals around the region, Mr Keating said “it doesn’t take much to encourage Penny Wong, sporting her ‘deeply concerned’ frown, to rattle the China can”.

The attack came after Senator Wong criticised Beijing’s behaviour in the South China Sea in a keynote speech.

Mr Keating also chided the Albanese government for not sacking the head of ASIO Mike Burgess and head of the Office National Intelligence Andrew Shearer, who he said were part of “the anti-China Australian strategic policy establishment”.

Those incendiary comments followed an address last year at the National Press Club where he mocked Senator Wong’s diplomatic efforts in the Pacific, a key priority for the government.

“Running around the Pacific Islands with a lei around your neck handing out money, which is what Penny does, is not foreign policy. It’s a consular task,” Mr Keating said.

“Foreign policy is what you do with the great powers: what you do with China, what you do with the United States,” he said.

While the former prime minister’s ­increasingly brazen interventions have frustrated the government, they have been well received in Beijing where he has been praised by China’s Foreign Ministry for his “voice of reason”.

China’s leaders and senior officials regularly seek out meetings with select retired leaders.

Last year, President Xi Jinping hosted former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte in Beijing, a pointed meeting held after relations had soured with the Philippines current president Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

Mr Keating is the only former Prime Minister that Beijing has sought a meeting with during Mr Wang’s visit.

Senator Wong’s office again declined to comment on the meeting on Monday.

Shadow Foreign Minister Senator Birmingham said Mr Keating’s meeting was “pointed and somewhat insulting” given the extent of his commentary directed towards Australia’s Foreign Minister.

“Paul Keating’s reckless and irresponsible comments since the Albanese Government was elected demonstrates an underlying division within the broader Labor Party,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Australia is a country of free speech and diverse political thought. Some will see a certain irony in this meeting being sought.

“Whatever their personal views, our former Prime Ministers carry with them a special responsibility to be cognisant of changing security challenges and judicious in the use of their office.

“Paul Keating’s running commentary has been neither, and is clearly welcomed for propaganda purposes elsewhere,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/business-scrambles-for-canberra-audience-with-chinas-foreign-minister-as-paul-keating-confirms-meeting/news-story/c024717112abe33574314631b54eb331

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80104e No.20589270

File: 9337ebf9c215c45⋯.jpg (407 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

File: 18c800dba448429⋯.jpg (74.65 KB,1280x720,16:9,Paul_Keating_appears_to_be….jpg)

>>20584533

Paul Keating appears to be a willing partner in Chinese charade

BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 19, 2024

Paul Keating says he supports Labor’s move to end “counter-productive baiting” of China, but he remains curiously willing to provoke senior party figures.

In his latest missive from his Potts Point mansion, Keating made the astonishing claim that he had backed Penny Wong in her attempts to stabilise Australia-China relations.

His statement on Monday confirmed he had accepted an invitation to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Sydney this week – an inflammatory move that could upstage the diplomat’s meetings with Wong and Anthony Albanese.

This is the same former Labor PM who accused Wong a fortnight ago of deploying her “deeply concerned frown to rattle the China can”. And who could forget his attack on Wong last year, accusing her of speaking in “platitudes” and “failing to add one iota of substance” to securing peace between China and the US.

Wang’s request for an audience with Keating – revealed by The Australian on Monday – is straight out of the Chinese Communist Party playbook. Senior Chinese officials often call on sympathetic former leaders in the countries they travel to, just as they seek out supporters in the Australian-Chinese business communities. It sends a signal to the host government and the Chinese domestic audience about China’s wider influence.

But it’s a particularly bold move in this case, given Labor’s relatively accommodating position on China and the scale of Keating’s attacks on Wong. As China watcher Clive Hamilton has observed, Keating is one of Beijing’s “most committed advocates”, arguing human rights are a Western concept that doesn’t apply to China, and lauding the CCP as “the best government in the world in the last 30 years”.

Labor figures privately dismiss the former PM as “yesterday’s man”. But the 80-year-old former leader still has influence in the party.

Jim Chalmers speaks to him regularly, and his strident anti-AUKUS views are shared by many of Labor’s rank and file.

The optics of the Wang-Keating meeting are terrible for both Wong and Albanese as they try to recalibrate Australia’s China relationship without undermining ties with the US.

The Albanese government’s position on China is really the best that Beijing could expect, given Beijing’s hostile treatment of Australia in recent years. It gave China an off-ramp to de-escalate the tensions between the countries, and it refrains from openly criticising Beijing.

Wong herself continues to speak in veiled terms about China’s threatening behaviour, warning of “destabilising provocative and coercive actions” in a recent speech to ASEAN leaders, rather than calling out Beijing by name.

This wasn’t enough for Keating, who attacked what he described as a “mindless pro-American stance”.

He was once a ruthless political performer, but the politics of the China debate seems to elude the former PM.

The Coalition would leap on any hint of capitulation to Beijing, painting Labor as weak on national security at a time of unprecedented threat.

For its part, China wants to have its cake and eat it too. It will take Wong and Albanese’s careful statements on the bilateral relationship as a show of respect, while using Keating to amplify its own attacks on Australian and US policy.

It’s hard to believe Keating is an unwitting party in the charade.

Ben Packham is The Australian's foreign affairs and defence correspondent.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/expm-appears-to-be-a-willing-partner-in-chinese-charade/news-story/9a4e24bf383d07a1973d2ba0865644fb

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80104e No.20589286

File: 4c900da0969930a⋯.jpg (275.56 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Ukrainian_Ambassador_to_Au….jpg)

File: ee49bd74c5a425a⋯.jpg (239.44 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Mr_Myroshnychenko_has_aske….jpg)

File: f1d446390169aaf⋯.jpg (131.09 KB,1280x720,16:9,Mr_Romaniw_is_calling_on_t….jpg)

File: 31d7d98768fdb6e⋯.jpg (511.39 KB,750x869,750:869,VM_5.jpg)

>>20132098 (pb)

‘A bowl of vomit’ - Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko blasts Four Corners episode

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia has blasted an ABC program about the war in Ukraine as “pro-Putin and pro-violence” as he demands a meeting with the boss of the network.

Jade Gailberger - March 19, 2024

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko has blasted an ABC program about the war in Ukraine as a “journalistic equivalent of a bowl of vomit”.

The documentary by filmmaker Sean Langan titled “Ukraine’s War: The Other Side” aired on Four Corners on Monday night and was plugged as offering a human perspective of life on the Russian frontline.

But Mr Myroshnychenko on Tuesday accused it of unquestioningly repeating “countless blatant lies, historical distortions, racist claims and propaganda narratives emanating from the Kremlin”.

“It also minimised and denigrated the deaths of thousands of innocent Ukrainian men, women and children who have been killed by Russian soldiers in an illegal and brutal invasion strongly condemned by Australia and the majority of countries through the UNGA resolution in March 2022,” he wrote on X.

“The Australian Broadcasting Corporation should be ashamed that it put such total garbage to air.

“It completely served the interests of Russia’s dictator, Putin.”

Mr Myroshnychenko said he had asked, via Communications Minister Michelle Rowland, for a meeting with the managing director of the ABC and the executive producer of Four Corners.

He said he sought to understand what process led to the airing of “this pro-Putin and pro-violence propaganda piece” by the national broadcaster.

“I will share with them the facts that the program totally disregarded,” Mr Myroshnychenko said.

The UK documentary was released on February 19.

Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations co-chair Stefan Romaniw has called for an apology, saying the ABC’s decision to air the documentary provided a platform for Russian propaganda.

Mr Romaniw says the program has also caused “profound distress” for the Ukrainian-Australian community, many of whom have loved ones suffering due to the actions of Russian soldiers.

“It is nonsense for the ABC to pretend this was fearless journalism, bringing us ‘extraordinary access’ to the ‘other side’,” he said.

“Spreading lies and sowing confusion about right and wrong is a direct aim of Russian propaganda. And now the ABC has fallen into the trap, using taxpayers’ money to beam Russian propaganda directly into Australian living rooms.”

Mr Romaniw said he would write to the ABC board, managing director and Communications Minister to complain about the broadcast.

“The AFUO calls on the ABC to apologise for the editorial oversight which allowed for this program to be aired in Australia,” he said.

Ms Rowland said the ABC had operational and editorial independence.

“I have received the Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia’s correspondence, and have provided him with information regarding the ABC complaints process and relevant contact details,” she said.

Members of the Ukrainian community are expected to protest outside the ABC’s Ultimo studios in Sydney on Tuesday afternoon.

An ABC spokesperson defended the airing of the “challenging but legitimate documentary”, saying it was made by a reputable journalist and adds to “our understanding of this tragic conflict” by showing the full, horrific impact of the war.

The spokesperson said the ABC would meet with the Ukrainian Ambassador to discuss his concerns.

“The documentary is being seen internationally and is considered an important contribution to the reporting of the war,” the spokesperson said.

“The reporter challenges the Russian soldiers and civilians featured in the film about their beliefs and opinions

“We believe Australian audiences also have the right to watch it and make up their own minds.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/ukrainian-ambassador-vasyl-myroshnychenko-blasts-four-corners-episode/news-story/9d374b8a3ddb9c544d803d6da29ca851

https://twitter.com/AmbVasyl/status/1769858989851119761

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80104e No.20589296

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20493657 (pb)

>>20519961 (pb)

ASIO, ASIS chiefs removed from national security committee

Two key national security chiefs have been removed from the Albanese government’s top national security committee.

Sharri Markson - March 19, 2024

Two of Australia’s leading intelligence bosses have been dumped from the Albanese government’s top security body.

The head of ASIO, Director-General Mike Burgess, and the head of ASIS, Director-General Kerri Hartland, have been removed from the Albanese government’s national security meeting of Cabinet, according to Sky News.

The director-generals have previously given advice on key security and sovereignty issues within the cabinet, which makes decisions on the highest risk and most urgent national security matters.

But it’s understood Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis has removed both as permanent members.

The change means both will instead be invited on a case-by-case basis to provide advice to the security body.

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson slammed the decision, urging the government to “reverse this reckless decision urgently”.

“It is very concerning to hear that the Albanese government has removed intelligence and security agency heads from the critical committee of government considering national security matters,” he told Sky News Australia.

“They should have available the best advice from our expert agencies when making decisions in the national interest, but that’s pretty hard if they are not in the room. No wonder this government has been so weak and incompetent on national security.”

It comes weeks after Mr Burgess revealed Australians were being heavily targeted by foreign interference, including bombshell revelations that a former Australian MP had “sold out” our nation after being recruited by a sophisticated foreign intelligence network.

The ‘A-team’ network, which Mr Burgess refused to reveal the origins of, was later revealed to be Chinese-based.

Shadow defence spokesman Andrew Hastie also criticised the move.

“It’s a very concerning data point, it’s a warning sign flashing red for me when you’re kicking intelligence heads out of a committee,” Mr Hastie told Sky News.

“Intelligence heads, it’s not their job to deliver good news, they deliver bad news, it’s their job to warn the government of the challenges ahead.

“To not have the head of ASIO or head of ASIS in the room is very concerning.”

Asked why ASIO and ASIS had been removed from the National Security Committee of Cabinet, an Albanese Government spokesman said: “We don’t comment on matters relating to national security.”

An ASIO spokesman said “membership of cabinet committees is a matter for government”.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/asio-asis-chiefs-removed-from-national-security-committee/news-story/8ce6d918097aee287d5580fd584879dd

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JllWVPVze08

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80104e No.20589317

File: 4bafc14418c9849⋯.jpg (1.68 MB,5271x3514,3:2,Former_head_of_the_NSA_Mik….jpg)

File: ff4f5ef0dcdf53e⋯.jpg (79.75 KB,852x227,852:227,Q_585.jpg)

File: e3a07134e40ed9f⋯.jpg (236.18 KB,852x409,852:409,Q_3389.jpg)

File: e1b5a9cf8e24499⋯.jpg (192.52 KB,852x439,852:439,Q_1866.jpg)

Australia should be talking to Trump about AUKUS: ex-security chief Michael Rogers

Andrew Tillett - Mar 19, 2024

Australia needs to sell the benefits of the AUKUS pact for the US to Donald Trump to prevent the planned sale of nuclear-powered submarines being knocked off course, a former US security chief who served in the Trump presidency says.

Former US National Security Agency head Michael Rogers said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review that Australian officials should reach out to Mr Trump and his campaign ahead of November’s presidential election to shore up the trilateral deal between Australia, the US and UK.

“AUKUS talks about strategic investments both in the submarine manufacturing arena as well as the broader tech arena. My argument would be those are in the best interests of both nations and provide benefits to both,” said Mr Rogers, who was appointed head of the NSA under Barack Obama in 2014 and whose term ended four years later during the Trump presidency.

The Australian and British governments are expected to announce on Friday that British shipbuilder BAE Systems will build nuclear-powered submarines in Adelaide.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles will host their UK counterparts David Cameron and Grant Shapps in Canberra on Thursday before heading to Adelaide for the annual AUKMIN joint talks.

Mr Marles and Mr Shapps are also expected to announce new measures boosting cooperation between the Australian and British militaries.

BAE Systems has long been touted as the builder of the submarine. It builds the Royal Navy’s submarines in England and has a big presence in Adelaide, where it is about to start building frigates for the Australian navy.

“In an increasingly complex strategic environment, the United Kingdom remains a critical partner in support of a rules-based global order,” Mr Marles said.

Under AUKUS, Australia and the UK are developing a next generation nuclear-powered submarine. The UK expects to deliver the first of its submarines in the late 2030s, while the first Australian built submarine will arrive in the early 2040s.

But before that, the AUKUS agreement calls for the US to transfer to Australia at least three and up to five Virginia class submarines.

However, concerns have been raised that the unpredictable Mr Trump and his “America First” mantra may not honour the deal if he returns to the White House.

Mr Rogers, who is visiting Australia in his role as a member of cybersecurity firm CyberCX’s global advisory board, said it was crucial for Australian officials to educate Mr Trump about Australian concerns, walk him through the AUKUS process and emphasis the important role the US president has to play in delivering the program.

“One of the points to make is AUKUS talks about investment in US infrastructure and US shipbuilding technology,” Mr Rogers said.

“There is a definite component to this that helps the United States in addition to helping Australia and the UK.

“Don’t wait until you have a winner … because remember when you are elected as president of the United States, you are trying to prepare for a whole lot of different issues. Lots of people want a piece of your time, lots of people want your attention.”

Mr Rogers said there was strong institutional support for AUKUS, pointing out the Pentagon’s past two budgets made specific references to the pact. He also downplayed that AUKUS was at risk after the most recent budget included funding to build only one new submarine in 2025.

“Let’s see what the Congress decided. If I was a betting man, we’re going to fund two Virginia class submarines in 2025, would be my guess,” he said.

Mr Rogers said the Turnbull and Morrison governments’ successful management of relations with Mr Trump during his first term in office offered pointers for how the Albanese government should handle him.

“I would argue that during President Trump’s term of office, he ultimately had a stronger relationship in many ways with Australia for example than he did with the United Kingdom which we traditionally talk about as the ‘special relationship’,” he said.

“My recommendation to my Australian teammates would be is there is a lot to learn from the past. I would step back and ask ‘How did you manage to put the US-Australian relationship in such a strong position during President Trump’s term’?”

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/australia-should-be-talking-to-trump-about-aukus-ex-security-chief-20240319-p5fdhn

https://qresear.ch/?q=michael+rogers

https://cybercx.com.au/

https://cybercx.com.au/?s=rogers

https://qanon.pub/#585

https://qanon.pub/#3389

https://qanon.pub/#1866

https://qalerts.app/?q=Adm+R&sortasc=1

https://qalerts.app/?q=rogers&sortasc=1

https://qalerts.app/?q=NSA&sortasc=1

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80104e No.20594954

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20545757

Donald Trump says ‘nasty’ Kevin Rudd won’t ‘be there long’ if he returns as president

Sky News Australia

Mar 20, 2024

Donald Trump has issued a firm warning to Kevin Rudd, claiming the former Australian prime minister won’t remain ambassador to the US if his “hostile" language continues.

GB News host Nigel Farage questioned Mr Trump about some of Mr Rudd’s “horrible” comments where he labelled the former president a “traitor to the West”.

“I don’t know much about him, I heard he was a little bit nasty,” Mr Trump said.

“I hear he is not the brightest bulb, but I don’t know much about him.

“If he is at all hostile, he will not be there long.”

‘Trump & Farage: The Interview’ was broadcast by GB News in the United Kingdom and will air in full tonight on Sky News Australia. Watch from 8:30pm on Foxtel, Sky News Regional, or stream with the new SkyNews.com.au Streaming Subscription.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn-VaMX2Iwk

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80104e No.20594987

File: 7cc70aaed0ff018⋯.jpg (167.21 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Donald_Trump_has_blasted_A….jpg)

File: 46da4748f8d54a1⋯.jpg (374.68 KB,750x833,750:833,GBN_1.jpg)

File: 2bc0241c2fa870a⋯.mp4 (5.41 MB,1280x720,16:9,tn1uet0XEQpdOiZT.mp4)

>>20594954

Penny Wong vows to keep Kevin Rudd in Washington if Donald Trump is re-elected

ADAM CREIGHTON and BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 20, 2024

1/2

Penny Wong says Labor will keep Kevin Rudd on as Ambassador to the US if Donald Trump wins the upcoming election, after the former president and Republican candidate warned he was “not the brightest bulb” and might not last as Australia’s envoy if he returned to the White House.

In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, to be aired in Australia by Sky News, the former president said he had heard Mr Rudd, who last year succeeded Arthur Sinodinos as the government’s man in the US capital, was “a little bit nasty”.

Anthony Albanese appointed Mr Rudd to the post in December 2022, despite the possibility of a Trump comeback, and the former Labor prime minister’s past criticisms of the Republican president as “nuts”, a “traitor to the West” and “the most destructive president in history”.

The Foreign Minister delivered an unequivocal “yes” when asked on Wednesday whether the government would retain Mr Rudd as ambassador in the event of a Trump victory in November.

“Even Peter Dutton has expressed confidence in Mr Rudd. Mr Rudd is a very effective ambassador. He’s recognised as doing – across this parliament – an excellent job in advancing Australia’s interests in the United States,” Senator Wong said.

“I point you in particular to the phenomenal amount of work being done on AUKUS in the period that he has been ambassador.

“He has been active in engaging with members of Congress on both sides of politics and he is a former prime minister, former foreign minister, is experienced … (which) means he will be able to work closely with whoever is elected by the American people as the United States’ president.”

Referencing the AUKUS defence pact, Farage told the Republican presidential nominee: “Things have changed in Australia, we’ve got a Labor government. The previous ambassador Joe Hockey, I think was quite a good friend of yours … Now they’ve appointed Kevin Rudd. He’s said the most horrible things. You were a destructive president, a traitor to the west”.

Mr Rudd has unleashed on Mr Trump repeatedly in public, calling him a “a traitor to the West” and guilty of “rancid treachery” over his role in as recently as February 2022.

“He won’t be there long if that’s the case … I don’t know much about him,” Mr Trump told Mr Farage during the interview, when the former Brexit party leader rattled off some of Mr Rudd’s less complimentary remarks about Mr Trump before he became ambassador.

If he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long,” Mr Trump, who is all but certain to become the Republican party’s nominee for president, added.

Presidents rarely terminate the commission of foreign ambassadors, who are selected by foreign governments, but they can choose not to meet or communicate with certain diplomats, which would make life difficult for the diplomatic mission in question.

An Australian government spokesman earlier said in a statement: “Kevin Rudd is doing a good job as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20594988

File: e43db25787ea8c0⋯.jpg (262.7 KB,1769x995,1769:995,Kevin_Rudd_and_his_wife_Th….jpg)

File: 09443f54d191549⋯.jpg (253.59 KB,1425x801,475:267,Kevin_Rudd_at_his_residenc….jpg)

>>20594987

2/2

Democratic Party congressman Joe Courtney, a champion of the AUKUS security pact who deals regularly with Mr Rudd, came out swinging in the ambassador’s defence.

“The ambassador’s term in DC has strengthened the US-Australia alliance immensely with enactment of AUKUS in 2023 because of his skilful work to create bipartisan consensus in a bitterly divided Congress,” Mr Courtney told The Australian.

“He is respected and admired by legislators on both sides of the aisle-a rare feat in DC,” he added.

Mr Trump’s remarks were the first time he has commented publicly on Mr Rudd and could signal a rocky path for Canberra-Washington relations should Mr Trump be re-elected president in November.

Joe Hockey, who developed a good relationship with Mr Trump as Australia’s ambassador, and Mr Sinodinos both told The Australian in January that Mr Rudd was likely to survive a Trump presidency.

“I think if Donald Trump is elected, on day one he will have a long list of people that he will want to seek vengeance against. And Kevin Rudd is not one of them,” Mr Hockey told The Australian in January.

Mr Rudd has been working hard to build relationships with Republicans since he formally presented his credentials to President Joe Biden in April last year as Australia’s envoy.

“The bottom line is I’ve been in this town on and off for 30 years, I have bucketloads of Republican friends and bucketloads of Democrat friends, working in foreign policy and national security,” he said then, at a press conference outside the White House.

‘Trump v Farage: The Interview’ will be broadcast on Wednesday March 20 at 8.30pm AEDT on Sky News Australia.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/not-the-brightest-bulb-donald-trump-unleashes-on-nasty-kevin-rudd/news-story/73708254a89a4eeb7372ce4763f5aba0

https://twitter.com/GBNEWS/status/1770173920987021451

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80104e No.20595004

File: 1068cef1f24d1b3⋯.mp4 (15.54 MB,640x360,16:9,Rudd_to_stay_in_US_after_T….mp4)

File: 9cbbce2e7095960⋯.jpg (423.6 KB,750x914,375:457,KR_26.jpg)

>>20594954

Rudd to stay in US after Trump threatened to boot him as ambassador

Mark Saunokonoko and Yashee Sharma - Mar 20, 2024

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has backed Kevin Rudd as Australia's ambassador to the US, after former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump threatened to have him booted from the role if he is re-elected.

In an interview on GB News with former UK far-right politician Nigel Farage, Trump was quizzed on potentially working in Washington with Rudd, who previously called him a "destructive president" and "a traitor to the West".

The former president responded with a heated spray, suggesting Rudd "won't be there long" if he wins this year's presidential race.

"I don't know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty. I hear he's not the brightest bulb. But, I don't know much about him," Trump said.

"But if he's at all hostile, he will not be there long."

In light of the comments, the foreign minister was asked whether the Albanese government would keep Rudd on as ambassador if Trump returned to the White House.

"The answer is yes," Wong said.

"Rudd is a very effective ambassador. He's recognised as doing across this parliament, as doing an excellent job in advancing Australia's interests in the United States."

Wong said Rudd has been working with members of Congress on both sides of politics and drew on his experience as former Australian prime minister and foreign minister.

"He will be able to work closely with whoever is elected by the American people as the United States president," she added.

The situation in Washington could, however, get awkward if Trump beats Biden at the voting booths later this year given some of Rudd's historical hot takes on the controversial leader.

Rudd declared "Donald Trump is a traitor to the West" in a 2022 Facebook post and "the most destructive president in history" in an X post two years earlier.

He also claimed he "drags America and democracy through the mud" and "thrives on fomenting, not healing, division. He abuses Christianity, church and bible to justify violence".

In an 2020 op-ed where he attacked Trump's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Rudd described the former US president as a "quack apothecary" for making sensational claims that injecting disinfectant or using powerful lights might treat COVID-19.

Trump later walked back those comments, saying he was being sarcastic.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Rudd would be "an outstanding appointment", when he confirmed the former Labor leader had been selected as ambassador to the US.

"He brings a great deal of credit to Australia by agreeing to take up this position as a former prime minister," Albanese said.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/donald-trump-calls-kevin-rudd-a-little-bit-nasty-and-hostile/7c3d00ca-22cf-426f-afc6-07779460b730

https://twitter.com/mrkrudd/status/1267660205547900928

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80104e No.20595009

File: fc99585443fbc37⋯.mp4 (3.69 MB,1024x576,16:9,Donald_Trump_blasts_nasty_….mp4)

File: 1538fb1b9a75477⋯.jpg (1.58 MB,5000x2813,5000:2813,Kevin_Rudd_has_been_Austra….jpg)

File: 1b1a92e151f8500⋯.jpg (429.68 KB,750x997,750:997,AB_1.jpg)

File: 737334f5a159b4e⋯.jpg (230.27 KB,750x516,125:86,RJC_1.jpg)

>>20594954

Former US president Donald Trump insults ambassador Kevin Rudd, says 'he won't be there long' if he's 'hostile'

Brad Ryan and Jade Macmillan - 20 March 2024

Donald Trump has insulted Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd as "not the brightest bulb", and suggested he might not remain in the role if the former president is re-elected.

Mr Trump, who recently became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, was asked about the former prime minister during an interview on British television.

Politician-turned-broadcaster Nigel Farage told Mr Trump that Dr Rudd had "said the most horrible things" about him, including calling him a "destructive president" and a "traitor to the West".

"He won't be there long if that's the case," Mr Trump responded.

"I don't know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty.

"I hear he's not the brightest bulb, but I don't know much about him. If he's at all hostile, he will not be there long."

The interview was broadcast on conservative UK TV station GB News.

Dr Rudd has not commented today, but previously defended his criticisms of Mr Trump, arguing he made them in his capacity as an "independent think-tanker".

"I haven't done them as the Australian ambassador to the United States," he told Sky News in November last year.

"And, frankly, in this country as an independent think-tanker, people expect you to exercise a wide latitude of engagement in the public policy debate."

Dr Rudd was the president and CEO of the Asia Society prior to becoming the Australian ambassador a year ago.

"I think what I've had to say as a think-tanker about President Trump back then is fairly mild in relation to what John Howard had to say about Barack Obama as prime minister," he said in November.

"So I think we just need to take these things in our stride."

Asked about Mr Trump's comments on Sky News this morning, deputy opposition leader Sussan Ley declined to comment, "except to say that I think people in this government would now be wondering why they made the comments they did at the time".

"But Kevin Rudd is our ambassador, we do want him to succeed because he represents our national interest.

"It's a very close relationship as evidenced by so many agreements most recently."

Democratic congressman Joe Courtney, the co-chair of congress's Friends of Australia Caucus, tweeted his support for Dr Rudd after the interview aired.

Dr Rudd took up the post in March last year, replacing former Liberal minister Arthur Sinodinos.

He was among senior diplomats involved in negotiations to get key elements of the AUKUS defence deal – between Australia, the US and the UK – approved in congress.

The deal involves the future sale of at least three Virginia-class submarines to Australia by the US.

But concerns were raised when the necessary legislation passed congress in December, because the law allows any future president to cancel the submarine transfers.

The Australian embassy in Washington referred the ABC's queries about Mr Trump's remarks to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).

DFAT provided a statement that simply said: "Kevin Rudd is doing a good job as Australia’s Ambassador to the United States."

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Mr Rudd was "a very effective ambassador" and would not be replaced as ambassador if Trump were elected.

"Even [Opposition Leader Peter] Dutton has expressed confidence in Mr Rudd… He's recognised across this parliament as doing an excellent job in advancing Australia's interests in the United States."

"He has been active in engaging with members of congress on both sides of politics and he is a former prime minister [and] former foreign minister. His experience and skills mean he will be able to work closely with whoever is elected by the American people."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, when asked about the matter in parliament, accused the opposition of playing politics.

"Particularly with our AUKUS allies, the idea that we have a cheap-shot question like that diminishes, diminishes the opposition and says everything about why this bloke is not fit to be the prime minister of Australia."

Mr Trump and Democratic President Joe Biden both secured the delegates necessary to become their parties' presumptive nominees for the presidential race after winning state primary elections last week.

Recent polls suggest the men are neck-and-neck. The election will be held in November.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-20/donald-trump-kevin-rudd-aukus-nigel-farage-interview/103608274

https://twitter.com/AdamBandt/status/1770261806155804825

https://twitter.com/RepJoeCourtney/status/1770216331159236667

https://qresear.ch/?q=kevin+rudd

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80104e No.20595022

File: db3a8ecabf509db⋯.jpg (95.39 KB,1024x683,1024:683,Ambassador_to_Washington_K….jpg)

File: 0e8907e5e59e617⋯.jpg (487.21 KB,825x941,825:941,KR_15.jpg)

>>20594954

Trump has lit the fuse, but Rudd has been a ticking time bomb all along

Matthew Knott - March 20, 2024

Tick, tick, tick. Since Anthony Albanese chose Kevin Rudd to be Australia’s top diplomat in the United States, the former prime minister’s appointment has been a bomb waiting to explode. Now Donald Trump has lit the fuse, threatening to blow up Rudd’s diplomatic career in Washington and damage Australia’s most important security alliance.

Installing Rudd as Australia’s ambassador to the US was always a high-risk, high-reward gamble by Albanese. On the plus side, Rudd has a prodigious work ethic and a formidable intellect. His status as a world-renowned China expert promised a level of access in DC that other diplomats could not match.

On the downside were Rudd’s scathing and numerous public criticisms of Trump. When Albanese announced Rudd as the next ambassador in December 2022, it was just a month after Trump had declared his candidacy for a second term in office. This raised an obvious problem given Rudd had excoriated Trump as “nuts”, called him “the most destructive president in history” and described him as a “traitor to the West”.

To be sure, many Australians would have agreed with Rudd’s comments and cheered them on after the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol. Albanese himself had accused Trump of fomenting a “violent insurrection” and undermining democracy. Rudd’s comments, however, were far more personal, and it is he who is tasked with advancing Australia’s interests in Washington.

Bureaucrats in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade surely raised Rudd’s anti-Trump commentary as a potential problem when he was being considered for the role in 2022. But the plum position of ambassador is always the prime minister’s prerogative. Albanese was a steadfast ally to Rudd throughout Labor’s previous stint in office and wanted him to be Australia’s man in DC.

At that time, too, Trump’s return to power was a distant and doubtful prospect. The Democrats had performed surprisingly strongly in the midterm elections, boosting Joe Biden’s re-election prospects. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was gaining traction as a plausible Republican presidential candidate. Any Trump backlash to Rudd’s appointment could be put off until another day.

Now that day has arrived, thanks to, of all people, former United Kingdom Independence Party leader and Brexit champion Nigel Farage. In an interview with Trump, Farage informed the presumptive presidential candidate that Rudd had said “horrible things” about him.

“He won’t be there long if that’s the case,” Trump replied.

“I don’t know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty. I hear he’s not the brightest bulb. But I don’t know much about him. But if, if he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long.”

Rudd has been working hard in Washington to build and deepen contacts in both the major parties, including with Republicans likely to serve in senior positions in a Trump White House. His lobbying efforts paid off last year when the US Congress passed legislation authorising the sale of Virginia-class submarines to Australia.

The problem for Rudd, and Australia, is that for Trump the personal is the political. Two of his defining characteristics are his aversion to criticism and his lust for revenge.

If word spreads among Republicans that Rudd is a Trump foe, that will imperil Australia’s standing in Washington and make it harder to convince Trump to hand over America’s precious nuclear-powered submarines. It raises the question: how much diplomatic capital will now have to be spent trying to change Trump’s mind about Rudd rather than pressing the case on AUKUS and other Australian policy priorities?

The prospect of a Trump return to the White House just became even more alarming for Canberra. Intellect and work ethic won’t get you far if the leader of the free world hates your guts.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/trump-has-lit-the-fuse-but-rudd-has-been-a-ticking-time-bomb-all-along-20240320-p5fdst.html

https://twitter.com/MrKRudd/status/1497863031497564161

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80104e No.20595024

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20594954

Donald Trump threatens to get rid of 'nasty' Kevin Rudd

9 News Australia

Mar 20, 2024'

Donald Trump has threatened that Kevin Rudd, currently Australia's ambassador to the US, "won't be there long" because of his supposed "hostile" stance towards the former president.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C82hASwWJks

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80104e No.20595025

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20594954

Trump vs Rudd: What the former President said about the former Prime Minister

The Australian

Mar 20, 2024

Donald Trump has declared Kevin Rudd “not the brightest bulb” and suggested the former Labor prime minister wouldn’t be welcome in Washington as ambassador under a second Trump presidency.

In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, to be aired in Australia by Sky News, the former president said he had heard Mr Rudd, who last year succeeded Arthur Sinodinos as the government’s man in the US capital, was “a little bit nasty”.

“He won’t be there long if that’s the case … I don’t know much about him,” Mr Trump told Mr Farage during the interview, when the former Brexit party leader rattled off some of Mr Rudd’s less complimentary remarks about Mr Trump before he became ambassador.

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

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80104e No.20595028

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20594954

'Poor choice': Kevin Rudd showed ‘lack of judgement’ prior to becoming ambassador

Sky News Australia

Mar 20, 2024

Kevin Rudd has shown a “lack of judgement” and was a “poor choice” to become Australia’s Ambassador to the US, says Nationals Leader David Littleproud.

Mr Littleproud’s comments come after former US president Donald Trump called Mr Rudd "nasty" in an interview with GB News host Nigel Farage.

“I find it extraordinary that Kevin Rudd, who has had experience in the diplomatic pool and then as a prime minister has wanted to weigh in on foreign politics and then ended up as the ambassador to the United States,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia.

“It shows that he was a poor choice to start with.

“Now if we have a Trump administration, we’re going to have a very difficult time in negotiating with a new administration, particularly with things as important as AUKUS.

“This is a problem for the government, they mismanaged this, and Kevin Rudd should have known better than to make disparaging comments about a potential future president of the United States.”

'Trump & Farage: The Interview' will air in full tonight on Sky News Australia at 8.30pm AEDT, available to watch online with a SkyNews.com.au Streaming Subscription, or on TV through Foxtel or Sky News Regional.

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

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80104e No.20595031

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>>20594954

Albanese defends Kevin Rudd after Donald Trump labels former PM as 'nasty'

Sky News Australia

Mar 20, 2024

Anthony Albanese has been pressed in Question Time for comment after Donald Trump labelled Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd as “nasty” during an exclusive interview with GB News host Nigel Farage.

The interview between former US President Donald Trump and Nigel Farage is set to air in Australia on Sky News this evening.

Donald Trump also slammed Kevin Rudd as being “not the brightest bulb” during the interview.

Prime Minister Albanese was on Wednesday questioned by Liberal MP Paul Fletcher about Mr Trump’s comments.

Mr Albanese said the question "says everything about the character of this current Opposition".

"At a time when Australians are worried about the cost of living and a range of issues that affect their daily lives – they decide to politicise Australia's representative in Washington DC, something that was never done by this side of the chamber when Arthur Sinodinas occupied that position, when Joe Hockey occupied that position," Mr Albanese said.

Mr Rudd was appointed as Australia's ambassador to the United States in March 2023 and previously served as Prime Minister from 2007 until 2010 and again briefly in 2013.

'Trump & Farage: The Interview' will air in full tonight on Sky News Australia at 8.30pm AEDT, available to watch online with a SkyNews.com.au Streaming Subscription, or on TV through Foxtel or Sky News Regional.

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

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80104e No.20595035

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>>20594954

Trump's swipe dominates Question Time as PM takes second shot defending Ambassador Rudd

Sky News Australia

Mar 20, 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a second opportunity during a fiery Question Time to defend Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd after Donald Trump labelled the former prime minister as being "nasty".

Mr Trump's comments came during an interview with GB News host Nigel Farage.

Donald Trump also slammed Kevin Rudd as being “not the brightest bulb” during the interview.

The issue dominated Question Time on Wednesday, with the Prime Minister later taking to the dispatch box to point out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had made positive comments about Ambassador Rudd on Sky News as recently as last month.

'Trump & Farage: The Interview' will air in full tonight on Sky News Australia at 8.30pm AEDT, available to watch online with a SkyNews.com.au Streaming Subscription, or on TV through Foxtel or Sky News Regional.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CvBp4lluM3Y

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80104e No.20595038

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20594954

Penny Wong responds to Donald Trump’s comments about Kevin Rudd

Sky News Australia

Mar 20, 2024

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has responded to comments made by former US president Donald Trump on Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd.

In a GB News interview with Nigel Farage, Trump said he thought Rudd was “not the brightest bulb”, “nasty” and said he “won't be there long”.

In response to the scathing critique of Rudd, Ms Wong described the former Australian Prime Minister as a “very effective ambassador”.

She said he is recognised as doing an “excellent job” in advancing Australia’s interest in the United States.

“Even Mr Dutton has expressed confidence in Mr Rudd,” she said.

“He’s been extremely active in engaging in members of Congress on both sides.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5uw2XoOG6c

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80104e No.20595042

File: eebcbe0d5e417ca⋯.jpg (379.18 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Ambassador_of_Australia_to….jpg)

File: e7af16b0cb67fc6⋯.jpg (177.93 KB,1605x903,535:301,Kevin_Rudd_with_US_Secreta….jpg)

File: 785a768c91acd92⋯.jpg (207.15 KB,852x662,426:331,Q_3466.jpg)

>>20594954

Trump 2.0 could end Kevin Rudd’s Washington stint

ADAM CREIGHTON - MARCH 20, 2024

Donald Trump’s criticism of Kevin Rudd in a British television interview presents a major problem for Australia should the former president be re-elected in November.

With or without AUKUS, Australia will depend on the US for our security even more in coming years.

Insisting on having an ambassador in Washington whom the US president, for personal reasons, intensely dislikes would obviously be foolish.

Anthony Albanese launched Kevin Rudd’s bid to be Australian ambassador to the US a few weeks after Donald Trump, in November 2022, launched his bid to be re-elected president.

Practically everyone had written off Trump’s chances back then – Florida Governor Ron DeSantis was even rated a better chance of becoming president than Mr Trump.

A former prime minister with deep political and diplomatic contacts plus a renowned expertise in China appeared to be an inspired choice for the new Labor government.

It was no surprise Joe Biden welcomed Mr Rudd, 66, as Arthur Sinodinos’s replacement in April 2023.

Fast forward a year and a bit, and it’s looking a much less sensible, even reckless, choice.

Donald Trump has practically secured the Republican nomination, and according to both political betting markets and national polls has for months been the most likely winner of the November 2024 presidential election.

Mr Rudd’s disparaging remarks about Mr Trump, made on numerous occasions, were well known in Australia. He variously accused Mr Trump of “rancid treachery”, being “nuts” and the “most destructive president in history” in articles and interviews.

One irony of the current scandal is Mr Trump appeared to barely know who the former Australian prime minister was, let alone his criticism.

“I hear he is not the brightest bulb, but I don’t know much about him,” Mr Trump told Nigel Farage, who was only too eager to inform Mr Trump of Mr Rudd’s nasty comments. Well, he knows now.

If Donald Trump isn’t re-elected in November, Mr Rudd’s tenure is secure. If he is, Canberra will have to give serious thought to recalling him. Pride will have to be swallowed quick smart.

It’s highly unlikely a future President Trump would actively seek to persuade Australia to terminate Mr Rudd’s commission.

But he could easily ignore him, relegating anything related to Australia way down the White House’s to do list, putting AUKUS in jeopardy and making visits by Australian primes ministers difficult.

By all accounts, Kevin Rudd has performed well as Australia’s ambassador, helping shepherd critical AUKUS legislation through congress last year and ensuring a successful visit by Anthony Albanese to Washington last year.

And Rudd’s criticism of the former president in the wake of his defeat and ignominious departure from the White House in 2021 were popular, similarly made by many commentators then and since.

If Trump’s political renaissance cuts Mr Rudd’s tenure short, it will be very clear they weren’t prudent.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/trump-20-could-end-kevin-rudds-washington-stint/news-story/103cc7797f7aabca4f087abfbfee5cb2

https://qanon.pub/#3466

>These people are stupid.

>Enjoy the show!

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80104e No.20600270

File: 806b9bd61cee703⋯.jpg (123.73 KB,1024x768,4:3,Likely_Republican_nominee_….jpg)

>>20594954

Make Kevin great again: embassy’s high-wire act to placate Trump

Moments after Donald Trump publicly cast doubt on Kevin Rudd’s future as Australia’s US ­ambassador under a second Trump presidency, the phones started ringing.

CAMERON STEWART - March 20, 2024

1/2

Moments after Donald Trump publicly cast doubt on Kevin Rudd’s future as Australia’s ­ambassador in Washington under a second Trump presidency, the phones started ringing inside the Australian embassy in ­Washington.

Several senior Republicans who are close to Trump called to reassure Rudd, and Australia, not to take Trump’s words literally, saying that Rudd would be able to continue as ambassador if Trump defeated Joe Biden in the presidential election in November.

The split-screen moment ­underlined the highwire act Rudd and the Albanese government are trying to perform in Washington to prepare for a possible return of Trump to the White House. For months Rudd has crisscrossed America and worked the back rooms in Washington and on Capitol Hill to forge links with ­Republicans across the board, but especially with those who are close to Trump. It has been a campaign that has gained Rudd kudos among many in Trump’s circle, and these were the ones who called to offer reassurance to the former prime minister.

But in the end, the Trump army is led by only one man and it is ­Donald Trump who decides what goes. Which is why Canberra is alarmed by Trump’s outburst against Rudd, after interviewer Nigel Farage goaded the former president by telling him about Rudd’s previous criticisms of him.

Trump did not appear to be familiar with Rudd, but lashed out anyway. “I don’t know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty. I hear he’s not the brightest bulb,” Trump said.

“But I don’t know much about him. But if he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long.”

Rudd has variously described Trump over the years as “nuts”, a traitor to the West and a threat to democracy. These comments were made before he was appointed to Australia’s most important diplomatic post in late 2022 and they were not outlandish among political commentators at the time. But the Rudd appointment therefore came with a clear asterisk: how might Trump treat Rudd if he became president again?

The calculus inside the ­Albanese government at the time was Rudd was the perfect appointment to our most important diplomatic post because of his gravitas as a former prime minister, a former foreign minister and a China expert. In late 2022 a re-elected Trump seemed a remote possibility and, in any case, even if Trump were re-elected then surely he would forget or forgive comments by Rudd years earlier.

As far as diplomatic gambles go, it did not seem like a huge one. But that was before Trump’s political comeback. He will be the Republican presidential nominee and betting markets have him favourite to defeat Biden.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong responded to Trump’s outburst by making it clear that the government would back Rudd regardless of the election outcome, saying he was “a very effective ambassador” who was “doing an excellent job in advancing Australia’s interest in the United States”, she said.

The behind-the-scenes campaign by Rudd and embassy officials to forge links with key Republicans who have Trump’s ear began in earnest late last year. It has targeted members of Trump’s own family, his campaign team, political influencers, his financial backers and anyone who will potentially play a role in a new Trump cabinet or in a second Trump White House.

The fact Rudd has previously criticised Trump is not something that gets raised in his private meetings with other Republicans, many of whom are unaware of it or who have themselves been critical of Trump in the past. But that does not mean it could not come back to haunt Rudd.

(continued)

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80104e No.20600272

File: adbb66d8a2b66fa⋯.jpg (451.32 KB,750x743,750:743,KR_27.jpg)

File: 019d4b021cf5ed9⋯.jpg (444.82 KB,1442x1600,721:800,GIbrCwmXEAAe7Dy.jpg)

File: 18726b619b0a46f⋯.jpg (143.59 KB,1000x853,1000:853,GIbrCwpXkAA9C61.jpg)

File: 7b97faedaadacc5⋯.jpg (428.09 KB,750x905,150:181,KR_28.jpg)

File: 1c436eadea18b29⋯.jpg (229.27 KB,1600x1200,4:3,GG_AQWJWoAEPqBP.jpg)

>>20600270

2/2

Rudd has not yet spoken directly with Trump and Trump has form when it comes to being vindictive against diplomatic critics. In 2019, Britain’s ambassador to the US, Kim Darroch, was forced to quit after Trump cut off all contact with him after leaked documents revealed that Darroch had described the Trump administration as dysfunctional, inept and chaotic. Trump also had no hesitation in lashing out at former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull over Barack Obama’s refugee deal shortly after he took office in 2017.

Sources say Rudd has mapped out a clear strategy to woo those closest to Trump. This month Rudd visited the Republican Governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, who Trump has nominated as a potential running mate. “Great to see the Aussie Akubra hat he (Abbott) received as a gift from former PM Malcolm Turnbull hanging in pride of place next to his Texas Stetson,” Rudd tweeted with pictures of himself and the governor.

During that visit Rudd also met Trump’s former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe.

Last month Rudd met another Republican vice-presidential contender, South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem, saying they were just “a couple of former farm kids trading tales in Washington”.

Rudd has forged a good connection with veteran Republican senator and “Trump whisperer” Lindsey Graham as well as with former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien and former Trump Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer. In December Rudd met Ronna McDaniel who, until this month, was chair of the Republican National Committee.

Last month Rudd travelled to Florida where he met Republican senator and former Florida governor Rick Scott as well as former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, son of former president George W Bush. He also visited Utah, meeting Republican governor Spencer Cox.

Many Republicans in Washington have sought Rudd out to tap his expertise on China.

When asked last April about his criticism of Trump, Rudd said: “The bottom line is I’ve been in this town on and off for 30 years, I have bucketloads of Republican friends and bucketloads of Democrat friends, working in foreign policy and national security.”

He said that since taking up his diplomatic posting he had worked “comfortably and seamlessly” with key Republicans such as former House speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell.

Rudd’s signature success as ambassador so far, apart from helping facilitate a state visit to Washington by Albanese, was the successful passage through Congress of legislation allowing the US to sell Virginia-Class nuclear-powered submarines to Australia.

Former ambassador to the US Joe Hockey said, prior to Trump’s latest comments, that he thought it was unlikely that Trump would act against Rudd. “I think if Donald Trump is elected, on day one he will have a long list of people that he will want to seek vengeance against and Kevin Rudd is not one of them,” Hockey said.

But Trump is unpredictable and he has a vindictive streak. He is now fully aware of Rudd’s previous comments about him. This is dangerous territory for Rudd. The question is whether the solid links being forged between Rudd and many key pro-Trump Republicans will be enough to protect him – and therefore the Australia-US relationship – from the ire of a re-elected Trump.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/inside-australian-embassys-diplomatic-highwire-act-to-placate-donald-trump-after-kevin-rudd-comments/news-story/629eb9edca480f603920941a6e61a824

https://twitter.com/AmboRudd/status/1767358340823171192

https://twitter.com/AmboRudd/status/1760837374798344200

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80104e No.20600280

File: cbe4a8751034a51⋯.jpg (227.73 KB,1425x801,475:267,Kevin_Rudd_at_his_residenc….jpg)

>>20594954

Kevin Rudd’s Republican mates go quiet after Donald Trump’s hit

ADAM CREIGHTON - MARCH 21, 2024

The congressional Republicans most likely to come to Kevin Rudd’s defence after he endured sharp criticism from Donald Trump have remained strangely silent.

The two Republicans who lead the Friends of Australia caucus – Mike Gallagher and Senator Dan Sullivan – have not responded to requests for comment over 24 hours since Mr Trump’s comments became public.

The former president described Mr Rudd as “nasty” and “not the brightest bulb” after Nigel Farage brought up the ambassador’s past criticism of Mr Trump.

Similarly, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, whom Mr Rudd worked closely with to ensure critical AUKUS legislation passed congress last year, has also declined to comment via his staff.

The office of Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the influential House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also didn’t respond.

Mr Rudd declined interviews with Australian media on Wednesday (Thursday AEDT) instead tweeting a picture of himself with Congressman Gallagher outside congressional office buildings.

“Huge week in Congress. House passed legislation on TikTok on 3/13 and voted unanimously to support the digital privacy bill,” Mr Rudd said, suggesting the picture was taken last week.

“Amid all this, I caught up with @repgallagher.”

Anthony Albanese appointed Mr Rudd to the post in December 2022, weeks after Mr Trump launched his re-election bid, despite the ex-Labor prime minister’s criticism of Mr Trump in the past as “nuts”, a “traitor to the West” and “the most destructive president in history”.

Mr Albanese responded furiously in parliament on Wednesday when manager of opposition business Paul Fletcher asked if he would reassess Mr Rudd’s position given Mr Trump’s comments.

Mr Albanese accused the opposition of “cheap politics” and attempting to “politicise Australia’s representative in Washington DC”.

“(This is) something that was never done by this side of the chamber when Arthur Sinodinos occupied that position, when Joe Hockey occupied that position, and when other representatives, including Alexander Downer, ­George Brandis and others (served as) high commissioner to the United Kingdom,” Mr Albanese said.

On Thursday Peter Dutton called on Mr Rudd to repair the relationship with Donald Trump and those around him, arguing Anthony Albanese’s decision to appoint the former Labor prime minister would have been done “against the advice of a lot of his colleagues”.

The Opposition Leader said there was a good chance Mr Rudd would have to step down.

“You’ve got an administration that says it cant work with a particular ambassador, there’s a long history of those people being recalled,” he said.

“I wish Mr Rudd well and that he does good work in our countries name. But… Anthony (Albanese) knew all risks he was facing when he decided to appoint Kevin (Rudd),” he said.

“The onus is on Mr Rudd now to repair the relationship.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/kevin-rudds-republican-mates-go-quiet-after-donald-trumps-hit/news-story/e2ff8970b286aede3f0ae48f1ef615d0

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80104e No.20600296

File: 3fb7c37f0e9dafe⋯.jpg (176.28 KB,2000x1125,16:9,Kevin_Rudd_breaks_silence_….jpg)

File: c497a2f05b329c1⋯.jpg (393.48 KB,750x743,750:743,KR_29.jpg)

File: eb02f758cd2fbef⋯.jpg (194.54 KB,1200x1600,3:4,GJJPueVWgAAf5Dp.jpg)

File: fc493a7b1d4e506⋯.jpg (412.54 KB,1200x1600,3:4,GJJPueTWYAAfjvo.jpg)

>>20594954

Kevin Rudd breaks silence as Donald Trump feud deepens

Australia’s ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd has shared a cryptic message amid tensions with former president Donald Trump.

Tom Minear - March 21, 2024

The Republican leaders of the US congressional Friends of Australia Caucus have failed to publicly come to Kevin Rudd’s aid after he was blasted by former US president Donald Trump.

Congressman Mike Gallagher and Senator Dan Sullivan did not respond when asked about their party leader’s threat to refuse to work with Australia’s ambassador to the US if he was re-elected in this year’s presidential election.

But Mr Rudd, who has refused to comment on the diplomatic drama, took to social media on Thursday to post photos of himself with Mr Gallagher.

He did not say when the pictures were taken, but referred to the Republican’s role co-chairing the Friends of Australia Caucus, as well as his position chairing the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.

“Huge week in Congress. House passed legislation on Tiktok on 3/13 and voted unanimously to support the digital privacy bill,” Mr Rudd said.

“Amid all this, I caught up with @repgallagher.”

Mr Trump’s comments have received little attention in US media and political circles, with few news outlets reporting on the stoush and only Democratic congressman Joe Courtney issuing a public defence of the ambassador.

Mr Courtney, who also co-chairs the Friends of Australia Caucus, said Mr Rudd was “respected and admired by legislators on both sides of the aisle” in Washington DC.

Mr Trump said Mr Rudd was “a little bit nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”.

“If he’s at all hostile, he will not be there long,” he told conservative British politician turned broadcaster Nigel Farage on GB News.

The spray came in response to a question about Mr Rudd’s pre-ambassadorial comments calling Mr Trump “nuts”, “the most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West”.

While the Albanese government defended Mr Rudd and confirmed he would remain in the key diplomatic post even if the former president returned to power, former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce said on Thursday that he was “cooked”.

“Now he has to live by those comments and he can’t possibly be the ambassador … because it’s going to affect our relationship with the United States,” Mr Joyce told Channel 9.

“Once (Trump) sets a path, I think that Rudd’s cooked and so you know we might as well drag him back and send him to another country.”

But George Brandis, Australia’s former high commissioner to the United Kingdom, said Mr Rudd had “plainly done a very good job” in Washington DC and deserved bipartisan support.

“I think this has been rather over-interpreted,” he told the ABC.

“Donald Trump is infamous for making rather wild and off-the-cuff claims that don’t in the end amount to very much, so it’s obviously something that the government should keep an eye on but I wouldn’t over-interpret it.”

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/kevin-rudd-breaks-silence-as-donald-trump-feud-deepens/news-story/519f56f8a4938d114a1b948b0ed9af88

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80104e No.20600307

File: 30ac885bccbb6a8⋯.jpg (184.63 KB,1280x720,16:9,Clockwise_from_left_Foreig….jpg)

File: acc8f70dab9e7ca⋯.jpg (298.55 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,New_Zealand_s_Deputy_Prime….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

Penny Wong downplays Paul Keating’s influence ahead of meeting with Chinese envoy Wang Yi

BEN PACKHAM and WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 20, 2024

1/2

Penny Wong has sent a clear message to China that Paul Keating has no influence over government policy ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s meeting with the pro-Beijing former prime minister.

In her first comment on Mr Wang’s scheduled audience with Mr Keating on Thursday, Senator Wong told The Australian: “Mr Keating is entitled to his views. He does not speak for the government nor the country.”

The pointed remark follows Mr Keating’s repeated criticism of Senator Wong’s performance as Foreign Minister, and the government’s ongoing warnings over China’s destabilising influence in the region.

Mr Wang will sidestep public scrutiny during his visit to Australia, refusing to appear at a press conference in Canberra with Senator Wong amid ongoing tensions between the nations over a raft of sensitive issues.

In bilateral talks on Wednesday, Senator Wong is expected to raise China’s aggressive behaviour in the South China Sea and express concerns over Beijing’s suspended death sentence for Australian writer Yang Hengjun.

She is also expected to raise China’s poor human rights record, and its remaining trade bans on Australian exports.

Senator Wong invited Mr Wang to attend a joint press conference with her after their closed-door meeting, but he declined. She will front the media alone, offering questions to both Australian and Chinese journalists in a show of transparency.

Senator Wong’s move to downplay Mr Keating’s influence came as Climate Change Minister and Keating confidant Chris Bowen declared the 80-year-old former Labor leader was a “deeply respected” figure across Asia.

“It is entirely usual for a visiting Foreign Minister to seek out a former prime minister, particularly one who played the role he did in Australia finding security in Asia, not from Asia, as Paul Keating did all those years ago,” Mr Bowen told the ABC.

But opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham, who will also meet with Mr Wang on Wednesday, said Mr Keating’s interventions were “reckless and irresponsible”, and had been “clearly welcomed for propaganda purposes elsewhere”.

“I think, frankly, Paul Keating should reconsider his undertaking of this meeting,” Senator Birmingham said.

“I note he’s dialled back some of his usually quite out-there and extreme rhetoric. But in the end, all of our former prime ministers do have a responsibility to be judicious in the use of their offices.”

Mr Wang flew into Sydney late on Tuesday after a stop in New Zealand, where he warned counterpart Winston Peters against joining the AUKUS security pact.

Mr Peters pushed back, telling Mr Wang that concerns over Chinese security threats were not “imaginary”, and New Zealand would choose its own security arrangements.

“It was just a matter of making it very certain that he understood that we did not have imaginary concerns about long-term security,” he told journalists after the meeting.

Mr Wang will fly from Sydney to Canberra for his official program, then head back to Sydney for his meeting with Mr Keating and an event with Chinese community members on Thursday.

(continued)

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80104e No.20600309

File: 6321457233092af⋯.jpg (199.43 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Wang_Yi_on_Tuesday.jpg)

>>20600307

2/2

Hundreds of human rights protesters are expected to rally on the lawn outside Parliament House in Canberra as Mr Wang meets with Senator Wong, and later Anthony Albanese.

UTS Associate Professor Feng Chongyi – a close friend of Dr Yang – said Labor had over the past two years “prioritised trade with China at the expense of other principles”.

“Since 2017, 2018, Australia had been in the forefront of the democratic world’s pushback against Chinese political interference, interference, ideological infiltration and espionage,” Dr Feng said.

“And now that momentum has been lost by the Labor administration. When they gave up this agenda, it was actually an act of capital capitulation.”

Dr Feng, who will be among the protesters, said Dr Yang had received two consular visits since his death sentence in February. He said his friend’s health had stabilised, but his kidney condition had not been addressed, and he remained in the custody of China’s Ministry of State Security, rather than in a mainstream facility as would be expected after sentencing.

He said Chinese authorities also continued to deny Dr Yang’s wife an exit permit so she could come to Australia.

On Mr Wang’s 2017 visit to Australia – the last by a senior Chinese official – he joined then foreign minister Julie Bishop for a joint press conference, taking questions on China’s disputed claims in the South China Sea and the prospect of a war with the US.

A year earlier in Canada, he berated a journalist for questioning China’s human rights record and destabilising maritime behaviour. “You have no right to speak on this,” Mr Wang said, to the disbelief of his Canadian hosts.

Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor said Mr Wang’s overseas press conferences had become more infrequent in recent years. “That’s really in keeping with the times, in which the Chinese government is less and less willing to engage with the Western media,” he said.

Ahead of Mr Wang’s visit, Beijing signalled that its crippling tariffs on Australian wine would be lifted by the end of March. That should see local winemakers reclaim around $500m of the once $1.2bn annual trade with China.

Some Australian lobster industry figures are hopeful for an end to their almost four-year black-listing by China. But others expect a breakthrough in the resumption of the lobster live trade will be held back as a scene-setter for a trip to Australia by Premier Li Qiang, expected in June or July.

A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said the government continued to “press for the resolution of the impediments” that had decimated the once $600m live lobster trade.

“The Australian government, including at the highest levels, has consistently advocated for the full resumption of unimpeded Australian exports to China,” the spokeswoman said.

In another closed-door engagement near Parliament House on Wednesday, Mr Wang will meet a select group of Australian business figures, including executives from iron ore giant Rio Tinto and hearing aid maker Cochlear.

Chinese officials moved the meeting at late notice from Sydney to Canberra to accommodate Mr Wang’s audience with Mr Keating on Thursday.

Australia China Business Council national president David Olsson said the 45-minute roundtable was an opportunity to hear from one of China’s most senior government officials about how Beijing views its relationship with Australia “beyond stabilisation”.

“It also enables the Australian business community to share their perspectives and insights on the future direction of the relationship,” Mr Olsson said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-downplays-paul-keatings-influence-ahead-of-meeting-with-chinese-envoy-wang-yi/news-story/d6ceeffd375ad12101c4477867934647

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80104e No.20600321

File: 3076ac622bf4747⋯.jpg (144.66 KB,1200x720,5:3,China_Australia_relation_n….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

China-Australia relation not targeted at third party, nor should be influenced by any third party: Chinese FM Wang Yi

Global Times - Mar 20, 2024

Since the relationship between China and Australia is on the right track, we should not hesitate, deviate, or backtrack, and the development of the bilateral ties is not targeted at any third party, nor should it be influenced or interfered with by any third party, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra on Wednesday.

Wang held the seventh China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with Wong during the former's visit to Australia.

This is our sixth meeting, and each time we meet, mutual trust increases by one point, and the China-Australia relationship advances one step further, Wang told Wong.

The Chinese Foreign Minister said this is an important year that carries on the past and opens up the future. Building on the good momentum of bilateral relations so far, and both China and Australia should "work together to create the future" and, with a more proactive attitude, jointly build a more mature, stable, and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership.

Over the past 10 years, the ups and downs of China-Australia relations have left us with lessons to learn and experiences to cherish, namely mutual respect, seeking common ground, pursuing mutual benefit, and to uphold independence and autonomy, Wang said.

Wang said China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace, and our policy toward Australia has been consistent. The development of China-Australia relations is not directed against any third party, nor should it be influenced or interfered with by any third party.

He noted that since China-Australia relations are on the right track, we should not hesitate, deviate, or backtrack. With a clear direction toward progress, we should strive to move forward steadily, well, and far. This is in the common interest of the two peoples and the general expectation of regional countries.

Wang also said that China is ready to work with Australia to prepare for high-level exchange between two countries and deepen cooperation on traditional field such as mineral, energy and agricultural products; also explore cooperation on new energy, digital economy, green development and coping with climate change.

He urged Australia to take concrete measures to uphold the principles of market economy and fair competition rules, and provide a fair, just, transparent, and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese enterprises investing and operating in the country.

Wang elaborated with Wong on China's stance on issues related to island of Taiwan, Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang, and the South China Sea, emphasizing that there is no historical entanglement or fundamental conflict of interests between China and Australia, and that their common interests far outweigh their differences.

According to a handout related to the dialogue issued by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Wong stated that Australia and China have close historical, trade, and cultural ties, and are comprehensive strategic partners. As countries in the same region, differences should not define the relationship between Australia and China.

She said that Australia is pleased to see significant progress in bilateral relations in recent years and is willing to further strengthen dialogue and communication with China on the basis of mutual respect, to manage differences, to leverage complementary advantages, and to deepen cooperation in economic, trade, and cultural fields.

Both sides agreed to resume and establish dialogues in various fields , promote more cooperation across foreign affairs, economic, trade, science and technology, education, and law enforcement departments of the two countries, and actively consider initiating a dialogue on maritime affairs. Both sides agreed to take further measures to facilitate the exchange of people between the two countries.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1309168.shtml

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80104e No.20600350

File: b442d7efa41b216⋯.jpg (129.71 KB,1361x766,1361:766,Former_PM_Paul_Keating_wit….jpg)

File: b5e615c6d54acac⋯.jpg (271.69 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Paul_Keating_covers_his_fa….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

Paul Keating leaves Chinese consulate after meeting Wang Yi

BEN PACKHAM, NOAH YIM and WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 21, 2024

1/2

Paul Keating says Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi showed a “keen understanding of Australia’s strengths” in their private meeting on Thursday, underlining China’s importance to Australia’s economy.

Mr Keating said his hour and five minute meeting with Mr Wang was “very pleasant and engaging”. They had a largely “big picture discussion about the geostrategic balances and influences in the world”, he said.

“The Foreign Minister was very positive about putting bilateral difficulties behind us as he was encouraged by the government’s efforts in restoring appropriate equilibrium between our two countries,” Mr Keating said in a statement after the meeting.

“Minister Wang Yi emphasised China’s ability to keep on growing and strongly, pointing out that China is still only 55 per cent urbanised – another 20 per cent to go.

“He said the world will still benefit from China’s ability to supply high quality relatively low priced goods which will help underwrite higher living standards in the West and other regions of the world.

“He both encouraged and welcomed Australia’s continuing integration with East Asia where he believed Australia’s future lies.

“The Foreign Minister displayed a keen understanding of Australia’s strengths. Its complementarity with China’s own economy and the prospect of ever rising living standards for both countries.”

Mr Keating said Mr Wang was “very positive about putting bilateral difficulties behind us”, and was encouraged by the Albanese government’s efforts to restore “appropriate equilibrium” between the countries.

He said the Chinese envoy was pleased to have spoken to Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton on Thursday after his “productive meeting” with Foreign Minister Penny Wong.

Mr Keating said the conversation also ranged over the history of the bilateral relationship, including “my relationship with Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji in putting together APEC”.

Hours after Mr Keating left the consulate, China’s national broadcaster CCTV released a report on the meeting which was widely republished on Chinese news portals.

“Wang Yi appreciated Keating’s long-term concern and support for the development of China-Australia relations,” CCTV reported.

China’s Foreign Minister told the former prime minister that the two countries should “understand and trust each other” and “pursue win-win co-operation”.

The Chinese broadcaster said Mr Wang noted that Australia was an ally of the United States, but said he added that Canberra was “welcome to independently” make policies based on its “own fundamental interests”.

Mr Keating praised China’s “huge” economy and noted its “vast space for development”, according to CCTV’s account of the meeting which was closed to Australian media.

Mr Keating said it “did not pose a threat to other countries” and was contributing to “regional peace and stability”, according to Chinese state media broadcaster.

(continued)

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80104e No.20600358

File: 94cd76f792afe1e⋯.jpg (518.21 KB,750x1111,750:1111,SD_2.jpg)

File: 2b8380638d41920⋯.png (165.41 KB,707x768,707:768,GJKbM5tbcAAhO5e.png)

>>20600350

2/2

Brief meeting

Mr Keating left the Chinese consulate in Sydney, just over an hour after he arrived for his meeting with Mr Wang.

Shortly before midday, the compound doors opened and Mr Keating’s car left very quickly with a sharp beep at the media scrum waiting outside.

Mr Keating had arrived in a grey Skoda sedan and appeared to cover his face to a photographer from The Australian.

Mr Wang arrived earlier in the morning, around 10.15am, in a motorcade with a police escort. He was accompanied by Chinese ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian.

A film crew, understood to be freelancers working for CGTN — Chinese state media — were earlier allowed into the compound.

Penny Wong on Wednesday sent a clear message to China that the pro-Beijing former prime minister has no influence over government policy ahead of the meeting.

In her first comment on Mr Wang’s scheduled audience with Mr Keating on Thursday, the Foreign Minister told The Australian: “Mr Keating is entitled to his views. He does not speak for the government nor the country.”

The pointed remark follows Mr Keating’s repeated criticism of Senator Wong’s performance as Foreign Minister, and the government’s ongoing warnings over China’s destabilising influence in the region.

Senator Wong’s move to downplay Mr Keating’s influence came as Climate Change Minister and Keating confidant Chris Bowen declared the 80-year-old former Labor leader was a “deeply respected” figure across Asia.

“It is entirely usual for a visiting Foreign Minister to seek out a former prime minister, particularly one who played the role he did in Australia finding security in Asia, not from Asia, as Paul Keating did all those years ago,” Mr Bowen told the ABC.

But opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham, who will also meet with Mr Wang on Wednesday, said Mr Keating’s interventions were “reckless and irresponsible”, and had been “clearly welcomed for propaganda purposes elsewhere”.

“I think, frankly, Paul Keating should reconsider his undertaking of this meeting,” Senator Birmingham said.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman in Beijing was asked again on Thursday about the Chinese initiative to set up a meeting with Mr Keating, who has been a loud critic of AUKUS and Senator Wong.

Foreign Minister Wang Yi has refused all engagements with Australian journalists during his three day visit, making the regular daily press conference in Beijing the only opportunity to ask the Chinese government about the trip.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian defended his boss’s itinerary and said “mutual respect” was fundamental to the bilateral relationship.

“China stands ready to continue our friendly communication and exchange with people of various sectors in Australia,” Mr Lin said.

The Chinese Foreign Minister also met with members of the Australia-China Parliamentary Group on Wednesday in Canberra.

As with all of Mr Wang’s Chinese organised engagements during his visit, no Australian media were invited to the closed door event. It was revealed hours after it took place by China’s official media agency Xinhua.

The Chinese Foreign Minister is scheduled to fly out of Sydney on Thursday evening after an engagement with members of the Australian-Chinese community and the travelling Chinese media pack.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/keating-enters-chinese-consulate-for-wang-yi-meeting/news-story/f8fd8666389664e030362ea4450bc92c

https://twitter.com/stephendziedzic/status/1770649261102997804

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80104e No.20600399

File: a349fcfa30d243b⋯.jpg (198.17 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

File: 2e4336a9470935b⋯.jpg (276.38 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

File: 0428afb249fdbf1⋯.jpg (383.59 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Free_Tibet_protesters_on_t….jpg)

File: 79094cf018e2bb5⋯.jpg (351.9 KB,750x714,125:119,AG_1.jpg)

File: fc5953704d03571⋯.mp4 (10.17 MB,960x540,16:9,oxT0_6vgSOsHD5_4.mp4)

>>20565284

>>20584533

Wang Yi’s trip only worsens Australia’s biggest problem with China

WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 20, 2024

The trouble for the Albanese government with a visit like Wang Yi’s is that there was never going to be much to announce.

For Canberra, the top priority has been setting up a future visit by China’s Premier Li Qiang, which Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Wednesday was “on track”. People familiar with the plans tell me it is likely to be held in June, although the Chinese are intensely secretive about publicising the movements of their leaders so it may not be announced until days before it occurs.

That trip will allow Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese another opportunity to advocate our national interest to one of Xi Jinping’s top advisers. It is the only way to effectively press our concerns to China’s centralised, top down, Leninist political system.

The lack of announceables has meant various Chinese diplomatic initiatives have instead dominated coverage of the trip. None has loomed larger than Thursday’s brazen meeting between the Chinese Foreign Minister and Paul Keating, one of the Albanese government’s loudest foreign policy critics.

Hours before Senator Wong’s meeting with China’s Foreign Minister, Chinese state media continued the trend. A report in the Global Times suggested Canberra had leant on the independent Anti-Dumping Commission to end duties on Chinese wind turbines. The masthead also suggested it was part of a deal to secure the removal of whooping tariffs on Australian wine, a claim the government denies.

It was an awkward twist to what should be a positive story for the Australian government, the end of Beijing’s wine tariffs (which are expected to be made official by the end of March).

Canberra hopes the upcoming trip by Premier Li will bring more goodies. “They’re keeping the powder dry for the premier,” one China-focused Australian business figure told me.

Mr Li will likely bring good news about the future of the two giant pandas at Adelaide Zoo. “We’re on a good path there to continued panda presence,” Ms Wong said at her Wednesday press conference.

The return of the live lobster trade is also expected. Hopes that the industry might hear good news this week was punctured by the absurd spectacle of a Chinese journalist asking Ms Wong when the trade would resume. Keep in mind, China has never made the ban official — despite not allowing a single live Australian lobster to be legally exported to China since November 2020.

“I think that’s probably a question for the Chinese authorities,” Ms Wong answered, quite rightly.

Australian officials have spent almost four years trying to establish exactly what China’s customs department claims to be the problem, and how to address it. They are still waiting on answers.

There are many questions Australian journalists would have liked to ask Mr Wang — but that would require China’s foreign minister to have fronted up to the media.

Instead, Mr Xi s international affairs adviser slunk off to meet with a group of vetted China-focused business figures, along with two of Chinese state media’s favourite Australian academics: former Defence official Hugh White and ACRI head James Laurenceson.

All this right before Mr Wang travels to Sydney for his audience with Paul Keating, another “voice of reason”.

To be clear, I think it’s a good thing that at least some Australians will have the chance to interact, albeit in a limited way, with the senior Chinese official. And I think Mr White, Mr Laurenceson and Mr Keating often make useful contributions challenging the conventional wisdom in Australia’s China debate.

Late in the day, Mr Wang also meet with Peter Dutton and Simon Birmingham, who had requested an audience with China’s Foreign Minister. That is to be welcomed.

For the most part, the narrowness of the views the Chinese have sought out has been striking. China clearly prefers voices that will tell its Foreign Minister what he wants to hear — a troubling hallmark of the Xi era.

In the prelude to a question at the Wednesday press conference, one of the Chinese journalists remarked: “Many Chinese people believe that the bottleneck in Australia-China relations lies in Australia’s lack of trust in China.”

They are spot on. Most Australians don’t trust China. And is unlikely this secretive trip by one of Mr Xi’s top advisers will change their minds.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/wang-yis-trip-only-worsening-australias-biggest-problem-with-china/news-story/5f5b4d1a2e77b0008b86e05f29f5abb5

https://twitter.com/AndrewBGreene/status/1770297067858280741

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80104e No.20600485

File: b31df73212fcadd⋯.jpg (175.47 KB,1280x720,16:9,Paul_Keating_with_Wang_Yi_….jpg)

File: fe750e963ec45b2⋯.jpg (325.55 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Paul_Keating_leaves_the_Ch….jpg)

File: de2d13b16ee681c⋯.jpg (265.53 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

Paul Keating diminishes himself with made-for-CCTV meeting with Wang Yi

WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 21, 2024

There is a Chinese term for someone who tries to promote the Communist Party, but does it so ineptly they embarrass China. They are called a dijihong, or “low-level red”.

Former Prime Minister Paul Keating and the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have both earned the title this week.

Keating has said there was nothing off about his summoning to the Chinese Consulate in Sydney on Thursday. His protests were about as convincing as his claim to being a supporter of the Albanese government’s foreign policy — “most, if not all the time”.

“The Chinese are tickling his ego. Which he loves, of course,” one of Keating’s friends told me.

They were also getting footage for Beijing’s propaganda machine — an important part of China’s statecraft in the Xi era. It’s why Chinese state media were invited into the Consulate to record the meeting, while The Australian’s Noah Yim was kept on the other side of its formidable security fence.

Chinese state media routinely features a certain type of Australian making fools of themselves. The other day, Griffith University’s Colin Mackerras was, once again, in the China Daily, on this occasion telling the masthead that China was neither an autocracy or one-party state. What can you do but laugh?

Keating, however, is a much bigger prize. It is why many of his friends and associates hoped he would have the good sense to decline the Chinese Foreign Minister’s invitation. His ego had other ideas.

Australia’s Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s response to the Keating circus has been pitch-perfect. Her performance at a solo press conference on Wednesday after her meeting with Mr Wang was as impressive as the Chinese Foreign Minister’s decision to avoid it was cowardly.

But, to be fair to China’s foreign minister, he operates in a terrifying political world overseen by Xi Jinping. A press conference in Australia presents endless possible ways to embarrass Beijing and, more problematically for Wang, China’s supreme leader.

If Wang had allowed an Australian or New Zealand journalist to ask even a single question on his five day trans-Tasman trip, he might have been asked what has happened to his predecessor Qin Gang. China’s previous Foreign Minister had been scheduled to visit Australia last year, but was instead “disappeared” into China’s detention network where he, presumably, remains.

“What can he say?” said one person, who has been liaising with Wang’s delegation during the trip.

These are the terms of engagement in Australia’s relationship with China in the second decade of Xi’s reign. When China’s leaders visit, they will bring China’s rules — or they won’t turn up.

The Albanese government has done as well as it could managing that reality. It is in our interest that Canberra keeps talking to Beijing, so long as the Australian government is under no illusions about the limitations China’s political system puts on the relationship.

Wang’s stated desire for “mutual trust” will remain an empty phrase so long as China is this paranoid and controlling.

That has posed challenges for all of the Australians who have agreed to participate in the various Chinese initiatives on this trip.

The Australia China Business Council, for example, banned Australian journalists from their lunch meeting with Wang Yi, while Chinese media were allowed in. It was an incredible double standard for an event held in Canberra, not Beijing.

Worst of all has been the spectacle Keating has allowed China to make of him. Ultimately though, this exercise in Chinese statecraft seems to have backfired.

Its lasting effect will be to undermine trust between the government and Beijing — and to further diminish Potts Point’s most outspoken “low-level red”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/paul-keating-diminishes-himself-with-madeforcctv-meeting-with-wang-yi/news-story/4574e231d8ac4162b1488958d91ac3d5

https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/low-level-red/

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80104e No.20600494

File: 29ac97f0e5910b9⋯.jpg (143.63 KB,1200x720,5:3,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20584533

'No backward steps' as China-Australia ties are on right track

Zhao Yusha - Mar 20, 2024

1/2

Since China-Australia relations are on the right track, both sides should have no hesitation, no yawing and no backward steps, and China is willing to work with Australia to further prepare for high-level exchanges between the two countries, restart consultation and dialogue mechanisms, and manage differences based on mutual respect, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday.

After bilateral relations enduring a tumultuous rollercoaster of ups and downs over the past decade, Wang embarked on a visit to Australia at a crucial stage of development of ties. Experts believe that his visit will not only help mend ties and foster mutual trust, but also push forward future development of bilateral relations.

Chinese experts urged Canberra to value the hard-won progress in restoring China-Australia relations and to avoid backtracking, saying the ball is in Australia's court to adopt a balanced perspective on its relationship with China, particularly in light of potential flashpoints such as human rights, the South China Sea, and Australia's alignment with the US in containing China.

Under the strategic guidance of the leaders of both countries, the obstacles encountered in the China-Australia relationship are being overcome, and pending issues are being properly resolved, Wang, Chinese Foreign Minister and also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, told Albanese.

After the current Labor Party government came to power in Australia, the China-Australia relationship has undergone a second important transformation, which is in line with the interests of the Australian nation and people, as well as the current trend of development, said Wang.

Albanese said that in the past two years, Australia-China relations have returned to the right track, with trade, investment, and people-to-people exchanges becoming active again, continuously sending positive signals and achieving important breakthroughs.

Wang also held the seventh China-Australia Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Wednesday. Wang said the ups and downs of China-Australia relations in the past decade have not only left both sides with lessons to learn from, but also accumulated experience worth cherishing, namely mutual respect, seeking common ground, pursuing mutual benefit, and upholding independence and autonomy, according to a handout of the dialogue published by China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The development of China-Australia relations doesn't target any third party, nor should it be influenced or interfered with by any third party, said the Chinese Foreign Minister.

"Australia seeks a mature, stable and productive relationship with China," Wong wrote on X on Wednesday. "Engagement and dialogue are important and enable us to pursue Australia's interests."

China's relationship with Australia has experienced significant ups and downs in the past decade, from a period of heightened cooperation in 2014 marked by high-level visits and the finalization of a free trade agreement, to a more contentious phase characterized by Australia's increasingly confrontational stance towards China on various issues, Ning Tuanhui, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

Ning noted Wang's visit came at a crucial juncture for the two countries to engage in dialogue on mutual concerns and work toward rebuilding trust. He described the Chinese foreign minister's reflections on past experiences in developing bilateral relationship as a guide for shaping the future direction of the relationship and help to steer it back to a positive trajectory.

Wang also said China is ready to work with Australia to prepare for high-level exchanges between the two countries.

High-level mutual visits are expected to play an important guiding role in enhancing the relationship between the two countries, said experts.

No backward steps

In her opening remarks, Wong said she looks forward to speaking frankly with Wang about issues such as human rights, maritime security and other regional as well as international issues.

Wang elaborated with Wong on China's principled position on the Taiwan question and issues related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Xizang and the South China Sea, stressing that there is no entanglement of historical problems or conflict of fundamental interests between China and Australia, and their common interests far outweigh the differences.

(continued)

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80104e No.20600499

File: 1adeb1234a6cf3f⋯.jpg (91.87 KB,1024x683,1024:683,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

>>20600494

2/2

Although bilateral ties are expected to further stabilize after Wang's visit, Chinese experts still pointed out that human rights issue, Australia's interference in South China Sea issue and Canberra's willingness to follow Washington's Asia-Pacific strategy of containing China remain potential flashpoints.

In November last year, the Philippines and Australia began their first joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea, a move which is targeted at China. The patrol came days after Manila took similar steps with the US.

"Whether those potential flashpoints will trigger new conflicts depends largely on whether Australia will take new or excessive moves to provoke China," said Ning. He believes that making biased accusations or unfair judgment against China is unacceptable.

Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, said the administration of former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison was eager to serve as vanguard of the US to contain China. Yet such move has greatly harmed not only bilateral ties, but also Australia's interests.

In March last year, the US, the UK and Australia unveiled a roadmap for their AUKUS military cooperation. However, recently US President Joe Biden administration's new defense budget has halved its submarine production to the construction of just one Virginia-class submarine in 2025, down from an anticipated two.

This has raised questions over Washington's ability to fulfill its commitment to sell Canberra up to five of the nuclear-powered vessels starting in the 2030s.

Chen noted that it is not realistic for Australia to shake off influence from the US completely, but Canberra should stick to its strategic autonomy when dealing with China-related issues, and cherish the "hard-won" result achieved to restore China-Australia ties. "Just don't backtrack."

Broad exchanges

In Canberra, Wang also met with people from Australia's business, think tank representatives and other industries. He said now that China-Australia relations have embarked on a path of improvement, the two should take big steps forward to build a more stable and mature comprehensive strategic partnership, which will benefit the people of both countries and regional countries.

"For a whole host of reasons, whether it's the pandemic or just the way domestically politically we have approached China, the fact is our understanding of China and its role in the region and world is not as strong as it used to be," David Olsson, national president of Australia China Business Council, the organization who hosted the meeting between Wang, told reporters.

Chinese experts believed that once the Australia's business industry see the prospects of repaired bilateral ties, their interaction with China will further push for development of relations between the two countries.

Chen said economic and trade relations play a crucial role in China-Australia relations. Without the foundation of such a relationship, the recovery and improvement of bilateral ties would not have been as quick and easy.

Former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, who has criticized Australia's AUKUS nuclear submarine deal with the US, was quoted by Reuters as saying that he would meet Wang Yi this week in a bid to improve bilateral ties.

Australian opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham, along with a small number of Australian politicians, criticized the meeting, media reported.

Ning observed that the attitudes of Australian politicians reflect a lingering conservative perspective among some Australians regarding China's relationship with their country. This perspective is characterized by deep-rooted distrust and suspicion towards China.

Wang also met with Peter Dutton, leader of the Opposition. During the meeting, Wang said the development of China-Australia relations is the result of the joint efforts of all political parties in Australia. China is willing to maintain communication and cooperation with friends from all walks of life in Australia, and work together to build a more mature, stable and fruitful comprehensive strategic partnership, Wang said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1309223.shtml

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80104e No.20600525

File: 6a7954d46333f05⋯.jpg (182.72 KB,1280x871,1280:871,WikiLeaks_founder_Julian_A….jpg)

File: 42cae7d7dfa4c03⋯.jpg (217.56 KB,1280x853,1280:853,Stella_Assange_Julian_Assa….jpg)

>>20565278

Julian Assange, Justice Department Exploring Guilty Plea to End 14-Year Legal Drama

WikiLeaks founder is locked in legal battle to avoid extradition to U.S.

Aruna Viswanatha and Max Colchester - March 20, 2024

1/2

The U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to allow Julian Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information, according to people familiar with the matter, opening up the possibility of a deal that could eventually result in his release from a British jail.

Assange, the divisive WikiLeaks founder, is fighting a drawn-out legal battle with the British government to avoid being extradited to the U.S. to face trial for publishing thousands of confidential U.S. military records and diplomatic cables around 2010. A U.K. court is currently considering whether to allow a last-ditch appeal by the 52-year-old. After U.S. prosecutors charged him in 2019, U.K. law-enforcement officials apprehended him, and he has been in a London prison ever since.

Justice Department officials and Assange’s lawyers have had preliminary discussions in recent months about what a plea deal could look like to end the lengthy legal drama, according to people familiar with the matter, a potential softening in a standoff filled with political and legal complexities. The talks come as Assange has spent some five years behind bars. U.S. prosecutors face diminishing prospects that he would serve much more time even if he were convicted stateside.

The discussions remain in flux, and talks could fizzle. Any deal would require approval at the highest levels of the Justice Department. Barry Pollack, a lawyer for Assange, said he has been given no indication that the department will take a deal. A Justice Department spokesman declined to comment.

If prosecutors allow Assange to plead to a U.S. charge of mishandling classified documents—something his lawyers have floated as a possibility—it would be a misdemeanor offense. Under such a deal, Assange potentially could enter that plea remotely, without setting foot in the U.S. The time he has spent behind bars in London would count toward any U.S. sentence, and he would likely be free to leave prison shortly after any deal was concluded.

Britain’s High Court is expected to decide within weeks whether to grant Assange a further right to appeal his extradition to the U.S. If the court rules against him, the U.S. government will likely have 28 days to come and collect Assange and bring him to face trial.

WikiLeaks published tens of thousands of classified documents, prompting U.S. prosecutors in 2019 to charge him under a U.S. espionage law. He faces 18 counts of conspiring to disclose classified information and hack a military computer in relation to WikiLeaks’ releases, which painted a highly critical picture of America’s actions in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lawyers for Assange have argued that he merely published information given to him, much as a journalist would, and so shouldn’t face punishment.

An extradition would throw a political hot potato into the lap of the Biden administration. The Justice Department has long struggled with how to proceed against Assange because there are some parallels between his work and that of the press, whose right to publish is generally protected by the First Amendment.

(continued)

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80104e No.20600529

File: 93002a74860e47b⋯.jpg (306.3 KB,1280x882,640:441,Assange_on_the_balcony_of_….jpg)

>>20600525

2/2

Trump-era Justice Department officials who charged Assange sought to differentiate his work from journalism because they alleged Assange solicited the classified material and knew its publication would jeopardize lives. The Obama administration also considered charging him but declined because of concerns about how it could affect conventional journalism.

Chelsea Manning, the former U.S. Army intelligence analyst who was convicted of leaking government secrets to WikiLeaks, served seven years in prison. Legal experts said any possible sentence for Assange would likely be less than what Manning served. Assange has fought a winding, and at times surreal, campaign to avoid a U.S. trial. He was initially dogged by allegations of rape in Sweden in 2010. He sought asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London in 2012 and holed up there for years, fathering two children, hosting guests including model Pamela Anderson and pop star Lady Gaga.

He continued to lead WikiLeaks through the publication in 2016 of tens of thousands of documents the U.S. says were stolen from Democrats by Russian government hackers. Those efforts led U.S. officials to describe WikiLeaks as a tool of Russian intelligence that participated in a plot to denigrate then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and bolster the candidacy of Donald Trump.

The Swedish rape investigation was dropped. Assange outstayed his welcome in the cramped Ecuadorean Embassy where he angered officials by not cleaning up after his cat, skateboarding in the hallway and allegedly leaking personal information about Ecuador’s president to a rival.

After being kicked out of the embassy, Assange was promptly jailed in London. A British judge ruled Assange had a history of evading justice and so should be kept in Belmarsh prison awaiting decision on his U.S. extradition. In January 2021, a British judge ruled Assange should not be extradited, saying his mental health meant he would be at risk of suicide if convicted and held in a maximum-security prison.

But that decision was overturned after an appeal by U.S. authorities who gave a package of assurances, including a pledge he could be transferred to his native Australia to serve any sentence.

Last month, U.K. judges in the High Court heard claims by Assange that he faced prosecution for his political views and that extradition would be an attack on his right to free speech—an argument they are expected to rule on soon.

In a filing to the U.K. court, lawyers representing the U.S. government said that Assange threatened “the strategic and national security interests of the United States and put the safety of individuals at serious risk.”

Even if plea talks don’t result in a deal and Assange is sent to the U.S. for trial, he may not stay for long, given the Australia pledge.

The Australian government, which has largely been supportive of Assange, could shorten any sentence once he landed on Australian soil, said Nick Vamos, a partner at London law firm Peters & Peters and a former head of extradition for England and Wales’s Crown Prosecution Service. “I honestly think as soon as he arrived in Australia he would be released,” he said.

Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, who led a rally of supporters outside the High Court while judges deliberated last month, said that her husband’s mental and physical health had deteriorated significantly while incarcerated and he would not face a fair trial in the U.S. “Julian’s life is at risk,” she said. Assange didn’t attend the hearing because he was sick, his lawyers said.

https://www.wsj.com/world/europe/julian-assange-justice-department-exploring-guilty-plea-to-end-14-year-legal-drama-09c6ff83

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80104e No.20600532

File: e147c7193837ab2⋯.jpg (1.91 MB,3080x3712,385:464,Julian_Assange_leaves_Lond….jpg)

>>20565278

>>20600525

Assange supporters welcome possible plea deal with US

Matthew Knott - March 21, 2024

Julian Assange’s supporters say they are thrilled by the prospect of a plea deal with the United States Justice Department that would allow the WikiLeaks founder to avoid the threat of a lengthy jail term in America.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Justice Department was considering whether to allow Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information rather than more serious espionage charges, citing people familiar with the matter.

Such a deal would potentially allow Assange to enter a plea to the misdemeanour charge remotely, and walk free without travelling to the US, which has been seeking his extradition from the United Kingdom for years.

Assange’s legal team said it was inappropriate to comment while his case was before the UK High Court other than to say it had been given no indication that the US Justice Department intended to resolve the case.

“The United States is continuing with as much determination as ever to seek his extradition on all 18 charges, exposing him to 175 years in prison,” Assange’s Washington-based lawyer, Barry Pollack, said in a statement.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department declined to comment on the report.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, one of Assange’s biggest champions in federal parliament, said many Australians would be heartened by the report of a possible deal.

“Personally, I’d be thrilled with a breakthrough because this injustice has been wrong from the start and must be brought to an end,” he said.

Wilkie, who travelled to the UK for Assange’s most recent extradition appeal hearing, added: “In any case, the US extradition should be abandoned, the charges dropped and Julian reunited with his family and allowed to return home.

“However, we need to be mindful that it’s entirely up to Julian to decide what is the best way forward for him from here.”

US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy flagged a possible plea deal in an interview with this masthead last year, saying “there absolutely could be a resolution” to the Assange case.

The WSJ said that in recent months, officials at the Justice Department and Assange’s legal team had had preliminary discussions about a plea deal but the discussions “remain in flux and the talks could fizzle”.

Assange is battling extradition to the US, where he is wanted on criminal charges over the release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables in 2010. Washington says the release of the documents put lives in danger.

Assange’s supporters say he has been victimised because he exposed US wrongdoing, including in conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Multiple rights groups, leading media organisations and the leaders of countries such as Mexico, Brazil and Australia have urged the charges against Assange, who is an Australian citizen, be dropped.

Assange has been languishing in a UK prison since 2019, after the US charged him and police dragged him from the Ecuadorian embassy in London.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/assange-could-possibly-walk-free-under-guilty-plea-deal-report-20240321-p5fe33.html

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80104e No.20606157

File: d8978b3cc9de3c1⋯.jpg (264.29 KB,1920x1280,3:2,Unearthed_video_shows_now_….jpg)

>>20594954

Sky News obtains footage of Kevin Rudd mocking and ridiculing Donald Trump during former president's first term

Sky News has obtained footage of current Australian Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd’s blistering assessment of Donald Trump, labelling the then president a “political liability” and a “problem for the world” in speeches during Trump's first term.

Tyrone Clarke - March 21, 2024

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The Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd’s ability to work constructively with the Trump administration if he is to secure the presidency in the upcoming November election may be uncertain, as more examples resurface of the former prime minister making politically charged and highly offensive comments about Trump during his last term in office.

Mr Rudd’s previous remarks about Donald Trump have dominated headlines in Australia and around the world over the past 24-hours after the former president was asked about Rudd’s assessment of him as a “destructive president” and a “traitor to the west”.

In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, the presumptive Republican nominee for the 2024 presidential election hit back saying he has heard Rudd is “nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”.

The explosive comments from Trump have caused chaos in Washington and Rudd is reportedly “furious” after his viability as ambassador was called into question in parliament on Wednesday.

SkyNews.com.au can today reveal comments made by now-Ambassador Rudd about the likely incoming president during his first term, which provided a scathing judgement on his intellect, his foreign policy credentials and his supporters.

At an address to the Oxford Union in 2017, Rudd said of then-President Trump that he was a “problem” for Australia and the world more broadly.

“Trump at present represents a political liability for both sides of Australian politics,” Mr Rudd said.

“This guy is a problem. He is an objective problem, for the world, for the region, for my country.”

During the address, Mr Rudd – who had transitioned from politician to active political commentator – suggested Congressional Republicans in the United States should act to remove Trump from office.

“I believe things are, so precarious on these questions that the Republican Party, which enabled this guy to be elected, have a deep responsibility, a deep responsibility to accept responsibility for the consequence of their actions and begin the processes for one form or another of his removal by constitutional means,” he said.

Speaking to the Cambridge University Union in 2018, Mr Rudd provided a broad swipe of supporters of the then president, dismissing them as “angry white men”.

“If you looked at a Trump rally and how many angry white men there are in those rallies,” he said.

After leaving politics Mr Rudd took up residency in the United States where he joined numerous think tanks and served as an academic before becoming President of the American think tank Asia Society.

During that period Mr Rudd reserved his most scathing critiques of president Trump for the foreign policy sphere.

In an address to the Asia Society in 2018, Mr Rudd ridiculed the then president’s foreign policy credentials and questioned his efficacy in negotiating a resolution to a trade war between the United States and China.

“Donald, as we know, is not, a leading intellectual force,” Mr Rudd said.

Mr Rudd said the president campaigned in 2016 to pin the problems of “all you people out there in Trump land” on China.

But he claimed Trump’s quintessential style would not lead to results in negotiating in China, ridiculing the president’s “unpredictability”.

“What China's strategic culture loathes and detests most is unpredictability … From today to next week to next month, next year,” he said.

“Well, welcome to the, the psychic world of Donald Trump. Because that's what it's like. He just changes. He turns on a dime.

“Now that might work in the world of golf courses. I'm not sure it works with another nuclear weapon state, but that nonetheless is how he's approaching this.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20606160

File: 050f06eb38b175e⋯.jpg (37.2 KB,650x366,325:183,Former_prime_minister_Kevi….jpg)

File: 5f33481e77ea5ba⋯.jpg (48.36 KB,649x366,649:366,Mr_Rudd_urged_Congressiona….jpg)

File: 8fac7a812234023⋯.jpg (45.51 KB,650x366,325:183,Speaking_at_the_Cambridge_….jpg)

File: 3a340931a0835f2⋯.jpg (31.38 KB,650x366,325:183,In_a_2018_interview_on_the….jpg)

>>20606157

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Mr Trump’s rebuke of the US Ambassador has caused shockwaves back in Australia, with questions being raised over whether Mr Rudd’s position in Washington is tenable.

The former president’s claim that Mr Rudd “won’t be there long” has led to growing concerns Mr Rudd won’t be able to effectively deal with a Trump White House.

Leading security expert Michael Shoebridge told Sky News Australia if Mr Rudd was to find it difficult to “advance Australia’s interests” in a Trump administration that would seriously damage his credibility in Washington.

Former Liberal party powerbroker Michael Kroger has also claimed no senior member of the Trump administration, if he was elected would “deal with Rudd or Australia”.

“This guy's completely persona non grata,” Mr Kroger said.

Mr Rudd himself has previously shared his own concerns about ineffective ambassadors.

In an interview with 7:30 on the ABC in 2018, Mr Rudd said the most crucial aspect for an ambassador in either Washington or London was that “they can quickly, immediately and authoritatively get through to the head of each government or administration”.

“I think the real danger is that we end up with the US Embassy in Canberra being headed up by someone who’s undoubtedly a highly competent professional but with absolutely no personal, political line through to the White House.

“That’s the difference in terms of having a plugged-in ambassador or not”.

Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson said while Mr Rudd was at the time a “prominent political commentator” he needed to be more cautious with his language given the possibility of a future diplomatic post.

“I want Kevin Rudd to succeed as Australia's ambassador to Washington DC. It is in our national interest,” Senator Paterson told Sky News Australia on Wednesday.

“Unfortunately, he was also, prior to accepting this role, a prominent political commentator in the United States. But if you're going to be an ambassador to a country or you anticipate you might be, you have to be a bit more circumspect about what you say.”

Nationals leader in the Senate Bridget McKenzie was more critical of the former prime minister, telling Sky News: “He should have known better than to trash talk a former president of the United States”.

When asked on Wednesday if the government would keep Mr Rudd in his post if Mr Trump was elected, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “yes”.

“His experience and skills mean he will be able to work closely with whomever is elected by the American people as the United States President,” she said.

When approached for comment by SkyNews.com.au on Thursday, the Foreign Minister’s office referred back to her earlier remarks and said it had nothing more to add.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/sky-news-obtains-footage-of-kevin-rudd-mocking-and-ridiculing-donald-trump-during-former-presidents-first-term/news-story/5368487457d69ba7c5a2626463fd1c90

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80104e No.20606184

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20594954

>>20606157

Unearthed video shows now-Ambassador Rudd calling Trump a ‘problem,’ ‘liability,’ ‘must be removed’

Sky News Australia

Mar 21, 2024

Sky News has revealed more footage of now-Ambassador Kevin Rudd calling Donald Trump, who was US President at the time, a political liability – saying he’s a problem for the world and must be removed as president.

The footage obtained of Rudd prior to becoming Ambassador by SkyNews.com.au today comes after the former president called Rudd “nasty” in an interview with GB News host Nigel Farage.

He also said Australia’s Ambassador to the US wouldn’t stay long in his posting if he remained hostile towards him.

“The freshly unearthed videos from showing Rudd ridiculing Trump's intellect raise serious questions about his viability in Washington should Trump return to the White House,” Ms Markson said.

“Trump's remarks about Australia's politically divisive and controversial Washington ambassador have gone global, with Rudd's media and political supporters working overtime to claim he's doing a terrific job and has developed contacts on both sides of the aisle.

“But Rudd can't escape from his past invective which is coming back to bite him as Trump's path towards the White House gathers steam.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sGTvI_f9CQ

Kevin Rudd Full Address and Q&A - The Oxford Union (2017)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPl2wHidnaM

A Conversation with Kevin Rudd - Asia Society (2018)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qs5IiN4-YHg

Kevin Rudd - Cambridge Union (2019)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcNU74F9-_c

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80104e No.20606226

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20565284

>>20584533

‘Statesman’ Paul Keating voices Chinese lines after meeting with Wang Yi

BEN PACKHAM and WILL GLASGOW - MARCH 22, 2024

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Paul Keating has amplified Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s claims that his country is underwriting global living standards and Australia must integrate more closely with China to secure its economic future.

The former prime minister said after his private meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister that Mr Wang underlined China’s importance to Australia’s economy, ­declaring Australia’s future lay in East Asia.

In Chinese media footage of the encounter, Mr Wang told the pro-China former prime minister he was a “world-renowned statesman” who had “always cared about and supported China-Australia relations”.

In a statement, Mr Keating said his meeting with Mr Wang, which lasted 65 minutes, was “very pleasant and engaging”. They had a largely “big-picture discussion about the geostrategic balances and influences in the world”, he said.

“Minister Wang Yi emphasised China’s ability to keep on growing and strongly, pointing out that China is still only 55 per cent urbanised – another 20 per cent to go,” Mr Keating said.

“He said the world will still benefit from China’s ability to supply high-quality relatively low-priced goods which will help underwrite higher living standards in the West and other ­regions of the world.

“He both encouraged and welcomed Australia’s continuing ­integration with East Asia where he believed Australia’s future lies.”

A report on the meeting aired by Chinese broadcaster CCTV said Mr Keating declared China “did not pose a threat to other countries” and was contributing to “regional peace and stability”. Mr Wang put an arm around Mr Keating as they entered the Chinese consulate in Sydney, saying it is “such a pleasure to meet with you”. They sat side-by-side in armchairs for the talks in a lavishly decorated room, with Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian sitting nearby.

Their meeting followed days of controversy, which overshadowed Mr Wang’s formal talks with Foreign Minister Penny Wong a day earlier.

Senator Wong went as far as issuing a statement to The Australian declaring Mr Keating “does not speak for the government nor the country”. The pointed remark followed Mr Keating’s criticism of Senator Wong’s performance as Foreign Minister, and his rejection of government warnings over China’s destabilising influence in the region.

According to CCTV’s account of the meeting, which was closed to Australian media, the former prime minister praised China’s “huge” economy and noted its “vast space for development”.

Mr Keating said he was “full of confidence” for the future of Australia-China relations, CCTV reported.

“Wang Yi appreciated Keating’s long-term concern and support for the development of China-Australia relations,” the broadcaster said.

Mr Keating said Mr Wang was “very positive about putting bilateral difficulties behind us”, and was encouraged by the Albanese government’s efforts to restore “appropriate equilibrium”.

He said their conversation also ranged over the history of the bilateral relationship, including “my relationship with Jiang Zemin and Zhu Rongji in putting together APEC”.

According to CCTV, Mr Wang said the two countries should “understand and trust each other” and “pursue win-win co-operation”.

The Chinese broadcaster said Mr Wang noted that Australia was an ally of the US, but added that Canberra was “welcome to independently” make policies based on its “own fundamental interests”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20606229

File: 54775fcac5c4709⋯.jpg (316.38 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,China_s_ambassador_to_Aust….jpg)

File: af1db4d53bdb296⋯.jpg (247.92 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

File: c8ae2808e054c3a⋯.jpg (190.01 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

>>20606226

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Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the meeting was an insult to the Albanese government by both Mr Keating and the Chinese government.

“(Paul Keating) is the most prominent defender of the Chinese government when it comes to their human rights abuses and other activities,” he said. “And for him to agree to meet with Wang Yi and for the Chinese government to make a request for him to meet with Wang Yi is a calculated humiliation of the government here in Canberra.”

He said the slight was “not the act of a friendly nation”.

“(China is) saying ‘even at your highest levels amongst your exalted former leaders we’ve got friends, and don’t forget that, and don’t forget that we can take advantage of that when we choose to’.”

But cabinet minister Tanya Plibersek said it was “perfectly natural” for Mr Keating to meet the visiting Chinese dignitary.

Senator Wong challenged Mr Wang on Wednesday over China’s threat to Australia’s nickel industry, its unsafe conduct in the South China Sea, its death sentence for Australian Yang Hengjun and its wider human rights violations.

Mr Wang later met with business figures, strategists and representatives from the university sector, telling them the world “should not be dominated by one or two countries”, and that “and all countries are equal”.

Anthony Albanese, who also met with the Chinese envoy, told parliament the China relationship was one of Australia’s most important.

“It is a mature and responsible approach to re-establish the relationship without compromising on any of our core interests,” he said.

“I have said we will co-operate where we can, we will disagree where we must, but we will engage in our national interest. And it is paying dividends.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/statesman-paul-keating-voices-chinese-lines-after-meeting-with-wang-yi/news-story/73bdf503b679222dbea31dc43fa00abb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUlY4xQxeOE

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80104e No.20612791

File: c39e52bbc964aad⋯.jpg (1.75 MB,1841x1360,1841:1360,Kurt_Campbell_this_week_At….jpg)

>>20555443

US needs to step up assurances on AUKUS, admits Kurt Campbell

Matthew Cranston - Mar 20, 2024

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Washington | The US could do more to reassure partners Australia and the UK on the progress of AUKUS, says the country’s new deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell.

He admitted more effort was needed to counter China’s “propaganda” on the nuclear-powered submarine deal.

“We could tell the story better,” Dr Campbell, who has also been the Biden administration’s top Indo-Pacific envoy, told The Australian Financial Review.

“There’s a huge number of things that have happened, but I don’t think we’ve done enough to tell that story to the Australian people,” he said, “The truth is the steps that have been taken towards AUKUS in all three countries are very substantial.”

Dr Campbell’s comments, his first to the media since being confirmed in his new role by the US Senate, come amid growing doubts about Washington’s capacity to deliver an initial three used US-made Virginia class submarines to Australia by 2032, a cornerstone of the AUKUS agreement.

The US needs to ramp up production to just over two vessels a year to meet its own naval requirements before it’s ready to sell second-hand craft to Australia, but funding and production capacity constraints have thrown doubt on this.

The Biden administration’s 2025 defence budget revealed earlier this month that money had only been allocated for one new submarine next year, before returning to two in 2026.

Dr Campbell dismissed concerns about this, saying the budgetary papers were simply acknowledging the reality about short-term shipyard production capacity, which would be expanded.

“At the heart of this is the largest increase in investment in the United States submarine program since its inception decades ago,” he told the Financial Review after addressing an AmCham Alliance summit in Washington this week.

The US budget has set aside $US3.9 billion ($5.9 billion) in 2025 and $US11.1 billion over five years to build up its submarine industrial base. A further $US3.3 billion is included in a so-called supplemental bill that could be passed within several weeks.

Referencing wartime British prime minister Winston Churchill’s comment that “Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted”, Dr Campbell said AUKUS would be successful, but would take time.

“American democracy can be messy. It’s been described as sausage making, but essentially, fundamentally, the one thing that I can assure [you] is the support, fundamentally, in the United States for Australia.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20612796

File: c6e480253733b6e⋯.jpg (4.76 MB,7360x4912,460:307,US_needs_to_step_up_assura….jpg)

>>20612791

2/2

US bureaucracy itself, he said, was changing to ensure the success of the AUKUS project.

“There are bureaucracies around the US government that have to adapt to the new circumstances that are part of the AUKUS mission.”

For one, changes were being made to archaic regulations known as the Missile Technology Control Regime that govern sharing of information among America’s own bureaucracies

“We are in the midst of a massive sea change. No two partners are as important strategically as Australia and Great Britain and that process of elevating both countries with respect to military and technological process is underway,” he said.

He said he understood there would be Australian critics of AUKUS.

Australian Greens defence spokesman David Shoebridge has said AUKUS was “dead in the water”, while former prime minister Paul Keating, who will this week meet Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, has described the Albanese government’s AUKUS embrace as a “major mistake” and says China is not a threat.

Dr Campbell batted the criticism away.

“In Australia, I believe that there are outliers both on the right and the left.”

He said a bigger concern was still around China’s use of the AUKUS pact to stir up trouble among Australia’s South-East Asian neighbours.

“China sees AUKUS as a direct threat, not just for what it represents militarily, but the potential to increase the level of allied deterrence in the Indo-Pacific,” he said.

“They have been busy with their propaganda and their messaging throughout South-East Asia and in the Pacific. I would simply note that much of that messaging is based on inaccurate understanding of AUKUS.”

He said China’s dominance in critical minerals, essential for defence technology, was only just starting to become a problem for Australia.

“I think China has shifted the nature of their trade approach,” he said.

“Yes, they found that certain things, such as coal and iron, there was no substitute for. But what we’ve seen more recently is with rare earths and other component elements of the digital economy, where China has taken steps to essentially flood the market and try to force Australian firms out of business.

“So while I do believe that while Australian and [People’s Republic of China] relations have generally stabilised, just as US-China relations have stabilised, it’s a wary stabilisation on all sides.”

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/us-needs-to-step-up-assurances-on-aukus-admits-kurt-campbell-20240320-p5fdr2

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80104e No.20612813

File: 3a0074c850b22cf⋯.jpg (288.27 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

>>20555443

Taxpayers fund Rolls Royce subs plan in $4.6bn bailout for British plant

BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 22, 2024

Australian taxpayers will hand $4.64bn to Britain’s Rolls-Royce over the next decade so it can build nuclear reactors for the navy’s future AUKUS submarines, matching funds provided to the US to expand its submarine industry under the trilateral pact.

The funding injection for the under-pressure British submarine sector will be announced on Friday, as Australian government submarine builder ASC is named as a joint venture partner to build the AUKUS boats with the UK’s BAE Systems.

The developments follow the signing of a new bilateral treaty on Thursday by Defence Minister Richard Marles and British counterpart Grant Shapps to streamline military co-operation and ensure the nations consult on security threats to either country.

Mr Marles and Mr Shapps will sit down with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and British Foreign Secretary David Cameron in Adelaide on Friday for the nations’ annual “2+2” AUKMIN talks.

BAE is also building Australia’s Hunter-class frigates using ASC’s former shipbuilding workforce, which it purchased for $1 under a deal brokered by the Coalition.

The government revealed last month the Hunter program had blown out by a further $20bn to $65bn. The legal structure of the new submarine joint venture is yet to be finalised.

As Australia’s “sovereign submarine partner”, ASC will also undertake sustainment of all of Australia’s future nuclear subs, commencing with promised US-made boats.

The money for Rolls-Royce will go towards the expansion of its nuclear reactor facility at Derby, in the English Midlands, and fund a proportion of a reactor redesign required for the AUKUS boats.

Australia provided an equivalent sum to help bolster US ­submarine production. But in a blow last week the Pentagon halved the number of submarines it intends to build next year, casting doubt over its pledge to supply Australia with second-hand Virginia-class subs in the 2030s.

The British submarine industry has suffered from years of under-investment, delaying production of its current Astute-class attack boats and future Dreadnought ballistic missile submarines.

Mr Shapps said the UK had allowed defence spending to stagnate, but was now recapitalising its submarine sector “in a big way”. “The peace dividend was taken once, twice, three, four times, and you can’t carry on doing that,” he said.

“We recognised that a number of years ago, and we’ve been increasing our defence budget.”

He said Rolls-Royce’s Derby facility would be doubled in size, and substantial funds were being poured into BAE’s submarine construction facility at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria.

However, Mr Shapps also confirmed the UK’s Dreadnought program was its “most significant national program, bar nothing”, which Australian naval experts have warned could delay the AUKUS build.

The last of the Dreadnought-class boats isn’t expected to be completed until the late 2030s, potentially impacting the first of Britain’s AUKUS submarines, also intended to enter service late next decade and virtually identical to Australia’s.

Retired rear admiral Peter Briggs warned recently that Britain’s AUKUS boats, intended to get under way well before Australia’s to reduce program risk, would be “in a queue behind the higher-priority Dreadnought and Astute programs”.

Mr Marles said Australia was supporting the “stretched” industrial bases in both the US and UK to ensure the AUKUS deal was a success.

He said the Rolls-Royce facility was key to the program, declaring “we are making a contribution to the factory which will build them”.

Mr Marles said Australia faced a “challenging time frame” to meet its scheduled launch of the first Adelaide-built AUKUS submarine in the early 2040s, “but we’re confident that we will get there”.

New training pilot programs will be launched under the joint venture to expand the enterprise’s technical workforce.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/taxpayers-fund-rolls-royce-subs-plan-in-46bn-bailout-for-british-plant/news-story/406d0348ead00e7cb4c83d07fffc63e0

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80104e No.20612852

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20545757

>>20555443

David Cameron says Aukus and Nato must be in ‘best possible shape’ ahead of potential Trump win

UK’s foreign secretary is in Australia alongside defence secretary Grant Shapps for high-level talks with Richard Marles and Penny Wong

Daniel Hurst - 22 Mar 2024

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The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has suggested the Aukus pact and Nato alliance must get into “the best possible shape” to increase their chances of surviving Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House.

Speaking after high-level talks in Australia, Cameron was careful to avoid criticising the former US president and presumptive Republican nominee for 2024, saying it was “up to America who they choose as their president”.

“What we will do, as I am sure an Australian government would do, is work with whoever becomes the president,” Cameron told reporters in Adelaide, South Australia.

But Cameron appeared to implicitly acknowledge the risks that Aukus and Nato might face in the event of a second Trump presidency, by calling for efforts to ensure both were seen by the next president as well-functioning.

Cameron described the Aukus partnership – which will see the US and the UK help Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines – as “an absolutely brilliant arrangement” and Nato as “the most successful defensive alliance in history”.

“The best thing we can do is to get those alliances, to get those projects into the best possible shape, so whoever is the new president can see that they are working with a very successful set of arrangements,” Cameron said.

The Australian deputy prime minister and defence minister, Richard Marles, endorsed Cameron’s comments.

“We feel confident given what we have seen particularly over the course of the last few months in Congress that the Aukus arrangements really do enjoy support across the political spectrum in the United States,” he said.

“We move forward with complete confidence about what the future will hold.”

The comments were in response to a question about whether the election of Trump in November would affect the Aukus agreement that was sealed with the Biden administration last March.

Under the deal, the US will share sensitive nuclear technology with Australia and sell it at least three Virginia-class submarines in the 2030s.

Australia and the UK eventually plan to build and operate a new class of submarine to be called SSN-Aukus.

Trump has not expressed any hostility to the Aukus deal to date, although he has been highly sceptical about Nato, particularly over its members’ performance against a pledge to spend at least 2% of gross domestic product on defence.

During a stump speech in February, Trump recalled telling an unnamed European leader that he would “not protect” any Nato member that was “delinquent” and he would encourage Russia to “do whatever the hell they want”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20612861

File: 698c4088d9edf2b⋯.jpg (364.26 KB,2400x1600,3:2,UK_secretary_of_state_for_….jpg)

File: 4e39d9080c4b8e4⋯.jpg (441.15 KB,2400x1600,3:2,Grant_Shapps_inspects_the_….jpg)

>>20612852

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Cameron and the UK defence secretary, Grant Shapps, were in Australia for annual talks with their Australian counterparts on Friday.

The Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong, said Aukus was “good not just for Australia, but for Britain and the United States”.

“We will make sure it does happen,” Wong said. “We do that understanding the scale of the enterprise, the scale of the task.”

The Australian government is facing domestic criticism after confirming it would send A$4.6bn (£2.4bn) to the UK over the next 10 years to expand the Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor production line in Derby.

The figure, while previously unpublished, is understood to come from within existing Aukus funding. The government last year indicated that the Aukus project would cost $50bn to $58bn in the first 10 years of the plan.

The Greens’ defence spokesperson, David Shoebridge, said it was “an extraordinarily bad deal and a bad day for Australian taxpayers”.

Marles said the nuclear reactors for Australia’s submarines would be made at the Rolls-Royce plant and it was “completely appropriate” to fund an increase in production.

Friday’s meeting also covered the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the Russian invasion of Ukraine and China’s “destabilising activities” in the South China Sea.

“We know how many hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are starving,” Wong told reporters.

In a joint statement issued afterwards, Australia and the UK called on Israel to “allow immediate, safe, unimpeded and increased humanitarian relief to reach Palestinians in Gaza”.

“Given the large number of displaced persons taking refuge in the area and lack of safe spaces in Gaza, ministers shared deep concern at the potentially devastating consequences for the civilian population of an expanded Israeli military operation in Rafah,” the statement said.

Australia and the UK also “expressed the urgency of an immediate cessation of fighting in Gaza to allow aid to flow and hostages to be released as a crucial step toward a permanent, sustainable ceasefire”.

The ministers discussed how recognition of a Palestinian state “might assist in giving momentum toward” a two-state solution, but the statement did not give any detail about the timing of such a move.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/22/david-cameron-aukus-nato-deal-donald-trump

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmdhp75ieDE

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80104e No.20612936

File: e2d3af694fc0323⋯.jpg (320.07 KB,1377x918,3:2,The_ribbons_tied_to_the_fe….jpg)

File: f17476672994591⋯.jpg (328.77 KB,1377x918,3:2,Loud_Fence_Vice_President_….jpg)

File: 55116df30cedddb⋯.jpg (444.1 KB,1377x918,3:2,Ribbons_are_tied_as_a_show….jpg)

File: 6b29ef2f0626deb⋯.jpg (530.47 KB,1920x1200,8:5,Loud_Fence_ribbons_set_to_….jpg)

Loud Fence ribbons set to be removed from prominent Ballarat cathedral fence

Rochelle Kirkham and Stephen Martin - 20 Mar 2024

Thousands of colourful ribbons tied to the fence of a regional Victorian cathedral as a show of support for survivors of child sexual abuse are set to be removed.

The Diocese of Ballarat says it will remove ribbons tied outside St Patrick's Cathedral on Saturday morning, for the ageing wrought-iron fence to be painted.

It is unclear at this stage whether the ribbons will be returned to the fence or how they may be stored into the future.

Bishop Paul Bird's office says the parish will continue to consult with survivors of sexual abuse and Loud Fence organisers to decide the best outcome.

The Loud Fence movement began in Ballarat in 2015 during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Childhood Sexual Abuse.

It has since spread worldwide.

Consultation welcomed

The bishop's office said in a statement that Loud Fence members and survivors of child sexual abuse were invited to be involved in the removal of ribbons.

The statement said the parish planned to have ongoing conversations with Loud Fence and survivors to decide the future of the ribbons.

Loud Fence Vice President Mark O'Brien said he met with Bishop Paul Bird and representatives from the cathedral last month and welcomed further discussions.

"The ribbons are people's memorialisation of sexual assault and the impact it has on their lives and the lives of many who can't speak," he said.

"It is now up to the cathedral to show us leadership about what they want to do in this space."

Dark history

Ballarat was an epicentre for institutional child sexual abuse for many decades in the 20th century.

It is where some of Australia's most notorious paedophile priests, including Gerald Ridsdale, Robert Best, and Edward Dowlan worked.

Their crimes continue to have devastating effects throughout the entire community, with trauma from the abuse rippling through generations.

Mr O'Brien said he would be outside the cathedral while the ribbons were removed to support survivors of child sexual abuse who may feel distressed.

"I believe there is a lot of fear out there and a lot of distrust," he said.

"The reality of the church pushing away responsibility, ignoring people and not believing people was not just an event that occurred over a short period of time. It was entrenched in the response of this institution.

"I really do hope the cathedral is able to take this moment and make it one that really shows how much things have changed, how much they are aware of the hurt and trauma that has occurred.

"It think that is the hardest thing for survivors. They believe there is no change, things are just the same and it is about protecting the brand."

Future uncertain

The ABC understands the St Patrick's parish has suggested storing the ribbons in a display case in the parish meeting room.

It has also suggested creating a memorial in the cathedral grounds including ribbons and a plaque, similar to a memorial at a nearby CFA.

Mr O'Brien said he hoped the parish would genuinely consult with survivors and acknowledge their pain, trauma, devastation and loss in a meaningful way.

"We don't want this to be a quick solution," he said.

"Some ideas have been put forward but before those ideas are put into concrete it needs to involve the right people first."

There has been confrontation between parishioners, and survivors and their supporters, when ribbons have been removed at Loud Fence sites in the past.

In some instances groups of people have gathered to re-tie ribbons to fences after they had been removed.

Catholic Diocese of Ballarat Vicar General Marcello Colsante said when it came to a long-term memorial, the parish would consider any suggestions that were made in the consultation process.

"If further ribbons were to appear in the coming weeks, these ribbons would need to be removed so that the scheduled maintenance work, including pressure washing, applying primer, undercoat and top coat can be completed," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-20/loud-fence-ribbons-removed-from-st-patricks-cathedral-ballarat/103610672

https://www.loudfence.org.au/

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80104e No.20617415

File: 1a239f830aed0a8⋯.mp4 (13.28 MB,960x540,16:9,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….mp4)

>>20555443

>>20594954

Defence Minister Richard Marles confident Kevin Rudd can deliver AUKUS under Trump presidency, despite 'nasty' remarks

Jake Evans - 24 March 2024

Defence Minister Richard Marles says he is still confident United States ambassador Kevin Rudd can deliver Australia's AUKUS nuclear submarine program, despite recent comments by former president Donald Trump throwing his future into question.

Asked earlier this week about US ambassador Kevin Rudd, the former president said he had heard Dr Rudd was "nasty", and said he may not last long if he remained hostile to a re-elected Trump administration.

The comments have prompted rare questioning of an overseas posting by the Opposition, with former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce claiming Dr Rudd is "cooked" if Mr Trump wins the US election in November.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Friday the onus was on Dr Rudd to repair the relationship, as he noted a "long history" of ambassadors being recalled when they were unable to work with a foreign government.

Of key concern is whether Dr Rudd could progress Australia's most significant defence agreement in decades, AUKUS, which would see Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines in a technology sharing deal with the United States and United Kingdom.

Speaking on ABC's Insiders, the defence minister said he had no reason to believe AUKUS would be threatened by a Trump presidency.

"We have seen Kevin working at a pace, lobbying in respect of legislation in Congress across the political spectrum with Democrats and Republicans alike, and he's doing a great job," Mr Marles said.

"Obviously the relationship has experienced a Trump presidency before and the relationship went through that period of time well, so we do have a sense of confidence of being able to work across the political spectrum and we had a sense of confidence that Kevin would be able to do that, and he has.

"We need to work across the political spectrum [because] you need the support of the entire political spectrum in America to get things done."

The opposition has been urged to back off of Dr Rudd and honour the posting as Labor honoured the postings of former Liberals Joe Hockey and Arthur Sinodinos.

Labor backbencher Andrew Charlton, who was an economic advisor to Dr Rudd when he served as prime minister, said his former boss was doing a good job.

Speaking on Sky News he noted that Mr Dutton had said on the same program a month earlier that Dr Rudd was doing a good job, and that remained true.

Mr Charlton questioned whether the opposition was seeking to appease Mr Trump.

"I don't know why Peter Dutton is doing this, I don't know whether he is trying to suck up to Donald Trump or whether he is just trying to score some political points," Mr Charlton said.

"It's really damaging for Australia for us not to take a 'Team Australia' approach and support our ambassadors no matter who they are or who appointed them."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-24/marles-confident-aukus-safe-trump-rudd/103625378

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80104e No.20617427

File: e37acdd0912fd91⋯.jpg (204.15 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Hooded_suspects_whom_Chine….jpg)

File: b23028234948430⋯.jpg (204.59 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Fijian_Prime_Minister_Siti….jpg)

File: ead1673f530d7c1⋯.jpg (176.65 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Fijian_Home_Affairs_Minist….jpg)

>>20575587

Raided, hooded and flown to China: Secret Fiji video reveals Beijing’s ‘rendition’ tactics

Nick McKenzie and Amelia Ballinger - March 24, 2024

1/2

Fiji’s prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka has called on China to retreat from the South Pacific and warned that Beijing’s “unwarranted influence” risks the region’s stability.

Rabuka’s comments – his most forthright on China since his election in December 2022 – came as Australian researchers unearthed an extraordinary Chinese security agency video, casting new light on a controversial police operation in Fiji that has become a case study of Beijing’s desire to operate beyond its borders.

The video, obtained by 60 Minutes, to be broadcast tonight, shows dozens of Chinese police flying to Fiji in 2017, conducting raids and arresting and hooding 77 mostly young male and female Chinese alleged cyber scammers, who are then loaded onto a charter plane bound for China as Fijian police observe passively.

It is part of an investigation by this masthead and 60 Minutes probing the overlap between suspected organised crime and the Chinese state, as well as the challenges facing Pacific Island nations as they navigate fierce efforts by Australia, the US and China to exert influence in the region.

The Chinese government is on a years-long campaign to intensify official ties to Pacific Island countries to increase influence. Last year Beijing was rebuffed when it tried to sign up 10 nations to a region-wide security treaty and now seeks individual deals with those countries’ governments.

Hours after Rabuka called on Australia to provide more policing and security assistance to Fiji, and said he was resistant to reviving a controversial police deal with China that he suspended after being elected, his home affairs minister revealed Suva had relaunched an “extensive” security accord agreed between the former Bainimarama government and Beijing.

“I have assured the Chinese authorities that we are continuing along the same line under the endorsement of the [new] government,” Fijian Home Affairs Minister Pio Tikoduadua said.

“We [Fiji] have decided that we will continue along the same memorandum of agreement that we had previously.”

Rabuka and Tikoduadua made their comments in exclusive interviews with this masthead and 60 Minutes.

The disparity in the two leaders’ comments points to the difficult diplomatic tightrope Fiji is attempting to walk as it tries to satisfy Western and Chinese interests.

The contradictory comments came at the time when Fiji’s acting police commissioner joined other Pacific Island police chiefs in Australia to discuss how their forces could build on the relationship with the Australian Federal Police, which last year secured $370 million from the Albanese government to bolster police training and resources in the South Pacific.

The Fiji-China police memorandum of understanding has been described as China’s most extensive policing partnership agreement in the Pacific and a template for Beijing’s dealings with other nations’ police forces.

It came under fierce scrutiny during the Chinese police operation depicted in the 2017 video, which experts described as the “rendition” of 77 Chinese nationals accused of participating in cyber scams.

The video, filmed by the Baishan City Public Security Bureau, a Chinese security agency, was unearthed by Australian National University China specialist Graeme Smith.

Amnesty International, and Fijian politicians and activists, have criticised the operation, which bypassed the Fijian legal system.

Associate Professor Smith said the video revealed Chinese security officials in Fiji “behaving as though they are in China”.

“The Fijian police are there, but only really in the background, and they are, to all intents and purposes, treating Fijian soil as Chinese soil. It is absolutely a ceding of sovereignty and … a very bad precedent that was set.

“It’s a very disturbing path because these sorts of operations [involving Chinese authorities] are happening all over the world. Our team estimated this is happening twice a week, every week, all over the globe, but the Pacific example is a pretty concerning one.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20617432

File: 97090af6ee99e69⋯.jpg (189.61 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Chinese_police_escort_hood….jpg)

File: 31718281a035dec⋯.jpg (162.39 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Graeme_Smith_ANU_China_spe….jpg)

File: b1fa341d37ed332⋯.jpg (1.26 MB,3317x2211,3317:2211,_Left_Chinese_Communist_Pa….jpg)

>>20617427

2/2

In a statement, the Chinese embassy in Fiji said that “the law enforcement and police co-operation between China and Fiji is professional, open and transparent”.

Smith said the video was created to impress senior Chinese officials and as a propaganda tool, with its captions describing how a Chinese police taskforce named “9:22” had crossed “over half the globe on direct chartered flight” to arrest suspects in Fiji and Indonesia.

“‘9:22’ Task Force will be one of the memorable events in Public Security History,” the video captions state.

“No matter how far away, They [criminal suspects] will be arrested.”

The video also reveals that the operation was overseen by one of the Chinese government’s highest- ranking officials, Guo Shengkun, then the minister of public security.

Shengkun “gave a special attention to this matter and gave instructions and sent personnel to ensure safety”.

In his interview with 60 Minutes, Rabuka said he favoured partnering with Australian police because he was concerned about some of China’s practices.

In comments that will earn the ire of Beijing, he also warned the South Pacific could be destabilised by “the unwarranted influence … of the People’s Republic of China”.

Rabuka said this influence could “fracture some of the more stable associations of the past”, while also calling for China to retreat from neighbouring countries, including the Solomon Islands, where it is gaining influence.

“I hope they can do that, like a soft extraction, a peaceful extraction,” he said.

The Solomon Islands switched its diplomatic ties from Taiwan to Beijing in 2019 and has since signed a series of security, trade and infrastructure deals with the Chinese government.

In January, Nauru also switched its diplomatic recognition of Taiwan to China, securing a major diplomatic coup for Beijing.

Nauru was one of only a handful of countries to recognise Taiwan after years of diplomatic and economic pressure from Beijing that has whittled down its diplomatic partners, including some of Australia’s closest neighbours.

Rabuka claimed the former government of Frank Bainimarama had been seduced by China, but that he was far more cautious of Beijing’s overtures.

“I understand Australia and America, and I do not fully understand China’s agenda,” he said.

In response to the surge in interest in the region from the West and China, Rabuka said one of the greatest threats to Fiji’s security was the risk “that people can buy into our favour” by offering “goodies so that we just go and do whatever they do”.

“You can be influenced by fear, you can be influenced by reward. There are many ways to influence,” Rabuka said.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/raided-hooded-and-flown-to-china-secret-fiji-video-reveals-beijing-s-rendition-tactics-20240321-p5fe6p.html

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80104e No.20617439

File: cddb93691869aa4⋯.jpg (368.86 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Right_wing_Jews_protest_ag….jpg)

File: dc1bf1705e3dac4⋯.jpg (239.45 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Executive_Council_of_Austr….jpg)

File: f833f8cbe32623f⋯.jpg (347.41 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_Palestinian_man_transpor….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20570374

Australia out of step with US on UNRWA funding

BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 24, 2024

The Albanese government has slipped further out of step with the US on Gaza after the Biden administration slapped a one year ban on support for UNRWA, just over a week after Australia resumed funding the Palestinian aid agency.

Australian Jewish groups said the US move – in a bill to avert a partial government shutdown – should mark the beginning of the end for the “corrupt, inept” organisation whose employees have been accused of participating in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced on March 15 that Australia would resume its $6m a year in support for UNRWA, declaring it was “not a terrorist organisation, and that existing and additional safeguards sufficiently protect Australian taxpayer funding”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the move had been a “serious mistake” that will allow Hamas to once again hijack aid distribution and heap more suffering on its own people.

He said the US decision “hopefully signals the beginning of the end for a corrupt, inept bureaucracy whose facilities double as weapons depots and whose staff moonlight as Hamas killers”.

“Crucially, the package does not cut aid to Gaza, it merely redirects it to other humanitarian projects to ensure that the aid gets to the right places and taxpayer dollars don’t end up in the pockets of terrorists,” Mr Ryvchin said.

“All governments should follow this lead.”

Congress voted early on Saturday in Washington DC to strip hundreds of millions of dollars from the UN Relief and Works Agency, amid Israeli allegations that 12 of the agency’s employees took part in the October 7 massacre.

The new funding restrictions, advanced by Republicans as part of an $1.2 trillion government spending package, extend America’s funding pause for UNRWA for at least a year.

Republican Mario Diaz-Balart said in a speech from the House floor on Friday that UNRWA was “a de facto subsidiary of Hamas”.

“The passage of this bill means not one additional dollar from American taxpayers will go fund this deeply flawed organisation,” he said.

The UN denies such assertions, and has launched an independent investigation into the claims due to be released next month.

A day before the Albanese government announced Australia’s reinstatement of UNRWA’s funding, it was briefed on new Israeli intelligence findings suggesting the number of UNRWA employees who took part in the October 7 massacre had grown from 12 to 15.

DFAT was informed on March 14 that Israel had believed 15 UNRWA employees had crossed over into Israel, directly assisted in kidnappings or helped with the transfer of weapons.

The Israeli intelligence briefing also suggested there were 2135 UNRWA employees who were active members of a terrorist organisation and that 1650 of the agency’s employees were Hamas members.

DFAT officials were told 485 UNRWA staff were operatives in the military wings of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

Australia has broken with the Biden administration on Gaza multiple times since the October 7 attack, voting against the US in the United Nations to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, and refusing to repudiate South Africa’s genocide case against Israel - a case Secretary of State Antony Blinken described as “meritless”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/australia-out-of-step-with-us-on-unrwa-funding/news-story/738de3c2873c47bd85548c8e40a26182

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d9dffc No.20622314

Fiji to Sign Ports Deal with Australia in Shipbuilding Boost

Reuters March 21, 2024

SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) – Fiji will strike a deal with Australia to upgrade ports and shipbuilding infrastructure, months after its prime minister said it was likely to partner with China on the project, the government of the Pacific Islands nation said on Thursday.

Fiji’s government said its cabinet had agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Australia for the project, after Australia committed to financing.

“The revival of the shipbuilding industry in Fiji has been articulated as a key priority,” Fiji’s government said in a statement.

“It has the potential to increase job opportunities, develop and expand specialised skill-sets amongst Fiji nationals and stimulate investment and economic growth,” it added.

Australia will provide initial grant financing to the Fiji Government and the Fiji Ports Corporation, it said.

Australia, the largest aid donor to the Pacific Islands region, is stepping up its infrastructure support to counter China’s push to expand security and policing ties in the region.

“Countries who want to build their influence in the region look for vacuums to fill and the Australian government is working very hard to be the best development and security partner for the entire region, so there are no vacuums to fill,” Australia’s Pacific Minister Pat Conroy said on ABC television on Thursday.

Conroy will travel to Fiji, the Pacific’s biggest transport hub, on Friday, and is expected to announce the ports deal and Australian financial assistance during his visit.

In November, Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka told parliament he wanted to collaborate with China on a key port modernisation and shipyard project, after discussing it in a meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping.

China is the world’s largest shipbuilder, accounting for half of all ships built this year. The pace of expansion of its navy has concerned Australia, which has donated dozens of patrol boats to its Pacific Islands neighbours to boost surveillance of their territorial waters.

A defence agreement allowing the militaries of Australia and Fiji to work in each other’s country and share intelligence has meanwhile been introduced to Australia’s parliament this week for ratification.

The “status of forces” agreement was signed by Australia and Fiji in 2022 but needs to be approved by both parliaments.

Australia is seeking to discourage its Pacific Islands neighbours from signing security or policing deals with China, after Beijing struck a security pact with Solomon Islands in 2022.

Last week, Fiji told the Guardian it would not scrap a decade-old policing agreement with China after a review by Fiji’s new government, but said Chinese officers would no longer embed in Fiji’s police force.

https://gcaptain.com/fiji-to-sign-ports-deal-with-australia-in-shipbuilding-boost/

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80104e No.20622388

File: 11bf8996d68512c⋯.jpg (339.4 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Dick_Smith_has_accused_the….jpg)

File: 90a3480ecde4845⋯.jpg (340.32 KB,750x800,15:16,ABCN_1.jpg)

File: 840e438b8a52c8c⋯.jpg (411.82 KB,750x1121,750:1121,EM_1.jpg)

>>20224564 (pb)

Elon Musk criticises fact checkers and accuses them of ‘tyranny’ after Dick Smith complains about ABC RMIT fact check

SOPHIE ELSWORTH - MARCH 25, 2024

1/2

Billionaire Elon Musk has condemned the work of fact checkers and accused them of “tyranny” after businessman Dick Smith claimed the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit published a report that is “full of lies” about nuclear energy.

On Monday, Mr Musk responded to a Sky News Australia article shared on the social media platform he owns, X, formerly Twitter, that explained Mr Smith's disgust over a fact check about the Australian businessman’s comments relating to nuclear power.

Mr Musk replied to a post by US columnist Michael Shellenberger that said, “one of the government’s main fact-checker groups has been caught spreading misinformation about renewables and nuclear.”

Mr Musk replied, “Having government ‘fact-checkers’ is a giant leap in the direction of tyranny.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check is jointly funded by the two taxpayer-funded organisations and is headed up by director Russell Skelton.

Mr Smith has accused the ABC fact-checking unit of running numerous “inaccuracies and misinformation” following his comments he made during a radio interview last week with 2GB host Ben Fordham.

During the interview, Mr Smith said: “No country has ever been able to run entirely on renewables – that’s impossible.”

He has demanded a “correction to the document” after ABC and the fact check unit published the report on its website last Friday and circulated it on social media.

“It’s damaging my credibility, and I’ve never had anything like this done to me before,” Mr Smith told The Australian.

“It basically makes out I’m a liar.”

Mr Smith accused the ABC of quashing legitimate arguments in favour of nuclear energy after their fact check said, “Mr Smith’s statement doesn’t hold up.”

In the fact check, the University of NSW’s Dr Mark Diesendorf, an expert in energy policy, said, “Several countries (and Tasmania) already run their electricity systems on 100 per cent renewables.”

But Mr Smith, 80, refuted these comments and said he was referring to all forms of energy.

“From my experience with the ABC because they think they have to be left, they have to be against nuclear, all of my left friends are all against nuclear, it’s sort of like a religion with them,” he said.

“Electricity is about 25 per cent of our energy, so what this bloke is saying, he’s added in the word electricity, so what he’s looking at is 25 per cent of the energy, and it’s completely misleading.

“I’m not talking about the electricity system, I’m talking about the entire energy system, what about the other 75 per cent and that’s where I’m saying we have to look at nuclear.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20622391

File: 8301555aef9b685⋯.jpg (524.26 KB,750x1465,150:293,SMC_1.jpg)

>>20622388

2/2

Despite Mr Smith’s complaints, an RMIT spokeswoman stood by its fact check.

“RMIT is committed to upholding the integrity of public information and stands by the accuracy of its work,” the spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Albanese government has legislated to reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050 and opposition leader Peter Dutton has advocated for nuclear.

In the RMIT ABC Fact Check, the report also quoted Stanford University Professor Mark Z. Jacobson, another energy expert, said California has “been running on more than 100 per cent wind, water, solar for 10 out of the last 11 days for between 0.25 and six hours per day.”

But Mr Smith said this too is misleading: “What they don’t say is that California is nuclear-powered, so it’s just completely dishonest.”

“So in other words, they are proving what I’m saying is correct.”

In the fact check report it states Nepal is one of four countries running entirely on wind, water and solar, but neglects to point out, Mr Smith said, that: “The diesel fumes in Kathmandu – you can hardly breathe – are using fossil fuels and 70 per cent of the power in Nepal is burning wood and it’s not renewable.”

Mr Smith also said the fact check that has marked at the top of the document, ‘Your inoculation against misinformation’ is “disgusting”.

“The first thing a journalist does is check their facts, and they didn’t even phone me,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to people at the ABC, and they’ve said Dick, ‘I support nuclear but if I mention that here I would have no career path’.

“When it comes to the ABC, when they are commenting on energy simply don’t believe them.

“I have absolutely no doubt we have to go to nuclear … the longer the ABC delays it, the worse it will get for our younger generations.”

Among those to be critical of the fact check includes Nationals Senator Matt Canavan who posted on X, formerly Twitter, following the publishing of the report.

The ABC has also been contacted for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/dick-smith-accuses-the-rmit-abc-fact-check-of-publishing-lies-and-inaccuracies-about-nuclear-energy/news-story/aae9ffb83fca4f25713cd88a5c42ee3a

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/businessman-dick-smith-blasts-rmit-abc-fact-check-for-spreading-misinformation-and-lies-in-a-flawed-fact-check-on-nuclear-power/news-story/edd47ac29aa2df492593400f07f9e73e

https://twitter.com/abcnews/status/1770926578840514754

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1772075177515368471

https://twitter.com/mattjcan/status/1771065264513437980

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80104e No.20622409

File: b3b74d0d12b0c41⋯.jpg (183.76 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ASIO_s_Deputy_Director_Gen….jpg)

File: e89f78e35ca2658⋯.jpg (573.2 KB,2400x1440,5:3,Daniel_Duggan_accused_of_i….jpg)

>>20589296

Australian intelligence chiefs want law to stop former spies taking skills overseas

Asio bosses fear ‘growing threat’ as foreign governments are allowed to gain knowledge of tradecraft

Karen Middleton - 24 Mar 2024

1/2

Australia’s intelligence chiefs have asked the government for new laws to stop former spies marketing their skills abroad, fearing current provisions are allowing foreign adversaries to gain invaluable knowledge of Australian tradecraft.

Asio is seeking specific consolidated legislation requiring that former spies gain explicit permission before they offer themselves as trainers, in light of what it says is the serious and growing threat of espionage and foreign interference.

“In the face of this threat and the need to protect Australia’s secret sensitive information and capabilities, the need for this cannot be overstated,” the intelligence agency’s deputy director general, Ewan Macmillan, told the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security during a recent hearing on military secrets. “In response, we must harden and we must adapt.”

Macmillan was speaking in the context of a similar ban being pushed through parliament to stop military personnel conducting training that could help foreign adversaries. He said no such stand-alone provision existed for intelligence officers.

“The discomfort we have and the concern we’re raising is that we think there should be something done about that particular vulnerability and inconsistency,” Macmillan said.

The defence amendment (safeguarding Australia’s military secrets) bill was prompted by twin imperatives. It addresses potential gaps in the law identified following the arrest of former United States marine and now Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, who faces charges for allegedly training Chinese military pilots in South Africa. It also fulfils a US requirement that Australia’s law mirror its own on the transfer of secrets and on export controls as part of the Aukus nuclear submarine deal.

The government is rushing the military legislation through parliament in the hope of having it passed and the relevant paperwork completed in Washington before Congress rises for the northern summer. The House of Representatives passed it this week and the Senate will debate it on Monday.

Because of that timeline, the government opted not to incorporate provisions covering intelligence officers in the same legislation.

Instead, it says it is considering Asio’s request, acknowledging the critical role intelligence officers play in protecting national security.

The parliamentary committee agreed that such provisions should cover intelligence officers and recommended the government determine how they should be legislated. It also recommended assessing existing laws to ensure the restrictions extended to training paramilitary organisations and militias too.

“The biggest threat to national security faced by Australia is from sophisticated foreign actors, who try to engage with citizens within government, military, academia and business to obtain classified information,” the committee chair, Labor MP Peter Khalil, told Guardian Australia. “These actors have offered Australians hundreds of thousands of dollars to help authoritarian regimes improve their combat skills.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20622412

File: de5205efb46e5c0⋯.jpg (255.08 KB,2400x1440,5:3,ASIO_Director_General_of_S….jpg)

>>20622409

2/2

The shadow home affairs minister, James Paterson, said Asio’s warning must be taken seriously.

“The damage to our national interest would be profound if a former intelligence official passed on their insights and inside knowledge to a foreign power,” Paterson said. “We urgently need a regime similar to that proposed for former ADF personnel and defence officials to plug this gap and the government should not delay legislating it.”

The Australian Institute of Professional Intelligence Officers offered Asio’s proposal qualified support.

The institute’s president, Dr Phil Kowalick, said protecting secrets, expertise and knowledge related to intelligence capabilities was critical. But he warned that such expertise in analytical tradecraft was already accessible in training courses globally so applying such restrictions in practice could be difficult.

“At first blush, the proposed restrictions would likely pick up those widely studied and applied techniques, as well as those related to the tradecraft, [aiming] to be protected,” Kowalick said. “It would be difficult to draft legislation that distinguishes what is and is not covered in the complex mix of freely available and protected methodologies and tradecraft while not infringing on what can and should be taught in recognised and reputable education and training programs.”

Kowalick said the intelligence community should be consulted on any such restrictions to ensure they were necessary and effective.

The Washington-based Australian National University professor of international security and intelligence studies, John Blaxland, said there were already laws restricting what former spies could do with their knowledge. But he said Asio’s request suggested there was a question as to whether they are watertight enough to ensure prosecution.

“Beyond the procedural concern, there is a message to former officers about what’s acceptable and not when it comes to transferring marketable skills and knowledge to those who may well want to use them against Australia’s interests,” Blaxland said. “It’s conceivable that those who’ve been out for a few years – maybe in another line of work – have forgotten the imperative of maintaining their obligations.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/24/australian-intelligence-chiefs-want-law-to-stop-former-spies-taking-skills-overseas

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80104e No.20622417

File: fd8202483ae42cf⋯.jpg (144.64 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Mark_Zuckerberg_s_Meta_is_….jpg)

File: 8afbb0b1437ce73⋯.jpg (313.2 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Bravehearts_founder_Hetty_….jpg)

File: 33c142b76daba9d⋯.jpg (149.97 KB,1668x2222,834:1111,Former_QUT_law_lecturer_Go….jpg)

File: 0353abe4a9b8d99⋯.jpg (237.58 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_s_eSafety_Commis….jpg)

File: 267b35bb2b30a63⋯.jpg (142.77 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Meta_accounted_for_84_per_….jpg)

>>20344860 (pb)

Meta’s encryption to ‘conceal the worst crimes’ against kids

DAVID MURRAY - MARCH 25, 2024

Child abuse investigators are bracing for expanded encryption on Facebook and Messenger to have crushing impacts that may be disguised by a rise in meaningless tips that lead nowhere.

Tech giant Meta revealed in December it had begun a global rollout of default end-to-end encryption for messages and calls across its Facebook and Messenger platforms, but would not detail progress in individual countries.

While privacy advocates welcomed the move, crime-fighting agencies and charities said it would have a devastating effect on the ability to detect and prevent child abuse.

Hetty Johnston, founder of child protection organisation Bravehearts, said investigators expected a sharp decline in actionable leads originating from Meta about offenders sharing child abuse images.

Police could instead be provided with reports that contained information with no evidentiary use.

“End-to-end encryption is protecting criminals and sex offenders,” Ms Johnston said.

“It will conceal the worst crimes and (Meta will) come up with a whole bunch of inactionable rubbish that will blow out their numbers.”

An experienced child abuse investigator also told The Australian “Meta may counter public criticism by increasing reporting to law enforcement with information that is not of investigative value … We’re all expecting that. The proof will be in the data”.

An Australian Federal Police spokeswoman said early statistical data indicated an “upward trend of rising numbers of reports relating to online child sexual exploitation has continued in 2024”.

However, the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation “does not yet have any substantive data relating to the impact of E2EE (end-to-end encryption) on these numbers”.

“E2EE is extremely problematic for all law enforcement, because it removes our ability to see the content of material,” the spokeswoman said.

“For example, if one person sent an encrypted message containing child abuse material to another person on the same platform, law enforcement would not be able to see or identify that the content was unlawful and therefore would not be able to investigate the conduct.”

The ACCCE’s triage unit received 40,232 reports of online child sexual exploitation in the 2022-23 financial year. The “large majority” of these were received from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US, the spokeswoman said.

US-based social media companies are required by law to report child sexual abuse material to the NCMEC.

Of the 32 million reports to the NCMEC in 2022, 27 million, or 84 per cent, were from Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta platforms, led by Facebook (21.16 million), Instagram (5 million) and WhatsApp (1.01 million).

Meta has advised users default end-to-end encryption will mean “nobody, including Meta, can see what’s sent or said, unless you choose to report a message to us”.

Among the many arrested following a tip from the NCMEC is former Queensland University of Technology law lecturer Gordon Douglas Chalmers, who allegedly posed on Facebook as singer Justin Bieber and duped children into sending him explicit images.

Investigators say Mr Chalmers’s alleged indecent communications with about 200 children may have remained concealed if end-to-end encryption had been in place.

The NCMEC said in December “Meta’s choice to implement end-to-end encryption on Messenger and Facebook with no ability to detect child sexual exploitation is a devastating blow to child protection”.

A spokeswoman said on Sunday that “as of now, NCMEC’s CyberTipline has not seen a decrease in reporting by Meta as a result” of end-to-end encryption.

Meta, which declined to answer questions from The Australian, maintains encryption improves safety and security for users. It said it has spent five years working to protect privacy and promote safety in end-to-end encrypted messaging, and it expects to continue to provide more reports to law enforcement than its peers.

But Ms Johnston said that as well as expanding encryption, Meta joined other social media firms in slashing “trust and safety” teams including those overseeing Australia and was “not interested” in monitoring child welfare.

“They are actually working to protect criminal gangs and criminal behaviour such as pedophiles. They’re a criminal organisation in themselves,” she said.

“How can a company who knows this stuff is going on, on their networks, who knows children are being raped and abused, do that? It’s clearly an absolutely heartless, dangerous organisation. Everybody is thrown to the wolves here by Meta.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/metas-encryption-to-conceal-the-worst-crimes-against-kids/news-story/dcdb18d84edd3c93984e46a5d8550601

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80104e No.20628528

File: 8be1e2a2ada21f9⋯.jpg (314.9 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Penny_Wong_with_British_Fo….jpg)

UK set to declare China threat to national security after cyber attacks on politicians, electoral commission

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - MARCH 26, 2024

1/2

Britain is set to declare China a threat to national security after two malicious cyber campaigns targeting Westminster parliamentarians and Britain’s 40 million voters.

Australia’s Five Eyes spy network supported Britain in identifying China state-affiliated actors as responsible for two malicious cyber campaigns targeting Westminster parliamentarians and Britain’s 40 million voters.

Britain has raised the issue of China’s targeting of British democratic institutions and political processes with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and has made public its concerns about China so “other countries should see the detail of threats that our systems and democracies face”.

Oliver Dowden, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, also indicated the UK would officially declare China a threat, The Times reports.

In an unprecedented joint operation to expose Chinese espionage, London and Washington revealed details of a decade-long campaign by Beijing to “repress critics, compromise government institutions, and steal trade secrets”, The Times reports.

In the UK ministers revealed that China had successfully gained access to a “treasure trove” of personal information in a cyberattack on Britain’s election watchdog and had attempted to spy on MPs critical of Beijing.

On Monday local time Britain moved to sanction two people and one entity involved with the China state-affiliated group it believes was behind the cyber attacks which occurred in 2021 and 2022.

Zhao Guangzong, 38, and Ni Gaobin, 38 are said to be members of the Advanced Persistent Threat 31 hacking group which has compromised the emails, cloud storage and telephone call records of millions of Americans, the Times reports.

The men also belong to Wuhan Xiaoruizhi Science and Technology Company Ltd, which the government said was a front organisation for APT31.

The individuals and the entity will have their finances frozen and will be subject to travel bans.

Mr Dowden said “The UK will not tolerate malicious cyber activity targeting our democratic institutions. It is an absolute priority for the UK Government to protect our democratic system and values. The Defending Democracy Taskforce continues to co-ordinate work to build resilience against these threats.

“I hope this statement helps to build wider awareness of how politicians and those involved in our democratic processes around the world are being targeted by state-sponsored cyber operations.

“We will continue to call out this activity, holding the Chinese government accountable for its actions.”

Mr Dowden told the House of Commons the National Cyber Security Centre which is part of the UK’s intelligence and security agency, GCHQ, had assessed that the UK Electoral Commission systems were “highly likely compromised” by a China state-affiliated cyber entity between 2021 and 2022. The hackers attempted to obtain details of the country’s 40 million voters.

(continued)

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80104e No.20628533

File: 92d431eef30a4eb⋯.jpg (76.87 KB,1024x682,512:341,Britain_s_Deputy_Prime_Min….jpg)

>>20628528

2/2

The United Kingdom had been supported in its investigations by the Five Eyes partnership of Australia, the United States, New Zealand and Canada in making the assessments.

This had followed reconnaissance activity undertaken in 2021 by APT31.

APT is an acronym commonly referred in the security industry to refer to Advance Persistent Threats and APT31 was accused of attacks on political, economic, and military targets. Back in 2021 Britain had publicly linked APT31 to the Chinese Ministry of State Security following a hack of the Microsoft Exchange Server.

Foreign secretary David Cameron said APT31 had carried out political conducted reconnaissance activity against UK parliamentarians, the majority of whom had been prominently calling out the malign activities of China, during a separate campaign in 2021.

He said: “It is completely unacceptable that China state-affiliated organisations and individuals have targeted our democratic institutions and political processes. While these attempts to interfere with UK democracy have not been successful, we will remain vigilant and resilient to the threats we face.

“I raised this directly with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and we have today sanctioned two individuals and one entity involved with the China state-affiliated group responsible for targeting our parliamentarians.

“We will always defend ourselves from those who seek to threaten the freedoms that underpin our values and democracy. One of the reasons that it is important to make this statement is that other countries should see the detail of threats that our systems and democracies face.”

NZ said its parliamentary system was also targeted by a state-sponsored group known as “APT40” in 2021.

Judith Collins, the country’s Minister of Defence, said New Zealand’s security agencies were able “to contain the activity and remove the actor shortly after they were able to access the network”.

“The use of cyber-enabled espionage operations to interfere with democratic institutions and processes anywhere is unacceptable,” she said.

Britain in recent times has begun phasing out Chinese owned infrastructure because of fears the Chinese state could gain access through technology systems embedded into equipment. The politicians believed to have been targeted included members of the British Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China which has been investigating China’s activities.

The BBC said the former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, former minister Tim Loughton and the SNP’s Stewart McDonald received a briefing from the head of parliamentary security.

Mr Loughton told the BBC: “We need to have a raft of senior Chinese officials seriously sanctioned because of what’s been going on with this cyber attack, what’s going on in Hong Kong [and] in Xinjiang”.

Britain said it has bolstered its cyber defences and to date the cumulative attempts to interfere with UK democracy and politics have not been successful.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australia-five-eyes-help-uk-confirm-china-behind-cyber-attacks-on-politicians-lectoral-commission/news-story/e546224fab6b4d59fbef63f186bf4efd

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80104e No.20628552

File: eb0192b583f4a73⋯.jpg (307.24 KB,3000x2001,1000:667,The_Coalition_wants_the_go….jpg)

File: 16ed477de2a4651⋯.jpg (1.93 MB,4353x2938,4353:2938,New_Zealand_Defence_Minist….jpg)

File: 13ea3bc68ae4059⋯.jpg (1.29 MB,991x1741,991:1741,Remarks_by_the_Spokesperso….jpg)

>>20628528

Coalition calls for sanctions against China after Beijing accused of cyber espionage in US and UK

Stephen Dziedzic - 26 March 2024

The Coalition is pressing the federal government to hit China with sanctions after Australia joined with the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand to accuse Beijing of orchestrating a sweeping campaign of cyber espionage targeting voters, parliamentarians and companies in the West.

The UK and the US have already unveiled sanctions on state-backed hackers they accuse of being behind "malicious" cyber attacks which hit Britain's electoral commission and British MPs critical of China, as well as a host of companies, individuals and politicians in the US.

And on Tuesday morning New Zealand's Defence Minister Judith Collins announced that in 2021 hackers from a group linked to China's Ministry of State Security also managed to gain access to the country's Parliamentary Service, as well as the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

The Parliamentary Service provides administrative and support services to New Zealand's MPs, while the Counsel Office is responsible for drafting and publishing legislation.

"Fortunately, in this instance, the National Cyber Security Centre worked with the impacted organisations to contain the activity and remove the actor shortly after they were able to access the network," she said.

The minister later told reporters that New Zealand's institutions were "sacrosanct" and there was clearly a "pattern of behaviour" from China targeting democracies.

"We believe it is important that we stand together on these matters," she said.

"This is the first very serious attack that I am aware of against one of our democratic institutions."

But she said New Zealand would not follow the lead of the US or the UK and target hackers because the country did not have a broader legal framework to impose autonomous sanctions.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil issued a joint statement first thing on Tuesday morning backing statements holding China responsible.

"The persistent targeting of democratic institutions and processes has implications for democratic and open societies like Australia. This behaviour is unacceptable and must stop," they said.

Australia has previously attributed multiple cyber attacks in Australia to China. The ministers did not say if Australia was directly targeted in the more recent hacking attempts but said: "Australia's electoral systems were not compromised by the cyber campaigns targeting the UK."

Shadow Home Affairs Minister James Paterson said while the public attribution of blame was welcome, the government needed to go "one step further" and hit Chinese state-backed hackers with Magnitsky-style sanctions.

"It is especially malign behaviour to attack members of parliament and electoral systems … it is not the behaviour of a friend," he said.

"It'll be up to the government to explain if it thinks the bilateral relationship [with China] is more important than defending our national security interests."

China has denied the accusations of espionage, with New Zealand's embassy in Wellington calling them "groundless and irresponsible" in a statement issued Tuesday afternoon.

"When investigating and determining the nature of cyber cases, one needs to have adequate and objective evidence, instead of smearing other countries when facts do not exist," it said.

"Accusing China of foreign interference is completely barking up the wrong tree."

"We hope the New Zealand side can practice the letter and spirit of its longstanding and proud independent foreign policy, independently making judgements and decisions in its best interests rather than blindly following other's words and actions."

Federal Labor MP Peter Khalil, who is chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, told the ABC that the government was "enhancing our cyber security, intelligence and our defence capabilities to deter foreign adversaries who would seek to use cyber attacks, grey zone attacks and force to reach their objectives and diminish our democratic society".

But he said the government would still press ahead with its broader goal of stabilising ties with China.

"It is not incongruent with our national interest to improve and enhance our economic and diplomatic relationship with countries like China because of the importance of trade to our national interest," he said.

"Simply, we can do both – because they are both in our national interest."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-26/china-cyber-terrorism-sanctions-called-by-coalition-penny-wong/103633152

http://nz.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zyxw/202403/t20240326_11270841.htm

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80104e No.20628558

File: 9f7b1c3dd01750d⋯.jpg (103.75 KB,900x647,900:647,Chinese_President_Xi_Jinpi….jpg)

>>20251127 (pb)

China-Nauru ties open a new chapter in history: Xi

China's relations with Nauru likely to serve as model for PICs: experts

GT staff reporters - Mar 25, 2024

Nauru's political decision to adhere to the one-China principle and restore diplomatic ties with China in January is a move that conforms to the trend of history and the times, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Nauruan President David Adeang on Monday in Beijing

Xi said China-Nauru relations have opened a new chapter in history, and China is ready to work with Nauru to create a better future of China-Nauru relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples. Friendship, whenever it is started, will have a bright future. Cooperation, whatever its size, will be productive as long as it is sincere, Xi said, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

Experts said that China's relationship with Nauru, which is based on mutual respect and support, is likely to serve as a model for the Pacific Island Countries (PICs). Moreover, the reason why the PICs have preferred deepening their relationship with China is that, unlike the West, China's approach is characterized by long-term commitment, equality, and genuine support for their development, rather than driven by geopolitical competition.

Xi said China welcomes Nauru as another country to sign the Belt and Road cooperation document with China.

He said China is ready to expand practical cooperation with Nauru in trade, investment and infrastructure construction, and provide assistance to Nauru for its independent and sustainable development without political strings attached.

Adeang said that Nauru highly appreciates China's consistent adherence to the principle of equality among all countries, and is willing to abide by the one-China principle, continuously deepen cooperation with China, take the resumption of diplomatic relations between Nauru and China as an important opportunity, observe mutual respect with China, enhance understanding, strengthen personnel exchanges and cooperation in various fields, learn from China's experience, and develop a fruitful and mutually beneficial partnership.

The two sides signed various documents on cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Global Development Initiative and in the fields of economy and agriculture.

This is the first visit by a Nauruan president after the two countries resumed diplomatic ties in January 2024.

"China's support and attention to these countries has been long-standing and unwavering," Ning Tuanhui, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Monday. "In contrast, countries like the US have only recently begun to prioritize their engagement with the PICs, primarily as part of their geopolitical scheme to counter China," Ning said.

In addition, China has adhered to the principle of equality among nations, regardless of their size. The majority of these island countries are small in terms of landmass and population, making them easily overlooked in the international arena. But China has always treated them with respect and equality, which has earned wide recognition from the PICs, Ning noted.

Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, said that the biggest difference is that China fully respects their sovereignty and historical traditions.

"It means not imposing our own political, economic, or social preferences, models, or frameworks on these countries. This is particularly crucial because Western countries often operate under a Eurocentric mind-set, believing that their institutions and practices are superior and must be imposed on the PICs. This lack of respect can lead to serious cultural and societal clashes," Chen told the Global Times on Monday.

China believes that providing tangible benefits to the local population is paramount. Within the framework of South-South cooperation, China has provided substantial assistance in areas such as infrastructure and public welfare. Many PICs have benefited from improved infrastructure and essential services like healthcare, particularly through initiatives like the Belt and Road Initiative.

A case in point is Nauru's largest harbor currently being constructed by Chinese companies. With parts of the project finished, oil tankers can now directly dock to unload oil there, opening a new chapter for the country.

The five-year project has also brought cutting-edge technologies and job opportunities to the island country, promoting the local economy by expanding its connectivity with the rest of the world.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1309483.shtml

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80104e No.20628570

File: 91a60f46acc0db2⋯.jpg (613.53 KB,5000x2813,5000:2813,Mike_Burgess_has_addressed….jpg)

File: 3c14483c6a94854⋯.jpg (1.32 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Senior_lawyer_at_the_Human….jpg)

>>20589296

>>20622409

ASIO boss tells inquiry into Australian secrecy laws foreign intelligence operatives are posing as journalists

Elizabeth Byrne - 26 March 2024

The head of ASIO has warned some foreign intelligence services may be using journalism as a cover as journalists themselves become a target for foreign intelligence services.

Mike Burgess has addressed an inquiry by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor into secrecy offences in the Criminal Code.

The inquiry, which opened in Canberra on Monday, comes amid concerns about the lack of protection for whistleblowers and the press.

Review into whether current laws are fit for purpose

The current Monitor, Jake Blight, said he was reviewing whether the law was too broad and if it was fit for purpose.

He said some of the issues raised included whether materials were being appropriately classified as secret, and if assessments of the potential harm of disclosing sensitive material were being done properly.

Mr Blight said there were 11 separate offences in the act.

Mostly, these affect Commonwealth officers, although some apply to everyone else, including journalists.

He told the hearing some information did need to be protected but there was also a need to protect freedom of speech and a free press.

"We need to balance the protection of critical information with a need to ensure the law is limited to restricting only what is truly necessary and what is in the public interest to restrict," he said.

Mr Blight said the law currently penalised journalists for merely receiving classified material.

"There is some debate in the submissions about what is required to intentionally receive a document or information and some quite compelling examples have been made by Civil Liberties groups, the Human Rights Law Centre and journalists about the impact of the current offence on their work," he explained.

"At this stage of the review I am minded to agree that at the very least merely receiving information should be removed from this offence."

But Mr Burgess has urged caution.

"Once someone has received something then the deterrence has not had its effect," Mr Burgess said.

"That's not the issue as far as I am concerned, it's what happens next … if then someone decides to hold onto something and keep it for reasons which are not …defensible or start communicating to others that's the problem we need to address."

Mr Burgess told the inquiry journalists were a target of foreign intelligence services, and some operatives pretended to be a journalist to do their job.

He warned any alterations to the law needed to be carefully assessed.

"ASIO does not investigate journalists for their journalism. I'm not saying that we are, but if we do, we investigate them for potential threats to security," Mr Burgess said.

"Anything that changes that equation would be problematic from my point of view."

Lawyer warns of 'chilling effect' of current laws

But Kieran Pender from the Human Rights Law Centre said the current laws were having a "chilling" effect on whistleblowers and journalists alike.

"Journalists play an important role in our democracy [and] we've seen successive laws passed that make it harder to do journalism, criminalise whistleblowing and undermine transparency … that's what we need to fix," Mr Pender said.

Mr Pender acknowledged the need for national security protections, but said the law needs to strike a balance.

"It's already against Australian law to be a foreign agent to seek to interfere in our democracy," Mr Pender said.

"But what we can't do is undermine our democracy in an attempt to protect it."

Mr Blight said no one had ever been prosecuted under the Criminal Code for disclosing classified material.

Whistleblower prosecutions including that of David McBride have been based on other legislation, which overlaps.

He said he was also considering a recommendation for a simpler approach.

Mr Blight said he hopes to hand his report to the government in May.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-26/foreign-intelligence-operatives-posing-as-journalists-asio/103627256

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80104e No.20628581

File: 78819311d481439⋯.jpg (109.18 KB,2048x1153,2048:1153,Abu_Ousayd_also_known_as_W….jpg)

File: c2ec260d9948b5a⋯.jpg (622.61 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Abu_Ousayd_in_front_of_the….jpg)

File: 9d957c1a9ee9a22⋯.jpg (92.1 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Sheikh_Ahmed_Zoud_gives_a_….jpg)

>>20163322 (pb)

>>20174745 (pb)

>>20205258 (pb)

Jewish leaders file vilification complaints to AHRC against Sydney clerics

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - MARCH 24, 2024

1/2

The country’s peak Jewish body has formally lodged vilification complaints with Australia’s human rights body against two Sydney Muslim clerics, after they gave sermons that described Jews as “monsters”, “rats”, “bloodthirsty” and “vile”.

The sermons also included parables about killing Jews and how if people “spat” on Israel “the Jews would drown”, among anti-Semitic tropes about them having “hands everywhere in business” and “owning the majority of banks”.

The Australian can reveal the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has lodged vilification complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission against cleric Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, and sheik Ahmed Zoud, for a December sermon at southwest Sydney’s As-Sunnah Mosque.

The complaint – lodged by ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim and deputy president Robert Goot SC – also includes Mr Ousayd’s Al Madina Dawah Centre and As-Sunnah’s trading company, Awqaf Australia.

Mr Wertheim said the ECAJ had been left with no other option.

“We’re taking this action not only to defend the honour of our community but to protect the future of Australia as a peaceful and cohesive society,” he said.

The ECAJ will seek, among other things, that the AHRC order the sermons be removed from the internet, and that the clerics issue a public apology and provide “binding commitments” that they don’t engage in similar conduct. The ECAJ hasn’t ruled out further action against other preachers.

Mr Wertheim lamented NSW Police’s inability to lay charges against the clerics, saying citizens shouldn’t be forced to take on hate speech alone.

“It’s regrettable that governments and law enforcement agencies have failed to show proper leadership to enforce this rule, and that it has fallen to our community to stand up to hatemongers,” he said. “We will do this regardless of the human and financial cost. The issue is simply too important for Australia’s future.”

Mr Ousayd ran the now-defunct Al-Risalah Islamic Centre, frequented by numerous men who went on to become high-profile terrorists, and previously boasted of his friendship with terrorists Khaled Sharrouf and Mohamed Elomar.

The Al Madina Dawah Centre hosted other clerics who gave hate-fuelled sermons, including “Brother Ismail”, who said jihad was the “solution”, and “Brother Muhammad”, who called it the “final solution”. Neither are part of the ECAJ’s complaint.

Mr Wertheim said Australia was a “wonderful home” to a diverse quilt of faiths and ethnicities, but the hatred contained in the sermons threatened its seams.

“For the most part, we all live together in harmony with mutual respect where everyone is free to observe their faith,” he said.

“One of the rules of Australian multicultural society is that we don’t bring the hatreds, prejudices and bigotry of overseas conflicts into Australia.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20628584

File: d50c22427c3cd7d⋯.jpg (350.56 KB,2048x2730,1024:1365,ECAJ_co_CEO_Peter_Wertheim.jpg)

File: e2a2181e8ba2d5e⋯.jpg (99.54 KB,768x1023,256:341,ECAJ_deputy_president_Robe….jpg)

File: 3cce65630e4104d⋯.jpg (276.96 KB,2048x1536,4:3,NSW_Premier_Chris_Minns_re….jpg)

>>20628581

2/2

The ECAJ has had success at the AHRC. In 2000, it successfully brought a case to the commission, which determined that Holocaust denialist Fredrick Töben had contravened the Racial Discrimination Act by publishing material that racially vilified Jewish people, as well as another successful complaint against former Tasmanian schoolteacher Olga Scully in 2001.

The Australian revealed how, since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war, multiple clerics in Sydney’s southwest had given incendiary sermons.

Mr Ousayd said Jews were “descendants of pigs and monkeys”, that New Year’s Eve was a “celebration of foreskin”, and that Israelis and Jews were “stealing organs”. “If all the Muslims in the Middle East spat on Israel … the Jews would drown,” he said in an October 21 sermon.

In Sheik Zoud’s December sermon he referred to Jews as “monsters” and “terrorists”, and said the “characteristics” of “most Jews” were that they were “thirsty for bloodshed” and treacherous.

“The cowards fell before the attacks of the mujahideen … (they ran) like rats,” he said in Arabic.

In November, Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi said the sermons at the Al Madina Dawah Centre did not speak for or reflect the wider southwest Sydney Muslim community, saying anti-Semitism and Islamophobia should “never be tolerated”.

The complaints were made under the Racial Discrimination Act’s Part 11A, a civil provision, which prohibits “offensive behaviour based on racial hatred”, enclosed in section 18c.

The Australian has reported on the inability of authorities to clamp down on the hate speech and lay charges.

Section 93z of the NSW Crimes Act outlaws inciting violence on the grounds of race or religion. The section is being reviewed by the Law Reform Commission at the request of the Minns government, and no successful prosecution has been brought under the Act. It was “streamlined” in November so police could lay charges without approval from the Director of Public Prosecutions.

NSW Upper House deputy president Rod Roberts said he was “disappointed and concerned” that it had been left to Jewish leaders to stand up to hate speech.

“This (penalising hate speech) is the role of the government via the police… this hateful rhetoric is well documented,” he said.

Mr Roberts said that there had been calls to improve 93z “for some time” and that police had said existing legislation was “not fit for purpose”.

“It’s imperative the government makes the legislation effective and enforceable,” he said.

Separately, The Australian revealed how Liberal MP Julian Leeser criticised the AHRC for not doing enough to combat anti-Semitism in the wake of October 7 and that it had an ongoing contract with the company of Elsa Tuet-Rosenberg, one of a group who led the dissemination of the details of hundreds of doxxed Jewish creatives in February.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/jewish-leaders-file-vilification-complaints-to-ahrc-against-sydney-clerics/news-story/c90b75e33d91718494700d0dc2502656

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80104e No.20628594

File: 05197404f91cc11⋯.jpg (165.42 KB,1999x1125,1999:1125,Julian_Assange_speaks_to_t….jpg)

File: 4804d58d71bdd13⋯.jpg (150.97 KB,750x728,375:364,SAFAN_2.jpg)

>>20565278

Court to announce if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be extradited to the United States

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - MARCH 26, 2024

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will know whether he will be extradited to the United States later tonight Australian time.

After five years of battling extradition to the United States to face 17 counts of espionage and a computer misuse charge for revealing hundreds of thousands of classified military documents in 2010, Mr Assange will hear his fate at 9.30pm AEDT when two British High Court judges hand down a decision.

This could be the 52-year-old’s final day in the UK and hundreds of supporters are expected outside the Royal Courts of Justice to hear the decision.

If the result goes Mr Assange’s way, the court will allow a further appeal to a full court of the High Court and he will most likely remain in Belmarsh prison.

If it doesn’t, Mr Assange will be on a US military plane to Virginia almost immediately and he will be held in a maximum security remand centre until trial.

Mr Assange faces a maximum term of 175 years if found guilty on all charges, however in repeated court sessions US lawyers have insisted the usual sentence would be around five years. The Americans have also negotiated a deal with the Australian government that if he is convicted, Mr Assange will be sent to Australia to serve out his sentence.

Mr Assange’s wife Stella, who has two young sons by Mr Assange tweeted this morning: “This is it.”

Mrs Assange had told The Australian during a Foreign Press Association briefing earlier this month that she feared the US may extradite her husband without warning in secrecy and darkness without any time to act.

In one other case involving an extradition from Britain to the United States, she said US marshals took the individual within 24 hours.

She said: “They weren’t taken to Heathrow or on a commercial flight, they weren’t where unions could take some kind of action, they were taken onto a US airfield and flown on a military jet to the United States.”

Mrs Assange added: “The show would be on the other end, it would be done in secrecy and darkness. It would be done without any time to react, the kind of show would happen once he was in Virginia in United States custody.”

Mr Assange’s lawyers are preparing to lodge a petition to the European Court of Human Rights for a rarely granted emergency injunction to stop any extradition, but a decision may not come through in time.

Earlier this month, The Wall St Journal reported that the US Justice Department and Mr Assange’s lawyers were in talks over a plea deal that would allow him to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information, resulting in his release from prison.

The lesser charge would be a misdemeanor offence to which Mr Assange could plead remotely, and likely be freed shortly after any deal was concluded.

Mr Assange, held in the high security Belmarsh jail as a remand prisoner, was too ill to attend the last two day High Court hearing.

His legal worries had begun nearly 14 years ago almost immediately after releasing hundreds of thousands of war logs and classified military documents relating to the Afghan and Iraq wars on the WikiLeaks website. Fearing the United States government was using a Swedish investigation into alleged sexual misdemeanours as a pretext to try and extradite him to US territory, Mr Assange fled to the Ecuador embassy in London seeking asylum.

He was in the embassy for nearly seven years before British police dragged him out in April 2019.

It was later revealed security officials working inside the embassy had been providing video and other surveillance to the CIA. It has also been reported that the CIA had canvassed options to assassinate the Australian.

In the initial extradition 2019 hearing the Westminster magistrates court ruled Mr Assange was at high risk of suicide if he was to be extradited and placed in the maximum security cells of the US justice system.

Mrs Assange says that her husband faces charges that could result in him spending the rest of his life in a maximum-security prison for publishing true information that revealed war crimes committed by the US government.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/court-to-announce-if-wikileaks-founder-julian-assange-will-be-extradited-to-the-united-states/news-story/a0e01a8cc2d9e3f421078f140954890b

https://twitter.com/Stella_Assange/status/1772278347650806037

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80104e No.20628610

File: b022e81c18693c5⋯.jpg (293.9 KB,750x847,750:847,USNI_2.jpg)

File: 410b1a9a1857e19⋯.mp4 (9.77 MB,676x480,169:120,z0J84GxF_ZNToa8G.mp4)

U.S. Naval Institute Tweet

Mar 26, 2024

#OTD in 1941, U.S. Navy ships made a goodwill visit to Australia. The Americans were mobbed by Aussie women who broke through the crowds to give beer and sweets to the sailors. One sailor boasted of getting a date within 3 minutes of stepping ashore.

https://twitter.com/NavalInstitute/status/1772434230594679074

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80104e No.20634678

File: 3c48537830ab2bd⋯.mp4 (15.77 MB,960x540,16:9,Assange_faces_weeks_long_w….mp4)

>>20565278

>>20628594

Julian Assange avoids immediate extradition to US

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - MARCH 27, 2024

1/2

WikiLeaks founder Julian ­Assange has avoided immediate extradition to the US, with the British High Court seeking reassurances from the Biden administration that he will not face the death penalty and he will have the right to free speech.

There was confusion outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London when the decision was handed down, with many people unsure if the delay – and with further legal action pending – was good news as supporters had wanted the entire extradition case thrown out.

After more than a decade of court battles, seven years of asylum in the Ecuadorean ­embassy and five years as a ­remand prisoner at the Belmarsh prison in London, the Australian is likely to be flown to Virginia in the US to face espionage allegations once the British court is satisfied he will not face the death penalty and that he is able to rely on the first amendment of the US constitution, which allows for journalists’ freedom of speech.

If the assurances are not filed by April 16, the court has allowed Assange’s legal team leave to ­appeal. If the assurances are provided the court will list the case for May 20 for a one-day hearing, after which Assange will be extradited to the US.

“The Divisional Court considers that Mr Assange has a real prospect of success on three of the nine grounds of appeal,” a statement from court said.

“The court has given the government of the United States three weeks to give satisfactory assurances … that Mr Assange is permitted to rely on the first amendment to the United States constitution (which protects free speech), that he is not prejudiced at trial (including sentence) by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment protections as a United States citizen and that the death penalty is not imposed.”

The US State Department had previously argued Assange couldn’t rely on the first amendment because he was not an American citizen.

Assange’s wife Stella said she was “astounded” by the court’s decision to delay her husband’s appeal, saying “what the courts have done is to invite a political intervention from the US”.

“I find this astounding.”

She demanded that the Biden administration drop “this shameful case” and insisted “this is a shame on every democracy”.

Former British Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said outside the court that the ruling was “a slight step forward” because of the conditions attached to any extradition.

He called on US President Joe Biden “to drop the charges to allow Julian to go free and to speak up for the rights of journalists”.

Rebecca Vincent of Reporters Without Borders was asked if the tour ruling was “good, bad or ugly” to which she replied: “the decision is in the middle”. She said it was impossible to predict how the case will proceed, depending on if the Americans provide the assurances. She said that Mrs Assange was “really angry because this case should have been dropped, and we share her anger”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20634681

File: df0a523eae200da⋯.mp4 (13.55 MB,960x540,16:9,Assange_s_wife_says_UK_ext….mp4)

>>20634678

2/2

Assange’s complex legal battles had been followed for more than a decade after he had embarrassed the US government by disclosing war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq in 2010 and 2011. Many believe his legal woes were compounded by the WikiLeaks release of Vault 7 files in 2017 which exposed American cyber capabilities and electronic surveillance.

Assange spent seven years of voluntary detention in an Ecuadorean embassy seeking asylum to avoid investigation by Swedish authorities, which he ­believed was a front for the US to extradite him. Then for much of the past five years he has been in the high-security Belmarsh ­prison London after serving 11 months for a bail offence.

But Tuesday’s decision means Assange has again avoided his worst fears of being under the control of the United States and placed in solitary confinement to face espionage allegations.

If those assurances are given and the extradition goes ahead, Assange’s legal team is prepared to lodge an application for an immediate emergency injunction to the European Court of Human Rights to stop any extradition.

During the various court battles the American lawyers have given assurances that Assange would not be placed in solitary conditions, but his lawyer, Jennifer Robinson, said those claims were “conditional” and that once in the American justice system prison authorities could decide he has done something that justifies a change to his situation.

The ruling is a setback for the US government which has ­accused Assange of conspiring with US Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to obtain classified military information.

The US indictment includes 17 counts of espionage and one computer misuse charge for revealing hundreds of thousands of classified military documents and diplomatic cables and it will be the US case that ­Assange endangered the lives of informants and that he posed a significant ­security risk to the American people.

Assange had argued to the High Court that the Central Intelligence Agency had plotted to assassinate him and that his life was at risk if he was extradited. He has claimed to be a journalist and therefore should be protected under the first amendment of the US constitution.

He had successfully argued that his extradition was a “political offence” and should be reconsidered.

Another member of his legal team, Edward Fitzgerald, had told the court earlier this year that Assange had exposed American government criminality on an “unprecedented scale” and that the Americans had been involved in torture, rendition, extrajudicial killings and war crimes.

Reporters Without Borders has claimed the case against ­Assange – who is Australian living and working in the United Kingdom – is a threat to international journalists because America may seek extradition of any author whose views they ­object to if they successfully prosecute him.

Assange faces a maximum term of 175 years if found guilty on all charges, however in repeated court sessions US lawyers have insisted the usual sentence would be significantly shorter. The Americans have also negotiated a deal with the Australian government that, if he is convicted, Assange will be sent to Australia to serve out his sentence.

Recently there were reports that the Americans were considering a deal that in return for a guilty plea to a misdemeanour of handling classified information Assange could be released soon given time already served.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/julian-assange-avoids-immediate-extradition-to-us/news-story/fde27b0f4343fd5a0ff7841cfb92cf5d

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80104e No.20634687

File: fd0cf83fd92f3f7⋯.mp4 (15.56 MB,960x540,16:9,Julian_Assange_s_wife_Stel….mp4)

>>20565278

>>20628594

Julian Assange handed legal lifeline by London's High Court after delay in appeal ruling

Riley Stuart - 27 March 2024

1/2

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been handed a legal lifeline by the High Court in London where he is trying to appeal his extradition to the United States.

In a written judgement released on Tuesday, two of the court's justices did not make a final decision.

They said they'd give the US more time to provide assurances about several points "before making a final decision on the application for leave to appeal".

The justices wrote that if the US could not provide adequate assurances on three of nine points identified in the judgement, Assange, an Australian, would be granted leave to appeal.

They are:

• That Assange is permitted to rely on the US Constitution's first amendment (which protects free speech),

• That Assange is not prejudiced at trial or sentence because of his nationality,

• That the death penalty is not imposed should he be convicted.

Lawyers for the US have been given three weeks to provide the information.

"If those assurances are not given, then leave to appeal will be given and there will then be an appeal hearing," the justices wrote in the judgement.

"If assurances are given then the parties will have a further opportunity to make representations, and there will be a further hearing on May 20, 2024 to decide if the assurances are satisfactory, and to make a final decision on leave to appeal."

Assange's wife Stella, who spoke outside the court on The Strand, said he was "being persecuted because he exposed the true cost of war in human lives".

"The Biden administration should not issue assurances," she said.

"They should drop this shameful case, which should never have been brought."

While the next three weeks play out, the 52-year-old Australian, who faces 18 criminal charges in the US, will remain in Belmarsh Prison.

While it was good news for Assange that not all of his appeal grounds were thrown out, the fact the High Court justices dismissed six of the nine his legal team had argued was a significant blow to his case.

One of the grounds the court rejected was that the US was trying to extradite Assange because of his political opinions.

During the two-day hearing last month, Assange's lawyers cited a news story that contained allegations of a US plot to kidnap and kill their client.

But the judgement said there were no longer provisions in the UK's laws to prevent extradition for political offences.

"What is deeply worrying, reading through the decision from the court today, is the fact that Julian Assange is not allowed to present evidence in an appeal court about the plot to kidnap or assassinate him," WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson told reporters in London on Tuesday.

"I think that's absurd. There is not enough evidence, they say. Well, that has been deeply investigated."

(continued)

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80104e No.20634689

File: d0ebfcad0eff88b⋯.jpg (486.76 KB,3233x2095,3233:2095,WikiLeaks_founder_Julian_A….jpg)

File: 2d082169aa40ada⋯.jpg (275.47 KB,1280x853,1280:853,Julian_Assange_s_supporter….jpg)

File: c6d44df367462d4⋯.jpg (332.67 KB,1280x853,1280:853,Julian_Assange_s_wife_Stel….jpg)

>>20634687

2/2

The charges Assange is facing relate to material published on Assange's WikiLeaks website in 2010, which detailed, among other things, war crimes committed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At a two-day hearing last month, his lawyers argued all the information the Australian had published was in the public interest but that he was being targeted because he had effectively become the "spokesperson for a global political movement against the United States".

Assange's attempt to appeal represents his last legal avenue to avoid extradition in the UK justice system.

Although, even if the application to appeal is ultimately rejected, Assange's legal team has already flagged it will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), of which the UK is a signatory, which would likely delay it further.

While he could legally be extradited while the ECHR assesses his case, doing so would be unprecedented.

Assange has spent almost five years behind bars in London and, in a sign the matter is likely to be drawn out further, his lawyers have suggested they will appeal this judgement, meaning there could be more court hearings in the UK in the future.

Assange's US lawyer, Barry Pollack, said the country had never before prosecuted one of its own citizens for publishing classified information.

"This alone demonstrates that he is being afforded less First Amendment protection than the United States provides its own citizens," he said.

The information published on WikiLeaks was given to Assange by soldier-turned-whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Assange was living in the United Kingdom at the time of publication, and most of the charges he faces are under the US's Espionage Act.

At the two-day hearing in February, Assange's legal team argued the Espionage Act had never been used to prosecute publishers before.

But barrister Clair Dobbin KC, acting for the US, told the court Assange and his WikiLeaks platform were not "ordinary journalists or publishers".

She said Assange had encouraged Manning to "steal" classified documents and that lives had been put at risk by the Australian's decision to "knowingly publish the materials with the names unredacted".

Manning was arrested in 2010 and later jailed for 35 years, but had her sentence commuted by then-US president Barack Obama, and was freed in 2017.

Assange spent seven years holed up inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London where he was granted political asylum — something eventually withdrawn.

He was subsequently arrested in April 2019 and has remained in the UK's prison system since.

The US Justice Department declined to comment on the hearing.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-26/juian-assange-handed-legal-lifeline-by-london-high-court/103631990

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80104e No.20634690

File: d93a429ea0c45d4⋯.jpg (3.65 MB,5065x3377,5065:3377,Stella_Assange_the_wife_of….jpg)

>>20565278

>>20628594

‘His health is very risky’: Assange’s brother fears for his life

Tom Richardson - Mar 27, 2024

Julian Assange’s brother says he fears for the Wikileaks founder’s life as lawyers appeal his extradition to the US on grounds the espionage charges against him are politically motivated.

On Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), a British court put the extradition process on hold and upheld part of a claim by Mr Assange’s legal team that the US had provided insufficient guarantees he wouldn’t receive the death penalty, or that he could rely on the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech in the US.

“Belmarsh Prison is an awful place, and Julian’s hanging in there,” said his brother, Gabriel Shipton, who visited him last month. “But it’s very scary to watch him deteriorate. He’s suffering every day and his health is in a very risky position now.”

Mr Shipton said he was worried his brother would die if extradited to the US, as his physical and mental health had continued to decline over five years in the high-security UK prison.

The Melbourne-based filmmaker, activist, and bitcoin advocate has just returned from a weeks-long trip to Washington to galvanise cross-party support on Capitol Hill to push the Biden administration to drop its charges against his brother.

“I’m trying to get the US Congress and staffers to see the light, and see that this is an attack on their First Amendment rights. We have nearly 20 congresspeople from both sides of the aisle now calling on the Biden administration to drop the charges,” he said.

The US Department of Justice has charged Mr Assange, 52, with a conspiracy to obtain and disclose protected information related to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, 250,000 diplomatic cables, and the torture of detainees at Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

One indictment alleges Mr Assange touted himself “as a famous teenage hacker in Australia”, who conspired with US army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning to crack a password to a classified US Department of Defence computer.

In 2022, the British High Court approved Mr Assange’s extradition to the US to face espionage charges, which his legal team has appealed against.

If his appeal is ultimately rejected by British courts, lawyers say he could appeal to the European Court of Human Rights.

“On Tuesday, the British court said that three out of Assange’s nine grounds for appeal have real prospects of success, but they’ve also given the US essentially a month to come up with assurances in relation to the grounds for appeal,” said Greg Barns, SC, his Australian legal adviser.

Mr Shipton, who shares a father with Mr Assange as his half brother, attacked the Australian government for its inability to secure a deal with the US government.

“It’s sort of become a reflection of what we can achieve with the US,” he said. “We’re excellent at giving them our resources, money for submarines, but when it comes to defending citizens’ rights, it seems the government is pretty shit at that.”

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/his-health-is-very-risky-assange-s-brother-fears-for-his-life-20240327-p5ffjw

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80104e No.20634693

File: 93b4c0997c3d612⋯.jpg (365.28 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,Fortescue_chairman_Andrew_….jpg)

File: 4e146198a2f116c⋯.jpg (4.43 MB,5769x3846,3:2,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20600399

>>20628528

Andrew Forrest says claims China poses a military threat are ‘complete rubbish’

Eryk Bagshaw - March 26, 2024

Singapore: Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest says China is not a threat and his companies will continue investing in the world’s second-largest economy despite growing concerns about national security crackdowns, cyberattacks and Beijing’s stuttering economic recovery.

Forrest, one of several global executives in China this week for the China Development Forum and the Boao Forum for Asia, said competition with the Asian giant had increased global living standards by forcing businesses to innovate, but that dynamic was now being threatened by “childish bickering” between Western governments and Beijing.

“Worrying about China as more than a strong, determined and capable competitor is completely different to calling them a military threat,” the Fortescue chairman said in an interview on Tuesday. “The latter is just complete rubbish.”

British Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden is expected to formally declare China a threat to national security on Tuesday after the US and Britain accused the Chinese government of a decade-long cyber hacking campaign that targeted officials, journalists, corporations and pro-democracy activists.

US Indo-Pacific Command chief Admiral John Aquilino said last week that China was building up its military on a scale not seen since World War II and would be capable of invading neighbouring Taiwan by 2027.

But business leaders including Forrest and Apple’s chief executive Tim Cook remain sanguine about Beijing’s intentions as they aim to shore up their investments in the 1.4 billion people-strong market.

“I think China is really opening up, and I’m really happy to be here,” Cook said in Beijing on Sunday.

That message has been repeated regularly by Chinese leaders this year after foreign investment plummeted to 82 per cent lower in 2023, according to data from China’s State Administration of Foreign Exchange.

International Monetary Fund managing director Kristalina Georgieva said on Sunday China had to “reinvent itself” as it struggles to get through a property downturn that has caused consumer prices to fall at their steepest rate in 14 years.

“China faces a fork in the road – rely on the policies that have worked in the past, or reinvent itself for a new era of high-quality growth,” she said.

The foreign investment plunge has also been driven by national security fears following raids on US and Japanese firms in China, and the detention of foreign executives across the financial, pharmaceutical and consultancy sectors.

Forrest said fears for staff in China were “in the eyes of the beholder”.

“I have not seen that. None of our staff have had anything but a friendly welcome,” he said. “If there is the first sign of anything else, I would be the loudest spokesman against it.”

Forrest described Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s handling of the relationship with Beijing as mature. Wong met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi for the sixth time last week after all ministerial contact was cut off under the former Coalition government.

Forrest said any cyber interference with democratic institutions “must be called out and stopped” and that human rights standards had to be maintained. But he said the trading relationship also had to be nurtured.

“Competition with China improves the standard of living, provided we completely obey the standards of human rights and uphold and increase the health of the environment,” he said.

Wong raised one of the mining industry’s top priorities in her meeting with Wang – stabilising the price of nickel, which has resulted in hundreds of jobs cut as Chinese and Indonesian miners fill the market with lower-quality product. In January, Forrest announced he would shut down the West Australian nickel mines of his company, Wyloo Metals, after prices fell.

Chinese nickel producers have been accused of pillaging the environment to mine for nickel. Nickel is a key element in electric vehicle batteries and China is now the world’s largest electric vehicle market.

“What I say behind closed doors and publicly is that the global supply chains of China must now uphold the same standards, particularly on the environment,” Forrest said.

“The nickel price is recovering. But I have to say candidly, that’s a second-order priority. My first-order priority is not to destroy rainforests and marine environments.”

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/andrew-forrest-says-china-is-not-a-threat-welcomes-business-competition-20240326-p5ffei.html

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80104e No.20634702

File: 67f5b4ee456ea8c⋯.jpg (176.83 KB,1200x720,5:3,The_slander_by_the_Five_Ey….jpg)

>>20628528

>>20628552

The slander by the Five Eyes alliance is just a clumsy political farce

Global Times - Mar 26, 2024

1/2

On Monday, the UK and the US falsely accused China of carrying out cyber attacks and imposed sanctions on China. Subsequently, Australia and New Zealand also came forward to jointly accuse China of orchestrating a so-called sweeping campaign of cyber espionage. Last year, the Canadian Foreign Ministry slandered China for conducting cyber attacks against Canada. There is no doubt that this is another collective smear campaign against China by the Five Eyes alliance. This "witch-hunt," typical of Western zero-sum mentality, stirs up wave after wave of "China threat" theory for election purposes and is a tragedy for Western democracy.

According to The Times, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden has accused China of being behind a string of cyberattacks on British politicians. Subsequently, the US, Australia and New Zealand have also accused China of conducting cyber espionage activities against the West, attributing domestic cyberattacks to China. The accusations from the Five Eyes alliance are clearly a malicious slander against China. In response to the so-called hacker cyberattacks, a spokesperson from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded, "When investigating and determining the nature of cyber cases, one needs to have adequate and objective evidence, instead of smearing other countries when facts do not exist, much less politicize cybersecurity issues."

The Five Eyes alliance is making baseless accusations without evidence and making frequent statements without proof, which inevitably raises suspicions about whether it is a coordinated political manipulation.

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times that this is a typical practice of the Five Eyes alliance in conducting intelligence warfare against China. By spreading rumors, fabricating facts, and distorting the truth to smear their opponents, they are engaging in blatant distortion and defamation attacks to lay the groundwork for more intense anti-China policies in the future and to build political consensus domestically and even among the Five Eyes alliance countries. In the typical Western zero-sum mind-set, Western countries will not let go of any country that poses a potential or substantial challenge to their global status. This applies to the intelligence field as well as to economics, technology and cultural exchanges.

In the eyes of the Five Eyes alliance, the online world and digital data are strategic resources for competition. Shen Yi, director of the International Research Institute of Global Cyberspace Governance at Fudan University, believes that the demonization of China by the Five Eyes alliance is simply to establish a hegemonic order in cyberspace.

As is well known, the Five Eyes alliance is the world's largest intelligence organization, with the "big brother" US being the world's largest "hacker empire." For a long time, the US has violated international law and the basic norms of international relations by carrying out large-scale, organized, indiscriminate network espionage, surveillance, and attacks against foreign governments, enterprises and individuals. From WikiLeaks, Edward Snowden, the Swiss spy encryption machine, to the use of third-country intelligence agencies to steal information from European heads of state, and other malicious acts, these actions are well known to the world. In terms of cybersecurity, the US and the West have a long history of misconduct and are in no position to dictate to other countries. Therefore, some observers have expressed that the cybersecurity responsibilities of the Five Eyes alliance toward China are like a "cuttlefish strategy" trying to muddy the waters.

(continued)

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80104e No.20634703

File: 44d6a5c96132bdf⋯.jpg (421.51 KB,1200x720,5:3,Five_Eyes_alliance_smears_….jpg)

>>20634702

2/2

Four years ago, China put forward the Global Initiative on Data Security, which calls on countries to jointly build a cyberspace featuring peace, security, openness, cooperation and a sound order and not use information technology to undermine other countries' critical infrastructure, steal important data and endanger their national security and public interests. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin once said, "If 'the Five Eyes alliance' truly wants to keep cyberspace safe, they are welcome to join the Global Initiative on Data Security."

In this political farce involving the Five Eyes alliance, what we see is the anxiety, lack of confidence, and psychological imbalance of the US and its Western allies. In the waves of attacks and smears on China, Western politicians have shown a kind of madness and pathology. The real threat faced by Western countries comes from within, and blaming China and trying to cure internal problems by external means is completely the wrong path to take. In order to divert voters' attention from domestic issues, Western political elites have created a narrative of "democracy vs. authoritarianism," packaging the smearing of China as an epic competition and confrontation. In reality, these so-called democratic politicians in Western countries often wear the cloak of democracy while committing anti-democratic acts themselves. No matter how Western political elites try to confuse right and wrong and create camp-based opposition, they cannot hide the extremely destructive things they have done in the name of democracy.

The Five Eyes alliance conducts surveillance, reconnaissance, and monitoring on countries outside the alliance and still owes the world an explanation. If the Five Eyes alliance wants to safeguard cybersecurity, they should not hypocritically accuse others while walking further down the path of smearing, spreading rumors and poisoning the world.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202403/1309567.shtml

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80104e No.20634719

File: eacab449b53b553⋯.jpg (156.34 KB,1280x721,1280:721,ABC_managing_director_Davi….jpg)

File: 7f82fc0d645365f⋯.jpg (91.36 KB,768x1024,3:4,Dick_Smith_s_letter_to_ABC….jpg)

File: 7c7a8c13dd333d7⋯.jpg (147.35 KB,768x1024,3:4,Mr_Smith_said_the_claims_w….jpg)

File: 33276099a19b709⋯.jpg (76.66 KB,768x1024,3:4,Mr_Smith_says_he_is_pro_re….jpg)

File: f9e284f29888d50⋯.jpg (445.6 KB,1060x777,1060:777,CORRECTIONS_CLARIFICATIONS….jpg)

>>20622388

Dick Smith receives an apology over ABC RMIT Fact Check unit’s report on renewable energy

SOPHIE ELSWORTH - MARCH 26, 2024

1/2

The ABC has issued an apology to businessman Dick Smith just hours after he wrote to managing director David Anderson demanding corrections to an RMIT ABC Fact Check report on renewable energy that he claimed was “full of lies”.

Just one day after the fact checking unit repeatedly told The Australian it stood by its work, in an embarrassing backdown the ABC published an online apology at 8.03pm on Tuesday and made changes to the report, conceding it was riddled with errors.

Furious with his treatment by the ABC, Mr Smith wrote a letter to Mr Anderson and said the fact check was published to “discredit me and my comments so people will not trust me”.

Mr Smith said the RMIT ABC Fact Check report said: “Businessman Dick Smith has thrown his support behind calls to introduce nuclear generated power to Australia, rejecting renewable-led electricity generation in the process.”

He told Mr Anderson in his letter that this was false.

The ABC’s corrections and clarifications page said: “The first version of this article was based on the inference that in Mr Smith’s interview was only referring to electricity grids.

“After publication Mr Smith clarified that he was referring to full energy mix.

“The article has been updated to reflect that and to add information on the full energy mixes of four countries whose grids are 100 per cent renewable.”

In the apology the ABC also said: “The article also previously incorrectly stated that Mr Smith had rejected renewable-led electricity generation; this has been amended and the ABC apologises to Mr Smith for the error.”

Mr Smith sent a three-page letter to the ABC boss on Tuesday after he conducted his own fact check on the report which was published last week and circulated on social media.

In the detailed letter seen by The Australian, Mr Smith hit back at numerous claims by the taxpayer-funded fact-checking unit in the report titled, “Can a country run entirely on renewable energy?”

“I have never rejected renewable-led electricity generation. I am pro-renewables,” Mr Smith wrote.

“I drove in the first solar vehicle race and my current electric vehicle is fully solar powered.”

RMIT ABC Fact Check is funded by the two taxpayer-funded organisations and is headed up by director Russell Skelton and editorial lead Matt Martino.

The Fact Check report was edited by Ellen McCutchan and it is understood that Mr Martino approved it.

Mr Smith said he was not contacted about the fact check report before it was published.

The fact check also said Mr Smith has been “pouring cold water on suggestion that wind and solar – and renewables more generally – could instead lead the nation’s energy transition”.

Mr Smith rejected this claim. “I have never said or believed that wind and solar could not lead our nation’s energy transition,” he said.

Mr Smith also rejected claims in the fact check report that, “there are four countries running on 100 per cent wind-water-solar (WWS) alone for their grid electricity”.

“MISLEADING. Once again this is clearly intended to mislead the readers of the press release,” Mr Smith said in the letter.

“I am referring to a country running ‘entirely on renewables’ not ‘for their grid electricity’.”

The RMIT Fact Check said the “four countries running on 100 per cent WWS in 2021 were Albania, Bhutan, Nepal and Paraguay”.

Mr Smith told Mr Anderson in his letter that this comment was, “HIGHLY MISLEADING. “These are very poor countries where the people mainly rely on firewood for heating and cooking, and all use large amounts of fossil fuels for transport”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20634722

File: c50e2388aabe0fd⋯.jpg (197.59 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Businessman_Dick_Smith_has….jpg)

File: 03df57c19f361b8⋯.jpg (148.26 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ABC_managing_director_Davi….jpg)

File: 840e438b8a52c8c⋯.jpg (411.82 KB,750x1121,750:1121,EM_1.jpg)

>>20634719

2/2

On Monday a RMIT spokeswoman told The Australian it “stands by the accuracy of its work” and the ABC declined to comment.

But by Monday night Mr Martino had written an email to Mr Smith and said, “we would like to give you the opportunity to comment”.

Mr Smith told The Australian the fact check was “wokeness” by the ABC and “they’ve intentionally taken my really important statement that you can’t run a country completely on renewables to change that to just electricity”.

“I want him (Mr Anderson) to issue a correction saying ‘Dick Smith was correct with his statement that no country has run completely on renewables’,” he said prior to the apology and correction being issued.

“And the statement that I’m against renewables is completely untrue, I’m a supporter of renewables.”

On Monday, billionaire Elon Musk, the owner of social media platform X, formerly Twitter, weighed into the fact checking fiasco and posted, “Having government ‘fact checkers’ is a giant leap in the direction of tyranny.”

Mr Smith said in his letter that “This is very serious as it damages my name, after having worked for many years to be accepted as an honest person.

“David, the document has been written to discredit me and my comments so people will not trust me. There can be no other reason for it.

“That’s why you must take action.”

Mr Smith had said if the fact check was not corrected he would launch defamation action against the ABC.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/dick-smith-has-written-to-abcs-david-anderson-demanding-rmit-abc-fact-check-report-corrected/news-story/ab06d9624efe7e150dc2f0b3bf7fb33a

https://www.abc.net.au/news/corrections/2024-03-26/dick-smith-on-renewable-energy/103636924

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1772075177515368471

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80104e No.20634736

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20444914 (pb)

>>20555431

‘Emergency situation’: Youth curfew declared in Alice Springs

LIAM MENDES - MARCH 27, 2024

1/2

An “emergency situation” has been declared in Alice Springs, with the government implementing a curfew in the CBD for anyone under the age of 18, effective tonight, for 14 days.

Fifty-eight additional police will be sent to the area “as soon as possible”, Chief Minister Eva Lawler has announced.

“I know youth curfews have been called on before, I’m the Chief Minister now, and my government is determined to get on top of the issues, the youth issues in particular in Alice Springs.

Ms Lawler said anyone found in the central business district under the age of 18 will be “taken home or taken to a safe place”.

“Enough is enough, I’ve heard loudly and clearly from the people of Alice Springs, we want Alice Springs to be a safe place, we want people to enjoy the amenities that they have enjoyed in the past in Alice Springs,” she said.

“The scenes yesterday in Alice Springs were horrific, unacceptable and we never want to see anything like that again in the Northern Territory.

“I’m fed up with this level of crime and anti-social behaviour, the community has had enough and so have I.”

In Question Time in Canberra this afternoon, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese face accusations he had neglected Alice Springs amid one of the worst crime waves and complete disintegration of social disorder the town has ever seen.

Peter Dutton said the Prime Minister had spent just four hours in the Northern Territory town since being elected, as the community “pleads” extra support from Labor.

The Opposition Leader said locals had seen “little evidence” the government’s $250m package was making any difference improving community safety.

Lockdown after ‘absolute lawlessness’

The emergency declaration comes after The Australian revealed a violent riot through the streets of Alice Springs on Tuesday had escalated calls for a total federal government takeover of the town, with the mayor asking the territory’s government to temporarily step aside so that order can be restored to the “lawless” town.

Country Liberals Senator Jacinta Nampajimpa Price has also called on Mr Albanese to urgently return to Alice Springs.

Parts of Alice Springs were placed into lockdown about 3pm on Tuesday after a mob attacked local businesses and cars, with sources on the ground claiming it was “payback” for the death of a young man who died when a stolen car overturned last month.

The sources said the pack were seeking revenge on someone associated with stealing the vehicle, which eventually flipped, killing the 18-year-old.

The young man was serving a suspended sentence for similar offending and had been ordered to wear an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet and adhere to a strict curfew, but was riding in the stolen vehicle late at night.

CCTV obtained exclusively by The Australian shows the group attempting to smash the windows of a popular pub, pelting bricks and throwing their bodies at glass doors as workers try to barricade themselves in on the other side.

Senator Price, a Warlpiri woman who was raised in Alice Springs, told the Senate on Wednesday there was a “double standard” in Australia where the “lives of Indigenous Australians mean nothing to this government” and called upon a riot squad or the Australian Defence Force to be brought in to restore law and order.

“It means nothing, when our most marginalised continue to suffer,” she in an emotional Senate speech.

“Stand up and pretend you care about Indigenous Australians with all your platitudes and acknowledgements to country and respecting elders past and present and emerging, whatever the hell that means.”

“We have hit absolute crisis point where leaders from my community, our mayor, has called for the Northern Territory Labor government to be dissolved, and for the federal government to step in,” she said.

“We have hundreds of people rioting our streets, acting out violently, this is following a spate of violence, crime, deaths, bashing of 16-year-olds,” she said.

Senator Price said violence had escalated to “the worst we’ve ever seen”.

“This Labor government does not have what it takes to fix the situation in Alice Springs because if they were serious about it, they would have done so a long time ago,” she said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20634739

File: 940fbf788ceb526⋯.jpg (131.06 KB,1473x829,1473:829,Locals_in_Alice_Springs_ri….jpg)

File: db665fd4b196609⋯.jpg (141.51 KB,1678x944,839:472,Locals_in_Alice_Springs_ri….jpg)

File: f69244fa96f6a0e⋯.jpg (137.47 KB,1684x1684,1:1,Scenes_from_inside_the_tav….jpg)

>>20634736

2/2

Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson told The Australian the town was in a state of “complete lawlessness” and called for the federal government to step in.

“I think we’ve shown that we’re not mature enough to lead ourselves,” he said. “I’m not saying that the federal government needs to be in charge forever, but they just need to get us through the next little while, because clearly what we’re doing right now is not working.

“People just want to be safe, that is all. I don’t think that is too much of a request.

“Clearly the Northern Territory government aren’t listening, they don’t have enough resources and so the federal government needs to step in and just take control and make us safe again, quite frankly.”

He said the mob attack “goes to show that there’s absolutely no care for lawlessness in this town.”

“Yesterday was the worst I’ve ever seen, and I’ve spoken to people who’ve lived here much longer than I have, and they echoed the same sentiment, it’s the worst they’ve ever seen it,” he said.

“And then you look at the video of the people crossing the bridge with the weapons, it’s hard to fathom.”

Former NT Labor MLA turned independent Mark Turner also called for a federal intervention.

“The escalating violence and public disorder in Alice Springs demand immediate federal intervention,” the former police negotiator said.

“The situation has rapidly deteriorated, presenting a clear and present danger to the safety and well-being of all Territorians. Despite the valiant efforts of local police, the current crisis exceeds the capacity of our regional resources.

“The deployment of officers without riot training against scores of armed individuals underscores not just a local emergency but a national concern,” he said.

“Federal assistance is not just warranted; it is indispensable to restoring order and ensuring the security of our communities.”

Alice Springs advocate Darren Clark said he was considering “pulling the pin” on living and working in Alice Springs.

“You can’t live your life here,” he said.

“There were people running through the Todd Mall with crowbars and axes, smashing cars up, it was absolute chaos.

“When are we going to be able to live here safely? When are we going to be able to live our lives? You can’t live your life.”

Residents of the town have spent the past few weeks fearing payback would occur after the Toyota Hilux the teenager was riding in rolled and fatally crushed him. It was stolen from a caravan park on the outskirts of town, driven through a boom gate and taken for a joy ride.

Eight youths fled the scene, leaving their friend to die on the footpath.

A ceremony was held for the 18-year-old on Tuesday afternoon before the violent mob crossed the Todd River and attacked the Todd Tavern.

Payback, in Indigenous parlance, is a form of vendetta aimed at settling a grievance over a death, adultery or disagreement. It is understood a person the group was seeking payback against was inside the pub at the time they began smashing windows and attempting to gain entry.

The Australian can reveal the teenager, who cannot be named due to Aboriginal custom, was facing two separate counts of driving, using or riding a vehicle without consent, and had been before the courts on four separate occasions since May.

Youth patrol — a service of adults who pick up children around town and return them to their town camps — was called off on Tuesday evening due to safety fears.

For weeks, locals in Alice Springs have been fearing a war will begin between families seeking payback against the driver of the vehicle.

Earlier this month, the 18 year old’s family had been moved out of town.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/indigenous/lawless-mob-rips-through-alice-springs-prompting-call-for-federal-government-takeover/news-story/70fcc391a93e5f20122879f6d68c2feb

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

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80104e No.20634742

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20634736

Jacinta Price suggests riot squad be brought into Northern Territory

Sky News Australia

Mar 27, 2024

Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has suggested a riot squad be brought in to restore law and order in Alice Springs.

Hundreds of people were involved in a riot yesterday as people marched through the Alice Springs CBD bearing weapons.

Ms Price called for the Northern Territory government to take “drastic measures” to address the violence.

“I would like to see our authorities, the Territory government, do whatever it takes, whether they need to bring in a riot squad,” Ms Price told Sky News Australia.

“There needs to be calm, there needs to be peace … we can’t see it get any worse than it already is.”

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

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80104e No.20634758

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20634736

Politicians respond to ‘out of control’ violence in Alice Springs as pressure grows for federal intervention

Linda Burney has ‘made my expectations clear’ to the NT Chief Minister, as the opposition demands an emergency recall of parliament to toughen laws.

Fia Walsh - March 27, 2024

1/2

Jacinta Price has called for the Defence force to descend on Alice Springs after a violent riot through the town on Tuesday, as discussions of federal intervention ramp up on both sides of the political aisle.

The Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians said she was “deeply disturbed” by the crisis in Alice Springs, which has so far led to five arrests, thousands of dollars in property damage, and terrified local residents.

“Violence is escalating, and to say it is out of control is an understatement – I think it’s the absolute worst I have seen the violence in my home town,” Senator Price said.

“The people of Alice Springs are beside themselves, businesses are petrified to stay open, nowhere else in Australia would this be accepted, so why is it being tolerated in Alice Springs?

“The Northern Territory government has to do whatever it takes to solve this crisis and I think that starts with admitting that they have lost control of the situation and asking for help.

“The Prime Minister has tried to pretend there are no problems in Alice Springs, but he can’t ignore it any longer.

“He must go to Alice Springs and he must offer the federal government’s full support, whatever form that takes, whether it’s riot squads or the ADF – something needs to happen and it needs to happen now.”

Senator Price also raised the issue in federal parliament on Wednesday.

But First Nations Territorians who lived through the 2007 Intervention said they were horrified at suggestion of a return of the “draconian” and “racist” policies imposed on “marginalised and impoverished communities”.

Intervention Rollback Action Group member and Warlpiri Elder Valerie Napaljarri Martin said politicians were not interested in solving the problems for Aboriginal people, “only using the issues for personal and political gain”.

“We tried lots of times to talk to (Ms Price), invite her out to Yuendumu to discuss all (of) this but she won’t budge.”

Arrernte Elder Elaine Kngwarraye Peckham condemned the calls from Alice Springs Mayor Matthew Patterson, and federal politicians Jacinta Price and Peter Dutton saying their “solutions… are futile”.

“Kids are disenfranchised, they are angry, they are hurt…These are ‘the children of the Intervention’,” she said.

In Question Time, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton asked Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he intended to return to Alice Springs.

Mr Albanese defended his record, telling parliament he had visited the Northern Territory more times in two years than the three previous Liberal prime ministers combined.

“Just last week, Mr Speaker, I took the entire cabinet to the Northern Territory and we had ministers in Alice Springs, in Katherine, in remote Northern Territory as well, and I visited a remote community to commit $4 billion to remote housing,” he said.

Mr Albanese took a swipe at the Opposition for letting “funding go off a cliff” in Alice Springs and said he would “continue to be a regular visitor to the Northern Territory”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20634761

File: 3fd7a95dcc3093f⋯.jpg (581.89 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Senator_Jacinta_Nampijinpa….jpg)

File: d717227e287d6d5⋯.jpg (204.45 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Minister_for_Indigenous_Au….jpg)

File: c79de975ae81bbd⋯.jpg (216.14 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Federal_Lingiari_MP_Marion….jpg)

File: f45dc73456400c4⋯.jpg (125.78 KB,2048x1152,16:9,NT_Leader_of_the_Oppositio….jpg)

>>20634758

2/2

The NT News went to the office of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to ask what the federal government would do to ensure the safety of Australian citizens in Alice Springs.

Instead, a response attributed to Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, was received.

Ms Burney said she had spoken with Chief Minister Eva Lawler and “made my expectations clear”, but made no promises for federal support.

“This behaviour is completely unacceptable – it has no place in any community, in any part of Australia,” she said.

“The Northern Territory Government is taking this very seriously and is putting together options to take action in a way that will be effective.

“Like all states and territories the NT Government has a responsibility to ensure that community safety is prioritised.”

She said the federal government had made significant contributions through its $250m for Alice Springs, and would continue to work on long term solutions.

Lingiari MP Marion Scrymgour said she would meet with federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in an attempt to co-ordinate immediate support from the Commonwealth.

Asked whether federal police or the Australian Defence Force could be deployed to Alice Springs, Ms Scrymgour told Mix 104.9 she “can’t commit to that” but “we’ve got to do something”.

“I’ve been talking to people on the ground and the despair that I’ve heard in people’s voices -when you look at what’s been happening, enough is enough.

“There’s a lot of violence happening, Aboriginal on Aboriginal, and young people are getting seriously hurt here.”

She said ADF or AFP intervention would require agreement from the NT government, but she believed “it does need extra resources”.

Ms Scrymgour said there was stigma and trauma associated with the federal government stepping in due to the 2007 Howard-led intervention.

“Previously when the federal government intervened in the Territory it targeted the wrong people,” she said.

“The problem is not out in remote communities, the problem was always going to be the rivers of grog and the lack of accountability in our urban centres.”

Northern Territory Opposition Leader Lia Finocchiaro wrote to the chief minister on Wednesday requesting parliament be urgently recalled for an emergency sitting to toughen laws.

“The present threat to safety must be addressed as a matter of priority, anything less is a dereliction of duty,” she said.

“We are not a failed state, we have a failed government.”

On the emergency recall, Ms Finocchiaro called for the Country Liberal Party’s policies to tackle crime to be adopted, including lowering the age of criminal responsibility, tightening bail laws and expanding police powers.

Ms Scrymgour said she made no excuses for her Territory Labor colleagues but called for politics to be put to one side to deal with an issue “that’s been coming for some time”.

“I feel for Eva (Lawler) because she’s got to clean up the mess … we need to do everything we can to work with her to try and do that.”

https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/northern-territory/politicians-respond-to-out-of-control-violence-in-alice-springs-as-pressure-grows-for-federal-intervention/news-story/0c88b0af783919c65dd8c180cd80c99b

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Dt1vnkNuWY

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80104e No.20634790

File: 6422ad4442cb839⋯.mp4 (15.59 MB,960x540,16:9,Twelve_hour_curfew_put_in_….mp4)

File: 239d1124063c0da⋯.jpg (164.44 KB,1133x906,1133:906,Todd_Tavern_1.jpg)

File: 4c39086439202aa⋯.jpg (210.72 KB,1133x906,1133:906,Todd_Tavern_2.jpg)

>>20634736

Two-week youth curfew in place for Alice Springs CBD

Mark Saunokonoko - Mar 27, 2024

A youth curfew will be imposed in Alice Springs from tonight after violent unrest in the town.

The unrest came to a head when a large group of people armed with knives and weapons attacked a pub and walked menacingly through the streets last night.

The curfew will include the CBD of Alice Springs and apply to everyone under 18 years of age. It will run from 6pm to 6am for the next 14 days.

There will be no criminal penalties imposed on anyone breaking curfew.

Instead, NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said anyone under 18 found in the town centre after curfew "will be taken home or taken to a safe place".

More than 50 extra police officers will also be deployed.

Earlier, the mayor of Alice Springs pleaded for more police to protect the town and its residents.

Mayor Matt Paterson said Alice Springs had this morning woken up "frightened" and "on edge" after yesterday's violence, which forced some people to barricade themselves inside the Todd Tavern to escape potential danger.

Footage of the attack, filmed from inside the tavern, showed people hurling rocks and bricks at the pub. One person delivers a flying kick to the door.

The trouble is believed linked to the death of an 18-year-old man who was killed in a crash earlier this month involving an allegedly stolen Toyota Hilux ute.

Paterson estimated around 70 people had surrounded the pub, which is located a few hundred metres from a preschool and primary school.

The attack "happened at three o'clock in the afternoon while people are picking up their school children," Paterson told 9news.com.au.

Later that evening, "a group of probably 80 to 100 people … with weapons" had walked into the town centre, amplifying the atmosphere of fear, he said.

9News understands police arrested five people and seized 50 weapons.

"I can't really explain the feeling in town at the moment," Paterson said.

"It's scared, it's frightened. People are on edge. There's a large concern that things, the events of yesterday, will repeat themselves today.

"And that's obviously why we need boots on the ground. We need more resources. We don't have enough."

Paterson said he had been pleading with territory and federal governments for the last 12 months for more police resources, and that "yesterday was a prime example" why.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/alice-springs-mayor-begs-for-more-police-after-angry-group-smashes-up-todd-tavern/a1854e2e-900f-4de5-96e2-fb0c7efc821b

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80104e No.20641684

File: 530bd34f07ad492⋯.mp4 (14.22 MB,960x540,16:9,China_removes_all_tariffs_….mp4)

>>20560986

China's government officially abolishes heavy tariffs on Australian wine

Stephen Dziedzic - 29 March 2024

China's government has officially abolished heavy tariffs on Australian wine, offering a potential lifeline to an industry struggling with low prices and global oversupply.

Beijing agreed to review the tariffs five months ago as it gradually unwinds the trade barriers it placed on around $20 billion of Australian exports in 2020 and 2021, when the bilateral relationship was at its nadir.

Earlier this month, China's Commerce Ministry handed down an interim decision all but confirming that the tariffs of up to 220 per cent on Australian wine would be dropped.

Now, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing has announced it is "no longer necessary to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on the imports of the relevant wines originating in Australia."

China always claimed the tariffs were targeting anti-competitive behaviour from the Australian wine industry, but both Labor and the Coalition have been adamant it was an act of political retribution after the Morrison government clashed repeatedly with Beijing.

Australian wine exports to China peaked at $1.1 billion in 2019-20, but crashed to a tiny fraction of that after the tariffs were imposed.

However, China's consumption of wine has dropped dramatically in recent years, and analysts are warning exports are unlikely to return anywhere near the peak even after the tariffs disappear.

China agreed to review the tariffs in return for Australia suspending an appeal to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which was initiated by the former Coalition government.

Re-entry of Australian wine into Chinese market benefits both

Trade Minister Don Farrell had repeatedly warned the government would recommence its action at the WTO if the barriers were not lifted.

In a statement, Mr Farrell and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese welcomed the decision and said it came at a "critical time" for the industry.

"The re-entry of Australian bottled wine into the Chinese market will benefit both Australian producers and Chinese consumers," they said.

"We acknowledge and thank Australian grape growers and wine producers for their fortitude and support during a challenging period.

"The removal of duties means that Australia will discontinue its legal proceedings at the World Trade Organisation."

The decision means that China has now lifted almost all the formal and informal trade sanctions that it imposed on Australia from 2020, although barriers remain to the $700 million rock lobster trade, and several Australian meatworks remain blocked from the market.

The prime minister and trade minister said they were hopeful those barriers would be lifted soon.

"We will continue to press for all remaining trade impediments affecting Australian exports to be removed, which is in the interests of both Australia and China," the statement said.

Beijing has already lifted hefty tariffs on Australian barley, as well as dropping barriers to a host of other products including coal and cotton.

'Very important'

Australian Grape and Wine chief executive Lee McLean said the decision from China was "very important" for the industry and "reflected the positive outcome of diplomatic efforts by the Albanese government to stabilise relations with China."

"We look forward to seeing Australian wines back on Chinese dining tables and rejuvenating our relationship with customers and business partners in that market," Mr McLean said.

"We will also, however, be maintaining our focus on diversifying our export footprint and growing demand here in Australia as well."

Treasury Wines Estate chief executive Tim Ford said the company would immediately "begin to expand its premium and luxury Australian wine distribution in China."

"The removal of tariffs on Australian wine exports to China is terrific news and is cause for celebration across the Australian wine industry and with our partners and consumers in China," Mr Ford said.

However, both analysts and major wine producers have cautioned that exports to China are unlikely to return to the boom era of the 2010s – in part because wine consumption has fallen sharply in China in recent years.

"While we do not anticipate a snapback to 2020 levels, we do see a sizeable opportunity for our business in China and we are excited about the long-term potential this market brings," Accolade Wines chief executive Robert Foye told the ABC in a statement.

"I was in China last week meeting with our key customers and distributors including at the Food and Drinks Fair in Chengdu and I can say there is genuine excitement about bringing Accolade's portfolio of exceptional Australian wines back to the Chinese consumer."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-28/china-government-officially-abolishes-heavy-tariffs-on-wine/103644884

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80104e No.20646846

File: e66645fdbb134d2⋯.jpg (981.75 KB,2560x2435,512:487,Richard_Marles_meeting_wit….jpg)

File: 9c7c1ab33c8b7ec⋯.jpg (221.31 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,South_Korean_protesters_de….jpg)

South Korea's ambassador to Australia resigns after less than a month in the job

James Oaten and Sookyoung Lee - 29 March 2024

South Korea's new ambassador to Australia has resigned after less than a month in the job, as he faces a corruption probe at home.

On March 4, Lee Jong-sup was named by President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservative administration to replace Kim Wan-joong in Canberra.

The former defence minister then flew to Australia on March 12 to take up the position as top envoy after South Korea's justice ministry lifted a travel ban on him to allow him to leave.

But he was forced home 10 days later amid an investigation by the country's Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials over allegations he interfered with a probe into the drowning of a South Korean soldier.

Mr Lee has denied any wrongdoing.

Opposition MPs accused the government of sending Mr Lee to Australia to shield him from facing justice.

The appointment proved highly controversial and politically poisonous ahead of parliamentary elections in April, and members of South Korea's diaspora in Australia protested the decision outside of Parliament House.

On Friday, the South Korean Foreign Ministry confirmed his resignation.

"His resignation was reported to the president and it has been decided it will be accepted," it said in a statement.

John Lee, the editor of the online publication, Korea Pro, said the saga was an "embarrassment" to the government and the president.

"The main opposition Democratic Party claimed that appointing Mr Lee as ambassador to Australia was tantamount to helping a suspected criminal avoid investigation and potential prosecution," he said.

"This is a bad look, especially considering the fact that President Yoon Suk-yeol is a former prosecutor."

The accusations against Lee Jong-sup

In July last year, a South Korean marine, Lance Corporal Chae Su-geun, was swept away by strong river currents during a search and rescue operation.

It was revealed he had not been equipped with a life jacket.

Military investigator, Colonel Park Jung-hun, recommended eight officers be charged with "professional negligence leading to manslaughter".

It's alleged Mr Lee pressured authorities to hold off from revealing the findings.

After the report was handed over to police, Colonel Park was charged with insubordination.

The union that represents reserve marines told the ABC the ambassador's offer to resign was a "relief".

"We were all extremely outraged," said Marine Corps Reserve National Association president Jung Won Chul.

"Why did they send out such an individual to Australia?

"His appointment was not only unsuitable for the investigation into the Chae Su-geun case but also detrimental to the relationship between the two countries. It was a significant diplomatic misstep.

"There was a worry that the major witness fleeing might hinder the investigation and trial proceedings."

Upon his return to South Korea, Mr Lee told reporters he was back to attend a meeting with diplomatic chiefs but would also make himself available for questioning.

The ABC can confirm the former defence minister had not presented his credentials to Australia's governor-general.

Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs welcomed Mr Lee's appointment at the time.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-29/south-korea-ambassador-to-australia-resigns/103649630

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80104e No.20646927

File: 16a94f0607d7318⋯.jpg (3.07 MB,4496x3000,562:375,Patrick_Terminals_in_one_o….jpg)

Twelve-year-old boy found hiding in a container at ‘secure’ Fremantle Port

Peter Milne - March 28, 2024

The Australian Border Force and WA Police are investigating how a 12-year-old boy was found in a container being moved around a secure area at Fremantle Port.

The boy was only found after the container had been lifted, put on a truck, moved, and then offloaded onto the ground with a forklift on Tuesday evening, according to a source not authorised to speak to the media.

He was spotted by the forklift driver at Patrick Terminals’ container facility after he came out of the open machinery space at the end of the refrigerated container.

Workers who detected the boy immediately stopped work and escorted him to security personnel, a spokeswoman for Patrick Terminals said. She said the appropriate authorities were notified, and the company was fully cooperating with their investigation.

Police were called to the port at 10pm after the dangerous incident. The boy was uninjured and after inquiries was identified and returned to his home, a police spokesman said.

Fremantle Port, including Patrick’s container terminal, is declared a security regulated port under federal legislation to safeguard marine transport facilities from unlawful interference.

The area where the boy was found is a maritime security zone, where a maritime security identification card is required for entry. It is similar to security requirements at airports where access is restricted to the “airside”.

Fremantle Ports did not respond to questions about how the boy entered the secure area, whether unauthorised entry was a common problem, and how it could happen in an area required by law to be highly secure.

A ports spokesman said the Department of Home Affairs, which has legislative responsibility for maritime security, has been notified and was investigating. Fremantle Ports was cooperating.

An ABF spokesperson said it had been notified of the incident but would not comment further as the matter was under investigation.

Last financial year, Fremantle Ports conducted an internal audit of its security arrangements, commenced a “comprehensive security uplift program” and appointed a chief security officer, according to its annual report.

https://www.watoday.com.au/national/western-australia/twelve-year-old-boy-found-hiding-in-a-container-at-secure-fremantle-port-20240328-p5ffyt.html

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80104e No.20647022

File: b8cbbe893fa3337⋯.jpg (116.76 KB,1395x785,279:157,General_Angus_Campbell_sai….jpg)

File: fdf17aa6608805a⋯.jpg (132.69 KB,1480x832,185:104,Chief_of_Defence_Force_Gen….jpg)

‘I apologise’: ADF chief General Angus Campbell’s admission of failure

DUNCAN EVANS and CHARLES MIRANDA - MARCH 29, 2024

1/5

Australian Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell has vowed to push for enduring reform in Australia’s military and defence culture to address the suicide crisis that has taken the lives of 1600 servicemen and women between 1997 and 2020 – 20 times the number of service personnel killed on active duty.

General Campbell, appearing as the final witness before the Royal Commission Into Defence and Veteran Suicide on Thursday, closed his remarks with a call for everyone in Defence to “stand up” and build and protect a culture of moral excellence.

“My comment to everybody would be to know and do what is right and when you see that is not what is happening, just stand up and you will be supported.”

The commission has held multiple hearings around the country and has received some 230,000 documents, 5889 submissions and heard from 344 witnesses drilling into the complex issue of suicide and mental health in Defence.

At times, the commission has heard harrowing testimony of dramatic mistreatment of service members, including from The Reverend Nikki Coleman and former Navy diver John Armfield, both of whom grappled with mental health challenges and faced a hostile and abusive culture during their period of service.

General Campbell, whose tenure as ADF chief ends in June, pledged his “absolute commitment” to prioritise reform and improvement in mental health care in his handover brief to his successor.

“The first point, an absolute commitment to this process and to realising the total value of this process and the Commission’s consideration,” he said.

“Second, an encouragement to continue to drive where unity of force is appropriate, a unitary of force perspective so that so we can maximise the interdependent value can be realised when we are all talking about the same issues, data, strategy and doctrine and same effort to build openness and destigmatisation.

“And then I would add the effort needs to be seen over the duration of their tenure and beyond their tenure to build foundations and build out from foundations so that each senior officer … across the range of our appointments … is trying to leave their successor and the organisation better placed to deal with the issues.”

General Campbell said he saw the commission’s work as a “once in a generation” chance to secure cultural change in the ADF.

“We’ve got a lot to learn from our young people,” he said.

Left in the dark

General Campbell was left in the dark for three years about the shocking alleged mistreatment of navy hero John Armfield, admitting to the Royal Commission that he only found out about the jarring allegations while listening to Mr Armfield’s testimony to the commission in early March.

Mr Armfield lost his brother, RAAF Leading Aircraftman Andrew Armfield, to suicide in October 2011, but Mr Armfield only found out about the existence of an internal report into Andrew’s death 10 years after the traumatic event.

When the report was made available to him, he told the commission how he drove to the post office to pick it up without any support in place to help him process the findings, which he said revealed serious failures in his brother’s care.

“I was sitting in my car, broken,” Mr Armfield said.

“I’d loyally served my nation and this is how they’d given me the report on my little brother’s death.

“I sat there and sobbed. I couldn’t take it home to my family.”

Mr Armfield, an Afghanistan veteran and military recruiter, alleged serious failures in the ADF’s treatment of his brother and also spoke about a hostile culture as he grappled with the circumstances of Andrew’s death.

General Campbell, who speaks in a measured and controlled manner, hinted at an underlying anger at why he had not been informed about Mr Armfield’s case, telling the commissioners that he was working to find out why the information had not been delivered to him.

“It is an issue I am seeking to understand to address,” he said.

“I am seeking to better understand why it is that I come to be aware of this three years late but at the same time have made sure and have ensured it is written into the directions and procedures of our organisation that there is no pathway for material of that nature (the report into Andrew’s death) to be provided to anyone in a fashion that left him alone and unsupported.

“It is very concerning and I asked the question, is this a mistake or is this a systemic problem continuing? That is yet to be resolved.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20647036

File: 2aedde0545ee9f0⋯.jpg (81.48 KB,1280x720,16:9,John_Armfield_said_he_was_….jpg)

File: dd59463f2ba6747⋯.jpg (289.57 KB,2048x1152,16:9,General_Campbell_has_serve….jpg)

File: aad11560c2b5cd3⋯.jpg (103.81 KB,650x993,650:993,General_Angus_Campbell_wro….jpg)

>>20647022

2/5

The questions come after NCA NewsWire exclusively revealed that General Campbell had sent a letter of apology to Mr Armfield ahead of the General’s appearance at the commission on Thursday.

In the March 18 letter, General Campbell apologises “sincerely and fulsomely” to Mr Armfield.

“I wanted to commend you for your courage, clarity and dignity in detailing your lived experience around both the tragic loss of your brother, Andrew, and the events you encountered post that time,” General Campbell writes.

“I sincerely and fulsomely apologise for the experiences you have had and the traumatic impact those actions had on you.

“The Royal Commission is an important opportunity for Defence to further understand the complex issue of suicide.

“Thank you for sharing your account and for your continued support to the Royal Commission’s final report and recommendations.”

The diver left the military in 2023 after 20 years of service and he is now writing a book, titled Leadership Failure, about his experiences.

Suicide database still a distant prospect

Building a database to aggregate and centralise information about suicides in the ADF is still some way off, with General Campbell confirming the ADF’s plan for a database is facing thorny legislative and privacy obstacles.

“There are some key issues with regard to that database with the question of data sharing and legislation and its interrelationship would greatly benefit from the possible findings of this royal commission,” he said.

In his earlier appearance at the commission in 2022, General Campbell said a database between Defence and the Department of Veterans’ Affairs offering up a rigorous view of numbers and circumstances around suicides would be a crucial piece of reform to address the suicide challenge.

He said there had been “very positive work” on the database since 2022, but progress was slow.

No easy way to predict suicide risk

General Campbell said the ADF found it “very difficult” to predict suicide risk and target resources to any particular cohort within the force.

He said expert advice from the military’s mental health professionals recommended a “universalist” approach to battling risk in the force given the wide and changing variety of roles that may intersect with traumatic scenarios.

“We have not yet been effective at being able to be predictive and, hence, preventative in a targeted sense with regard to suicide and suicidality,” he said.

“In terms of psychosocial risks that may emerge, that may contribute to suicide or suicidality, given that those risk factors emerge through the individual perception as much as an external reality, and perception in this case is reality, then it is made more difficult to be confident that we have particular places or spaces where we can target (suicide risk).

“And also with a recognition that if there are places that we might seek to target, and I think periodically there are … but in circumstances more generally we have also the challenge that some of those factors may either be expressed by people who vicariously are generally associated in geography or in work space but are not the ones that we thought that we should be targeting.”

Erin Longbottom KC, counsel assisting the commission, pressed the General for the evidentiary basis propelling a universalist approach rather than a more committed and specific research approach drilling into particular groups within the force.

General Campbell said the philosophy emerged from Joint Health Command and its recognition of the fundamental stressors inherent in military activity across the force.

“I think the question invites the cherrypicking of positions across a force which is designed for war fighting in which the entire force or elements of it across time and space may be exposed to aspects that lead to psychological trauma,” he said.

“And in those circumstances, an active and universal approach, particularly where we find it difficult to be predictive and we find it difficult to be confident of the individual or the role rather than subsidiary or casual supporting roles and the experience of it is or isn’t anywhere across the force going to be an indicator of psychological health outcomes.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20647046

File: 839e67ec4de6c03⋯.jpg (215.16 KB,1930x1086,965:543,General_Angus_Campbell_say….jpg)

File: a2dce2eb4562ece⋯.jpg (138.74 KB,1715x965,343:193,Defence_chief_General_Angu….jpg)

>>20647036

3/5

‘Do the right thing’

General Campbell said the ADF should not be concerned with reputation management as it dealt with allegations of misconduct, saying its senior leadership and 100,000-strong workforce should only concern themselves with “doing the right thing”.

“I believe that Defence should do the right thing and by doing the right thing reputation, good or bad, emerges from others,” he said.

“And not just in this setting but in many circumstances wherever I hear people expressing concern about reputation, my immediate response is our job is to do the right thing. Others will choose to give us a reputation that we deserve.”

Ms Longbottom suggested the “timing” of General Campbell’s apology letter to Mr Armfield may have been an exercise in reputation management, but General Campbell rejected her proposition.

“The testimony given by Mr Armfield I thought was both very affecting and confronting but also very directly engaged my accountability,” he said.

“And so I felt it appropriate that I write to him. It was through his testimony the first occasion upon which I was aware of the manner in which he received that inquiry report.”

‘Outrageous’: General defends personnel who lost their lives to suicide

General Campbell has rebuked any suggestion service personnel who take their own lives lack resilience or might have “let down” the Defence force.

“I completely reject that view,” he said.

“That is just outrageous, we have let them down.

“Courage is something that like a cup can fill and then there is no more space and that person is traumatised, is deeply affected.

“So when I hear that we aspire to resilience, I think that’s a good aspiration to have but how to truly deeply measure whether it has been achieved, I think that is illusory.”

Defence boss hits back at bombshell report

General Campbell has defended his response to the controversial Brereton inquiry on the same day a new bombshell report criticised senior Defence leaders for allegedly failing to take responsibility for command failures in Afghanistan.

The Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel, set up to examine the findings of army reserve Major General Paul Brereton’s Afghan Inquiry, concluded the Brereton inquiry had “exempted the highest levels of Defence leadership at the relevant times of any responsibility for the grave misconduct which occurred in Afghanistan”.

“They were not required to give evidence to the Inquiry or included in the inquiry’s attribution of accountability for any war crimes. The lack of any accountability at that level is bitterly resented by many former and present members of special forces and the Defence family,” the report notes.

At a hearing before the Royal Commission Into Defence and Veteran Suicide on Thursday, General Campbell came under stern questioning.

He rejected the notion senior leadership did not take responsibility for the serious military failures, claiming his public apology was evidence of the opposite.

“I think I stood up in front of our nation and took responsibility and apologised to Australia,” he told the commissioners under questioning from Ms Longbottom.

“To all those Defence personnel who were affected and to those in Afghanistan who may have been affected by the credible information of unlawful conduct that Justice Brereton identified.”

The oversight panel, made up of former inspector-general of intelligence and security Vivienne Thom, former secretary of Attorney-General’s Department Robert Cornall and University of Tasmania vice-chancellor Rufus Black, found unlike civil society, Defence did not take responsibility for alleged criminal behaviour from Australian Special Forces troops during the Afghanistan war.

The conclusion appears to vindicate former and current Special Forces troops and their families who have long claimed they were made scapegoats to protect the military’s integrity and top brass.

The Brereton inquiry found that alleged criminal behaviour was concealed at patrol commander level and that’s where responsibility lay.

General Campbell told the commissioners the Brereton report had triggered reflection and reform at the highest levels of the ADF.

“The Afghanistan inquiry report was a very dramatic, challenging and extremely confronting reflection on the profession of arms, on leadership, on command and on trust between the different components of our organisation and, indeed, without our different elements of the organisation,’ he said.

“And it was extensively discussed, reflected upon and learnings and evolutions and reforms had been widespread across the organisation, and in particular across relevant areas that were identified by Justice Brereton.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20647054

File: 03695e0af8f84fb⋯.jpg (153.99 KB,2048x1152,16:9,General_Campbell_said_he_w….jpg)

File: 12a7519502b3943⋯.jpg (101.24 KB,1279x719,1279:719,Erin_Longbottom_KC_is_gril….jpg)

>>20647046

4/5

‘I am committed to doing better’

In his opening statement before the commission, General Campbell apologised “unreservedly” for what he called organisational “deficiencies” that let down ADF members during their service and post-service life.

“Our people deserve and should rightly expect the wellbeing and care they need both during and after their service,” he said.

“I am committed to doing better.”

The move to a ‘unitary’ system

The General said a basic organisational failure that had prevented the ADF from addressing the problem of suicide effectively in the past emerged in part from the military’s “disaggregated” nature or splintered policy settings and cultural practices between the different service branches.

He said the ADF was now moving to a “unitary” system, with common policy settings and expectations across the different branches.

In a disaggregated system, the data and analysis of a problem was splintered, but with a more unified organisation, clearer problem-solving mechanisms could emerge, he argued.

“There has been a considerable focus in the period of my tenure … of seeking to very deliberately build that single enterprise, integrated view that allows us to take a significant step beyond some of the inadequacies,” he said.

There are 100,000 people in the Defence community and General Campbell said he had moved that massive workforce onto a single and common foundation of expected behaviours, norms and cultural values.

He said this common foundation would increase the likelihood of improvements in a range of spheres.

“I am determined to drive change and I think we are driving change in the right way,” he said.

Battling ‘exceptionalism’, ‘masculinity’ and ‘tribalism’

Commissioner Peggy Brown asked General Campbell whether traditional cultural values of ‘exceptionalism’, ‘masculinity’ and ‘tribalism’ within the ADF might contribute to Defence’s suicide crisis.

In one instance, the commissioner suggested a masculine “warrior culture” might stop Defence members from seeking help for psychological problems.

General Campbell appeared to agree in part with Dr Brown’s concerns and said he was working to change cultural values in the ADF.

“They express an extreme, they don’t express the norm,” he said.

“We are very alert to those extremes.”

He said the idea of exceptionalism was “a perspective that is rejected by the ADF as deeply damaging”.

On the issue of masculinity, General Campbell said the ADF was working to lift the proportion of women in Defence, which he said had made “profound contributions to our capability”.

On tribalism, General Campbell said there was value in Defence members feeling a connection within their team, but if their identity prevented connection with other components of the force, then “your identity is no longer serving our nation”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20647064

File: a212a4976fc89d9⋯.jpg (213.57 KB,1772x997,1772:997,The_royal_commission_was_e….jpg)

File: f47d9db968b3b4d⋯.jpg (108.32 KB,1395x784,1395:784,General_Campbell_said_gett….jpg)

File: 00cd3bbf4bba1f9⋯.jpg (575.06 KB,1505x809,1505:809,Defence_support_services_W….jpg)

>>20647054

5/5

The ‘right’ culture

General Campbell said the ADF was embedding a common cultural foundation across its dispersed workforce, built on a common set of values and expected behaviours.

He said the values of service, courage, respect, integrity and excellence constituted the key pillars of the ADF’s new culture, with character and behaviour expectations flowing down from them.

“It is everywhere. Multiple publications, signage, lesson plans. It is an expected requirement that people know what our values are,” he said.

“The Defence Force is not separated from the Australian community, but certainly seeks to highlight the best values of the Australian community.”

The General acknowledged that abuse of power and unacceptable behaviour within the ADF increased risk factors for suicidality.

“Wherever people do not feel that they are being included, that they are being respected, that they are given opportunity to grow and develop, that is a cultural space in which the risk factors are rising and the protective factors … are diminishing,” he said.

“That’s why I think culture is so critical.”

Getting past stigma

General Campbell said a widespread fear of stigma around mental health was a key factor stopping service personnel from accessing health care.

A mental health issue can affect a service member’s medical employment classification status, which can have an impact on deployments and opportunities within the military.

The General said it was “very difficult” change the cultural mindset in the Defence community that might lead to more open reporting of mental health problems.

“This is a constant conversation and one in which things like mental health awareness days and ‘Are You OK’, the mandatory training sessions that are held, the encouragement at a whole lot of levels but particularly at the local, tactical team level of encouraging and speaking about issues and that mindset that seeking help may see you not participate in tomorrow or the next activity but will enable you to partner in many activities beyond,” he said.

“We want a community who is confident to speak of these issues. It is very difficult.”

Reporting pathways

A core area of investigation from the commission is whether reporting pathways separate from the chain of command dealing with misconduct in the military should be formalised.

General Campbell lent his conditional support for reporting options to independent bodies.

“I think that there should be a range of reporting pathways for any form of behaviour or conduct that is inappropriate, unacceptable, that is not in keeping with Defence values and behaviours,” he said,

“I think the answer is to look at the ecosystem of reporting pathways and to consider whether you think it is sufficient and to consider whether additional pathways may be appropriate or whether you feel some of the pathways that exist now should be removed and a different or additional pathways added.

“I think that one pathway is wrong. I also think that too many pathways can be confusing.”

General Campbell’s service

General Campbell has served Australia in multiple high-end capacities since joining the Australian Army in 1981.

In 2001, General Campbell was deployed to East Timor as a commanding officer with 2RAR.

He assumed the role of ADF chief in 2018.

He holds a bachelor degree from the University of NSW and a Master of Philosophy in International Relations from Cambridge University.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/i-apologise-adf-chief-general-angus-campbells-admission-of-failure/news-story/b0d722aaff0a1247061f31c0f345407d

https://defenceveteransuicide.royalcommission.gov.au/

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80104e No.20647150

File: a7e3845fc45e7b2⋯.jpg (266.73 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Colonel_Brian_Mulvihill_is….jpg)

File: b5d3af4748e5806⋯.jpg (676.54 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Another_big_year_awaits_th….jpg)

File: 98506cdd02e86e6⋯.jpg (714.46 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,United_States_Marines_on_p….jpg)

File: 1cb8d3fea56333d⋯.jpg (323.6 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,The_USMC_has_grown_accusto….jpg)

Australian military news: Marine Rotational Force – Darwin arrives

Colonel Brian Mulvihill has arrived in the Territory and told his stories of being deployed into some the world’s most dangerous regions.

Harry Brill - March 29, 2024

Military activity in the Territory is set to soar, with more than one thousand Marines arriving in the Top End for the 13th rotation of Marine Rotational Force - Darwin.

On Friday, Marines got a taste for the Top End’s conditions as they stepped onto the airstrip tarmac.

The new rotation’s Commanding Officer Colonel Brian Mulvihill said his troops were “excited” to get started.

“The marines and sailors of MRF-D are honoured and excited to continue the legacy of cooperation and interoperability with our Australian Defence Force brothers and sisters,” he said.

“Our strong alliance contributes to stability in the region and makes all our forces more ready to respond to any crisis or contingency that arises.”

Colonel Mulvihill arrives with an impressive resume, having served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Colombia over a career that has spanned almost 30 years, and is also a recipient of the Legion of Merit, and Bronze Star Medal with valour device and gold star among a plethora of accolades.

As a junior officer, Colonel Mulvihill completed an advanced Spanish course and deployed in Miami, Florida, as a Counter-Narcoterrorism Operations Officer in addition to Bogota, Colombia, as a staff officer.

The new MRF-D commander has since taken up posting across Africa, Europe and the Middle East, including Afghanistan’s Helmand Province – considered the one of the most dangerous regions during the War on Terror.

ADF Commanding Officer Headquarters Northern Command, Captain Mitchell Livingstone, said the next eight months would involve high-end training.

“I’m pleased to welcome the 13th iteration of MRF-D to the Top End,” he said.

“These rotations not only help build interoperability between the ADF and the US, but also serve to increase regional cooperation with partner nations in the Indo-Pacific.

“Over the next eight months, the ADF and USMC will conduct a comprehensive range of training activities, including humanitarian assistance, security operations, and live-fire exercises, all of which better prepare our forces to respond effectively to contingencies that may arise.”

Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles said the Top End’s continued relationship with the Marine Corps demonstrated the strategic value of the Indo-Pacific.

“The arrival of the 13th Marine Rotational Force – Darwin to Australia demonstrates the strength of our alliance with the United States, and highlights our joint commitment to promoting a secure, stable and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” he said.

“For more than 12 years, US Marine rotations have demonstrated the importance of enhancing the capability and interoperability of both nations through joint exercises and activities, and in 2024 we will continue to build on this capability.

“Australia-US force posture cooperation also attracts significant investment into Australia, including opportunities for a range of Australian industries.”

https://www.ntnews.com.au/news/australian-military-news-marine-rotational-force-darwin-arrives/news-story/72d0fcfb350de2ed06f127f150e9070e

https://qresear.ch/?q=marine+rotational+force

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80104e No.20647189

File: e23a62aa85e6b3d⋯.jpg (128.3 KB,910x568,455:284,U_S_Marine_Corps_Col_Brian….jpg)

File: 94d2cbf086da4da⋯.jpg (82.5 KB,910x568,455:284,U_S_Navy_Petty_Officer_1st….jpg)

>>20647150

Marines back in Australia during six months of training across South Pacific

SETH ROBSON, STARS AND STRIPES - March 29, 2024

U.S. Marines have returned to northern Australia to train as an air-ground task force for six months across the continent and in the Philippines and Indonesia, a Marine Corps spokesman said Thursday.

This year’s 2,000-strong Marine Rotational Force-Darwin is the 13th contingent to arrive in the Northern Territory since 2012, according to a Marine Corps statement that day.

“The Marines and Sailors of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin are honored and excited to continue the legacy of cooperation,” force commander Col. Brian Mulvihill said in the statement. “Our strong Alliance contributes to stability in the region and enables the readiness of our forces to respond to any crisis or contingency that arises.”

Led by an infantry regiment from Camp Pendleton, Calif., for the third year in a row, the Marines are scheduled to train until October with Australian troops and counterparts throughout the region.

The force will be supported by Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 1st Marine Logistics Group with a command element from 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Lt. Colton Martin, a spokesman for the rotational force said by email Thursday.

The ground combat element for the force is comprised of 2nd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, with artillery from 1st Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, and engineers from 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, he said.

They’ll be supported by Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 out of Hawaii flying MV-22 B Osprey aircraft, he said.

Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force Ospreys began flying again this month after being grounded following the Nov. 29 crash of an Air Force Osprey off the coast of Japan that killed eight airmen.

An Osprey crash in Australia in August killed three Marines attached to Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 363 during last year’s rotation to the Northern Territory.

Marines of the Darwin rotation will participate in the annual Balikatan drills in the Philippines, Martin said.

Balikatan will include 11,000 U.S. and 5,000 Filipino troops training from April 22 to May 8, the state-run Philippine News Service reported March 20.

The Darwin Marines will join Marine Aviation Support Activity, another drill in the Philippines that will follow Balikatan, Martin said.

Later, the rotational Marines will participate in Super Garuda Shield in Indonesia, he said. The exercise in September involves 5,000 troops from seven nations.

“These rotations … serve to increase regional cooperation with partner nations in the Indo-Pacific,” Australian navy Capt. Mitchell Livingstone, who leads the Darwin-based Headquarters Northern Command, said in the Marines’ statement.

In Australia, the Marines will join numerous training events, including Southern Jackaroo, which typically involves Japanese troops; Bhakti Kanyini AUSINDO, which involved Indonesian forces last year; and the aviation-focused Pitch Black, Diamond Storm and HELICON LUK, Martin said.

The rotational force will train across a full spectrum of missions, including expeditionary operations, geographically distributed communications, non-combatant evacuation operations, embassy reinforcements, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and rapid projection of combat power, according to the Marines’ statement.

https://www.stripes.com/branches/marine_corps/2024-03-29/marine-rotational-force-darwin-australia-13449283.html

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80104e No.20647223

File: e81d8afd08383c0⋯.jpg (1.46 MB,3000x2000,3:2,Marine_Corps_Col_Brian_Mul….jpg)

File: d0fe23d59f835fe⋯.jpg (1.42 MB,3000x2000,3:2,Marines_with_Marine_Rotati….jpg)

File: 308d18c378eda43⋯.jpg (835.96 KB,3000x2000,3:2,Pentagon_Press_Secretary_A….jpg)

File: 2f6058d383515c8⋯.jpg (964.18 KB,2400x1601,2400:1601,Marine_Corps_Cpl_Ty_Smith_….jpg)

>>20647150

Marines, Sailors Arrive in Australia for 6 Months of Training, Exercises

Approximately 2,000 Marines and sailors deployed to Australia's Northern Territory this week to participate alongside their counterparts in the annual iteration of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, the Pentagon announced today.

Matthew Olay, DOD News - March 28, 2024

"Over the next six months, MRF-Darwin will conduct a series of exercises and training events with the Australian Defense Force and other regional allies and partners to establish a forward-postured crisis response force, enhance interoperability between our forces, and contribute to a more stable and secure Indo-Pacific," Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told the media during a briefing today.

Led for the third year in a row by a California-based Marine infantry regiment, this will be the 13th annual iteration of MRF-Darwin, according to a news release sent out by MRF-Darwin's media team today.

MRF-Darwin dates back to 2011, when former President Barack Obama and then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced an agreement on force posture initiatives designed to significantly enhance defense cooperation between the U.S. and Australia. While the initial iteration consisted of only a small liaison element and a company of 250 Marines, the agreement intended to "establish a rotational presence of up to a 2,500-person Marine Air Ground Task Force," according to White House archives.

"The Marines and sailors of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin are honored and excited to continue the legacy of cooperation and interoperability with our Australian Defense Force brothers and sisters," Marine Corps Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of MRF-Darwin, stated in the news release. "Our strong alliance contributes to stability in the region and enables the readiness of our forces to respond to any crisis or contingency that arises."

This year's MRF-Darwin will model itself on prior iterations by incorporating "security partners from throughout the Pacific Islands and the broader region" into the exercise schedule, according to the release.

MRF-Darwin's rotation is scheduled to conclude in October.

https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/3724232/marines-sailors-arrive-in-australia-for-6-months-of-training-exercises/

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80104e No.20647263

File: dbd8b6085cda858⋯.jpg (436.42 KB,825x883,825:883,MRF_D_60.jpg)

File: 808f79b28452343⋯.mp4 (2.06 MB,720x1280,9:16,5qn8zr4GFtu8JC23.mp4)

File: f585f7ccce742cc⋯.jpg (897.95 KB,3276x2184,3:2,GJwbA5ubwAATQUn.jpg)

File: 70f06158c6194ac⋯.jpg (1009.28 KB,3276x2184,3:2,GJwbGN5bQAAEvqu.jpg)

File: fb9b3d5d07bfb06⋯.jpg (1021.24 KB,2621x1747,2621:1747,GJwbLF8aYAAM7g9.jpg)

>>20647150

Marine Rotational Force – Darwin Tweet

We are happy to be back in Darwin

MRF-D 24.3 is part of an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and Allies and partners and provide a forward-postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific.

https://twitter.com/MRFDarwin/status/1773322425213624422

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80104e No.20651703

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

South Australia government dubs state Voice election ‘strong first result’ despite low voter turnout

The South Australian government has labelled the state’s First Nations Voice to Parliament election a success despite paltry voting numbers.

Patrick Staveley and Monique Van Der Heyden - March 29, 2024

The South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament election has been declared a success by the Malinauskas government despite a disappointing voter turnout.

Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders were asked to elect the 46 members of the state’s Voice to Parliament in a non-compulsory election on March 16.

Only 2619 votes of an approximate 30,000 eligible voters were counted across the state according to the Electoral Commission of South Australia.

The Malinauskas government described the election as “successful” despite the turnout and was upbeat it set the platform for the Voice to grow in the state.

"South Australia's First Nations Voice is well on track, with strong interest in nominations and a successful first election," Aboriginal Affairs Minister Kyam Maher said in a statement.

"We recognise that the SA First Nations Voice to Parliament is the first of its kind in Australia and that it will take time to build awareness and engagement.

"We will look to strengthen engagement ahead of the next Voice election that will take place at the same time as the State election."

Opposition assistant regional affairs spokesman Ben Hood has labelled the state’s election a “comprehensive failure”, already calling for the voice to be abolished.

“The State Voice is unrepresentative and undemocratic – Labor’s Voice does not represent Indigenous people. It is a recipe for corruption and nepotism,” he told The Advertiser.

“Peter Malinauskas owes it to the people of South Australia to abolish this failed Voice experiment.”

Mr Hood doubled down on his attack on Friday evening, calling for the funds that have gone into the state’s Voice to be invested elsewhere.

“They have no mandate; Malinauskas must repeal this failed experiment and redirect the $10.5m to run it to those who need it most,” he wrote on X.

South Australia became the first jurisdiction in the country to pass legislation for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

The state government has allocated $10.3m over four years to a voice to parliament, including $6.1m to establish and support ongoing operations and $4.2m to conduct the first two elections.

The state’s First Nations Voice will be comprised of 12 representatives selected from the 46 members elected of six Local First Nations Voices across the state.

Elected members will be inducted in April.

The SA Voice is legislated only, meaning it could be abolished by a future government as it is not protected by the Constitution, unlike the proposed national Voice.

More than 64 per cent of South Australians rejected a voice last year, the second highest “No” majority in October’s referendum.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/south-australia-government-dubs-state-voice-election-strong-first-result-despite-low-voter-turnout/news-story/0eee09d1a86fd6296eb07be16e977bed

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

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80104e No.20656128

File: fe13d5d2f02739e⋯.jpg (149.47 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Meta_the_tech_giant_owned_….jpg)

File: 9dada6c56c72435⋯.jpg (367.91 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Communications_Minister_Mi….jpg)

File: 910272ea67c48be⋯.jpg (538.06 KB,2048x2730,1024:1365,Kos_Samaras.jpg)

File: 789e333af030e33⋯.jpg (95.87 KB,768x1024,3:4,Konrad_Benjamin.jpg)

>>20622417

Government and creators slam Meta’s political posts move amid disengagement fears

JAMES DOWLING - MARCH 31, 2024

Tech giant Meta is “turning the tap off” on some political content across its Instagram and Threads platforms, threatening to leave ­affected Australians uninformed, the government has warned.

The change, where both platforms let users decide what political content they are recommended to see but at the risk of blocking valuable information, went through with little fanfare and many users not realising the ramifications.

“It’s a significant concern because we know that in a thriving democracy, having access to free media and proper journalism that is subject to scrutiny and standards is fundamental,” Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said, saying it “illustrated a pattern of dangerous behaviour” by Meta.

“We are aware of the issues that involve Meta in terms of their lack of responsibility, transparency and accountability, which is only capable of being exercised when you have that market power.

“(Meta is) the worst platform for online scam (and) not doing enough in terms of online safety, particularly for children, and (there is a) lack of transparency with its algorithms.”

Meta’s News Media Bargaining Code arrangements are set to expire in coming months, with its decision not to renew threatening to inject a $70m shortfall into the national news media market share.

The company has faced criticism about how its platforms have been used to sway elections through disinformation. The Weekend Australian understands this is one of the global changes it has made to limit its influence in an election-heavy year.

However, Ms Rowland said Meta didn’t care about “public-­interest journalism” and the company needed to pay its fair share.

Online creator Konrad Benjamin, who runs Punter’s Politics on Instagram, said he was frustrated with a “ban around the edges”.

“We’re constantly at the mercy of guessing what the algorithm gods might deem worthy of blessing with the gift of their ­algorithm boost,” he said.

“Unfortunately, part of the game is literally just taking what you can get and trying to adapt.”

Mr Benjamin feared the effect the move would have on the political engagement of everyday Australians. “I want to cut through media distractions and empower people to engage with the substance of political conversations rather than getting caught up in manufactured culture wars,” he said.

“Now with the taps turned off, a lot of people will continue to remain oblivious as really important political decisions are made that hurt their best interests.”

The change comes as Meta also walked away from its main analytics tool to gauge biased content, CrowdTangle.

“It (Meta’s move) is another aggressive step towards taking on political parties and institutions,” RedBridge director and former Victorian Labor strategist Kos Samaras said, saying the company had little incentive to promote political content. “(Social media) is already a really difficult medium for any form of political advertising because the algorithm they’ve set up is quite combative.”

However, Mr Samaras said that a lot of content by domestic politicians and parties was often “garbage”, forcing politicians to improve their messaging.

“It’s the same as stuff I was watching back in 2000,” he said, saying politicians had not “adjusted to the new reality” and the poor quality of their content “limited it from going viral”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/government-and-creators-slam-metas-political-posts-move-amid-disengagement-fears/news-story/14d872c1d44f781b68716786fb078e5b

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80104e No.20656143

File: e9ecafdd372f869⋯.jpg (145.95 KB,1280x720,16:9,Bruce_Lehrmann_and_Taylor_….jpg)

File: 69c711c32964eb9⋯.jpg (192.23 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Lisa_Wilkinson_and_her_bar….jpg)

>>20575539

Ten seeks to reopen Bruce Lehrmann defamation case after ex-Seven producer Taylor Auerbach’s evidence

STEPHEN RICE - MARCH 31, 2024

In a dramatic last-minute move, Network Ten has launched an urgent application asking the Federal Court to reopen its case in the defamation action brought against it by Bruce Lehrmann, after it received sensational new information from former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach.

The application by the network will be heard by Justice Michael Lee on Tuesday, just two days before the judge was due to deliver his verdict in the long-running trial.

On Sunday, Ten filed an application for “leave to reopen the … case for the purpose of adducing fresh evidence be granted”.

It is understood Ten has been given new evidence about how the Seven Network’s Spotlight program came into possession of material it used in its interview with Mr Lehrmann, including recordings of a five-hour pre-interview meeting between Lisa Wilkinson, her producer Angus Llewellyn, Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz.

Mr Lehrmann has long denied that he was the source of the recordings, and of vision of Ms Higgins and Mr Lehrmann inside Parliament House which was used on the program.

However it is believed that affidavits have been provided to Ten by Mr Auerbach, who left the Spotlight program last year, claiming that the source of the information was from Mr Lehrmann.

Mr Lehrmann was provided with evidence obtained by police during their investigation of the rape allegations against him by Ms Higgins, but such evidence is provided on the understanding that it is not to be used beyond the scope of the criminal trial.

Mr Auerbach used Seven’s corporate credit card to allegedly spend thousands of dollars on Thai massages for himself and Mr Lehrmann, claims Mr Lehrmann denies.

Auerbach is now threatening to sue Lehrmann for defamation after the former Liberal staffer claimed the suggestion he received an expensive massage at the TV producer’s house was ­“bizarre and untrue”.

It’s also understood Auerbach is considering legal action against other parties relating to reporting of his alleged interactions with Lehrmann. At the time, Auerbach had been tasked with trying to woo Lehrmann, who was accused of raping Brittany Higgins, to agree to an exclusive interview with Spotlight, which he did. Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied raping Ms Higgins.

Auerbach was identified by the ABC’s Media Watch program last Monday as the source behind a ­series of stories relating to the appointment of journalist Steve Jackson as the head of the NSW Police Force Media Unit.

Auerbach and Jackson were colleagues at Spotlight but are no longer on speaking terms.

It was reported last week that Jackson, who had nothing to do with nor any knowledge of the procurement of the Thai masseuses, had advised Auerbach in November 2022 on how to pay back the debt he had incurred on the company credit card.

On Thursday, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb cancelled Jackson’s contract.

The Australian has sought comment from Mr Lehrmann and Mr Auerbach.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/ten-seeks-to-reopen-bruce-lehrmann-defamation-case-after-exseven-producer-taylor-auerbachs-evidence/news-story/5484441ea3c06b10ae2aa78703da238e

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80104e No.20656192

File: 6f6f7d3a8b92445⋯.jpg (226.62 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Dick_Smith_threatened_to_s….jpg)

File: 4f757bb2f00e248⋯.jpg (150.8 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ABC_managing_director_Davi….jpg)

File: c1853cc4a278834⋯.jpg (223.09 KB,1500x2000,3:4,ABC_ombudsman_Fiona_Camero….jpg)

File: fad7b8584979f86⋯.jpg (522.19 KB,1241x1755,1241:1755,0001.jpg)

File: 19da98ec9ced234⋯.jpg (404.86 KB,1241x1755,1241:1755,0002.jpg)

>>20622388

>>20634719

ABC ombudsman hands down scathing review of ABC RMIT Fact Check report on Dick Smith

SOPHIE ELSWORTH - MARCH 31, 2024

The ABC ombudsman has delivered a scathing assessment of the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit in the wake of its botched report about businessman Dick Smith’s on-air comments on nuclear and renewable energy.

The ABC received 11 complaints about the fact check titled, “Can a country run entirely on renewable energy?”, published on March 22, that delved into Mr Smith’s public statements on energy including renewables and nuclear.

In the report, RMIT ABC Fact Check rejected Mr Smith’s comment that “no country has ever been able to run entirely on renewables”, prompting the well-known businessman to write an urgent letter to managing director David Anderson demanding corrections.

But in a two-page finding published late last week, ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron determined that the fact checkers “had inaccurately asserted that Mr Smith’s support for nuclear-generated power meant that he rejected renewable-led electricity generation in the process”.

“We think the RMIT ABC Fact Check should have exercised more caution before fact checking a potentially equivocal statement (about renewables),” she said.

“The broadcast breached the media organisation’s editorial standards for accuracy”.

The ABC fact check report, edited by Ellen McCutchan and approved by editorial lead Matt Martino, claimed Mr Smith supported calls to introduce nuclear energy in Australia but rejected “renewable-led electricity generation”.

Ms Cameron found this was false.

“Mr Smith is a renowned and long-time supporter of renewable energy with many public statements confirming that fact,” she said in her report.

“While he has expressed support for nuclear power generation in the current debate around that issue, he is also on the record ­arguing about the need for a ­hybrid mix of energy sources.”

The fact checking unit is taxpayer-funded by both RMIT and the ABC, and on its website it says it informs the “public through an independent nonpartisan voice”.

Mr Smith told The Australian last week that the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit made no attempt to contact him before publishing its report, which he said breached journalist standards.

“I want him (Mr Anderson) to issue a correction saying ‘Dick Smith was correct with his statement that no country has run completely on renewables’,” he said prior to an apology and correction being issued.

“And the statement that I’m against renewables is completely untrue. I’m a supporter of renewables.”

The ombudsman also agreed with Mr Smith’s assessment of the failings by the ABC journalists and said he should have been contacted before the report was published.

“We believe that as the premise of the article was not entirely clear, RMIT ABC Fact Check should have made reasonable ­efforts to approach Mr Smith before publication, to clarify and confirm his position on the matter, before seeking to contest it,” Ms Cameron said.

Mr Smith also threatened to take defamation action last week if the errors were not corrected.

Initially RMIT last week stood by the fact check and when the ABC was contacted about the matter by The Australian last Monday, a spokesman did not respond. It was not until after Mr Smith conducted multiple media interviews and threatened to sue the ABC that he was contacted by Martino, who attempted to resolve the matter.

Finally – in an embarrassing backdown – the unit made numerous amendments to its analysis in the fact-checking report and apologised to Mr Smith.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/abc-ombudsman-hands-down-scathing-review-of-abc-rmit-fact-check-report-on-dick-smith/news-story/b69ba6c7e00a88b3b6a16249889757f8

https://about.abc.net.au/who-we-are/abc-ombudsman/

https://about.abc.net.au/who-we-are/abc-ombudsman/ombudsmans-office-investigation-reports/

https://about.abc.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Ombudsmans-Office-Investigation-Report-Fact-Check-Dick-Smith-22-March-2024.pdf

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80104e No.20660643

File: 44a9d4c493bd729⋯.jpg (45.02 KB,720x480,3:2,Bruce_Lehrmann_left_and_fo….jpg)

File: 2131ba2262369ce⋯.jpg (2.74 MB,5555x3704,5555:3704,Taylor_Auerbach_after_a_pr….jpg)

>>20575539

>>20656143

Inside Ten’s eleventh-hour manoeuvre in the Lehrmann defamation case

Michaela Whitbourn and Kate McClymont - April 1, 2024

1/3

It is fitting that a party in one of the hardest-fought defamation cases in Sydney – and that is saying something, in light of the bitter Ben Roberts-Smith litigation – has lobbed a surprise grenade before judgment day.

On Easter Sunday, Network Ten filed an urgent application seeking to call fresh evidence as part of its defence to Bruce Lehrmann’s multimillion-dollar defamation suit over an interview with Brittany Higgins helmed by Lisa Wilkinson and aired on The Project on February 15, 2021.

Federal Court Justice Michael Lee will preside over a hearing at 5pm on Tuesday to determine whether he will allow Ten to reopen its case, less than 48 hours before his judgment was expected to be delivered on Thursday morning.

Spotlight on ex-Seven producer

If Lee accedes to Ten’s application, the network is seeking to call Taylor Auerbach, a former producer on Seven’s Spotlight program, who was part of a team working to woo Lehrmann into striking an exclusive interview deal with the broadcaster in late 2022. Those efforts proved persuasive, and Lehrmann inked a media exclusivity deal with Seven in April 2023.

In an unlikely turn of events, Auerbach emerged as a bit player in this legal saga after news.com.au’s Samantha Maiden reported last month that “two Thai masseuses were booked, one for Mr Lehrmann and another for a Seven employee” in the early hours of Saturday, November 26, 2022.

Auerbach, widely reported to be the Seven employee who booked those services, threatened to sue Lehrmann for defamation after the former federal Liberal staffer responded to Maiden’s report with a statement describing the allegation as “an untrue and bizarre story from a disgruntled ex-Network Seven producer”.

Auerbach sent a concerns notice, the first step in initiating defamation proceedings, to Lehrmann on Wednesday. A concerns notice allows a party accused of making a defamatory comment to take remedial action before proceedings are filed.

Auerbach’s solicitor, Rebekah Giles, said in the concerns notice that Lehrmann’s press statement conveyed the defamatory meaning that “Taylor Auerbach lied to the press about Bruce Lehrmann being bought a massage by a Seven Network employee”.

Attack on Lehrmann’s credibility

But it is not the claim about the masseuses that Ten is seeking to elicit from Auerbach in court.

Instead, the network is hoping the former Spotlight producer can shed light on whether Lehrmann was responsible for leaking highly confidential information to Seven which was used in its June and August 2023 interviews with Lehrmann.

That material included Higgins’ text messages as well as extensive pre-interview material with Higgins for The Project, which had been handed over to the Australian Federal Police under a search warrant as it investigated her claim that she was sexually assaulted by Lehrmann in Parliament House in March 2019.

Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence. His ACT Supreme Court criminal trial for sexual assault was aborted in 2022 owing to juror misconduct and a second trial did not proceed owing to concerns about Higgins’ mental health.

If Ten can argue the evidence given by Auerbach casts doubt on a denial by Lehrmann that he was the source of the material, it would form the basis of an attack on Lehrmann’s credibility. It would sit within Ten’s broader argument that Lehrmann’s evidence in the defamation case should not be accepted.

(continued)

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80104e No.20660646

File: d15551d76156db9⋯.jpg (3.18 MB,5094x3396,3:2,Brittany_Higgins_leaves_th….jpg)

File: 5164b9a2d500dab⋯.jpg (59.36 KB,804x578,402:289,Extract_from_Lehrmann_s_ex….jpg)

>>20660643

2/3

‘A grave and serious allegation’

Matthew Richardson, SC, one of a team of barristers acting for Lehrmann, told the Federal Court in June last year that an allegation had been made by Ten and Wilkinson that “it was the obvious inference that my client had provided material to Channel Seven in breach of his … [legal] obligations” not to use material obtained during his criminal trial for a collateral purpose.

“He absolutely denies that. It is a grave and serious allegation; it is aggravating the damages in this case,” Richardson said. “They have no idea. They are fishing around in the dark. There is a very, very significant pool of people that could have done this.”

University of Sydney Professor David Rolph, an expert in defamation and media law, said that “when a party receives documents or information from another party to the proceedings, that party can only use those documents or information for the purposes of the proceedings”.

“This is sometimes called the Harman undertaking, now known in Australia as the Hearne v Street obligation. Unless the court relieves the party of the obligation, it may be a contempt for the party to use the documents or information for purposes other than the litigation in which they were given.”

Seven’s denial

When Spotlight nominated its Lehrmann interview, “Trial and Error”, for Scoop of the Year in the 2023 Walkley Awards, the award administrators were alerted by Ten’s lawyers to a potential breach of the Harman undertaking.

In its letter to Spotlight, the Walkley Foundation asked whether Spotlight had adhered to the media code of ethics requiring journalists to use “fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material”.

Spotlight was asked: “How does the use of leaked phone messages and texts comply with this requirement?”

The program’s then-supervising producer, Steve Jackson, replied: “This material was provided by confidential sources at great personal risk.”

Jackson went on to criticise the Walkleys, saying it was “concerning” that such questions should be asked.

“Responding to this request is fraught with ethical danger given it could reveal whether any of Spotlight’s confidential sources were a party to legal proceedings involving Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann; and Spotlight considers it concerning that the Foundation would attempt to speculate on, or guess, the identity of the program’s confidential sources.”

Jackson claimed that protecting “whistleblowers” who assisted in providing the leaked material to the program remained “paramount”.

“However, in the interest of full transparency, Spotlight will confirm, as it has already done publicly, that the program did not obtain any material as a result of any person providing confidential documents obtained on subpoena or through the criminal discovery process.

“In other words, there has been no breach of any implied undertaking in the provision of materials to Spotlight of which we are aware.”

Jackson also said that the program “steadfastly rejects any suggestion whatsoever that any material used in its report was obtained by illicit means” and all material was “obtained fairly, responsibly and honestly”.

Spotlight was later stripped of its Walkley finalist status when it was revealed Jackson and executive producer Mark Llewellyn had failed to reveal that their Lehrmann “scoop” had been obtained by the payment of a year’s rent to Lehrmann, worth more than $100,000.

The rental agreement was first exposed during the defamation case.

(continued)

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80104e No.20660647

File: a14bfa2751c9712⋯.jpg (8.5 MB,8256x5504,3:2,Geoffrey_Rush_and_his_wife….jpg)

>>20660646

3/3

The Rush case

It is not the first time a media outlet in a defamation case has dropped a bombshell in the form of a mystery witness long after its defence was filed.

In 2018, Sydney’s The Daily Telegraph sought mid-trial to call a woman dubbed Witness X – later revealed to be actor Yael Stone – as part of an amended defence to Geoffrey Rush’s ultimately successful defamation claim over a report accusing him of inappropriate behaviour towards an unnamed Sydney Theatre Company co-star in 2015-16. Federal Court Justice Michael Wigney refused the application.

The Rush case may provide guidance on how Justice Michael Lee will approach the application in the Lehrmann case.

Wigney said the amendments proposed by the Telegraph in the Rush case were “substantial and significant” and raised “entirely new allegations” regarding the actor’s conduct “many years” before the alleged incidents in the newspaper’s reports. Rush would have been forced to return to the witness box to respond to the claims, the judge said.

In rejecting the Telegraph’s application, Wigney said the evidence proposed to be given by Witness X was largely irrelevant to the focus of the newspaper’s articles, which concerned Rush’s alleged conduct during the theatre company’s production of King Lear.

It is by no means clear that Lee will agree that hearing from Auerbach is necessary to resolving the central issues in the Lehrmann case.

At the heart of this case is the former staffer’s claim that he was defamed by Ten and Wilkinson because The Project interview suggested he was guilty of sexually assaulting Higgins in the office of the then Liberal defence industry minister, Linda Reynolds, in March 2019. The pair worked as advisers to Reynolds at the time.

Lehrmann was not named in the broadcast, and a preliminary issue in the case is whether he was identified by the description given of the alleged perpetrator.

If the court finds he was identified, it will consider Ten and Wilkinson’s defences, including their centrepiece defence of truth. Under that defence, the media parties are seeking to prove to the civil standard, on the balance of probabilities, that Lehrmann raped Higgins.

Auerbach’s evidence at its highest appears relevant to whether Lehrmann is a credible witness and his evidence as a whole should be believed, but it sheds no light directly on the sexual assault allegation.

Whatever the result, the Federal Court’s YouTube channel is likely to be popular on Tuesday.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/inside-ten-s-eleventh-hour-manoeuvre-in-the-lehrmann-defamation-case-20240401-p5fgim.html

https://www.youtube.com/@FederalCourtAus

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80104e No.20660654

File: 0e2d29654c22630⋯.jpg (240.24 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_Tasmanian_man_has_been_s….jpg)

File: 01d61850e50fcd7⋯.jpg (442.62 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_man_pled_guilty_to_two….jpg)

File: 3a893eb4c1d10d5⋯.jpg (434.96 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,He_was_found_in_possession….jpg)

Tasmanian man jailed for AI child abuse material

GRACE BALDWIN - APRIL 1, 2024

A Tasmanian man has been sentenced to two years in jail for uploading and downloading AI-generated child abuse material.

The 48-year-old was charged with possessing hundreds of files of child abuse material as part of a Tasmania Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (TAS-JACET) investigation.

Included among the files was a significant amount of AI-generated content.

The Gravelly Beach man was subsequently arrested and charged, pleading guilty to possessing and accessing child abuse material on March 26, 2024.

The Australian Federal Police said it is believed to be the first conviction in Tasmania’s history relating to child exploitation material generated by AI.

AFP Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle said the investigation had been significant as it marked the first time police had located and seized AI-generated child abuse material in Tasmania.

“Child abuse material, is still child abuse material, no matter what form it takes,” Det. Sgt Hardcastle said.

“People may not be aware that online simulations, fantasy, text-based stories, animations and cartoons, including artificial intelligence-generated content depicting child sexual abuse are all still considered child abuse material under Commonwealth legislation.

“Whether the image is AI-generated or depicts a real child victim, the material is repulsive and the Tasmania JACET Team, along with the AFP and its law enforcement partners, will continue to identify and locate those sharing this abhorrent content and put them before the courts.”

Members of the public who have information about people involved in child abuse are urged to contact the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation.

https://www.accce.gov.au/contact-us

https://www.accce.gov.au/report

If you or someone you know is impacted by child sexual abuse or exploitation, including historical child sexual abuse, or online child sexual exploitation there are support services available. These avenues of support are available to help, listen and believe.

https://www.accce.gov.au/help-and-support/who-can-help

If you think a child is in immediate danger call Triple Zero (000), Crimestoppers on 1800 333 000, or your local police.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/tasmanian-man-jailed-for-ai-child-abuse-material/news-story/94daa6534727d612bbdee816340b50a3

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80104e No.20660667

File: b6a87a5f2c951e4⋯.jpg (46.24 KB,810x539,810:539,Gary_Bloom_who_now_lives_i….jpg)

File: 819d477e75fc205⋯.jpg (166.02 KB,1092x565,1092:565,Gary_Bloom_during_his_time….jpg)

File: 379b4136f0c75b8⋯.jpg (2.76 MB,5727x3818,3:2,Stewart_Carter_is_a_surviv….jpg)

File: 29e955ccd86f003⋯.jpg (243.88 KB,1200x877,1200:877,Denmore_Guest_House_in_Abe….jpg)

>>20098476 (pb)

>>20114659 (pb)

Paedophile ex-teacher who runs Scots B&B 'should be put on sex offenders' register'

Rory Cassidy and John Dingwall - 1 APR 2024

1/2

A convicted paedophile who runs a Scottish B&B should be placed on the sex offenders’ register, insists one of his victims. Gary Bloom, 69, was a primary school teacher in Australia in 1985 when he sexually assaulted 10-year-old Stewart Carter.

Bloom later emigrated to Scotland but after he returned to Australia for a family visit in 2021, he was arrested. Despite being found guilty to three separate charges of indecent assault, he walked free and was able to return to Scotland.

Stewart, now 49, said: "The fact that Bloom has been allowed to lawfully return to Scotland means it would be sensible for him to be placed on the sex offenders’ register.

"That would be an ideal. I can't see why he should escape those obligations by simply being in another country. He's a convicted child sex offender who has unfettered access to children who stay at the B&B."

Stewart contacted Police Scotland about Bloom, who runs a guest house in Aberdeen and was placed on the sex offenders' register in his homeland for life.

He said: "I wanted to know if there was a way in which Bloom could experience the same restrictions as he would if he lived in the State of Victoria.

"Things such as having to report his whereabouts and submit his DNA. The police in Scotland said he was not known to them." Stewart was just 10 when Bloom began to abuse him.

He said: "I was sexually abused by Gary Bloom, who was a neighbour of mine. He was a primary school teacher and a swim coach, not mine, but worked in the Catholic education system here in Melbourne.

"Multiple instances of abuse took place over months. I still have very strong memories of the offending but I pushed it away and figured that I didn’t matter enough for it to be reported.

"Then in 2019, I decided that I wanted Gary Bloom to be held to account. I didn't know at that point whether he was alive, where he lived, what he was doing.

"I hadn't seen him since the late 80s, when I was still a boy, so I went into a local police station and reported the crimes." The Australian police listened in when Stewart called Bloom, who admitted wrongdoing.

He said: "As part of the investigation, I actually called Gary and the police recorded the conversation in which I spoke to him for about an hour and a half. By that stage, I’d Googled him and found that he runs a B&B in Scotland. He also works offshore.

"And while he couldn’t remember me specifically, he said it was consistent with what he was doing at that time in his life. But during the Covid epidemic, there was no energy from police over here to extradite him."

(continued)

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80104e No.20660672

File: 9c5c2a718e46af1⋯.jpg (3.05 MB,6000x4000,3:2,Stewart_Carter_wants_the_l….jpg)

File: 3ce62666b317fb5⋯.jpg (296.36 KB,1200x1833,400:611,Stewart_Carter_as_a_young_….jpg)

File: e6faa92d3b77e7e⋯.jpg (1.39 MB,3000x2000,3:2,Former_teacher_Gary_Bloom_….jpg)

>>20660667

2/2

When Bloom unexpectedly returned to Australia in 2021 to visit family, he was arrested. Stewart said: "He was taken into custody and interviewed and charged with multiple offences." The stress of reporting Bloom's crimes and the trial took its toll on Stewart.

He said: "As the person reporting the crime, you don’t get a lot of say. I had just become a witness to the matter but at no point am I critical of the police. They did an incredible job. They included me and shared information.

"But at the trial, I really was just a number. I went from being a high-functioning individual to being unemployed and I struggled with PTSD." Bloom was found guilty in January last year and sentenced in October.

Stewart said: "Initially, he was given five years but his sentence was reduced to three years suspended. He didn’t spend a second in jail. An application to leave for Scotland was granted just before Christmas even though he was on the sex offenders' register."

He added: "He didn't take ­any responsibility for his actions. He said he was exploring his sexuality. He's now lives as an openly gay man and dismissed his behaviour as exploring being gay.

"For a long time, he was held up as a standard bearer for the gay community in Aberdeen. He marched in Pride marches for Shell, who he was working for.

"His wife married him after he offended in 1990 and went to court with him so she knows he is a child sex offender. But people like him live in the shadows. Statistically, they don’t just offend once.

"There are seven years between his known offences. He took off to work on the oil rigs to start again on the other side of the world, which says a lot." Bloom was approached by The Record. His wife told us: “It was 39 years ago."

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/plea-scots-bb-owner-placed-32483143

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cf7f87 No.20664917

https://cairnsnews.org/2024/04/01/beat-the-phone-trackers/

BEAT THE PHONE TRACKERS

MITIGATING EMF & TRACKING

Date: April 1, 2024Author: Editor, cairnsnews 8 Comments

Letter to the Editor

To beat the trackers firstly, know where 5G cell towers are hiding. This Govt website will allow you to search for towers in your area. (note that every smart street lamp has a built in 5G antenna).

https://www.rfnsa.com.au/site-list?

Though it has a recaptcha robo-checker, so make sure you clear you recent browsing history and cache before ticking the box, otherwise you’re giving them all that data.

Secondly, know your environment. It is worth investing in good EMF meters. The best amateur meters based on my research are from Safe and Sound. They have a low and mid band meter which covers 200 MHz to 8 GHz (no afiliation) – https://safelivingtechnologies.com/products/safe-and-sound-pro-ii-rf-meter.html

Safe and Sound also sell the only amateur high bandwidth 5G meter i’m aware of which covers 20 GHz to 40 GHz. It is not exactly cheap, but then again neither is a new mobile phone – https://safelivingtechnologies.com/products/safe-and-sound-pro-mmwave-meter.html

Thirdly, protect yourself when you’re out and about. From my research Lambs make the best anti-EMF apparel, incl: caps, beanies, tops, bottoms, hoodies etc. Men who planning a family especially should get into this gear to protect those little guys down there – https://getlambs.com/

Fourthly, protect your home. There is anti-EMF sheeting you can buy if you’re building a house which is code compliant and is installed in the walls and ceiling. I’ve also seen anti-EMF window film. But there are also many other anti-EMF solutions for the home. You can either do a search online, or employ a qualified Home Biologist who can advise you.

Fifth, if you must own a mobile phone, which most of us do. Then at least use a de-google phone like Clear phone which uses the Graphene OS. Simple tips are to keep it on airplane mode in a faraday bag when out and about. That gives you 100% protection and prevents mobile phone towers from pinging your phone. Remember Cell phone towers can ping the chip in your phone and geolocate you *regardless* of whether it is in airplane mode or not. Cell towers also ping the chip in your credit/debit card and the internal chip in the jabbed.

So if you’re carrying your wallet or purse, put your credit/debit cards in the faraday bag also. Also, you can buy harmonising chips which neutralise the EMF radiation from phones. I like this one from Akiko Audio, as I know their products work – https://www.akikoaudio.com/en/akiko-audio/tuning-chips/518-akiko-audio-mobile-tuning-chip-english

Lastly, if you’re concerned about the proliferation of facial recognition cameras (incl: the facial recognition cameras installed in every smart street lamp. Yes folks, that’s the disc shaped pod sticking out of bottom of every smart lamp), then check out Reflectacles glasses which are designed to fool facial recognition cameras. They make a pretty cool pairing wiht a Lambs cap or beanie & hoodie I reckon – https://www.reflectacles.com/#home

From David A

Queensland

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cf7f87 No.20665408

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

Scottish Parliament passes HATE SPEAK Law.

English, Wales, Irish extraditions on the table.

11 mins.

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80104e No.20665416

File: 30f47df2fd8385a⋯.mp4 (15.24 MB,640x360,16:9,Reports_of_an_Australian_a….mp4)

>>20550335

'Selfless, outstanding' Australian aid worker killed in airstrike in central Gaza

Mikala Theocharous - Apr 2, 2024

1/2

The family of an Australian citizen killed in an airstrike in Gaza has described the humanitarian aid worker as "an outstanding human being" driven by kindness and selflessness.

Melbourne-born Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, along with three other international aid workers and a Palestinian driver, was killed in Central Gaza while working with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity.

Video footage posted to social media showed the bodies of the five dead at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah.

Staff showed the British, Australian and Polish passports of three of the dead.

The nationality of the fourth aid worker was not immediately known.

All of the workers killed were wearing protective gear with the charity's logo on it.

Frankcom's family released a statement to media this afternoon following the news of her death.

"We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves delivering food to the people of Gaza," the statement reads.

"She was a kind, selfless and outstanding human being that has travelled the world helping others in their time of need.

"She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit.

"We are still reeling from the shock and we humbly request privacy during this difficult time."

The group was travelling through Northern Gaza into Central Gaza when their vehicle was targeted in an airstrike, Mahmoud Thabet, a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic, told the Associated Press.

Thabet was part of a team who took the bodies to the hospital.

The WCK aid workers had been distributing aid supplies to civilians in the north that day and were returning to Rafah when the airstrike hit them.

Three aid ships had arrived from Cyprus yesterday, carrying 400 tons of food and supplies.

The charity had organised the aid drop in conjunction with the United Arab Emirates, while the IDF was involved in coordinating the shipment's delivery.

It is unclear why the vehicle was targeted, and the source of the strike has not been confirmed.

(continued)

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80104e No.20665419

File: 2f5c54c43ed3f20⋯.jpg (194.3 KB,1600x899,1600:899,Melbourne_born_Lalzawmi_Zo….jpg)

File: e3fa91a342a7ee1⋯.jpg (110.97 KB,1600x900,16:9,Staff_showed_the_passports….jpg)

File: ce1fd99c00cc8c8⋯.jpg (149.51 KB,1600x900,16:9,The_WCK_aid_workers_had_be….jpg)

File: f3343818710eacd⋯.jpg (371.66 KB,1600x900,16:9,An_airstrike_has_killed_fo….jpg)

>>20665416

2/2

9News understands Frankcom, 44, had engaged in both national and international humanitarian work and helped provide aid to communities affected by the Black Summer 2019-20 bushfires in Braidwood, NSW.

She successfully completed a course at Harvard University focusing on Humanitarian Response to Conflict and Disaster in 2021.

Celebrity chef and humanitarian José Andrés, who founded WCK in 2010, called on Israel to "stop indiscriminate killing," following the reported deaths.

"Today WCKitchen lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza," Andrés said in a post on X.

"I am heartbroken and grieving for their families and friends and our whole WCK family. These are people … angels … I served alongside in Ukraine, Gaza, Turkey, Morocco, Bahamas, Indonesia.

"They are not faceless … they are not nameless. The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing.

"It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.

"No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now."

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was working urgently to confirm the news.

"The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is urgently seeking to confirm reports that an Australian aid worker has died in Gaza," the spokesperson said.

"These reports are very distressing.

"We have been clear on the need for civilian lives to be protected in this conflict.

"We have been very clear that we expect humanitarian workers in Gaza to have safe and unimpeded access to do their lifesaving work."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC he was concerned by the news.

"I'm very concerned about the loss of life that is occurring in Gaza," he said.

"My government has supported a sustainable ceasefire, we've called for the release of hostages, and there have been far too many innocent lives – Palestinian and Israeli – lost during the Gaza Hamas conflict."

World Central Kitchen earlier confirmed the attack on X, formerly Twitter.

"We are aware of reports that members of the World Central Kitchen team have been killed in an IDF attack while working to support our humanitarian food delivery efforts in Gaza.

"This is a tragedy. Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should NEVER be a target. EVER."

The Israeli Defence Force has also issued a statement saying it is "carrying out a thorough review at the highest level" in regards to the reported attack.

https://www.9news.com.au/world/australian-aid-worker-killed-in-airstrike-in-central-gaza/69263304-6e35-42c9-bd71-5cea880a4d2b

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80104e No.20665443

File: 15cde204cc7dad2⋯.mp4 (15.1 MB,640x360,16:9,Zomi_Frankcom_identified_a….mp4)

File: 0e59c4da080a509⋯.jpg (121.29 KB,711x1024,711:1024,Zomi_Frankcom_s_family_hav….jpg)

File: 045e9e9b5bc21c1⋯.jpg (295.87 KB,1367x1367,1:1,Ms_Frankcom_had_worked_for….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20665416

Australian World Central Kitchen aid worker Zomi Frankcom killed by apparent Israeli air strike in Gaza

Georgia Roberts - 2 April 2024

1/2

Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has been killed in what Palestinian officials say was an Israeli air strike on central Gaza.

Charity organisation World Central Kitchen (WCK) said seven of its international aid workers were killed by the strike while helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza.

The charity said the team were travelling in a "deconflicted zone" in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo despite coordinating movements with the Israeli Defense Forces.

WCK said the seven killed were from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual United States-Canadian citizen and Palestine.

The organisation said it had ordered an immediate pause on its operations, as Israeli forces carry out an "in-depth examination to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident".

In a statement the Frankcom family asked for privacy as they mourn.

"We are deeply mourning the news that our brave and beloved Zomi has been killed doing the work she loves delivering food to the people of Gaza. She was a kind, selfless and outstanding human being that has travelled the world helping others in their time of need.

"She will leave behind a legacy of compassion, bravery and love for all those in her orbit.

"We are still reeling from the shock and we humbly request privacy during this difficult time."

PM calls for accountability from Israel

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese offered his condolences to Ms Franckom's family and friends, and said he had been in contact with the Israeli government and the Israeli ambassador seeking "accountability".

"This is just completely unacceptable," he said.

The prime minister said Australia expected full accountability for the deaths of the aid workers.

"Aid workers and those doing humanitarian work, and indeed all innocent civilians, need to be provided with protection," Mr Albanese said.

"This news today is tragic. DFAT have also requested a call-in from the Israeli ambassador to Australia as well.

"We want full accountability for this. This is a tragedy that should never have occurred."

He added that Ms Frankcom had volunteered in her home country to help Australians during the bushfires, and had provided aid as a charity volunteer overseas.

"I didn't have the honour of knowing her, but the sort of values that are shown by someone going into a very dangerous place in order to assist mankind, their fellow humans, it says everything about the character of this young woman," the prime minister said.

"This is a tragedy and my sincere condolences and that of the Australian government go to Zomi's family, to her friends and all who knew her."

An image posted on the WCK Instagram account two weeks ago showed Ms Frankcom travelling to Gaza to supply aid.

Ms Frankcom had worked for WCK for the past five years.

She was based in Bangkok as the senior manager of its Asia Operations, according to her LinkedIn profile. Before that, she worked for Commonwealth Bank for more than eight years.

In a video posted online, Palestinians showed the British, Australian and Polish passports of three of the killed workers at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah.

Mahmoud Thabet, a Palestinian Red Crescent paramedic who was on the team that brought the bodies to the hospital, told The Associated Press the workers were in a three-car convoy that was crossing out of northern Gaza when the missile hit. Thabet said he was told by WCK staff the team had been in the north coordinating the distribution of the newly arrived aid and were heading back to Rafah in the south.

The source of the fire could not be independently confirmed.

(continued)

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80104e No.20665447

File: 2be1ed3c7f25d40⋯.mp4 (15.18 MB,640x360,16:9,The_Prime_Minister_Anthony….mp4)

File: 29049b45d6dc832⋯.jpg (136.46 KB,800x800,1:1,Australian_aid_worker_Zomi….jpg)

File: 26ccbfe8a718eac⋯.jpg (162.45 KB,1907x1007,1907:1007,A_video_circulating_online….jpg)

File: b781e5cb4f82d78⋯.jpg (404.83 KB,750x661,750:661,CJA_1.jpg)

>>20665443

2/2

DFAT says reports of Australian aid worker's death 'very distressing'

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said it was urgently working to confirm reports that an Australian aid worker had died.

"These reports are very distressing," it said in a statement.

"We have been clear on the need for civilian lives to be protected in this conflict.

"We have been very clear that we expect humanitarian workers in Gaza to have safe and unimpeded access to do their lifesaving work."

DFAT said it would be unable to provide further comment, citing its privacy obligations.

"Following the reports regarding the World Central Kitchen personnel in Gaza today, the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) is conducting a thorough review at the highest levels to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident," the IDF said in a statement.

"The IDF makes extensive efforts to enable the safe delivery of humanitarian aid, and has been working closely with WCK in their vital efforts to provide food and humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza."

'Humanitarian aid workers and civilians should never be a target'

In a statement, WCK chief executive Erin Gore said the team had just unloaded more than 100 tonnes of food aid brought to Gaza when they were killed.

Ms Gore claimed the aid workers had been targeted in the strike.

"This is not only an attack against WCK, this is an attack on humanitarian organisations showing up in the most dire of situations where food is being used as a weapon of war. This is unforgivable," Ms Gore said.

"I am heartbroken and appalled that we - World Central Kitchen and the world - lost beautiful lives today because of a targeted attack by the IDF. The love they had for feeding people, the determination they embodied to show that humanity rises above all, and the impact they made in countless lives will forever be remembered and cherished."

WCK is a non-profit, non-governmental organisation that provides meals worldwide in response to crises.

The charity had established a field kitchen in Rafah and created a network of community kitchens across Gaza.

Chef José Andrés, who formed World Central Kitchen in 2010 in response to the Haiti earthquake, took to social media to respond to the death of the aid workers.

"Today [WCK] lost several of our sisters and brothers in an IDF air strike in Gaza," he said.

"I am heartbroken and grieving for their family and friends and our whole WCK family."

"The Israeli government needs to stop this indiscriminate killing. It needs to stop restricting humanitarian aid, stop killing civilians and aid workers, and stop using food as a weapon.

"No more innocent lives lost. Peace starts with our shared humanity. It needs to start now."

A friend of Ms Frankcom's described her as "larger than life" and "relentless" in her efforts to help others.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-02/australian-aid-worker-dies-in-airstrike-in-central-gaza/103656546

https://twitter.com/chefjoseandres/status/1774947232539644286

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80104e No.20665454

File: 0677dfe98af9490⋯.jpg (218.14 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Abu_Ousayd_also_known_as_W….jpg)

File: 5bb1494becf0ab6⋯.jpg (401.62 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Mr_Ousayd_and_volunteers_s….jpg)

File: 4555c1093a0447d⋯.jpg (341.38 KB,1152x1536,3:4,Pictures_taken_from_the_Da….jpg)

File: d744c88ab2bf56b⋯.jpg (153.11 KB,876x1168,3:4,Mr_Ousayd_right_and_volunt….jpg)

File: 2615d8cd2390a6f⋯.jpg (190.57 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_physical_Dawah_Van_whi….jpg)

>>20628581

Radical preacher Abu Ousayd’s ‘Dawah Van’ charity takes to Sydney streets

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 1, 2024

A high-profile Sydney preacher who urged people to spit on Israel so “Jews would drown” and gave a series of anti-Semitic sermons runs a registered charity called the Dawah Van that he and other leaders from his centre use as a vehicle to convert young Australians and tourists to Islam.

Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, is one of five board members of The Dawah Van Incorporated, the charitable arm of his Al Madina Dawah Centre.

Since the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, Mr Ousayd has given a raft of anti-Semitic sermons at the southwest Sydney centre – which has hosted others preaching extremism – and has since been taken to the Australian Human Rights ­Commission by Jewish leaders alleging vilification of their ­community.

Mr Ousayd has previously boasted of his friendship with Australian terrorists Mohamed Elomar and Khaled Sharrouf, both reported killed fighting for Islamic State, and ran the now-defunct Al-Risalah Centre, which was frequented by numerous men who committed atrocities in Syria.

Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission records show that Mr Ousayd, alongside “Brother Ye Ye”, another leading figure at the Al Madina Dawah Centre, established the Dawah Van in 2022 to “advance religion and education”.

Mr Ousayd is listed as the charity’s president, Mr Ye as the vice-president, with three others also on the board. Its mission is “to restore the purpose of life by faith, outreach and action of knowledge … to maintain the Dawah Van as a grassroots facility that reaches out to the community to educate them about the greatness of God and comprehend the purpose of life”.

Last week, The Australian revealed Mr Ousayd was a Saturday school principal, teaching children as young as five sharia.

ACNC records show that the Dawah Van is “overdue” on its fin­ancial statements.

The Dawah Van’s social media pages – including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, which has come under fire for not doing enough to clamp down on hate speech – show Mr Ousayd, Mr Ye, and other volunteers outside Sydney’s Town Hall preaching predominantly to young men, or tourists and expats.

Recent videos posted to the charity’s YouTube channel show the group giving “advice to a moderate Muslim” and converting a “Brazilian mother and son” to Islam, filmed outside Town Hall.

Another is titled “Nazi Gangster Jews” while an October Facebook post said “Our dead are in paradise, yours are in hell”, referring to those lives lost in Palestine and, in the latter, Israel.

In 2021, before it registered as a charity, it was appealing for funding to help it purchase and decorate its van.

Senator Dave Sharma, a strong voice against anti-Semitism since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict, questioned the appropriateness of Mr Ousayd’s charitable arm. “This is a clearly problematic individual, who is creating social division and spreading a message of hate and intolerance, completely at odds with Australian values, to children and the vulnerable,” he said.

The Australian has previously revealed that police dropped investigations into Mr Ousayd and his centre after a series of anti-­Semitic sermons, something Senator Sharma has criticised.

“The NSW authorities’ refusal to act is incomprehensible,” he said. “It is costing our society. What is it they are afraid of?”

In March, the Executive Council of Australian Jewry lodged a vilification complaint against Mr Ousayd and the Al Madina Dawah Centre at the Australian Human Rights Commission after the preacher gave a series of anti-­Semitic sermons that called Jewish people “descendants of pigs and monkeys”, recited parables about their death, and peddled anti-Semitic tropes.

“It’s regrettable that governments and law enforcement agencies have failed to show proper leadership … and that it has fallen to our community to stand up to hatemongers,” ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim previously told The Australian.

Mr Ousayd, the centre, and the Dawah Van all post content to Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, including anti-Israel and anti-­Semitic content, and one recent post that called homosexuals “major sinners”.

Mr Ousayd and the centre have been contacted for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/radical-preacher-abu-ousayds-dawah-van-charity-takes-to-sydney-streets/news-story/f4d3287c61492f86fcd6ef9144ce636b

https://www.youtube.com/@thedawahvan

https://www.instagram.com/thedawahvan/

https://www.facebook.com/thedawahvan

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70e08f No.20665456

>>20665416

This is a setup to pressure Netanyahu into a ceasefire.

Journalist Damien Ryan, like CNN and other worldwide MSM' intel experts is an agent specializing in these sorts of international "matters".

He doesn't say who targeted their vehicle? They leave the public to assume Israel did it, but don't accuse either side.

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80104e No.20665462

File: a3c78486a1c7b70⋯.jpg (338.98 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australian_soldiers_under_….jpg)

File: 5e4ac9849611188⋯.jpg (272.55 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Major_Michael_Jack.jpg)

File: 910ab6e60a77db6⋯.jpg (182.09 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Australian_Defence_For….jpg)

File: b882603e315e85f⋯.jpg (219.02 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Australian_Defence_For….jpg)

File: da5c0fc41926d2e⋯.jpg (363.45 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Australian_Defence_For….jpg)

World of warcraft: Australians in England teach Ukrainians how to defeat Russia

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - APRIL 1, 2024

In a military camp in the east of England, Australian Defence Force personnel are barking orders. Cries of “get down”, “quick, quick” echo along a smoke-filled street with a realistic looking medical centre and pub.

The team of Ukrainian soldiers has just breached the door of a mock house – quaintly called “door appreciation” – and under the protective cover of their compatriots they check for booby traps, and storm inside to capture “the enemy”. Rounds of gunfire are heard as the team expertly clears the area.

It takes less than a minute and then the team prepares for an assault on the property next door.

Watching with a keen eye is Major Michael Jack from the 7th Battalion Royal ­Australian Regiment: the only ­soldier here given permission to speak and to show his face. This is Operation Interflex, the British-led mission to train members of the AFU (Force Ukraine) that has been in operation since June 2022.

Australia joined the training coalition in January 2023 under Operation Kudu as part of the country’s $910m in overall assistance to Ukraine, including $730m in military support.

Until the beginning of the year Australian troops conducted basic infantry skill training for Ukrainians, many of whom had no experience with a gun.

But they have now taken over from the British the instruction for more advanced and specialised training for hand-picked Ukrainian veterans.

“We make the exercises as ­realistic as possible,” Major Jack said in between lobbed smoke bombs, ear-splitting gunfire and lines of men moving swiftly along fences and building perimeters.

Down one lane is a two-car crash and piles of rubble, fences, stairs and other obstacles such as bins – meaning the Ukrainians have to be nimble of foot. On the day The Australian visits, the Ukrainians have begun urban warfare training before breakfast and they will go through until sunset.

They appear to be diligent and concentrate carefully on the tasks they are set. “Our learning ­approach is to get out and do it,’’ Major Jack said.

He said the teachings were two-way, for the Australians were getting first-hand knowledge of drones and anti-drone warfare and also trench warfare.

The Australian training over the weekend took on a new urgency as an emboldened Russian President Vladimir Putin – secure in a fifth term and emulating ­Stalin’s decades-long rule – turned his eye back to his attempt to crush Ukraine.

“I remember a photo from my childhood that hung in my family’s house,” Mr Tusk told Welt am Sonntag, a German newspaper. “It showed Sopot beach (near Gdansk on the Baltic coast) full of laughing people. It was taken on August 31, 1939. A few hours later the Second World War began 5km away. I know it sounds devastating, especially for the younger generation, but we have to get used to the fact that a new era has begun: the pre-war period. I’m not exaggerating: it gets clearer every day.”

And last week, Mr Putin ramped up his baseless claims that the Ukrainian government has links to the Islamist terrorists who killed at least 137 people at the Moscow Concert Hall last week.

Kyiv has also been under renewed missile attacks from Russian forces in the past two days.

As the war rages on, 80 members of the Adelaide-based regiment are in this British ministry of defence camp to train hundreds of Ukrainians in three specialist tranches of instruction for Ukrainian leaders. The Australians are instructing five-week battle course training modules for section commanders, and platoon and company sergeants, and then 10 weeks with the platoon commanders.

Another 20 Finnish instructors are working alongside the Australians to help skill up the Ukrainians, some as old as 50, who will be redeployed within weeks to the Ukrainian front lines.

The 7th Battalion RAR arrived in January to frosts and frozen ground, but it hasn’t been as cold as the Ukrainian winter.

The UK has now committed more than £7bn ($13.5bn) of military support to help Ukraine defend itself against Putin’s illegal invasion, supplying nearly 400,000 artillery shells and more than four million rounds of small-arms ammunition in the past two years. Also in the past two years, 36,000 Ukrainians have received instruction through Operation Interflex in training conducted by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Sweden, Lithuania, the Netherlands and Romania.

The most recent British efforts include training 10 Ukrainian pilots in basic flying, ground school, instrument training and advance formation flying as well as English language skills before they head to France to be specifically trained in flying F-16s.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/world-of-warcraft-australians-in-england-teach-ukrainians-how-to-defeat-russia/news-story/fb6d58b55c0b226504fc12ee0b39eb44

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70e08f No.20665463

File: 1f26643be8752f2⋯.png (1.65 MB,1600x900,16:9,ClipboardImage.png)

Why does he say Irish Passport when it's clearly Polish? Can't even read his script properly. Sloppy agent.

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70e08f No.20665466

File: dd9ec403fe3edce⋯.png (623.25 KB,857x1200,857:1200,ClipboardImage.png)

>>20665462

>Australians in England teach Ukrainians how to defeat Russia

KEK

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80104e No.20665469

File: 83fa8072fbdae9b⋯.jpg (184.73 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 7c5a64968677522⋯.jpg (270.52 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: fe4a1ccce7c4dcd⋯.jpg (219.84 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Chinese_Foreign_Minister_W….jpg)

File: 26c5c63a290b64f⋯.jpg (195.1 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Australia_has_also_been_tr….jpg)

>>20565284

>>20600399

>>20634693

China steps up business embrace even as Australian tension persists

WILL GLASGOW - APRIL 1, 2024

Beijing has marked Australia a priority location for Chinese businesses to expand while calling for the Albanese government to be more “rational” in its treatment of investment from China.

In a striking sign of the improvement in the bilateral relationship, Beijing’s influential China Council for the Promotion of International Trade declared over the Easter long weekend that many Chinese businesses were now looking to expand in Australia.

The top Chinese government trade promotion agency – described by one business figure as “Austrade on steroids” – said China and Australia’s economies were “highly complementary and have huge potential”.

“Australia is one of the important destinations for Chinese enterprises to expand overseas,” said Yang Fan, a spokeswoman at the Chinese trade agency.

China’s outreach – made just hours after Beijing announced the end of its crippling Australian wine tariffs – comes after more than half a decade of warnings from Beijing during the Turnbull and Morrison governments about what China’s government said were hostile “anti-China” policy settings.

The positive signalling is being welcomed by the China-focused Australian business community, but it is getting a more guarded ­response by many policy makers in Canberra.

Despite the improved tone and last year’s record trade numbers, deep structural tensions continue. Last week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong called out the “persistent targeting of democratic institutions” by Chinese state-backed cyber hackers. The next day, the Australian government raised its “serious concerns” about China’s harassment of Philippines vessels in the South China Sea.

Lowy Institute senior fellow Richard McGregor has described the Australia-China dynamic as “embracing, while fighting”.

In the latest example of China’s embrace, The Australian can reveal Ren Hongbin, chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, will lead a 100-member Chinese business delegation to Sydney in mid-April to explore commercial opportunities with Australian partners. The event is being hosted by the Australian-China Business Council, which recently co-ordinated a closed-door roundtable with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Mr Ren will also visit Canberra to meet government officials and liaise with the Chinese embassy. His trip comes ahead of a visit by Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

A fortnight before Mr Ren’s visit, his trade organisation released a report talking up the opportunities for Chinese bus­inesses in Australia. The Australian Business Environment Report said its members were “relatively optimistic” about opportunities in Australia.

The government report found 57.5 per cent of surveyed Chinese companies had profitable operations in Australia. Almost half said they planned to expand their Australian operations.

However, the Chinese businesses complained about a lack of “rationality” in Australia’s foreign investment regime, a longstanding frustration. They also criticised Australian “preferential policies”. Those complaints came after Canberra’s Anti-Dumping Commission recommended a continuation of tariffs on rail wheels made by Chinese manufacturers.

Australia has also been trying to send positive signals back to our biggest trading partner. Xavier Simonet, the CEO of Austrade, and Australia’s ambassador in China, Scott Dewar, last week joined a group of senior Australian business figures at the Boao Forum on China’s Hainan island.

The Australian delegation included Fortescue executive chairman Andrew Forrest, Australia China Business Council president David Olsson, Team Global Express CEO Christine Holgate, and executives from Telstra, Macquarie and HSBC Australia.

They held a closed-door meeting with Chinese business figures, including Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank chairman Jin Liqun and executives from solar panel manufacturer Trina Solar, Longi Green Energy and Hunan Iron & Steel Group.

For a consecutive fifth year, no Australian media were allowed to attend Boao, which some refer to as “Asia’s Davos”.

Mr Olsson, the Hong Kong-based international director of law firm King & Wood Mallesons, said there had been a notable change in the sentiment of businesses navigating the Australia-China relationship, although he added that both sides were “pragmatic and realistic” about ongoing limitations.

“The fact we’ve got people talking about commercial deals now is very different from 12 months ago,” Mr Olsson told The Australian.

“I expect that we will see some tangible progress in coming months,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/china-steps-up-business-embrace-even-as-australian-tension-persists/news-story/04e67c9ee92c3a4262e352183a28120d

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80104e No.20665486

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20575587

>>20617427

Australian media urged to play a more positive role in promoting cooperation, peace as they enhance sneaky maneuvers in PICs to smear China

Leng Shumei and Shan Jie - Apr 01, 2024

1/3

Some Western media outlets have been sparing no effort to smear China's cooperation with South Pacific Island Countries (PICs). In a recent move, 60 Minutes Australia released a video program entitled "China's dirty tactics to control Pacific" on March 24 to further smear normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Fiji. The video alleges that behind this cooperation are China and Chinese businesspeople who are "supporting drug trafficking organizations in Fiji" and are seeking as much influence as possible in the island nation.

The video and the following reports are based on lies, speculations, and presumptions of guilt and are full of ideological bias and distortion of facts, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji said in a statement on March 26. He firmly denounced the video and the subsequent reports in the statement. The spokesperson made clarifications in response to the trumped-up charges claimed in the video one by one.

For decades, Australia, the "manager" of the US in their perceived South Pacific region "backyard," has blatantly projected its expansive hegemony by treating the PICs as its vassal states.

Although the region has been "neglected" by the US and Australia for a long time, when China attempts to cultivate normal cooperation and economic exchanges there, Canberra, Washington, as well as their allies resort to unrelenting hysteric attacks against China.

In 2022, their target was the security pact between China and the Solomon Islands. Recently, they turned their focus to Fiji, which is considered the leader of the PICs, especially by Australia, which views this region as a power range that must be contested and protected.

Efforts by some Australian media sources to "spread" Western democratic values and increase their external propaganda in Fiji are increasing, the Global Times learned from some sources in Fiji, who are direct witnesses to the Australian media's sneaky maneuvers to sow discord between Fiji and China.

Reports based on a deliberate distortion of facts would not only erode the credibility of these media outlets but also threaten to destabilize regional peace and development, analysts warned. They called for certain Australian media outlets to return to the right track of playing a more positive role in promoting cooperation and regional peace rather than stirring up trouble.

Same old tricks

Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka put on hold the decade-old police cooperation between Fiji and China shortly after forming his government in December 2022, citing differences in policing, investigations, and legal systems.

After reviewing a policing cooperation deal with China for one year, Fiji decided to maintain the cooperation despite mounting pressure from the US and Australia. The Chinese Embassy in Fiji confirmed this information with the Global Times on March 17. The move reflects that such cooperation, fundamentally different from that with Western countries, stems from the strong demand of the PICs, Chinese experts said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20665491

File: 814e37899c6188a⋯.jpg (3.73 MB,1114x3311,1114:3311,The_Chinese_Embassy_in_Fij….jpg)

File: 1280cd5173c71a5⋯.jpg (355.46 KB,750x773,750:773,CEIF_1.jpg)

File: 9a6a128ae7c940f⋯.mp4 (11.38 MB,640x360,16:9,_oPic6Z9yfoZ64zb.mp4)

>>20665486

2/3

The above-mentioned 60 Minutes Australia video discredited the China-Fiji police cooperation as a way to conduct "mass kidnapping" and "exert power in the region."

"This allegation disregards facts in favor of a hidden agenda. It is a demonization and malicious distortion of normal cooperation between China and Fiji," the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji said on March 26, firmly refuting the video's claims in the statement.

Police cooperation is just the latest excuse being used by Australian media outlets to smear China's cooperation with the PICs in their constant promotion of the "China threat" theory.

"They [Australian media] usually portray China's normal exchanges and cooperation with the PICs as a means for major powers to seek power in geopolitical competition, insinuating that China is interfering in the internal affairs of the island countries and eroding their sovereignty," a source who requested anonymity told the Global Times, referring to the negative portrayal of Fiji's participation in the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as a prominent example of how Australian media outlets always claim that China's infrastructure projects are setting "debt traps" for the island countries.

Another similar old trick used by some Australian media outlets and officials is to draw parallels between Western and Eastern ideologies by emphasizing Australia's Vuvale Partnership, or family partnership, with Fijians, emphasizing the shared values of "democracy and freedom." This move, as experts said, is aimed at creating doubts about or distancing from China's political system and ideology.

Some Australian media outlets have also accused China of manipulating agents - for example, Zhao Fugang, a businessman featured in the 60 Minutes Australia program - to increase penetration in Fiji, engaged in crimes with Western competitors like the US and Australia.

In a response to the 60 Minutes Australia, the Chinese Embassy in Fiji noted that Zhao is a Fijian national and his activities and operations in Fiji should be addressed to the Fijian government.

The Chinese Embassy stressed that 60 Minutes Australia's suspicion of the relationship between the Chinese government and the Chinese community in Fiji is entirely groundless.

Real dirty tactics

The above-mentioned attacks are baseless and always predicated upon unsubstantiated information and even lies, experts pointed out.

The Global Times found that, in these kinds of reports, Australian media outlets usually quote information from certain intelligence agencies whose authenticity cannot be confirmed.

Based on information from unknown sources, these media outlets take things out of context, and piece together a false news story. They then virally spread these reports via diverse channels, including television, radio, documentaries, and social media platforms.

Many Australian media outlets, such as the Sydney Morning Herald and most recently Channel 9 news, also work together to create a matrix effect by reporting on the same issue at the same period of time.

Australian media outlets also maintain close cooperation with Fiji's local media outlets to ensure that these reports spread to Fiji. Local mainstream media outlets in Fiji have signed cooperation agreements with various Australian media outlets, resulting in a wide coverage range. In addition to high-level exchanges, there are also exchanges of film and television products such as TV series and documentaries.

The world news section of Fijian media outlets mainly consists of reports from Western media outlets such as the BBC and ABC, with very little original reporting from Fijian media sources. This can lead to a lot of negative publicity in the world news section, experts pointed out.

(continued)

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80104e No.20665492

File: 7e4889d21747675⋯.jpg (339.88 KB,750x773,750:773,CEIF_2.jpg)

File: ba88aea2acee55d⋯.mp4 (15.04 MB,640x360,16:9,KzN0mYDcFxDAmAce_1.mp4)

>>20665491

3/3

Australian media outlets also provide a lot of assistance to Fijian media, such as purchasing equipment or exchanging film and television resources, due to lower media capabilities in Fiji. This assistance is valuable to them, and they will often publish whatever is provided by Australian media outlets. Training and exchange programs also penetrate the upper levels of Fijian media, influencing the stance of the newspapers, a local insider close to the matter told the Global Times.

Additionally, Australian think tanks and scholars often visit Fijian schools. Under the guise of neutrality and objectivity, some of them, in fact, act as spokespersons for the Australian government. They often publish articles in local media outlets, warning about "debt traps" and "loss of sovereignty" due to Chinese influence, and hold forums and lectures at universities to spread negative opinions and instigate anti-China sentiment, according to the Fijian insider.

Meanwhile, amid Australian media's intensified attacks against China, some scholars in Fiji were recently warned not to express political opinions using their academic affiliations, the Global Times has learned.

Call for positive role in promoting cooperation

Li Haidong, a professor at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times, that the actions of Australian media outlets are not surprising due to their alignment with the Five Eyes alliance, including the US and the UK, shaping their narratives and intelligence efforts to serve US interests.

Consequently, any enhancement of China's presence, whether in the Arctic or in the South Pacific Islands, faces inevitable denigration, particularly from Australian media outlets closely linked to intelligence and security sectors, Li stated.

"The reckless discourse of Australian media has tangible adverse effects," Li noted, "not only undermining the media's own credibility but also complicating China's diplomatic relations, particularly in the South Pacific region like Fiji."

This has set up unnecessary obstacles in China's interactions with these countries, benefiting foreign political forces keen on intensifying geopolitical competition with China.

Li lamented that such media behavior fosters misunderstandings and escalates difficulties in public engagements with China, injecting harmful geopolitical narratives into the South Pacific, and posing risks of division and confrontation. He concluded that these actions serve to damage the regional interests of most countries in the area, indicating a regrettable course of conduct by the media.

He called for certain Australian media outlets to play a more positive and more active role in promoting cooperation, peace, and development, highlighting the recent warming of relations and exchanges between China and Australia.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi concluded on March 21 his first visit to Australia in seven years with positive signs signaling that normal bilateral ties are back on track.

About one week after Wang's visit, China's Ministry of Commerce announced, on March 28, a decision to cancel anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs levied on Australian wine. The removal of the tariffs shows a pragmatic attitude on both sides to solve their trade disputes through dialogue and negotiations, Chinese experts said, anticipating more robust development in trade and economic relations between the two countries.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1309922.shtml

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzW1APWxBjs

http://fj.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/sgxw/202403/t20240326_11270982.htm

https://twitter.com/ChineseEmb_FJ/status/1773822035686523073

https://twitter.com/ChineseEmb_FJ/status/1773822399227769121

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80104e No.20671014

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20550335

>>20665416

PM Albanese demanding explanation from Israel PM after aid work’s death

9 News Australia

Apr 3, 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is demanding an explanation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israel Defence Forces took responsibility for an airstrike that killed seven people, including Australian aid worker "Zomi" Frankcom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k0AFwpP32ZY

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80104e No.20671024

Rumble embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20628581

>>20665454

No action against Sydney hate preacher Abu Ousayd after latest ‘met by death’ sermon

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 3, 2024

1/2

Police have said it is unable to lay charges against a radical Sydney cleric who warned of violence and “men who love death” if Islam was attacked, saying legal advice had determined that the threats didn’t constitute a criminal offence.

On Wednesday, NSW Police confirmed that a Friday sermon by Bankstown-based cleric Abu Ousayd – also known as Wissam Haddad – that promised “humiliation” and “men who love death” if Allah was attacked did not breach state hate-speech provisions.

“If you attack Allah, if you attack our prophet, our religion and our fellow brothers and sisters, and if you attack our lands, you are going to be met with men who love death more than you love life,” he said, calling on followers to be “worshippers by night and warriors by day.”

A police spokesman confirmed the rhetoric was not a criminal offence.

“At this time, review of the sermon and legal advice indicate that the content does not amount to an offence under Section 93Z of the Crimes Act 1900,” he said.

Section 93Z makes it an offence to publicly threaten or incite violence on the grounds of race or religion.

Mr Ousayd’s Friday sermon said that Muslims were “being killed, oppressed, at the hands of the worshippers of cows, rats and monkeys”.

“(If you) abandon jihad, Allah will send upon you humiliation and he will not remove it,” he said.

The Executive Council of Australian Jewry has lodged a vilification complaint against Mr Ousayd and the Al Madina Dawah Centre at the Australian Human Rights Commission, with its co-CEO Alex Ryvchin warning inaction risked “legistmising” the preacher’s comments.

“These sermons that reach devoted followers and impressionable young minds online are not merely a threat to the Jewish community, but also to our democracy and our society,” he said.

“The fact that no one has been successfully prosecuted under existing laws despite the regularity of vicious sermons since the October 7 attacks shows the system isn’t working and requires comprehensive reform.”

Since November, The Australian has revealed how:

• Mr Ousayd has given a raft of anti-Semitic sermons at his Al Madina Dawah Centre

• Referred to Jews as “descendants of pigs and monkeys”, and peddled anti-Semitic tropes

• Urged people to spit on Israel so “Jews would drown” and recited parables about their killing

• Is a principal of an Islamic Saturday school and runs a registered charity

NSW Upper House Deputy President Rod Roberts said he felt the “frustration” of the Jewish community and that the “system was letting them down”.

“That’s what’s disappointing, that they have to take action, rather than the law protecting them,” the MP said, saying inaction would give hate the green light.

“It’s obvious – he (Mr Ousayd) knows he can exploit the weak legislation.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20671025

File: be16dee0810de9e⋯.jpg (333.26 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Abu_Ousayd_centre_outside_….jpg)

File: 64c44305c23a5f8⋯.jpg (200.95 KB,1919x1079,1919:1079,Vision_from_a_March_29_ser….jpg)

File: 267eb3f86705f58⋯.jpg (441.83 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Al_Madina_Dawah_Centre….jpg)

File: d20dd3b7b373828⋯.jpg (194.25 KB,2048x1152,16:9,NSW_Premier_Chris_Minns.jpg)

File: aeead18cdaa02d1⋯.jpg (504.54 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ECAJ_co_CEOs_Peter_Werthei….jpg)

>>20671024

2/2

Federal Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the authorities should “stop going through the charade” of considering charges if it had no intention of doing so.

“It appears no conduct is bad enough to warrant testing the law,” the senator said.

“If federal prosecutors also can’t bother to mount a case it’s time the Albanese government stepped in and changed the law before any more hatred is fomented in our community.”

On Tuesday, NSW Premier Minns said his government was waiting on a report into 93Z and were looking at “potential law changes”, but that any amendments that impeded on free speech had to be “consistent with experts”.

“Anyone that’s looking to tear at the seams of social harmony and cohesion is doing a massive disservice (to our community),” he said.

“We want to make sure that any potential legal changes, we’re doing it based on the evidence from experts.”

Section 93Z is being examined as part of a Law Reform Commission review and The Australian understands it is difficult to lay charges under the provision, unless it involves a specific threat and that incitement could be proven.

In Scotland this week, its parliament passed laws making “threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred”, on the grounds of religion, an offence.

The ECAJ pointed to a lack of similar wording in Australian criminal codes.

“On past experience, a criminal offence based on the idea of ‘stirring up’ hatred could be difficult to prosecute, because there would need to be evidence in each case of the likely impact of the words used on an audience,” co-CEO Peter Wertheim, a 30-year lawyer, said.

“We would like to see a similar offence introduced in Australia but it should be drafted so as to include promoting and advocating hatred, in addition to the ‘stirring up’ formulation.”

On Tuesday, speaking to Seven News, Mr Ousayd said that “a lot of emotions were going on” during sermons, that he was speaking in “self defence”, and called the ECAJ’s civil action “comical”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/no-action-against-sydney-hate-preacher-abu-ousayd-after-latest-met-by-death-sermon/news-story/44859473fcbe28df5e9349fde4654ba4

https://rumble.com/v4m6sht-friday-khutbah-ramadan-for-the-sahaba-ustadh-abu-ousayd.html

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80104e No.20671030

File: 57b0ee47bf4c15a⋯.jpg (305.81 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Sam_Mostyn_AO_will_be_Aust….jpg)

File: a8247a393a570dd⋯.jpg (317.33 KB,1432x2053,1432:2053,Samantha_Mostyn_s_CV.jpg)

File: 563d0c950f99d59⋯.jpg (277.22 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Sam_Mostyn_the_first_woman….jpg)

File: 4680c3ff1970efd⋯.jpg (83.16 KB,1470x827,1470:827,Sam_Mostyn.jpg)

‘A leader who represents the best of modern Australia’: PM

A Canberran who grew up as the daughter of an Australian Army officer, Mostyn was the first female Australian Football League commissioner, and served for over a decade until 2017.

GEORDIE GRAY - April 3, 2024

Anthony Albanese has announced that businesswoman and gender equality advocate Sam Mostyn AO will be Australia’s next governor-general.

Ms Mostyn, 59, is currently the chair of Women’s Economic Opportunities Review, and chair of Aware Super fund. She was previously the president of Chief Executive Women (CEW).

A Canberran who grew up as the daughter of an Australian Army officer, Ms Mostyn was the first female Australian Football League commissioner, and served for over a decade until 2017.

She has also held senior roles with Reconciliation Australia, the Australia Council for the Arts, and the National Mental Health Commission.

In December 2023 she was announced as the next chair of mental health support organisation Beyond Blue, taking over from former Prime Minister Julia Gillard.

Ms Mostyn completed Arts and Law degrees at the Australian National University.

In her early career, she was a senior communications adviser to former Prime Minister Paul Keating from 1995 and 1996 before becoming director of corporate affairs for Optus and then group director, human resources for Cable and Wireless and then for IAG.

Ms Mostyn, who is married with one daughter, Lotte, was in 2021 appointed an Officer of the order of Australia for her distinguished service to business, the community and women.

She will be sworn in on July 1, replacing David Hurley, who has served since 2019.

The Prime Minister, naming Mostyn as the 28th Governor-General of Australia, said: “Sam Mostyn is an exceptional leader who represents the best of modern Australia.

“She has lived her life in the service of a powerful Australian principle when more people have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, our nation is a better place.”

“Her leadership reflects our enduring Australian values of equality, fairness and a responsibility to build a better future for the next generation,” he said.

It follows King Charles’s approval of the Mr Albanese’s recommendation that she be appointed as his representative in Australia. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said that The King, “has been pleased to approve the appointment of Ms Samantha Mostyn, as the governor-general designate of the Commonwealth of Australia.”

Ms Mostyn, the lawyer helming Mr Albanese’s Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce, is the second woman to hold the role of governor-general, following Dame Quentin Bryce who held the role from 2003 to 2008.

Speaking to reporters in Canberra, Ms Mostyn said her business experience and legal training would serve her new position.

“I’ve worked in the highest levels of many Australian companies and spent time working globally. I’ve also had the privilege of advising governments of all persuasions across the country,” she said.

“I can think of no greater purpose, prime minister, than to serve this country I love as governor-general, particularly at a time in our history when the challenges and opportunities we face are large and complex.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/who-is-sam-mostyn-australias-new-governorgeneral/news-story/8a19971c30c3c65026abbb37f95bcaf9

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80104e No.20671037

File: 4cbedf289f0bcc6⋯.jpg (60.89 KB,634x406,317:203,Sam_Mostyn_wiped_all_her_s….jpg)

File: f646d36c8d0dc50⋯.jpg (103.14 KB,634x860,317:430,Australia_s_new_Governor_G….jpg)

File: a325c237e1ca777⋯.jpg (39.65 KB,634x274,317:137,The_banner_picture_of_her_….jpg)

>>20671030

Sam Mostyn: Read Australia's next Governor-General's controversial deleted tweets: 'Invasion Day'

BRITTANY CHAIN - 3 April 2024

1/2

Australia's next Governor-General referred to Australia Day as 'invasion day' and urged the country not to 'waste' the opportunity offered by the Uluru Statement from the Heart in now-deleted comments posted to X.

Sam Mostyn wiped her social media presence before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the businesswoman, gender and climate activist as General David Hurley's replacement on Wednesday morning.

The once prolific tweeter - who boasted 22,000 followers on X - wiped clean her X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts just prior to her appointment to the vice-regal role.

But posts Ms Mostyn made over the years - obtained by Daily Mail Australia - offer an insight into the politics of the woman now tasked with representing King Charles in Australia.

Ms Mostyn was a leading advocate for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, hosting and participating in panels about the referendum alongside Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo.

She advocated for a Yes vote online, took part in Michael Long's 'Long Walk Oz' to Canberra promoting the Indigenous advisory panel and joined virtual yarning circles with Pat Anderson AO and Professor Megan Davis.

The banner picture of her X account was, for a lengthy period of time, a poster which declared, 'We support the Uluru Statement'.

And on January 25, 2020, Ms Mostyn wrote: 'This 26 January, NITV Sunrise Ceremony cleansing ceremonies, 80,000 yrs Australian history, wonderful panel discussing survival, truth, #invasionday & the future.'

She then included another hashtag which stated: '#AlwaysWasAlwaysWillBe.'

Reconciliation Australia, a foundation focused upon healing the divide between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, celebrated her appointment on Wednesday, revealing - in addition to the long list of qualifications touted by the PM in his statement - she also served on their board.

'Sam is a former board member of Reconciliation Australia (2007-2010) & has been a dedicated advocate for reconciliation, First Nations rights, climate change & many other causes during her career,' the organisation said.

Ms Mostyn made another post on July 30, 2022 after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese committed to the referendum into the Voice to Parliament, and in the wake of Aboriginal activist and singer Archie Roach's death.

She said: 'Cannot think of a more bittersweet day - from the exhilaration & hope for a Voice to be enshrined in our Constitution to the devastating, deep sadness on the loss of Archie Roach.

'Australia cannot waste a moment in accepting the Uluru Statement from the Heart.'

Ms Mostyn also appeared to celebrate the election of the Teal independents at the 2022 federal election.

'Just in case you hadn't already heard them roar,' she tweeted - sharing an article about the 'pro-climate women who took on the Liberal Party and won.

These were all removed by the time she was announced as the incoming Governor-General on Wednesday.

Speaking of her appointment, Mr Albanese said: 'Ms Mostyn has had an extensive career in the Australian business community, including working at senior levels in telecommunications and insurance companies in Australia and globally.

'She has also held senior non-executive roles on boards including Transurban, Virgin Australia, and has been chair of Citibank Australia. She currently chairs AWARE Super and Alberts Music Group and is on the board of Mirvac.

'Ms Mostyn has been a Commissioner with the Australian Football League (AFL) and a driving force behind the AFL Women's (AFLW).' Her tweets show she is an AFL nut - posting repeatedly about the league.

(continued)

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80104e No.20671041

File: 9d641fcb94ac7b4⋯.jpg (47.12 KB,634x423,634:423,Ms_Mostyn_has_long_been_ou….jpg)

File: fdc921c6664c575⋯.jpg (56.99 KB,634x501,634:501,Ms_Mostyn_was_a_leading_ad….jpg)

File: 50c5842173876a3⋯.jpg (50.44 KB,634x450,317:225,She_will_replace_Governor_….jpg)

>>20671037

2/2

It was widely expected Mr Albanese would appoint an Indigenous Australian to the role of Governor-General, and Ms Mostyn's announcement came as a surprise.

She and Mr Albanese have a longstanding professional relationship due to her high-level roles chairing the Women’s Economic Equality Taskforce and on the Climate Change Authority board.

Back in September 2023, when the PM was facing scrutiny over his friendship with embattled Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, Ms Mostyn was named in a manifest for Mr Albanese's VIP flight.

She joined Mr Joyce and Mr Albanese on a private flight back to Sydney following the Jobs and Skills Summit, along with other VIPs including the CEO of Rio Tinto and chair of Telstra.

Mr Albanese said at the time: 'They were sent a bill, they paid their own way and that they sat together whilst I had a meeting about the Jobs and Skills Summit in a different section of the plane.'

She was also seen at the PM's victory party after winning the 2022 election.

Ms Mostyn has long been outspoken in her ambitions to see positive change in Canberra after working as a policy advisor to two ministers and prime minister Paul Keating.

At the time, she was completely taken aback by the culture in Canberra, telling Teal independent Zoe Daniel that she was repeatedly propositioned by serving senators.

She said: 'There was this sense that everything was fair game.

'On a couple of occasions I had backbench senators invite me to coffee at Aussies and I took my pen and paper thinking they were interested in communications policy.

'A couple of them said Yep, are you up for an affair?,' she said.

Ms Mostyn said these politicians would argue there was no harm in extramarital affairs in Canberra because 'it's a funny old place away from family', and noted her experience was that 'the normal rules of good behaviour' didn't exist.

Ms Mostyn's appointment has sparked a mostly positive reaction. It attracted praise from left-wing personalities like Peter FitzSimons, Magda Szubanski and the Chair of the Australian Republic Movement, Craig Foster.

Mr Foster described Ms Mostyn's appointment as 'an inspired choice', describing it as 'one that I’m sure Australians would make, if we had the choice. Rather than asking for the approval of a King.

'In fact, Sam would be a wonderful President of the Australian Republic.'

And Mr FitzSimons, another advocate for a republic, said: 'Great choice! Very much a woman of the people.'

Senior Nationals MPs David Littleproud and Bridget McKenzie both supported the appointment.

But United Australia Party senator Ralph Babet argued Mr Albanese has replaced a General in the ADF (Mr Hurley) with 'a climate change and equity advocate Canberran lefty'.

Ms Mostyn takes the role on July 1.

But after Daily Mail Australia published this story, the Indigenous Voice No campaign Advance hit out at the appointment, describing it as 'an insult to mainstream Australians'.

'Mostyn is the worst kind of corporate activist who campaigned against the majority of Australians in the divisive Voice referendum.

'The PM's appointment… confirms he cares more about the activists and elites than the people working hard to make this nation great.

'If Australians want to see an example of the left's march through out institutions - this is it, right in front of us.'

Advance described the appointment as 'deeply political', and said the role should have gone to someone who was 'non-political'.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13265795/Samantha-Mostyn-Australia-Day-deleted-tweets.html

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80104e No.20671056

File: 50f4740c727c337⋯.jpg (5.51 MB,4754x3169,4754:3169,Bruce_Lehrmann_s_defamatio….jpg)

File: b0c7f4b38735ed6⋯.jpg (186.42 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Taylor_Auerbach_s_affidavi….jpg)

>>20656143

>>20660643

Federal Court publishes affidavit detailing Seven Network payments to Bruce Lehrmann, including for sex, drugs

Patrick Bell - 3 April 2024

1/2

A former Seven Network producer has claimed the broadcaster paid for "illicit drugs and prostitutes" as part of its efforts to secure an exclusive sit-down interview with Bruce Lehrmann.

The evidence has come to light in an affidavit from Taylor Auerbach, who was a producer on the Spotlight program, which aired two interviews with Mr Lehrmann last year.

The affidavit has now been released by the Federal Court, after it was tendered during Network Ten's application to reopen its case in Mr Lehrmann's defamation claim.

The former Liberal staffer is suing Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson over the interview in which Brittany Higgins alleged she had been raped at Parliament House, even though she did not name him.

Mr Lehrmann later faced a criminal trial in the ACT Supreme Court, which was abandoned after juror misconduct, leaving no findings against him and clearing the way for his defamation action.

Mr Auerbach's affidavit published by the Federal Court details multiple payments in late 2022 and early 2023.

He said that over two days in January 2023, money Mr Lehrmann allegedly paid for illicit drugs and to engage sex workers was reimbursed to him "by Seven through 'per diems' … in the days after [Mr Lehrmann's] departure from Sydney in early January".

"I no longer have a copy of this invoice," Mr Auerbach said.

As early as November 2022, while Mr Lehrmann was still facing one count of sexual assault in the ACT Supreme Court, Mr Auerbach claims Mr Lehrmann and his friend John MacGowan received massages worth more than $10,000, at the expense of the Seven Network.

Mr Lehrmann has denied receiving a massage at the time, and said the story was "untrue and rather bizarre".

A golf trip and a $361 steak

During the defamation case late last year, the Federal Court heard the Seven Network covered a year's worth of Mr Lehrmann's accommodation, totalling more than $100,000.

Mr Auerbach claims prior to that lease, a property in Randwick was also rented in his name for Mr Lehrmann to live in for three weeks in March last year, at a cost of almost $12,000.

Other payments Mr Auerbach lists include meals at multiple Sydney restaurants, including a $361 tomahawk steak at Chophouse, and expenses incurred during a golf trip to Tasmania to play at the prestigious Barnbougle golf complex.

Its two courses are ranked by Australian Golf Digest among the top 10 courses in Australia.

Mr Auerbach says these payments were made either by the network, or him personally, and does not specify who paid for what.

The claims in his affidavit are untested, and he is expected to face cross-examination when he testifies in Mr Lehrmann's revived defamation case tomorrow.

Network Ten succeeded in a last-minute application to reopen its case yesterday, to present the fresh evidence to the court, despite opposition from Mr Lehrmann's lawyers.

Justice Michael Lee was due to deliver his judgment in the case tomorrow, but that has now been delayed, though he is optimistic he can still deliver a judgment next week.

(continued)

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80104e No.20671058

File: a4e33889936af64⋯.jpg (1.14 MB,4000x2666,2000:1333,Network_Ten_s_barrister_Ma….jpg)

File: 73b3bfc4dcad475⋯.jpg (124.77 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Bruce_Lehrmann_was_intervi….jpg)

>>20671056

2/2

'Looks like you've got a big story'

Network Ten's reason for reviving the case related to questions over how the Seven Network obtained certain material for the program.

This included an audio recording of a conversation between Ms Higgins and the Network Ten team ahead of her interview, and a lengthy extract of text messages between Ms Higgins and her former partner.

The Federal Court heard the material was included in an electronic brief of evidence, but was not tendered as part of Mr Lehrmann's criminal trial.

The usual practice is that such material is not to be used for any other purpose.

The court heard Mr Auerbach will testify that Mr Lehrmann provided the material, though he has denied doing so.

In a statement, a Seven spokesperson said the broadcaster had never revealed its source of some of the material in the program "and has no intention of doing so".

"Seven did not condone or authorise the alleged payments to Mr Lehrmann referred to in the affidavits," the spokesperson said.

In his third affidavit, Mr Auerbach said Mr Lehrmann was provided access to the Seven Network office at Martin Place, where he photocopied "around 500 pages of documents".

"I viewed some of the documents that were being copied and could see that they were exhibits from the applicant's criminal proceedings," he said.

"I saw by way of example Ms Higgins's text messages."

He said Seven newsreader Angela Cox saw the pair and said, "Looks like you've got a big story coming".

During the hearing late yesterday, Ten's barrister Matthew Collins said evidence about whether Mr Lehrmann provided the material, despite his denial under cross-examination, was relevant to his credibility.

"Mr Lehrmann's credit is central to the determination of the substantive issues in this case," he said.

But Mr Lehrmann's barrister Matthew Richardson attempted to downplay the significance of this line of attack, and argued Mr Lehrmann's credibility, and that of Ms Higgins, was already in some doubt.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-03/lehrmann-defamation-case-taylor-auerbach-documents-published/103661616

https://origin.go.theaustralian.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Exhibit-MRS-70.pdf

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80104e No.20671085

File: d1e9244b8b61413⋯.jpg (237.89 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_s_eSafety_Commis….jpg)

File: a11c9f80ee06ba9⋯.jpg (166.82 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Elon_Musk_said_it_was_very….jpg)

File: 4185669f486afde⋯.jpg (1.42 MB,750x2515,150:503,BC_1.jpg)

File: b1eaa9e307ca3b7⋯.jpg (546.78 KB,750x1582,375:791,BC_2.jpg)

File: 3d8a28da02c944f⋯.jpg (193.16 KB,1290x1710,43:57,GJj00T3X0AAThZ7.jpg)

>>20224564 (pb)

>>20622388

Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue Australian government over anti-transgender post

JARED LYNCH - APRIL 3, 2024

1/2

Elon Musk’s social media platform X has threatened to sue the Australian government as it faces a fine of up to $800,000 over a post that made disparaging comments about transgender activist Teddy Cook, declaring it will “protect its user’s right to free speech”.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has removed the post written by Canadian Chris Elston, who is known as ‘Billboard Chris’ and says he has “decided to take a stand against gender ideology”, which he has described as “pseudo-religious movement”

But the post targeting Mr Cook – who was part of a panel that advised the World Health Organisation on developing guidelines for the health of trans and gender diverse people – was reshared thousands of times. This prompted the Australian eSafety Commissioner to take action, which X said it would challenge.

It follows a separate $610,500 penalty from eSafety last year after it accused X of not responding adequately to a question about how it tackled the proliferation of child sexual abuse.

X has not paid that fine and has sought a judicial review – a move that is now likely to replicate over Elston’s post.

“Earlier this week, X was ordered by the Australian E-Safety Commissioner, subject to an approximately $800,000 AUD fine, to remove a user’s post. The post had criticised an individual appointed by the World Health Organisation to serve as an expert on transgender issues,” X Global Government Affairs said in a statement.

“X is withholding the post in Australia in compliance with the order but intends to file a legal challenge to the order to protect its user’s right to free speech.”

An eSafety spokesman said it was upholding laws to prevent online harm.

“Tech platforms do not always consistently enforce their own rules or hateful conduct policies, which is why Parliament voted to establish the Adult Cyber Abuse Scheme as part of the Online Safety Act 2021 so that eSafety could serve as a safety net for Australian adults facing the most grievous forms of online harassment and abuse,” the spokesman said.

He did not comment on the specifics of the X case, but outlined the threshold for eSafety to take action.

“The Act defines adult cyber abuse as material targeting a particular Australian adult that is both intended to cause serious harm, and is also menacing, harassing or offensive in all circumstances.

“If the material only meets one of these two criteria, for example, if the post is offensive but is found to not be intended to cause serious harm, it will not be considered adult cyber abuse under the Act. eSafety makes its regulatory decisions impartially and in accordance with the legislative criteria prescribed in the Act.”

It comes as Harry Potter author JK Rowling avoided prosecution under Scotland’s hate crime law.

Rowling had mocked 10 high profile biological men – some of whom were sex offenders – who have adopted a female identity. The posts were seen by more than 11 million people and retweeted 26,000 times.

But police in Scotland say they would take no action against her. This is despite a new Scottish law making it an offence if people are “threatening or abusive behaviour which is intended to stir up hatred” on the grounds of age, disability, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and variations in sex characteristics.

(continued)

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80104e No.20671087

File: b4b607f77b20db5⋯.jpg (694.29 KB,2048x2730,1024:1365,Australia_s_eSafety_Commis….jpg)

File: ec6db0ed3609348⋯.jpg (252.71 KB,750x597,250:199,GGA_1.jpg)

File: 3ee6ec46fcaddd4⋯.jpg (440.61 KB,750x1216,375:608,EM_7.jpg)

>>20671085

2/2

Musk bought Twitter in a $US44bn deal in late 2022, later renaming it X. He said at the time that he was motivated by upholding the principle of free speech for the “future of civilisation”, and not making money, declaring he was “obsessed with the truth”.

“It’s very important for there to be an inclusive arena for free speech … Twitter has become the de facto town square, so it’s important (that there is) the reality and perception that they are able to speak freely within the bounds of the law,” he said at a TED conference in Vancouver in 2022.

“My strong sense is that having a public platform that is maximally trusted and broadly inclusive is extremely important to the future of civilisation. I don’t care about the economics at all.”

Ms Inman Grant said last month that under X’s new leadership, it had cut 80 per cent of its safety engineers, 50 per cent of its content moderators and 80 per cent of its public policy teams engaged with governments.

She issued X an initial $610,500 infringement notice last September. Civil penalty ­proceedings against the company began in the Federal Court in ­December. And Ms Inman Grant said the company now faced steeper penalties.

“The important thing to remember here is it was a fairly minor infringement notice that they could have paid for,” she said. “They could be fined, depending on what the court finds, up to $782,000 a day from the time they were found to be out of compliance, which was March last year. This could be in the tens of millions of dollars.”

Ms Inman Grant has also warned other tech giants, including Meta, Google, Telegram, WhatsApp and Reddit that they would face tens of millions of dollars in penalties if they failed to act on terrorist, violent extremism and child abuse material, amid concerns that generative artificial intelligence is being weaponised to spread hate and disinformation.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/elon-musks-x-sues-australian-government-over-antitransgender-post/news-story/7c6096779e22f3e1d2a92aad698ecc25

https://twitter.com/BillboardChris/status/1772434712314695826

https://twitter.com/BillboardChris/status/1772576677844963714

https://twitter.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1773738656588533856

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1772865406539120947

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80104e No.20676381

File: 1c92cbee71f98be⋯.jpg (122.4 KB,1279x719,1279:719,Australian_aid_worker_Zomi….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20665416

Anthony Albanese’s fury at Israel raises Jewish concern

BEN PACKHAM - APRIL 3, 2024

1/2

Australia’s position on Israel’s conduct in Gaza has shifted to outright condemnation following the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, prompting a warning from the nation’s Jewish community that a premature end to the conflict will leave Hamas in control of the Palestinian enclave.

Anthony Albanese confronted Benjamin Netanyahu over the strike on an aid convoy that killed Frankcom and six colleagues, ­expressing the nation’s fury over the attack, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong warned Israel to “change course” or face inter­national ­isolation.

The Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council said the demand by the Prime Minister for Israeli accountability was “perfectly reasonable and proper” but argued that responsibility for all deaths in the conflict lay with Hamas. It questioned whether the government still believed there was no role for the terrorist organisation in Gaza’s future.

Melbourne-born Frankcom, a worker with food charity World Central Kitchen, was in one of three vehicles targeted individually by Israeli drone strikes over a distance of more than a kilometre.

“This is completely unacceptable,” Mr Albanese said after speaking by phone to his Israeli counterpart. “I conveyed to Prime Minister Netanyahu in very clear terms that Australians were outraged by this death, by this tragedy, of this fine Australian.”

Mr Albanese’s comments came as Israeli newspaper ­Haaretz reported the strike was caused by poor ­discipline among field commanders rather than a lack of co-­ordination between the Israeli Defence Forces and aid ­organisations.

All seven aid workers in the vehicles were killed, including Frankcom, three Britons, a Polish national, a US-Canadian dual citizen, and a Palestinian driver.

Mr Netanyahu said in a video statement the deaths were unintentional and pledged an inquiry into the attack. But he warned such casualties were a fact of life in conflict. “This happens in war,” Mr Netanyahu declared.

Senator Wong rejected the Israeli leader’s comment outright, saying aid workers were protected under international law.

“The death of any aid worker is outrageous and unacceptable,” the Foreign Minister told Sky News. “I don’t want Israel to be under any illusions about how outraged we are at the death of an Australian citizen in these circumstances.”

Senator Wong reiterated Australia’s call for an immediate ceasefire, and said the government – “unlike Mr Netanyahu” – continued to urge a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. She said Israel’s conduct in its war with Hamas had led to the deaths of 30,000 civilians, and pushed 500,000 Palestinians into starvation.

“I have said this privately, that unless Israel changes course, it will continue to lose support,” Senator Wong said.

Labor frontbencher Ed Husic said Hamas should release all remaining Israeli hostages, but added Mr Netanyahu’s comment was “an incredibly insensitive remark” and reflected an attitude that “imperils the lives of innocent people”.

Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council executive director Colin Rubenstein expressed deep regret at the aid workers’ deaths, but said there was a failure by the government to acknowledge that “as with all deaths in the conflict, the ultimate responsibility here lies with Hamas”.

Dr Rubenstein said the government’s repeated calls for a ceasefire in the conflict were also concerning, because they would leave Hamas in control of Gaza.

“This is counter to their earlier sensible insistence that there is no role for Hamas in Gaza’s future,” he said.

“Leaving Hamas in power, with its military infrastructure even partly intact, is simply a recipe for further wars, and further devastation for civilians in both Israel and Gaza.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20676382

File: 67419e5a4508b27⋯.jpg (501.69 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_World_Central_Kitchen_ve….jpg)

>>20676381

2/2

Israeli media reported an IDF drone fired three missiles in succession at the World Central Kitchen aid convoy that set out on Monday night to escort an aid truck to a food warehouse in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip.

Video and photographs of the wrecked cars showed direct hits on the vehicles, which were struck over a distance of more than 1.5km. All of the vehicles were clearly marked as belonging to the organisation.

ANU professor of international law Don Rothwell said Israel’s conduct in the war, especially in recent months, had increasingly raised questions about its commitment to protecting non-combatants.

“The weapons that are being used are exceptionally precise, and yet the evidence is mounting that targeting decisions are either based on faulty intelligence, or error, or that civilians are being targeted in a way that is completely contrary to the laws of war,” Professor Rothwell said.

Australia’s fury over the attack was matched by that of US President Joe Biden, who declared he was “outraged and heartbroken” over the deaths.

“Israel has not done enough to protect aid workers trying to deliver desperately needed help to civilians,” Mr Biden said.

“Incidents like yesterday’s simply should not happen. Israel has also not done enough to protect civilians.”

British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said the workers’ deaths were “completely unacceptable”, declaring: “Israel must urgently explain how this happened and make major changes to ensure the safety of aid workers.”

Citing army intelligence sources, Haaretz reported on Wednesday (AEDT) that commanders knew “exactly what the cause of the attack was – in Gaza, everyone does as he pleases”.

Under Israeli army rules, approval for strikes on sensitive targets such as aid organisations must be given by senior commanders. But the source told Haaretz: “Every commander sets the rules for himself.”

The same newspaper reported earlier that the attack was launched due to suspicions a terrorist was travelling with the convoy.

IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi said the military had completed a preliminary investigation into the attack and stressed there was no intention to harm the charity’s staff.

“It was a mistake that followed a misidentification, at night, during a war, in very complex conditions. It shouldn’t have happened,” Mr Halevi said.

Israel’s ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, said he was also “deeply saddened” over the deaths.

“Israel will thoroughly investigate this tragedy to guarantee the safety and security of aid workers in Gaza,” Mr Maimon said.

World Central Kitchen said it had suspended its services in Gaza as a result of the strike.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albaneses-fury-at-israel-raises-jewish-fears/news-story/d0dc3f4be5c4562c5ac88a0555ec2d76

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80104e No.20676391

File: 5f427279be6343c⋯.jpg (1.14 MB,4303x2869,4303:2869,Taylor_Auerbach_with_his_l….jpg)

File: 7dc1902a9270174⋯.jpg (2.09 MB,4773x3182,3:2,Lisa_Wilkinson_and_her_bar….jpg)

File: 764395dd9c976f4⋯.jpg (3.83 MB,5555x3703,5555:3703,Former_federal_Liberal_pol….jpg)

>>20656143

>>20660643

Lehrmann invoiced Seven for ‘bender’ with cocaine and sex workers, court told

Michaela Whitbourn - April 4, 2024

1/2

Bruce Lehrmann asked Seven to pay for a “bender” in Sydney with cocaine and sex workers as the network sought to secure an exclusive interview with the former federal Liberal staffer, an ex-producer on its Spotlight program has claimed in explosive evidence in the Federal Court.

Taylor Auerbach has emerged as an unlikely witness in Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and high-profile presenter Lisa Wilkinson after Ten won an eleventh-hour court bid on Tuesday to reopen its case and call him to give evidence in its defence.

The former senior producer on Spotlight told the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday that Lehrmann had “purchased a bag of cocaine while we were dining at Franca” in Potts Point in Sydney on January 5 last year before the exclusive interview deal was inked in April.

Auerbach said he had caught a taxi with Lehrmann from the restaurant to Meriton Suites near World Square, and Lehrmann had pulled out the bag “and started to put it on a plate”. He said Lehrmann had told him he wanted to order sex workers to the Meriton, and began “Googling a series of websites to try and make that happen”. The accommodation was paid for by Seven.

Auerbach alleged Lehrmann “agreed to be in a Spotlight interview as long as we didn’t ask him about what happened on the night in Canberra” with Brittany Higgins, who has accused Lehrmann of sexual assault.

“I was taken aback,” Auerbach said. He believed any interview would have to address that topic, he told the court.

Auerbach said Lehrmann “told me that he was going to pay for the evening” but the former staffer subsequently told him his “bank account was dry after the, for want of a better word, bender, and asked if there was a way that we’d be able to compensate him for that”.

He told the court a plan was later devised for Lehrmann to issue an invoice to Seven for “per diems”, a term the network used to refer to “reasonable expenses while on work trips”.

“I recall seeing the invoice,” Auerbach said.

He said he had texted his boss, Steve Jackson, then supervising producer on Spotlight, that night, saying “Bruce was on the warpath again” and he believed he had used the words “this is f-cked”. This was allegedly a reference to a previous incident in November 2022.

In an affidavit filed in court, Auerbach said he recalled “monies paid by [Lehrmann] … for illicit drugs and prostitutes that evening at the Meriton and the following evening at a brothel in Surry Hills were reimbursed … by Seven through ‘per diems’ via invoice” sent to Seven.

Lehrmann’s barrister, Matthew Richardson, SC, put to Auerbach that there were “no per diems paid” and “it didn’t happen”. “It did,” Auerbach said.

He said Spotlight’s supervising producer, Mark Llewellyn, “gave verbal approval”, and Lehrmann had told him he was paid.

Auerbach denied in court that he had been accused of using Seven funds to pay for personal expenses before he left the network when his contract expired in August.

“Had you ever used Channel Seven credit cards or Channel Seven funds to obtain personal services for yourself?” Richardson asked.

“Maybe accidentally $30 here and there,” he replied.

Auerbach said his employment at Sky News was terminated this year “due to trust and confidence issues” following media reports about an alleged incident in November 2022 involving Lehrmann, a Seven employee and two masseuses.

(continued)

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80104e No.20676394

File: 397b0e9103d5d4f⋯.jpg (3.43 MB,5363x3602,5363:3602,Taylor_Auerbach_s_lawyer_R….jpg)

File: aa7ff16404b06d0⋯.jpg (7.86 MB,6940x4812,1735:1203,Seven_s_commercial_directo….jpg)

>>20676391

2/2

Auerbach’s use of corporate credit card

Under cross-examination, Auerbach agreed he was “so mortified and ashamed” that he offered Seven his resignation on November 26, 2022, after he put thousands of dollars in charges on a corporate credit card for expenses he described in an email as having “nothing to do with work”. Seven did not accept his resignation.

Auerbach has said in an affidavit that those charges, totalling more than $10,000, were for Thai masseuses for himself and Lehrmann. He claimed they were booked to attend his Elizabeth Bay home in the early hours of November 26.

“It was a personal matter. That doesn’t mean it wasn’t involving work,” Auerbach told the court of the expenses. “That morning was the worst morning of my life, probably, when I sent that email.”

But he said Seven “offered me a promotion … the following week”, as well as a pay rise.

Auerbach agreed under cross-examination that he hated Jackson and blamed him “in part” for his contract at Seven not being renewed last year.

Asked if he had been backgrounding journalists against Jackson in recent weeks, he replied: “In part.”

NSW Police last week tore up a contract appointing Jackson the new chief of its media unit.

Auerbach’s bullying claim

Auerbach’s solicitor, Rebekah Giles, told the court her client had made a since-settled psychological injury claim against Seven that alleged “sustained bullying [and] antisemitism over a significant period”. Lehrmann’s lawyers have sought access to documents related to that claim.

Higgins’ texts

In affidavits filed in court, Auerbach alleges Lehrmann provided him with more than 2300 pages of text messages between Higgins and her ex-boyfriend, Ben Dillaway, during a golfing trip in Tasmania in December 2022. He rejected a suggestion by Lehrmann’s barrister that it “didn’t happen”.

Auerbach told the court that Llewellyn also “sent me a bundle of photographs via WhatsApp” to help him script a section of Spotlight’s first interview with Lehrmann, which aired in June last year. He said the photos were screenshots of messages between Higgins and author and Herald columnist Peter FitzSimons, who is married to Wilkinson. FitzSimons helped negotiate a book deal for Higgins.

Auerbach said he could identify a reflection in the laptop screen of Llewellyn’s “bald head” and glasses.

Asked in court last year if he had given any documents to Seven, Lehrmann said: “No, I just gave an interview.”

He also told the court that Seven had agreed to pay his rent for one year under the interview deal. “That’s what I get,” he said.

Ten alleges that Auerbach’s evidence, if accepted, forms the basis of a submission that Lehrmann lied to the court. It also alleges that if Lehrmann did leak the messages, he engaged in a contempt of court and abuse of process.

Higgins’ text messages had been handed over to the Australian Federal Police under a search warrant as it investigated her claim she was sexually assaulted by Lehrmann in Parliament House in March 2019. The pair were political advisers at the time.

Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence. His ACT Supreme Court criminal trial for sexual assault was aborted in 2022 owing to juror misconduct, and a second trial did not proceed owing to concerns about Higgins’ mental health.

If Lehrmann did leak the text messages, Ten alleges his conduct amounted to a contempt because he breached an implied obligation not to use the material for a purpose unrelated to his criminal trial.

Lehrmann launched defamation proceedings last year against Ten and Wilkinson, a former co-host of the network’s flagship current affairs program The Project, over a February 2021 interview with Higgins in which she accused a then-unnamed colleague of rape.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/judge-to-hear-from-ex-seven-producer-in-lehrmann-defamation-fight-20240403-p5fh3s.html

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80104e No.20676399

File: e1b4c4f3542350f⋯.jpg (429.91 KB,2400x1440,5:3,Lawyers_for_Brittany_Higgi….jpg)

>>20334220 (pb)

Court told Brittany Higgins colluded with Lisa Wilkinson to ‘attack’ Linda Reynolds, as defamation case heads for trial

Channel Ten presenter and producer could be called as witnesses in Liberal senator’s defamation case against Higgins and fiance David Sharaz

Australian Associated Press - 4 Apr 2024

Liberal senator Linda Reynolds intends to claim that Brittany Higgins and her now fiance David Sharaz colluded with Lisa Wilkinson and a Channel Ten producer to politically attack her, if her defamation cases against the couple go to trial.

The former defence minister, who plans to retire from politics at the next election, is suing both her former political staffer and Sharaz over a series of social media posts that she says damaged her reputation.

Lawyers for the parties appeared in the Western Australian supreme court on Wednesday, after a closed-door mediation hearing failed last month as the matters edged closer to trial.

They wrangled over how the prospective trials should be run, with Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett saying they were so “intertwined” they should be partially merged to prevent duplication and save the parties money.

This includes potentially having witnesses common to both cases appear only once and running the trials together, with Sharaz’s case starting first, but no firm decisions were reached and mediation could be restarted.

“This is two major pieces of litigation listed for a lengthy period of time between three individuals, these are not media organisations,” Bennett told the court.

Outside the court, Bennett said the defamation action was costing 58-year-old Senator Reynolds “a fortune”.

“My client mortgaged her home at her age to pay for legal fees to do this to try to vindicate her reputation,” he said.

“It costs individuals a lot of money to do this.”

In court, Bennett read out examples of duplication in Higgins’ and Sharaz’s court documents, while referring to the WA senator’s claim for aggravated damages.

He said it included details about a plan allegedly initiated by Sharaz and Higgins, with help from Channel Ten star Wilkinson and producer Angus Llewellyn, “to attack my client”.

Bennett also said that “during the period of time Higgins was in Perth working on the plaintiff’s federal election campaign (in 2019), she felt isolated and was in a state of depression,” as he cited another example of overlap between the two cases.

Senator Reynolds would call witnesses to rebut that claim, he said.

Bennett said Wilkinson and Llewellyn could be called as witnesses and that audio of a five-hour meeting, in which they allegedly discussed a plan with Higgins and Sharaz, had been subpoenaed.

In Higgins’ interview with Wilkinson, aired on Ten’s The Project in February 2021, she claimed another Liberal staffer, Bruce Lehrmann, had raped her in Senator Reynolds’ Parliament House office in 2019. Lehrmann was not named in the interview and has consistently denied the allegation, maintaining no sexual activity took place between the pair.

Senator Reynolds is also attempting to access a transcript from Lehrmann’s defamation battle with Ten and Wilkinson in the federal court in Sydney.

Bennett also said Higgins had published a social media post saying “I won’t stay silent so you can stay comfortable” amid last month’s mediation, adding that it would bolster Senator Reynolds’ claim for aggravated damages.

Bennett said Senator Reynolds was likely to call 17 to 20 witnesses if the trial goes ahead, which was previously provisionally listed for six weeks from 24 July.

The matter will return to court 24 May.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/04/court-told-brittany-higgins-colluded-with-lisa-wilkinson-to-attack-linda-reynolds-as-defamation-case-heads-for-trial

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80104e No.20676406

File: 1ad8effa83d411d⋯.jpg (186.91 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

>>20565284

Australia-China relations to be tested by parliamentary delegation visit to Taiwan

CAMERON STEWART - APRIL 3, 2024

Australia is poised to anger China by sending a bipartisan parliamentary delegation to Taiwan to meet senior government leaders and reiterate Canberra’s support for the democratic nation in a time of rising regional tensions.

The visit is certain to be criticised by Beijing at a time when the Australia-China relationship has been improving slowly despite tensions over cyber warfare, trade, human rights and defence.

The five-member parliamentary delegation will be the first to visit Taiwan in six months and will meet with Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai Ing-Wen, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, and a number of senior government, ­security and defence officials.

The group will be led by the deputy chair of parliament’s powerful joint committee on ­intelligence and security, Andrew Wallace, alongside Labor’s Shayne Neumann, and will also ­include Liberal senator Dave Sharma, Liberal MP Angie Bell and Labor’s Julian Hill. The delegation is scheduled to leave Australia for Taiwan on Sunday for a six-day visit and is expected to proceed as planned despite a 7.4-magnitude earthquake on Wednesday which caused substantial damage in parts of the island.

China remains staunchly ­opposed to Australian parliamentary visits to Taiwan, believing they breach the principle of the “One China” policy under which the Australian government does not recognise Taiwan as a ­sovereign country, but maintains informal political connections.

Beijing lashed out at an Australian parliamentary delegation when it visited Taiwan in September last year, claiming Australian politicians were being manipulated by “secessionist” forces inside the self-governed territory which Beijing claims as its own.

But Mr Wallace, a Sunshine Coast MP who has been a strident critic of the Chinese Communist Party, said the visit was a demonstration of support and solidarity with democratic Taiwan at a time of geopolitical instability.

“Australia and our Indo-­Pacific counterparts are facing the most unstable geopolitical environment since World War II, in which the democratic values and global co-operation we depend on are not guaranteed,” Mr Wallace said. “That’s why visits like this are so important.”

He said the Taiwanese people were “vital trade, economic and cultural partners” with Australia.

“Our delegation will go some way to reiterating just how important that relationship is, and to setting the record straight: Australia will always stand on the side of democracy and peace,” he said.

China has become increasingly sensitive over Western support for Taiwan as China’s President Xi Jinping has struck an ever more strident tone over his desire to reclaim the island, saying in December that “reunification” with Taiwan was inevitable.

Beijing lashed out last week at a British parliamentary delegation to Taiwan, saying the visit was a blatant violation of the One China policy, a serious interference in China’s internal affairs and an encouragement to separatist forces in Taiwan.

It comes at a time when Australia’s relations with China continue to improve slowly from major rifts over foreign interference laws, the banning of Chinese tech giant Huawei and the pandemic which saw China slap trade sanctions worth $20bn on Australian goods four years ago.

Most of those sanctions have now been lifted but blocks on trade of western rock lobster and beef remain in place. A visit last month by China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi laid the groundwork for an expected trip to Australia by Chinese Premier Li Qiang in a sign that the bilateral relationship is slowly thawing.

However, Foreign Minister Penny Wong raised with Mr Wang Australia’s strong concerns about China’s suspended death sentence for Australian writer Yang Hengjun. She also raised with Mr Wang concerns about Beijing’s “unsafe conduct at sea”, and Australian concerns over human rights in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong.

Senator Wong last month also condemned Beijing’s ongoing campaign of state-­sponsored hacking. “This behaviour is unacceptable and must stop,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/australiachina-relations-to-be-tested-by-parliamentary-delegation-visit-to-taiwan/news-story/6702d9e924051725f2d460c6c968f1c6

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80104e No.20676429

File: 04d6eb803bfa4f4⋯.jpg (193.87 KB,960x539,960:539,Vessels_from_the_Philippin….jpg)

File: eda2142e76a05d8⋯.jpg (118.51 KB,1080x810,4:3,435153640_7193525460746233….jpg)

File: 203e323a30f6030⋯.jpg (134.65 KB,1080x810,4:3,435327965_957601342106638_….jpg)

File: 54db7db20a3f7e0⋯.jpg (134.66 KB,1080x810,4:3,434917633_7263797437066013….jpg)

Japan, U.S., Australia, Philippines to hold drill in South China Sea

KYODO NEWS - Apr 2, 2024

Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines are set to hold a joint naval exercise on Sunday off the Southeast Asian country's Palawan Island in the South China Sea, multiple government sources said Tuesday, amid China's continuing aggressive actions.

It would be the first full-scale exercise involving the four countries aimed at enhancing interoperability among their forces, the sources said. The exercise will include anti-submarine warfare training, communication drills and sailing ships in formation.

In August, the same countries conducted joint training on offshore replenishment off the northwest Philippines. Their crews simply exchanged salutes and assembled for a photo exercise.

Sunday's planned drill would occur against the backdrop of China's assertiveness in the resource-rich South China Sea. The latest incident happened on March 23 when the Chinese Coast Guard fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel on a mission to the Manila-controlled Second Thomas Shoal.

The vessel was heavily damaged in the incident, while Filipino servicemen aboard were injured.

Since last year, the Philippines has held separate "maritime cooperative activities" with the United States and Australia, which have agreements for visiting forces.

The Royal Australian Navy's frigate Warramunga arrived in Palawan for a port call ahead of the joint exercise, with Commander Jennifer Graham paying a courtesy call on the Philippine military commander in the area, a Philippine source said.

The Warramunga, an Australian aircraft, a Japanese destroyer, and several naval assets from the United States and the Philippines are participating in the drill, another source said. The exercise will be conducted outside Philippine territorial waters but within its exclusive economic zone.

The Philippines has expressed its intention to hold a joint exercise with the three countries several times a year, the source added.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on March 28 that he has been in constant communication with his country's allies and that his government is preparing a "response and countermeasure package that is proportionate, deliberate, and reasonable" to the dangerous attacks by the China Coast Guard and its militia vessels in the South China Sea.

Marcos is set to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington on April 11. Marcos has said that he and the leaders are expected to forge an agreement that will add more structure to the three countries' interoperability and joint cruises.

China claims sovereignty over almost the entire South China Sea, even though the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague invalidated its sweeping claims in a 2016 ruling. The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and Taiwan also claim parts of the resource-rich international waterway.

https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2024/04/2ec17913513e-japan-us-australia-philippines-to-hold-drill-in-south-china-sea.html

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1221949

https://www.instagram.com/teamafp/p/C5SqQkPh-fR/

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80104e No.20676443

File: ea36ef7237cbe02⋯.jpg (224.8 KB,2048x1152,16:9,US_Deputy_Secretary_of_Sta….jpg)

File: 3a445d1a8d14465⋯.jpg (784.18 KB,3500x2335,700:467,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20570394

AUKUS subs ‘could be deployed against China’, Kurt Campbell says

BEN PACKHAM and ADAM CREIGHTON - APRIL 4, 2024

Joe Biden’s No. 2 diplomat says Australia’s future nuclear-­powered submarines could one day be deployed against China in a conflict over Taiwan.

While the Albanese government has insisted the AUKUS pact won’t require Australia to join a US war against China, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Australia’s and Britain’s submarines could play a decisive role in a conflict across the Taiwan Strait.

Dr Campbell told Washington’s Centre for a New American Security that the AUKUS pact boats, with their long-range missiles, had “enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances”.

“I would argue that working closely with other nations, not just diplomatically but in defence avenues, has the consequence of strengthening peace and stability more generally,” he said.

Dr Campbell’s comments came as Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government wanted to have “the most constructive and productive relationship we can have with China”.

But he also noted: “The way this era of great power contest will unfold is unclear. And the outcome of the contest is uncertain.”

In a warning to Beijing, which treats the South China Sea as its own and flouts international law in the East China Sea and Taiwan Strait, Mr Marles said Australia was determined to preserve “the rules of the road at sea”.

“What is manifestly clear is that Australia and all countries in the Indo-Pacific have a vital interest in maintaining a region where state sovereignty is protected, inter­national law is followed, the global rules-based order is respected, and nations can make decisions free from coercion,” he told the Sydney Institute.

Mr Marles said Labor would ensure the effectiveness of the Australian Defence Force by properly funding it, pledging to reduce “over-programming” of the Defence budget that had risen to 30- 40 per cent under the Coalition.

The government’s Defence investment plan, due to be released before the May budget, would include a swath of tough decisions to “divest, delay, or re-scope projects”, Mr Marles said.

“This reprioritisation will enable the government to accelerate projects that will have the greatest impact on our strategic objectives to deter any potential adversaries from actions against our interests.”

The pledge came as an internal US Navy investigation revealed the Virginia-class submarines Australia hopes to buy from the US could be delayed by up to three years.

The assessment found the navy’s two Virginia-class variants, known as Blocks IV and V, were running 36 months and 24 months late, respectively, “based upon current performance” of US submarine yards.

US Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro commissioned the “45-Day Review” in January to “provide an assessment of national and local causes of shipbuilding challenges”, amid concerns the American industrial base was failing to satisfy US naval demands, let alone those of Australia.

It found every class of vessel under construction was running late, and suggested the navy “refine acquisition and contract strategies and reimagine shipyard and skilled labour as a national asset”.

Despite the warnings over submarine production, Dr Campbell said the US would find a way to deliver its promised three to five ­Virginia-class boats to Australia.

“AUKUS, in many respects, is a game changer. It is basically finding the way forward,” he said.

Dr Campbell confirmed other nations had sought to join the AUKUS pact, hinting that Japan would become part of its “second pillar” dedicated to the development of advanced new weapons.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/aukus-subs-could-be-deployed-against-china-kurt-campbell-says/news-story/9401dcd9eaac9e31ef86a88cf51d9032

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80104e No.20676473

File: 203fb2a3ff4bd91⋯.jpg (65.33 KB,1280x720,16:9,Daniel_Duggan_is_fighting_….jpg)

File: d5883e1dc73a73d⋯.jpg (244.72 KB,2048x1152,16:9,He_previously_ran_a_busine….jpg)

File: 1683f3e8e4f3c22⋯.jpg (268.12 KB,1700x956,425:239,Mr_Dugan_s_wife_Saffrine_D….jpg)

>>20098559 (pb)

>>20510160 (pb)

>>20525312 (pb)

Top Gun pilot Daniel Duggan to face extradition hearing in May

A former US marine pilot will have one last opportunity to prove he shouldn’t be extradited to the US over allegations he illegally trained Chinese pilots.

Adelaide Lang - April 4, 2024

1/2

A former US marine pilot will have one last chance to prove he shouldn’t be extradited to the US over allegations he illegally trained Chinese pilots - but he’s run out of funds to pay for a lawyer.

Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 following a request from the US to extradite him for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering.

American authorities allege the 55-year-old breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at a flying academy in South Africa more than 12 years ago.

He is also accused of breaching US arms control laws by instructing pilots, including Chinese citizens, on how to land atop an aircraft carrier.

The US authorities allege he was paid more than $110,000 for his expertise but he had not sought the government’s permission to undertake the role.

Mr Duggan has consistently denied the allegations, which have not been tested in court.

On Thursday, he looked anxious as he beamed into court from maximum security prison wearing black rimmed glasses and a green prison-issued jumper.

He then became visibly upset as Magistrate Daniel Reiss denied his application for an extension to prepare for a hearing to determine his eligibility for extradition to the US.

The magistrate found he had been given “a reasonable amount of time” and a “reasonable opportunity” to prepare for the crucial hearing.

Mr Duggan had requested an adjournment to allow him to apply for Legal Aid funding after claiming he was unable to fund his own defence.

The court heard he has already amassed $800,000 in costs during his fight against extradition to his birth country, including nearly $50,000 spent on media consultants.

Magistrate Daniel Reiss opined he had spent “a lot of money” before the matter had even reached a hearing, and questioned whether it was a “mismanagement of funds”.

“To use all your money up and then turn to Legal Aid - and that becomes the basis for further delays - it seems a bit irresponsible,” he said.

The court heard Mr Duggan had been planning on selling his house on the NSW South Coast to pay for the expenses, but the asset was frozen by the US authorities last year.

His lawyer Bernard Collaery said the US had “unreasonably truncated” the matter by seizing Mr Duggan’s “sole means” of paying his legal expenses.

He accepted the situation with the Legal Aid application was “dense and vague” but argued his client should be represented for the “reasonably complex” matter.

However, the US government’s lawyer Trent Glover opposed the adjournment and maintained Mr Duggan had been given plenty of time to prepare for the hearing.

He noted the US submissions on the former marine pilot’s eligibility for extradition had been before the court for “more than a year” without a response from the defence.

Magistrate Reiss similarly took issue with the number of delays in the case.

“Every application filed on behalf of Mr Duggan has been for delay. Every single one,” he said.

The magistrate denied the request for an extension and set the eligibility for extradition hearing for May.

(continued)

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80104e No.20676476

File: b1f8f120835bfd8⋯.mp4 (15.06 MB,404x720,101:180,Former_US_marine_pilot_Dan….mp4)

File: c649d4a43885798⋯.jpg (367.43 KB,1512x2017,1512:2017,Mr_Duggan_has_been_behind_….jpg)

File: 07262feeb376e8a⋯.jpg (385.42 KB,1210x1613,1210:1613,His_wife_said_contact_with….jpg)

>>20676473

2/2

Mr Collaery told the court he will argue Mr Duggan cannot be prosecuted for two of the four allegations against him because he was not a US citizen at the time.

He pointed to US documents that showed the former marine pilot had renounced his American citizenship in 2012 when he became an Australian national.

“This man is an Australian citizen and could not be and cannot be tried for two of the counts,” Mr Collaery said.

“The US has no right to prosecute an Australian citizen for something that isn’t an offence in Australia.”

He said the revelation was “dramatic” and the legal team hoped “it was gold” in terms of thwarting their client’s extradition to the US.

However, Mr Glover argued Mr Duggan was able to be charged because he had certified the loss of his US citizenship five years later, in 2016.

Magistrate Reiss said the issue appeared “interesting” but seemed “to be too easy an out”.

Mr Duggan spent 12 years flying in the US Marines before he was honourably discharged in 2002.

The former operator of Top Gun Tasmania had been living in Orange, in central west NSW, with his wife and family when he was arrested.

His wife Saffrine said her husband had consistently been denied the opportunity to properly defend himself against the 12-year-old allegations that she said “defy common sense or even the slightest scrutiny”.

“The basic legal and human rights of my hardworking family have been forgotten in this case due to apathy, political bias and a complete lack of due diligence by the bureaucrats who advised the (Australian) government on this matter,” she said.

“To make matters worse, our government’s agents have now assisted the United States to confiscate my property, which has left me unable to properly mount Dan’s legal defence”.

The court heard the family has raised $98,000 from a GoFundMe fundraiser and had also received donations from churches.

Outside court, Mr Duggan’s lawyer Jolan Draaisma said they were “disappointed” with the outcome.

She refuted the magistrate’s comment that the prospect of Mr Duggan’s extradition was “not as dire as might usually be the case” because he wasn’t being shipped off to a “third world country”.

“I don’t think extradition to a third world country or a country like America really makes a difference to the amount of stress a person is under if they’re facing extradition,” she said.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/top-gun-pilot-daniel-duggans-bold-claim-against-extradition-to-the-us/news-story/f63e5f6ce3d31d6f6a2aa5994e235a61

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80104e No.20681364

File: 51b3033367d7a78⋯.jpg (124.13 KB,1754x987,1754:987,Vice_Admiral_Mark_Hammond_….jpg)

File: 280bf6e36c1846e⋯.jpg (177.61 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Chief_of_Navy_Mark_Hammond….jpg)

File: 81fdaa1d167a42c⋯.jpg (200.43 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Lieutenant_General_Greg_Bi….jpg)

>>20647022

Navy chief Mark Hammond full steam ahead in bid to lead Australian Defence Force

BEN PACKHAM - APRIL 5, 2024

Chief of Navy Mark Hammond is the frontrunner to replace Angus Campbell as the nation’s next Defence chief, as Anthony Albanese prepares to stamp his authority on the force’s biggest transformation since World War II.

The former submarine commander, who is close to the Prime Minister, would be the first naval officer in 22 years to hold the post if he is selected to succeed General Campbell, whose term ­expires at the end of June.

But Vice Admiral Hammond faces tough competition from the army’s Lieutenant-General Greg Bilton, who has served as the ADF’s current Chief of Joint ­Operations for the past five years.

Admiral Hammond is an ­astute political player who shares Mr Albanese’s love of the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL team, and was tapped to join the Prime Minister in the US for last year’s AUKUS announcement.

With the $368bn nuclear submarine program and the rebuilding of the navy’s surface fleet now Defence’s top priorities, many ­insiders believe the time is right for a naval commander to take the top job.

But Admiral Hammond, who was appointed Chief of Navy less than two years ago, is a relative newcomer to the ADF’s most senior ranks, prompting speculation he might first have to serve as Vice Chief of the Defence Force.

The current Vice-Chief of the Defence Force, David Johnston, is another potential candidate for the job. But Vice Admiral Johnston, who is in his early 60s, is said to have been worn down by six years in the deputy role, which will also need to be filled.

The VCDF is also closely linked to General Campbell’s polarising reign as Defence chief, and his chances of promotion were diminished when Labor opted in 2022 to extend both men's terms by two years.

The government will use the appointments of a new CDF and VCDF to break with the past and re-energise Defence as it embarks on a two-decade process of reinvestment and reform.

“There is a feeling in the veterans’ community that his end cannot come soon enough,” the former commander said.

Another said General Campbell had failed to meet any of the “basic metrics of performance” over his term, citing the ADF’s recruiting crisis and its ongoing capability woes that forced the government to impose an outside-led strategic overhaul of the force.

Rather than promoting “woke” causes such as “rainbow morning teas”, General Campbell should have focused on the rejuvenation of the force, the former commander said.

“He should have been the political whisperer on military policy, but everything he has touched has turned to shit. Every metric has gone backwards,” the source said.

While Defence Minister Richard Marles has expressed frustration at his department’s plodding culture, the government is unlikely to embark on a wider overhaul of Defence’s leadership.

Labor extended Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty’s term in 2022 by another five years.

Admiral Hammond has known Mr Albanese for years, and frequently sees him at South Sydney games. The pair displayed their shared love of the club in San Diego last year, wearing matching Rabbitohs caps on a morning walk ahead of the AUKUS partners’ “optimal pathway” announcement.

The fact that Admiral Hammond accompanied Mr Albanese on the trip rather than the government’s submarine program director, Admiral Jonathan Mead, was “a pretty good indication that people like him”, a source said.

The navy chief also has strong connections on the conservative side of politics, and is close to former defence minister Brendan Nelson.

Mr Nelson told The Australian when Admiral Hammond was appointed navy chief that he was “clear-minded, intensely ethical”, and had great respect for others.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/navy-chief-mark-hammond-full-steam-ahead-in-bid-to-lead-australian-defence-force/news-story/af298957d8253fe5c75ec32542933bc4

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80104e No.20681374

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20622417

>>20656128

>>20634736

Meta accused of encouraging and reinforcing NT youth crime crisis

JESS MALCOLM and LIAM MENDES - APRIL 5, 2024

1/2

Meta Australia boss William ­Easton must step up and do more to remove content on his platform that is putting Indigenous children at risk amid a violent crime wave that has plagued Alice Springs for months, child protection experts and the Coalition have warned.

A spokeswoman for Meta on Friday said the company had contacted Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler directly after she accused the tech giant of ­“encouraging and reinforcing” youth crime among Indigenous children seeking social media ­infamy.

“At Meta, we have rules that outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram. We have reached out to the Chief Minister’s office for their letter and will be following up to engage directly,” the spokeswoman said.

Peter Dutton has vowed to tackle “a scourge of young criminals” posting illegal activity for ­notoriety, urging digital platforms to “do better” to crack down on young people using platforms to share videos of illegal activity.

The Opposition Leader said ­offenders who sought to glamorise violence for “likes” was completely unacceptable, declaring a future Coalition government would give law enforcement broad sweeping powers to ensure tech platforms were held accountable.

“The big social media platforms must absolutely be held accountable for the content they publish and profit from,” Mr Dutton told The Weekend Australian.

“The digital tech giants must do more to prevent this material from seeing the light of day – and when they don’t, we should be pursuing them with all the powers available to us.

“The Coalition under my leadership will give police the additional legal weapons they need to support them in their fight to combat this shocking trend.”

Ms Lawler has demanded an urgent meeting with Meta, saying her government is considering following other states in launching “post and boast” legislation that could lead to jail time for anyone sharing videos of committing a crime via social media.

On Friday she repeated her calls for Meta to immediately ­remove all criminal content being posted from the Territory, saying the company had “an obligation not to profit off crime and violent behaviour”.

“Any criminal or violent content coming from the Territory needs to be removed immediately and those accounts need to be flagged and potentially shut down to go some way to reduce crime, ­violence and anti-social behaviour,” Ms Lawler said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20681379

File: 65e6627fa35f542⋯.jpg (572.13 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Youths_in_Alice_Springs_dr….jpg)

>>20681374

2/2

Child protection expert Patrick Parkinson called on Meta executives to take responsibility for dangerous harms their platforms are causing to children’s wellbeing, urging tech giants to implement age verification require­ments and lift the minimum age for access to 16 years.

“Meta and other social media operating in Australia need to find ways to remove videos of criminal behaviour promptly where it may encourage copycat crimes or riotous behaviour,” Professor Parkinson said.

“They also need to take responsibility for the harms their products are causing to children’s wellbeing. The case for stricter regulation on child protection grounds is now overwhelming.”

Following Ms Lawler’s calls, the Albanese government put tech titans on notice to stamp out ­offensive material posted online.

Flagging an overhaul of the ­nation’s online safety laws to ­ensure they are “fit for purpose to meet new and emerging harms”, Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said tech giants must do more to remove dangerous content on their platforms.

Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said she was “deeply troubled about the inappropriate use of social media by some young people – not just in Alice Springs, but around the country”. “This is a conversation that needs to take place,” Senator ­McCarthy said.

Opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price warned social media was contributing to disorder in Alice Springs and throughout the Territory by “reinforcing the absence of consequences for anti-social and criminal behaviour”.

“Whilst there are many causes at the feet of the Territory government, such as their recent increase in the criminal age of responsibility, posting and boasting is a serious catalyst in the Territory’s escalating disorder,” Senator Price said.

“The Coalition has introduced legislation that would tackle this at a federal level. Anthony Albanese will be left behind if he does not join us and the growing number of state and territories that are ready and willing to act on this.”

Greens justice spokesman David Shoebridge said Labor must crack down on tech giants and make it illegal for them to share or profit from dangerous material posted online.

“Platforms make extraordinary amounts of money based on user-generated content, but so far have taken little to no responsibility for the community impacts of hosting that content.” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/stop-showing-crime-meta-told/news-story/d772890b286115c84136863c88d21d3d

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muYuzuB3spQ

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80104e No.20681397

File: 3b85b6fac3897e3⋯.jpg (147.29 KB,768x1024,3:4,Meta_s_Instagram_of_Alice_….jpg)

File: 74af18968801ef7⋯.jpg (115.57 KB,1290x1721,1290:1721,Meta_s_Instagram_of_Alice_….jpg)

File: 82176f1ee1f3161⋯.jpg (78.52 KB,658x935,658:935,GKYmgGQbcAAgm3A.jpg)

>>20681374

Tech titan Meta guilty in Northern Territory youth crime crisis, says Chief Minister Eva Lawler

LIAM MENDES - APRIL 5, 2024

Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler has accused tech titan Meta of “encouraging and re­inforcing” youth crime among some of the country’s most vulnerable children seeking social media fame.

Ms Lawler has demanded an urgent meeting with Meta, saying her government is considering following other states in launching “post and boast” legislation that could lead to jail time for anyone sharing videos of committing a crime via social media, following a rise in crime that has seen a two-week youth curfew imposed on the Alice Springs CBD.

It comes just over a week after children under 18 in Alice Springs were forced off the streets in a move aimed at stopping the riots and violence that have plagued the red centre for months, with police and sources on the ground noticing a significant drop in illegal behaviour such as parading stolen cars in town.

Ms Lawler, who faces an election in August, wrote to Meta Australia managing director William Easton on Thursday, calling on him to meet with her and Police Minister Brent Potter to discuss ways in which the tech behemoth can “reduce criminality and harm” among NT youths.

“Police who are enforcing the youth curfew in Alice Springs … said that young people in the town who were engaged in illegal behaviour and posting it to social media have stopped coming into the CBD because there is no central place where people can ­commit crime, share it on social media and receive online infamy from their friends and peers,” Ms Lawler wrote in the letter.

“This anecdote suggests there is immense power that social media platforms have in encouraging and reinforcing this illegal behaviour in our streets.”

Youths of Alice Springs use social media to advise friends and even rival gangs when they have a stolen car, allowing for groups to gather in the Alice Springs CBD and watch the fracas.

In early March, an 18-year-old was killed while he was riding in the window of a stolen car.

Youths post videos of driving dangerously as well as photographs of them in possession of prohibited weapons. including firearms and bows and arrows.

Eight males – including two juveniles – have been arrested so far following last week’s rioting that sparked the NT government intervention, where 150 people gathered at Hidden Valley town camp “armed … and engaging in violent conduct”, after earlier attacking a popular pub and forcing staff to barricade themselves and their patrons inside.

It resulted in the NT Police Force sending 33 “auxiliary ­liquor inspectors”, who had gone to Darwin to undergo training to become police constables, back to Alice Springs, as well as an extra 25 police officers.Ms Lawler said she was determined to get on top of the violence and anyone under the age of 18 found in the central business district would be “taken home or taken to a safe place”.

On Wednesday, a riot at the Don Dale youth correctional facility, which spilled into Thursday morning, resulted in a police officer being taken to hospital and a building set on fire.

Police had been called to the correction centre in Darwin around 4pm on Wednesday following reports of 14 children climbing on to a roof and “throwing projectiles” resulting in the hospitalisation, with prison staff fearing it was a matter of time before someone was killed.

Early on Thursday morning, six children remained on the roof but by 9:30am they had been returned to custody.

Ms Lawler told the Meta boss in her letter it was “critical that criminal and anti-social behaviour” was not “amplified and given a platform” on social media.

“Social media algorithms are poorly understood in the community but they can have powerful impacts on influencing what young people view and engage with,” she wrote.

Ms Lawler told The Aus­tralian that social media companies needed to “step up and do more to protect young ­Territorians”.

“There needs to be strong systems put in place to prevent criminal behaviour being shared and then going viral.

“There’s no doubt that at least some of the youth offenders in the Territory continue to ­commit crimes because of the online infamy and notoriety it brings them,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/tech-titan-meta-guilty-in-northern-territory-youth-crime-crisis-says-chief-minister-eva-lawler/news-story/1454c5b8e9db2cb6ddb39d7c57905a0e

https://twitter.com/actionforalice/status/1776149443672474051

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80104e No.20681437

File: 0e78259d6395d85⋯.jpg (17.16 KB,521x311,521:311,Gerald_Ridsdale_is_facing_….jpg)

File: d17532d467112e1⋯.jpg (42.46 KB,822x455,822:455,Gerald_Ridsdale_and_the_la….jpg)

File: dbd5e28068fb2e1⋯.jpg (257.72 KB,1000x787,1000:787,If_you_or_anyone_you_know_….jpg)

>>20612936

Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale facing scores of new historic child abuse charges

Rochelle Kirkham - 5 April 2024

Police have laid new charges against notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, alleging further cases of historic sexual assaults against boys in central and south-west Victoria.

Ridsdale, 89, has been in prison since 1994 for the abuse of more than 70 children in Victoria and was sentenced for the eighth time last year.

Victoria Police said the Sexual Crimes Squad brought a further 62 charges against him following an investigation into a number of alleged historical sexual assaults.

The new charges of sexual penetration of a person aged between 10 and 16 and indecent assault relate to alleged incidents involving six male victims in Inglewood and Mortlake between 1973 and 1981.

Police charged Ridsdale with 24 sexual offences in March 2022 as part of the same investigation, which related to two male victims in Mortlake in 1981 and 1982.

Ridsdale, who was born in Ballarat, appeared frail and was bedridden during his last court appearance in August last year.

During that hearing, Magistrate Hugh Radford told the court Ridsdale was in chronic pain, had atrophying muscles, weakness of limbs, and was likely go into palliative care.

His earliest possible release date is April 2028 and his total sentence is due to expire in September 2034.

Ridsdale is expected to appear at the Bendigo Magistrates' Court later this month.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-05/gerald-ridsdale-facing-new-child-sexual-abuse-charges/103675154

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80104e No.20681473

File: 44134321e32464f⋯.jpg (311.15 KB,750x805,150:161,USEA_22.jpg)

File: 0276e2f799c9891⋯.mp4 (10.36 MB,960x540,16:9,ttjKqaLpiWRRoYwX.mp4)

U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet

Ambassador Kennedy will soon drive a 2004 Ford Falcon into the outback to raise funds for the Cancer Council as part of the Shitbox Rally.

This Sunday, she speaks to @60Mins about the (Australia / United States) cancer research that gives her hope and takes us for a spin in her shitbox.

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1775786923887579274

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80104e No.20686521

File: 8538935029c0c3a⋯.jpg (3.09 MB,4942x3295,4942:3295,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20665416

‘Inexcusable’: Angry Australia condemns aid worker killings, Israel suspends two officers

Matthew Knott - April 5, 2024

1/2

The Israeli military has dismissed two army officers who were involved in the operation that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and six fellow aid workers after an investigation found the deadly strikes were a serious violation of its operating procedures.

The snap probe has failed to quell the anger of the Albanese government, which is demanding assurances that evidence be preserved and calling for Israel to be prepared to change their targeting practices in the war.

“The information Israel has provided on its investigation hasn’t yet satisfied our expectations,” Wong said.

“Australia is concerned by initial advice from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs that those responsible for commissioning and implementing the operation that killed Ms Frankcom and her colleagues have not been stood down while the investigation is undertaken.

“We are also alarmed by initial comments that this was an accident and that such incidents happen in a war.

“These responses suggest the gravity of the death of seven humanitarian workers is yet to be appreciated by the Israeli government.”

Wong was referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s initial response to the killings, in which he said: “This happens in war.”

The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) investigation, released publicly late on Friday, found that the tragedy began when Israeli officers identified two gunmen travelling with the convoy of three aid trucks.

“After the vehicles left the warehouse where the aid had been unloaded, one of the commanders mistakenly assumed that the gunmen were located inside the accompanying vehicles and that these were Hamas terrorists,” the investigation found.

“Following a misidentification by the forces, the forces targeted the three WCK vehicles based on the misclassification of the event and misidentification of the vehicles as having Hamas operatives inside them, with the resulting strike leading to the deaths of seven innocent humanitarian aid workers.

“The strikes on the three vehicles were carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF Standard Operating Procedures.”

Stating explicitly that the incident should not have occurred, the investigation by the Israeli Joint Chiefs of Staff’s Fact-Finding and Assessment Mechanism found: “Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees.

“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to a mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the Standard Operating Procedures.”

As a result of the investigation, the IDF has dismissed a brigade fire support commander and brigade chief-of-staff from their positions.

The officers had the ranks of major and colonel-in-reserve respectively.

The IDF Chief of Staff also decided to formally reprimand the commander of the Southern Command for his overall responsibility for the incident.

“The IDF will learn the lessons of the incident and will incorporate them into the IDF’s ongoing operations,” the Israeli military said in a statement.

Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles will tell their Israeli counterparts that Australia expects all evidence related to the fatal drone strike will be preserved and that appropriate action should be taken if IDF personnel did not act in accordance with the law or Israeli military protocols.

The ministers will also call for urgent changes to be made to Israeli targeting policies and practices if the investigation determines that these policies contributed to the killing of the World Central Kitchen workers.

Any changes should be communicated publicly, they will tell their counterparts.

The government also intends to appoint a special adviser to ensure the investigation has been conducted in a manner consistent with its expectations.

“The Australian government has made clear that we expect full accountability for the deaths of Zomi Frankcom and her World Central Kitchen colleagues,” Marles said in a statement.

“These deaths were utterly inexcusable and clear practical action is needed to ensure such a tragedy is never repeated.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20686522

File: 79be2eaa87d8c50⋯.jpg (965.58 KB,4108x2637,4108:2637,Palestinian_Saifeddin_Issa….jpg)

>>20686521

2/2

World Central Kitchen responded to the investigation by describing the IDF’s admission of responsibility and disciplinary action against its officer as “important steps forward”.

“However it is also clear from their preliminary investigation that the IDF has deployed deadly force without regard to its own protocols, chain of command and rules of engagement,” the charity added.

“The IDF has acknowledged that our teams followed all proper communications procedures.

“The IDF’s own video fails to show any cause to fire on our personnel convoy, which carried no weapons and posed no threat.

“Without systemic change, there will be more military failures, more apologies and more grieving families.”

The charity reiterated its calls for an independent, third-party investigation.

Israel Defence Forces Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner said earlier in the day that the investigation was conducted by former military officials who are independent of the IDF’s chain of command.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said earlier this week: “We need to have accountability for how it’s occurred.

“And what isn’t good enough is the statements that have been made, including that this is ‘just a product of war’. This is against humanitarian law.”

The Albanese government’s demands came as the Israeli government approved the opening of three humanitarian aid corridors after coming under intense pressure from the Biden administration, which is now calling for an immediate ceasefire to allow for the return of hostages and more aid to enter Gaza.

In a tense phone call between US President Joe Biden and Netanyahu, Biden said the killing of the aid workers was “unacceptable” and warned that future US support for Israel’s war effort would depend on Israel’s actions to relieve the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

It was the first time the leaders had spoken since the death of the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers, Australia’s Frankcom, Poland’s Damian Soból, American Jacob Flinkinger, British citizens John Chapman, James “Jim” Henderson and James Kirby, and Palestinian Saifeddin Issam Ayad Abutaha.

A White House summary of the phone call said Biden told Netanyahu that “an immediate ceasefire is essential to stabilise and improve the humanitarian situation and protect innocent civilians” and that Biden urged Netanyahu to empower his negotiators to conclude a deal without delay to free the hostages taken captive on October 7.

The Erez Crossing in northern Gaza, which has not been open since the start of the conflict, will be opened to allow more aid to flow into the beleaguered enclave.

The Port of Ashdod will also be opened for humanitarian deliveries, and aid trucks from Jordan will be allowed to traverse Israel into Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing.

Netanyahu had previously resisted such measures because of fear of alienating members of his far-right government coalition.

“We welcome the steps announced by the Israeli government tonight at the President’s request following his call with Prime Minister Netanyahu,” US National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said in a statement.

Adding that the measures “must now be fully and rapidly implemented”, Watson said: “US policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel’s immediate action on these and other steps, including steps to protect innocent civilians and the safety of aid workers.”

Immediately after the statement was released, Secretary of State Antony Blinken doubled down, telling reporters that, while the president had reaffirmed US support for Israel in fighting Hamas, “right now, there is no higher priority in Gaza than protecting civilians, surging humanitarian assistance, and ensuring the security of those who provide it”.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/utterly-inexcusable-angry-australia-condemns-israel-over-aid-worker-killings-20240405-p5fhqz.html

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80104e No.20686545

File: 3131bd215fe1593⋯.jpg (1.05 MB,5027x3351,5027:3351,Foreign_Affairs_Minister_P….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20665416

Israel pressed to co-operate with ‘unprecedented’ Australian probe into aid worker killings

Matthew Knott - April 6, 2024

1/2

The Albanese government is pressing Israel to take further action against the troops responsible for the killing of Australian Zomi Frankcom and six fellow aid workers if they are found guilty of wrong-doing after being left unsatisfied by the initial probe into their deaths.

It is also urging Tel Aviv to co-operate with an Australian review – which an international law expert described as “unprecedented in modern times” – of the Israeli Defence Forces’ investigation into the strikes on the aid convoy in Gaza.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong decried the operation that killed the aid workers as a “deadly failure”.

“It cannot be brushed aside, and it cannot be covered over,” Wong said at a press conference in Adelaide on Saturday.

“We believe these deaths are utterly inexcusable, and clear practical action is needed to ensure these tragedies (are) never repeated. We reiterate that appropriate action must be taken against the individuals who are responsible for these tragic events.”

The investigation by the IDF – released late on Friday – resulted in two Israeli officers being stood down from their positions and disciplinary action taken against two commanding officers.

The review found the killings occurred after IDF troops mistakenly concluded that Hamas gunmen were travelling with the World Central Kitchen charity convoy and concluded the operation was “carried out in serious violation of the commands and IDF standard operating procedures”.

Israel has not given any indication about whether any military personnel will face criminal charges for their involvement in the killings of the seven charity workers.

It is also unclear whether the two officers who were stood down – a major and a colonel-in-reserve – will be fired from the military altogether or shifted to other positions.

Australian officials have not yet seen the full Israeli investigation, which was completed within three days.

The government is calling on Israel to maintain all relevant evidence and for the IDF to be prepared to change its targeting practices in the war in Gaza.

Wong said that “we are pressing the Israeli government to ensure the Australian people can have confidence in the process”.

Highlighting the government’s lack of faith in the credibility of the Israeli military justice system, she called on Israeli officials to co-operate with a yet-to-be-named special adviser appointed by the federal government.

“We expect that if the investigation finds that IDF personnel have not acted in accordance with the law or procedures, that appropriate action be taken against those personnel and that such action be made public,” she said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20686548

File: 65693af2b2fb94a⋯.jpg (6.38 MB,7850x5233,7850:5233,Anti_Zionist_Orthodox_Jewi….jpg)

>>20686545

2/2

Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles wrote to their Israeli counterparts on Friday night to inform them of the special adviser appointment and make clear that they did not believe Israel had yet appreciated the gravity of the aid workers’ deaths.

Wong said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opening of three extra crossings to allow aid to enter Gaza was “overdue, but they are welcome”.

“Humanitarian assistance at scale must be enabled, and it is clear that prior to this it has not been,” she said.

“Civilians, particularly including humanitarian workers, must be protected. This incident demonstrates that has not been the case.”

Australian National University international law professor Don Rothwell said the government’s decision to appoint a special adviser to review Israel’s investigation into the killings was “unprecedented in modern times”.

“In short, the Australian government is appointing a special adviser to review the actions of a friendly foreign country’s military actions directed against an Australian and by extension World Central Kitchen,” Rothwell said.

“I cannot think of a single instance of this type of unilateral conduct by Australia having occurred previously.”

Rothwell said the other nations whose citizens died in the Israeli drone strikes – Canada, the United Kingdom, Poland and the United States – had not announced similar measures.

The Biden administration has indicated that it is satisfied with Israel’s disciplinary response to the killings.

“As I see it, the role of the special adviser will be to assess the IDF review to date, the material they have made available, any subsequent and final review, and decisions that Israel may make to commence a court-martial or war crimes prosecution,” Rothwell said.

“It demonstrates serious intent on the part of Australia to keep open a range of additional diplomatic, legal and political options if the Israeli response is not considered satisfactory.”

University of Sydney international law expert Ben Saul said the appointment of the special adviser appointment showed the Australian government did not trust the integrity of the Israeli investigation.

“There is clearly a lack of faith in the Israeli military justice system,” he said.

Saul, the United Nations special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism, said the special adviser would need to review the Israeli source evidence – including drone surveillance footage – and conduct interviews to do a thorough review of the Israeli investigation.

It was unclear if Israel would agree to provide such access, he said.

Saul said the IDF’s investigation suggested that Israeli troops may have committed two war crimes in the attack: the reckless killing of civilians and launching a disproportionate attack.

He said it was questionable whether Israeli troops would have been justified in launching drone strikes on three cars filled with aid workers, even if they believed two Hamas gunmen were travelling with the convoy.

Saul said Israeli troops had been allowed to operate with “impunity” in the occupied Palestinian territories for decades, with remarkably few examples of them being held criminal accountable for violating international law.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/israel-pressed-to-co-operate-with-unprecedented-australian-probe-into-aid-worker-killings-20240406-p5fhv7.html

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80104e No.20686553

File: c3f5ee0c7557137⋯.jpg (198.9 KB,2048x1152,16:9,SA_Liberal_Party_leader_Da….jpg)

File: 9ca3a455aed78f5⋯.jpg (381.38 KB,2048x1536,4:3,SA_Premier_Peter_Malinausk….jpg)

>>20651703

SA Libs put future of Indigenous voice in doubt

DAVID PENBERTHY - APRIL 6, 2024

1/2

Australia’s only elected voice to parliament could be scrapped within two years, as the South Australian Liberals toughen their stance against the Indigenous ­advisory group after a dismal turnout in the first voice elections.

In a situation critics have ­described as embarrassing and laugh­able, voice delegates who were elected with as few as six votes in a statewide general election will have the right to address parliament, cabinet and departmental chiefs on policy matters.

Less than 10 per cent of the state’s estimated 30,000-strong Indigenous population voted in the voice elections late last month, with the turnout of 2583 voters ­resulting in some farcical results.

Voting was conducted across six geographic regions and of the 46 successful candidates, 12 polled fewer than 20 first-preference votes. The strangest results included four candidates polling zero – showing they didn’t even vote for themselves – and a female candidate beaten by a male candidate but declared the winner anyway to satisfy gender balance targets for that geographic region.

While SA Attorney-General Kyam Maher has defended the turnout for the first such election, The Weekend Australian understands senior SA Liberals believe the result should compel the party to go to the 2026 state election promising to scrap the voice.

The Liberals’ current position is to review the voice to see if it is working with the option of repealing it, but Opposition Leader David Speirs said last month’s “embarrassing” results brought new urgency to the debate.

Mr Speirs said the issue had now changed from being a question of whether the voice had the power to influence government policy, to whether it had any claim to legitimacy at all.

“The obvious question which now arises from such a dismal turnout is how can they claim to speak on behalf of all Aboriginal people in their geographical ­region,” Mr Speirs said.

“They can’t really. If in my Lower House electorate I only got 8 per cent of the vote, or even lower in the case of some of these candidates, I would be seen as an embarrassment. I would be seen as not having democratic legitimacy. Sadly – and it is quite sad – this is emerging as a failure from day one.

“The people who are part of this voice are good people, they are well-intentioned people, they seek to represent their people. But with such a low turnout, I don’t think they can claim they have got a democratic mandate.

“For them to be able to go onto the floor of the parliament – which is an extreme privilege – and make representations to ministers and department heads with such a slender mandate is questionable at best and potentially embarrassing.”

Mr Speirs confirmed the low voter turnout would be guiding the SA Liberals as they finalise their position on the voice ahead of the 2026 election.

“Our official position remains that we are very much open to ­repealing this,” he said. “The low turnout that has been demonstrated in the recent elections will certainly be something the opposition takes into consideration when deciding what to do with the voice moving forward to the 2026 state election.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20686554

File: d9649e31c9b6c22⋯.jpg (203.92 KB,2048x1536,4:3,SA_Attorney_General_Kyam_M….jpg)

>>20686553

2/2

The issue has the potential to resonate for the SA Liberals, with many SA voters confused as to why the state has a voice anyway after the national referendum result clearly rejected the proposal.

While the SA voice was a clearly made pre-election promise by Peter Malinauskas before Labor’s 2022 victory – and the model used in SA was legislated with no change to the Constitution – many voters regard last year’s emphatic referendum result as a general signal of public antipathy towards the concept.

Troublingly for Labor, the highest No vote cast in Australia was in SA’s working class northern suburbs seat of Spence, where 72 per cent of people voted No in what was once the home of the Holden car factory.

But Mr Maher defended the results of the elections and said the voice would be going ahead “as planned” with the 46 elected delegates from the six regions coming to Adelaide for two days next week for an induction process run by the voice’s five-­member secretariat.

“After that each of those regional bodies will elect two presiding members with the 12 presiding members forming the statewide voice,” Mr Maher told The Weekend Australian. “Then in the second half of this year the statewide voice will be up and running which can give advice and make representations to the parliament and government.”

Mr Maher said he was aware of Liberal criticisms of the turnout but accused opponents of hypocrisy, saying other elections had ­attracted modest numbers of votes. He attributed the turnout to several factors including the logistical difficulties of voting and the fact that some Aboriginal people had disengaged from politics after the defeat of the national voice.

He also said that SA’s four ATSIC elections in the 1990s never received more than 3000 votes, making the turnout last month “pretty pleasing for a first attempt”.

“We had a lot of fatigue after the referendum,” Mr Maher said.

“I have had a lot of people say to me that they want to get involved but not this time, and that they need to have a bit of time out after what happened last year. To get 2500 people voting in a voluntary election where some of the remote booths were only open for two hours on a weekday is a really good base to build from.

“If people criticise the small number of votes and say the voice should be abolished, if they’re going to be consistent they are also going to have to argue for the abolition of most upper houses.

“We have seen Ricky Muir’s motoring enthusiasts party, the WA daylight savings party, we’ve seen balance of power candidates elected to the Senate with a fraction of 1 per cent. We have seen local council elections in SA where no one voted.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/sa-libs-put-future-of-indigenous-voice-in-doubt/news-story/06f756c1231c1fbc6f40fd36a7e05063

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80104e No.20686589

File: 8bfaacb9d8d8311⋯.jpg (177.34 KB,1461x822,487:274,Police_are_conducting_a_ch….jpg)

File: 0637a525140d1be⋯.jpg (267.06 KB,2036x1145,2036:1145,The_unknown_vessel_is_beli….jpg)

File: b47cfaf4536d105⋯.jpg (199.72 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Home_Affairs_Minister_Clar….jpg)

>>20422699 (pb)

>>20428545 (pb)

>>20434107 (pb)

Boat carrying asylum seekers reportedly lands in Western Australia’s Kimberley coast

JESSICA WANG - APRIL 6, 2024

WA Police are searching for a man following reports an unknown vessel carrying multiple people landed on the West Australian coastline, also triggering an Australian Defence Force operation.

In reports published by The Australian, the occupants of the boat, believed to be Chinese, arrived at the remote Mungalalu Truscott Airbase in the far north Kimberley region on Friday afternoon.

Sky News has also reported it’s understood about 13 Chinese nationals walked onto the Truscott air base about 4pm on Friday.

The area still functions as a commercial airport and is owners by the Wunambal Gaambera Aboriginal Corporation.

It’s been reported more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel were at the air base on Saturday afternoon, with staff deploying artillery drones in search of other boats and illegal arrivals.

Following long standing practices, the reports have not been confirmed by the office of Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, or by Australian Border Force spokespeople.

“The Australian Border Force does not confirm or comment on operational matters,” a SBF spokesperson said.

On Saturday evening, WA Police released a statement confirming they were searching for a man who is “believed to have become separated from a group of people in the vicinity of Mitchell Plateau,” where the air base is located.

The statement said the “land search operation is in its preliminary stages and is taking place in an extremely remote area with challenging terrain”.

“WA Police have this afternoon been advised the man may have been a passenger on an unknown vessel carrying a group of people which landed in a remote area of the Kimberley District on Friday, 5 April, 2024,” the statement read.

Saturday’s incident is the third unknown boat to have reached WA’s coastline in as many months.

In February, a boat carrying two groups of 39 Pakistan and Bangladesh foreign nationals were found on the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome.

In November last year, Sovereign Borders Commander Rear Admiral Justin Jones confirmed a group of 12 refugees surpassed naval border forces, and reached the Truscott-Mungalalu Airbase.

In both incidents, they were intercepted by the ABF, and taken to Nauru.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/boat-carrying-asylum-seekers-reportedly-lands-in-western-australias-kimberley-coast/news-story/5be156d5126a665b6d571f583682eac9

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/boat-carrying-13-asylum-seekers-lands-on-remote-stretch-of-was-kimberley-in-third-confirmed-landing-within-five-months/news-story/cc8360c000d3c61acbd5823aeebdb4a9

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80104e No.20686594

File: e13daf7cb72e693⋯.jpg (206.53 KB,1375x773,1375:773,Mungalalu_Truscott_Airbase….jpg)

File: 4b2d0dfb980e051⋯.jpg (60.91 KB,1279x720,1279:720,Mungalalu_Truscott_Airbase….jpg)

>>20686589

Another illegal boat lands on WA coast, ‘carrying 15 Chinese’

PAIGE TAYLOR - APRIL 6, 2024

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Another group of non-citizens is believed to have been delivered undetected to the Australian mainland by boat, the third known arrival since November.

The latest group, understood to comprise 15 people, arrived at the old WWII Truscott airbase in an extremely remote pocket of the far north Kimberley region of Western Australia late on Friday afternoon. The airbase is owned by the Wunambal Gaambera people who run it as a commercial airstrip.

The Australian Border Force has not commented on the arrivals, in keeping with a practice established by the Coalition in 2013, but both residents of the region and sources close to the operation have told The Australian the people in the group are being treated as illegal boat arrivals.

Two sources said the group is thought to be Chinese. The last known Chinese to arrive by boat in Australia were Falung Gong. They sailed into Darwin harbour in 2012.

Authorities believe at least one person from the group may be unaccounted for. Western Australian Police Force confirmed in a statement on Saturday evening that it was “currently searching for a man who is believed to have become separated from a group of people in the vicinity of Mitchell Plateau”.

“WA Police have this afternoon been advised the man may have been a passenger on an unknown vessel carrying a group of people which landed in a remote area of the Kimberley District on Friday, 5 April 2024,” WA Police said.

“The land search operation is in its preliminary stages and is taking place in an extremely remote area with challenging terrain.”

Truscott airbase is on the Anjo peninsula where saltwater crocodiles are known to permanently inhabit. Many freshwater crocodiles inhabit the waterways that lead to the mangroves on the peninsula but they are fish eaters. The larger saltwater crocodiles are capable of stalking and killing humans and their tracks are often sighted on beaches nearest to the airbase. Traditional owners of the area are extremely careful when launching boats and share among themselves and visitors their detailed and up-to-date knowledge about which crocodiles patrol which territories.

A source involved in the operation told The Australian there were 15 people in the group that reached Truscott airbase. They all appeared to be of Chinese descent.

Some had already been removed by ABF and the remainder were due to be flown out of Truscott on Sunday, the source said.

More than 100 ADF personnel were believed to be at the Truscott airbase on Saturday afternoon as a direct response to the arrivals.

(continued)

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80104e No.20686596

File: 89bc79b8dd87446⋯.jpg (217.56 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Home_Affairs_Minister_Clai….jpg)

>>20686594

2/2

The group wandered into Truscott at about 4pm on Friday, prompting a flurry of border force activity. Artillery drones have been searching the region all of Saturday for any sign of a boat or other arrivals using Truscott airbase and Troughton Island as a base.

While the Kimberley coast is vast, the latest suspected boat arrival has been especially concerning for authorities because government aircraft have been assiduously patrolling the coast and the edges of Australian waters for possible smuggling operations.

It is extremely rare in recent years for asylum seekers to arrive on the Australian mainland by boat but the group believed to have arrived on Friday would be the third confirmed landing in five months.

There is now a strong belief inside ABF that people smugglers have dumped their past practice of using slow and rickety wooden vessels, which they deliberately chose because ABF burns boats on intercept. Smugglers are now thought to be trying to test Australia’s resolve using high-powered fishing vessels that can reach the Australian coast and get back into international waters in a short window of time.

One group walked into Truscott in November last year. In February, 39 men from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh arrived on the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome - also on the Kimberley coast - and were discovered in two separate groups hours apart.

So far, every person who has reached the Australian mainland by boat since November has been removed to Nauru.

The size of the group that reached Truscott airbase is not known. The Australian understands a 90-seat charter jet has left Truscott airbase for Perth. Sources familiar with the operation believed this aircraft was being used to transport the arrivals.

A spokesperson for Home Affairs Minister Claire O’Neil did not offer details or confirm the operation.

“As a long standing practice we do not comment on operational matters,” the spokesperson said.

While neither the minister nor ABF provide commentary on operations as they happen, the ABF and the government have provided details about operations that have been completed. For example, the number of arrivals and their transfers to Nauru are documented in monthly reports published online. And more details are usually provided at senate estimates.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/another-illegal-boat-carrying-chinese-lands-on-wa-coast/news-story/72c7c2f434cf2f0afcb9635203c75ec0

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80104e No.20686636

File: 05f467befd051bc⋯.jpg (4.18 MB,7821x5214,3:2,Former_foreign_minister_Ju….jpg)

File: e188ad7ff6e7b96⋯.jpg (4.35 MB,5186x3457,5186:3457,Anwar_Ibrahim_and_his_wife….jpg)

File: 6a44657ba8eb111⋯.jpg (189.94 KB,1092x1200,91:100,DtEeOaXUcAAQX_G.jpg)

File: 8c7c5de2dfe926b⋯.jpg (139.59 KB,1200x900,4:3,DtDCkZxVYAAC4Zt.jpg)

File: fa45a046f8da01d⋯.jpg (117.41 KB,960x1200,4:5,DtEo5yWVsAALfKU.jpg)

Julie Bishop named United Nations special envoy for Myanmar

Michael Mehr and John Kidman - April 6, 2024

Former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop says she is deeply honoured to have been named by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his special envoy on Myanmar.

Bishop, who is currently Australian National University chancellor, will take up the post left vacant by the departure of Singaporean diplomat Noeleen Heyzer last June.

“I am deeply honoured to be appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Myanmar to help deliver on the mandate of the General Assembly and the Security Council Resolution of December 2022,” she said in a statement on Saturday.

Announcing the role, the UN noted one-time deputy Liberals leader had “extensive policy, legal and senior management experience”.

“Throughout her career, Ms Bishop has strengthened engagement with regional partners and led international negotiation efforts, including the first-ever United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea conciliation,” it added.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong welcomed the news on Saturday morning.

“Ms Bishop brings a wealth of experience to the role and her appointment comes at a critical time as the political, humanitarian and security situation in Myanmar continues to worsen,” Wong said.

“The people of Myanmar continue to demonstrate great resolve in the face of unspeakable violence and human rights abuses, and Australia remains resolute in our support for them.”

Wong said the special envoy played a vital role in sustaining international attention and supporting co-ordinated efforts towards a peaceful resolution in the troubled South-East Asian nation.

Australia would work closely with Bishop, ASEAN and the international community to build conditions for sustainable peace, she said.

Wong also reiterated the government’s call for the Myanmar regime to “cease violence against civilians, release those unjustly detained, allow safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance and return Myanmar to the path of inclusive democracy”.

Myanmar has been in crisis since the army took power from Aung Suu Kyi’s elected government on February 1, 2021.

The country is locked in a civil war between the military on one side and, on the other, a loose alliance of ethnic minority rebels and an armed resistance spawned out of the junta’s crackdown on anti-coup protests.

Bishop was Australia’s foreign minister from 2013 to 2018 under prime ministers Tony Abbott, Malcolm Turnbull and Scott Morrison.

She became ANU chancellor in January 2020. The university’s vice-chancellor, Professor Genevieve Bell, said Bishop’s recognition was well deserved.

“The entire ANU community congratulates Julie on this important appointment and wishes her the very best in this vital role,” she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/julie-bishop-named-united-nations-special-envoy-for-myanmar-20240406-p5fhvw.html

https://qresear.ch/?q=Julie+Bishop

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80104e No.20686729

File: d8812e200df6b6d⋯.jpg (2 MB,4256x2832,266:177,The_first_phase_of_AUKUS_w….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20676443

Japan to take part in AUKUS 'Pillar 2', America's ambassador to Japan tells Wall Street Journal

Stephen Dziedzic - 6 April 2024

Japan is set to participate in the second pillar of the AUKUS pact with Australia, the United Kingdom and United States in the first expansion to date of the defence technology-sharing arrangement.

Australia is working to develop nuclear-powered submarines under "Pillar 1" of AUKUS, utilising US and UK technology.

But there has been persistent speculation that Japan will at some point join "Pillar 2" of AUKUS, which is being used as a mechanism for all three countries to share advanced defence technologies across a range of fields including quantum technology, hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence.

On Friday, America's ambassador in Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Japan was "about to become the first additional Pillar II partner" in AUKUS.

He did not say when the official announcement would happen, but Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is visiting Washington next week to meet with US President Joe Biden, followed by a trilateral summit with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

US officials have already flagged that Washington would "seriously consider" including Japan as a technological partner in elements of the security partnership.

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell also hinted an AUKUS announcement with Japan might be imminent, telling reporters that the US, UK and Australia were open to other countries joining the arrangement.

"I think you'll hear that we have something to say about that next week," Mr Campbell said.

It is not clear exactly how Japan will collaborate with AUKUS, but Mr Campbell told Nikkei Asia that Japan could be interested in cooperating in a number of spheres, including advanced robotics, cyber initiatives and anti-submarine warfare.

One Australian government source told the ABC that Japan would collaborate on specific defence technology projects with the US, UK and Australia under AUKUS, but would not necessarily join the partnership as a full member.

A spokesperson for Defence Minister Richard Marles declined to comment on the ambassador's comments.

While Australia has repeatedly signalled that it is open to Japan collaborating with AUKUS, the Defence Minister suggested in February that it might be some time before other nations joined the partnership, saying AUKUS nations were "very much focused on working on new innovative technologies amongst the three countries".

"As Pillar 2 becomes more mature, which is going to take some years … I think there is an opportunity at that point to look at how we can cooperate with Japan in relation to that," Mr Marles said.

The UK has also repeatedly signalled it is open to other countries joining Pillar 2 of AUKUS, with its then Chief of Defence Staff saying in 2021 that AUKUS was not designed as an "exclusive" arrangement, and that nations like Japan, New Zealand and Canada could play a role in the future.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-06/japan-set-to-participate-aukus-agreement-with-australia-us-uk/103676680

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80104e No.20686736

File: cc1df2ca443a720⋯.jpg (177.42 KB,1200x720,5:3,Kurt_Campbell.jpg)

>>20676443

Campbell bares AUKUS’ destabilizing nature

Xia Wenxin - Apr 05, 2024

It seems that on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden's No.2 diplomat came up with a new pretext to peddle the questionable AUKUS, the trilateral security pact between the US, UK and Australia, to more countries. On that day, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell told Washington-based think tank Center for a New American Security that AUKUS' submarine capabilities "have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances" - "a rare linkage between Taiwan and AUKUS," according to the Reuters.

Campbell's words reveal that the US' constant attention on pushing the AUKUS is never about "promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region." Despite Biden claiming that this trilateral partnership is "not a challenge to anybody," the fact that the US is counting on AUKUS to play a certain role in the Taiwan question proves that Washington wants to use this trilateral partnership to challenge the status quo in the Taiwan Straits with the intention of deterring the Chinese mainland. Regional peace and stability will be undermined should AUKUS become a new tool for Washington's interference in the Taiwan question.

Back in 2021 when AUKUS was just established, the White House said that this partnership is "not about any one country." Now it seems that Campbell's blatant linkage between the Taiwan question and AUKUS gave a big slap in the face of Washington's words two years ago, as the Taiwan question is the core of the core interests of China.

A Chinese military expert told the Global Times that the deployment of the AUKUS will, to a certain extent, have an impact on the status quo in the Taiwan Straits, as the partnership will strengthen in-depth cooperation - both among its members and with other close partners - on various issues, including on the Taiwan question. On the other hand, actively seeking its expansion, AUKUS is making eyes on regional countries, some of which hold strong hostility to China. Once those countries join the group, it will create more trouble to China's resolution to the Taiwan question.

In addition to Taiwan, the US and its allies also attempt to destabilize the situation in the South China Sea. Given that Washington is currently increasingly pulling allies to intervene in the South China Sea issue to back the Philippines against China, the Chinese military expert believes that we cannot rule out the possibility that the US will form a linkage between the South China Sea and AUKUS one day. This is because the AUKUS' nature of countering China determines that China-related issues, be they the Taiwan question or the South China Sea issue, will top the agenda of any US alliance established in Asia-Pacific, while the deployment of the military strategy of such an alliance will also revolve around containing China's development.

Since its formation, AUKUS has been a wedge the US drives in regional peace and stability by luring allies into this process under the banner of military-technological cooperation. But let's talk about the elephant in the room: it's afraid that AUKUS won't even achieve its Pillar 1, which is to support Australia to acquire its nuclear-powered submarines, on time. Media reports on Friday show that US shipyards are running up to three years late in building new Virginia-class submarines for Canberra, raising even greater concerns about the future of AUKUS.

Against this backdrop, it is hard not to suspect that by emphasizing AUKUS's role in the Taiwan Straits as a hook to the "already expected benefits," Campbell's words on Wednesday also aimed to give a shot in the arm into AUKUS in an attempt to prove the significance of AUKUS' existence and boost allies' confidence in the pact.

However, does a partnership that may not even achieve its initial and fundamental goal really have a future? How will a bonus exist when none of the "benefits" it relies on can be actually delivered? It's a pipe dream for Washington to bet on using a non-existent bonus to attract more partners and allies into AUKUS, only proving how ridiculously conceited and lacking self-awareness the US is.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202404/1310044.shtml

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80104e No.20686765

File: 6a68c9bb1d26ba4⋯.jpg (1.64 MB,4032x2268,16:9,An_investigation_is_underw….jpg)

File: 50f335a3dd2bfd6⋯.jpg (1.78 MB,4032x3024,4:3,Nicki_Gaylard_has_unenroll….jpg)

Bestiality references allegedly made during presentation at Renmark High School

Amelia Walters - 4 Apr 2024

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Warning for readers: This article contains graphic language.

The South Australian Department for Education is investigating a presentation delivered to year 9 girls in a regional high school that allegedly referenced bestiality as being accepted by the LGBTQIA+ community.

Female students said teachers at Renmark High School told them to leave their lessons and attend a presentation in a separate classroom.

Students who attended the presentation on March 22 say two staff from the Headspace centre in the neighbouring town of Berri introduced a "third-party" presenter who facilitated an hour-long presentation focused on relationships.

Parents said they were not notified about the presentation, nor was it consented to.

Students said they were left unsupervised for the duration of the presentation.

Student Courtney White, 14, said she felt confused and blindsided by the presentation.

"We had a teacher that told us to grab a chair and sit in front of the board, and then the Headspace people came in and then [the teacher] left, so then we're sitting in front of a board alone with no teachers, just the Headspace people," she said.

"The first slide of the PowerPoint on the board was 'You can see queerly now' and 'No point hiding.'"

Girls felt 'really uncomfortable'

Fourteen-year-old Emelia Wundenberg said the presenter was graphic when referencing their own sexual preferences and spoke in sexually explicit terms about growing up and being confused about whether they idolised people of the same gender or wanted to be intimate with them.

Students say they were then given an explanation of the initialism LGBTQIA+, with each word and its meaning displayed on the screen.

"There was a slide for what the 'plus' means, and they just started randomly saying words that no-one knew, like bestiality," Emelia said.

"It was on the board when they were showing what the 'plus' meant."

The students said bestiality was then explained in detail and the presenter seemed to imply it was something practised by people who identified as LGBTQIA+.

"They said [the queer community] just accepts all of it, even though … isn't it illegal?" Emelia said.

As the talk went on multiple girls, including Courtney, began to feel uncomfortable and asked to leave the classroom to "go to the bathroom".

"We're all just sitting there like, 'What the hell? What are we doing here? Why are we learning about animals having sex with humans?'" she said.

"It was really disgusting, it was really uncomfortable."

Emelia said many of those who asked to leave the classroom did not return.

When the ABC sought comment from the presenter a response was sent on the person's behalf asking that reporters refrained from reaching out or naming them in its coverage.

'Normal procedure' not followed

Letters seen by the ABC that were sent to parents on behalf of Renmark High School principal Mat Evans stated that the presentation was meant to discuss "respectful relationships".

The letter acknowledged that the school's "normal procedure for notifying parents ahead of specific presentations was not followed".

Mr Evans said the third-party presenter had "been suspended from department schools while the department undertakes an investigation".

"We are undertaking an internal review to ensure that processes around such notifications and procedures with regard to third parties attending at our school are always met," he said.

The ABC contacted the Department for Education, which provided a similar statement and said the presentation was being investigated.

SA education department chief executive Martin Westwell said the presentation was "unacceptable" and "shouldn't have happened".

Speaking with ABC Radio Adelaide on Thursday, Professor Westwell said conversations about sexual health, societal norms, stereotypes and sexuality were normal parts of the Australian curriculum, but the presentation at Renmark High School was not.

"The core idea that students should understand sexuality and other sexualities is, I think, really important — but the way [the presenter] went about it was unacceptable," he said.

"The school has clearly made some mistakes.

"There should have been a teacher in the room when that occurred, but there wasn't and the principal has apologised for that.

"They hadn't reviewed the content.

"There was a few things that went wrong and it ended up with this inappropriate language and a few things being discussed in that session that were just not appropriate."

(continued)

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80104e No.20686770

File: 28620fddbf7b28b⋯.jpg (2.24 MB,4032x2268,16:9,Renmark_High_School_says_a….jpg)

File: 9125f692de48e6b⋯.jpg (353.68 KB,2040x1536,85:64,Kristy_Fyfe_says_the_prese….jpg)

File: 32b20d073ec691f⋯.jpg (1.25 MB,3467x2310,3467:2310,Mel_Brush_left_and_Eleonor….jpg)

>>20686765

2/2

Support being provided to students

Headspace's national head of clinical leadership Nicola Palfrey said the organisation was aware of concerns raised by members of the Renmark community.

"We take all feedback very seriously and are reviewing how we can support and guide Headspace centres … to ensure presentations they facilitate or deliver are aligned with evidence and best practice and are safe and appropriate for young people," she said.

FocusOne Health Board chair Ian Gartley said the "focus at Headspace Berri, operated under licence by FocusOne Health, is on the mental health and wellbeing of young people".

"We are aware of concerns raised by local members of the Renmark community following a presentation delivered by a lived experience speaker that Headspace Berri facilitated at Renmark High School," he said.

"Our priority right now is ensuring that any young people and their families who may be experiencing distress receive the support they need."

All parties involved in the alleged incident declined to provide the presentation to the ABC.

Following the presentation, a follow-up letter seen by the ABC was sent to parents offering counselling services from the education department, which had arranged a social worker to attend the school to help support affected students.

Parents express shock and outrage

Parents of students who attended the presentation said it was a poor representation of the queer community and had raised many concerns about the school's protocols for third-party presentations.

"Who vetted this material? Who made sure it was safe for 14- and 15-year-old girls? Some of them are still 13," Emelia's mother Kristy Fyfe said.

"It has done a huge disservice to the [queer] community."

Following the presentation, Courtney's mother Nicki Gaylard removed her three children from Renmark High School.

"My kids are in limbo," she said.

"They're not in an education department at this point.

"I'm not putting them anywhere until I know this won't happen again.

"Under no circumstances should a child in that school ever feel trapped and unsafe without someone with their certificate, meaning a teacher."

The ABC has spoken to five other parents whose children attended the presentation.

They substantiated the two girls' claims.

LGBTQIA+ educators condemn 'slur'

Sexuality educators and LGBTQIA+ inclusion advocates Mel Brush and Eleonora Bertsa-Fuchs conduct consent and queer inclusion training for schools, parents and workplaces via their social enterprise Let's Talk About X.

Both are secondary teachers and Mx Bertsa-Fuchs said queer education was important but should be delivered in a safe and appropriate setting.

"The teachers are the people that these young people have a relationship with, that they are familiar with, that they're comfortable with," Mx Bertsa-Fuchs said.

"When you're in a vulnerable situation, like a respectful relationships workshop or seminar, there should be someone in the room that you are familiar with."

Mx Brush said the alleged use of the word bestiality in the presentation was damaging to the queer community.

"It's pretty shocking to think about that term being thrown around like that, especially given how loaded it is, and for a historical context of the way that it's been used as a slur and to discriminate against LGBT+ people," Mx Brush said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-04/alleged-bestiality-references-renmark-high-school-presentation/103653438

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80104e No.20686801

File: 17bd4223f684ae4⋯.jpg (302.45 KB,1600x900,16:9,William_Costellia_Kamm_lef….jpg)

File: 00361a928d84d3d⋯.jpg (134.89 KB,1600x896,25:14,William_Kamm_pictured_in_2….jpg)

File: bb6ac106e8b4a4c⋯.jpg (141.7 KB,1600x897,1600:897,While_police_say_the_73_ye….jpg)

>>20550432

Cult leader granted bail on child grooming charges

Miklos Bolza - Apr 4, 2024

Despite police claiming they have phone recordings of an alleged child abuse victim describing sexual acts she was forced to perform, her accused groomer has been granted bail.

Self-professed prophet William Kamm has been charged along with his wife Sandra Susan Mathison with the sexual abuse of the child since she was six years old.

While police say the 73-year-old never met his victim, they claim he phoned her, wrote her letters and sent presents intending to groom the girl to become a "queen" in his church.

On Thursday, police prosecutor Sergeant Mark Philipson told Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court the evidence consisted of intercepted telephone chats between Mathison and the alleged victim as well as over 2000 jail calls from Kamm to his wife.

In one call the complainant, who cannot be identified, told Mathison she was required to masturbate over the phone with Kamm.

"The response from Mrs Mathison was along the lines of admitting or acknowledging (the complainant) was required to do that," Sgt Philipson said.

In another call, the 58-year-old told the alleged victim she had been chosen to be a "queen" for a very long time.

The court heard that while Kamm was in jail, he spoke in code words to his wife over the phone using phrases like 'number eight', 'sausage', or 'brother'.

"There was coded conversation between the accused and the co-accused Ms Mathison concerning whether or not the complainant had reached puberty," Sgt Philipson said.

Defence barrister Paul Johnson called the complainant's claims "bizarre", saying they did not match with police facts which said she disclosed the alleged masturbation to Mathison when she was 16 years old.

According to the facts sheet, Mathison told the girl she should perform that sexual act during confession with Kamm.

Johnson said while women in the church were appointed as queens, there was no evidence they were under the age of consent at the time.

Magistrate Scott Nash granted Kamm bail under strict conditions which require him to wear electronic monitoring and reside at a supervised correctional complex in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

He acknowledged that while the case against the 73-year-old was not weak, the delays in reaching a trial plus the onerous conditions Kamm already had to follow under an extended supervision order warranted his release.

That order was imposed after Kamm was released on parole, being convicted of the child abuse of two separate complainants.

While the cult leader's criminal history included serious offences, Nash found he did not have a history of violence nor showed a pattern of failing to comply with court orders.

The imposition of strict conditions while the 73-year-old was out on bail mitigated many of the concerns the court had, the magistrate said.

Kamm wore prison greens as he watched the hearing by video-link from Parklea Correctional Centre.

Mathison, who attended court in person, waved to her husband after he was granted bail and before the video-link was disconnected.

Under the bail conditions, Kamm will be prohibited from using a smartphone or internet-capable device, using encrypted apps, or contacting Mathison, the complainant or any prosecution witness.

He will not be released from Parklea however, until a bed has been secured for him at the correctional complex.

The 78-year-old has been charged with grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and an aggravated offence of inciting a person to do a sexual act.

He has also been charged with two counts of failing to comply with a supervision order.

His wife has been charged with grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity and grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity.

No pleas have been entered at this stage.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

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

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service (1800 211 028)

https://fullstop.org.au/get-help/our-services

https://www.9news.com.au/national/cult-leader-granted-bail-on-child-grooming-charges/d2ab7ed0-0b1b-439f-aec1-ba1fb3a459d8

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80104e No.20686820

File: 4f56277fe42c71a⋯.jpg (146.31 KB,2000x1334,1000:667,Hold_on_to_your_hat_A_clai….jpg)

File: 663f33983adf100⋯.jpg (1.66 MB,2329x3543,2329:3543,Paedophile_priest_Michael_….jpg)

Pope seeks immunity in Australian court over notorious paedophile priest

Chip Le Grand - April 6, 2024

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Pope Francis is claiming legal immunity as a head of state to fight a damages claim brought by two Aboriginal men over the Vatican’s failure to protect them from the priest who sexually abused them as children.

Documents filed in the Victorian Supreme Court last month by lawyers representing the Pope flag the church’s intention to rely on the Vatican’s unique status in international law to stop the pontiff from being drawn into a civil lawsuit involving one of Australia’s most notorious paedophile priests.

Renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson KC said the case raised questions about the Vatican’s century-old claim to statehood and technical legal defences it has previously employed to escape accountability for crimes against children committed by its priests.

Speaking to this masthead from London, he said the case was likely to gain international attention. “If it does reach the stage of answering the vexed question of whether the Vatican is in practice a state, it could have considerable consequences,” Robertson said.

The case centres on the abuse of two Aboriginal boys by Michael Glennon, a serial child rapist who despite being convicted and jailed for the indecent assault of a girl in 1978, remained an ordained priest for the next 20 years. At the time of Glennon’s death, he was in jail for crimes against 15 children.

The plaintiffs are seeking to hold Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli and Pope Francis vicariously responsible for the alleged failings of their predecessors which enabled Glennon to keep accessing and abusing children for years after senior figures in the church, both here and in Rome, knew he was a paedophile.

In response, lawyers for Pope Francis have challenged the jurisdiction of the court. They argue that, as ruler of the Vatican City and Holy See, the Pope is a head of state and under Australia’s Foreign States Immunities Act, immune from any proceeding before an Australian court.

This argument, which mirrors legal defences the church has successfully employed in Europe and the US, has never been tested in Australia, where decades of clerical abuse of children and the church’s “catastrophic failure of leadership” were exposed and documented by a royal commission and state-based parliamentary inquiries.

“To my knowledge it has never been tested,” said Deakin and La Trobe University international law expert Dr John Morss, who has provided expert advice to the court on behalf of the plaintiffs about the legal status of the Pope and the Vatican.

“My view is that the Pope is not the head of a foreign state in relation to Australia.

“Up till now, decisions that have been made around the world have given the immunity that has been asked for by the Holy See on the basis it has sufficient statehood status. Australia would be striking a new path if they look at this from first principles and come to a different decision.

Robertson, a Sydney-born, London-based barrister who established Europe’s largest human rights legal practice, is the author of The Case Against the Pope, a book which examines legal tactics used by the Vatican to protect paedophile priests and the Pope’s moral and legal responsibility for clerical abuse.

He said that the Vatican’s assumed statehood, although formally recognised by the Australian government through its appointment of an ambassador to the Holy See, was “a matter of continuing controversy” among international lawyers.

“All that can be agreed is it is a complete anomaly,” he said.

“In reality, it is not a state. It is the headquarters of a church. It lacks many requirements of a state, including that it should have a permanent population. It is a palace in Rome with extensive gardens, a few hundred Catholic officials and lots of tourists.

Comensoli and the Pope’s representative in Australia, Apostolic Nuncio Charles Balvo, did not respond to questions from this masthead. Pope Francis has previously urged the church to submit to a “humble and ongoing purification” to atone for historic clerical abuse.

(continued)

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80104e No.20686822

File: 324e9aedda0ea61⋯.jpg (821.01 KB,2736x1818,152:101,London_based_barrister_Geo….jpg)

>>20686820

2/2

The current legal status of the Vatican as an entity with “the resemblance to statehood” was established by the 1929 Lateran Treaty signed by Italy’s fascist leader Benito Mussolini and Pope Pius XI. Under the agreement, the papacy recognised the state of Italy with Rome as its capital while Italy recognised papal sovereignty over the 44 hectares of land contained within the Vatican walls.

The Australian government since 1973 has acknowledged papal sovereignty by sending two ambassadors to Rome; one for Italy and another for the Holy See.

The Vatican’s claim to foreign state immunity was recently upheld by a 2021 decision by the European Court of Human Rights involving survivors of child sexual abuse by Belgian priests.

In the Victorian case, the two Aboriginal men were allegedly repeatedly abused and raped as children by Glennon between 1983 and 1990. Some of the assaults took place at Karaglen, a bush retreat established by Glennon near Lancefield, north of Melbourne, where he invited families to stay, plied parents with alcohol and sexually abused their children.

A third plaintiff allegedly abused by Glennon withdrew from the lawsuit.

Former Archbishop of Melbourne Denis Hart told the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse that after Glennon was jailed for indecent assault in 1978, he ceased to be a practising priest and was not given another appointment by the church.

It took the Melbourne Archdiocese a further 12 years to petition the Holy See to laicise Glennon; the formal process for defrocking priests which requires a papal decree.

According to Hart, his predecessor Archbishop Frank Little twice petitioned Rome without success in 1990 and a 1994. Finally, in 1999, then Archbishop George Pell convinced Pope John Paul II to issue a decree stripping Glennon of his status as an ordained priest.

The lawyer for the two Aboriginal men, Angela Sdrinis, said Pope Francis had a vicarious case to answer for John Paul II’s inaction during that time.

“Australian taxpayers have spent millions of dollars trying to bring the Catholic Church and other institutions to account,” she said. “We say this is a case of direct accountability of the Pope and his office and that he should therefore be a defendant and answer the allegations against him.

“What we are seeing is a reliance on a technical legal defence to avoid direct accountability for paedophile priests. We are not saying that the Pope does not have the right to defend the allegations but it is repugnant that the Pope should essentially repeat history that we saw with Pell and the Church’s reliance on the Ellis defence.”

The Ellis defence, named after clerical abuse survivor John Ellis, was previously used by the church in Australia to shield its assets from damages claims to deter victims of child sex abuse from seeking remedies through the courts.

The case is scheduled to return to court in August for a directions hearing.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/pope-seeks-immunity-in-australian-court-over-notorious-paedophile-priest-20240404-p5fhib.html

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80104e No.20691491

File: ae91d32d391484b⋯.jpg (166.77 KB,1280x720,16:9,Joe_Biden_left_shares_a_to….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20686729

Aukus weighs expanding security pact to deter China in Indo-Pacific

US, UK and Australia to announce talks that the White House hopes will lead to Japan joining the defence alliance

Demetri Sevastopulo and Kana Inagaki - 7 April 2024

The US, UK and Australia are to begin talks on bringing new members into Aukus as Washington pushes for Japan to be involved in the security pact aimed as a deterrent against China.

The Aukus defence ministers will announce on Monday that they will launch talks related to Pillar II of the alliance, which involves collaboration on technologies such as undersea capabilities and hypersonic weapons, according to people familiar with the situation. They are not considering expanding Pillar I, which focuses on Australia’s procurement of nuclear-powered submarines.

The statement will come just before US President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit at the White House on Wednesday and a historic US-Japan-Philippines trilateral meeting on Thursday. The US and Japan will on Wednesday announce that they are planning the biggest upgrade to their security alliance since 1960.

The Aukus pledge to begin consultations on expansion is a compromise between the allies after some US officials pushed for Japan to join Aukus formally as a member.

When Aukus was launched in 2021, there was talk about others joining Pillar II at some point. As the critical ally in Asia for each member, Japan was the natural candidate for what was dubbed “Jaukus”.

As Japan increases its defence spending, for example, it is investing more in developing hypersonic weapons. Bringing in other partners would also help spread the costs of developing the technologies.

Speculation had mounted that Tokyo would be asked to work on Pillar II, particularly after US ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel this week said Japan was “about to become the first additional Pillar II partner”.

Some in the US government privately welcomed his intervention, hoping that it would add momentum to bringing Japan into Aukus. But his comments ruffled feathers from the White House to London, Canberra and Tokyo because there was no agreement.

Emanuel did not respond to a request for comment.

Australia and Britain had for months been pushing back against the idea of inviting Japan at this point, partly because they want to focus on ironing out existing complications in their trilateral co-operation.

Kurt Campbell, the US deputy secretary of state and an advocate for Japanese involvement in Aukus, this week said the US was separately doing development and co-production with both the UK and Australia but that “how we trilateralise some of that over time is challenging”.

The UK and Australia are also concerned, as are many in Washington, that Japan still lacks the security systems required to protect highly sensitive information. Campbell appeared to concede that Tokyo had more work to do, saying the US had been urging it to take measures.

“Japan has taken some of those steps, but not all of them,” Campbell said at an Aukus event at CNAS, a think-tank in Washington.

Canberra stresses the need to focus on the submarine programme before expanding Aukus by adding countries to Pillar II. “All three still agree that getting Pillar I locked in is the priority,” said one person familiar with the discussions between the Aukus allies.

The issue has sparked much debate between the allies and inside the US administration. At one point, there was an idea to have Biden, Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak issue a joint statement to generate more impact. But they ultimately opted to have the defence ministers announce the move.

The Aukus statement will potentially pave the way for Biden and Kishida to include an aspirational reference about future Japanese involvement in the joint statement they will issue after their summit.

There has also been debate in Japan. While Tokyo has been a strong supporter of Aukus, some officials have been cautious about pushing too hard to be included given the divisions within the Aukus countries.

In an interview with the Financial Times and other media on Friday, Kishida said no formal decision had been made on how Japan would co-operate with Aukus in the future.

“To achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, we would like to continue various efforts to strengthen our co-operation with the US, Australia and the UK, who are important partners in security and defence,” he said.

https://www.ft.com/content/bd94b87a-0395-420b-a35c-909b1762650a

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80104e No.20691508

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20555443

>>20676443

>>20691491

Senior US diplomat lets the AUKUS cat out of the bag

America’s No. 2 diplomat has publicly confirmed what the AUKUS submarines are for: potential war with China.

James Curran - Apr 7, 2024

1/2

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has once more torn away the veil of what the AUKUS submarines are actually intended for: a potential war with China over Taiwan.

But he has gone much further. Campbell has criticised the Albanese government’s public emphasis – and indeed that of his own President – on AUKUS’ capacity for domestic job creation, and says “more money” will be required to realise the audacious plan.

Speaking in Washington last week, Campbell referred to the “practical circumstances in which AUKUS has the potential to have submarines from a number of countries operating in close co-ordination that could deliver conventional ordnance from long distances”.

“Those have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances,” he said.

At the very least, that’s in stark contrast to the deliberately ambiguous line that Australian governments traditionally use when it comes to the potential for involvement in armed conflict over Taiwan.

On the eve of Japan being invited to join Pillar 2 of AUKUS, Campbell also raised questions over whether Japan has taken sufficient steps to protect sensitive US intelligence.

But it is his remarks on Taiwan and AUKUS Pillar 1 that directly countermand statements from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles, namely that Australian sovereign control over operational use of the submarines would be maintained.

Campbell’s intervention raises fundamental questions that the Australian government must now answer, including on a likely cost blowout for the project. Neither the Prime Minister’s office and Mr Marles’ office opted to answer direct questions about Campbell’s remarks, pointing only to previous public statements.

In February last year, Albanese said emphatically that “Australia will maintain our sovereignty” in the event of a military contingency where Canberra had a difference of view with either London or Washington.

Marles, speaking the following month, said Australia’s “next-generation submarines will be Australian sovereign assets, commanded by Australian officers, and under the sovereign control of Australia”.

Then, Labor’s July party conference passed a resolution expressly stating that AUKUS “does not involve any ante facto commitment to participate in, or be directed in accordance with, the military operations of any other country”.

These messages have fallen on deaf ears in Washington.

(continued)

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80104e No.20691510

File: d3ae3dfe62c437c⋯.jpg (3 MB,2863x1752,2863:1752,Kurt_Campbell_right_along_….jpg)

>>20691508

2/2

Campbell seems especially frustrated that Albanese sells AUKUS to the electorate, and especially Labor’s trade union constituency, as being primarily about job creation. But President Biden has made the same point, and about union jobs. As has British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

Campbell says AUKUS is “not a jobs program”, but rather “a security partnership that is profoundly constitutional and has the potential to … create fundamentally new realities on the ground really, in the water in Asia”.

What he means by “profoundly constitutional” is unclear. AUKUS is neither a pact nor a treaty: it is an agreement. And the agreement’s terms are not public.

But it shows US thinking has only ever been about mutual obligations at a time of war. Campbell confirms what AUKUS sceptics have consistently pointed out – that Washington would not transfer the jewel in its crown – nuclear-powered submarines – if it did not have ultimate say over their operational use, especially if a conflict arises with China.

Campbell has form. He told EU officials privately in 2022 that AUKUS was about “getting Australia off the fence – we have them locked in now for the next 40 years”.

Last July, he said publicly that “when submarines are provided from the United States to Australia, it’s not like they’re lost” to the US.

Campbell has been a chief alliance whisperer to Australian prime ministers, ministers and officials for the best part of 20 years, holding Australian hands down the strategic aisle.

But his comments last week go beyond whispers or homilies to alliance intimacy.

Understand the implications for the Australia-US alliance here.

A generation of Australian leaders in the 1960s beat a steady path to the Oval Office asking US presidents to set down conclusively what America understood to be its obligations to Australia’s security under ANZUS. They asked and asked. The Americans fudged. So, Australia eventually gave up asking.

The roles are now reversed. Campbell now spells out the expectations Washington has of Australia to fight alongside it in the Taiwan straits.

He simply assumes Australia will be there. If that doesn’t raise alarms in Canberra about who will control this projected submarine capability, then Australia slumbers in a strategic doze. A doze it might only awake from when it is too late.

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/senior-us-diplomat-lets-the-aukus-cat-out-of-the-bag-20240407-p5fhyt

https://www.cnas.org/publications/transcript/aukus-securing-the-indo-pacific-a-conversation-with-kurt-campbell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10uUcBXDPw8

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80104e No.20691520

File: c66db3e0abbe7dd⋯.jpg (379.02 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Japan_are_set_to_join_AUKU….jpg)

File: 360e99ba8f743c3⋯.jpg (180.89 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Japan_s_Prime_Minister_Fum….jpg)

File: edce197a8360de4⋯.jpg (244.29 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_and_Joe_B….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20676429

>>20691491

Japan set to join AUKUS tech pact

BEN PACKHAM - APRIL 7, 2024

Australia, the US and Britain are poised to admit Japan to the AUKUS pact’s advanced technology partnership, in a move set to turbocharge the alliance’s development of hi-tech weapons aimed at deterring China.

Defence Minister Richard Marles will within days have talks with his US and British counterparts on expanding the membership of AUKUS’s ‘Pillar II’, which is focused on hypersonics, AI and autonomous systems, quantum computing, advanced cyber capabilities and electronic warfare.

The move, reported initially by Britain’s Financial Times, comes despite concerns among AUKUS members that Tokyo does not yet have sufficient security arrangements in place to prevent the theft of sensitive technology.

Further details are expected when US President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the White House on Wednesday, when they are due to cement the biggest upgrade to the US-Japan security alliance since the 1960s.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy will travel to Washington DC this week for talks on the AUKUS submarine program with US defence officials and industry partners.

US ambassador to Tokyo Rahm Emanuel said last week Japan was “about to become the first additional Pillar II partner”, while Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell also hinted at the new “JAUKUS” arrangement, declaring “we have something to say about that next week”.

Japan’s admission to AUKUS Pillar II will infuriate China, which has warned that the alliance was a threat to regional ­security.

The expansion of the AUKUS technology partnership comes amid ongoing tensions in the South China Sea, where Beijing ordered “combat patrols” in response to a joint naval operation by Australia, the US, Japan and The Philippines.

Anzac-class frigate HMAS Warramunga participated in the exercise on Sunday, in The Philippines’ exclusive economic zone, where Manila has faced escalating Chinese maritime aggression.

Mr Marles said the exercise demonstrated Australia’s “unwavering commitment” to maintaining a stable, peaceful region.

AUKUS’s ‘Pillar I’ nuclear submarine agreement will remain a trilateral pact between Australia, the US and Britain, but Japan, as a leading advanced manufacturer, is seen as a natural partner for Pillar II.

Canada and New Zealand have also shown interest in joining the advanced technology partnership.

Mr Marles’s spokeswoman said the inclusion of any other country to AUKUS Pillar II would be decided and announced trilaterally. “Japan is an indispensable defence partner for Australia,” she said.

“Our comprehensive defence relationship is underpinned by close strategic alignment and enormous potential for technology and industrial co-operation.”

The US Studies Centre’s foreign policy and defence program director, Peter Dean, said adding Japan to the exclusive technology partnership was a positive development, which had been delayed by security concerns.

“The thing that’s been the limitation on this has actually been Japan’s cybersecurity and their personal security protection measures, which the Japanese are addressing,” Professor Dean said.

He said Tokyo’s security processes were “a long way behind” those of Five Eyes’ nations, including Australia.

ANU National Security College head Rory Medcalf said Japan would bring “exceptional science and tech heft” to the partnership but urged AUKUS partners to “hasten slowly” on JAUKUS, with the three partners still needing to develop regulatory, industry and research arrangements to underpin Pillar II.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/aukus-tech-pact-set-to-become-jaukus/news-story/327a1b8e880f7ea92093b2f51a50520c

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80104e No.20695582

File: 3d3ef100f81a97b⋯.jpg (248.51 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Former_Chief_of_the_Defenc….jpg)

File: fa39ff97c679cba⋯.jpg (148.35 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australian_aid_worker_Zomi….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20665416

>>20686545

Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin to lead probe into Israel’s World Central Kitchen strike

BEN PACKHAM and TRICIA RIVERA - APRIL 8, 2024

1/2

Anthony Albanese has said intelligence from Israel about its investigation into the air strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers including Australian Zomi Frankcom “hasn’t yet satisfied expectations,” as Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin was appointed special adviser to the government on Israel’s response to the disaster.

Air Chief Marshal Binskin will be tasked with engaging with Israel and Israel Defence Forces on the response to the attack which killed Ms Frankcom and six other World Kitchen aid workers.

The initial Israeli investi­gation – rejected as unsatisfactory by Australia – found drone strikes on three World Central Kitchen aid vehicles occurred after IDF troops mistakenly determined Hamas gunmen were travelling with the aid convoy.

Two Israeli officers were dismissed from their positions over the tragedy, and two senior commanders were reprimanded.

The army said its findings would be sent to military prosecutors, but it is unclear whether any of the personnel will face charges.

Mr Albanese said he hoped Air Chief Marshal Binskin would have “full access “to the Israeli investigation.

“Special Adviser Binskin, of course, would be well known to Australians for the role that he’s played in the Australian Defence Force,” he told ABC News Radio on Monday.

“We have made it very clear that these deaths are utterly inexcusable and that action is needed to ensure that such a tragedy is never repeated. And we also want full accountability for these deaths.

“Now, the information that Israel has provided so far on its investigation hasn’t yet satisfied our expectations. So, we would expect that Mr Binskin will be able to work in a way that provides greater information to Australia.”

The Prime Minister said his government wanted to ensure all evidence was preserved and that appropriate action was taken and made public if the investigation found IDF personnel did not act in accordance with the law.

“(Special Adviser Binskin) will have certainly the confidence of the Australian Government to engage and we expect the full co-operation of the Israeli Government with this investigation,” he said.

“We want him to, obviously it is a difficult circumstance given the conflict that is ongoing in Gaza, but we want him to have full access and we expect that from the Israeli Government and the Israeli Defence Force.”

He was asked if Australia would withdraw any support it was offering Israel after Britain’s deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden suggested the UK would stop supplying weapons to Israel if it was found to be in breach of international law.

“Well, we of course don’t send arms to Israel now, so we haven’t done so for some period of years,” Mr Albanese answered.

ADF commander to lead Israel strike probe

As the government worked through its shortlist for the extraordinary role, it prioritised candidates with defence experience who could work closely with the Israeli investigation, led by an Israeli Defence Forces reserves major.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong revealed on Monday that Air Chief Marshal Binskin was the government’s pick.

“His experience and expertise mean ACM Binskin is eminently qualified to provide the Australian government advice on the sufficiency and appropriateness of steps taken by the Israeli government,” Senator Wong said.

“Australia has made clear to the Israeli government our expectation and trust that this engagement will be facilitated.

The special adviser will provide advice to the Australian government regarding any further representations or actions that could be taken to ensure a full and transparent investigation and to hold those responsible to account.

“The appointment of ACM Binskin will ensure the family of Zomi Frankcom, and the Australian people can have confidence in this process.”

PM calls for transparency

Anthony Albanese had earlier declared the government wanted “clear information and transparency around this”.

As the Israel-Hamas war entered its seventh month, Industry and Science Minister Ed Husic said there were “systemic problems” in the way Israel had conducted itself in the conflict, and Frankcom had “paid the price”.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said it was “naive” to pretend civ­ilians weren’t accidentally killed in wartime, including by Australian forces. He said the deaths of the aid workers last week were “a tragedy in a sea of tragedies” dating back to the October 7 terrorist attack, when another Australian - Galit Carbone - was killed by Hamas.

“Unlike Hamas, Israel does have processes and they have been stepping through those processes of investigation,” he told the ABC’s Insiders program.

(continued)

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80104e No.20695585

File: c24f2500fc3525c⋯.jpg (183.87 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Air_Chief_Marshal_Mark_Bin….jpg)

File: 470206bd1c1e4ac⋯.jpg (635.36 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Pro_Palestinian_protesters….jpg)

>>20695582

2/2

“None of us should lose sight of the broader moral context in which this war is being fought, and that is that none of these points of process and equivalence apply to Hamas, who killed an Australian, along with, of course, 1200 other people in barbaric circumstances. They don’t have transparency, they don’t have processes.”

The initial Israeli investi­gation – rejected as unsatisfactory by Australia – found drone strikes on three World Central Kitchen aid vehicles occurred after IDF troops mistakenly determined Hamas gunmen were travelling with the aid convoy.

Two Israeli officers were dismissed from their positions over the tragedy, and two senior commanders were reprimanded.

The army said its findings would be sent to military prosecutors, but it is unclear whether any of the personnel will face charges.

“Those who approved the strike were convinced that they were targeting armed Hamas operatives and not WCK employees,” the IDF said in its written findings.

“The strike on the aid vehicles is a grave mistake stemming from a serious failure due to mistaken identification, errors in decision-making, and an attack contrary to the standard operating procedures.”

Mr Husic, who has been a consistent critic of Israel’s conduct in the war, said Israel had failed to ensure its systems protected civilians and aid workers.

“This is a systematic problem or systemic problem within the way in which the Israeli government has conducted these operations in Gaza,” he told Sky News.

“And that’s why you have seen so many Palestinians killed, and that is an issue that needs to be confronted.”

Mr Husic said the appointment of a special adviser was “a very big step by our government” to get to the bottom of what happened.

Earlier, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the aid workers’ deaths were “utterly inexcusable”, demanding “clear practical action” to ensure they were not repeated.

“We have made clear, after we were verbally briefed, that we have not yet received sufficient information to satisfy our expectations,” Senator Wong said.

International law expert Don Rothwell said the appointment of a special adviser was “unprecedented in modern times”, and not reflected in the actions of other countries who lost nationals in the WCK tragedy.

“I cannot think of a single instance of this type of unilateral conduct by Australia having occurred previously,” Professor Rothwell said. “It demonstrates serious intent on the part of ­Australia to keep open a range of additional diplomatic, legal and political options if the Israeli response is not considered satisfactory.”

University of Sydney international law expert Ben Saul, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights, said whoever was appointed special adviser would need to see the source evidence used by IDF investigators.

“Unless you see that evidence, you can’t draw any sensible conclusions about whether the Israeli investigation got it right or was sufficiently rigorous,” Professor Saul said.

He said Australia would be concerned with ensuring that proper criminal investigations had occurred “because, frankly, there is a long history of impunity for Israeli violations”.

Pro-Palestinian protesters marked the six-month anniversary of the conflict on Sunday at rallies in capital cities.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy network said the Albanese government had shown little political will “to end Israel’s atrocities”.

The deaths of the aid workers has proven to be a tipping point for Israel’s international supporters, with US President Joe Biden warning Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week that he wanted to see “concrete tangible steps” to reduce civilian harm and improve access for humanitarian aid.

The Gaza war broke out on October 7 last year, when Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, killing at least 1170 people and taking more than 250 hostages, 129 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who are believed dead.

Palestinian officials say Israel has since killed at least 33,137 people in Gaza, mostly women and children.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/senior-military-figure-to-lead-probe-into-israels-world-central-kitchen-strike/news-story/04f323b5a5958c164f81b53711b90206

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80104e No.20695591

File: a16d3c68ae7659a⋯.jpg (80.51 KB,800x533,800:533,Australian_MP_Shayne_Neuma….jpg)

File: 4bcba69ebb0c834⋯.jpg (98.8 KB,800x546,400:273,Australian_MP_Andrew_Walla….jpg)

File: a015f582d2fc7b4⋯.jpg (72.17 KB,800x566,400:283,President_Tsai_Ing_wen_fro….jpg)

>>20676406

Australian-Taiwan partnership good for regional peace: Visiting lawmakers

focustaiwan.tw - 04/08/2024

Taipei, April 8 (CNA) A visiting Australian parliamentary delegation said in Taipei Monday that building stronger ties with Taiwan, including on security cooperation, is beneficial to peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.

"We face a military buildup in this region," Shayne Neumann, a member of the Australian ruling Labor Party, told President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) during their meeting at the Presidential Office.

The chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade in Australia's House of Representatives said his country is working with friends and allies "to preserve the regional balance here and preserve the status quo for Taiwan"

"We're against any unilateral actions; maintaining the status quo is comprehensively superior to the alternative," he told Tsai.

"We know that maintaining the status quo will be challenging but we wish to reassure you that you are amongst friends," he added.

The Australian lawmaker also said that both Taiwan and Australia are leading Indo-Pacific democracies with the shared objective of an open and stable region.

"Australia and Taiwan are stronger together. We are honored to be here; Australia is proud to be Taiwan's partner and friend," he said.

Another member of the delegation, Andrew Wallace of the Liberal Party of Australia, told Tsai that "in an ever changing geopolitical landscape, security cooperation is paramount."

Taiwan and Australia both recognize the importance of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, according to Wallace, the deputy chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security.

"Our strategic partnership contributes significantly to regional security and our shared interests in a rules-based, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific. We stand united against any threat to regional stability," he said.

He also noted that Taiwan and Australia already collaborate in cyber security and both sides maintained close cooperation in terms of economics and trade, given the fact Taiwan is Australia's seventh largest trading partner

"The Taiwan-Australia relationship transcends diplomatic channels, it embodies shared values resilience and a commitment to a prosperous and secure future," he said, referring to the fact that the two countries do not have official diplomatic ties.

Meanwhile, both visiting lawmakers expressed Canberra's condolences to the people and government of Taiwan following a magnitude 7.2 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan last Wednesday and has left at least 13 people dead and more than 1,000 injured.

"I want to start by expressing condolences for the tragic loss of lives injured and damage caused by the earthquake on the third of April on behalf of the Australia people and Australian parliament," said Neumann.

Wallace said Australians were "genuinely distressed" at the news of the earthquake last week.

"We are sending our thoughts and prayers and best wishes from Australian people that we bring collectively to your government and your people," Wallace told Tsai.

Tsai thanked Australia for reaffirming the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait at bilateral and multilateral forums in recent years.

She also called on friends in Australia to support negotiations regarding the signing of an economic cooperation agreement between Australia and Taiwan and back Taipei's bid to join the regional trade bloc, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, of which Australia is a member.

Neumann and Wallace are leading a cross-party parliamentary delegation to Taiwan that arrived in the country early Monday.

Other members of their delegation include, Julian Hill, chair of the Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit; Angie Bell, shadow minister for early childhood education and shadow minister for youth; and Senator Dave Sharma, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

Before departing Taiwan on Friday, the Australian parliamentarians are also scheduled to meet with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) and Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and pay a trip to several government departments, MOFA added.

https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202404080008

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80104e No.20695601

File: 73487f230a0d0a0⋯.jpg (172.51 KB,1280x720,16:9,A_Nauru_Airlines_plane_at_….jpg)

File: e13daf7cb72e693⋯.jpg (206.53 KB,1375x773,1375:773,Mungalalu_Truscott_Airbase….jpg)

>>20686589

>>20686594

Anthony Albanese vows no turnback on Operation Sovereign Borders as third boat arrives

PAIGE TAYLOR and RACHEL BAXENDALE - APRIL 8, 2024

1/2

People who arrive by boat seeking a better life or even asylum “won’t be settled in Australia”, Anthony Albanese has said as he doubles down on his government’s commitment to the Coalition’s Operation Sovereign Borders policy following another undetected mainland arrival.

The latest illegal maritime ­arrivals to reach Western Australia’s far north Kimberley coastline were the third known group since November and the first Chinese to reach Australia by boat since 2012. All but one of the group was put on a charter jet to Nauru on Sunday.

There were varying reports about the size of the group but late on Sunday The Australian was told a total of 10 men, all believed to be Chinese, were delivered to the mainland near Truscott.

The group wandered into the airbase about 4pm on Friday. On Saturday, WA police confirmed they were looking for one of the men. It was not clear if he had arrived at Truscott with the group then absconded or if he got lost before the group arrived at the airstrip. A massive land search using drones ended on Sunday morning when the man was found standing on a track nearby.

WA police reported he was in “relatively good condition”. He, too, was expected to be flown to Nauru late on Sunday or on Monday morning.

Speaking to reporters at a Sikh community event in Melbourne on Sunday, the Prime Minister was adamant that the border control principles established by the Abbott government remained in place. “We will deal with any unauthorised arrivals consistent with Operation Sovereign Borders, and that’s what we’ve done,” Mr Albanese said.

“(T)here’s been no change in policy since 2013. We’ll use all avenues at our disposal to make sure that the borders are protected and make sure we respond in accordance with the principles of Operation Sovereign Borders. And that’s what we have, again, done on this occasion.”

Mr Albanese made the statements as the Coalition’s home affairs spokesman, James Paterson, lashed the government for “demonstrable failures on their watch”. “Three boats through to the Australian mainland, 13 ­attempted since the election, hundreds of attempted asylum-seekers coming to our country as a direct result of the government’s attempts to undermine our successful border protection policies,” Senator Paterson said.

“We warned them before they abolished temporary protection visas that that would give people an incentive to get on the boats again to try and come again.

“And lo and behold, that’s ­exactly what’s happened.

“If this government had followed our ­advice, kept in place our successful policies, this wouldn’t be h­appening.”

Australian Border Force has sent extra resources to Australia’s northwest as part of its response to what is believed to be a new business model in the people-smuggling trade.

Operation Sovereign Borders commander Rear Admiral Brett Sonter told The Australian last month he had re-positioned key personnel and hardware on land, in the air and at sea to detect and disrupt criminal people-smugglers and illegal fishers amid increased threats in Australia’s northwest.

Rear Admiral Sonter, who ­replaced Justin Jones as OSB commander in January, ­ordered an “enhanced posture” after a series of people-smuggling ventures linked with faster fishing boats and new tactics to breach maritime borders.

(continued)

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80104e No.20695602

File: eb1b996fcdeb43b⋯.jpg (126.82 KB,768x1024,3:4,Drone_activity_out_of_Trus….jpg)

>>20695601

2/2

For decades, smugglers in Indonesia have put paying customers on rickety, slow boats and instructed crew to drive the vessels towards locations where they were likely to be intercepted, mainly Christmas Island but also Ashmore Reef and Cocos (Keeling) Islands.

On each occasion, a cheap boat was used because Australia’s border authorities always burn vessels after interception. However, recent ventures have evaded detection and no boats from any of the last three known ventures have been found.

The Australian has been told the ABF is aware smugglers have recently switched to valuable boats that can travel up to 20 knots.

They may also be instructing their passengers to hide in the bush for a few days after being dropped off before seeking help.

This gives the people-smugglers a better chance of getting their vessel into international waters before the alarm is raised.

“Well, people-smugglers will always try to change their ­methods in order to ply what is the dangerous trade,” Mr Albanese said.

“But there is no change to Operation Sovereign Borders. It’s important that that message be sent.

“And once again, through the response of the Australian government, that message will be sent very clearly again to the region.”

There has been an increase in the number of aerial patrols along the Kimberley coast since November after a group of unauthorised boat arrivals – all adult males – reached Truscott.

In February a second boatload of 39 men arrived undetected on the Kimberley’s Dampier Peninsula, north of Broome, and ­dispersed into the bush in two groups.

Members of the first group presented themselves at the community of Beagle Bay while members of the second group told locals at Pender Bay they were going to run and hide. An Aboriginal man gave the second group food and water and convinced them to wait for police to arrive.

The area OSB patrols off the Kimberley coast is about twice the size of Victoria.

“We have a very large coastline. What is clear though is that people who are unauthorised arrivals won’t be settled in Australia. Operation Sovereign Border principles will apply as they have been in this case,” Mr Albanese said.

The World War II Truscott airbase, known as Mungalalu North Kimberley Airport, is owned by the Wunambal Gaambera people. They lease it to a private operator and the base supports helicopter logistics to offshore oil and gas rigs.

The Australian has been told the traditional owners of the region are worried that someone will die on their country if people-smugglers continue to deliver ­clients to the stretch of coast closest to the airstrip.

The terrain is inhospitable, it is hot, and big saltwater crocodiles inhabit the waterways including all freshwater sources.

Since the Albanese government was elected in May 2022, those who travelled to Australia by boat or sailed close to Australian territories have been swiftly returned to their country of origin or sent to Nauru.

The exception late on Sunday was the man found in the land search when nine of his fellow travellers were already en route to Nauru. He was in the custody of border force officials on Sunday evening and arrangements were being made for his removal to Nauru.

Although lawyers who have represented the interests of asylum-seekers do not like Australia’s regional processing regime, they have told The Australian there is currently no appetite to challenge Nauru transfers because the High Court has ruled these are lawful.

Immigration lawyers contacted by The Australian on Sunday did not believe a legal challenge to transfers such as the one completed on Sunday would succeed.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil renewed Nauru as a designated regional processing country in February last year, making it an ongoing option for Australia to send any unauthorised maritime arrivals there, including children and people with asylum claims.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albanese-vows-no-turnback-onoperation-sovereign-borders-as-third-boat-arrives/news-story/16ae16a59709610b3bf6580e801e3d5d

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80104e No.20695618

File: 345948a41c0b888⋯.jpg (394.82 KB,2048x1366,1024:683,Last_year_a_NSW_teenager_t….jpg)

File: 24d328771138470⋯.jpg (1.22 MB,5407x3605,5407:3605,Matt_Craft_at_the_NSW_Poli….jpg)

>>20152622 (pb)

>>20266925 (pb)

Sextortion pushed a NSW teen to suicide, cops traced culprits to Nigeria

Perry Duffin - April 8, 2024

1/2

A teenager’s suicide has been revealed as a sextortion plot, run by a global crime gang that hounded the NSW schoolboy to death over just $500.

The Sydney Morning Herald can reveal cybercrime detectives traced the plotters to a sprawling Nigerian slum in the latest fatal case of a “hidden pandemic” targeting children across the world.

The high school student took his own life in spring last year.

He was from a loving family, surrounded by mates, a good student and he was stable even in the turbulence of adolescence.

The boy’s death was not just a tragedy: it was inexplicable to those who knew him best.

The Herald has chosen not to identify the teenager’s age, or town, in accordance with the wishes of his family, who are still coming to terms with his loss.

Like every other suicide, the schoolboy’s death triggered a police investigation. Most often the evidence gathered by police investigating suicides is destined for the NSW Coroner’s Court, which aims to give some answer to unexpected deaths.

But when police unlocked the boy’s phone and began scrolling through his recent messages, they realised they were looking at foul play.

The boy had spent his final evening alive, a Friday, in his bedroom messaging a young woman on social media. She had sent a racy photo, he had sent one back, the messages revealed.

“It was all jovial banter at first; then it started to become sexualised. Then all of a sudden, he got sent pictures, and encouraged to send nude pics of himself,” Superintendent Matt Craft told the Herald.

“And that was the gotcha moment.”

The tone of the messages from the ‘girl’ changed instantly and radically to “high-pressure threats and demands”, Craft said.

The scammers told the teenager if he didn’t pay $500 in online gift cards, they would distribute his naked photos to his family and school friends.

“The messages are horrific. They’re aggressive and put a lot of pressure on the boy to pay the money,” Craft said.

Hours later, the boy killed himself.

The NSW Police officers late last year referred their case to the State Crime Command’s cybercrime squad, which has 70 specialised staff and electronic labs, hoping to find the culprits.

Cybercrime detectives quickly concluded the scammers had done their homework on their target, tracking down his friends and family on social media.

They wanted the boy to believe they would make good on their threats and he believed them enough to take his own life.

The case was strikingly similar to the deaths of other schoolboys, Canadians Robin Janjua and William Doiron, and American Jordan Demay, who were all allegedly hounded to suicide by sextortion plots run by west African crime gangs.

Doiron, a 16-year-old rising hockey star, killed himself after the scammers extracted explicit photographs from him and posted them on Instagram in October 2022.

“They convince you that your life is over if you don’t pay,” his mother told Canada’s public broadcaster.

Janjua took his own life in February 2022. Demay died one month later.

The US National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children in 2022 recorded dramatic spikes in sextortion, which it called a “hidden pandemic”.

But as in those cases, the scammers targeting the NSW teenager had left behind digital footprints that cybercrime detectives traced to Nigeria.

For detectives, it was a bittersweet breakthrough; after weeks of hitting brick walls, they had found the trail, but it led far from the jurisdiction of NSW.

There is one room in Sydney, however, where cybercrime detectives from across Australia come together and plug into the Australian Federal Police and Australia’s extensive contacts with global law enforcement agencies, the Joint Policing Cybercrime Coordination Centre (JPC3).

(continued)

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80104e No.20695622

File: ad745e93166e999⋯.jpg (117.78 KB,576x768,3:4,Two_scammers_from_Nigeria_….jpg)

File: 6af5a3cabe3866c⋯.jpg (1.89 MB,3864x2576,3:2,Lagos_in_Nigeria_is_home_t….jpg)

>>20695618

2/2

The JPC3, using its connections with the FBI and the AFP’s South African outpost, narrowed the scammer’s online trail down to an immense sprawl of slums in Nigeria’s largest city, Lagos, home to 25 million people.

Last month, five months after the teenage boy took his own life, Nigerian police and the AFP swept into the slum and pulled two young men from the makeshift homes.

Australia has no extradition treaty with Nigeria, but the men will be prosecuted under local laws.

AFP Commander Helen Schneider said the arrests showed how law enforcement agencies needed to work together to combat “borderless crime” like that carried out by online fraud syndicates.

“The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” Schneider said.

“The partnerships between law enforcement here in Australia and around the world are vital as we work together to protect children online.”

Evidence gathered so far suggests the Nigerian scammers were using a “scattergun” approach, targeting numerous children for relatively small amounts of money.

“From the information found on their phones, it was clear that they are involved in sextortion offending, not only with [the NSW boy], but also more broadly, with other victims,” Craft said.

The men will not be charged with causing the NSW teenager’s death, just for the sextortion attempt, but they are likely to face charges related to their other targets.

They have not been convicted and have not yet entered pleas.

The Nigerian prison system is notably harsh, police said, but they said justice was the best they could offer to the boy’s grieving family.

“It’s all about establishing the truth,” Craft said. “But they were pleased someone had been arrested.”

Craft said the family had done the right thing by speaking with their son about online safety. They struggle wondering what else they could have done before he was targeted.

“They have questions about why their son did it; why didn’t he come and talk to them? They even had that discussion with him about sextortion,” Craft said.

“We were able to give the family some reassurance about the fact that they weren’t specifically targeting their son.”

NSW Police have recorded a huge spike in sextortion cases, an almost 400 per cent increase in 18 months, partly because schools, parents and other agencies have been trying to educate teenagers that they are victims of crime.

Craft urged parents to have the “awkward conversations”, repeatedly if needed, with their children.

Sextortion ‘playbook’

Cybercrime police want parents to understand “the playbook” used in sextortion.

It begins with an unsolicited friend request from a stranger on social media and friendly banter.

It quickly escalates to sexualised questions to test a target’s interest and sexual images are sent from the fake profile.

There may be signs English is a second language, and excuses about why the scammer’s own webcam or microphone doesn’t work for real-time calls.

They pressure the target to send nude images and chat on multiple social media apps, allowing the scammer to find the target’s friends and family.

Once the target sends an intimate image, the scammers immediately demand money and start threatening to share the intimate image and expose the target.

“Parents need to be aware of sextortion. They need to have those conversations because what’s coming to their children, into their bedrooms, will come through an electronic device,” Craft said.

“Teenagers need to tell an adult what’s going on. You need to report it. You need to understand you’re a victim of a crime.”

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact 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.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/sextortion-pushed-a-nsw-teen-to-suicide-cops-traced-culprits-to-nigeria-20240405-p5fhnp.html

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80104e No.20695650

File: 261cfbaa0e4d2ca⋯.jpg (62.1 KB,672x568,84:71,Dominik_Sieben_allegedly_m….jpg)

File: c97f84c40969a3a⋯.jpg (6.61 MB,8256x5504,3:2,Dominik_Sieben_leaves_Parr….jpg)

>>20205303 (pb)

>>20251146 (pb)

>>20344843 (pb)

‘It had nothing to do with Nazis’: Man denies making salute at Sydney soccer match

Clare Sibthorpe - April 8, 2024

1/2

A young man has denied making a Nazi salute during a soccer match and labelled the accusations “disgusting”, in the first high-profile case testing new laws banning the hate symbol in public.

Dominik Sieben, 24, told a court he was simply holding a beer in one hand and cheering on his team with the other and TV footage “twisted” what happened.

Sieben was charged alongside 45-year-old Nikola Marko Gasparovic and 44-year-old Marijan Lisica with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public without reasonable excuse, at the Australia Cup final match between Sydney United 58 FC and Macarthur FC at CommBank Stadium on October 1, 2022. The men were not known to each other.

The legislation passed through NSW Parliament in mid-2022 and could lead to someone being jailed for one year.

The three men were charged with the offence after Sydney United supporters complained about the alleged action.

Police allege Channel Ten footage of the live broadcast and CCTV security footage caught the men making the Nazi salute, and they combed through the footage before charging them months later.

All three pleaded not guilty in April last year and faced the first half of a two-day hearing at Parramatta Local Court on Monday.

Body-worn footage of NSW Police’s Sergeant Aaron Turner dated February 18, 2023, and played to the court showed Sieben answer the door and say to the officer-in-charge: “Oh bro’, do I have some stories for you.”

Turner introduced himself and explained he was inquiring about an incident relating to displaying the Nazi symbol at the soccer match, adding that Sieben was not under arrest nor obliged to answer any questions.

Sieben said it was a long story but “the whole thing was disgusting, what was accused of me”.

“It had nothing to do with Nazis ... nothing to do with the Hitler crap or any of that crap ... it was blown out of proportion so much,” he said.

He told Turner he had a beer in one hand and his other hand was up in the air at the very moment the camera panned towards him, which “twisted the entire thing … it made me look like something I’m not”.

Sieben, who said he was Croatian, told police he was simply cheering on Sydney United, but couldn’t chant with both hands.

(continued)

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80104e No.20695658

File: a65dbf36417eeba⋯.jpg (3.57 MB,6494x4210,3247:2105,Marijan_Lisica_left_and_Ni….jpg)

File: 14046eaa4e282b8⋯.jpg (2.56 MB,4056x2705,4056:2705,Sydney_United_fans_at_Comm….jpg)

>>20695650

2/2

Sydney United 58 FC is based in Edensor Park in Sydney’s west, and was formed by Croatian Australians as Sydney Croatia in 1958. In 1993, it was renamed Sydney United after briefly having the name Sydney CSC.

In the body-worn footage, Sieben told Turner that, when he saw his face on the news, he spoke to a lawyer about suing the media but was deterred by the cost and the fact a defamation case would attract more publicity.

“My friends know I’m not like that; they know my personality … It [having more publicity] would ruin my business, my name … What’s the point of going to sue all these channels for it just to be brought up in the media again?”

Sieben said he would never go to a soccer game again even though he loved the sport.

“I went to a good Catholic school [and learnt] about Jesus and stuff … to paint me as some Nazi is completely untrue,” he said.

Sieben told Turner he had several Jewish friends, who “literally laughed” when he showed them the edited footage.

A police prosecutor told the court Lisica wore army camouflage and was seen doing the Nazi salute in CCTV footage, not on TV.

The court heard Gasparovic carried a “World War II era Nazi” flag at the match.

The court was told a man shown in CCTV footage played to the hearing was Sieben. About 7.30pm, the man was seen wearing a white and red chequered shirt, with a Sydney United flag wrapped around his neck. He appeared to raise his hand in the air in a straight line with his palm facing down, before lowering his arm again. The footage then showed security guards walk up and speak to the man.

The court was then shown separate CCTV footage that allegedly showed Lisica make the Nazi salute.

Before the first day of the hearing wrapped up, footage of Gasparovic’s interview inside a police station was played.

Gasparovic admitted to putting his hand in the air, and answered a series of questions in which he agreed the Nazi salute was hateful and prejudicial towards a group of people, but denied knowingly making the hate symbol.

He told police he was celebrating the team and Croatian culture.

Central to determining all three men’s guilt, the court heard, was whether displaying the salute as alleged was displaying a Nazi symbol as described in the new legislation.

The Crown prosecutor submitted their actions did constitute a Nazi symbol and told magistrate Joy Boulos that, if she agreed, the other elements of the case would not be disputed.

Boulos said the judgment would come down to statutory interpretation.

The hearing continues.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/it-had-nothing-to-do-with-nazis-man-denies-making-salute-at-sydney-soccer-match-20240408-p5fi4g.html

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80104e No.20700772

File: 9568dd112bdf94f⋯.mp4 (7.93 MB,960x540,16:9,Vice_Admiral_David_Johnsto….mp4)

File: d3882bdd9779813⋯.jpg (900.34 KB,5000x3332,1250:833,Richard_Marles_said_Vice_A….jpg)

File: ebe8f786018a3f8⋯.jpg (909.86 KB,5000x3332,1250:833,General_Angus_Campbell_wat….jpg)

>>20647022

>>20681364

Vice Admiral David Johnston named new chief of the defence force

Jake Evans - 9 April 2024

Vice Admiral David Johnston will lead Australia's armed forces as chief of the defence force, pending the approval of the governor-general.

Vice Admiral Johnston will replace General Angus Campbell, who has served as defence chief since 2018.

He takes on the role as the defence forces undergo a once-in-a generation strategic shift.

Announcing the appointment, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an "easy decision".

"It is indeed very significant that Vice Admiral Johnston is being appointed as chief of the defence force, because of his experience not just as a navy officer but as deputy [chief]," Mr Albanese said.

"His service career has spanned a period of profound change in our defence force, in our region, in the very nature of the challenges confronting our national security."

The appointment comes as Australia considers expanding its key partnership with the United States and United Kingdom, AUKUS, to include Japan in some of the alliance's military projects.

The AUKUS agreement for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines will be one of the most significant projects Vice Admiral Johnston takes on, with the first stages of construction due to begin late this decade.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said it was "worth noting that David Johnston will be the first Navy chief of the defence force in 22 years".

"David has been at the very heart of reshaping the Australian Defence Force both in terms of culture but also importantly as vice chief of the defence force in terms of the platforms and capabilities that we are seeking to acquire.

"This is a moment where we need a safe pair of hands and deep experience to take our defence force forward."

Vice Admiral Johnston thanked the prime minister and defence minister for his nomination.

"I am very conscious of the responsibility that comes with the role, the strategic environment in which we face ourselves, and most particularly the responsibility I have to the extraordinary men and women in the Australian Defence Force and the families who support them."

Mr Albanese and Mr Marles also thanked outgoing chief General Campbell, who will have been the longest-serving chief in Australia's history when his service ends in July.

"[General Campbell] has earned the respect and deep gratitude of Australia, and we wish him all the very best," Mr Albanese said.

In a statement, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton extended congratulations to Vice Admiral Johnston on behalf of the Coalition, and thanked General Campbell for his service.

Vice Admiral Johnston is the current vice chief of the defence force.

Air Marshal Robert Chipman will be recommended to be the new vice chief.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-09/vice-admiral-david-johnston-named-new-chief-of-the-defence-force/103684252

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80104e No.20700778

File: bb7b7aa6d4e7c16⋯.jpg (1.32 MB,5812x3875,5812:3875,Vice_Admiral_David_Johnsto….jpg)

File: 555924b2d29f251⋯.jpg (2.08 MB,4630x3087,4630:3087,Chief_of_the_Defence_Force….jpg)

>>20691520

>>20700772

‘Safe pair of hands’ David Johnston the new Defence Force chief

Matthew Knott - April 9, 2024

1/2

A navy officer will lead the nation’s military for the first time in over two decades as Japan, Canada and other nations clamour to gain access to the technology-sharing benefits of the AUKUS pact.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an “easy decision” to elevate Australian Defence Force vice chief David Johnston to the top job, while Defence Minister Richard Marles praised him as a “safe pair of hands”.

However, critics questioned whether Johnston would be able to drive major reform inside the ADF given he will serve a truncated two-year term in the role at his request, rather than the usual four years.

Johnston, who has been Australia’s second most senior military figure since 2018, will replace long-serving Defence Force Chief Angus Campbell in July, with current Air Force Chief Robert Chipman promoted to ADF vice chief.

There had been speculation that Navy Chief Mark Hammond or Defence Force Chief of Joint Operations Greg Bilton would be given the assignment.

Instead, Bilton will depart the Defence Force altogether and Hammond will remain in his current position as navy chief.

Johnston will be the first naval officer to helm the Australian Defence Force since Chris Barrie in 2002, and comes to the job as Australia commits up to $368 billion over 30 years to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine fleet through AUKUS, a security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom.

The three AUKUS nations on Tuesday agreed to begin talks to allow other nations to join the so-called “pillar II” of the pact, beginning with Japan.

As opposed to AUKUS pillar I – which focuses on the nuclear-powered submarines – the second pillar refers to collaboration on advanced technologies such as hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau indicated his nation also wanted to collaborate with the AUKUS nations on technology sharing as he flagged that Canada may need to invest in nuclear-powered submarines to patrol its waters.

New Zealand has also expressed interest in “pillar II”, while South Korea has also been mooted as a possible member.

Albanese stressed that co-operation on pillar II initiatives would be made on a “case-by-case” basis, and that AUKUS would remain a trilateral pact.

“What is not proposed is to expand the membership of AUKUS,” he said.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison, who spearheaded the creation of AUKUS, said it was a “natural progression” to expand pillar II of the pact and that it made sense to begin with Japan.

(continued)

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80104e No.20700780

File: 9d8d0281183fa4c⋯.jpg (1.38 MB,5139x3426,3:2,Lieutenant_General_Michell….jpg)

>>20700778

2/2

Announcing a suite of new defence appointments including promotions for senior female officers, Marles said that “this is a moment where we need a safe pair of hands and deep experience to take our defence force forward and there is no person who meets those qualities better than David Johnston”.

“In the Indo-Pacific, Iraq and Afghanistan, Vice Admiral Johnston has consistently distinguished himself with his capacity to ensure that different elements of defence work together,” he said.

Johnston joined the Defence Force in 1978, rising through the ranks after serving as a commanding officer on the HMAS Adelaide and HMAS Newcastle warships.

Former Defence official Michael Shoebridge criticised Johnston’s appointment, describing him as “the comfortable continuity candidate”.

“This appointment represents steady-as-she-goes and continuity at a time when we require urgent change,” he said.

“This shows a disturbing complacency on behalf of the government.”

Shoebridge, director of Strategic Analysis Australia, said he would have preferred to see Bilton appointed to the role as he was more likely to drive significant reform within the ADF.

Peter Dean, director of foreign policy and defence at the United States Studies Centre, countered: “David Johnston is a man of integrity with more knowledge than anyone else inside the ADF… He knows the system better than anyone else, which makes him ideally placed to reform the system.”

Retired army major general Fergus McLachlan said he was unsurprised by Johnston’s appointment and that it made “eminent sense” for a navy officer to be appointed to the role.

“He’s very well-respected, a consummate professional and a decent human being,” he said.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie congratulated Johnston on his appointment, saying: “As Australia faces increasing challenging strategic circumstances, we need strong leaders who will ensure our ADF is well-equipped with the capabilities and personnel needed to defend our nation.”

Marles praised Campbell for leading the Defence Force through a period of “necessary and difficult change” since 2018, a period that included the handing down of the Brereton report into alleged war crimes by special forces soldiers in Afghanistan.

“He oversaw the drawdown of Australian troops in the Middle East region and reorientation of our military focus to the Indo-Pacific,” Marles said.

“He has been a strong advocate for operational accountability, strengthening our alliance and regional relationships, supporting the wellbeing of ADF personnel, and maximising the power and effectiveness of an integrated force.”

Marles said that, as part of the changes, three women – Michelle McGuinness, Natasha Fox and Susan Coyle – would now be serving as three-star-rank officers in the ADF.

“This time last year, there had never been a woman who had served at the level of a three-star in the Australian Defence Force,” Marles said.

“It is a very significant step forward in terms of the participation of women in the senior leadership of the Australian Defence Force.”

McLachlan said that Coyle would be well-placed to be the first female chief of army after being promoted to ADF chief of joint capabilities.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/vice-admiral-david-johnston-the-new-chief-of-defence-20240409-p5fich.html

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80104e No.20700793

File: a62f263e3453e40⋯.jpg (272.08 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Vice_Admiral_David_Johnsto….jpg)

File: 6fb66dfd0587bba⋯.jpg (297.76 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Vice_Admiral_David_Johnsto….jpg)

>>20691520

>>20700772

Vice Admiral David Johnston’s status quo promotion to ADF chief is a bad mistake from Anthony Albanese

GREG SHERIDAN - APRIL 9, 2024

1/2

The government has made a mistake in promoting Vice Admiral David Johnston to be Chief of the Australian Defence Force.

Johnston is a patriotic and distinguished Australian who has given his life to the military.

He is still a bad appointment because, as the incumbent Vice Chief of the Defence Force, he is the status quo candidate, the continuity candidate.

A better appointment, because it would have signalled at least the possibility of change, would have been Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond.

The Albanese government, and especially Defence Minister Richard Marles, can’t have it both ways. They can’t tell us one minute that there are endemic cultural problems in the entire Defence establishment – civilian and military – and that this has led to wasted money, horrendous ­delays in projects and a gravely sub-optimal performance, and then go ahead and reward, promote and shower praise on everyone who has overseen that culture over the past decade.

Marles’s first big mistake in ­Defence was to reappoint Angus Campbell as chief and Greg Moriarty as secretary of the Defence Department. If you claim you’re going to do things differently, create a new culture, change the ­Defence Force structure and above all respond urgently to the most dangerous strategic circumstances (in the government’s own estimation) the nation’s faced since World War II, you don’t do that by reappointing and promoting all the long-term, existing leadership.

Back then, Marles claimed all the problems with Defence came from the Morrison government. Now that Marles has been minister for two years, and nothing of any consequence has been produced in Defence beyond a super industrial conveyor belt of ­reviews, Marles has discovered that all the problems actually reside not with the government but with the Defence organisation.

So how does that square with promoting everybody who has overseen all those problems?

Marles has done almost nothing, and proposes almost nothing, for the first 10 years of a notional Labor government. He recently announced there will be increased defence spending of about $400m a year across the forward estimates to be outlined in May’s budget.

That’s basically a rounding error in defence and accompanies no new significant capabilities. The surface fleet of our navy does not actually expand in size, under Marles’s plan, until 2034. He does have big plans but they don’t come about until the fourth or fifth term of an Albanese government, therefore they’re essentially meaningless.

Consider this thought experiment: if there were a government that was completely satisfied in every way with Defence’s performance, absolutely complacent about the future, completely captured by the Defence leadership, uninterested in producing any major change, that government would have made exactly the same military appointments as the Albanese government has made. And it would also be making exactly the same spending non-commitments.

(continued)

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80104e No.20700794

File: cf27254235ded8d⋯.jpg (175.03 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_government_announced_a….jpg)

>>20700793

2/2

One piece of good news is that Japan might join AUKUS’s Pillar II, the technology-sharing agreement other than nuclear powered submarines. That’s the best news AUKUS has had for a long time. Japan is an immensely powerful and influential Indo-Pacific ­nation and its participation in AUKUS gives the grouping much greater weight in Asia.

The only possible hesitation is that Japan must convince AUKUS partners, in particular the US, that its internal intelligence security arrangements are adequately robust. To put it more bluntly, can it keep its defence technology secrets from China? It is this broad consideration that has prevented Japan from being invited to join the Five Eyes intelligence club up to now.

But Japan is our friend, our ally, an absolutely pivotal partner in Asia. We want it to continue to increase its own defence capabilities, to become a defence technology exporter, perhaps eventually to acquire nuclear powered submarines itself, though that would be a long way off.

The idea that Canada could want to join AUKUS, and even ­acquire nuclear powered submarines, is also a very good thing.

The criticism in this newspaper by Shingo Yamagami, a former Japanese ambassador to Canberra, that the Albanese government has become scared and timid in talking of China, and has intentionally run dead on the Quad, is devastating and just one of several concerning straws in the wind ­regarding the Albanese government’s approach to security.

The appointment of former chief of defence Mark Binskin as the government’s special adviser on the death of civilians in an ­Israeli airstrike is a shocking, sensationalist stunt and a mis-use of a good man. It’s a blatant attempt to hide the Albanese government’s political hostility to Israel behind an Australian military uniform. It’s a mis-use of the military.

Any future liaison role over ­Israel’s internal military investigations could easily be done by our ambassador in Israel.

But the whole Australian ­approach reeks of hypocrisy. We have never invited other nations into our internal military investigations which, like everything else in Defence, typically go on for years and years.

In democracies such as Australia, uniformed soldiers do what their governments tell them. If the Albanese government asks Binskin whether Israel has behaved perfectly, they’ll get tough criticism of Israel. If they ask, ‘has Israel conducted a credible investigation and done at least what we would do ourselves in similar circumstances?’ they’ll get a report full of praise for Israel.

This is nothing but the government deciding to disguise its political posturing behind the uniform of a good soldier. It’s one of many military decisions this government has made that is unworthy of it.

Greg Sheridan is The Australian's foreign editor.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/vice-admiral-david-johnstons-status-quo-promotion-adf-chief-is-a-bad-mistake-from-anthony-albanese/news-story/5d14969c7e33ce3a7581a91a2f865f13

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80104e No.20700802

File: 42092ce3c711224⋯.jpg (900.76 KB,5000x3353,5000:3353,Australia_s_defence_depart….jpg)

File: 4b1863a9fc996d2⋯.jpg (2.2 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,David_Shoebridge_says_ther….jpg)

>>20488534 (pb)

>>20695582

Details of defence deal with Israel kept under wraps to protect Australia's 'reputation'

Andrew Greene - 9 April 2024

Details of an agreement struck between Australia and Israel on defence industry cooperation will not be released publicly over concerns the information could damage Australia's "international relations".

Scrutiny of military relations with Israel has intensified since last week's air strike on an aid convoy in Gaza, which killed Australian Zomi Frankcom, along with six other humanitarian workers.

Shortly after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October, the Greens submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for a copy of the "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) signed between Australia and Israel in 2017.

Following a three-month process, the defence department formally rejected the application, arguing that the document, which contains sensitive diplomatic information, is exempt under FOI legislation.

A summary provided by the Australian Information Commissioner (OAIC) to the Greens reveals that the Israeli government was also consulted about releasing the document before Defence ultimately rejected the FOI request.

"The document within the scope of this request contains information which, if released, could reasonably be expected to damage the international relations of the Commonwealth," the Defence Department said in a letter explaining its decision.

"The document contains information communicated to Australia by a foreign government and its officials under the expectation that it would not be disclosed," a Defence official wrote.

"The release of such information could harm Australia's international standing and reputation."

The federal government has consistently argued that Australia has not exported any weapons to Israel for at least five years, but it has faced criticism for recently awarding a $917 million contract to Israeli defence company Elbit Systems.

According to the OAIC, Defence first notified Israel of the FOI request in December and received a response from Benjamin Netanyahu's government in late February.

"The decision maker within Defence will consider the foreign government's consultation response to make an informed and robust decision," the OAIC told the Greens.

Greens senator David Shoebridge said there was no reason for the MOU on defence industry cooperation to remain secret and for a foreign government to have any say in what information Australia could release.

"There is no place for secret arms treaties and secret arms deals between countries," he said.

"And there is certainly no place for giving other countries veto power over what the Australian government tells the public about our government's defence and arms deals.

"Over 30,000 people have been killed by the State of Israel in Gaza in the past six months. In this context, the Australian public has a right to know about the military trade relationship with the State of Israel."

PM 'confident' Israel will cooperate with special advisor

On Monday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he expected Israel would fully cooperate with the government's newly appointed "special advisor" Mark Binskin, who would investigate the killing of the seven aid workers.

The former Australian Defence Chief has been tasked with dealing directly with Israeli authorities and the country's military and to report back to the federal government on any further actions needed.

Appearing on the ABC's Afternoon Briefing program, Mr Albanese was asked whether Israel was given any indication that the retired air chief marshal would be granted access to "highly classified military recordings" of the deadly incident.

"We are confident that that will be made available, because it is in Israel's interest as well for there to be transparency around these incidents, they have shaken the world," Mr Albanese said.

"And the seven people who were directly affected, aid workers who, their countries of origin, of course, have all expressed their anger about the events that occurred.

"We would expect that someone of Mr Binskin's stature, frankly, will be given every cooperation from the Israeli Defence Force and the Israeli government."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-09/australia-israel-defence-deal-secret-to-protect-reputation/103683308

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80104e No.20700805

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20550335

>>20665416

Israel Defense Forces spokesperson defends strike that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six others

Paul Johnson - 8 April 2024

Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner has launched a defence of the Israeli drone strikes that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, during an interview with 7.30 where he also said Israel was looking into whether a criminal investigation needed to take place.

Asked whether the incident was a war crime, Lieutenant Colonel Lerner denied it was but said there was a series of failures from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

However, he suggested they were understandable ones that occurred under the cover of darkness in an area where IDF forces thought Hamas gunmen were present.

"The trucks were coming from where the food supplies had been offloaded from the World Central Kitchen ship to the warehouses," he told 7.30.

"As the trucks were driving, armed terrorists got on at least one of the trucks and even let off a few shots while they were driving.

"Those trucks that were headed towards the warehouse then met four vehicles, those four vehicles from the aerial surveillance looked very much like the Toyota pick-up trucks that came into Israel on 7 October."

October 7 was the date when Hamas terrorists entered Israel and killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli figures.

Lieutenant Colonel Lerner said that incident influenced the thinking of the military on the night Ms Frankcom was killed.

"This was the conclusion that the operator and the forces understood," Lieutenant Colonel Lerner said.

"They came to a conclusion that this must be Hamas."

He then said that despite the suspected presence of Hamas, senior military figures told IDF drone operators not to strike due to the proximity of the aid warehouses.

However, he said that thinking changed shortly after when some of the trucks left the area.

"One vehicle went north, continued to another warehouse, and therefore wasn't struck because it was in the humanitarian sphere.

"The other three vehicles disconnected and in the mindset of the operators … that directed the fire, he thought that he was chasing three vehicles that were by Hamas.

"This was the mindset, it was wrong.

"Then, they instructed the strike, they didn't go back for re-approval, they conducted the strike."

Refusal to admit incident was a war crime

The Australian government has been left unimpressed by Israel's reaction to the strike that killed an Australian citizen, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese angered by his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu describing the incident as "what happens in war".

As such, the government has appointed former defence chief Mark Binskin as special adviser on Israel's response to the air strike.

Pressed on whether it was a war crime, Lieutenant Colonel Lerner remained non-committal and said due process needed to be followed but said Israel's Military Advocate-General Yifat Tomer-Yerushalmi could launch an investigation.

"The military advocate-general is looking to see if there is a criminal investigation from the operational understanding and the independent investigation," he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Lerner also said that while two officers involved had been stood down from their roles due to their involvement in the strike, only one, a reservist, had been removed from the IDF entirely, while the other was being investigated.

However, while he flagged the possibility of a war crimes charge, he did not agree with an assessment that the incident was one when he was pressed on the issue.

"We need to wait for the investigation, if there is a criminal investigation, launched by the military advocate-general," he told 7.30.

"I don't expect that will be the situation.

"I don't agree with your conclusion that, that is the situation.

"There can be mistakes in a state of war, in a condition of war, this is clearly a mistake.

"We've taken responsibility for the mistake."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-08/idf-peter-lerner-defends-drone-strike-zomi-frankcom-war-crime/103683246

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

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80104e No.20700815

File: 681ab12c135926a⋯.jpg (379.25 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Former_Japanese_ambassador….jpg)

File: 7136bc1836b9f7f⋯.jpg (431.62 KB,2048x1152,16:9,USS_Mobile_JS_Akebono_HMAS….jpg)

>>20676429

>>20691520

Quad mire: ALP warned on China by former Japanese envoy

BEN PACKHAM - APRIL 9, 2024

1/2

Former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami says Anthony Albanese has allowed “the Quad” security dialogue to languish as he repairs ties with Beijing, and has revealed Labor sought to ­silence his criticisms of China when he was Tokyo’s top diplomat in Canberra.

Writing in The Australian, Mr Yamagami laments Australia’s reluctance now to speak out against Beijing, accusing the ­government of staging photo ­opportunities with Chinese ­officials “while guns are being pointed at your head”.

He says the weakening of the Quad – the key Indo-Pacific power grouping that includes Australia, the US, Japan and India – has undermined co-ordination by member nations on the common threat posed by China.

Mr Yamagami backs the Albanese government’s efforts to ­improve relations with Beijing, but says Australia and its Quad partners need to keep up the pressure on China over its massive military build-up, harassment of smaller nations and growing ­security ties with Pacific nations.

The former diplomat and ­intelligence officer, who departed Australia about 12 months ago and now works in the private ­sector, says he “admired and ­respected” the Australia that gained international recognition as it “stood tall” against Beijing.

But he says the Australia of today is less willing to speak out publicly on Chinese security threats, and is content to allow the Quad to drift.

“We rarely hear the word ‘Quad’ from either Albanese or his Foreign Minister, Penny Wong,” Mr Yamagami writes.

“Tangible progress has been so inadequate that the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s briefing ­material on its home page has not been updated since September of 2023. This will gladden hearts in Xi Jinping’s Beijing.”

While Senator Wong raised a raft of sensitive issues with ­Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on his recent visit to Australia, Mr Yamagami accuses the government of letting Beijing’s envoy off the hook.

“The present emphasis on ­‘stabilising’ its relations with China is fine, but stabilisation should not mean staging photo opportunities or smiling and shaking hands with China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, while guns are being pointed at your head – as they are in the South China Sea,” he writes.

Mr Yamagami finished his Canberra posting shy of the usual three-year term, amid efforts by Labor to tone down the public ­debate in Australia over Chinese strategic threats.

The diplomat writes that during his tenure, he was “told by several Australians in politics and government to seal my lips on the subject of China”.

The Australian has previously reported Senator Wong had ­concerns about the-then ambassador’s forthright public statements on China, and he was cautioned by the Department of Foreign ­Affairs and Trade about his public remarks.

Mr Yamagami links his ­treatment by the government to recent revelations by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess that he was told by some in the bureau­cracy to ease off his counter­espionage activities.

“Developments since my ­departure suggest that Australia’s language regarding its own and our shared deteriorating security environment is narrowing,” Mr Yamagami writes.

(continued)

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80104e No.20700817

File: 9483318386458f2⋯.jpg (1.79 MB,3333x5000,3333:5000,Japan_s_ambassador_to_Aust….jpg)

>>20700815

2/2

The veteran diplomat does not blame Australia alone for the Quad’s de-prioritisation by its member states, arguing all have been preoccupied by domestic issues. His comments come as Quad nation officials puzzle over the timing of the next leaders’ meeting, which is likely to be delayed until after the US election in November, and may be pushed back further if Donald Trump wins the presidency.

The last Quad leaders’ meeting, in 2023, was supposed to be in Australia, but was hastily rescheduled to occur on the sidelines of the G7 in Hiroshima after US President Joe Biden was unable to attend.

India is due to host this year’s meeting, but Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces an election concluding on June 1. The US is also preoccupied by its coming presidential election, while Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s government has been distracted by political scandals.

“So, who is leading the Quad right now?” Mr Yamagami asks. “An honest and correct answer would be that nobody is doing so. This means there is a serious lack of quadrilateral consultation or co-ordination concerning the strategic challenges in the broad Indo-Pacific region – which is to say, we are not consulting each other about China.”

Asia Society senior fellow ­Richard Maude, who led the team that authored Australia’s 2017 foreign policy white paper, said the Quad had suffered in the past 12 months from a lack of leader-level engagement.

“I think we need to be looking to land a leader-level meeting in which all four leaders can be there, and that may have to wait until after the elections in India and America are over,” he said.

“It is very important to get back to that dynamic … And it also sends the most powerful message to China in terms of an alignment of interest among the four ­countries.”

Mr Yamagami’s criticism of the state of Quad diplomacy comes just days after Australian, US, Japanese and Filipino ships conducted a joint exercise in the South China Sea, in a show of defiance against Beijing’s disputed claim to the waterway.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/quad-mire-alp-warned-on-china-by-former-japanese-envoy/news-story/d2e3089d61f33864b075117b0c5693f4

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80104e No.20700829

File: 413013e63cfe76d⋯.jpg (1.66 MB,5053x3369,5053:3369,Former_Japanese_ambassador….jpg)

File: c2a8e42df5f13ea⋯.jpg (183.28 KB,1024x667,1024:667,Australia_India_Japan_and_….jpg)

>>20676429

>>20691520

>>20700815

Distracted Quad leaders must refocus on bullies in Beijing

SHINGO YAMAGAMI - APRIL 8, 2024

1/2

One year has already passed since I bid a fond farewell to my Australian friends and the wide brown country I had come to love, and within which I travelled widely during my time as ambassador.

It’s time to look back and around. The times are serious and strategic co-ordination is urgent.

Eighty years ago, Japanese diplomat Saburo Kurusu was the chief negotiator with the US in the run-up to the Pacific War of 1941-45. Regrettably, his efforts to prevent the war ended in failure. He wrote a memoir in which he reflected that the work of diplomats is like writing drawn in sand on the seashore. Once a war comes, they are quickly washed away.

But such words, such efforts can be erased by so minor a thing as the different work style of a diplomat’s successors. Rather than a sentimental thought on the fate of the letters I assiduously tried to engrave on Australia’s shores, what concerns me most now is languishing of the Quad – the strategic dialogue among Japan, Australia, the US and India.

Right after he became Prime Minister, in May 2022, Anthony Albanese flew to Tokyo to attend the Quad leaders meeting with Japan’s Fumio Kishida, America’s Joe Biden and India’s Narendra Modi. There, the new PM proudly proclaimed that although Australia’s government had changed, its commitment to the Quad had not and would not change.

Yet the main focus of his foreign and security policy has been relations with ASEAN and Pacific Island countries. We rarely hear the word “Quad” from either Albanese or his Foreign Minister, Penny Wong. Tangible progress has been so inadequate that the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s briefing material on its home page has not been updated since September 2023. This will gladden hearts in Xi Jinping’s Beijing.

International attention and resources have been redirected away from the Indo-Pacific, towards the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. Moreover, all four members of the Quad have become preoccupied with domestic politics. The US has entered a highly divisive election year. Australia’s political energies have been absorbed by the voice referendum, cost-of-living anxieties and renewed concerns about immigration and housing.

As the June election looms in India, debate centres on the Hindu-Muslim schism rather than the strategic India-China rivalry.

Japan’s domestic political situation could be described as even less outward-looking. The Kishida cabinet has been engulfed by successive political funding scandals, which have distracted him and his cabinet colleagues.

(continued)

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80104e No.20700833

File: e10e2eefa408e03⋯.jpg (349.73 KB,750x800,15:16,AYS_26.jpg)

File: ebd854ceef7205f⋯.jpg (232.85 KB,2048x1152,16:9,US_President_Joe_Biden_Ant….jpg)

>>20700829

2/2

So, who is leading the Quad right now? An honest and correct answer would be nobody. This means there is a serious lack of quadrilateral consultation or co-ordination concerning the strategic challenges in the broad Indo-Pacific region – we are not consulting each other about China. In Australia, even while I was there, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess was told by some inside and outside the government to ease up on ASIO’s counterintelligence activities. I was told by several Australians in politics and government to seal my lips on the subject of China. Developments since my departure suggest Australia’s language regarding its own and our shared deteriorating security environment is narrowing.

The world’s eyes, a few short years ago, were focused on Australia, when it stood tall under tremendous diplomatic pressure and economic coercion by the Middle Kingdom. It is no exaggeration to say Australia gained a prominent international status through its resilience and principled approach. That is the Australia I admired and respected. The emphasis on “stabilising” relations with China is fine, but stabilisation should not mean staging photo opportunities or smiling and shaking hands with China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, while guns are being pointed at your head – as they are in the South China Sea.

The strategic reality the Quad faces has not changed for the better. China has continued its decades-long massive military build-up irrespective of its ongoing economic slowdown. The People’s Liberation Army is already on Australia’s doorstep via security ties with a number of Pacific Island countries. Chinese forces continue to haze Taiwan and Japanese island territories, as well as Filipino islands and fishermen.

When US speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, China launched five ballistic missiles into the exclusive economic zone of Japan. Why our zone? That was a first, and it was ominous. Meanwhile, border conflicts between China and India show no sign of abating.

In late 2022, Japan’s National Security Strategy Paper observed that China’s military build-up presents grave strategic challenges to Japan, to Australia and to all others who share basic values and strategic interests. Well-informed and strategically minded Australians fully understand this.

What, then, is to be done? The most fundamental requirement is collective security, which can most effectively be co-ordinated via the Quad. If we are to sustain a free and open Indo-Pacific, the Quad must be buttressed as a matter of urgent priority. Kishida’s upcoming visit to Washington DC is of critical importance. It is incumbent upon him to make a clear and powerful case for the Quad.

Australia’s role is vital. When America’s most intimate Indo-Pacific ally (Australia) and its important Indo-Pacific ally (Japan) speak from a common position, the Americans are inclined to listen. I am now a private citizen but, as a long-time servant of the Japanese state and a recent ambassador to Australia, I feel compelled to plead that this common position be adopted and pressed energetically upon Washington – and Delhi.

Shingo Yamagami was Japan’s ambassador plenipotentiary to Australia from 2021-23.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/distracted-quad-leaders-must-refocus-on-bullies-in-beijing/news-story/5c25f2a73b52b20c2d16a9af3a73401a

https://twitter.com/YamagamiShingo/status/1777616953596678297

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80104e No.20700849

File: 7a3a5bf7842a630⋯.jpg (1.47 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Anthony_Albanese_Joe_Biden….jpg)

File: 044c8f6ea3146ce⋯.jpg (45.88 KB,600x493,600:493,Foreign_Ministry_Spokesper….jpg)

>>20691491

>>20691520

Australia, US and UK confirm Japan could be brought into AUKUS fold on eve of Kishida's Washington visit

Brad Ryan - 9 April 2024

Australia and its AUKUS partners, the US and UK, are considering including Japan in some of the alliance's military projects, the three countries have confirmed.

But they've stopped short of announcing a formal expansion of the AUKUS partnership, which has been the subject of ongoing speculation and was flagged by the US ambassador to Japan last week.

China, which has long opposed AUKUS, responded by saying it was "gravely concerned" about the prospect of Japan joining the pact.

Its foreign ministry warned such a move would "intensify the arms race in the Indo-Pacific region and disrupt regional peace and stability", the South China Morning Post reported.

In a joint statement, the AUKUS countries' defence ministers said they had always intended to "engage others in Pillar II" of the alliance.

"Pillar II" represents a plan to share technology and jointly develop and provide military capabilities, with a focus on security in the Indo-Pacific region to counter Chinese aggression.

"Our objective remains to further the delivery of advanced military capabilities to our respective defence forces in support of regional stability and security," the defence ministers' joint statement said.

"We are confident that engaging like-minded partners in the work of Pillar II will only strengthen this pursuit.

"Recognising Japan's strengths and its close bilateral defence partnerships with all three countries we are considering cooperation with Japan on AUKUS Pillar II advanced capability projects."

The AUKUS pact was announced by then-prime minister Scott Morrison and his US and UK counterparts in late 2021. "Pillar I" of the deal, which would not involve Japan, is a plan to arm Australia with nuclear-powered submarines at a stated cost of up to $368 billion over three decades.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said Beijing "opposes the formation of exclusive ‘small circles’ and the creation of bloc confrontation", according to the South China Morning Post.

"Japan, in particular, should deeply learn from historical lessons and exercise caution in military security," Ms Mao said.

The joint statement — issued by Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and UK Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps — suggests the alliance could be expanded further.

"AUKUS partners have developed principles and models for additional partner engagement in individual Pillar II projects and will undertake consultations in 2024 with prospective partners," they said.

Japan's involvement in AUKUS is likely to feature in talks between Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and US President Joe Biden when they meet in Washington on Wednesday.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the state visit would build on "the immense progress between our two nations to help create a safer and more secure Indo-Pacific".

"You'll be hearing more from us soon, obviously, on the wide range of deliverables that will be announced by the leaders on Wednesday," he said.

The White House will also host a trilateral leaders' summit between the Mr Biden, Mr Kisihda and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr on Thursday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-09/australia-us-uk-confirm-japan-considered-aukus-pillar-ii/103683934

https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/Article/3733790/aukus-defense-ministers-joint-statement/

https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/202404/t20240408_11277991.html

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80104e No.20700866

File: 1199519c005c415⋯.jpg (3 MB,4996x3331,4996:3331,Former_US_president_Donald….jpg)

File: f4c8d78d22e02dd⋯.jpg (155.15 KB,1800x1198,900:599,Richard_Fontaine_from_the_….jpg)

>>20594954

>>20700849

Trump will see nuclear subs as a ‘win-win’, US foreign policy guru predicts

Matthew Knott - April 8, 2024

1/2

One of America’s leading foreign policy thinkers has played down fears that Donald Trump could discard the AUKUS pact or seek revenge against Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd if the former president is re-elected in November.

Richard Fontaine, the chief executive of the Centre for a New American Security think tank, also said there had been a naive reaction to US deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell’s recent remarks in which he suggested Australian nuclear-powered submarines could play a role in a war between the United States and China over Taiwan.

While some commentators have seen Campbell’s remarks as controversial given their allusion to possible conflict in Taiwan, Fontaine said: “I saw it as a statement of the obvious.

“He said the submarines could be relevant in a variety of contingencies, including cross-strait contingencies. If that’s a surprise to anyone, it shouldn’t be.”

Speaking as the US, Australia and United Kingdom begin talks to allow other nations such as Japan to enter the trilateral pact, Fontaine said he feels “pretty confident” that Trump would stick with AUKUS if he defeats incumbent Joe Biden.

“There are grounds to worry about what Trump might do if he were back in office, but AUKUS is unlikely to be one of them,” said Fontaine, who served as a senior official on Asia policy in George W. Bush’s administration and is visiting Australia for a national security conference run by the Australian National University.

“I think it’s such a win-win and I think would be perceived that way if a Trump administration was to come back into office.

“The chances that AUKUS would survive a political transition in the US – just as it survived one in Australia – are very high.”

Australians should be more worried about how they would be affected by Trump’s protectionist trade policies, he added.

Fontaine said there was widespread support for AUKUS among both Democrats and Republicans in Washington, and that the pact has the potential to help alleviate, rather than exacerbate, problems in the US naval industrial base.

He said he saw Trump’s recent remarks about Rudd being “nasty” as an “off-the-cuff” response to a line of “baiting” questions by GB News interviewer Nigel Farage.

“I don’t think that has really anything to do with how Kevin Rudd might or might not serve his country as ambassador to the United States,” he said.

“Kevin is an able representative of Australia and I think he will do a fine job, whether Biden is in power or Trump is president again.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20700870

File: d8978b3cc9de3c1⋯.jpg (264.29 KB,1920x1280,3:2,Unearthed_video_shows_now_….jpg)

>>20700866

2/2

Fontaine last week hosted a discussion with Campbell, who played a crucial role in the creation of AUKUS as Biden’s top adviser on Indo-Pacific affairs.

“What we’re confronting now are challenges that require a much deeper engagement with allies and partners, and I think the idea over time will be in a number of potential areas of conflict and in a number of scenarios,” Campbell said.

“I think those practical circumstances in which AUKUS has the potential to have submarines from a number of countries operating in close coordination that could deliver conventional ordinance from long distances – those have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances.”

Fontaine said that it would always be a sovereign decision for Australia to decide how to use its nuclear-powered submarines and whether to participate in a hypothetical conflict over the self-governing island of Taiwan.

“I think [Campbell’s] point was that the entire thrust of the US approach to Taiwan is to deter war from happening in the first place,” he said.

Fontaine said it would be a “good development” for AUKUS if Japan was able to join the so-called “pillar II” of the pact, which relates to collaboration on advanced military technologies such as hypersonic weapons, quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

There is no suggestion of any other nations, including Japan, joining Pillar I of the pact, which relates to nuclear-powered submarines.

US ambassador in Tokyo Rahm Emanuel wrote in The Wall Street Journal last week that Japan was “about to become the first additional Pillar II partner”, but it is expected the AUKUS nations will begin with talks to explore expanding membership of the pact.

US President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for a summit at the White House this week ahead of a landmark meeting with Kishida and Philippines President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos jnr.

Australian officials have been keen for AUKUS to get some “runs on the board” before opening up the pact to other nations, and there are concerns Japan lacks the necessary security protections to share such sensitive technology.

“Japan has taken some of those steps, but not all of them,” Campbell said last week in his discussion with Fontaine.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/trump-will-see-nuclear-subs-as-a-win-win-us-foreign-policy-guru-predicts-20240408-p5fi7t.html

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80104e No.20700884

File: 9fb7a75e4559ff2⋯.jpg (341.11 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_enters_th….jpg)

File: ab228927b9324c9⋯.jpg (187.48 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Former_Spotlight_producer_….jpg)

>>20656143

Brittany Higgins questions whether she ‘may have been drugged’ on night Bruce Lehrmann allegedly raped her

ELLIE DUDLEY and STEPHEN RICE - APRIL 9, 2024

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Brittany Higgins has questioned whether she may have been drugged on the night she was allegedly raped by Bruce Lehrmann in Parliament House, and that she wishes the Federal Court had explored this possibility during Mr Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson, new court documents have revealed.

The former Liberal staffer also claims the circumstances in which her $2.4m commonwealth payment was “prepared, agreed and executed” had not been explored “in any meaningful way” during proceedings, saying there is “no proper basis” to make adverse findings against her in relation to the compensation package.

Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers had argued that Ms Higgins made 11 separate representations about her alleged rape in her settlement that were either false or contradicted by her own evidence in the defamation case.

Justice Michael Lee last week invited Ms Higgins to make further submissions to the landmark defamation case in relation to evidence pertaining to her, to avoid any “third party to the proceedings being denied procedural fairness.”

Ms Higgins, in submissions released by the court on Tuesday afternoon, said, if she had been a party to the proceedings, she would have properly interrogated a “master chronology” which features an entry from an AFP officer indicating she may have been drugged on the night of the alleged rape.

The entry, from senior officer Leanne Cross, reads: “I also have concerns from info I heard that this may have happened before or could happen again. (I was referring to info that alleged victim may have been drugged). Paul (Sherring) – we need to speak to a range of people. Security staff cleaners may have info.”

In her submissions, prepared by her counsel Nicholas Owens SC, Ms Higgins said the potential she was drugged “is not an issue that has been raised or explored in these proceedings.”

“While there is evidence now that there was “info” that Ms Higgins was drugged, and that the concerns expressed in that note were held, the nature of that “info” and the basis upon which the concerns were held was not explored,” her submissions read.

“In the context of a serious challenge to the honesty and accuracy of Ms Higgins’ account of the events of the night in question, the potential that her perceptive and recollective abilities may have been affected other than by alcohol and trauma is an issue that she would have wished to explore.”

Mr Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence, and says he never had sexual intercourse with Ms Higgins.

(continued)

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80104e No.20700888

File: 177f0dc05d493b9⋯.jpg (143.91 KB,1280x720,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_questions….jpg)

>>20700884

2/2

The master chronology was submitted into evidence last week after former Seven Spotlight producer Taylor Auerbach provided the court with confidential information from Mr Lehrmann’s criminal trial, which he claims the former Liberal staffer provided to the program as part of an exclusive interview.

Mr Lehrmann has denied providing any confidential information to Seven.

Justice Lee emailed parties to the defamation case in March after receiving a submission from Ten that allegations Ms Higgins had “committed a fraud on the common­wealth” should not be adjudi­cated in the case.

Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers had argued that Ms Higgins made false representation “for the purposes of securing a life-changing payment” and were a breach of the warranties made by her in the deed. Ms Higgins denies this.

In her response released by the court on Tuesday, Ms Higgins called on the court to be “slow to draw adverse inferences against and incomplete evidentiary background” and criticised Mr Lehrmann’s attempts to undermine her credibility.

In the submissions, Ms Higgins claims she had not been cross-examined on the deed she signed with commonwealth and thus had no opportunity to explain any alleged inconsistencies.

In one case, Ms Higgins had claimed in the deed that Mr Lehrmann directed the taxi in which the pair travelled to Parliament House to stop “without invitation or agreement”, when she had previously given evidence that she “just went along with it”.

Ms Higgins says in her submission the two statements are entirely consistent because “in both versions Mr Lehrmann did not seek the consent of Ms Higgins – he told her what he was doing”.

Ms Higgins submits that, while in the witness box, she exhibited a “preparedness to accept that something she genuinely thought had happened, did not happen in light of objective evidence.”

“In circumstances where (as reflected in the evidence she gave during the trial) she was more intoxicated than she ever had been before and during the rape, and where she was highly traumatised after the rape, it is plain that she has done her best to reconstruct what happened to her,” the submissions read.

“To the extent that peripheral details of her reconstructed memory were wrong, it does not in any way reflect adversely upon her honesty (and her willingness to accept such matters indeed stands very much to her credit).”

She claims that no inconsistencies in her events “rise above the level of detail that human memory, and especially the memory of a victim of a traumatic assault, would be expected to exhibit some variance of recall in relation to.”

“Once again, in particular where Ms Higgins has always been clear that she was highly affected by alcohol, and incapable of remembering (or even consciously observing) many events, care must be taken to distinguish between inconsistencies that are a product of a (failed) attempt to work out the detail of what happened to her, and (which is denied) dishonest invention,” the submissions read.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/brittany-higgins-questions-whether-she-may-have-been-drugged-on-night-of-alleged-rape/news-story/6e513b8539c73bc608f74ab17d4ed34c

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80104e No.20700895

File: 3fd046f4d9179d4⋯.jpg (216.61 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,The_Federal_Court_will_rul….jpg)

File: 48d853d76c3343a⋯.jpg (317.1 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Taylor_Auerbach_leaves_the….jpg)

>>20656143

Judgment day finally announced for epic Bruce Lehrmann, Ten, Lisa Wilkinson defamation saga

STEPHEN RICE and ELLIE DUDLEY - APRIL 9, 2024

1/2

Bruce Lehrmann will learn on Monday next week whether judge Michael Lee has found he was defamed by Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson when they aired an interview with alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins.

On Tuesday, the Federal Court advised that Justice Lee would deliver his verdict at 10.15am next Monday, with the judge expected to read an abbreviated version of his judgment, live-streamed on the Federal Court’s YouTube channel, with longer reasons to be published in full on the court’s website at the conclusion.

The judgment had been delayed by an 11th-hour intervention last week by disaffected former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach, who provided Ten with affidavits about Mr Lehrmann’s involvement with the Seven network.

Mr Lehrmann sued Ten and Wilkinson over her interview with Ms Higgins on The Project in 2021, detailing accu­sations that Mr Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins but not naming him as the alleged attacker.

Ten and Wilkinson have relied on a defence of truth, in an attempt to prove Mr Lehrmann sexually assaulted Ms Higgins on the couch of senator Linda Reynolds in Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019.

Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied raping Ms Higgins.

The judgment was due to be delivered last Thursday but was postponed when the Ten Network successfully sought to reopen the case citing fresh evidence from Auerbach about expensive perks provided to Mr Lehrmann while Seven’s Spotlight program was trying to convince him to hand over his exclusive interview rights.

Auerbach gave evidence last week that Seven reimbursed Mr Lehrmann for sex workers and illegal drugs after the former ­Liberal staffer had been on a “bender”, and admitted to charging his Seven-issued corporate card with thousands of dollars for Thai massages for himself and Mr Lehrmann.

Auerbach also claims Mr Lehrmann provided Spotlight with confidential information from his criminal rape trial as part of his interview deal. Mr Lehrmann has denied giving the program such information.

Justice Lee on Friday described Auerbach as “a man who wants to do as much damage to his previous employer as he could conceivably do” and questioned Ten lawyers about the relevance of the new evidence.

The judge clarified that “doesn’t mean he’s not a truth-teller”.

“But don’t put him up as some sort of notable public-interested person who was coming along to get something off his chest, because he thought he had to assist His Majesty’s justices,” Justice Lee said. “He’s a man who wanted to make a range of allegations against people under absolute privilege.”

In a submission released by the court on Tuesday, Mr Auerbach rejected claims his allegations were “motivated by vengeance or other ill will towards Seven”, saying none of his evidence has been demonstrated to be false.

His admitted “hatred” of former Seven colleague Steve Jackson was “irrelevant to whether the content of his affidavits are true, given he says nothing critical of Mr Jackson in those affidavits”, Mr Auerbach’s lawyer submitted.

(continued)

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80104e No.20700897

File: c107112eaa72e0c⋯.jpg (624.7 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Lisa_Wilkinson_arrives_at_….jpg)

>>20700895

2/2

The announcement of a verdict on Monday suggests the evidence produced by the 32-year-old, while damaging for his former colleagues at Seven, has not significantly affected the judgment that had already been largely written by Justice Lee, though it may impact any damages awarded.

Justice Lee must decide whether, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins. If he finds the rape did occur, Network Ten and Wilkinson would claim victory, and would seek to have Lehrmann pay their substantial legal costs – likely to run into many millions.

If Justice Lee finds on the balance of probabilities, that no sexual contact occurred between the two – as Mr Lehrmann testified – and he did not rape Brittany Higgins, he must decide how much compensation or damages Mr Lehrmann should be paid by Wilkinson and Ten.

If Justice Lee finds the pair did have sex, but it was consensual, or that Mr Lehrmann did not understand Ms Higgins was not consenting, that means he would effectively have found Mr Lehrmann to be a liar.

Ten has argued in this case, the damages should only be a nominal amount such as $1, because they say Mr Lehrmann has lied at various times throughout this saga.

Ten and Wilkinson also have a second defence of qualified privilege, arguing Wilkinson and The Project production team properly fulfilled their obligations in preparing the story.

Justice Lee must consider this as a “reasonableness” defence: that is, was it reasonable to publish the allegations, even if the judge does not find them to be true? This will turn on all the efforts Ten and Wilkinson made (or did not make) to establish the truth of Higgins’ claims.

If Justice Lee finds Ten and Wilkinson were reasonable, this could either reduce the amount of damages Mr Lehrmann is awarded if the truth defence fails, or it could mean an outright victory for Ten and Wilkinson.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/judgement-day-finally-announced-for-epic-lehrmann-ten-wilkinson-defamation-saga/news-story/cbbf897d5effef41b67ca760c6b12017

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80104e No.20700919

File: 2b0db5326f80be4⋯.mp4 (12.61 MB,848x478,424:239,eJk728erEgVvR8aJ.mp4)

>>20634736

Alice Springs youth curfew extended until end of school holidays

LIAM MENDES - APRIL 9, 2024

The Northern Territory government has extended Alice Springs’ youth curfew for a further five days, to expire at the end of the school holidays.

The curfew was implemented at the end of March after more than 100 people ­rioted in Alice Springs and cornered one of the town’s most popular pubs, which police said at the time they did not have the resources to control. It will now expire 6am on Tuesday, April 16.

The riot on March 27 saw parts of Alice Springs in lockdown over what sources claimed was “payback” for the death of a young man who died after a stolen car overturned on March 8.

CCTV revealed by The Australian showed a group attempting to smash the windows of a popular pub, pelting bricks and throwing their bodies at glass doors as workers try to barricade themselves in on the other side, following a ceremony for the 18-year-old who was killed. For weeks, locals in Alice Springs had feared a war would begin between families seeking payback against the driver of the vehicle.

The Australian was told the pack was seeking revenge on someone associated with stealing the vehicle. Payback, in Indigenous parlance, is a form of vendetta aimed at settling a grievance over a death, adultery or disagreement.

Later that day, 150 people gathered at Hidden Valley town camp “armed … and engaging in violent conduct,” police said.

NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler has been on the ground in Alice Springs twice since the implementation of the curfew, assessing its impact.

“We’ve seen very encouraging results with the introduction of the curfew, and even after it has ended (service providers) will continue to work together much closer than they have been doing before the youth curfew,” she said on Tuesday afternoon.

“We will continue to provide updates to the community on the arrangements that will be put in place when the curfew ends.”

A spokesperson for the NT opposition called for an extension until the end of April, and that breaches of the curfew should carry consequences.

“The curfew can’t just be a drop off service, forcing our police to run around in circles. It has to be a curfew with consequences,” Country Liberal Party spokesman Bill Yan said.

“If the police are picking up the same kids over and over again, there must be a trigger that forces Territory Families to go in and hold the parents accountable through income management.

“At risk youth should be referred to appropriate residential care, to ensure they are involved with diversion programs. Importantly, these kids should be made to go to school,” he said.

It comes as the government announced almost two dozen police officers will be sent to central Australia from South Australia after a request from the Northern Territory police commissioner.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/alice-springs-youth-curfew-extended-until-end-of-school-holidays/news-story/ca43d53b650a9ddcc24fcb56ae75ab2d

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80104e No.20705252

File: a0eff7d929fcec2⋯.mp4 (13.99 MB,640x360,16:9,Penny_Wong_reiterates_a_ca….mp4)

>>20550335

>>20686545

Penny Wong says peace for Israel will only come with Palestinian state recognition

Georgia Roberts - 10 April 2024

1/2

Australia's foreign minister says peace and security will only come to Israel if Palestine is recognised as a state.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong used an address at the Australian National University on Tuesday night to announce that the federal government was contemplating recognising Palestinian statehood.

She said international recognition could help "build momentum towards a two-state solution" with Israel.

Senator Wong repeated calls on Wednesday morning for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war before repeating the same sentiment she had expressed in a speech the night prior.

She added that Australia could be both a friend to Israel and a friend to Palestinians.

"Ultimately, peace, security for Israel, will only be achieved if we have a Palestinian state alongside the Israeli state," she said.

"We are looking at … a pathway beyond the immediate conflict, that's what the discussion is amongst the international community. We have to work out how it is we break the endless cycle of violence.

"What needs to happen immediately is Hamas needs to release hostages and we need to see an immediate humanitarian ceasefire so that we can have aid at scale into Gaza where we know we have a humanitarian catastrophe."

When asked about Senator Wong's sentiments, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his government had always supported a two-state solution. However, he did not think Hamas should have any role in a future Palestinian state.

The Labor Party has long been divided on whether Australia should recognise Palestine.

Senator Wong said her government had not yet made a decision but was joining the international debate on a long-term solution.

In February, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that: "Israel categorically rejects international dictates regarding a permanent settlement with the Palestinians".

"Israel will continue to oppose unilateral recognition of a Palestinian state," Mr Netanyahu said.

"The failures of this approach by all parties over decades — as well as the Netanyahu government's refusal to even engage on the question of a Palestinian state — have caused widespread frustration," Senator Wong said on Tuesday night.

"So the international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution."

The Coalition released a statement late on Tuesday night criticising the government's language surrounding a two-state solution.

Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Birmingham said the government's argument to "pre-emptively recognise a Palestinian state puts statehood before security and will be seen as a win by the terrorists who initiated the current horrific conflict".

"To give the greatest chance for a sustainable ceasefire that leads to prospects for stability and security, Labor should instead be applying maximum pressure on Hamas to immediately and unconditionally release all hostages and surrender all terrorist capabilities," Mr Birmingham said.

"There's going to have to be a period of security achieved and that can only be achieved once hostages are released, once Hamas has laid down its terrorist capabilities. Then you can have a period of security and stability and that can then achieve the type of negotiating environment to secure an ultimate two-state solution or any other approach that can provide for long-term peace between Palestinian peoples and Israeli peoples."

(continued)

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80104e No.20705261

File: f15b5c89fecec33⋯.jpg (1.78 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Senator_Wong_has_repeated_….jpg)

>>20705252

2/2

Rafah invasion

Senator Wong also repeated the government's concerns about Mr Netenyahu's plans to invade the city of Rafah, which houses more than 1 million displaced people living in tent camps and makeshift shelters who had fled there from Israeli attacks on Gaza.

"We are deeply concerned about the proposed invasion in Rafah where so many civilians are sheltering," the senator said.

Mr Albanese has urged Israel to avoid a ground invasion of Rafah, as Mr Netanyahu set a date for the ground offensive.

Israeli's prime minister insists that "victory" over Hamas "requires entry into Rafah and the elimination of the terrorist battalions there".

"I have directly put to Prime Minister Netanyahu Australia's concern about a ground invasion of Rafah," Mr Albanese said.

"The consequences that would be there for the civilian population who, of course, were told in Gaza to go south from the north to the centre, were then told to go to the centre to the south, and are now confronting a potential ground invasion there."

When Senator Wong was asked how Hamas could be removed from Gaza without a ground offensive in Rafah, she said Israel needed to make sure it complies with international humanitarian law when doing so.

"Israel was attacked in the most horrific terms, by an organisation, which is dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish people and the Jewish state which is Hamas … any state attacked in that way would defend itself. Any state that does defend itself, is bound by certain rules and we are concerned about the humanitarian implications and consequences for civilians in Rafah, as is the President of the United States."

The US, one of whose citizens had been killed in the Israeli air strike on the World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza, has recently hardened its language on Israel and how it has been defending itself, calling for ceasefires and urging Israel not to invade Rafah.

Binskin has 'positive engagements' with Israel

The government has slowly ramped up criticism of Israel in recent months as violence has intensified in Gaza, and has peaked in the last week after an Israeli air strike killed an Australian.

It appointed former ADF chief Mark Binskin to scrutinise Israel's investigation of the air strikes that killed Zomi Frankcom and six other aid workers.

Senator Wong said Air Chief Marshal Binskin had engaged with Israel already in relation to the inquiry and that it had been positive.

"This is a very important issue for Australia … under international humanitarian law aid workers are to be protected, demonstrably there was a deadly failure," the senator said.

"Australians do expect there to be transparency and full accountability and we've appointed Mark Binskin as a special advisor because he will be able to assist the Australian government in considering the investigation."

Senator Wong said she had not received a response to a letter that Defence Minister Richard Marles and herself had sent to the Israeli government regarding the incident but she "looked forward" to one.

The IDF said it had dismissed two officers and reprimanded three others for their roles in drone strikes in Gaza that killed the seven aid workers.

The Australian government said it expected Air Chief Marshall Binskin to have "full access" and the cooperation of the Israeli government and the IDF throughout the inquiry into the strikes.

However, IDF Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner couldn't confirm that would occur: "I don't know. I think that that's the question that needs to be referred through the government, from government to government … so I think we need to check with the foreign ministry," he said.

When the ABC asked Israel's foreign ministry whether the country's government or military would cooperate with any Australian investigation, it said: "I think you should ask the IDF spokesperson on this issue".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-10/penny-wong-repeats-call-for-palestinian-state-recognition/103688862

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80104e No.20705294

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20550335

>>20705252

‘Reward for terrorism’: Wong’s speech draws backlash from pro-Israel groups

Matthew Knott - April 10, 2024

1/2

Pro-Israel groups and the federal opposition have reacted furiously to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong’s suggestion the Albanese government could recognise Palestinian statehood, declaring such a move would reward Hamas for the October 7 terrorist attacks.

Wong said recognising Palestinian statehood could improve the chances for peace while “building momentum” towards a two-state agreement with Israel, in a speech in Canberra on Tuesday night.

Her comments have been welcomed by pro-Palestinian advocates and progressive Labor activists, who have campaigned for many years to shift Labor’s position on the question of statehood.

However, the speech has further strained the government’s fraught relations with prominent Jewish groups, which were already angry with the government over its decision to appoint a special adviser to review the Israel Defence Force’s killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues.

“Any talk of recognition of Palestinian statehood in such close proximity to the 7 October attacks is entirely premature and will be seen as a reward for those attacks,” Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said.

“Israel is currently at war with a genocidal terrorist organisation, which perpetrated horrors on the Jewish people not seen since the Holocaust.”

Asked if Australia would vote in favour of Palestinian statehood if the matter came up for a vote at the United Nations, Wong said on Wednesday: “We’ll see what comes forward.”

Stressing that she believes Hamas has no governing role in the future of Gaza after it launched terrorist attacks that killed an estimated 1200 people on October 7, Wong said “there’s currently an international discussion about the pathway beyond the conflict”.

Wong said in her speech that it would be wrong to see recognition of Palestine as a reward for an enemy because Israel’s own security depends on a two-state solution.

The United Nations Security Council this week referred the Palestinian Authority’s bid to become a UN member state to its 15-member membership committee, which does not include Australia.

Approval would require at least nine votes in favour of Palestinian statehood and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, Britain or the United States, which has traditionally vetoed motions opposed by Israel.

A later vote could then be held by the UN General Assembly, where Australia would cast a vote.

Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said: “Despite Senator Wong’s words about Hamas having no future role in Gaza, there is no doubt that many Palestinians would see any such recognition in the near future as a major national achievement made possible by Hamas’ wave of barbaric mass violence.”

Rubenstein continued: “The preconditions for a two-state peace are simply not currently in place, and extending such recognition before they are only makes it less likely these preconditions can ever be developed.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20705299

File: 14f7a52bc9e3e4f⋯.jpg (3.7 MB,5305x3537,5305:3537,Foreign_Affairs_Minister_P….jpg)

>>20705294

2/2

The vast majority of UN member states already recognise Palestinian statehood, including almost every country in Africa, South America and Asia.

Australia is among the countries that do not, alongside the US, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and New Zealand.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network president Nasser Mashni said: “It’s high time that Australia joined the other 139 like-minded countries around the world in recognising Palestine.

“Australia’s recognition of Palestine would send a signal to the world – that Australia supports the consistent application of international law, that it firmly objects to apartheid Israel’s genocide, occupation and oppression of Palestinians, that it values, supports and will strive for the realisation of Palestinian rights, and that it wants to be part of a global wave of change towards a political resolution for the Palestinian people.”

It has been official Labor Party policy since 2018 to recognise Palestine as a state, although the timing of such a move would always be up to cabinet.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said: “The Albanese government’s argument to pre-emptively recognise a Palestinian state puts statehood before security, and will be seen as a win by the terrorists who initiated the current horrific conflict.”

Describing the October 7 attacks as an assault on Israel’s right to exist that shattered Israelis’ sense of security, Birmingham said: “It is downright dangerous to reward such barbaric conduct with a fast track to recognition of statehood.”

He said it was wrong for Wong to claim the improvement of Israeli relations with neighbouring Arab states “cannot proceed without progress on Palestinian statehood” given Israel had normalised relations with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco since 2020.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley told Sky News: “This is clearly a domestic policy decision that is completely wrong and completely misunderstands the reality of the Middle East.

“So, it’s dressed up as a foreign policy decision but what it is chasing is Green votes here in Australia.”

The Israeli ambassador to Australia was contacted for comment.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/reward-for-terrorism-wong-s-speech-draws-backlash-from-pro-israel-groups-20240410-p5fimp.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8zlYaARD_iI

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80104e No.20705307

File: 34fd99fc14b1f6b⋯.jpg (90.85 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Foreign_Minister_Penny_Won….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20705252

Penny Wong’s position on Palestine wrong on many levels

GREG SHERIDAN - APRIL 10, 2024

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has delivered an emotionally ­manipulative, substantially dishonest speech implying, without quite stating, that the Albanese government is on the brink of extending formal diplomatic recognition to a state of Palestine.

Her reasoning inverts reality, her facts are dubious if not outright wrong, her logic is missing, but the politics is compelling. That is the internal Labor politics and the broader politics of the left.

The political bottom line is this. If the government officially recognises a Palestinian state, Labor will go to the election with the enthusiastic support of Muslim voters in key western Sydney and Melbourne electorates.

Not only that, Labor thinks it will have a better chance of fending off its most deadly enemy, the Greens, in inner-city electorates in every big Australian city.

But a lot can go wrong here. The Albanese government made a similar political calculation about the voice. If it delivered the voice it would be the immortal champion of the left. But it didn’t work. This might not work either.

Wong claims that recognition of a Palestinian state is necessary to advance a two-state solution – Israel and Palestine living side by side in peace. This is almost exactly the opposite of the truth.

Israel has on three separate occasions offered the absolute maximum that could conceivably be achieved in a Palestinian state. And of course the Palestinians and their Arab allies also violently rejected the initial partition of the territory in 1947.

Senior officials from Bill Clinton’s administration, in exhaustive memoirs, document how the Palestinian leadership, which lives splendidly well while its people suffer, rejected every such offer and constructed absurd demands that made it impossible.

There were several reasons for this. The Palestinian leaders know that any one of them who makes peace with Israel will certainly be assassinated by extremists.

More relevantly for Wong’s speech, they also believe that the international community is so hostile to Israel that eventually it will deliver major benefits to the Palestinians without any need for compromise, concession or even real negotiation on their part.

Wong’s speech will help confirm them in this view.

Not only that, no Israeli government could accede to the formation of a Palestinian state – or indeed two, one in the West Bank, one in Gaza – that did not guarantee it would not be a base for continuing attacks on Israel like October 7. Yet no Palestinian leadership could, or even would, offer such a guarantee today or in the conceivable future.

If the Israeli leadership has for the moment abandoned the idea of a two-state solution that’s because it is, for the moment, impossible. Of course it remains the long-term solution. But pressing for it today, with the implication only Israeli intransigence is preventing it, is dishonest, unrealistic, designed to hurt Israel or is simply all about cynical sectarian politics on the left.

What is Wong’s position, for example, on the Palestinian insistence on the “right of return”. This means that all the millions of descendants, and part descendants, of Palestinians anywhere in the world must be granted automatic right of residence in Israel proper, not in the West Bank or Gaza? That’s millions of people, and plainly an intentionally deal-breaking demand. Will Wong denounce that with the same vigour with which she denounces Israel?

That’s not even to consider the countless ways in which Palestine doesn’t constitute a diplomatically recognisable state – lacking complete control of its territory, a coherent national government, effective institutions, not claiming disputed territory etc.

In truth, the last uncontested sovereignty over the Palestinian territories was exercised by the Ottoman Empire.

Does Wong care about any of this? Her speech constitutes another episode in the Albanese government turning against Israel and seeking support on the ­sectarian left.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/penny-wongs-position-on-palestine-wrong-on-many-levels/news-story/c4de6fa4efb4b30d2d660a1cfd1a4dff

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80104e No.20705313

File: b509d26dcd63c07⋯.jpg (1.81 MB,4896x3264,3:2,Joe_Biden_and_first_lady_J….jpg)

>>20676429

>>20691520

Australia to join stepped-up patrols in South China Sea: US

Steve Holland and David Brunnstrom - Apr 10, 2024

Washington | More joint patrols can be expected in the South China Sea after drills by the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Japan last weekend, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), ahead of US summits this week with the Japanese and Philippine leaders.

Warships from the four nations staged the exercises on Sunday following stepped-up Chinese pressure on the Philippines in the disputed strategic waterway.

US President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) and the two and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos will meet the next day for talks that will include ways to push back against China.

“On the naval patrols, we just saw trilateral plus Australia, a new form of quadrilateral joint naval patrols last week, so you can expect to see more of that in the future,” Mr Sullivan told a regular White House briefing while previewing the summits.

Before leaving for Washington, Mr Marcos said the upcoming summit would include a Japan-US agreement to help maintain security and freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.

“[The summit] will contain more details in the sense of how co-operation will be implemented,” Mr Marcos told reporters. The Philippines under Mr Marcos has deepened military ties with both the United States and Japan as maritime run-ins with China in the waterway have escalated.

Mr Marcos has allowed to nearly double Philippine bases American soldiers can access, and talks are under way with Japan for a reciprocal access agreement that will allow the presence of Japanese forces on Philippine soil.

Aiming for the moon

Mr Sullivan also reiterated that Washington and its existing Australian and British partners in the AUKUS security pact would explore possible Japanese involvement in Pillar II of the project, something the Biden-Kishida summit would address.

“We’re prepared to work with additional partners beyond the three of us, where they can bring capabilities, and Japan is one of the countries that could very well bring capabilities to that,” Mr Sullivan said, following a statement announcing Japan’s possible addition.

“Japan could be a critical contributor,” he said. “You will see when they speak tomorrow, an indication that that’s the direction we’re moving in.”

Mr Sullivan said Mr Biden and Mr Kishida would announce measures to enhance defence and security co-operation and in space exploration.

In an interview with Japan’s NHK World Television conducted on Monday, Mr Sullivan addressed plans for a new Japanese Self-Defence Forces (SDF) headquarters overseeing all the country’s military operations that Mr Kishida wants to establish by the end of March 2025.

Mr Sullivan said Mr Biden would give Mr Kishida a “complete commitment … to match Japan’s upgrade of its own operational command, with an upgrade of our operational command”.

Sources with knowledge of the planning have told Reuters Washington will consider appointing a four-star commander for Japan to match the rank of the head of Japan’s new military headquarters. Experts say a US officer of that rank could lay the groundwork for a future unified Japanese-US command.

Mr Sullivan said the specifics still had to be worked out, “but the overall strategic direction is clear”. He said the aim would be to enable the two countries to “work together more effectively, jointly against all of the common challenges that we face in the security realm in the Indo-Pacific.

“We are prepared as Japan is to take a step forward in enhancing our operational command in Japan and in making sure that we’re integrating our operational command with Japan’s because we have to be able to work jointly in a world of dynamic threats and challenges in a region of dynamic threats and challenges.”

He told NHK the space discussions would cover “our shared desire to return to the moon”.

Japan is hoping to land its first astronaut on the moon with the US Artemis project that envisages returning humans there by 2026, as competition with Russia and China intensifies.

Australia on Tuesday played down reports Japan could soon join AUKUS, saying any co-operation would be on a project-by-project basis as differences emerged within the pact over adding new members. A Japanese government official told Reuters on Monday discussions about formally joining AUKUS would likely not be welcomed by Australia or Britain until they had concrete results from the pact.

https://www.afr.com/world/asia/australia-to-join-stepped-up-patrols-in-south-china-sea-us-20240410-p5firr

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80104e No.20705328

File: 905c21c47424317⋯.jpg (234.89 KB,1623x1080,541:360,USINDOPACOM_Commander_Trav….jpg)

File: a24fe69cd322647⋯.jpg (310.55 KB,1623x1080,541:360,USINDOPACOM_Commander_Trav….jpg)

File: 3b65545dc9ae1d2⋯.jpg (337.46 KB,1623x1080,541:360,USINDOPACOM_Commander_Trav….jpg)

File: 94c0b4775764d73⋯.jpg (459.49 KB,1623x1080,541:360,USINDOPACOM_Commander_Trav….jpg)

USINDOPACOM Commander Travels to Australia

U.S. Indo-Pacific Command - April 9, 2024

SYDNEY - Adm. John C. Aquilino, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, visited Canberra and Sydney, Australia from April 7-10, 2024, where he met with senior government and military leaders and participated in think tank forums, demonstrating the solidarity of the U.S.-Australia Alliance.

Aquilino met with the Hon. Richard Marles MP, Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence; Greg Moriarty, Secretary of the Department of Defence; Amb. Caroline Kennedy, U.S. Ambassador to Australia; and Gen. Angus Campbell, Australia Chief of the Defence Force. The discussions focused on enhanced force posture cooperation, increasing interoperability to enhance all-domain cooperation, and expand multilateral exercises across the Indo-Pacific.

Aquilino also participated in the Australia-U.S. Military Representatives Meeting, which is part of regular cooperation between the two countries on global and regional security and military issues of mutual interest.

Australia and the U.S. continue to evolve their robust exercise program. This month, U.S. Marines and Sailors traveled to Australia to conduct the 13th annual Marine Rotational Force (MRF) – Darwin 24.3 deployment. The Marine Air Ground Task Force brings approximately 2,000 U.S. Marines and Sailors to Australia’s Northern Territory for a series of exercises and training events alongside the Australian Defence Force.

While in country, Aquilino presented Campbell with the Legion of Merit, the highest accolade that the U.S. can bestow upon a foreign leader. It is reserved for individuals who have shown exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services, and Campbell was recognized for his role in expanding cooperation in operations and training, directly contributing to Indo-Pacific regional security.

Aquilino spoke at the Lowy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan international policy think tank that aims to provide research and distinct perspectives on international trends while highlighting Australia’s impact in shaping conversations globally.

During the engagement, Aquilino highlighted the strength of partnerships and that each nation should decide their own policies free from coercion.

“Sovereignty of the nations in the region is the critical component of why the rules of law matter,” said Aquilino. “All nations get a choice and what we believe in is freedom for our people, sovereignty for our nations and the ability to have an equal voice as we work toward a peaceful, stable, free and open Indo-Pacific.”

The U.S.-Australia alliance is an anchor for peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world. Increased cooperation and military integration have only deepened the strong bilateral relationship through both countries’ shared interest in maintaining freedom of navigation, overflight, and other lawful uses of the sea.

https://www.pacom.mil/Media/News/News-Article-View/Article/3736081/usindopacom-commander-travels-to-australia/

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80104e No.20705353

File: 16086640a8c889a⋯.jpg (2.53 MB,4256x2832,266:177,A_Virginia_class_attack_su….jpg)

File: 361c43184335981⋯.jpg (481.85 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,Admiral_John_Aquilino_US_I….jpg)

File: e3b73d85e57be31⋯.jpg (470.92 KB,1999x1334,1999:1334,_From_left_Australia_s_Pri….jpg)

>>20700849

>>20705328

Australia will decide on use of its Aukus submarines, US Pacific commander says

Su-Lin Tan - 10 Apr 2024

It will be entirely up to Australia to decide the use of its Aukus nuclear-powered submarines, said the commander of US military forces in the Pacific, after a senior US official raised eyebrows last week by suggesting the vessels could be deployed in a potential war over Taiwan.

“I think that will be Australia’s call, how they decide to utilise their operational units when and if the time comes,” Admiral John Aquilino said when asked to confirm US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell’s claims during a Tuesday interview with Sydney-based think tank the Lowy Institute.

However, Aquilino added that the United States and Australia “coordinate almost every day” and were more “interoperable” than any other bilateral partnerships.

Aquilino, who leads the US Indo-Pacific Command, also reaffirmed that the sovereignty of Australia was of “critical importance to the United States”, adding that Aukus pact has the ability to deliver “any mission” that Australia wanted.

Aukus is a trilateral alliance between Australia, Britain and the US established in 2021 in response to growing Chinese influence in the region.

Canberra has steadfastly said that the submarines were being acquired to strengthen Australia’s defence and maintains that the nation will have sovereignty over the vessels.

The government of Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously denied promising the US it would go to war over Taiwan in return for the Aukus submarines, amid domestic anxieties that the deal could start a regional arms race.

Despite the US, UK and Australia’s long-held stance about Aukus’ purpose, Campbell drew links between the pact and a possible conflict in the Taiwan Strait when he spoke at the Centre for a New American Security in Washington last week.

“Those practical circumstances in which Aukus has the potential to have submarines from a number of countries operating in close coordination could deliver conventional ordinance from long distances,” he said.

“Those have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances, and so working closely with other nations, not just diplomatically, but in defence avenues, has the consequence of strengthening peace and stability more generally.”

On Tuesday, Aquilino said there had been no change in the US’ commitment to the Aukus pact, following news that Washington had planned to slow its submarine production and was late in its submarine delivery to Australia.

Since the agreement was announced, Australian sailors have graduated from “nuke school” with skills to operate nuclear reactors, Australian engineers have visited US shipyards to study nuclear maintenance, the US has deployed Virginia-class submarines to Australia, and Australian service members have been training at the Guam naval base, Aquilino said.

“The US commitment is iron clad,” he added.

Aquilino reiterated that the US’ national security strategy views China, Russia – due its “1,700-mile coastline” – and North Korea, as well as violent extremism in the south of the Philippines, as threats in the region.

Last month, Chinese nationalist tabloid Global Times said Aquilino should stay out of the Indo-Pacific after he claimed China was part of an “axis of evil”, saying his comments posed threats to regional peace and fuel hostility towards the country.

This comes as Australia, the US and Britain were reportedly mulling Japan’s membership in Aukus, a move that China – which has opposed the pact from the start – expressed “grave” concerns about.

“We oppose relevant countries cobbling together exclusive groupings and stoking bloc confrontation. Japan needs to earnestly draw lessons from history and stay prudent on military and security issues,” Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday.

Her comments preceded Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s meeting in Washington with US President Joe Biden on Wednesday, focusing on regional deterrence, before they both are set to attend a trilateral summit on Thursday with Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jnr.

https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3258425/australia-will-decide-use-its-aukus-submarines-us-pacific-commander-says

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80104e No.20705379

File: 289736b370bfedb⋯.jpg (456.82 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Lia_Thomas_a_transgender_w….jpg)

>>20561119

>>20570458

US colleges impose new limits on transgender athletes

TOM CRYSTAL - APRIL 9, 2024

The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the governing body for small US colleges, has announced a policy that effectively bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports.

In a move that was approved by a 20-0 vote of its council of presidents, the NAIA ruled athletes will only be allowed to compete in women’s sports if they were assigned the female gender at birth.

Transgender athletes may still participate in college sport, but only in male categories.

A student who has begun hormone therapy may participate in activities such as workouts, practices and team activities, but not in inter-scholastic competition.

The NAIA oversees about 83,000 athletes in 249 mostly small colleges across the US.

The ruling is believed to be the first of its kind in college sport, but it does not affect the more high-profile National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), which oversees student athletics across 1100 schools and about 500,000 student athletes.

“We know there are a lot of different opinions out there,” NAIA president Jim Carr told CBS Sports.

“For us, we believed our first responsibility was to create fairness and competition in the NAIA … we also think it aligns with the reasons Title IX was created. You’re allowed to have separate but equal opportunities for women to compete.”

The NAIA issued a statement after the decision: “With the exception of competitive (cheerleading) and competitive dance, the NAIA created separate categories for male and female participants,” it read.

“Each NAIA sport includes some combination of strength, speed and stamina, providing competitive advantages for male student-athletes. As a result, the NAIA policy for transgender student-athletes applies to all sports except for competitive cheer and competitive dance, which are open to all students.”

The Washington Post reported that the NAIA ban has sparked “concerns” that the NCAA might follow suit.

In March, a more than a dozen current and former college athletes filed a federal lawsuit against the NCAA, accusing the sports governing body for more than 500,000 athletes of violating their rights by allowing transgender women to compete in women’s sports.

The issue rose to prominence in 2022 when Penn University swimmer Lia Thomas became the only openly transgender athlete to win an NCAA Division I championship.

That year, Thomas won the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4min 33.24sec, beating out Olympic silver medallist Emma Weyant by 1.75 seconds.

Thomas had previously competed for the university as Will Thomas for three years and was ranked No.462 in the NCAA.

Title IX gives women athletes the right to equal opportunity in sports in educational institutions that receive federal government funding.

The Biden administration had planned to overhaul the legislation but has so far stalled on finalising laws that would provide stronger support for transgender and non-binary students, as well as victims of sexual assault.

Former president Donald Trump has promised to ban trans women from women’s sports if re-elected.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/us-colleges-impose-new-limits-on-transgender-athletes/news-story/a42fb1fbf5d464993e1dadab86552917

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80104e No.20705409

File: c23d2d65b4c8f87⋯.jpg (2.78 MB,5000x3332,1250:833,Roxanne_Tickle_arrives_at_….jpg)

File: 4dd601b689e9e39⋯.jpg (875.85 KB,5000x3333,5000:3333,The_Giggle_for_Girls_app_i….jpg)

File: e85542789d38446⋯.jpg (2.72 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Ms_Tickle_was_initially_gi….jpg)

File: f793e4eb2d6d095⋯.jpg (3.85 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Protesters_supporting_tran….jpg)

File: ad3caebfa4632cc⋯.jpg (3.2 MB,5000x3332,1250:833,A_small_group_of_protester….jpg)

>>20561119

Women-only social media app Giggle for Girls taken to court by transgender woman Roxanne Tickle after her account was restricted

Jamie McKinnell - 9 April 2024

A transgender woman who was excluded from a women-only social media app should be awarded damages because the app's founder has persistently denied she is a woman, a Sydney court has heard.

In February 2021, Roxanne Tickle downloaded the Giggle for Girls social networking app, which was marketed as a platform exclusively for women to share experiences and speak freely.

Users needed to provide a selfie, which was assessed by artificial intelligence software to determine if they were a woman or man.

Ms Tickle's photograph was determined to be a woman and she used the app's full features until September that year, when the account became restricted because the AI decision was manually overridden.

In a case before the Federal Court, Ms Tickle alleges unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

It is the first case alleging gender identity discrimination to be heard by the court since 2013 changes to the Sex Discrimination Act.

Ms Tickle's counsel Georgina Costello KC told the court her client has a birth certificate stating her gender as female and has had gender affirming surgery.

"She perceives herself as a woman," Ms Costello said during an opening address.

"She presents herself as a woman, she uses a woman's name … and she feels in her mind, psychologically, that she is a woman."

Debate over 'carve out' of parts of sex discrimination law

Ms Costello said the respondents, including app founder Sally Grover, "flatly deny" that Ms Tickle is a woman.

She said the case law in respect of "sex, gender, man and woman" was clear that "sex and gender and man and woman are not binary categories … a person can change from one to another".

It was not purely a biological question but partly psychological and partly social, Ms Costello said.

The respondents have invoked parts of sex discrimination law which contain a "carve out" for measures intended to achieve substantive equality between men and women.

But Ms Costello said that could not apply because Ms Tickle is a woman.

"What you see here is really a series of artificial, after-the-fact justifications for conduct which is really discrimination against transgender women," she said.

'Sex is discriminatory'

Barrister Bridie Nolan, representing the app and founder, said the app's "vision" was for "a little corner of the internet where women from all over the world could have refuge away from males".

Ms Nolan said it was clear from the terms of use that a user needed to be over the age of 16 and be female.

It came under attack even in its nascency, but by 2021 had about 20,000 users, the court heard.

A selfie photo was seen as the "least controversial requirement" of a user signing up, but it was intended that any males who "got through" would be "caught by human eyes" or other users reporting them.

Ms Nolan foreshadowed evidence from evolutionary biologist Colin Wright that "it was perfectly and objectively and scientifically reasonable for Ms Grover to identify [Ms Tickle] as male."

She said the respondents wished no indignity upon Ms Tickle or others who express gender identity, but said "sex is discriminatory".

"It always has been, it always will be," she said.

Protests outside court

Two small, opposing rallies gathered outside the Sydney court for the opening day.

A decision was made to not live stream the proceedings, after a screenshot of a previous hearing was posted online with inappropriate commentary.

"I appreciate the issues from this case give rise to strongly held-views and emotions," Justice Robert Bromwich said.

He said he will deal with the case based on the issues arising from the pleadings and was not taking sides.

"I will be interpreting and applying the law as it exists. It's no part of my function to determine what the law should be," he said.

"We all need to behave in this case, despite the emotions involved, with civility."

The hearing is expected to run for four days.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-09/nsw-transgender-woman-roxanne-tickle-giggle-for-girls-app/103685564

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80104e No.20705415

File: 2d7e4e6cd55381c⋯.jpg (186.72 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Founder_of_the_now_defunct….jpg)

File: 97464ebadad4d42⋯.jpg (165.4 KB,1757x988,1757:988,Lawyer_Alex_Rashidi_L_and_….jpg)

File: b4f6fafd9953842⋯.jpg (270.68 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Roxanne_Tickle_leaving_cou….jpg)

>>20561119

>>20705409

‘Evolutionary biologist’ to be called in trans defamation case

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 10, 2024

An evolutionary biologist is set to give evidence in a case brought by an Australian transgender woman against a female-only social media app and its founder for discrimination, a court heard.

Roxanne Tickle, who underwent gender affirming surgery in 2019 and is now designated as female on her birth certificate, will argue she was discriminated against on the grounds of gender identity by the Giggle for Girls app and its owner Sall Grover when she was denied access to the app, which was otherwise available to cisgender women.

It is the first time a case alleging gender identity discrimination has been heard by the Federal Court, leading Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody to sit in on the proceedings on Tuesday.

Ms Tickle claims she was initially accepted into the app when she submitted a ‘selfie’ through Giggle’s third-party artificial intelligence tool but was later blocked by Ms Grover.

Ms Grover’s defence barrister Bridie Nolan said they would call the evidence Colin Wright, an evolutionary biologist, whose expert report and affidavit would suggest it was “objectively and scientifically reasonable” for Ms Grover to identify Ms Tickle as of the “male species”.

In that evidence, Mr Wright would argue there are only two sexes, and there can only be two sexes, the court heard.

Ms Nolan argued the Giggle for Girls app was designed “for the purpose of achieving equality between men and women in public life by providing an online refuge” and that a person can take “special measures” in these circumstances.

Ms Nolan outlined how in August 2018, Ms Grover was in trauma therapy related to her experiences of sexual harassment as a screenwriter in Hollywood, when the idea was born for an app that would “create a little corner of the internet where women all over the world could have refuge away from males”.

“(A) place without harassment, mansplaining, dick pics … and other online male pattern violence … experienced by women,” Ms Nolan said.

But even in its nascency, as early as February 7, 2020, the app came under attack online, the court heard. Despite having 20,000 users at one point, Ms Grover made a decision to shut down the app in July, 2022.

But Ms Tickle’s barrister Georgina Costello KC, said excluding a transgender woman from a female-only app was not an “authorised measure” for achieving “substantive equality” between men and women “because Ms Tickle is a woman”.

“What you see here is really a series of artificial, after-the-fact justifications for conduct which is really discrimination against transgender women,” she said.

Ms Costello launched her opening submissions by stating that Ms Tickle pleads “that she is a woman” - a fact, she said, Giggle for Girls and Ms Grover “flatly deny”.

“The evidence will show that Ms Tickle is a woman in that she has a birth certificate stating she is a woman, she had gender affirmation surgery, she perceives herself as a woman, she represents as a woman, she uses a woman’s name, she feels in her mind psychologically that she is a women,” Ms Costello said.

Ms Tickle briefly entered the witness box to share how she had “lived as a woman” since 2017.

She said she went through a hormonal transition, gender affirmation surgery and a social transition, which included changing her sex markers with government departments.

“Up until this instance everybody treated me as a woman,” she said.

“I do from time to time get frowns and stares and questioning looks, which is quite disconcerting … but then they will let me go by and go about my business.”

Ms Tickle is seeking aggravated damages as a result of being repeatedly told she was not a woman and because Giggle for Girls and Ms Grover “incited significant negativity in a deluge of communications online”, the court heard.

Federal Court Justice Robert Bromwich acknowledged at the outset the “strongly-held views and emotions” of supporters on both sides of the transgender debate who “cannot tolerate … a view contrary to their own”.

For this reason, Justice Bromwich did not allow a live-stream of the proceedings and warned that there should be “no intimidation or harassment” of anyone arriving or leaving this court house.

Ahead of the commencement of proceedings on Tuesday, a group of about 12 supporters of Ms Grover stood outside the court with banners reading “woman, adult, human, female”. Some wore purple, green and white scarves - the colours of the suffragettes.

A short time later, about 20 trans-rights protestors arrived, holding a large sign that read “Turfs Off Our Turf”.

The hearing continues on Wednesday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/evolutionary-biologist-to-be-called-in-transgender-defamation-proceedings/news-story/f03bff9b5f76bdc40b6ad1e1743e4e64

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80104e No.20705428

File: 90216c06ec2d44e⋯.jpg (366.98 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Giggle_for_Girls_app_found….jpg)

File: 314dd8b3101faf0⋯.jpg (160.84 KB,1757x988,1757:988,Sall_Grover_right_leaving_….jpg)

File: 3948d1c27be854e⋯.jpg (234.9 KB,1966x1106,983:553,Roxanne_Tickle.jpg)

File: d66cc71c80250d4⋯.jpg (334.3 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Sex_Discrimination_Commiss….jpg)

>>20561119

>>20705409

No transition from gender reality, app boss Sall Grover tells court

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 10, 2024

The founder of a women's-only social media app says she does not accept that a person who trans­itions from male to female surgically, socially and legally is a woman, and removed her from the app as she does with “all males”.

The view, held by Giggle for Girls app founder and CEO Sall Grover was described in court on Wednesday by Roxanne Tickle’s legal team as being at the “heart” of the discrimination case.

Ms Tickle, who underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2019 and is now designated as female on her birth certificate, will argue she was discriminated against on the grounds of gender identity by Giggle for Girls and Ms Grover when she was denied access to the app. Ms Tickle claims she was ­initially accepted into the app in February 2021 when she submitted a “selfie” through Giggle’s third-party artificial intelligence tool but was later blocked by Ms Grover.

Barrister Bridie Nolan, for Ms Grover, has argued the app was ­designed “for the purpose of achieving equality between men and women in public life by providing an online refuge”, and so does not amount to discrimination as it is a “special measure”.

But Georgina Costello KC, acting for Ms Tickle, said: “The critical issue in this case, your honour, is that the first and second respondents, Ms Grover and the company Giggle for Girls, have persisted in misgendering the ­applicant for years. That’s the heart of this case – that there’s been a discrimination on the basis of gender in excluding her from the app and persisting in misgendering her subsequently.”

It is the first time a case alleging gender identity discrimination has been heard by the Federal Court following changes to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013, which made it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.

Ms Costello asked Ms Grover in cross-examination whether “even where a person who was assigned male gender at birth has transitioned to being a woman” by having gender-affirming surgery, taking hormones to make them grow breasts, removing their facial hair, wearing female clothing and using female changing rooms, “you don’t accept that that person is a woman, do you?”

“No,” Ms Grover replied.

Ms Costello continued: “I suggest to you that in Australian ­society, the natural meaning of, the ordinary, contemporary meaning of woman, includes women whose gender is dated to be a woman on their birth certificate, having transitioned from man to woman?”

“I don’t agree,” Ms Grover replied.

Ms Costello also questioned Ms Grover about the alleged hurt caused to Ms Tickle through interviews and tweets referring to her as a man.

The court heard, Ms Tickle said in an affidavit Ms Grover’s public statements about the case had been “distressing, demoralising, draining and hurtful” and claimed the “scale of online hate” towards her, as a result, was “enormous”.

Ms Grover agreed she would have done about 20 to 50 interviews about the case, most recently travelling to the UK for press, and that she frequently described Ms Tickle as a man, and as a “man wanting access to female spaces”.

Ms Grover also said she had told interviewers she was “harassed by the applicant” and “afraid of the applicant”.

Ms Costello put to her that it was “not kind” to refer to Ms Tickle as a man. “I don’t think it’s kind to expect a woman to see a man as a woman,” Ms Grover responded.

In her opening address on Tuesday, Ms Nolan argued “sex” is a biological and binary concept, while Ms Tickle’s legal team argued it is partly psychological and social.

On Wednesday afternoon, barrister Zelie Heger, on behalf of the Sex Discrimination Commissioner submitted that “sex” for the purpose of the Sexual Discrimination Act is “changeable” and “non-binary” and as a result not “only” biological.

The Commissioner is assisting the Court by providing submissions about the meaning, scope and validity of relevant provisions of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth).

Ms Heger also said a person can be of the “female sex” as per the Act “if they are registered as such” and “had gender affirming surgery”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/landmark-transgender-discrimination-case-gets-to-the-heart-of-the-issue/news-story/b22d1b53bf48a5db1686015c38d7306e

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80104e No.20705439

File: ec5e217f28f025e⋯.jpg (385.75 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Tavistock_clinic_treat….jpg)

>>20561119

Landmark review rejects puberty blockers for children wanting to change gender

ELEANOR HAYWARD, THE TIMES - APRIL 10, 2024

1/2

An entire field of medicine aimed at ­enabling children to change gender has been “built on shaky foundations”, the chairwoman of an NHS review has concluded.

Dr Hilary Cass found that there was no good evidence to support the global clinical practice of prescribing hormones to under-18s to halt puberty or transition to the opposite sex.

This method of medical intervention for young people who identify as transgender has become embedded in clinical guidelines around the world over the past two decades. Thousands of children have received puberty blockers on the NHS since 2011, and referrals to its youth gender identity service have increased 100-fold in little over a decade.

Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, was commissioned by NHS ­England in 2020 to review services for children with gender dysphoria. Her final report has endorsed a ­fundamental shift in approach away from medical intervention towards a holistic model that addresses other mental health problems the children may have.

Rishi Sunak welcomed her findings and said that the lack of knowledge about the long-term impact of medical interventions meant people should proceed with “extreme caution”. He said: “We’ve seen a sharp rise in recent years of children, particularly adolescent girls, questioning their gender. I welcome Dr Cass’s expert review which urges treating these children, who often have complex needs, with great care and compassion.

“We simply do not know the long-term impact of medical treatment or social transitioning on them, and we should therefore exercise extreme ­caution.

“We acted swiftly on Dr Cass’s interim report to make changes in schools and our NHS, providing comprehensive guidance for schools and stopping the routine use of puberty blockers, and we will continue to ensure that we take the right steps to protect young people. The wellbeing and health of children must come first.”

The report contains 32 recommendations for overhauling services. “For most young people, a medical pathway will not be the best way to manage their gender-related distress,” Cass said, adding that children must be seen “as a whole person and not just through the lens of their gender identity”.

She said it was vital that services take into account high rates of autism and mental health problems in children identifying as transgender.

The report is the world’s biggest ­review into the contested field of trans healthcare, and involved patients, families, academics and doctors.

Researchers at the University of York examined all available evidence on how to treat children questioning their gender identity. They concluded there was “wholly inadequate” evidence to support medical intervention, making it impossible to know whether it improves mental or physical health.

The treatment, or pathway, involves giving children puberty blockers, and then cross-sex hormones from the age of 16, and has been adopted globally.

In an opinion piece for the BMJ, Cass said evidence-based medicine was built around three pillars of integrating the best available research with clinical expertise, and patient preferences. She said: “When conducting the review, I found that in gender medicine those pillars are built on shaky foundations.”

The review found that the use of puberty blockers had “spread at pace” around the world, based on a single Dutch study that began in 1998. It said there was no good evidence that puberty blockers helped, and they may damage bone health and height.

(continued)

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80104e No.20705441

File: 19f3f29db5b096b⋯.jpg (314.68 KB,2500x1200,25:12,Why_the_UK_s_only_gender_i….jpg)

>>20705439

2/2

The NHS has committed itself to overhauling its gender identity services for children, including banning the use of puberty blockers for under-16s. The youth gender identity clinic run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust has been closed, with care moved to two new NHS services.

The review also found that debates on trans issues had led to fear among doctors and parents, with some worrying about being accused of transphobia. Since the Gender Identity Development Service opened in 1989, it has seen more than 9,000 young people.

An NHS spokesman said: “NHS England is grateful to Dr Cass for comprehensive work on this important review. The NHS has made significant progress towards establishing a fundamentally different gender service for children and young people.”

A 2019 investigation by The Times first exposed concerns about children being put on experimental treatments at NHS gender clinics.

Helen Joyce, from Sex Matters, a charity that campaigns for clarity on sex in law, said: “Hilary Cass’s report is the nail in the coffin for the so-called ‘gender-affirming’ treatment model. The total lack of evidence base is laid bare for everyone to see.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/landmark-review-rejects-puberty-blockers-for-children-wanting-to-change-gender/news-story/6a07ad4ee50ad2ba16c7ab8bc8e441c1

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80104e No.20705542

File: 40b840e8666d14c⋯.jpg (4.3 MB,6000x4000,3:2,The_review_comes_amid_conc….jpg)

File: 9c3cef0b3ce5859⋯.jpg (1.92 MB,6192x4128,3:2,Welcomed_the_recommendatio….jpg)

File: 120c5b6eb9f1f4c⋯.jpg (795.58 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0001.jpg)

File: 087eed79b92f631⋯.jpg (634.03 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0012.jpg)

File: d7d2f4321a6b6ec⋯.jpg (878.54 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0013.jpg)

>>20561119

>>20705439

‘Shaky foundations’: England’s health system to review all transgender treatment

Michael Searles, Laura Donnelly and Daniel Martin - April 10, 2024

1/2

London: England’s publicly funded National Health Service will review all transgender treatment, after a landmark report said the evidence for allowing children and young people to change gender was built on “shaky foundations”.

On Wednesday, Dr Hilary Cass, a paediatrician, published her long-awaited review into the support and treatment offered to children who believe they are transgender, and cautions that extreme care should be taken before anyone under the age of 25 transitions.

It also calls for an end to the prescribing of any powerful hormone drugs to those under 18; warns children who change gender may regret it; finds that many have experienced trauma, neglect and abuse; and says there is no “good evidence” on the long-term outcomes of the treatments that have been given to children.

The review warns of pressures on families, with parents feeling forced to allow their children to transition so they are not labelled transphobic amid a “toxic” debate.

Cass declares that “gender medicine for children and young people is built on shaky foundations”.

She says: “The reality is that we have no good evidence on the long-term outcomes of interventions to manage gender-related distress.”

In response, the NHS is to review all transgender treatment it provides, including to adults, and treatment for any new patients aged 16 and 17 seeking to change gender at adult clinics will immediately be paused.

‘Exercise extreme caution’

Britain’s Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has welcomed the recommendations, highlighting the sharp rise in recent years in children, particularly adolescent girls, questioning their gender.

Backing Cass’s call for all cases to be treated with “great care and compassion”, he said: “We simply do not know the long-term impacts of medical treatment or social transitioning on them, and we should, therefore, exercise extreme caution.”

The 388-page report took four years to produce amid mounting concern that children are being allowed to change gender in schools and by doctors without question.

Cass, the former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, cautions against hasty decisions while children’s brains are developing, calling for “unhurried, holistic, therapeutic support” for those aged between 17 and 25.

She says doctors are “unable to determine with any certainty which children and young people will go on to have an enduring trans identity”.

Cass adds that “life-changing” decisions must be properly considered in adulthood, noting that brain maturation continues into the mid-20s.

She cautions these people are still at a “vulnerable stage in their journey” and that each of the regional centres recommended in her interim report, which will provide mental health and other support to children who want to change gender, should care for people aged up to 25.

The consultant paediatrician says it is not possible to “know the ‘sweet spot’ when someone becomes settled in their sense of self” but that decisions should not be rushed before an individual becomes a mature adult.

The younger children were, the more likely they were to change their minds, the report finds.

(continued)

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80104e No.20705561

File: a80fd06c64316cc⋯.jpg (740.8 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0014.jpg)

File: e1252a43ac45714⋯.jpg (715.81 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0015.jpg)

File: eda96df0fe9aa47⋯.jpg (830.8 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0020.jpg)

File: 39340186aca8e93⋯.jpg (718.88 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0021.jpg)

File: 2647512d2cd49c4⋯.jpg (348.27 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0022.jpg)

>>20705542

2/2

‘Exceptional’ toxicity of debate

Cass says the “toxicity of the debate is exceptional” and that she had been “criticised” by all sides as she published her report into NHS transgender services.

“There are few other areas of healthcare where professionals are so afraid to openly discuss their views, where people are vilified on social media, and where name-calling echoes the worst bullying behaviour. This must stop,” she urges.

Sunak said the government had already acted swiftly on Cass’s previous call to stop routine use of puberty blockers for those under the age of 16.

“We will continue to ensure we take the right steps to protect young people. The wellbeing and health of children must come first,” the prime minister said.

‘Watershed moment’

Wes Streeting, Labour’s health spokesman, said the report should provide a “watershed moment” for the NHS’s gender identity services.

He said children’s healthcare should always be led by evidence and children’s welfare be “free from culture wars”.

Implement a ‘pause for under 18s’

In a letter to Cass seen by The Telegraph, London, the NHS has said it will undertake a review, conducted by an external expert, of all its adult gender clinics and has in the meantime instructed them “to implement a pause on offering first appointments to young people below their 18th birthday”.

The letter, written by John Stewart, NHS England’s national director of specialised commissioning, said it would also “review the use of gender-affirming hormones through a process of updated evidence review and public consultation, similar to the rigorous process that was followed to review the use of puberty suppressing hormones”.

Children’s clinics have been overwhelmed by referrals over the past decade, now receiving more than 1600 referrals a year, compared with 50 in 2009.

They treat children experiencing gender incongruence or dysphoria, where they feel they are a different sex to how they were born.

Around 2000 16-year-olds have been sent to adult services because they could not be seen by a children’s clinic because of waiting times.

The Cass review says the adult clinics, of which there are 12 in England, refused to co-operate in its research.

An NHS spokesman said: “NHS England is very grateful to Dr Cass and her team for their comprehensive work on this important review over the past four years.

“The NHS has made significant progress towards establishing a fundamentally different gender service for children and young people – in line with earlier advice by Dr Cass and following extensive public consultation and engagement – by stopping the routine use of puberty-suppressing hormones and opening the first of up to eight new regional centres delivering a different model of care.

“We will set out a full implementation plan following careful consideration of this final report and its recommendations, and the NHS is also bringing forward its systemic review of adult gender services and has written to local NHS leaders to ask them to pause offering first appointments at adult gender clinics to young people below their 18th birthday.”

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/shaky-foundations-england-s-health-system-to-review-all-transgender-treatment-20240410-p5fiq8.html

https://cass.independent-review.uk/home/publications/final-report/

https://cass.independent-review.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CassReview_Final.pdf

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80104e No.20705580

File: a7ba67058645e66⋯.jpg (448.86 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Anthony_Albanese_under_pre….jpg)

>>20561119

>>20705439

Anthony Albanese under pressure to probe puberty blocker harms

JESS MALCOLM - APRIL 10, 2024

Anthony Albanese is being urged to replicate a landmark British review into interventionist medical treatments that enable young children to change gender, amid increasing concern that puberty blockers may cause serious harm.

The National Association of Practising Psychiatrists has urged the federal government to facilitate a national independent investigation into the use of treatments including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, warning their use should be ­approached with caution.

The calls come after the release of an NHS review which found the entire field of medicine aimed at enabling children to change gender was “built on shaky foundations”, with review chair Dr Hilary Cass finding there was no good evidence to support the practice of prescribing hormones to halt puberty.

Pressure on the Prime Minister to act on the findings is growing in Australia with the federal opposition saying the results were “concerning” and should be taken seriously.

In response to the interim findings of the Cass review following an extensive examination of the care being provided to children at London’s Tavistock clinic, British health authorities last month announced a ban on the routine prescription of puberty blockers to young teens.

While stopping short of advocating for a national ban, NAPP president Philip Morris said doctors had an ethical duty to assess the patient and determine what is safe rather than simply giving them what they ask for.

Professor Morris said the evidence supporting the benefit of the treatment was “very limited” and called on the commonwealth to facilitate a national inquiry into gender-affirming-based medical care versus a more cautious ­approach.

Gender-affirming care is a medical approach in which a child’s perceived gender is unquestioningly endorsed by doctors. It sometimes results in the prescription of puberty blockers to “pause” development, and later cross-sex hormones to transition sex.

“The doctor has to identify if what the child is asking is appropriate for them, and to do that they have to determine whether the requested treatment has got substantial benefit and that benefit has been demonstrated by properly conducted trials,” Professor Morris said.

“In addition, the doctor has to be convinced that the patients can really make informed consent, know all the pros and cons and are capable to make a decision on what will be a profound change.

“We need to be very cautious … we are asking states and the federal government to hold an independent inquiry so each of the states has the best path forward.”

In Australia, “puberty blocker” treatments are not subsidised for children who suffer from gender dysphoria, as they were in Britain.

A spokeswoman for Health Minister Mark Butler said the Cass review was a “significant report in an area where best practice and research is continuing to emerge”.

“Everyone, including the states and territories who are responsible for these services in Australia, will take the time to consider this review which has just been released,” she said.

Opposition health spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the Cass findings were “concerning”, and that it was important the issues raised by the review were considered “to ensure the safety of Australian children and young people in our community”.

But Equality Australia slammed the Cass review saying it downplayed the risk of denying treatment to young people with gender dysphoria.

The Australian Professional Association for Trans Health vice president Portia Predny said applying the findings of the Cass review to an Australian context was “fundamentally flawed” given domestic guidelines already prioritised “holistic, individualised and person-centred care”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/anthony-albanese-under-pressure-to-probe-puberty-blocker-harms/news-story/7c4795554e142d1458a3564d5d696e2a

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80104e No.20710527

File: bd0f49da7a51abe⋯.mp4 (1.11 MB,1024x576,16:9,Joe_Biden_says_he_s_consid….mp4)

>>20565278

>>20634678

>>20691520

Joe Biden says US 'considering' dropping pursuit of Julian Assange, announces plan for missile system with Australia and Japan

Brad Ryan and Barbara Miller - 11 April 2024

1/2

Joe Biden has indicated the United States could abandon its pursuit of Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting America's bid to extradite him to face serious espionage charges.

Mr Assange's plight has been a sore point in the close alliance between the two nations, which Mr Biden has revealed will tighten further with the development of an integrated missile system with Japan.

Ahead of press conference in Washington on Wednesday (local time), the US president was asked if he had a response to Australia's request that he end Mr Assange's prosecution. Mr Biden responded: "We're considering it."

Assange, who faces 18 criminal charges in the US over the publication of classified documents in 2010, is trying to appeal his extradition in the UK High Court. The court has asked the US to provide several assurances before it makes a decision, including that Mr Assange would not be sentenced to death if he were convicted.

Lawyers for the US have until April 16 to respond to the court.

Mr Biden did not elaborate on his comment, which was made as he escorted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida through the White House lawn to the Oval Office. It's the first time the president has publicly addressed the issue since the Australian parliament passed a motion in February calling for Mr Assange to be returned home.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an "encouraging comment", and Australia would continue its diplomatic efforts at all levels of government.

"I believe this must be brought to a conclusion and that Mr Assange has already paid a significant price," Mr Albanese told ABC News Breakfast.

"There's nothing to be gained by Mr Assange's continued incarceration."

Mr Assange's Melbourne-based brother Gabriel Shipton said Mr Biden's comments should serve as an impetus for the government to ramp up its campaign.

"Now is the time for the Australian government to really pounce on this, this opening, and really push hard to bring this to an end," he said.

"This is an opening to the Australian government and the campaign to free Julian, both here in Australia and United States, to really get a wedge in there and push hard now for Julian to come home to Australia."

Mr Assange's US lawyer, Barry Pollack, also described the development as encouraging.

"This unprecedented prosecution of someone for publishing truthful and newsworthy information should never have been brought," he said.

Tightening alliances

Mr Biden is hosting the Japanese prime minister for a state visit at the White House.

The leaders are discussing a range of measures to strengthen military cooperation in the face of increasing China-fuelled tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

"I'm also pleased to announce that, for the first time, Japan and the United States and Australia will create a networked system of air missile and defence architecture," Mr Biden said.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy later said the plan would enable "more sophisticated cooperation" between the three nations to defend against air and missile threats. The ABC has sought further detail.

Earlier this week, the defence ministers of Australia, the US and the UK confirmed Japan could soon participate in "Pillar II" of the AUKUS military alliance.

"Pillar II" involves developing and providing joint advanced military capabilities, with a focus on security in the Indo-Pacific.

"Our AUKUS defence partnership with Australia and the United Kingdom is exploring how Japan can join our work in the second pillar, which focuses on advanced capabilities including AI [and] autonomous systems," Mr Biden told Wednesday's press conference.

(continued)

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80104e No.20710528

File: 31d29eaf9e098f8⋯.jpg (2 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,The_United_States_and_Aust….jpg)

File: 2e674816a8b9a8c⋯.jpg (1.57 MB,5000x3829,5000:3829,Minister_for_Defence_Indus….jpg)

>>20710527

2/2

Through a translator, Mr Kishida said "nothing had been decided" about Japan's possible contribution to the AUKUS partnership. A senior White House official said it would be months before the "AUKUS Pillar II vision is fully fleshed out" and work could begin on specific projects.

"There's no doubt that Japan brings a great deal to the table," the official said.

"That's why we are announcing that AUKUS partners want to begin consultations with Tokyo as soon as possible."

The most senior Republican on the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, Jim Risch, warned against involving Japan too early.

He said the Australian and British legal and regulatory systems still had not been "certified" as required under AUKUS legislation.

"The Biden Administration has to get the basics of AUKUS right before it expands the pact to other partners," he said.

Steel deal

Japan's involvement in AUKUS would not extend to the deal's centrepiece — the provision of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, which comes under "Pillar I" of the agreement.

Under the deal, Australia is set to buy at least three Virginia-class submarines from the US in the early 2030s.

The Australian government on Thursday said a deal between a NSW manufacturer and America's largest military shipbuilder could pave the way for Australian steel to be used in the building of Virginia-class submarines in the US.

Full details of the deal, between Bisalloy Steel and shipbuilder HII, have been kept confidential. But it's been described as an initial purchase order to test and qualify the steel.

Speaking to the ABC in Newport News, Virginia, where HII builds the submarines, Mr Conroy said it marked "another important milestone" in the AUKUS partnership.

"The first work that Australian companies will get building nuclear submarines won't be for us. It'll be helping build United States and United Kingdom submarines," Mr Conroy said.

HII executive vice-president for strategy and development Eric Chewning said the hope was it would eventually see Australian steel integrated into the US supply chain.

Mr Chewning said working with Australian suppliers could help address supply chain issues, which have led to doubts about the viability of the US being able to supply nuclear-powered submarines to Australia under AUKUS.

He described the deal as "in the spirit of AUKUS".

"We need to help uplift Australian industry as they're getting ready for your own nuclear submarine industrial base," Mr Chewning said.

"This is the first step in that long-term process."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-11/biden-assange-prosecution-japan-missile-defence/103631952

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80104e No.20710531

File: cbd896796c50cd0⋯.mp4 (13.24 MB,640x360,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_said_ther….mp4)

>>20565278

>>20634678

Biden says he’s considering Australia’s request to drop prosecution of Wikileaks founder Assange

Jill Lawless - April 11, 2024

WASHINGTON (AP) - President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is considering a request from Australia to drop the decade-long U.S. push to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a trove of American classified documents.

For years, Australia has called on the U.S. to drop its prosecution against Assange, an Australian citizen who has fought U.S. extradition efforts from prison in the U.K. Asked about the request on Wednesday, as he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for an official visit, Biden said, “We’re considering it.”

Assange has been indicted on 17 espionage charges and one charge of computer misuse over his website’s publication of a trove of classified U.S. documents almost 15 years ago. American prosecutors allege that Assange, 52, encouraged and helped U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning steal diplomatic cables and military files that WikiLeaks published, putting lives at risk.

Australia argues there is a disconnect between the U.S. treatment of Assange and Manning. Then-U.S. President Barack Obama commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence to seven years, which allowed her release in 2017.

Assange’s supporters say he is a journalist protected by the First Amendment who exposed U.S. military wrongdoing in Iraq and Afghanistan that was in the public interest. Assange’s wife, Stella Assange, has said the WikiLeaks founder “is being persecuted because he exposed the true cost of war in human lives.” She has said his health continues to deteriorate in prison and she fears he’ll die behind bars.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Biden’s comment on Assange was encouraging.

“I have said that we have raised, on behalf of Mr. Assange, Australia’s national interests that enough is enough and this needs to be brought to a conclusion and we’ve raised it at each level of government in every possible way,” Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Mr. Assange has already paid a significant price and enough is enough. There’s nothing to be gained by Mr. Assange’s continued incarceration in my very strong view and I’ve put that as the view of the Australian government,” he added.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson, responding to Biden’s comments, said in a statement that “it is not too late for President Biden to stop Julian’s extradition to the U.S., which was a politically motivated act by his predecessor.”

“By dropping the charges against Julian he will be protecting freedom of expression and the rights of journalists and publishers globally,” she said. “We urge him to end this legal process; to free Julian; and to recognize that journalism is not a crime.”

A British court ruled last month that Assange can’t be extradited to the United States on espionage charges unless U.S. authorities guarantee he won’t get the death penalty.

https://apnews.com/article/biden-australia-assange-wikileaks-2cd31cf5a9983f3523a7c3de72b5078e

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80104e No.20710541

File: 240fcacce95459c⋯.jpg (396.13 KB,750x803,750:803,TIW_3.jpg)

File: d00a99873312e6a⋯.jpg (2.09 MB,2048x1365,2048:1365,GKoUJAZaUAARSrU.jpg)

File: ab3f869eab46334⋯.jpg (2.14 MB,2048x1365,2048:1365,GKoUKHQa0AA0s1N.jpg)

File: d2d605eeb1d73e3⋯.jpg (1.65 MB,2048x1152,16:9,GKoUKHeaQAAqbZ3.jpg)

>>20676406

>>20695591

Australian politicians say the era of ‘invisible’ trips to Taiwan is over, shrugging off China warnings

WILL GLASGOW - APRIL 11, 2024

1/2

Politicians from both the government and opposition say it is in the “national interest” to end the era of Australia’s “invisible” trips to Taiwan, signalling that Beijing should expect open visits to become routine as Canberra tries to help Taipei retain its limited diplomatic space.

In a demonstration of the widening support for Taiwan in Canberra, the five members of a bipartisan federal parliamentary delegation visiting Taipei this week said that they will not be the last - however much China’s government might complain.

“We are here. And we’ll have another one in the future, next year,” Liberal MP Angie Bell told The Australian in an interview in Taipei.

“There’s nothing to be shy about … There’s no double speak,” said Labor MP Julian Hill, a member of parliament’s joint committee on ­intelligence and security.

“Everything we’re saying here. Everything we’re saying in the private meetings, is exactly what we say in the parliament,” he told The Australian.

In the aftermath of Beijing’s retribution campaign on Canberra, delegations of politicians from Australia were usually low-key compared to other similar liberal democracies.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, a member of the first group of Australian politicians to visit Taiwan since Covid, said the Albanese government had hoped the delegation he was on in late 2022 would be “invisible”. It took place as Canberra prioritised improving ties with Beijing, which were near historic lows.

Taiwanese officials at the time told The Australian that people involved with that delegation had requested that no pictures be released of the Australian politicians’ meetings with Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen or Foreign Minister Joseph Wu. Some in Taipei had been concerned that pressure from Beijing would see the trip cancelled entirely.

The “invisible” Australian trip was in stark contrast to high profile visits by parliamentarians from Germany, France, Canada, United Kingdom, Japan, the United States and other liberal democracies.

In an interview with The Australian and Sky News, the visiting Australian parliamentarians said there had been no instructions to keep this trip low profile.

“There’s never been any attempt by any department or government to say, ‘Listen, you know, would you mind not speaking to any media?” said Liberal MP Andrew Wallace, deputy chair of parliament’s powerful joint committee on ­intelligence and security.

“I don’t think there’s anything to be shy about. Taiwan’s an important relationship. These delegations have been going on since Adam was a lad. And, you know, you can’t talk about open democracy and then try and come over here under the shadows,” he told The Australian.

(continued)

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80104e No.20710542

File: df8aef18fdb03f6⋯.jpg (127.05 KB,1279x720,1279:720,Taiwan_s_Foreign_Minister_….jpg)

File: da1cec33fac8c02⋯.jpg (279.86 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: ef4c910fc4f037a⋯.jpg (274.33 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_large_screen_shows_news_….jpg)

>>20710541

2/2

The visit is taking place months before China’s Premier Li Qiang travels to Australia, in a trip the South Morning China Post reported has been scheduled for the third week of June. Canberra is hopeful Beijing’s almost four-year long black-listing of live Australian lobster will be lifted in co-ordination with the trip.

In January, on the eve of Taiwan’s election, China’s Ambassador in Australia warned that any “miscalculations” in Canberra’s ties with Taiwan’s government would see the Australian people “pushed over the edge of an abyss”.

Labor MP Shayne Neumann, chair of the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, said there was nothing inconsistent about “maintaining good relations in an unofficial way with Taiwan and improving your relations with China”.

“I think it’s very, very important we have delegations like this to maintain those relations … We’re liberal democracies in a very dangerous and difficult region,” he told The Australian.

Liberal MP Dave Sharma said there was an “important national interest” in making sure Australian parliamentarians’ trips to Taiwan were conducted openly.

“We have a national interest in ensuring that Taiwan retains some diplomatic space and is still able to engage with the rest of the world,” said Mr Sharma, a former Australian diplomat.

“We’re not seeking to change the status quo on this trip. We still have our one China policy and everything else — but normal interaction with Taiwanese counterparts has been part of state practice going well back to the time that people shifted their recognition from Taipei to Beijing. And we need to make sure that continues,” he told The Australian.

The group of Australian politicians are in Taipei as news reverberates about Taiwan’s former President Ma Ying-jeou’s historic meeting in Beijing on Wednesday with China’s leader Xi Jinping. It took place eight years into an ongoing freeze by Xi’s government on communication with Taiwan’s current government, who are members of the China-sceptic Democratic Progressive Party, which is loathed by Beijing.

President Xi told Mr Ma, a member of the Beijing-friendly Nationalist Party, that “the fact that we have different [political] systems does not change the objective fact that both sides of the Strait belong to the same country, the same nation”.

Mr Ma, who left office in 2016, said Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait were “absolutely wise enough to prevent” war.

On Thursday, the Australian delegation was scheduled to meet with Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu, a senior figure in Ma’s Nationalist Party.

This week they have held meetings with Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai, her Foreign Minister, Mr Wu, and national security head Wellington Koo, all figures routinely denounced by Beijing.

Before they fly out on Friday, the Australian politicians are scheduled to meet with Taiwan’s vice president elect Hsiao Bi-khim, another Taiwanese politician sanctioned by Beijing.

“It’s important to hear all sides of politics,” Mr Neumann said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/australian-politicians-say-the-era-of-invisible-trips-to-taiwan-is-over-shrugging-off-china-warnings/news-story/75f3bc7c031c22b2d33ed06e2aa06f23

https://twitter.com/iingwen/status/1777255282525307229

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80104e No.20710546

File: da55d0c13742a3a⋯.jpg (234.17 KB,1200x800,3:2,Curbs_on_Australian_lobste….jpg)

>>20377014 (pb)

>>20676406

China Premier Li Qiang set to visit Australia in June, live lobster import ban expected to be lifted

Kandy Wong - 11 Apr 2024

Chinese Premier Li Qiang is scheduled to visit Australia in June, a move set to consolidate improving economic relations between Beijing and Canberra following last month’s trip by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to two sources with knowledge of the issue.

Li’s trip is planned for the third week of June, one of the sources said, and it would represent his first visit to Australia since he was sworn in as premier in March 2023.

“It is also expected that the unofficial ban on Australian live lobsters will be lifted as a signal of resuming a normal and friendly trade relationship for both sides,” the source said, with the curbs having been in place for more than three years.

The major topics of the visit, however, remain unknown.

China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, as well as the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, did not immediately respond to requests for comments about the trip.

It is viewed as a reciprocal visit following Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s trip to China in November, which was the first by an Australian leader in seven years.

During March’s visit by Wang, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said Australia was already preparing for a visit by China’s premier, who oversees economic and financial affairs and is vital for policies affecting imports of Australian iron ore, wine and aquatic products.

Wong said the administration looked forward to “welcoming Premier Li to Australia”, while Albanese had earlier invited Li to Australia during his trip to Beijing at the end of last year.

Last month, Wang discussed signing a new science and technology agreement with Australian counterpart Wong in exchange for Canberra’s request to lift trade sanctions.

“But Wong did not really respond [to the pitch],” another source told the Post.

Instead, the pair exchanged views and some fundamental differences over Taiwan, the South China Sea, the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, Tibet, Hong Kong and the Israel-Gaza war.

Australian coal, barley, cotton, beef and dairy products have all gradually returned to the Chinese market from last year having been under various official and unofficial bans since then-Australian prime minister Scott Morrison called for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus in 2020.

https://www.scmp.com/economy/global-economy/article/3258603/china-premier-li-qiang-set-visit-australia-june-live-lobster-import-ban-expected-be-lifted

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80104e No.20710562

File: 695390a20d4d916⋯.jpg (4.5 MB,8047x5365,8047:5365,Australian_Prime_Minister_….jpg)

>>20377086 (pb)

Albanese to visit the Kokoda Track for Anzac Day

Tom McIlroy - Apr 11, 2024

Anthony Albanese will mark Anzac Day by walking part of the Kokoda Track with his Papua New Guinea counterpart, James Marape.

The two leaders are expected to attend a dawn service at Isurava to commemorate the hundreds of people who died during the World War II Kokoda campaign.

The visit is part of a diplomatic push to improve Australia’s ties with its northern neighbour.

Mr Albanese became the first Australian prime minister to address the PNG parliament in early 2023, and Mr Marape addressed federal MPs in Canberra in February.

Originally a network of trails to connect mountain villages, the track stretches for 96 kilometres from the Kokoda Plateau in the north to Owers Corner in the south.

Australian forces were stationed in the area from July 1942 to stop Japan advancing towards the PNG capital of Port Moresby. More than 600 Australians were killed during the campaign, and thousands more became ill or were seriously injured.

The campaign was considered critical to the security of the Australian mainland. Now part of Australian folklore, Kokoda attracts thousands of Australian tourists every year.

Mr Albanese’s visit could coincide with an official delegation from China, including Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China wants to finalise security agreements with PNG as it seeks to build influence in the Pacific.

Beijing and Canberra will be watching the elections in the nearby Solomon Islands on April 17 closely.

During a visit to PNG in 2023, Mr Albanese told MPs the people of the neighbouring nations emerged as equals and mates from their fight against the Japanese.

“We are neighbours who stand with each other and help each other in times of need,” he said.

“Australians will never forget the heroism and humanity of the brave souls who – eight decades ago – came from all over this country to serve and fight alongside our soldiers in defence of this land and in defence of Australia’s freedom too.”

Mr Albanese’s office is expected to formally announce the visit closer to April 25th.

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/albanese-to-visit-the-kokoda-track-for-anzac-day-20240411-p5fj5l

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80104e No.20715805

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20550335

>>20686545

>>20695582

Israel's Foreign Ministry has rejected the Australian special adviser appointed to investigate the death of Australian Zomi Frankcom in drone strike

Oscar Godsell - April 11, 2024

Israel's foreign ministry has rejected the Australian adviser appointed to investigate the deadly strikes which killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her colleagues in Gaza on April 1.

Following the international fallout from the Israeli drone strikes, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a move to appoint a special adviser to oversee their investigation into Ms Frankcom’s death.

However, Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson broke the news on Thursday night that he government's foreign office had opposed the request.

Markson revealed the foreign ministry felt there was "no place for Australia to do such an unprecedented move” and that Israel could "conduct its own investigation without interference from other countries".

Despite the initial rejection, Israeli Defence Department may still agree to Australian oversight in the investigation.

The Israeli Defense Force has blamed the tragedy on a “terrible chain of events” and “misidentification”.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed in a video shared to social media that it was a “tragic event” and said he would “do everything so that this doesn’t happen again”.

“It happens in war, we check it to the end, we are in contact with the governments, and we will do everything so that this thing does not happen again,” Mr Netanyahu said.

Since the apology, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has voiced dissatisfaction with Israel’s response and has said: “What isn't good enough is the statements that have been made, including that this is 'just a product of war'”.

Ms Wong and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles also reportedly authored a letter to Israeli leaders in which they expressed the intention to appoint a special adviser.

“We are also alarmed by initial comments that this was an accident and that such incidents happen in a war… These responses suggest the gravity of the death of seven humanitarian workers and the need for concrete action in response is yet to be appreciated by the Israeli Government,” they wrote.

In a statement on Monday, Ms Wong declared the appointment of Australian Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin to liaise with Israeli government and examine arrangements for the investigation.

“The appointment of ACM Binskin will ensure the family of Zomi Frankcom, and the Australian people can have confidence in this process,” Ms Wong said.

Israel has now reportedly rejected such an appointment.

It is not clear if ACM Binskin’s services will still be required to manage diplomacy.

Israel has sacked two senior IDF members and reprimanded other officials over the incident.

https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/israels-foreign-ministry-has-rejected-the-australian-special-adviser-appointed-to-investigate-the-death-of-australian-zomi-frankcom-in-drone-strike/news-story/c4206d31451dbc5ee1ad547914094e15

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFr5nm3xEZM

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80104e No.20715815

File: bdc8a8ca0ae98c9⋯.jpg (302.48 KB,1824x1216,3:2,Democratic_Alliance_Party_….jpg)

Solomon Islands election watched by US, China amid Pacific influence contest

Kirsty Needham and Lucy Craymer - April 12, 2024

April 12 (Reuters) - A national election in the Solomon Islands, the first since Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare signed a security pact with Beijing, will be watched next week for its potential to jolt the U.S.-China rivalry in the South Pacific.

The United States and Australia are concerned about China's naval ambitions in Pacific countries, as tensions rise over Taiwan.

Despite its population of just 700,000, the Solomon Islands occupies a strategic position 1,600km (990 miles) northeast of Australia, strewn with World War Two wrecks that remind it was once a pivotal battlefield.

Voters will be focused on hospitals struggling without medicines, education shortcomings and inadequate roads when they cast ballots on April 17, opposition party lawmakers said.

But Sogavare's rapid embrace of China since he won power four years ago - including inviting Chinese police into the archipelago and switching diplomatic ties from Taiwan - is also in the spotlight.

"The services and economy are really in a desperate situation. The issue of China and this new relationship is also important. That is a source of anger towards Sogavare," said Democratic Alliance Party leader Rick Houenipwela, who was prime minister before Sogavare.

Sogavare, installed as prime minister by independent candidates who won a combined 37% of the vote in 2019, has pointed to hosting the Pacific Games as a major achievement and pledged to strengthen relations with China.

China donated stadiums for the Games, and is building ports, roads and a Huawei telecommunications network.

Opposition parties said they would scrap the China security pact or hold a national referendum on it, and reduce China's influence by accepting more infrastructure support from U.S. allies.

NOT CONVINCED

Peter Kenilorea, whose United Party won 10% of votes in 2019, said he wants Solomon Islands to return to being a reliable partner of Australia and New Zealand, and would abolish the China security pact.

"We're not convinced it's in the interests of Solomon Islands," he said.

Closely watched will be election results in Malaita, the most populous province, which has long criticised deepening China ties and is where opposition parties hope to gain nine seats.

Malaita's governor Daniel Suidani refused to allow Chinese companies to operate in the province until he was ousted in a no-confidence vote last year.

His replacement, Martin Fini, has signed Chinese cooperation deals, including last week, when China's special envoy for the Pacific Qian Bo visited Malaita.

The prime minister is selected by winning lawmakers, often weeks after the election results.

Houenipwela's party has formed a coalition with Matthew Wale's Solomon Islands Democratic Party, which won the biggest vote (14%) in 2019, and is seeking a combined majority of 26 seats.

Australian National University Pacific expert Graeme Smith said the shift away independents was a significant development this election, with Sogavare also convincing many government members to join his new party.

Australia has sent 400 police and military to assist Royal Solomon Islands Police Force (RSIPF) with election security, alongside New Zealand and Pacific forces. Chinese police will remain in a training role, the RSIPF said.

Election observer groups from Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, Japan, Europe and the U.S. will monitor voting and counting, with national and provincial polls held on the same day.

Sogavare, who didn't respond to a request for comment, has said publicly he would not host a Chinese military base - which Washington and Canberra have said is a red line.

China says its security cooperation Solomon Islands is a sovereign matter for the two countries and has denied it wants a military base, but U.S. military leaders remain unconvinced.

"The increased policing presence in the Solomon Islands is concerning, that's a foot in the door, and then we'll see where it goes from there," Commander of the United States Indo Pacific Command, Admiral John Aquilino, said in an interview.

"But the goal is to have the ability to deliver infrastructure and ultimately a place for Chinese military power."

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/solomon-islands-election-watched-by-us-china-amid-pacific-influence-contest-2024-04-12/

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80104e No.20715831

File: 94e60d29bab8010⋯.jpg (652.36 KB,1915x2674,1915:2674,Former_St_Kilda_great_Carl….jpg)

File: 479b029110dd975⋯.jpg (648.45 KB,1878x2593,1878:2593,Former_St_Kilda_and_Melbou….jpg)

File: 07b0dfa136ce30e⋯.jpg (286.72 KB,1287x1936,117:176,Carl_Ditterich_leaves_a_VF….jpg)

File: 47dbbda08c4f57d⋯.jpg (784.44 KB,3137x2191,3137:2191,Carl_Ditterich_at_his_indu….jpg)

AFL great Carl Ditterich charged over alleged historical indecent assault of underage girl

Carla Jaeger and Lachlan Abbott - April 12, 2024

Australian Football Hall of Famer Carl Ditterich has been charged with a string of child sex offences for allegedly assaulting a girl who was under his care in 1985.

Detectives charged the 78-year-old with three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency last Friday following an investigation into the alleged historical incident.

The alleged incident occurred five years after Ditterich retired from the league in 1980, following a near 20-year career which later earned the ruckman an induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Police allege that in August 1985, Ditterich forced a girl under the age of 16 to touch his penis. They also allege he molested the young girl, groped her breast and masturbated in front of her.

The alleged victim was under Ditterich’s supervision at the time, police stated in the charge sheet. It also listed Moorabbin as the location of the alleged offences.

Asked about the charges against Ditterich, AFL spokesperson Jay Allen said: “The AFL was today made aware of historical police charges against former player Carl Ditterich. As the matter is with police the AFL is not in a position to make any comment at the present time.”

If found guilty, Ditterich would be certain to be removed from the Australian Football Hall of Fame by the AFL, which took that step when official AFL Legend Barry Cable was found in a civil judgment to have sexually abused an underage girl in Western Australia and ordered to pay more than $800,000.

The AFL last year changed the rules of the charter of the Hall of Fame to deal with the Cable matters and any future cases to enable a Hall of Fame member to have their membership suspended or revoked if they brought the game into disrepute.

Ditterich was due to appear before the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday, but a report from Nine, owner of this masthead, said the former footballer was absent from the hearing.

Nine also reported that Ditterich’s lawyer, Tony Hargreaves, had supplied a letter from Bendigo Health excusing him from attending.

Hargreaves was contacted by this masthead for comment.

St Kilda issued a similar statement to the AFL on Friday. “St Kilda Football Club is aware of historical charges laid against Carl Ditterich relating to an alleged incident after his playing career. As the matter is currently before the courts, the club will not provide further comment.”

Victoria Police confirmed the arrest on Friday in a statement.

“Bayside Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Investigation Team detectives have charged a man following an investigation into alleged historic child sex offences,” the statement said.

“The incidents against one victim occurred in Heatherton in 1985.”

Ditterich, known as the “Blond Blombshell”, debuted with St Kilda in 1963.

He played 203 of his 285-game VFL career with the club, and is also a member of the Saints’ Hall of Fame, which he was inducted into in 2003.

He appeared before the VFL tribunal 30 times throughout his career, setting a then-record. He missed St Kilda’s only premiership in 1966 due to suspension.

“He was an exciting and controversial footballer from start to finish and made a rich contribution to the club’s history,” says Ditterich’s St Kilda Hall of Fame profile. “He possessed that rare and indefinable quality – presence – and whenever he was on the field, the rest of the side walked tall. Ditterich was a natural athlete and combined the height of a ruckman with the pace and agility of a ruck-rover.”

He moved to Melbourne in 1973 under the VFL’s short-lived 10-year rule, but returned to St Kilda in 1976.

He won best-and-fairest awards at the two clubs, captained the Saints and ended his playing career as the Demons’ captain-coach in 1980.

Ditterich coached local football teams following his retirement, including Boort for some years in the North Central Football League.

He also ran as an independent candidate for the seat of Swan Hill at the 1999 state election, but was beaten by National incumbent Barry Stegall.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/afl-great-carl-ditterich-charged-with-child-sex-offences-20240412-p5fjdg.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

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80104e No.20715849

File: f0185fba27626aa⋯.jpg (488.67 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Carl_Ditterich_played_more….jpg)

File: 0266aedba326c49⋯.jpg (490.17 KB,1615x2485,323:497,Ditterich_in_action_for_th….jpg)

File: 29bf66e654e59f7⋯.jpg (288.81 KB,1994x1495,1994:1495,Carl_Ditterich_with_Doug_H….jpg)

>>20715831

Former St Kilda and Melbourne star Carl Ditterich charged with sexual offences

Legendary St Kilda and Melbourne hardman Carl Ditterich has been charged with a string of child sexual offences alleged to have occurred almost 40 years ago.

Aneeka Simonis and Laura Placella - April 12, 2024

Footy legend Carl Ditterich has been charged with historic child sex offences.

The 78-year-old former St Kilda and Melbourne Football Club player is facing multiple charges, including three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency in the presence of a child under the age of 16.

It is alleged Mr Ditterich assaulted the child in Heatherton in Melbourne’s southeast in August 1985.

At this time, Mr Ditterich – known during his playing days as the ‘Blonde Bombshell’ – had recently finished his professional sporting career and was aged in his early 40s.

The charges were laid against the footy great by the Bayside sexual offences and child abuse investigation team (SOCIT) last Friday.

Mr Ditterich, from Echuca, has hired renowned criminal defence lawyer Tony Hargreaves to represent him.

Mr Hargreaves fronted the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Friday where he submitted a medical certificate on behalf of Mr Ditterich, who did not appear.

The certificate, by Bendigo Health, was submitted to explain his absence at the hearing.

Disturbing details of Mr Ditterich’s alleged offending were revealed in charge sheets issued by the court on Friday afternoon.

Police allege the ex-AFL star digitally penetrated his victim’s vagina, made her touch his penis and touched her breasts.

It is alleged he also masturbated in front of the girl, who was under the age of 16.

Mr Ditterich played 285 games for St Kilda and Melbourne between 1963 and 1979.

He was one of the most feared ruckman in the league’s history and considered a star player from his very first game.

Mr Ditterich was known for his strong ruck play and on-field aggression, often landing him in trouble with the league tribunal.

He appeared before the tribunal 19 times and was suspended for a total of 30 games during his playing career.

AFL spokesperson Jay Allen said the league was on Friday “made aware of historical police charges against former player Carl Ditterich”.

“As the matter is with police, the AFL is not in a position to make any comment at the present time,” he said.

The footy great was inducted into the St Kilda Hall of Fame in 2003 and Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Last year, the AFL stripped Barry Cable of his place in the Hall of Fame after a Perth judge ruled that he repeatedly sexually abused a Perth girl at the height of his playing career.

The North Melbourne Football Club, for whom Cable played and later coached, also ditched the now 79-year-old from its Hall of Fame.

Mr Ditterich went on to coach local football teams in Victoria’s northwest and in 1999, he unsuccessfully stood as an independent candidate for the seat of Swan Hill in the Victorian state election.

In 2009, the Ditterich family were facing eviction from its century-old Swan Hill wheat farm over a contentious $600,000 water debt.

Lawyers for Goulburn-Murray Water threatened Supreme Court action to seize the family’s 400ha property.

A powerful team of supporters, including millionaire trucking magnate Lindsay Fox, stepped in to support the family, who claimed it had been taken advantage of by the water company.

Mr Ditterich will return to court on June 28.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/former-st-kilda-and-melbourne-star-carl-ditterich-charged-with-sexual-offences/news-story/430a02e91f83d6891f5b650e32e77056

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80104e No.20715916

File: 1f2e1cef5e54863⋯.jpg (332 KB,2604x1736,3:2,Donald_Trump_has_not_state….jpg)

File: e19b5b3e08a5665⋯.jpg (2.48 MB,3360x4200,4:5,Republican_Congressman_Rob….jpg)

File: 428226559aaadb5⋯.jpg (2.25 MB,4898x2833,4898:2833,Australian_sailors_should_….jpg)

>>20594954

>>20700866

Trump flexible on AUKUS subs: Republicans

Matthew Cranston - Apr 12, 2024

Washington | Republican members of Congress say presidential nominee Donald Trump is likely to back the AUKUS agreement to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia even if US production targets are not met.

Congress approved the sale of used submarines to Australia beginning in 2032, but the arrangement is dependent on the US increasing the number of new Virginia class submarines it builds from 1.2 to 2.3.

Congressman Rob Wittman, a Trump supporter, whose electorate includes a major submarine building yard in Virginia, said Mr Trump would likely back AUKUS and be flexible around the sale of submarines.

“I think [Trump] has to have some flexibility in how these metrics are met,” Mr Wittman told AFR Weekend on the sidelines of an AUKUS conference in Washington organised by former Liberal minister turned consultant Chris Pyne.

“Because if it’s, ‘If you don’t meet the metric by January 1, 2032, we’re not going to sell you a submarine,’ then that’s not reasonable,” he said.

Mr Trump has not indicated yet whether he would support the submarine sale agreement under AUKUS aimed at countering China in the Indo-Pacific.

“I think [Mr Trump] sees partnerships as being incredibly important to make sure that we have the wherewithal to deter malign forces like China. I think he sees the US cannot do it by itself, I think you’ll see that the strong strategic relationships are going to be key,” Mr Wittman said.

Few Republicans have spoken on how Mr Trump would approach a shortfall in submarine production in the US if he is elected president in November. However, former close adviser Steve Bannon said earlier this year Mr Trump was likely to back the sale of nuclear sub­marines to Australia and sees the nation as a vital US ally.

Australian officials have been in discussions with Mr Trump’s more closely aligned Republican members of Congress to ensure support from the prospective president.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy had dinner on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) in Washington with prominent Republicans from the Senate and House of Representatives Foreign Relations Committee to gauge future support.

Mr Conroy said he left the meeting confident that AUKUS would survive a change in administration because “it’s in the national interest of all three countries”.

“AUKUS will outlast governments of all persuasions in all three countries,” Mr Conroy told AFR Weekend.

While in Washington, Mr Conroy also met Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and Deputy Secretary of Defence Kathleen Hicks.

The minister announced a deal with Virginia-class submarine builder HII that would involve Australian manufacturer Bisalloy Steel providing steel from its Port Kembla facility for building nuclear-powered submarines in the US.

Capacity constraints in the United States are a key reason for submarine production falling behind targets. A review has found Virginia-class submarine construction is running two to three years behind schedule, increasing doubts about Washington’s capacity to deliver.

US Navy chief Carlos Del Toro said this week that Australia’s investment in US construction would help increase production, and ensure one second-hand submarine was sold to Australia in 2032, and another in 2035.

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/trump-flexible-on-aukus-subs-republicans-20240412-p5fj92

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a0af72 No.20716383

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

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80104e No.20719788

File: 23c8e005cf0c234⋯.mp4 (5.61 MB,404x720,101:180,Families_flee_as_knife_wie….mp4)

File: 995aa115ef63bba⋯.mp4 (290.73 KB,480x848,30:53,QHLhHXc3kEBs8LJY.mp4)

File: 3ae8851a26efadf⋯.jpg (102.69 KB,768x768,1:1,The_heroic_police_officer_….jpg)

File: d2f3c97b4e63bac⋯.jpg (57.48 KB,888x888,1:1,The_attacker_is_seen_stalk….jpg)

File: eb34361659d838f⋯.jpg (61.92 KB,768x768,1:1,A_man_is_seen_on_an_escala….jpg)

Multiple dead and more seriously injured in horror stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction

Six people have been killed in a horror attack at Westfield in Sydney’s Bondi Junction. Warning: Graphic content.

Alisha Rouse, Sarah Keoghan and Claudia Poposki - April 13, 2024

1/2

A heroic police officer ended a knifeman’s reign of terror inside a packed Westfield at Sydney’s Bondi Junction as she bravely took him on alone and shot him dead with a bullet to the chest.

The horror unfolded at 3.20pm on Saturday afternoon when a man in an NRL jersey began stabbing shoppers at random, including a woman and her nine-month-old baby, with six people confirmed dead and many more injured.

Multiple people were stabbed during the horror as panicked families ran for their lives.

He was then shot dead by a senior female police officer who was nearby at the time and bravely decided to take him on alone, stalking him through the mall before gunning him down.

Five people were confirmed dead at the scene, as well as the attacker, with a sixth victim later dying in hospital.

The sixth victim is the mother of the nine-month-old baby, with witnesses describing how the 38-year-old desperately battled to save her child despite her own injuries by stumbling towards other shoppers and handing the infant to them.

The baby is understood to have undergone surgery on Saturday evening.

Cafe owner Michael Dunkley witnessed the moment the hero cop shot the attacker.

Mr Dunkley said the cop said “drop the knife” before the stabber lunged at her with a 15cm-long knife.

“She was put in a situation where she had to do it. She did it so calmly. She was amazing,” he told news.com.au.

Police were seen battling to save victims’ lives across multiple stores, with blood splattered throughout the once bustling mall.

Stories are already emerging of heroic Australians battling to take down the knifeman, with some throwing tables and chairs at him and astonishing footage emerging of one man taking him on with a bollard.

The man, wearing a white t-shirt, approaches the attacker - a man who appears in his 30s and wearing an Australian Rugby League team jersey - and attempts to stop him getting up an escalator. The footage then ends and it’s unclear what happened to the have-a-go-hero.

(continued)

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80104e No.20719800

File: 860aadea06e0ba4⋯.mp4 (8.31 MB,304x540,76:135,Footage_of_horror_stabbing….mp4)

File: bb9eca82be09246⋯.mp4 (793.74 KB,480x848,30:53,X1aI7kp2fq2G_JIi.mp4)

>>20719788

2/2

news.com.au’s reporter on the scene saw workers running out in floods of tears to meet scared loved ones, who had desperately waited outside for news while the mall remained in lockdown.

One witness told news.com.au that they saw the bodies of two young people in front of the JD Sports store on level four, with videos emerging showing other victims sprawled on the ground in a nearby Zara.

The pair then saw the man in a green jersey down the escalators.

“This guy was out of his mind, properly on drugs. He was stumbling,” he said.

The pair said people began throwing bollards down from the level above to try and hit the stabber. They said two managed to hit him, with the stabber then running back up the escalators.

Terry White worker Ayah Dahroug bravely told them and others to take shelter into the chemist, giving people crutches and walking sticks to arm themselves.

“The cops then came and just said everyone needs to go, leave everything,” she said.

Hundreds of people are on the streets of the eastern suburb CBD.

Waverley Council said people should avoid any unnecessary travel to the Bondi Junction CBD.

Anthony Albanese has released a statement, explaining he has been briefed by the AFP on what he called the “devastating events at Bondi Junction”. “Tragically, multiple casualties have been reported and the first thoughts of all Australians are with those affected and their loved ones,” he said.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said he was making “immediate arrangements” to return to Sydney and said he was “horrified” by the events.

“I want to thank NSW Police, emergency services and first responders and the community for their bravery in the face of this shocking incident,” he said.

Assistant Police Commissioner Anthony Cook said in a press conference on Saturday night that terrorism was not being ruled out, but they were yet to establish a motive.

“From preliminary inquiries, it would appear that this person has acted alone. I am content that there is no continuing threat,” he said.

https://www.news.com.au/national/hide-terrified-shoppers-share-their-horror-as-stabbing-unfolds-at-bondi-junction-westfield-amid-reports-of-gun-shots/news-story/a158db26e6788b7f2acd8b87d733ae59

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/multiple-people-infant-stabbed-at-westfield-bondi-junction/live-coverage/424fe6f5cf1d531780d4750e97562da3#141629

https://twitter.com/Dataflixed/status/1779063516806418789

https://twitter.com/meanwhileinau/status/1779064908577202520

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80104e No.20719871

File: e921f78d0d91cd3⋯.mp4 (13.19 MB,640x360,16:9,NSW_Police_Assistant_Commi….mp4)

File: 52b60b57b19ec96⋯.mp4 (2.79 MB,640x360,16:9,Aerial_vision_of_police_en….mp4)

>>20719788

Six people killed in stabbing attack at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction, alleged offender shot dead

Paulina Vidal and Danuta Kozaki - 13 April 2024

1/2

Six people have been killed in a knife attack at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's east on Saturday afternoon, NSW Police say.

Five of the victims died at the scene and the sixth died from their injuries in hospital, NSW Police said.

Nine people, including a small child, were stabbed by a man in the centre and some are in a critical condition.

The offender was shot dead at the scene by a police officer.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said authorities believe the man acted alone and there is no ongoing threat.

Assistant Commissioner Cooke said he did not have further information about the man's identity.

He said there was no indication of the offender's motive but police had not ruled anything out.

They said the man was in the shopping centre around 3pm before leaving and then returned around 20 minutes later with a knife.

A police inspector, who was nearby, was directed towards the man by witnesses, and she shot him dead after the offender confronted her.

"She confronted the offender, who had moved by this stage to level five, as she continued to walk quickly behind him to catch up with him. He turned to face her, raised a knife," Assistant Commissioner Cooke said.

"She discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased."

A NSW Ambulance spokesperson said those injured had been taken to a number of hospitals across Sydney.

The baby has been taken to Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick, another victim was taken to St George Hospital and another to Royal North Shore Hospital.

Three people were taken to St Vincent's Hospital at Darlinghurst, while another two are at Royal Prince Alfred in Camperdown.

Federal police join response to attack

The shopping centre remains closed and a crime scene has been established.

A large number of emergency vehicles and personnel arrived at the scene after receiving triple-0 calls.

Armed police could also be seen conducting a search of the rooftop car park.

(continued)

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80104e No.20719873

File: 8de55ab33aef64a⋯.mp4 (7.58 MB,960x540,16:9,Scenes_inside_Bondi_Juncti….mp4)

File: a87dd039529e4e9⋯.jpg (129.78 KB,1290x1590,43:53,GLCDQcWasAAB4WW.jpg)

File: 4fd75d48b9a8f4b⋯.jpg (67.85 KB,438x680,219:340,GLCDQccaoAAXssQ.jpg)

File: ff0aa94af584de8⋯.jpg (45.25 KB,432x670,216:335,GLCDQcXaUAAi7W7.jpg)

File: 74d7aa38dac97d2⋯.jpg (121.84 KB,1003x1634,1003:1634,GLCDQcXaYAAPCqI.jpg)

>>20719871

2/2

Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the Australian Federal Police would support NSW Police in the investigation of the attack.

"The AFP has deployed AFP members to the crime scene and we've offered our full specialist capabilities such as digital forensics," he said.

"It is too early to determine a motive and it would be unhelpful to speculate."

Commissioner Kershaw said he had also spoken to the NSW police commissioner and the director-general of ASIO.

NSW Premier Chris Minns, who was on leave, will return to Sydney.

"I want to thank NSW Police, emergency services and first responders and the community for their bravery in the face of this shocking incident," he said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the attack was "beyond words or understanding".

"Australians will be shocked this evening," Mr Albanese said.

"This was a horrific act of violence, indiscriminately targeted at innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday doing their shopping tonight."

Witnesses describe 'horrific experience'

As the attack unfolded and police responded, shoppers were evacuated from the centre.

ABC sound engineer Roi Huberman said he was inside a shop when he heard gunshots.

"And suddenly we heard a shot or maybe two shots and we didn't know what to do," he said.

"Then the very capable person in the store took us to the back where it can be locked.

"She then locked the store and then she then let us through the back and now we are out."

Shopper Adriana was with her two daughters at a beauty store when they heard gunshots.

"All of a sudden the front doors were closed and in a matter of seconds we heard some gunshots and got sent to the storage room at the back of the shop. There were about 30 or 40 people there," she said.

"Everyone was screaming, crying, trying to call their relatives. It was an horrific experience.

"There was a lot of screaming and people just screaming: 'Get out, get out, get out of the shopping centre.'"

Nearby salon owner Leanne Devine said she was alerted to the attack by "hundreds and hundreds of people" running out of the centre.

"It was absolutely horrific," she said.

"We're in shock mode, we're traumatised."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-13/nsw-westfield-bondi-junction-evacuated-after-alleged-stabbing/103704952

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-13/westfield-bondi-junction-evacuated-after-alleged-stabbing/103705022#live-blog-post-83015

https://twitter.com/imromec/status/1779066181242241155

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80104e No.20719889

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20719788

Six people killed, attacker shot dead in Bondi Junction stabbing attack

'9 News Australia

Apr 13, 2024

Six people have been killed and an attacker has been shot dead after multiple people were stabbed at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's east.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-g06HsxZtg

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1ac19d No.20719892

File: 8349305eb56472c⋯.png (352.28 KB,587x938,587:938,ClipboardImage.png)

So this is the line they will be running with. Unhinged but not a terrorist. Is he an immigrant? Why was he let in? What was he offering to this country?

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/bondi-junction-shooting-stabbings-live-updates-police-operation-in-sydney-s-eastern-suburbs-20240413-p5fjku.html

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80104e No.20719904

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20719788

‘Horrific act of violence’: Anthony Albanese speaks out on Bondi Junction stabbing

Sky News Australia

Apr 13, 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken out about the stabbing at Bondi Junction Westfield describing it as a "horrific act of violence".

Mr Albanese’s comments come after police confirmed five have been killed and several have been conveyed to hospital following the stabbing at the shopping centre.

“This was a horrific act of violence indiscriminately targeted at innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday doing their shopping,” Mr Albanese said during a media conference on Saturday.

“Tonight, the first thoughts of all Australians are with the victims of these terrible acts and their loved ones.

“Our nation offers our deepest condolences and sympathies – to all those who are grieving for someone they’ve lost and we send our strength to those who have been injured.

“Today, Bondi Junction was a scene of shock and violence, but it was all witness to the humanity and heroism of our fellow Australians, our brave police, our first responders and of course everyday people who could have never imagined that they would face such a moment.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfuvYJ78cQw

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80104e No.20719914

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20719788

Prime Minister describes Bondi Junction stabbing as ‘horrific act of violence’

9 News Australia

Apr 13, 2024

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the attack which has killed six people at a Sydney shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon a "horrific act of violence".

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X–Pf3wBhSA

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80104e No.20724352

File: 92801c7cc443822⋯.jpg (120.45 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Dawn_Singleton_who_died_in….jpg)

File: e325ff3f4ab2c9c⋯.jpg (79.94 KB,768x1024,3:4,Faraz_Ahmad_Tahir.jpg)

File: 7a5b272c6e221a0⋯.jpg (515.96 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Jade_Young.jpg)

File: 88ce58fe9e49b39⋯.jpg (564.37 KB,815x2092,815:2092,Sydney_s_hour_of_horror.jpg)

>>20719788

Westfield Bondi attack: John Singleton’s daughter, new mum among victims

CLAIRE HARVEY and JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 14, 2024

1/3

The daughter of millionaire businessman John Singleton is among the victims of the horror Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing attack.

Friends of Dawn Singleton have started sharing tributes to the soon-to-be-married 25 year-old.

“Dawn, I should be writing your wedding speech instead I sit here sobbing coming to terms with how life isn’t fair that you are no longer here,” her best friend Jade O’Connor wrote on Facebook.

“Dawn, you were my best friend, my absolute whole world. You were kind and caring and the absolute best dog Mum. You lit up every room you walked into. This year you were meant to get married to the love of your life, and you were meant to be the Godmother to Baby O.”

“I’m not sure how I am meant to live in a world without you. I’m so broken and can’t believe this is reality. I love you so much Dawn and I will remember you every day for the rest of my life.”

Faraz Tahir

Refugee and security guard Faraz Ahmad Tahir is the fourth victim named after Saturday’s tragedy at Bondi Westfield.

The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia confirmed the death of Mr Ahmad in a short statement on Sunday afternoon.

As first reported by The Australian, Mr Ahmad – who is a 30-year-old Muslim Pakistani – was killed while working as a security guard at the shopping centre.

The Australian understands Mr Ahmad’s family in Pakistan, and some in the UK, have been notified of his death.

This publication also understands that Mr Ahmad’s body was watched over at Lakemba Mosque, southwest Sydney, and was now being prepared to be transported overseas to his family overseas.

“It is with heavy hearts that we also mourn the loss of Faraz Tahir, a cherished member of our community and a dedicated security guard who tragically lost his life while serving the public during this attack,” an Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia spokesperson said, revealing he sought safety as a refugee in Australia.

“Faraz Tahir, aged 30, sought refuge in Australia just a year ago, fleeing persecution in his home country of Pakistan. He quickly became an integral part of our community, known for his unwavering dedication and kindness.

“Faraz was not only a valued member of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community of Australia but also actively contributed to the charitable endeavours of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Youth Organisation.”

Members of the Ahmadiyya community will come together at Westfield’s Bondi Junction at 6pm tonight to commemorate his death and for silent prayers for all lives lost in Saturday’s tragedy.

The Pakistan Consulate remains aware of the situation.

Jade Young

Jade Young, of Bellevue Hill, has been identified as a victim of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.

Ms Young was an architect at Georgina Wilson Associates, a mother-of-two and a beloved member of the Bronte Surf Club.

President of the Bronte Surf Life Saving Club Basil Scaffidi sent an email to members on Sunday remembering beloved member Young.

“All of us watched with distress as events unfolded in Bondi Junction yesterday, knowing that in a community as connected as ours we would all be touched in some way by the tragedy,” he wrote.

“It is with profound sadness that we share the loss of member, Jade Young.”

“The … family are involved and much-loved members and contributors to the club, most notably in the Nipper and Cadet programs. On behalf of Bronte Surf Lifesaving Club, we extend our deepest condolences to the Mclaughlin family.

“Many club members will be affected by the loss of Jade and the impact of this senseless and tragic event will affect each of us differently over time.

“We encourage you to seek support from family, friends, fellow club members or to speak to your GP to assist you in processing this tragedy.”

A post on the Georgina Wilson Associates Instagram page from December 2021, says she had been an architect at the firm for the past nine years, working on high-end residential and commercial spaces.

“She attended the prestigious Architectural Association School in London, earning a special accreditation in Building Conservation – a degree that she puts to great use working on heritage properties in Sydney’s Eastern Suburbs,” the post said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20724355

File: 65c9baf7c951e7d⋯.jpg (138.82 KB,1179x1572,3:4,Stabbing_victim_Ashlee_Goo….jpg)

File: 4786da04f5bb58b⋯.jpg (133.46 KB,768x1024,3:4,Stabbing_victim_Ashlee_Goo….jpg)

File: d42cbb56fc368a3⋯.jpg (77.12 KB,870x1160,3:4,The_knifeman.jpg)

>>20724352

2/3

Ashlee Good

A nine-month-old baby in the pram with Mum, in a luxurious shopping mall on a glorious autumn afternoon in the most beautiful city in the world.

This child, this place, this moment – and their dreadful misfortune to be there at the moment a knife-wielding stranger, 40, was on a killing spree, leaving the mall’s cream marble floors slippery with blood.

The mother – 38-year-old osteopath Ashlee Good – has died at St Vincent’s hospital and medics are still fighting to save her baby daughter, who has undergone surgery overnight and is a stable but serious condition.

Dr Good was pushing the baby, nine months, through the centre when the attacker stabbed her in her pram, The Daily Telegraph reports.

As Dr Good thrust the bleeding infant into the arms of strangers, the knifeman then turned the weapon on her.

Dr Good later died in hospital.

“She handed us the baby and said ‘please help, help’,” a witness told Channel Nine at the scene.

“She was bleeding from her head, her face … the baby was bleeding,” he said.

The first time mum was described as a “beautiful person, a wonderful athlete”.

Bleeding from her own wounds, the mother’s first instinct was to protect her baby.

“The mum came over with the baby and threw it at me, and I was just holding the baby,” one of a pair of brothers told 9News.

“I just helped out, just holding the baby and trying to compress the baby, and same with the mother, trying to compress the blood from stopping [sic] and calling ambulance and police.

“There was a lot of blood on the floor.”

“We just kept yelling out to get some clothes to help us compress and stop the baby bleeding,” he said.

Her family remembered her as an “all round outstanding human”, confirmed in a statement on Sunday that her baby is “currently doing well”, and expressed their gratitude for the “expert care and attention of the medical team at Sydney Children’s Hospital.”

They have also thanked two men who the child in the moments after the attack occurred.

“Today we are reeling from the terrible loss of Ashlee, a beautiful mother, daughter, sister, partner, friend, all round outstanding human and so much more,” the family wrote.

“We appreciate the well wishes and thoughts of members of the Australian public who have expressed an outpouring of love for Ashlee and our baby girl.

“We can report that after hours of surgery yesterday our baby is currently doing well. We are so grateful for the expert care and attention of the medical team at Sydney Children’s Hospital.

“We would also like to thank the New South Wales Police for their kindness and diligence in this tragedy and emergency services for getting our baby the care she needed as quickly as possible.

“To the two men who held and cared for our baby when Ashlee could not – words cannot express our gratitude.

“We are struggling to come to terms with what has occurred. We would appreciate peace and privacy while we work through this as a family.

Dr Good was an osteopath and health coach who meditated every morning “without fail”.

She had only recently returned to work after maternity leave with her daughter.

On the morning of her death, Dr Good posted a video to Instagram of her daughter in her car seat, eating a snack.

Dr Good had set the clip to the song My Girl by the Temptations, featuring the lyrics: “I’ve got sunshine on a cloudy day.”

Dr Good was being remembered last night as a loving mother, elite athlete and dedicated professional.

Dr Good told a podcast created by wellness business Healthspace Clinics, her former employer, about her daily routine.

“Probably the main thing I do on the daily that keeps me inspired is meditation.

“I meditate every single morning without fail and it definitely keeps me in the best space.

“It’s something that took me a long time to get into the habit of doing and committing to, because for so long I thought no, I can’t sit still or I can’t be quiet – but it’s so powerful.”

She described working with busy corporate types suffering serious physical pain from sitting all day.

“Since moving to Sydney and being around the corporate world a lot more, I’m really seeing the pain people are in.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20724356

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20724355

3/3

In recent years Dr Good had been working as an account executive at DocuSign, and posted one month ago about her return to work after giving birth to her first child.

“And just like that, 7 beautiful months have passed and it’s time to return to the office.

“It’s not lost on me what a privilege it is to become a parent.

“And then to be gifted some extra time away from work to spend with your child. It’s very special.

“Very thankful to DocuSign for their parental leave policy; I have felt nothing but kindness and support.

“It feels great to work for a company that truly enhances the journey into parenthood.

“And it feels great to be back!”

Journalist Laura Jayes told Sky News the mother was a “beautiful person, a wonderful athlete” and described her husband and family members rushing to hospital.

“She is just such an incredible person, she’s one of those all-rounders, and incredible athlete.

“She was so excited to be a new mother and it’s all just been ripped away this afternoon.”

Where the attack took place

Westfield Bondi Junction is Sydney – the sprawling shopping centre at the highest point south of the harbour, at the crest of a ridge line that runs from Paddington in the eastern CBD all the way to Bondi Beach.

Sydneysiders can see ‘WBJ’ from wherever they go; the gleaming towers soaring into the cloudless blue sky on this crisp April day.

People come here for first dates, for afternoon daddy-daughter movie sessions, for sushi lunches, for workouts, for a $7 banh mi or a $30,000 handbag.

It’s the mall that famously killed off Oxford Street, luring the store-holders and their shoppers into the airconditioned serenity in 2003, when it was built on the site of a gaggle of pubs and shops where Sydneysiders have been drinking and shopping since the 1850s.

And it’s also a place of death.

Several people have fallen to their death over the years, drawn by the deep, sunlit voids scattered throughout the mall, like the huge oval-shaped space outside David Jones in the northern part of the centre, where shoppers on the top floors can look down and see the tiny figures sipping coffee several floors below.

In 2017 a tourist, 71-year-old Bernard Gore, who was in the early stages of dementia, died alone in a stairwell at the mall after becoming disoriented and wandering through a door that locked behind him.

His body was found 20 days later.

Last June a high-level underworld figure, Alen Moradian, died after two men sprayed his Porsche with bullets in the underground carpark of a residential tower adjacent to the mall.

Bondi Junction is in the heart of Sydney’s Jewish community and home to its largest synagogue, and when reports began emerging on Saturday afternoon of a killing spree at the mall, thoughts immediately leapt to the possibility this was another October 7 – a murderous attack on civilians just going about their lives.

The brothers who helped the mother and baby were just two of the heroes Sydney was thanking last night.

There was ‘bollard man’, who guarded the top of an escalator as the attacker stood below, refusing to let him come up and continue the killing.

Another hoodie-clad man walked slowly towards the killer as he jogged past shops with the knife in his right hand, shepherding him away from panicked shoppers trying to flee.

And the female police inspector, working alone, who rushed to the mall, found the man, challenged him and, when he raised the knife, shot him dead.

She then commenced CPR as the man sprawled on the floor.

Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said the officer stopped the carnage.

“A single unit officer, an inspector of police, was nearby, attended, went into the centre, directed by a range of people.

“She confronted the offender … as she continued to walk quickly behind him to catch up with him he turned, faced her, raised a knife.

“She discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased.

“She saved a range of people’s lives today.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/baby-and-her-mother-stabbed-before-heroine-cop-rushed-to-the-rescue/news-story/90fd46870eb72144cb2006e167d61176

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmcJpRE0Jzc

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80104e No.20724362

File: 849a6467d5f9833⋯.jpg (112.17 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Westfield_Bondi_killer_Joe….jpg)

File: 0a33b9fdc08861a⋯.jpg (85.37 KB,1021x1361,1021:1361,Joel_Cauchi_has_been_named….jpg)

File: 40fd534c77b75a6⋯.jpg (124.36 KB,922x1230,461:615,Cauchi_posted_to_social_me….jpg)

File: 63e41127aca6d13⋯.jpg (327.3 KB,2048x1152,16:9,NSW_Police_and_Forensics_t….jpg)

File: 44b11cd7114bace⋯.jpg (253.88 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_daughter_of_millionair….jpg)

>>20719788

Bondi Westfield attacker Joel Cauchi ’possibly’ targeting women

ELLIE DUDLEY and SARAH ELKS - APRIL 14, 2024

1/2

Less than a week before killing six people in a deadly stabbing rampage at an upmarket Sydney shopping centre, 40-year-old Queensland man Joel Cauchi was appealing for surfing buddies on Facebook.

“Hi I am surfing Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there for a surf!” Cauchi posted on the Beginning Surfing & Adventuring (Sydney AU) Facebook page on the morning of April 8.

According to police, he’d recently moved to Sydney from Queensland.

The Australian understands Cauchi grew up in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane, graduating from Harristown State High School in 2000 before studying at the University of Southern Queensland and had been working as an English tutor for a number of years

He took a surfing lesson at Rainbow Beach, north of Brisbane, in August 2022, telling instructors he was a strong swimmer with no medical issues.

Cauchi’s family is now helping NSW Police with their investigations, which are focusing on his apparent mental health issues.

NSW Police are investigating whether Cauchi was deliberately targeting women on Saturday.

Cauchi was shot dead by police as he ran around Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing shoppers including a nine-month-old baby in a pram. Five of the victims, including the baby, were female.

Police are in contact with Cauchi’s family, who are cooperating with the investigation.

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke told reporters police believe Cauchi came to NSW last month.

Asked whether police would investigate if Cauchi was targeting women, Cooke said officers would consider it as a possibility.

“I do not know that to be the case at this stage but clearly those matters will be part of the investigation as it continues,” he said.

“We are working through the process now of speaking with the families and supporting the families of those victims,” Assistant Commissioner Cooke said.

He confirmed Cauchi came to New South Wales last month and took possession of a small storage facility.

“As I had said last night, there is still to this point nothing that we have, no information we have received, no evidence we have recovered, no intelligence we have gathered, that would suggest that this was driven by any particular motivation, ideology or otherwise,” Cooke said.

“We know that the offender in the matter suffered from mental health.

“We are continuing to work through the profiling of the offender but very clearly to us at this stage it would appear that this is related to the mental health of the individual involved.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20724363

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20724362

2/2

Cauchi had no criminal history, but was known to Queensland police for “mental health welfare issues”.

Senior sources have told The Australian he did not have a criminal history in Queensland, but police in the state were aware of him because of his “mental health welfare issues”.

NSW Police believe Cauchi moved to Sydney last month. His Queensland-based family are helping with investigations.

It comes as Queensland Premier Steven Miles has offered his NSW counterpart Chris Minns “any assistance required”.

Last night, Mr Miles tweeted that the violence at Bondi Junction was “devastating”.

“Devastating news out of Sydney this afternoon with reports of multiple casualties at Westfield Bondi Junction,” he wrote.

“Our thoughts are with all those affected and their loved ones.”

Two of the victims who were killed in the horrific attack are from overseas, and do not have any family in Australia. Police are working with international agencies to track down their loved ones.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said on Saturday night the incident was not believed to be terror-related, but whether the victims were deliberately targeted remained to be seen.

“It’s very early days but there is no suggestion that there was anyone targeted, but that could change and we will only know that in time,” Commissioner Webb said late on Saturday.

“The community, like we do, should feel very sad about what happened here but they should have no concerns, ongoing concerns.

“We believe that this person acted alone and there is no ongoing threat to the community.”

“In other words it is not a terrorism incident.”

Assistant Commissioner Cooke told reporters “a number” of people remain in hospital and “many are in a serious but stable condition”.

An infant remains in a serious but stable condition, he said.

The baby was thrown into the arms of strangers by her mother, Sydney osteopath and first-time mum Dr Ashlee Good. Cauci reportedly attacked the baby in her pram before turning the knife on Dr Good, who later died of her injuries.

Another of the victims is Dawn Singleton, 25, the daughter of millionaire businessman John Singleton, The Daily Telegraph reports.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/bondi-westfield-attacker-joel-cauchi-possibly-targeting-women/news-story/ec52e6316058cdfeea2265927a5492ea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3vah-68USU

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80104e No.20724374

File: 3ae70e589217a24⋯.mp4 (12.28 MB,960x540,16:9,Channel_7_s_Weekend_Sunris….mp4)

>>20719788

>>20724362

Channel 7 presenter Matt Shirvington names innocent man Benjamin Cohen as Bondi Junction killer

'SOPHIE ELSWORTH, JAMES MADDEN and ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 14, 2024

1/2

One of Channel 7’s highest-profile presenters, Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington, named an innocent man as the Bondi Junction knife-wielding murderer during an on-air wrap of the tragedy.

Shirvington told Weekend Sunrise that the killer was “40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, dressed in a Kangaroos ARL jersey”, who was “shot and killed by a brave female police officer.”

Shirvington’s comments aired at 6.05am AEST and just 10 minutes later during the same broadcast, presenters Monique Wright and Michael Usher spoke with reporter Lucy McLeod who was outside the shopping centre.

She too wrongly named Cohen as the killer.

“The attacker, 40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, is known to police, his motives are not yet known, he was working on his own,” McLeod said during the live cross.

NSW Police subsequently named 40-year-old Joel Cauchi as the killer; Benjamin Cohen had nothing to do with the murderous rampage whatsoever.

The stunning error is deeply embarrassing for Seven, which prides itself on the strength of its news coverage.

Seven also contacted Cohen on Sunday afternoon to apologise and an apology was also broadcast on TV.

Channel 7 has blamed “human error” for identifying the wrong man as the offender.

The network’s news boss, Craig McPherson, who has oversight of Sunrise (as well as the scandal-plagued current affairs program, Spotlight) could not be reached for comment on Sunday.

Mr Cohen, a first-year UTS student who lives in Sydney’s eastern suburbs not far from Bondi Junction, said Seven’s mistake was “highly distressing” for him and his family.

“It’s extremely disappointing to me to see people mindlessly propagating misinformation like this without even the slightest thought put into fact checking,” he told The Australian.

“But what’s even more disappointing to me is a major news network doing this, using my name without waiting for a statement from police to verify this or going out to try and verify it themselves.”

Seven’s official 7NEWS Australia YouTube account – which has 1.66 million subscribers – also aired a report, led by presenters Monique Wright and Michael Usher, with a caption underneath that wrongly named Benjamin Cohen as the “attacker”.

The video was online for more than one hour and attracted thousands of views.

After Seven was contacted by The Australian about the mistake the video clip was quickly deleted from its official YouTube channel.

(continued)

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80104e No.20724376

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20724374

2/2

The name Cohen is a common Jewish name, and means priest in Hebrew. Mr Cohen’s name began circulating in relation to the fatal attack on social media platform X late on Saturday night

X doesn’t have a corporate presence in Australia, and attempts to reach a company spokesperson on Sunday were unsuccessful.

It later emerged that Cohen’s name was also published – in relation to the killings – in the comments section of Ten’s official TikTok account, and on the TikTok comments page of news.com.au, Nine News and the Daily Mail.

A spokesperson for Ten said: “It is network policy for comments to be disabled for stories of this nature. Unfortunately they were inadvertently left on. As soon as this was noticed, comments were disabled. We sincerely apologise for any distress this has caused.”

A spokesperson for news.com.au said: “We had comments disabled on social media posts and moderated heavily but unfortunately this was missed on TikTok.

“Comments were disabled as soon as we realised and we apologise for the error.

A Nine spokesperson said: “We have not and would not ever run such a claim on air or as part of our reporting. Our social media teams are using all the tools available and enforcing our community guidelines.”

Daily Mail was approached for comment but did not respond.

It’s not the first time in recent years that Seven has found itself in hot water over naming the wrong person in relation to a serious crime.

In 2022, Terrance Flowers, a 27-year-old Nyamal man from the town of Karratha, sued Seven after the network published his photograph in news broadcasts, an online article, a tweet and a Facebook post about the arrest of a different man in relation to the abduction of three-year-old WA girl Cleo Smith.

Seven apologised, and reached a confidential settlement with Flowers.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/channel-7-names-innocent-man-benjamin-cohen-as-bondi-junction-killer/news-story/7d6c092deaf12cb5b8355c764ecce25a

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8WGnJdVRiQ8

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80104e No.20724386

File: d7adcac8eee8b68⋯.jpg (108.88 KB,1280x720,16:9,NSW_Police_Inspector_Amy_S….jpg)

>>20719788

Policewoman who ended Westfield Bondi attack hailed a hero

STAFF WRITERS - APRIL 14, 2024

1/2

With a bullet to a murderer’s chest, a heroic female police officer ended the Bondi massacre and saved multiple lives after racing through the busy Westfield shopping mall to confront the knifeman who had fatally stabbed six people.

An emotional Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday night singled out the courage of NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who had been nearby when the stabbing frenzy began and rushed alone to the top floor of the centre where the rampaging killer was armed with a 30cm knife.

“She entered the proceedings that were taking place, obviously very dangerous, by herself,” Mr Albanese said.

“She is certainly a hero.

“There is no doubt that she saved lives through her actions.”

A “shocked and saddened” Prince and Princess of Wales also recognised her actions in a social media post which paid tribute to the “heroic emergency responders who risked their own lives to save others”.

The King also spoke of his utter shock and horror, saying his heart went out to the families of those brutally killed in the atrocity.

The King said that his and Queen Camilla’s thoughts were with the people of Sydney.

“My wife and I were utterly shocked and horrified to hear of the tragic stabbing incident in Bondi,” the monarch said in a statement late on Saturday night.

“Our hearts go out to the families and loved ones who have been so brutally killed during such a senseless attack.

“While details of these shocking circumstances are still emerging, our thoughts are also with those were involved in the response, and we give thanks to the bravery of the first responders and emergency services.”

As panicked shoppers ran for their lives, the officer was directed to killer’s location by bystanders, police said.

Witness Jason Dixon told The Sunday Telegraph the policewoman, Inspector Scott, was rushing to catch up with the murderer and yelled at him to put down his knife.

“He turned and began to advance on her,’’ Mr Dixon said.

“All she said was ‘Put it down’. Just once. Then she shot him in the chest and he went down.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20724390

File: a03fce59466779d⋯.jpg (450.48 KB,750x1137,250:379,TRF_1.jpg)

File: 41c4862b6640f3f⋯.jpg (154.04 KB,750x329,750:329,TPAPOW_1.jpg)

File: 31ca531361348e2⋯.jpg (145.17 KB,750x329,750:329,CL_1.jpg)

File: 6b5b5f4ef45a17c⋯.jpg (146.15 KB,750x331,750:331,USEA_23.jpg)

>>20724386

2/2

NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley met with Inspector Scott on Saturday night to thank her on behalf of the NSW government, and the community of NSW.

“We talked about her just going straight into police mode, everything she has been taught during her career as a NSW Police officer, and how instinctive it was.

“When I said to her ‘thank you for your courage’ she said, ‘well, it wasn’t just me, the bystanders were just so helpful’,” she said.

“So humble, its just typical of a NSW Police officer, but let me tell you I know that tributes will be coming from wide and far to thank her for her quick actions, she was there within minutes, she was on general duties and happened to be in the vicinity.

“Her actions meant that the disaster could have been far worse and she prevented that from happening so we’re very very thankful and so grateful for her courage and for her doing such an extraordinary job.”

NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Tony Cooke said when the man turned to face the officer he “raised a knife, she discharged a firearm and that person is now deceased”.

The officer immediately began CPR on the offender.

NSW Premier Chris Minns, who on Saturday night cut short a foreign holiday to return home in the wake of the atrocity, said the eight million people of NSW were deeply grateful for her heroism.

“She saved lives today with enormous courage,’’ Premier Chris Minns told Radio 2GB.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb spoke to the “very senior” officer and said she was “doing well under the circumstances”.

“She showed enormous courage and bravery, and she will process obviously that,’ Commissioner Webb told an 8.30pm press conference.

The officer is expected to be formally interviewed on Sunday as part of the investigation into Saturday’s horror.

Mr Dixon said the killer had been “armed with a big kitchen knife – one of the knives you use in the meat works.

“She had to shoot him, because he just kept coming,” Mr Dixon said.

“He had a knife and he wasn’t going to stop.”

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, Ireland’s new leader Simon Harris, Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf and US Ambassador to Canberra Caroline Kennedy were among others to express their shock and express condolences.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/policewoman-who-ended-westfield-bondi-attack-hailed-a-hero/news-story/6d417b48e44cd43ff24985dc24c117b5

https://twitter.com/RoyalFamily/status/1779147137822974217

https://twitter.com/KensingtonRoyal/status/1779117984226705878

https://twitter.com/chrisluxonmp/status/1779077884453568996

https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1779072485402742821

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80104e No.20726609

File: bf698386f72c231⋯.jpg (16.27 KB,316x237,4:3,Nine_News_has_identified_Y….jpg)

File: dd4441a8963453d⋯.jpg (43.63 KB,316x421,316:421,Ms_Cheng_sent_her_partner_….jpg)

File: d7b43896e6de579⋯.jpg (18.46 KB,316x421,316:421,Mr_Wang_tried_in_vain_to_c….jpg)

File: 0c28bbfc45308a5⋯.jpg (15.02 KB,316x237,4:3,Pikria_Darchia_55_was_the_….jpg)

File: 2cbaaba145911bf⋯.jpg (25.46 KB,316x237,4:3,Dawn_Singleton_was_among_s….jpg)

>>20719788

>>20724352

Sixth Bondi Junction victim identified as Chinese international student Yixuan Cheng as Westfield crime scene finalised

The sixth victim killed after a horrific stabbing rampage at a Bondi Junction shopping centre has been identified as Chinese national Yixuan Cheng.

Reilly Sullivan and Heloise Vyas - April 15, 2024

A Chinese national has been identified as the sixth victim in the Bondi Junction stabbing attack.

Nine News has identified 27-year-old Yixuan Cheng as the remaining victim in Joel Cauchi’s stabbing rampage through the Westfield shopping centre on Saturday afternoon.

Cheng is understood to be an international student and the delay in revealing her identity was likely due to police attempting to contact the young woman's family in China.

Her identification marks the beginning of a grim new stage of the national tragedy with all six victims of Cauchi's rampage now named in the media.

According to Chinese media, Ms Cheng was studying for a master’s degree in economics at the University of Sydney and was engaged to be married.

On the day of the stabbing, Ms Cheng had reportedly finished some exams and travelled to the shopping centre in Sydney’s affluent eastern suburbs to browse.

Her fiance in China, known only as Mr Wang, told a Chinese publication he had spoken to Ms Cheng on social media platform WeChat just moments before the attack unfolded.

“She happily talked to me on the phone at around three in the afternoon. She even tried on clothes for me to see,” he revealed.

“Unexpectedly, after hanging up the phone, a stabbing incident occurred.”

A photo shared by Mr Wang shows Cheng trying on a handbag inside the Chanel boutique located on Level 4 of the complex just moments before her death.

The knifeman began his deadly attack on level 4 before moving down to level 3 then back up to levels 4 and 5, before he was shot by hero cop Amy Scott on level 5.

Mr Wang desperately tried to contact Ms Cheng after discovering there had been a stabbing.

“I contacted her day and night, but there was no response at all. The whole family was so anxious that they didn’t dare to think too much.”

NSW Police confirmed late Sunday evening 55-year-old Pikria Darchia was among the people who died at the shopping centre after the 40-year-old knifeman unleashed on 18 shoppers in a random and horrific attack.

Ms Darchia is of Georgian origin and understood to have moved to Australia in 2013.

Earlier on Sunday, police identified mother-of-two Jade Young, an architect in Sydney, as another of the victims who died in the shopping precinct shortly after being attacked.

Shortly after, a statement issued by the Ahmaddiya Muslim Community of Australia confirmed a male security guard understood to have died in the attack was 30-year-old Faraz Ahmad Tahir.

Mr Tahir had only arrived in Australia a year ago as a refugee from Pakistan and reportedly confronted the knifeman before suffering fatal stab wounds.

High profile businessman John Singleton's daughter Dawn was also among the victims.

The 25-year-old, who is one of Singleton's eight children from seven marriages, was engaged to be married to a police officer.

The first victim to be named was 38-year-old Ashley Good, who did not die at the scene but succumbed to her injuries later in hospital.

Ms Good was inside the shopping centre with her nine-month-old infant girl when Cauchi lunged towards the mother and daughter.

The naming of Cheng comes as the crime scene at Westfield Bondi Junction was finalised on Monday morning, paving the way for the centre operator to decide when to reopen stores.

Outside the sprawling shopping centre, floral tributes are growing in honour of the six people killed and more than a dozen injured during the carnage.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/sixth-bondi-junction-victim-identified-as-chinese-international-student-yixuan-cheng/news-story/8d18cd84799b3b37f87b74db71f1fab0

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80104e No.20726614

File: 67b4af351a54d62⋯.jpg (229.22 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Bruce_Lehrmann_leaves_the_….jpg)

File: 4d8e4948c9a1a5f⋯.jpg (221.29 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Lisa_Wilkinson_with_barris….jpg)

>>20700895

Bruce Lehrmann ‘raped Brittany Higgins’, Ten wins defamation case

ELLIE DUDLEY - APRIL 15, 2024

1/2

Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson have won their landmark defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann after Justice Michael Lee found the former Liberal staffer raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House.

In delivering his long-awaited judgement, Justice Lee found Mr Lehrmann was “hellbent” on having sex with Ms Higgins after passionately kissing her in a Canberra night club, and was “so intent upon gratification” that he “did not care one way or the other whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on.”

Mr Lehrmann will receive no damages from the media outlet, and a debate regarding costs will be heard in coming weeks.

Justice Lee also rejected suggestions aired by The Project that there was a political conspiracy to cover up Ms Higgins’ rape allegations, saying the accusations caused a “broom of confusion” and did much “collateral damage, including to the fair and orderly progress of the underlying allegation of sexual assault through the criminal justice system”.

Mr Lehrmann last year sued Ten and Wilkinson over her interview with Ms Higgins on The Project in 2021, detailing accu­sations that Mr Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins but not naming him as the alleged attacker. Mr Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence, and claimed no sexual assault occurred between the pair.

But on Monday morning, Justice Lee found Mr Lehrmann to be a liar, and said, on the balance of probabilities, sexual intercourse took place on the couch of then-Defence Industries minister Linda Reynolds in March 2019.

He said the sex occurred with Mr Lehrmann on top of Ms Higgins on the couch, and concluded shortly after Mr Lehrmann ejaculated. While Justice Lee did not accept Ms Higgins’ evidence that she “said ‘no’ on a loop” when she woke up to Mr Lehrmann on top of her, he found she did not consent to the sex taking place.

“I’m satisfied that it is more likely than not that Mr Lehrmann’s state of mind was such that he was so intent upon gratification to be indifferent to Ms Higgins consenting,” Justice Lee said.

“(Mr Lehrmann was) hellbent on having sex with a woman he found sexually attractive, had been mutually passionately kissing and touching … and knew had reduced inhibition. He did not care one way or the other whether Ms Higgins understood or consented to what was going on.”

He later said: “Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins. I hasten to stress this is a finding on the balance of probabilities.”

Justice Lee relied heavily on the evidence of former Liberal staffer Lauren Gain who testified at trial that she saw Mr Lehrmann and Ms Higgins “pashing” one another while at the 88mph nightclub on the night the rape occurred.

“He’d been attracted to Ms Higgins for a while and, for the first time, kissed the object of his attraction passionately, placed his hand intimately on her leg and thigh and had his physical displays of action requited,” he said.

“Mr Lehrmann was acting upon his attraction to Ms Higgins, and the less than sober Ms Higgins was sufficiently uninhibited to be a not unwilling participant.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20726618

File: 455f9464cc5e854⋯.jpg (325.02 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_was_too_d….jpg)

File: f5e58dc55e16bbb⋯.jpg (332.75 KB,777x1226,777:1226,Justice_Michael_Lee_s_key_….jpg)

>>20726614

2/2

Justice Lee found Ms Higgins gave a “false characterisation” about why she went back to Parliament House that night, having also kissed Mr Lehrmann.

“As Ms Gain made plain, (Ms Higgins) hooked up with Mr Lehrmann and what occurred thereafter must be viewed in the light of Ms Higgins in the nightclub being intimate with Mr Lehrmann, and … had agreed to accompany him,” Justice Lee said.

He found Mr Lehrmann knew Ms Higgins was very drunk that night, despite his previous claims that she did not seem inebriated. Drawing on this, Justice Lee said it was “likely” Mr Lehrmann would then encourage Ms Higgins to drink whiskey with him in Parliament House.

Justice Lee completely dismissed The Project’s suggestion that there was a political “cover-up” to prevent Ms Higgins’ rape claims going public, saying the sexual assault was a “minor theme” in The Project interview, while the allegation of cover-up was a “major motif”.

“The publication of accusations of corrupt conduct in putting up roadblocks and forcing a rape victim to choose between her career and justice may have won The Project team, like (Samantha) Maiden, a glittering prize, but when the accusation is examined properly, it was suppositioned without reasonable foundation and verifiable fact,” he said.

“Its dissemination caused a broom of confusion and did much collateral damage, including to the fair and orderly progress of the underlying allegation of sexual assault through the criminal justice system.

“To the extent that there were these systemic issues as to avenues of complaint and support services in Parliament, this may have merited a form of fact based critique not the publication of insufficiently scrutinised and factually misconceived conjecture.”

Thomson Geer partner Justin Quill has called the defamation case an “unmitigated disaster” for Mr Lehrmann, and said his client, Network 10, had been “vindicated”.

“We’ve just heard a detailed summary of his Honour’s decision … This is a resounding win for Channel Ten and it is a dismal failure by Bruce Lehrmann,” he said outside court.

“He brought this claim to court for two reasons - one, to make money, and two, to reinvent history. He wanted people to believe his version of events, and he failed in both endeavours.

“It’s an unmitigated disaster for Bruce Lehrmann. His honour has found he had sex without consent and he was hellbent on gratification in doing so.

“For Channel Ten, it’s vindication. Your honour said Channel Ten is deserving of that vindication. Vindication in its belief and support of Brittany Higgins, who, it has got to be said, was particularly brave to come to court, and unlike most rape victims, come to court haven chosen not to have anonymity.”

“It’s a vindication by Ten to continue to run and defend these defamation proceedings, to fight the cost in doing so. Ultimately it’s an unmitigated disaster for Bruce Lehrmann. His honour has found that Bruce Lehrmann is a rapist. Bruce Lehrmann is a rapist.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/bruce-lehrmann-raped-brittany-higgins-ten-wins-defamation-case/news-story/2d0c7ee7735e4acbd1b3aaf8f5eb7428

https://www.judgments.fedcourt.gov.au/judgments/Judgments/fca/single/2024/2024fca0369

https://www.smh.com.au/interactive/hub/media/tearout-excerpt/27531/Lehrmann-v-Network-Ten-Pty-Limited-(Trial-Judgment)-2024-FCA-369.pdf

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80104e No.20726638

File: f9a8fb3de248982⋯.jpg (96.82 KB,1279x719,1279:719,Justice_Michael_Lee_gives_….jpg)

File: 9c43d31b8d6a524⋯.jpg (207.7 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Bruce_Lehrmann_arrives_at_….jpg)

>>20726614

‘Bruce Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat’

'DAVID TANNER - APRIL 15, 2024''

1/4

Justice Michael Lee’s defamation judgement was a masterstroke. Here are some of his sharpest observations.

Main findings

Lehrmann and Higgins had sex

‘I’m convinced … that sexual intercourse did take place, and that took place with Mr Lehrmann on top of Ms Higgins on the couch in the minister’s office’

The sex constituted rape

‘Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins. I hasten to stress this is a finding on the balance of probabilities’

The reliability of Lehrmann and Higgins

‘Despite my concerns about the truthfulness of both Mr Lehrmann and Mr Higgins, it will be simplistic to proceed on the basis that means I must reject everything they say’

Network Ten’s conduct

‘(It) was grossly improper and unjustifiable’

The Project’s accusation of a political cover-up

‘(It did much) collateral damage, including to the fair and orderly progress of the underlying allegation of sexual assault through the criminal justice system’

The defamation case

‘(It) has become a proxy for broader cultural and political conflicts’

Bruce Lehrmann

His credibility

‘I do not think Mr Lehrmann is a compulsive liar and some of the untruths may have been due to careless and confusion. But in important respects he told deliberate lies’

‘All these falsehoods together with his Walter Mitty-like imaginings … demonstrate that Mr Lehrmann has no compunction about departing from the truth if he thought it was expedient’

Lehrmann pursuing damages after his aborted criminal trial

‘Having escaped the lion’s den Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat’

Brittany Higgins

Her credibility

‘(Ms Higgins) made some allegations that made her a heroine to one group of partisans. When examined forensically (those allegations) have undermined her general credibility to a disinterested factfinder’

Higgins’ trauma at the time the rape allegations were made

‘Given the potential effects of trauma, I do not consider (her) 2019 conduct (in the immediate aftermath of the alleged rape) … as inconsistent with a victim of sexual assault working her way through feelings of confusion’

Higgins’ trauma explaining confusion and inconsistencies in her evidence

‘I’m comfortably satisfied that a number of the credit issues … cannot be minimised in this way’

Higgins’ evidence about the bruise on her leg

‘Despite her evidence before me I consider it unlikely there would be genuine confusion in Ms Higgins’ evidence as to how she got the bruise, given the way she and Mr Sharaz deployed it in 2021 (by giving it to The Project)’

Lehrmann and Higgins at The Dock

Lehrmann buying Higgins drinks at The Dock

‘He did spend most of the evening with Ms Higgins and as the night wore on he was aware of her drinking and encouraging her to drink well beyond the bounds of sobriety’

‘The purchase of drinks on behalf of Ms Higgins by Mr Lehrmann was, and must be known by Mr Lehrmann to be an important aspect of their interactions later that night’

Lehrmann’s awareness of Higgins inebriated state

‘CCTV suggests Mr Lehrmann must have been aware of at least one incident at The Dock demonstrating a lack of balance. He knew she was drinking excessively’

Lehrmann’s claims of ‘minimal’ interactions with Higgins at The Dock

‘(This was) a very serious distortion of the dealings’

Higgins’ evidence about what happened at The Dock

‘Since 2021 Ms Higgins made false representations as to what occurred following the incident to (journalists). She selectively curated materials on her phone prior giving it to the AFP … It would be fair to describe her as a complex and in several respects unsatisfactory witness’

(continued)

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80104e No.20726640

File: 261db372f509a45⋯.jpg (179.95 KB,1280x720,16:9,Federal_Court_of_Australia….jpg)

>>20726638

2/4

Lehrmann and Higgins at 88MPH

Lehrmann’s and Higgins’ interactions at 88MPH

‘One thing did emerge with clarity from the evidence, certainly … that at 88MPH, Brittany hooked up with Bruce’

‘Mr Lehrmann was acting upon his attraction to Ms Higgins, and the less than sober Ms Higgins was sufficiently uninhibited to be a not unwilling participant’

Lehrmann’s rejection of intimacy with Higgins at 88MPH

‘Mr Lehrmann emphatically denied any intimacy with Ms Higgins at 88MPH. This evidence was not only false … but was intentioned with representations he made to the Australian Federal Police’

Higgins’ evidence about the intimacy with Lehrmann at 88MPH

‘Ms Higgins’ evidence that she was passive and discomfited is an example of Ms Higgins evolving her recollection’

Lehrmann and Higgins going to Parliament House

Lehrmann’s claim about going back to Parliament House for his keys

‘He could have just texted his girlfriend’

Lehrmann’s reason for going to Parliament House

‘(He was seeking a location where the pair could have) continued to enhanced intimacy’

‘Mr Lehrmann’s evidence about writing a question time folders was a transparent lie, and yet it remains the only explanation Mr Lehrmann has offered to the court for his presence in the ministerial suite for 40 minutes on 23 March 2019’

Lehrmann’s desire to have sex with Higgins

‘He likely wanted to continue to be intimate with Ms Higgins. Put bluntly, he was a 23-year-old male cheating on his girlfriend, having just hooked up with a woman he found sexually attractive. Human experience suggests that what he want then wanted to happen is not exactly shrouded in mystery’

‘Common sense suggests that it is obvious there was one dominant thought running through the mind of Mr Lehrmman as he was approaching Parliament House, and had nothing to do with French submarine contracts’

Higgins’ evidence about returning to Parliament House with Lehrmann

‘What possible reason was there for this heavily intoxicated young woman who didn’t have her pass, to go back to work after a night on the tiles?’

The possibility Higgins wanted to have sex with Lehrmann

‘(This could) be one explanation as to why she exited with Mr Lehrmann to Parliament House rather than staying in the Uber and going home by herself. She knew she was going to the ministerial suite and acquiesced in doing so’

Lehrmann and Higgins at Parliament House

Lehrmann’s evidence about what happened in the ministerial suite

‘I’m satisfied that being conscious of the importance of whisky, Mr Lehrmann has made several false statements about the importance of this topic. I consider Mr Lehrmann’s account to be an elaborate fancy’

‘I’ve already noted, put in stark terms, it’s fanciful (Mr Lehrmann), accompanied by a woman he found attractive, who he had just been kissing in a nightclub despite him having a girlfriend would then be interested, after coming back to a private place … just to say ‘cheerio’’

Higgins’ state during the Parliament House visit

‘I have no doubt that Miss Higgins’ inability to put on her shoes was caused by a state of inebriation. This is consistent with her walking barefoot through Parliament House and tossing her head back and looking towards the ceiling while she waited to be led into the ministerial suite’

‘I’m comfortably satisfied that Ms Higgins was a very drunk 24 year old woman, and her cognitive abilities were significantly impacted, given the state and … it is highly likely she was prone to drowsiness’

The contrasting accounts of Lehrmann and Higgins

‘The first thing to be said about Ms Higgins’ account is that it involves a grave allegation by a witness with credibility problems … (and) must be approached with great care. Taken as a whole it does not strike me as inherently implausible, unlike the account of Mr Lehrmann’

‘Her evidence that she was not fully aware of her surroundings but suddenly became aware of Mr Lehrmann on top of her … struck me forcefully as being credible and having the ring of truth’

Why Lehrmann left Parliament House alone

‘Why would he just bolt from the office? One would expect a man with any manners … would check whether she had gone, and if not, how she was getting home safely’

(continued)

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80104e No.20726642

File: b64432dc5fb63ba⋯.jpg (272.95 KB,1599x900,533:300,Bar_88mph_Canberra.jpg)

>>20726640

3/4

Whether the sex in the ministerial suite constituted rape

Whether Higgins expressed that she did not consent

‘I have not reached the level of satisfaction that during the sexual act Ms Higgins said no on a loop’

‘I have reached a state of actual persuasion on the balance of probabilities that Ms Higgins was not fully aware of her surroundings and did not consent to intercourse. The non-consent element is made out’

Whether Lehrmann was conscious of the fact Higgins did not consent

‘I’m satisfied that it is more likely than not that Mr Lehrmann’s state of mind was such that he was so intent upon gratification to be indifferent to Ms Higgins consenting’

‘(Mr Lehrmann was) hellbent on having sex with a woman he found sexually attractive, had been mutually passionately kissing and touching … and knew had reduced inhibition. He did not care one way or the other whether Ms Higgins understood or consented to what was going on’

The nature of rape

‘(The suggestion) a woman is expected to either fight or flight to be accepted as having been a victim of sexual assault is not only not reasonably open but wrongheaded’

The legal bar for Justice Lee’s finding of rape

‘These findings should not be misconstrued or mischaracterised as a finding that I can exclude all reasonable hypotheses consistent with innocence. As I’ve explained this a substantive difference between the criminal standard of proof and the single standard of proof and as a tribunal effect, I have only to be satisfied that Mr Lehrmann has acted as I have found, and I am not obliged to reach that degree of certainty necessary to support conviction on a criminal charge’

After the alleged assault

Higgins having a coffee with Lehrmann and exchanging friendly emails after the alleged assault

‘I have little doubt that if she had been raped that, by the time of these interactions, Ms Higgins would be driven by conflicting emotions, self-doubt … and questioning the prudence of her behaviour’

‘On the assumption she was a victim, (these actions) can be readily characterised as the actions of a woman who had not yet come to terms with what had happened to her, but needed to confront the reality that she had to work out a way of being in the same professional office as a male colleague who had assaulted her’

Higgins not going to a doctor in the days after the alleged assault

‘There may be many reasons on the assumption … for her not wanting to subject (herself) to such a process, particularly when the surrounding contemporaneous materials suggest she had no intention of pursuing a complaint with the police at this time’

The political ‘cover up’

The political element of the Higgins rape allegations

‘From the first moment the cover-up component was promoted as the most important part of the narrative’

Higgins’ claims leading to her $2.4m settlement payout from the commonwealth

‘It is evident that several things being alleged were untrue’

Fiona Brown

Linda Reynolds’ chief of staff Fiona Brown

‘In these circumstances, to be vilified as an unfeeling apparatchik … must be worse than galling … I unhesitatingly prefer the evidence of Ms Brown’

Higgins’ claim she told Brown about her allegations in their early meetings

‘I reject any suggestion Ms Higgins expressly said to Miss Brown at either the first or second meeting that she had been raped or sexually assaulted’

(continued)

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80104e No.20726644

File: 85f7db2a05c01b0⋯.jpg (191.67 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Lisa_Wilkinson_arrives_at_….jpg)

>>20726642

4/4

Ten and Lisa Wilkinson

Ten identifying Lehrmann as the alleged rapist, despite not naming him

‘I have no doubt Mr Lehrmann was identified’

Wilkinson’s Logies speech

‘The action and giving the speech was not, as many have suggested, a case of Ms Wilkinson going off on a frolic and irresponsibly saying something off the top of her head’

‘I accept Miss Wilkinson did not fully appreciate the extent of the problem, given the advice and encouragement of Network 10 and perhaps because of the approbation of the speech received by way of applause from her professional peers’

Ten’s advice to Wilkinson before giving her Logies speech

‘She only came to give us a result of being badly let down by those to whom she turned for advice and counsel’

Wilkinson’s evidence in court about the Logies speech

‘In the end, what matters for present purposes is less the lack of judgement in giving the speech, but rather a lack of candour in the witness box by refusing initially to admit it conveys a representation that Miss Higgins rape allegation was credible and to be believed’

Wilkinson’s evidence about presenting Brown as ‘caring’ during their interview

‘The notion that The Project program was not very critical of Ms Brown as well as Senator Reynolds is utterly unsustainable’

Ten relying on Higgins’ allegations

‘The Project team had strong indications of the unreliability of their main source particularly as to how she’d lost material on her phone and selected material survived’

Ten’s failure to make proper efforts to contact Lehrmann

‘(Mr Lehrmann) was not living the life of a hermit. He was working for a public relations company in Sydney’

Ten’s treatment of Lehrmann in airing the rape allegations

‘(It) fell short of the standard of reasonableness’

Ten’s failure to acknowledge the impact of Wilkinson’s speech

‘There has been ample time for material reflection and yet there is no recognition even now that the speech could have undermined the administration of justice and caused it to be disrupted’

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/justice-lee-michaels-key-quotes-in-lehrmann-v-ten-trial/news-story/91e54b61a52ce00055abd273104e6fbd

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80104e No.20726669

File: e166f8a05a4a768⋯.jpg (2.36 MB,4000x2666,2000:1333,In_this_September_21_2016_….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20686545

Israel urges Australia to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorists

David Crowe - April 15, 2024

1/2

Israel is seeking urgent action from Australia and other democracies to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation in a bid to prevent it amassing weapons and launching more strikes after it bombarded Israeli targets on Saturday.

The formal request is likely to be put to Canberra within days to gain a practical outcome by limiting the supply of materials and weapons to the Iranian military force, as well as securing a symbolic show of unity with Israel as it comes under attack.

Israel’s deputy ambassador to Australia, Chris Cantor, said the issue had been raised with the government in the past but needed swift action because of the unprecedented Iranian decision to launch 300 drones and missiles against Israeli soil on Saturday.

“The aim here is to minimise the Iranian threat, the Iranian capability,” he said in Canberra on Monday.

The call sets up a test for Labor as the Coalition says it is “beyond time” to label the Revolutionary Guard as terrorists, while federal officials have cautioned in the past that it was difficult under Australian law to designate an arm of a government in this way.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese condemned the Iranian attack on Israel and raised the possibility of further action against Iran in the wake of sanctions against key individuals in its government, but he played down the idea of expelling Iranian diplomats from Australia.

A government spokesperson said Iranian Ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi was called into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade on Monday to hear Australia’s condemnation of the attack.

“The IRGC has long been a threat to international security and the Albanese government is intent on making it face consequences for its actions,” she said.

Cantor said Israel was not asking Australia to close its embassy in Tehran or expel diplomats because the priority was to act against the military capability of the Revolutionary Guard.

The United States has treated the Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group since 2019 and has urged the European Union and the United Kingdom to do the same, saying this would make it harder for the Iranian force to gain material, supplies and weapons.

The guards’ corp includes military operations including Iran’s air force and navy but also comprises the Qods Force, which supplies training, funding, and weapons to terrorist groups.

(continued)

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80104e No.20726672

File: 3bda07876b3c8f9⋯.jpg (228.83 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Israeli_Ambassador_to_the_….jpg)

>>20726669

2/2

In Australia, a Senate foreign affairs committee chaired by Liberal senator Clare Chandler called in February last year for the Iranian group to be treated as terrorists because of the human rights abuses in Iran, amid protests over the country’s treatment of women.

Israeli authorities estimate the Iranian forces launched 170 drones, 120 ballistic missiles and 30 cruise missiles from sites in Iran as well as from proxies in Iraq, Yemen and Lebanon on Saturday.

None of the drones and cruise missiles reached their targets and 99 per cent of the attack was halted, but some of the ballistic missiles could not be intercepted. Israel said there were no fatalities. The New York Times reported on Monday that a seven-year-old girl was injured in the Negev desert.

“The events reflect the Iranian obsession to destroy the state of Israel,” said Cantor.

“The war that is ongoing is a war to defend the state of Israel.”

“You can only imagine what would have happened if Iran possessed nuclear weapons.”

Israel gained assistance from the United States, the United Kingdom, France and Jordan to intercept the drones and missiles.

US President Joe Biden spoke to fellow G7 leaders in the wake of the attack to issue a joint statement that expressed solidarity with Israel.

“With its actions, Iran has further stepped toward the destabilization of the region and risks provoking an uncontrollable regional escalation. This must be avoided,” said the statement from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK and the US.

A spokesman for the Iranian embassy in Canberra did not respond to a request for comment.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the government should support stronger action against Iran including the designation of the Revolutionary Guard.

“It is beyond time for the Albanese government to act on our call for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp to be listed by Australia as a terrorist organisation,” he said.

“The IRGC speak like terrorists, collaborate with terrorists and act like terrorists. If our laws need changing to undertake such listing, then they should be changed ASAP.”

A key question is whether Australian law allows authorities to designate a government agency as a terrorist organisation, raising the possibility that federal parliament would have to agree on an amendment to make it possible to act against the Iranian force.

Albanese emphasised the danger to the region from the Iranian strikes.

“This escalation is a grave threat to the security not just of Israel, but of the entire region,” he told ABC’s Radio National.

“It risks greater instability and devastation across the Middle East. We continue to support regional security, including that of Israel. We want to see there be less conflict, not more.”

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/israel-urges-australia-to-list-iran-s-revolutionary-guard-as-terrorists-20240415-p5fjte.html

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80104e No.20726696

File: 4c2d9bff45f126f⋯.jpg (128.6 KB,1280x720,16:9,Colonel_Penioni_Ben_Naliva….jpg)

File: 90e81d34ca80135⋯.jpg (619.65 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Colonel_Naliva_welcomed_as….jpg)

>>20328447 (pb)

>>20339499 (pb)

>>20411053 (pb)

Accused Fijian torturer sacked from Australian Army command

STEPHEN RICE - APRIL 15, 2024

1/2

Fijian Col­onel Penioni (Ben) Naliva has been removed from his post as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade following allegations first revealed by The Australian earlier this year that he was involved in the torture of detainees in Fiji.

A one-time right-hand man to former Fiji coup leader and prime minister Frank Bainimarama, Col­onel Naliva will now be posted to the Australian Defence College, where he will “contribute to ­Pacific-related research projects”.

Colonel Naliva is alleged to have been involved in several incidents of torture, including a violent beating of two Fijian politicians, with one victim claiming the soldier tried to force an M16 rifle barrel into his anus during an interrogation.

The revelation Colonel Naliva will remain with the Australian Defence Forces, albeit in a diminished role, has sparked further outrage from his alleged victims, who had wanted him expelled from the country or prosecuted.

After the torture allegations were revealed by The Australian more than two months ago, Chief of Defence Force Angus Campbell told a Senate estimates hearing he had ordered a review into the appointment of Colonel Naliva.

General Campbell admitted he was ultimately responsible for the decision to appoint Colonel Naliva as a commander of 3500 Australian soldiers and that the ADF had failed to conduct any independent checks on the soldier.

“Unfortunately … the process that we undertook was not as comprehensive as perhaps we all might have preferred,” he said.

However, General Campbell has now “decided that Colonel Naliva would not remain in this position”, an ADF spokesman told The Australian.

Defence was also reviewing the wider process to embed Pacific island commanders in ADF roles “to ensure this doesn’t happen in the future”.

“All seconded international military officers are subject to Australian laws and are required to adhere to the same Defence values and behaviours expected of ADF officers,” the spokesman said.

Colonel Naliva had “accepted an alternative posting to the Australian Defence College where he will contribute to Pacific-related research projects”, he said.

“Defence will continue to support Colonel Naliva while he remains posted to Australia.”

Col­onel Naliva’s appointment came amid claims the Albanese government had turned a blind eye to his alleged human rights abuses as it sought to counter Chinese influence in the Pacific.

Colonel Naliva was awarded the prestigious position in the 7th Brigade despite allegations he was involved in the mistreatment of detainees, with former Fiji MP Sam Speight claiming the soldier tried to force an M16 rifle barrel into his anus during an interrogation.

In another case, prominent youth activist Peter Waqavonovono said the soldier had been present when he was detained and tortured in 2006, and did nothing to stop it.

The UN Special Rapporteur also named then-major Naliva in a 2011 report to the Human Rights Council as being involved in the savage beating of Suva businessman Ben Padarath that left him unable to walk.

(continued)

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80104e No.20726703

File: 9f22bd87efdbdaa⋯.jpg (207.93 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Ex_Fijian_politician_Sam_S….jpg)

File: 93736fca7d16b72⋯.jpg (305.1 KB,2048x1536,4:3,General_Angus_Campbell.jpg)

>>20726696

2/2

On Sunday Mr Padarath told The Australian he could not understand why the Australian government had given Colonel Naliva another job in the military instead of prosecuting him.

“How can the Australian government even consider keeping him in Australia?” he asked.

“I want an investigation into this man. Even if he is not in a teaching role at this college, it is not the kind of role model you want for young soldiers.”

“Is he going to be researching torture? Are they sending these soldiers to military school to help them improve torturing skills?”

Sources in Fiji have speculated to The Australian that Colonel Naliva’s appointment was approved by Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka because of concerns the commander – still reputedly a Bainimarama loyalist – was the military officer most able to stage a coup against his already unstable government.

After the scandal broke, Mr Rabuka said the “ball was in Australia’s court” about how to deal with the appointment.

Under questioning by Greens senator David Shoebridge at an estimates hearing in February, General Campbell conceded Col­onel Naliva had not been stood aside but was working remotely in “fairly stressful circumstances”.

Senator Shoebridge responded: “It’s no doubt stressful when there’s active discussion about your past history as a torturer.”

Senators were told Australian taxpayers were supporting Col­onel Naliva with housing and allowances to lift his Fijian officer’s pay to an equivalent ADF level.

The debacle exposed a major gap in Australia’s vetting of soldiers from foreign forces, with perfunctory checks entirely reliant on assurances provided by the country of origin.

Defence official Susan Bodell said the department’s checks on Colonel Naliva consisted of an inquiry to the Fijian government, which recommended his appointment in the first place.

“We got a letter from the government of Fiji indicating that the individual concerned had complied with ­Fijian police checks and national security checks,” she said.

General Campbell said he had not been aware of any allegations against the Fijian officer, and the Fijian commander deserved the presumption of innocence.

“It remains an allegation that needs to be investigated by a relevant authority,” he said.

A spokesman told The Australian last week that Defence had “reviewed and strengthened the process for future selection and approval of embedded inter­national officers within the ADF”.

Colonel Naliva was the first appointment under the program to embed Fijian, Tongan and Papua New Guinean commanders in senior ADF roles.

Australia committed to expand its defence and security co-operation with Fiji under the nations’ Vuvale Partnership agreement signed last October, with increasing co-deployments between the ADF and the Republic of Fiji Military Forces. A senior government source said in March that Defence Minister Richard Marles had a strong personal interest in the program and wanted “a Fijian colonel in that position forever”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/accused-fijian-torturer-sacked-from-australian-army-command/news-story/a22547cf87dc20c011d43733eff1b412

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80104e No.20726720

File: a087fd24f41dc03⋯.jpg (298.58 KB,1620x1080,3:2,NDIS_Minister_Bill_Shorten….jpg)

File: 22185ba60c20c4e⋯.jpg (110.27 KB,1920x1080,16:9,NDIS_Minister_Bill_Shorten.jpg)

The Mackeys’ non-verbal daughter was trying to tell them something. A hidden camera revealed the abuse

Tara Brown, Anthony Dowsley and Serge Negus - April 14, 2024

1/2

When Lee-Anne Mackey began screaming in pain, her mother and father did what any parent would – they began asking questions.

Rob and Lorraine Mackey’s daughter, however, has a profound disability and is extremely vulnerable.

The 53-year-old Melbourne woman has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and is non-verbal. Lee-Anne uses her eyes to communicate, gazing at pictures on what is known as an e-tran board to convey her thoughts. Left for “yes”, right for “no”.

She complained of rough treatment at the Scope-run residential house where she had lived independently with other clients for more than two decades.

A scan revealed historic fractures, and it was feared that rough lifting may have been injuring Lee-Anne, who had early-onset osteoporosis.

So Rob and Lorraine put up signs saying: “TO ALL STAFF, PLEASE DON’T PULL ME AROUND BY MY ARMS AND LEGS BECAUSE IT HURTS ME.” But things didn’t improve.

Lee-Anne spent six months sleeping in a wheelchair because of the pain she was in.

The Mackeys kept complaining to Scope, which initially dismissed the mistreatment after it ordered an investigation into the complaint in 2019. It was then that the Mackeys took matters into their own hands.

They decided to place a covert camera in their daughter’s room despite not knowing if it was illegal. What the camera captured horrified them. It revealed multiple incidents of bullying, vile behaviour and physical abuse.

A 60 Minutes investigation has obtained footage of the treatment meted out to Lee-Anne over 18 months between 2019 and 2020.

The videos reveal that the complaints made by Lee-Anne, who is not cognitively impaired, only worsened the behaviour of her carers, Lisa Wilson, Monika Paniczko and Anastasia Moutsos.

The footage captured Wilson, then aged 25, sticking her finger and then a cylinder into Lee-Anne’s mouth for her own amusement and yelling, “Aw, she hasn’t got a gag reflex.”

In another video, Paniczko, who had worked with Lee-Anne for 17-years, can be seen listening to a broadcast about health workers dying of coronavirus.

Paniczko says: “Maybe I have corona … if I have it, I want you to have it.”

She then leans over Lee-Anne’s face and appears to breathe and spit into her mouth.

“There you go … we both have it,” she tells Lee-Anne.

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has vowed he will try to place life bans on the disgraced disability support staff to prevent them working with vulnerable people under the scheme.

Shorten, who was provided the footage by 60 Minutes, said the actions of the carers were dehumanising and made him angry.

He said Scope, a large not-for-profit provider of disability services in Victoria and NSW, would be watched.

“I thought it was just evil,” Shorten said. “I don’t want to believe that there are people who will treat other people in the manner in which I saw in that video.

“These people acting with such callous indifference to Lee-Anne, it’s just shocking. It’s cruel. It’s a betrayal of Lee-Anne and it’s actually a betrayal of the good people who work in disability. It was shocking.

“I’ve reached out to Robert and Lorraine, Lee-Anne’s parents.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20726727

File: 8040752584626bb⋯.jpg (39.72 KB,634x414,317:207,Lee_Anne_Mackey_53_who_suf….jpg)

File: ddcb2dfaaf4736d⋯.jpg (36.35 KB,634x357,634:357,Wilson_put_her_fingers_and….jpg)

File: 2d7999dff35a3de⋯.jpg (45.84 KB,634x357,634:357,The_woman_who_spat_in_the_….jpg)

File: 3d66cd961cb7d8a⋯.jpg (52.86 KB,634x952,317:476,Wilson_considered_the_ring….jpg)

>>20726720

2/2

In October 2020, Scope reported the abuse to Victoria Police after being handed the CCTV files by the Mackeys.

Wilson was immediately sacked. But Scope chose to move the other two carers, Paniczko and Moutsos, to work at another residential house.

They were both dismissed six months later when charges were laid by police.

All three women initially pleaded guilty at the Broadmeadows Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne in June 2022 to assault.

Wilson’s defence was that her actions were intended as a joke.

After convictions were initially recorded against the trio, they launched appeals in the County Court.

In separate appeals, Moutsos and Wilson pleaded guilty to assault but argued successfully for convictions not to be recorded.

Paniczko convinced an appeal court to withdraw her guilty plea and drop one of the charges against her. For the remaining charge, she entered a diversion program, meaning if she acknowledges responsibility and completes certain conditions, no finding of guilt will be made against her.

Paniczko’s conditions included giving a verbal and written apology to Lee-Anne and donating $500 to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

Wilson, considered the ring leader, was ordered to perform 175 hours of unpaid community work.

Moutsos was ordered to perform 80 hours of unpaid community work.

A County Court judge ruled that the secretly recorded video evidence recorded by the Mackeys was admissable during Paniczo’s appeal.

Wilson was banned by the NDIS Commission for five years, while Paniczko and Moutsos were both prohibited for three years.

Police Detective Senior Constable Travis Kinghorn, who investigated the case, urged people to report abuse in the disability sector.

“There’s no excuse for this type of behaviour,” he said.

The Mackeys said the ordeal had been traumatic and left Lee-Anne with psychological scarring.

“[It] breaks my heart to see that she’s lost so much trust in people that care for her because she’d known them for so long,” Lorraine said. “And she does see a psychologist and her trust levels have gone to zero since … these incidents happened.”

Lee-Anne remains a client of Scope and now lives in another of its houses.

Scope acting CEO Lisa Evans, who was not in charge at the time of the offending, said she was appalled by the conduct.

Evans said she had met the Mackeys to apologise.

“The videos are some of the worst things that I’ve ever seen,” she said. “It is appalling what happened to Lee-Anne and it is unthinkable to think that that happened to her.

“It cuts right to the core of who we are as people and it’s very, very distressing footage.”

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/the-mackeys-non-verbal-daughter-was-trying-to-tell-them-something-a-hidden-camera-revealed-the-abuse-20240414-p5fjpp.html

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13306791/disabled-woman-Abuse-NDIS-Scope-Lee-Anne-Mackey.html

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80104e No.20726780

File: be38635333f1779⋯.mp4 (15.44 MB,640x360,16:9,COULDN_T_CARE_LESS_Secret_….mp4)

File: f6d4a04aeec9ea5⋯.jpg (96.32 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Lee_Anne_Mackey_has_cerebr….jpg)

File: b96de42bf046a0a⋯.jpg (109.22 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Lee_Anne_s_parents_install….jpg)

File: 6fbf106e0d1b8a2⋯.jpg (90.89 KB,1274x717,1274:717,A_hidden_camera_captured_t….jpg)

File: 58bc88cfb101d7f⋯.jpg (150.52 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Lee_Anne_s_vile_treatment_….jpg)

>>20726720

Secret videos show sickening abuse of woman by her carers

NDIS Minister Bill Shorten has vowed he will try to place life bans on a trio of women who bullied and assaulted a disabled client in their care from working with vulnerable people under the scheme.

Tara Brown, Anthony Dowsley and Serge Negus - 14 April 2024

A 60 Minutes investigation has obtained footage of vile treatment meted out at a Scope residential home to client Lee-Anne Mackey, who has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair, is non-verbal and has osteoporosis.

Lee-Anne, who is not cognitively impaired, complained to her parents, Rob and Lorraine Mackey, of rough treatment by Scope staff in early 2019 by communicating with her eyes.

The Mackeys' complaints to Scope only worsened the behaviour of her carers, Lisa Wilson, Monika Paniczko and Anastasia Moutsos.

The mistreatment of Lee-Anne, now 53, was initially dismissed by Scope after they ordered an investigation into the complaint in 2019.

In frustration, Lee-Anne's father, Rob, decided to install a hidden camera in his daughter's room, despite not knowing if it was illegal.

The footage, captured over 18 months, revealed Wilson - then aged 25 - sticking her finger and then a cylinder into Lee-Anne's mouth for her own amusement and yelling, "aw, she hasn't got a gag reflex."

In another video, Paniczko, who had worked with Lee-Anne for 17 years, can be seen listening to a broadcast about health workers dying of coronavirus.

Paniczko says; "Maybe I have corona… if I have it, I want you to have it too."

She then leans over Lee-Anne's face and appears to breathe and spit into her mouth.

"There you go, we both have it," she tells Lee-Anne.

Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, who was provided the footage by 60 Minutes to view, said the actions of her carers were "dehumanising" and made him "angry".

He said Scope, a large not-for-profit provider of disability services in Victoria and New South Wales, would be watched.

"I thought it was just evil," Shorten said.

"I don't want to believe that there are people who will treat other people in the manner in which I saw in that video."

"These people acting with such callous indifference to Lee-Anne, it's just shocking. It's cruel."

"It's a betrayal of Lee-Anne and it's actually a betrayal of the good people who work in disability. It was shocking."

"I've reached out to Robert and Lorraine, Lee-Anne's parents."

In October, 2020, Scope management reported the abuse to Victoria Police after being handed the CCTV files by the Mackeys.

Wilson was immediately sacked.

But Scope chose to move two of the carers, Paniczko, then 49, and Anastasia Moutsos, then 21, to work at another residential house.

They were both dismissed six months later when charges were laid by police.

All three women pleaded guilty at the Broadmeadows Magistrates' Court in Victoria in June 2022 to assault.

Wilson's defence was that her actions were intended as a "joke".

After convictions were initially recorded against the women, all three disgraced former disability support workers launched appeals in Victoria's County Court.

In separate appeals, Moutsos and Wilson pleaded guilty to assault but argued successfully for convictions not to be recorded.

Paniczko convinced an appeal court to withdraw her guilty plea and drop one of the charges against her.

In respect of the remaining charge, she entered a diversion program, meaning if she acknowledges responsibility and completes certain conditions, no finding of guilt will be made against her.

Paniczko's conditions included giving a verbal and written apology to Lee-Anne and donating $500 to the Lort Smith Animal Hospital.

Wilson, considered the ring leader, was ordered to perform 175 hours of unpaid community work.

Moutsos was ordered to perform 80 hours of unpaid community work.

Wilson was banned by the NDIS for five years, while Paniczko and Moutsos were both prohibited for three years.

The cases, however, changed the operation of the law.

A county court judge ruled that the secretly recorded video evidence recorded by the Mackeys was admissible.

https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes/leeanne-mackey-secret-video-recordings-show-how-woman-was-abused-by-the-carers/62778a40-c702-4370-bfd1-b71c0218f556

>Evil surrounds us.

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06693e No.20731526

File: 492488f5e7bcccf⋯.jpg (63.31 KB,500x526,250:263,8mx0qp.jpg)

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80104e No.20731815

File: 207d984c6a9f3e0⋯.mp4 (5.86 MB,960x540,16:9,Bishop_stabbed_during_serm….mp4)

File: af78f1666150ebd⋯.jpg (364.09 KB,853x750,853:750,Chaos_in_Sydney_s_West.jpg)

File: ec2eda755b2b026⋯.jpg (126.01 KB,1600x900,16:9,A_police_car_damaged_on_Mo….jpg)

File: 1997cbd68f48883⋯.jpg (194.15 KB,1600x900,16:9,An_injured_police_officer_….jpg)

File: 0ce047d1688a90b⋯.jpg (173.36 KB,1600x900,16:9,A_police_officer_is_seen_w….jpg)

Two people allegedly stabbed by 15-year-old youth at western Sydney church as riot erupts outside

LIAM MENDES, ELLIE DUDLEY and ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 16, 2024

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A 15-year-old boy was accused of stabbing an Assyrian bishop at a western Sydney church on Monday night, with some officers forced to use capsicum spray as the streets descended into mayhem and a nearby hospital was put on lockdown.

Riot police were deployed to the Christ the Good Shepherd church in Wakeley where hundreds of people flocked following the shock stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and another person, who were both treated for stab wounds after the alleged attack.

The teenager - who is known to police - was apprehended by parishioners until police arrived. Police say he has “severe” injuries to his hand.

In a press conference, held at 12:30am on Tuesday, acting assistant commissioner Andrew Holland said the 15-year-old was kept in the church for his safety.

“Police were in the process of removing the young person from the church when it was identified that a large crowd had gathered outside,” Mr Holland said.

“A decision was made to retain the young person in the church for his safety.

“At that time, the crowd continued to build an emotional response to what took place in the church,” he said.

Police would not detail the nature of the contact the 15-year-old has previously had with authorities.

In the confronting footage, the alleged attacker appears to be held down by multiple people before admitting to targeting the priest for “swearing at my prophet” in Arabic.

One of the men asks him “who set you up to do this?”

He responds: “If he was not swearing at my prophet I would have not come here.”

“If he was only speaking about his religion I would have not come.”

In a livestreamed video, the youth dressed in black can be seen approaching Bishop Mar Mari at the altar, before allegedly stabbing him in the face with an implement, and then multiple times on his body. At the time, Bishop Mar Mari was delivering a sermon to a full congregation.

Parts of Liverpool Hospital were placed on lockdown around 10pm after Bishop Mar Mari was transported there. Police resources stood by at the Sydney Police Centre due to discussions about whether they would be deployed to the hospital or the church.

NSW Premier Chris Minns called the scenes “disturbing”, saying he had received a briefing from Police Commissioner Karen Webb and NSW Health on the ongoing situation.

“It’s important that the community remain calm and continue to listen and act to the directions of police and the emergency services,” he said.

“We are a strong community in NSW and it’s important that we all stick together, particularly in the face of adversity.”

Mr Minns called an emergency meeting of faith leaders at 10.30pm, and said the group condemned the violence.

“We’re calling on everyone to act with kindness and respect for each other,” he said. “Now is the time to show that we are strong and united as a NSW community.”

Police were called to the church around 7.10pm, with some forced to deploy capsicum spray as the street spiralled out of control. At least 150 officers were shortly called to the scene.

Two officers were injured, with one taken to an ambulance with a bandage on his head and blood on his chest, as a police helicopter circled overhead.

“A constable was hit with a metal object and sustained a twisted knee and a chipped tooth. Another constable sustained a broken jaw after he was hit with a brick and a fence paling,” a police spokesperson said.

The crowd chanted “bring him out”, but it was unclear whether the alleged offender was still inside the church.

Multiple windows of police cars was smashed in, and the group threw projectiles. Tyres of police cars were also smashed, antennas bent and side windows ripped off.

Police were called to reports of one person “suffering a heart attack”, and that ambulances were unable to get through the crowd due to people and vehicles blocking the street.

(continued)

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80104e No.20731822

File: 78d908fa527b39b⋯.mp4 (15.19 MB,960x540,16:9,Chilling_video_of_Bishop_b….mp4)

>>20731815

2/2

‘An attack on us all’

Murray Norman, CEO of Faith NSW, a coalition of the state’s faiths, said the vision appeared “horrific”, and an attack so soon after Saturday’s tragedy was “sobering” and concerning.

“During a week of mourning where we have seen the worst of humanity on display, this is yet another sobering reminder that we all need to do more to stamp up this vile conduct from our state,” he said.

Mr Norman said that an “attack on one faith is an attack on us all” and that the state’s faith communities would “stand united”.

“Incidents such as these will only strengthen our resolve,” he said.

Fowler MP Dai Le said she was “praying for Bishop Mar Mari’s safe and speedy recovery”.

“He is a wonderful bishop and I have seen his work and his love for his community and congregation,” the federal MP said.

“We are all shocked, but we have faith in our multi-faith and multicultural community to get through this together.”

The area’s other two elected representatives - Fairfield NSW MP David Saliba and Fairfield mayor Frank Carbone - were at the scene, it is understood, and also assisting with community cohesion and helping residents.

Mr Carbone urged residents of the area to “please stay calm”.

“To have this happen here at a church, any place of worship, is horrendous,” he told Sky News.

“I understand the anger from the community (in reaction to the stabbing) and emotion, especially after the Bondi attack.

“But I urge my community to stay calm.”

The mayor said the area was “praying” for the bishop’s recovery and that it “expressed our love” to him.

“This is a trying time,” he said.

“I ask Fairfield to stay calm”.

The Muslim community’s Australian National Imams Council late on Monday issued a statement “unequivocally condemning” the attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

“These attacks are horrifying and have no place in Australia, particularly at places of worship and toward religious leaders. Our thoughts and prayers are with Bishop Emmanuel and the victims and we pray for their speedy recovery.

“We urge the community to stay calm and work together towards the safety and the security of all Australians,” the statement concluded.

National President and Grand Imam of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia I. H. Kauser said he was shocked and saddened to hear of the “brutal attack” on Bishop Emmanuel.

“The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia unequivocally condemns tonight’s attack on Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in the strongest possible terms,” he said.

“We extend our deepest sympathy to all those injured in the attack and wish them a speedy and complete recovery.”

Chilling footage of preacher emerges

It comes as footage, published on a TikTok account in late-February, appeared to show Emmanuel commenting on a video circulating on that platform saying he had only “two weeks to live”.

“There has been a video circulating saying that the bishop has two weeks to live,” he said, referring to himself.

“And somebody saying ‘farewell bishop, we’re sad to see you go’.”

Appearing to joke, the bishop said he “didn’t want to stay in this world”. The video was posted to the platform in February and appears to be ripped from the church’s YouTube livestream.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/two-men-stabbed-at-western-sydney-church/news-story/3257d3bab5d1a9956bdf63538edcbf6b

https://twitter.com/Vision_iii/status/1779808568226775083

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80104e No.20731832

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

Street riots unfold after Sydney church attack

9 News Australia

Apr 16, 2024

A terror attack in Sydney’s west has triggered ugly riots on the streets of Wakeley, involving hundreds of the bishop's supporters. Many turned on police and paramedics as they arrived on the scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhafdlsgF4M

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80104e No.20731841

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

Church stabbing in Sydney's south-west declared a terrorist act

ABC News (Australia)

Apr 16, 2024

Sydney is reeling after an Orthodox bishop was attacked with a knife during a church service in what police have declared a terrorist act. The attack occurred at the Assyrian Orthodox, Christ the Good Shepherd Church, in Wakeley, with graphic video showing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and is in police custody.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q1b77wig7Y

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-16/violent-attack-crowd-sydney-church-stabbing-terrorist-incident/103728308

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80104e No.20731911

File: 6eea451173295ec⋯.mp4 (12.21 MB,480x848,30:53,AutCsYu0Xhj63XUp.mp4)

>>20731815

‘Act of terror’: Alleged attacker yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ after stabbing Sydney bishop

A multi-agency task force of counter-terror experts is digging into the past of the alleged attacker, including claims he recently converted to Islam.

Shannon Molloy - April 16, 2024

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The teenager who allegedly attacked a prominent Sydney bishop in the middle of his sermon last night screamed “Allahu Akbar” after plunging a knife into his face, neck and torso at least eight times.

Police allege a 16-year-old male stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley the city’s west at about 7.10pm last night.

The incident, which was captured on a live YouTube stream of the Assyrian orthodox Christian service, has been declared a terrorist attack.

New South Wales Police Commissioner Karen Webb alleged elements of the teenager’s actions indicated “religiously motivated extremism”.

In addition to allegedly yelling “Allahu Akbar”, counter-terrorism authorities are also aware of other comments the male is accused of making, including a reference to the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

Vision of the terrifying incident show the alleged attacker, wearing a block hoodie, calmly approach the bishop being lunging at him and stabbing him repeatedly.

People could be heard screaming as several men ran towards the teenager, tackling him to the ground, before the camera panned away and the live stream cut off.

During the scuffle, parish priest Father Isaac Royel was also stabbed. He and the bishop remain in hospital with serious injuries and police say they are lucky to be alive.

Teen pinned to the ground

Separate vision circulating on social media show the aftermath of the alleged attack, with several man holding the teenager face down on the ground.

By this point, a NSW Police officer had arrived on the scene and can be seen helping to retain the male.

A rough translation of the audio indicates the men asked the alleged attacker if his actions were religiously motivated.

There is some confusion about what the teen says in response as it seems he was speaking in broken Arabic. According to reports, he had recently converted to Islam.

However, at a press conference in Canberra today, ASIO Director General Mike Burgess said the intelligence agency was aware of alleged remarks made by the teen referring to the bishop having offended the prophet Muhammad.

In the video, one of the men holding him down strikes him in the back of the head and says in English: “While people are praying, you’re gonna do this? You’re gonna f*cking do this?”

The policeman pleads with the crowd to stop, saying: “Please, you’re gonna make it worse.”

The chilling vision shows the teen’s grinning face being revealed, prompting anger from one onlooker.

“You’re a f*cking idiot. Laughing? You’re a f*cking idiot. You’re gonna cop it. You’re gonna get …”

At this point, it appears someone off camera kicks at the alleged attacker, to which he replies in English: “You think that hurt, my brother? You think that hurt?”

Rumour teen’s finger ‘cut off’

A still image circulating on social media of the male shows him handcuffed and sitting on a toilet, with his right hand bandaged.

News.com.au understands one of his fingers was severed – not deliberately by any of the parishioners, but during the scuffle.

Rumours had quickly spread through the crowd and on social media last night that vigilantes had “chopped off” some of his fingers.

Ms Webb could not confirm how the alleged attacker’s hand was injured. He has undergone surgery at an undisclosed hospital.

A graphic image circulating on Telegram purporting to show four severed fingers is fake, news.com.au has confirmed.

Witnesses have indicated the alleged weapon was a flick blade knife and that the alleged attacker hadn’t opened it properly before striking.

Ms Webb confirmed police believe a flick blade was used.

When asked last night, NSW Police Acting Assistant Commissioner Andrew Holland confirmed the teen had sustained “quite severe” injuries.

“His injuries are quite severe in his hand, he’s fairly upset and fairly distraught.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20731922

File: 65a5493577f4e28⋯.jpg (138.98 KB,1896x1067,1896:1067,The_alleged_attacker_was_c….jpg)

File: 30f477fc25db811⋯.jpg (68.75 KB,650x1000,13:20,An_image_shows_the_teenage….jpg)

File: 0f8606bc89345c9⋯.jpg (269.05 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Thousands_of_locals_descen….jpg)

File: 89f3d075ebd769f⋯.jpg (255.98 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Some_2000_people_gathered_….jpg)

File: 6b4efce4ce32cbf⋯.jpg (306.93 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Anthony_Albanese_slammed_t….jpg)

>>20731911

2/2

Alleged terrorist attack

Ms Webb met with counter-terrorism officials in the early hours of this morning for an hour, where the incident was declared as an alleged act of terrorism.

Speaking from Canberra, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the National Security Committee met this morning to be briefed.

A joint counter-terrorism operation comprising NSW Police, ASIO and the Australian Federal Police is now investigating.

Ms Webb alleged there were clear elements that indicated an act of “religiously motivated extremism”.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw would not comment on the alleged attacker’s motivations but said all lines of inquiry are being pursued.

In another video circulating on social media, one of the men who helped to hold the teen down tells a female police officer that he “ran and grabbed him from behind and just pushed him down”.

“He kept saying: ‘Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar’,” he tells the officer.

While not commenting on specifics, Ms Webb said the teen had allegedly made religious comments during and after the attacker.

Chaos and mayhem outside

A furious mob of thousands of men descended on the church, with a riot breaking out and responding police struggling to restore order.

There were chats of, “Bring him out!” as police and paramedics took shelter inside the church with the alleged offender for several hours.

Bricks, rocks, fence palings and other heavy items were pelted at responding officers and a number were injured, with about a dozen police cars damaged in the mayhem.

“The police officers, of which there were many, acted courageously to protect that community, witnesses, victims and the ambulance officers,” Ms Webb said.

“They went there to do their job last night and they were turned on.”

Paramedics responding to the attack were also threatened, authorities say, sparking outrage.

Ms Webb vowed: “Those involved can expect to be prosecuted.”

A special task force has been established to probe the violence orchestrated by the mob and track down those responsible.

“It’s a disgraceful act from the community who attacked police at the scene. It was unAustralian.” Mr Kershaw said.

Mr Albanese said he was disturbed by the violent scenes that played out last night.

“There is no place for violence in our community. There is no place for violent extremism in our community. We are a peace-loving nation.

“It is not acceptable to impede or injure police doing their duties or to damage police vehicles in a way we saw last night.

“People should not take the law into their own hands, but should allow our police and security agencies to do their job.”

Federal MP Dai Le, whose electorate takes in Wakeley, described the scenes as “chaotic”.

“It was too chaotic, and I think it was too emotional last night for the people who heard about what happened to the bishop,” Me Le told Sunrise.

Last night, Liverpool Hospital was placed in lockdown when another large crowd converged there.

Mr Albanese today said he wanted to assure Australians that authorities at all levels are working together.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/chilling-vision-of-grinning-alleged-attacker-of-sydney-bishop/news-story/8e3eb0fd4a9799e0989d643b2cad589b

https://twitter.com/Vision_iii/status/1779839605707259911

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80104e No.20731928

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

PM calls for Australians to ‘unite, not divide’ after Sydney church stabbing

Paul Sakkal and Rachel Clun - April 16, 2024

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Australians have been urged to remain vigilant and report suspicious behaviour after an alleged terrorist attack against a Sydney priest prompted a call for peace from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Islamic leaders.

As the nation remains in shock over the weekend’s Bondi stabbing spree, Albanese declared there was no space for “violent extremism” in a peace-loving, multicultural nation after a Christian leader and a number of his followers were stabbed at a church in Sydney’s west on Monday night.

The incident triggered a massive gathering outside the church as hundreds of angry people clashed with police. Several police officers were injured in the riot that erupted and paramedics were also forced to take shelter for several hours.

The prime minister chaired a meeting of the national security committee of cabinet on Tuesday before holding a press conference with federal police chief Reece Kershaw and ASIO boss Mike Burgess in Canberra.

Albanese confirmed the incident inside the church on Monday night was being treated as religiously motivated, a development which gives NSW police extraordinary powers to search people and vehicles and demand the disclosure of people’s identities to avoid any further violence.

“There is no place for violence in our community. There’s no place for violent extremism. We’re a peace-loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide, as a community, and as a country,” Albanese said.

Albanese and authorities said it was too early to reveal details about the 16-year-old who allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, a well-known conservative preacher in the Assyrian Orthodox church, and injured another three people.

Law enforcement agencies have not yet revealed the teenager’s religious background, name, or previous interactions with authorities. He was not on a terrorism watch list and police believe he was acting alone.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb, speaking in Sydney, said there was evident “premeditation” and an attempt to intimidate members of the church, especially by committing it during a livestreamed service.

Webb also pointed to comments “around religion” made by the accused before allegedly stabbing the preacher whose criticisms of Islam, COVID-19 public health measures, and gender fluidity have gained him a large following online and overseas.

“We believe there are elements that are satisfied in terms of religious motivated extremism,” Webb said.

Albanese did not mention the Christian community until asked a question about the bishop’s Assyrian church. The prime minister said he knew the group and added they were big contributors to Sydney community life.

“Chris Bowen as the local federal member who represents much of the Assyrian community in Sydney is with his community this morning. And we will come through this,” Albanese said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20731937

File: 81e23405ee100f4⋯.jpg (3.87 MB,6000x4000,3:2,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>20731928

2/2

Burgess said Australia’s terror threat level of “possible” – which was downgraded in 2022 as Islamic State diminished in global significance – still meant extremism was a present danger.

“In terms of the events in the Middle East, of course they do resonate here in Australia, but we have not seen that to date actually cause individuals to go to acts of terror. Of course, in this case, we’re keeping an open mind and we’ll let that be a subject to the investigation,” Burgess said.

Federal police boss Kershaw said: “All Australians should remain vigilant and I urge people who see or hear something that they feel is not right to contact the national security hotline immediately on 1800 123 400.”

In a statement, the Australian National Imam Council sought to ease tensions and expressed sympathy with the injured priest.

“These attacks are horrifying and have no place in Australia, particularly at places of worship and toward religious leaders,” it stated. “Our thoughts and prayers are with Bishop Emmanuel and the victims and we pray for their speedy recovery. We urge the community to stay calm and work together towards the safety and the security of all Australians.”

Kershaw and Albanese both emphasised their disappointment with people involved in the riot that erupted outside the church after the attack, injuring several police officers.

Albanese said the atmosphere outside the church was not helped by the use of social media by bad-faith actors, revealing he had spoken with Communications Minister Michelle Rowland about the “publication of videos that can be very harmful”.

“I just say to people think before you press send,” Albanese said. “I’ve said before, that often on social media people will say things they would never say to your face.”

Albanese said Australia was “overwhelmingly a harmonious society”.

“In my local community people of different faiths live side by side. And that is overwhelmingly the experience of Australians,” he said.

Premier Chris Minns warned against tit-for-tat violence perpetrated by those who felt angered by Monday’s church attack. As speculation swirled on social media regarding the alleged attacker’s motivation, Minns implored the community to stay united.

“There is no such thing in Australia as taking the law into your own hands. It doesn’t exist,” he said. “You will be met by the full force of the law if there’s any attempt of tit-for-tat violence in Sydney over the coming days.”

Federal MP Dai Le, whose federal electorate of Fowler includes Wakeley, said the church is one of seven Assyrian churches that are much loved in the community.

“[They have] participated in activities in terms of handing out food and presents to the community and over the years,” she said.

Asked whether the bishop’s sometimes controversial public stances on social issues could have played a role in the attack, Le said people should not jump to conclusions.

“I would caution people [not] to jump to … any kind of interpretation conclusion about what the motivation behind it [is] before the police run their work,” she said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pm-calls-for-australians-to-unite-not-divide-after-sydney-church-stabbing-20240416-p5fk4e.html

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

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80104e No.20731951

File: 3cd5044fc6c97a9⋯.jpg (179.66 KB,1988x1491,4:3,Bishop_Mar_Mari_Emmanuel_w….jpg)

File: a70a5a3ae077454⋯.jpg (130.39 KB,2048x1152,16:9,NSW_Police_Commissioner_Ka….jpg)

File: 2c5ee370df0f243⋯.jpg (709.98 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Forensics_officers_collect….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20731928

Bishop questioned Islam before livestreamed terror attack

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has expressed support for Palestinians in Gaza, even visiting the hotspot, but he also raised a ‘question mark with Islam’, as authorities investigate the motive for his stabbing, triggering a riot in Sydney’s west.

ALEXI DEMETRIADI and ELIZABETH PIKE - April 16, 2024

1/2

The high-profile Assyrian Christian orthodox leader stabbed during a live stream of his service has in the past vocally proclaimed support for Palestinian civilians and criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza, but has also said he had a “question mark with Islam”, as authorities scramble to investigate the motive for Monday’s terror attack.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has questioned the validity of other faiths, including and particularly Islam, but said that he has “love and respect for Muslims”.

His views, religious leaders explained, were a conservative orthodox reading of Christianity – that only Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the way to heaven – which, alongside all different faith views, “should be tolerated and accepted in Australia”.

He has, however, taken aim at the Islamic faith. The identity, ethnicity or religion of the alleged attacker has not been confirmed by authorities.

“This is a very controversial topic, but the truth must be said,” the bishop said in a recent sermon, uploaded in March.

“… With all my love and respect (for Muslims), I don’t have a problem with the Muslim people.

“But I’ve got a question mark with the faith of the Islamic world.”

A 16-year-old boy was arrested by NSW Police after allegedly stabbing Bishop Mar Mari at Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church, with reports that one of his fingers was severed in the aftermath and footage appearing to show him – in Arabic – allegedly saying “if he (the bishop) didn’t swear at my prophet I would be here”.

The bishop has reserved criticism to Islam itself, not the faith’s followers, saying he would “always love my Muslim brothers and sisters”.

“I pray for you and I will always continue to pray for you whether you like me, hate me, accept me or reject me,” he said in a March video.

In others, either delivered from the pulpit or in interviews with a conservative American podcast channel, he appears to say that no other religion can be or was true.

“When you go to heaven, I can assure you…Muhammad will not greet you, Buddha will not greet you, Krishna will not greet you, because they will not,” he said in December.

“It will be the only one who is the way and the truth and the life, it will be Jesus Christ of Nazareth.

“We cannot claim something that is not truthful, I know truth hurts, I’m not offending people I’m speaking the truth, and if it offends you… I’m not sorry for that.”

Bishop Mar Mari also appeared to make quips at prophet Muhammad, who had “rotted in a grave” and was dead.

“Has the prophet taken the role of God, has God gone on vacation,” he asked.

The bishop, however, has been vocal about his support for Palestine, visiting the Gaza Strip before the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

“I wanted to meet this Muslim Palestinian girl (on his trip),” he said.

“A little angel… stop killing these little angels (Palestinian children).

“I went into the bus, collected some money, gave whatever we could give (to Gazan civilians), and then they started saying ‘God bless you, thank you so much for coming and visiting us, please tell everyone the way we are living here, we are starving to death’.’

“A lot of Palestinians have nothing to do with what is happening there, they just want to live in peace. And I’m sure on the Israeli side, as well.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20731955

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731951

2/2

The Australian understands from sources in both the Muslim and wider religious community that to definitively label the bishop’s views and speeches, often all televised live, would be “fraught with complexity”.

One religious source said the bishop’s stance on Palestine was supported by the wider southwest Sydney community outside of his congregation, and that he had good relationships with the leading Islamic leaders.

His hard orthodox view on faith but support for Palestine led religious leaders to urge caution on speculating on what comments or positions may have motivated the attack.

The state’s leading Islamic organisations – the Australian National Imams Council and the Lebanese Muslim Association – have condemned the attack and urged community calm, as have leaders from all faiths.

Dr Jamal Rifi, a high-profile Muslim community figure, pointed to the misidentification of Bondi attacker Joel Cauchi’s faith, saying no conclusions should be jumped to.

“We don’t know who this person is, his background – don’t make assumptions,” he said.

“The finger should be pointed at the attacker and no one else… (but) he is also a child. The agencies will investigate his background and his motivation.”

Dr Rifi noted that while a rise in anti-Semitism was real, so was Islamophobia, which “very few people have mentioned”.

“(The incident, subsequent rumours) just reflect the tensions that exist in our society,” he said.

“The Muslim community has not been listened to (on Islamophobia, Gaza), we feel alienated.”

The Australian understands that in some Muslim community chats rumours are spreading about the attacker and possible motivation.

One video, seen by The Australian, shows a man defecating on Auburn’s Gallipoli Mosque, and the publication understands some members of the community have suggested it could be linked to that. This publication does not suggest that.

Faith NSW CEO Murray Norman – the organisation is a coalition of the state’s denominations – explained that the bishop had an orthodox reading of Christianity, something that should be accepted in Australia, as it should for all varying beliefs.

“We have here religious freedom, different faiths with different views – violence is not acceptable in any way,” he said.

“Believing that Jesus is the only way to heaven, millions of Christian Australians believe that.

“Other faiths believe that there’s other ways to heaven – it’s legitimate to hold all of those beliefs in Australia, and that should be accepted and celebrated.

“Violence has no place in Australia, freedom of belief does.”

On Tuesday, Police Commissioner Karen Webb declared the incident a terror attack, establishing Strike Force Petrina to investigate.

Mr Minns criticised those who rioted, with a number of police officers injured, saying no one should “take the law” into their own hands.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called it a “disturbing incident”, warning there was “no place for violent extremism” in Australia. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said the attacked “appeared to be religiously motivated”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/bishop-mar-mari-emmanuel-questioned-islam-before-wakeley-terror-attack/news-story/c7ad1eb5ad385dc7050307c229c1d43a

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

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80104e No.20731990

File: a150d23a36bb036⋯.mp4 (15.74 MB,640x360,16:9,Online_content_from_this_w….mp4)

>>20731815

>>20731928

eSafety commissioner orders X and Meta to remove violent videos following Sydney church stabbing

Julie Inman Grant issues notices compelling companies to remove offending material within 24 hours

Josh Taylor, Mostafa Rachwani and Jordyn Beazley - 16 Apr 2024

1/2

Facebook’s parent company Meta and X/Twitter have been told to remove violent and distressing videos and imagery of the stabbing of a prominent Orthodox Christian leader in Sydney’s west on Monday evening.

The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told reporters on Tuesday that X and Meta had been issued with notices to remove material within 24 hours that depicted “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail”, with the companies facing potential fines if they fail to comply.

The notices relate to the alleged stabbing of Orthodox Christian leader Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a service at the Assyrian Christ the Good Shepherd church in Wakeley just after 7pm on Monday. The service was being livestreamed and a recording of it has circulated online.

“While the majority of mainstream social media platforms have engaged with us, I am not satisfied enough is being done to protect Australians from this most extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online,” Inman Grant said.

“That is why I am exercising my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally compel them to remove it.”

X has been contacted for comment.

After the notice was issued, Meta said it had added versions of the video to its database to ensure that it would block people attempting to upload it again in future. The company has been removing uploads as of Tuesday.

“Our priority is to protect people using our services from seeing this horrific content even if bad actors are determined to call attention to it,” a Meta spokesperson said. “We have taken steps to prevent possible copies of the incident being re-shared and are in contact with law enforcement and the eSafety commissioner’s office to provide any necessary assistance.”

Inman Grant said the level of any fines could depend on the gravity of the noncompliance, and said more removal notices to other platforms could be issued.

Notices have not been issued in relation to imagery from the fatal Bondi Junction Westfield Junction stabbing which has continued to circulate on social media since Saturday.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, told reporters on Tuesday he was concerned about the videos circulating online and the communications minister, Michelle Rowland, had been in contact with Inman Grant about getting videos removed.

“We remain concerned about the role of social media, including the publication of videos that can be very harmful, particularly for younger people who have access. Anyone with a phone essentially can do that,” he said.

“We continue to work with the eSafety commissioner and to use what powers are at our disposal to demand that material be taken down. I know the AFP commissioner and the security agencies are engaged in that as well.”

Those in the crowd outside the church on Monday night were being incited by inflammatory posts being spread on social media, one member of the Assyrian community, Maria, told Guardian Australia.

“They were reacting to what they were seeing on social media, there were many inflammatory posts making the rounds, people advocating for violence and the such. It was making lots of people very angry.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20731992

File: 497ef282c6cefd9⋯.jpg (380.23 KB,2400x1440,5:3,National_eSafety_commissio….jpg)

>>20731990

2/2

Monday’s attack came just days after 40-year-old Queensland man Joel Cauchi killed five women and one man at Bondi Junction Westfield shopping centre in Sydney. In the immediate aftermath of the incident, TikTok and Meta were prepared for the possibility of the attack being streamed and shared online, as the 2019 Christchurch terror attack had been.

“Within 30 minutes of the tragic news breaking, our trust and safety team were notified and immediately activated our longstanding procedures that relate to managing these types of tragic events,” a TikTok spokesperson said.

“Moderators have been proactively removing content that breaches our community guidelines.”

Guardian Australia understands Meta began monitoring for live streams, as well as the bullying or harassment of victims and accounts praising the victims. As the victims were named, the company temporarily deactivated the accounts of those victims at the request of families.

The company also put interstitials on disturbing images to blur them in users’ feeds.

A spokesperson for the eSafety commissioner said on Monday platforms had been responsive to the office’s request to take down material that included depictions of real violence that are gratuitous or offensive and show a very high degree of impact or detail.

“In the immediate aftermath of the Bondi attack, eSafety took steps to respond to material circulating on major platforms depicting detailed scenes of death and violence given its potential to cause a significant amount of distress and harm to Australians, especially to the victims’ families and loved ones,” the spokesperson said.

While the fears over livestreaming the Bondi attack did not eventuate, the platforms became flooded with misinformation about the event in the hours after.

As Guardian Australia reported on Monday, before Cauchi was named as the attacker, social media accounts shaped their own narrative about the tragedy’s cause without any information provided by authorities. Early on, social media accounts speculated whether the man was Muslim, with other accounts countering by speculating he was Jewish.

Despite the police naming Cauchi on Sunday, Guardian Australia has seen posts across platforms that still incorrectly name a Benjamin Cohen as the attacker. At least one post on Facebook, not mentioning that name but containing other misinformation about the attack, has been labelled as factchecked as false by Meta’s factcheck partner AAP.

The federal government is expected to introduce legislation later this year aimed requiring social media companies to toughen their policies on “content [that] is false, misleading or deceptive, and where the provision of that content on the service is reasonably likely to cause or contribute to serious harm”.

The introduction was delayed last year after initial consultation on the proposal led to claims it would stifle speech online and would not protect religious speech. Rowland said after “constructive consultation” with industry about amendments, it was considering refinements including definitions, additional transparency measures, and improving workability.

“We know that seriously harmful misinformation and disinformation spreads fast on social media,” she said “That’s why the Albanese government is committed to holding digital platforms to account for their public commitments to address this content.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/16/esafety-commissioner-orders-x-and-meta-to-remove-violent-videos-following-sydney-church-stabbing

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/online-content-from-this-weeks-stabbing-to-be-removed-expeditiously-esafety-commissioner/video/9272e0eb560e8685fc782633fe808d5a

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80104e No.20736626

File: 2544c6c1cd1e607⋯.jpg (132.43 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_16_year_old_alleged_to….jpg)

File: 77c17543010b309⋯.jpg (234.75 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Four_police_officers_were_….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20731928

Accused Islamist terror teen ‘poisoned by monster’: social media radicalisation claim after Bishop Mar Mari, Wakeley stabbing

ALEXI DEMETRIADI, LIAM MENDES and JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 17, 2024

1/2

Community leaders and fellow young Muslims had grown ­increasingly concerned with the “extreme religious views” of the 16-year-old alleged to have stabbed an orthodox Assyrian bishop during a service in Sydney’s southwest, amid claims he had been radicalised online.

The teenager alleged to have stabbed Bishop Mar Mari ­Emmanuel and three others ­during a live-streamed service at Wakeley’s Christ the Good Shepherd Church on Monday remains in police custody.

The Australian understands concerns had grown among community members that the teenager had “spent too much time online”, particularly on radical content across social media un­aligned to mainstream Islamic views.

NSW police on Tuesday deemed the attack terror-related – the first since 2017 – and launched a joint counter-terrorism team to lead the investigation.

An audio message that had begun to widely circulate among Muslim community WhatsApp groups identified the 16-year-old, with a male voice lamenting the incident and how the teenager’s mind had been “poisoned”.

“Sadly, sadly that (alleged attacker) prayed today (with us) … These kids have been poisoned by a monster who has the radical Daesh mentality,” the audio message said.

“This kid has been poisoned,” the audio message continued. “This kid, as soon as I saw (the videos), it’s him. Keep calm, keep ­patient, inshallah.”

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said the attack “appeared to be religiously motivated” and NSW Premier Chris Minns wouldn’t rule out knife-law ­reform, especially given Saturday’s separate attack in Bondi.

At the time of publication, the 16-year-old had not been charged with any offence and authorities had not confirmed his identity, ­religion or alleged motive.

The teenager sustained “severe injuries” to a hand and lost a finger, although this occurred during the “commission of the crime”, rather than someone doing it to him.

Sources from within Sydney’s Muslim community told The Australian that the teenager’s identity had become known on Tuesday, with many alleging the boy’s “very hard” religious views “did not comply with mainstream Islam”.

A handful of popular Islamic centres around Greenacre had gone so far as to warn him to stay away, given he would not tone down his views and “extreme ­remarks” after directives from leaders and concerns raised by ­fellow young Muslims.

A family friend of the teenager told The Australian, on condition of anonymity, that the boy’s ­parents were “in shock” following Monday’s stabbing.

The friend said the accused’s ­father, a taxi driver, was so stressed and shocked that he had been ­“losing consciousness” throughout the day.

The family – understood to be of Lebanese descent – appear to have hastily left the southwest Sydney home they have lived in for more than a decade.

“They’re very sorry, it was a complete shock, they’re very sad that it happened, they absolutely didn’t want this to happen,” the friend said, calling them “very good people” and “loving parents”.

“The family is extremely worried for their safety – they’re very concerned about what happened overnight.”

Neighbours said they seemed like a “nice, normal” family and that the father would go for a walk with his sons every night.

Another neighbour on Tuesday said the boy’s mother had ­travelled to Beirut last year ­because her brother was in hospital and later died.

“I’ve seen them (the boy’s ­family) around, they’re just a ­regular family,” another neighbour said.

Police returned to the street of the boy’s family home for the second time on Tuesday evening, conducting further doorknocks to obtain CCTV.

(continued)

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80104e No.20736628

File: 8e4c9fbc4254c19⋯.jpg (207.42 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Chris_Minns_centre_with_NS….jpg)

>>20736626

2/2

Monday’s incident came 48 hours after Saturday’s knifing attack that killed six – although unrelated and not religiously ­motivated – and the two incidents prompted Mr Minns to reveal he was considering strengthening knife laws. “Obviously, when ­people are being killed and you’ve got a situation where a knife is being used, then it would be irresponsible not to look at (reform),” the Premier said.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said although the boy was known to police, he wasn’t known “from a terrorism point of view” nor was he on any “terror watchlist”.

“This is the first time this individual has come to our attention in this manner … we’re taking it very seriously,” she said.

Ms Webb also told rioters who ­arrived at the church in their hundreds – many angry at the attack on the popular bishop – to “expect a knock at the door” and that a separate taskforce would investigate the ugly scenes.

Four people sustained lacerations during the alleged stabbing but were in a stable condition.

Four police officers were injured in the line of duty during the riot, one with a broken jaw.

The NSW Police Force’s joint counter-terrorism team, which will include federal counterparts, ASIO and the state crime commission, will lead an investigation into Monday’s stabbings after the commissioner’s terror declaration.

That designation will also afford the police the use of extraordinary powers as part of their investigation, including the ability to stop and search people, and demand the disclosure of identities, all without a warrant.

Mr Minns said the terror designation was partly prompted by the teenager’s “history”, “rhetoric”, and “motives” in relation to the church, adding that the terrorism designation was “not a perform­ative gesture”.

“We’re not trying to judge one crime over another with this particular designation,” he said. “The reason it’s required is particular changes to the legislation to enhance police powers.”

Mr Minns met with officers from Fairfield Police Area Command on Tuesday afternoon as a chorus of calls for calm came from government, the NSW Police Force and faith leaders.

“It (the work of faith leaders) has been acknowledged as a big-hearted gesture to protect our communities and those who practise religion and to protect police,” Mr Minns told eight southwest Sydney religious leaders in a briefing where he thanked them for their work.

The Australian National Imams Council called the attacks “horrifying” and urged its community to “stay calm and work together”. That message was echoed by other leaders and organisations of the Islamic faith.

The NSW Faith Affairs Council, an advisory coalition of religious leaders to the state government, said all denominations “stood united against all forms of hate and violence”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/accused-islamist-terror-teen-poisoned-by-monster-social-media-radicalisation-claim-after-bishop-mar-mari-wakeley-stabbing/news-story/747dfca793c74fd5d8a9aad9fe35d767

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80104e No.20736633

File: c3c45d50a4ba0e6⋯.jpg (209.29 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_family_of_the_teen_all….jpg)

File: c6fee5bff38458c⋯.jpg (384.79 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Dr_Jamal_Rifi_a_prominent_….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20731928

‘He’s just a child’: Family of teen accused of Wakeley church stabbing break silence

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 17, 2024

1/2

The family of the 16-year-old alleged to have stabbed an Assyrian bishop in Sydney say they are distraught after Monday’s attack, and can’t believe their once “gentle” but troubled son could be a terrorist.

The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is alleged to have stabbed high-profile orthodox Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on Monday while he live-streamed a service.

The teenager’s parents have told The Australian, through a spokesman, that he suffers from anger outbursts, and have been left confused at NSW Police for designating the incident a terror-attack – the first since 2017 – so quickly after the event.

The teenager’s brother, who is overseas, called his parents on Monday upon seeing the footage of his sibling’s alleged attack, simply asking them: “Is this a dream?”.

“Tell me this is a dream,” he asked his parents. “Tell me this isn’t true.”

The parents say their son was gentle but prone to “anger outbursts” and that his behaviour had not improved with counselling, believing he suffered from an undiagnosed autism spectrum disorder.

Three others were injured in the attack. The boy himself lost a finger and four police officers were hurt as hundreds descended onto the church after the attack, which spilt into riot-like scenes and left more than 30 injured.

The teenager remains in police custody recovering from his injuries. He has not yet been charged.

The parents, who are from Lebanon, spoke at length with Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi on Wednesday – a leading figure in addressing radicalisation – who was given permission to relay their comments to The Australian.

“They are too afraid to go home, they regret and are sorry for the tragic actions by their son,” Dr Rifi said, saying his “heart breaks” for everyone involved.

The family had seen no signs of their son becoming radicalised, Dr Rifi said, and didn’t believe he had developed hard-line extremist views, saying instead he was prone to anger outbursts and may be autistic.

“The family does not believe anyone is brainwashing their son,” he said.

“Since school he has had issues with anger management and has a short fuse, with his mood changing rapidly.

“His father tried to enrol him in a sports club, but he had to leave, as he would get angry very easily.

“The mother said one of the boy’s old teachers texted her saying she couldn’t believe the reports: ‘that’s not the boy I knew’, the teacher said.”

NSW Police designated the attack as terror-related early on Tuesday, hours after the incident. ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said it appeared to be “religiously motivated” and NSW Premier Chris Minns said that the terror designation was not “performative”.

In footage of the attack, in Arabic, the boy is alleged to have said he “wouldn’t be here” if the Bishop hadn’t offended “his prophet”. The premier said the boy’s alleged “rhetoric” and “history” helped police designate the incident as terror-related.

A widely shared audio message circulating on WhatsApp from a local Islamic leader correctly identified the boy, alleging that his views had been “poisoned” by radical content.

The family, however, do not believe that this could be true.

“The mother said she saw no changes in his behaviour in the days prior to the attack,” Dr Rifi said.

“(The boy) changed schools, saw counsellors, but he would hit out if anyone pushed him.

“But he was gentle, the family said he used to be too scared to lift their cat (for fear of hurting it).”

(continued)

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80104e No.20736634

File: fe51e4f72fb52a5⋯.jpg (151.29 KB,1590x894,265:149,Vision_from_the_scenes_out….jpg)

>>20736633

2/2

The family, who spoke with their son at hospital on Tuesday evening, remain unclear on why he allegedly attacked the bishop, or how he got to the church. They said he was “deeply remorseful”.

At the time of publication, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said that police were still waiting to interview the teenager and would do so upon release from care. He could have another operation, delaying inquiries.

Dr Rifi said that the family – although distraught and praying for the victims – were confused by the police’s quick terror designation.

“They feel deeply for their son’s victims, they are not against any people, race or religion – they have always been happy in Australia,” he said.

“But they have questioned Commissioner Karen Webb declaring their son’s act as terrorism.

“They are asking why the police didn’t wait to speak properly with their boy, or inquired about possible mental issues he has.

“Their son is just a child, they (the police) could have waited a bit longer to question him (before designating it as a terror attack).”

Dr Rifi said that the boy had received counselling and recently obtained a mental-health referral for “unprovoked rages”, but had yet to see a specialist or be diagnosed with anything.

“They told detectives that their son was receiving counselling, and they are trying to provide the police with proof and some medical reports,” he said.

The Australian understands that last year NSW Police conducted a welfare check on the boy when his mother couldn’t get hold of him.

The family would provide a written statement soon and asked for privacy – Dr Rifi urged others to “picture yourself in their shoes”.

“They’re too afraid to go home because of the media scrum outside,” he said.

The father, a taxi driver, and mother, who stays at home, migrated from Lebanon decades ago.

On Wednesday, Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir told The Australian the boy’s father had sought support from the LMA during Monday’s attack and had stayed overnight at Lakemba Mosque.

“He (the father) was literally in shock, he needed some comforting, he was too scared to go home,” he said, adding that the community would not shy away from tackling any isolated incidents of radicalisation where they may exist.

“Other than that (being a rebellious teen), he never suspected anything (of his son allegedly becoming radicalised),” he said.

“But we’re not going shy away from the fact there may be issues, even if isolated.”

Mr Kheir said it was vital that if kids were “falling between the cracks” the community, both the Muslim and wider, “needed to understand why”.

The Christ The Good Shepherd Church also said it had forgiven the boy for the alleged attack, saying that “forgiveness and a path moving forward” were important.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/hes-just-a-child-wakeley-church-stabbing-teens-family-break-silence/news-story/4a169e5f74961f75217954ed89e3943a

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80104e No.20736637

File: b7e7d37e6fe8a84⋯.jpg (258.97 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Channel_7_Sunrise_presente….jpg)

File: a94771d4b39b9b0⋯.mp4 (5.45 MB,640x388,160:97,TS039QO6hM4npseI.mp4)

>>20719788

>>20724374

Student Benjamin Cohen has taken legal action after being wrongly named as Bondi attacker

SOPHIE ELSWORTH and ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 17, 2024

A university student wrongly named as the Bondi Junction knife-wielding murderer has taken legal action against Channel 7 after the network aired multiple live broadcasts labelling him as the culprit.

Benjamin Cohen, a first-year student at the University of Technology, Sydney, has engaged law firm Giles George and is seeking an apology, compensation and costs for serious harm after he was falsely named as the Bondi killer.

Under the NSW Defamation Act it can attract damages up to $459,000.

A concerns notice has been sent by Mr Cohen’s lawyers to Seven West Media chief executive officer and managing director James Warburton outlining that the network incorrectly identified Mr Cohen as the wrong man who killed six people, and not the actual killer, 40-year-old Queenslander Joel Cauchi.

Among those to wrongly name Mr Cohen included one of the network’s highest profile stars – Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington – who told Weekend Sunrise viewers on Sunday the killer was “40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, dressed in a Kangaroos ARL jersey”, who was “shot and killed by a brave female officer.”

Shirvington’s comments were aired on the program at 6.05am AEST and then just 10 minutes later hosts Monique Wright and Michael Usher spoke with reporter Lucy McLeod in a live cross and she too wrongly named Cohen as the murderer.

“The attacker, 40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, is known to police,” she told viewers.

“His motives are not yet know, he was working on his own.”

Mr Cohen’s picture began circulating hours after the killings at Westfield Bondi Junction on social media platforms including X, formerly Twitter, and numerous users named him as the killer.

Many accounts also noted that Mr Cohen is Jewish and his image was shown on the platform alongside an image of the killer inside the shopping centre wielding a knife.

RMIT’s journalism lecturer and programs manager, associate professor Alexandra Wake, said the error highlighted the “importance of journalism 101, you check and you recheck”.

“The pressure has overwhelmed that particular station and they’ve gone with it before they have checked and double checked,” she said.

“At the moment Channel 7 can’t do anything right it appears and this is in a long line of errors.

“In this day and age with the problems of fake news, journalists cannot afford to get it wrong.”

NSW police did not name the killer until about 9am AEDT on Sunday.

Seven blamed “human error” on the multiple mistakes.

Giles George solicitor Patrick George told The Australian on Wednesday: “We have issued a concerns notice.”

Seven’s 7NEWS Australia YouTube account – which has 1.66 million subscribers – also aired a report on the Bondi killings and published a caption underneath the video that named Mr Cohen as the “attacker”.

This post was later deleted by Seven after the network received questions from The Australian about it.

The concerns notice has been issued to Mr Warburton – who leaves Seven West on Thursday – and the network’s legal representatives, law firm Addisons.

Mr Cohen told The Australian the actions by Seven that led him to be falsely named as the murderer multiple times was “highly distressing”.

“It’s extremely disappointing to me to see people mindlessly propagating misinformation like this without even the slightest thought put into fact checking,” he said on Sunday.

“But what’s even more disappointing to me is a major news network doing this, using my name without waiting for a statement from police to verify this or going out to try and verify it themselves.”

Seven is yet to respond to the concerns notice.

The network aired an apology eight hours later on Sunday, which was read out during a live cross between Usher and reporter Sarah Jane Bell.

“One last thing, earlier this morning in reports of the incident, it incorrectly named the perpetrator as Benjamin Cohen,” she said.

“It was later confirmed that the name of the 40-year-old was Joel Cauchi from Queensland.

“Seven apologies for any distress caused by our earlier reports.”

Usher responded: “Yes, that’s an important correction, thanks for doing that Sarah Jane.”

Mr Cohen and a Seven spokesman were both contacted on Wednesday but would not comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/student-benjamin-cohen-has-taken-legal-action-after-being-wrongly-named-as-bondi-attacker/news-story/e42a4e68b4b23b71e496f32a5c8b4fc4

https://twitter.com/sophieelsworth/status/1779635314719592789

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80104e No.20736640

File: e5cfbeac38a4567⋯.jpg (345.52 KB,1920x1280,3:2,David_Sharaz_Brittany_Higg….jpg)

>>20676399

>>20726614

Reynolds breaks silence over Lehrmann judgment, vows to pursue Higgins

Angus Thompson and Jesinta Burton - April 16, 2024

1/2

Former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds has broken her silence following Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation defeat, vowing to proceed with her own civil case against Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz while declaring accusations of a political cover-up had been dispelled.

Hours after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said his Liberal colleague had been vindicated by Federal Court Justice Michael Lee’s findings into the “sordid affair”, the West Australian senator became the first MP embroiled in the saga to speak out. Dutton also suggested Higgins and Sharaz should apologise to her.

“For three years I have endured intense public scrutiny, vilification, vile trolling and have been demonised as the villain in a story of a political cover-up I have always known to be untrue,” Reynolds said.

She said both her and her former chief-of-staff Fiona Brown had lost their careers, “had our reputations destroyed and have had our health seriously and irreparably compromised”.

Reynolds, the former boss of Lehrmann and his accuser Higgins, has faced years of criticism over her handling of Higgins’ rape allegation, which was proven true on the balance of probabilities in Federal Court judge Michael Lee’s verdict on Monday.

While not central to the case, the judge said Higgins and Sharaz “from the first moment” had pushed a narrative of a political cover-up to journalists in 2021, which he found no evidence for.

Reynolds said it “would be an understatement” to say she was pleased with Lees’ findings, calling it the “cover-up that never was”.

Speaking to the press in Perth on Tuesday, Dutton said Reynolds had “absolutely been vindicated”.

“She’s a first-class individual, a person of great honour and integrity, her reputation has been besmirched, and she’s right to pursue the matter in the way that she is,” he said, referring to Reynolds’ defamation suits, which include one against Higgins and Sharaz over social media comments.

“I would have thought, off the back of the judgment yesterday, people would be looking to settle the matter against Linda Reynolds and issuing a full apology to her for the way in which her reputation has been tarnished.”

Reynolds launched two separate defamation claims against Higgins and Sharaz in the WA Supreme Court last year over statements the couple published on their separate social media accounts.

Both Higgins and Sharaz have defended their respective cases, which are being heard concurrently due to their overlap.

While the parties have been engaged in mediation, Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, warned the court during an April 3 hearing that parties should prepare for the six-week trial scheduled for July 24.

“If we sit around hoping for things to settle, they never do,” he said. A spokesperson for Bennett confirmed the defamation action is still pending.

Reynolds said Justice Lee’s findings “are not binding on Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz in respect of their defences to my actions in the Supreme Court of WA”.

“I therefore remain committed to fully vindicating my reputation,” she said.

Lawyers for Higgins and Sharaz have been contacted for comment.

(continued)

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80104e No.20736641

File: 37c3af90f1396e9⋯.jpg (2.6 MB,4000x2668,1000:667,Opposition_Leader_Peter_Du….jpg)

>>20736640

2/2

Higgins provided evidence to Lehrmann’s defamation proceedings last year that the reason she spoke to media was because she didn’t want to be “complicit” in a cover-up over the sexual assault, and said during Lehrmann’s abandoned 2022 criminal trial she felt pressured not to pursue the complaint.

Reynolds denied this during the trial, saying she encouraged Higgins to go to the police.

Former ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold, SC, also sensationally suggested a political conspiracy to derail Lehrmann’s prosecution during an inquiry into the case last year before recanting the allegation the next day.

Last month, Reynolds received a formal apology and a $90,000 settlement from the ACT government over defamatory comments made by Drumgold in a letter to the territory’s Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan that became public.

Justice Lee said: “When examined properly and without partiality, the cover-up allegation was objectively short on facts but long on speculation and internal inconsistencies – trying to particularise it during the evidence was like trying to grab a column of smoke. But despite its logical and evidentiary flaws, Ms Higgins’ boyfriend selected and contacted two journalists and then Ms Higgins advanced her account to them, and through them, to others.”

Dutton said Lee should be congratulated on his judgment after going through the case “with a fine-tooth comb”.

“He’s obviously a first-class operator. I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting him only on one occasion. He’s a particularly impressive individual and it should restore faith, if there was a doubt in faith, of our judicial system and what operates there. It’s obviously a highly complex, sordid affair,” he said.

The case is one of several legal proceedings triggered by Lehrmann’s criminal trial, which was aborted in October 2022 due to juror misconduct.

In March 2021, Reynolds agreed to pay damages to Higgins as part of a defamation settlement over calling her former staffer a “lying cow”. Reynolds maintains she did not make the comment in relation to the rape allegation but in response to news reports about her handling of it.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/dutton-says-reynolds-vindicated-suggests-higgins-should-apologise-20240416-p5fk8z.html

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80104e No.20736643

File: be36dff176760d7⋯.jpg (66.47 KB,800x600,4:3,Bob_Carr_is_among_a_group_….jpg)

>>20700849

Bob Carr tells New Zealand: steer clear of AUKUS

Ben McKay - April 17 2024

Former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has urged New Zealand not to acquiesce to American interests and join up to AUKUS as an associate member.

Mr Carr is visiting Wellington this week to be part of a foreign policy symposium at Parliament House alongside former Prime Minister Helen Clark.

The pair are strident critics of AUKUS, the military alliance between Australia, the UK and United States that will see Australia kitted out with nuclear-powered submarines.

They also oppose New Zealand's involvement in pillar two of the pact, which aims to bring together a broader clutch of like-minded nations - like Canada, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand - with AUKUS members to share advanced military technologies.

Many in New Zealand, including Ms Clark, see the debate over membership of pillar two as a proxy for Wellington tying its foreign policy to that of Washington DC.

After arriving in New Zealand on Wednesday, Mr Carr said he admired New Zealand's free-thinking international outlook, and Kiwis should not give it up.

"I think New Zealand has showed more independence and realism in its foreign policy and been less gullible about American blandishments than Australia," he told AAP.

"Why you'd surrender that, I don't know."

Mr Carr, foreign minister from 2012-13, and former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating are among the old guard of Australian Labor figures to oppose the pact.

New Zealand, which is firmly anti-nuclear, would not be a full member of AUKUS but the new coalition government, with Prime Minister Chris Luxon and Foreign Minister Winston Peters, is investigating the merits of joining pillar two.

Last week, Mr Peters and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met and released a joint statement where they committed "to working even more closely together".

"We share the view that arrangements such as the Quad, AUKUS, and the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity contribute to peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and see powerful reasons for New Zealand engaging practically with them, as and when all parties deem it appropriate," the statement read.

Mr Carr said pillar two was invented by American officials "to try to lend some substance to what is a pretty high-risk policy on nuclear subs" and win market advantage in defence procurement.

"The so-called pillar two of AUKUS would require a laboratory test and microscope to find any substance," he said.

"It's being dangled before New Zealand as if there's something substantial in it.

"It's inconceivable that there'll be any AI or missiles secrets flowing to Australia or New Zealand because of the generosity of Washington.

"Australia and New Zealand - New Zealand even more than Australia - are takers not producers of advanced military products.

"Moreover AUKUS pillar two would stop us dealing with other countries when it comes to military hardware."

Ms Clark has warned New Zealand off involvement in pillar two, arguing it would displease China, pose a risk to Kiwis economically, and risk Wellington's independence in the international arena.

Mr Peters, who will not attend the symposium, has been displeased by Mr Clark's comments, arguing the government is far from joining up.

"Please don't mislead New Zealanders with your suspicions without any facts - let us find out find out what we're talking about," he said last week, while in Washington DC.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8595145/bob-carr-tells-new-zealand-steer-clear-of-aukus/

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80104e No.20736646

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20565278

>>20634678

>>20710531

Julian Assange extradition edges closer after US promises not to seek death penalty

Riley Stuart - 17 April 2024

1/2

Julian Assange's bid to avoid extradition to America has been dealt a blow, after lawyers for the United States provided the assurances about his treatment a London court had demanded.

Assange, an Australian, is trying to challenge the extradition in the High Court of England and Wales — his last legal avenue in that jurisdiction.

He faces multiple criminal charges in the US, relating to the publication of classified information on the WikiLeaks website he founded.

Last month, two of the court's justices handed the 52-year-old a legal lifeline when they asked the US legal team to provide assurances that if he was extradited:

• Assange would be permitted to rely on the US Constitution's first amendment (which protects free speech),

• Assange would not be prejudiced at trial or sentence because of his nationality,

• The death penalty would not imposed should he be convicted.

The US on Tuesday provided those, although they came with one catch.

In a diplomatic note sent from the US embassy in London, it said while Assange would be able to "seek to rely" upon the US Constitution's provisions for free speech, "a decision as to the applicability of the first amendment is exclusively within the purview of the US courts".

It means lawyers for the US and Assange will return to court on May 20 to make final representations, before the justices make a decision — at a time yet to be specified — on whether the Australian can appeal his extradition.

He remains in custody in London's Belmarsh Prison. He's been behind bars since April 2019.

Assange's legal team have previously said they will attempt to challenge the extradition in the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), if they run out of legal options in the UK.

Although he could legally be extradited while the ECHR assesses his case, such a move would be unprecedented.

A diplomatic solution also remains a possibility.

Last week, US President Joe Biden said he was "considering" Australia's request for his administration to end the pursuit of Assange.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an "encouraging comment", and Australia would continue its diplomatic efforts at all levels of government.

Assange's wife, Stella, said in a post on social media that the US assurances filed with the court were "weasel words" that did "nothing to relieve our family's extreme distress about his future".

(continued)

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80104e No.20736649

File: b34e5a8e7dfadb8⋯.jpg (333.64 KB,2048x1045,2048:1045,Julian_Assange_had_plenty_….jpg)

File: 18cd6ad6958fdc6⋯.jpg (356.35 KB,1600x1200,4:3,Julian_Assange_s_wife_Stel….jpg)

>>20736646

2/2

The Australian's supporters remain concerned about his health, which they say is deteriorating behind bars.

"The Biden Administration must drop this dangerous prosecution before it is too late," Ms Assange said.

Rebecca Vincent, from press-freedom group Reporters Without Borders, said she hoped the US assurances were examined thoroughly by the court.

"It [Assange's appeal] shouldn't be done away with just on the basis of essentially political promises. These are really important matters," she said.

The charges Assange is facing relate to material published by WikiLeaks in 2010, which detailed, among other things, war crimes committed by US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

At a two-day hearing in London in February, his lawyers argued all the information Assange had published was in the public interest, but that he was being targeted because he had effectively become the "spokesperson for a global political movement against the United States".

The information published on WikiLeaks was given to Assange by soldier-turned-whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

During the hearing in February, barrister Clair Dobbin KC, acting for the US, told the court Assange and his WikiLeaks platform were not "ordinary journalists or publishers".

She said Assange had encouraged Manning to "steal" classified documents and that lives had been put at risk by the Australian's decision to "knowingly publish the materials with the names unredacted".

Speaking in Washington DC, Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton said the information provided by the US on Tuesday was "just another step in this never-ending legal process".

He described America's prison system as "horrifying".

"That's what we're really afraid of," he said. "That Julian is extradited here on May 20th and that we lose him forever."

Geoffrey Robertson KC, a former member of Assange's legal team whose firm still represents the hacker, said the assurances offered by the US would be unlikely to satisfy the British justices on May 20.

That's because while he can seek to rely on free speech, he may not be guaranteed a US judge will grant it.

"And unless you can guarantee it, I think the British courts will be dubious about extraditing Mr Assange to a situation or to a trial where he doesn't have the equal protection of the laws," Mr Robertson said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-17/julian-assange-extradition-edges-closer-after-us-assurances/103732454

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I2_-hxU9tr4

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80104e No.20736652

File: 266fd570b681b3f⋯.jpg (417.76 KB,675x976,675:976,SAFAN_3.jpg)

File: 5a5ff253ec81db2⋯.jpg (359.26 KB,675x1191,225:397,SAFAN_4.jpg)

File: f12b21022576bcd⋯.jpg (108.67 KB,1179x1765,1179:1765,GLTUBa_XQAAgG78.jpg)

File: 8a9ce9ddd18205f⋯.jpg (145 KB,1179x1868,1179:1868,GLTUBa9WgAAuq7c.jpg)

File: d259c7ea7adc215⋯.jpg (69.55 KB,1149x1878,383:626,GLTUBa8WIAAaN_m.jpg)

>>20736646

US provides assurances to prevent Julian Assange appeal against extradition

Death penalty not to be imposed, but WikiLeaks founder’s wife says he will not be afforded first amendment protections

Haroon Siddique - 17 Apr 2024

The US has provided assurances to the high court in London in an attempt to prevent a last-ditch appeal by Julian Assange against extradition, but the WikiLeaks founder’s wife has dismissed them as “weasel words”.

Last month, two judges deferred a decision on whether Assange, who is trying to avoid being prosecuted in the US on espionage charges relating to the publication of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents, could take his case to an appeal hearing.

They granted him permission to appeal but only if the Biden administration was unable to provide the court with suitable assurances “that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment [free speech] protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed”.

On Tuesday, details emerged of the assurances given by the US, which stated that he “will not be prejudiced by reason of his nationality with respect to which defences he may seek to raise at trial and at sentencing”.

It referred specifically to him having “the ability to raise and seek to rely upon” the first amendment but also said that its applicability “is exclusively within the purview of the US courts”. The assurances also state: “A sentence of death will neither be sought nor imposed on Assange.”

If Assange is denied permission to appeal, he faces being extradited to the US within days as he will have exhausted all of his legal avenues in the UK courts. His only hope would then be if the European court of human rights intervened.

Stella Assange, his wife, tweeted: “The United States has issued a non-assurance in relation to the first amendment, and a standard assurance in relation to the death penalty.

“It makes no undertaking to withdraw the prosecution’s previous assertion that Julian has no first amendment rights because he is not a US citizen. Instead, the US has limited itself to blatant weasel words claiming that Julian can ‘seek to raise’ the first amendment if extradited.

“The diplomatic note does nothing to relieve our family’s extreme distress about his future – his grim expectation of spending the rest of his life in isolation in US prison for publishing award-winning journalism. The Biden administration must drop this dangerous prosecution before it is too late.”

The sides will argue over the worth of the assurances at a further high court hearing scheduled for 20 May. However, Assange’s lawyers have previously described US assurances given in other cases as “not worth the paper they’re written on”, echoing similar criticism from human rights group Amnesty International.

Only last week, when Joe Biden said he was considering a request from Australia to drop charges against the WikiLeaks founder, Stella Assange said it was a “good sign”.

There was no immediate comment from the US Department of Justice.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2024/apr/16/us-provides-assurances-to-prevent-assange-appeal-against-extradition

https://twitter.com/Stella_Assange/status/1780258878237667377

https://twitter.com/Stella_Assange/status/1780300477575381172

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80104e No.20736687

File: 12a081a9851f248⋯.jpg (182.91 KB,688x428,172:107,MRF_D_61.jpg)

File: 23df55ec48c506d⋯.jpg (554.13 KB,2025x1061,2025:1061,435176227_807821671380318_….jpg)

File: 93195b9235ae293⋯.jpg (211.39 KB,1037x543,1037:543,437953049_807821531380332_….jpg)

File: 3ba18a7544a1241⋯.jpg (425.2 KB,1804x945,1804:945,438276198_807821611380324_….jpg)

File: 7e0c59e1237dd28⋯.jpg (248.21 KB,1956x1025,1956:1025,437910289_807821634713655_….jpg)

>>20647150

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

15 April 2024

Paying Respects

#Marines with MRF-D 24.3 visit the Australian War Memorial in Campbell, ACT, Australia. The Australian War Memorial is a national war memorial and museum dedicated to all Australians who died during war.

(Photo:) Capt. Madison Reynolds

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/807821674713651

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80104e No.20741519

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

>>20731928

Stabbed Sydney Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel releases update, publicly forgives attacker and calls for calm

Sam Nichols - 18 April 2024

The bishop who was stabbed at a Sydney church on Monday night says he forgives his attacker and is "doing fine" after undergoing surgery.

The Assyrian Orthodox Christ The Good Shepherd Church posted an update on social media this morning that included an audio recording from the bishop.

A 16-year-old boy has been arrested over the attack and authorities are investigating it as a "terrorist incident". No charges have been laid.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said he forgives "whoever has done this act".

"I will always pray for you. And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well is Jesus's mighty name," he said.

In his almost four-minute speech, Bishop Emmanuel reassured his followers he was improving.

"I'm doing fine, recovering very quickly. We thank the Lord Jesus, so there is no need to be worried or concerned," he said.

Father Daniel Kochou, who also spoke in the video, said Father Isaac Royel, who was also attacked on Monday night was "recovering well".

He added "nearby church members" who were attacked had also "received special care".

'Jesus never taught us to retaliate'

Father Kochou also said the church "does not condone the activities" that took place outside the church following Bishop Emmanuel's attack.

"The unfortunate events which took place outside the church caused unnecessary delays and threats to both victims, paramedics and police," he said.

"There was a large contingent of people who were not members of the church who attended and caused a major disturbance."

Bishop Emmanuel also told his community to remember the teachings of Jesus Christ and not retaliate and cooperate with police investigating the assault and subsequent unrest outside.

"I need you to act Christ-like. The Lord Jesus never taught us to fight. The Lord Jesus never taught us to retaliate. The Lord Jesus never said to us, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth'."

"I need you to be always law-abiding citizen[s] as well. We need to cooperate with the police directives, whether it be at a state level or a federal level.

"We pray for our country, our beloved country, Australia, and our beautiful city of Sydney."

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said, after the attack, Bishop Emmanuel was "lucky to be alive".

The 53-year-old, a prominent conservative leader of the Assyrian Orthodox Christ the Good Shepherd Church, underwent surgery after sustaining lacerations to his head from the attack.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-18/bishop-mar-mari-emmanuel-speaks-first-forgives-attacker/103738404

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZT4DiampFE

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80104e No.20741536

File: 9a6a1c8cf777f2d⋯.jpg (3.06 MB,5522x3681,5522:3681,Forensic_police_gather_evi….jpg)

File: 7a49b16ec907a95⋯.jpg (4.01 MB,6375x4391,6375:4391,Police_make_a_first_arrest….jpg)

File: 0f766a74fa5cc67⋯.jpg (178.03 KB,1911x1072,1911:1072,A_19_year_old_man_was_take….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20731928

Teenage terror accused dropped out of school, was increasingly ‘disobedient’

Sally Rawsthorne, Lucy Carroll, Clare Sibthorpe and Patrick Begley - April 17, 2024

1/2

The 16-year-old boy accused of carrying out a terrorist attack at a western Sydney church had not attended school for months and displayed increasing disobedience at home before the shock stabbing of a bishop on Monday night.

Meanwhile, police released dramatic footage of their first arrest over the unrest that erupted outside the Christ The Good Shepherd Church, showing terrorism police yell “police search warrant, open the door” at the Doonside house before telling a 19-year-old man he was under arrest.

He was subsequently charged with riot, affray and destroy/damage property during public disorder. He has been refused bail to appear in Blacktown Local Court on Thursday.

More than 70 police officers have been redeployed to conduct “high-visibility patrols to maintain community safety”, Police Minister Yasmin Catley announced on Wednesday, while another 32 are investigating a riot that erupted in the aftermath of the attack.

The 16-year-old, who cannot legally be identified, allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Wakeley during a livestreamed Bible session shortly after 7pm on Monday.

On Wednesday evening, the boy remained in hospital under police guard at an undisclosed location, and has not been charged. Catley told Sky News “conversations … have yet to take place” because he had not been released by medical staff.

“Police will go through all of this youth’s life with a fine-tooth comb” to probe “radicalisation or related interactions”, Catley said.

Police Commissioner Karen Webb has pointed to comments “centred around religion” allegedly made by the teenage accused in the lead-up to the attack, which has been classed as religiously motivated terrorism.

Bishop Emmanuel and another clergyman received non-life-threatening injuries. The boy lost a finger during the attack, according to Premier Chris Minns.

The teenager had not attended his high school for more than six months, a source not authorised to speak publicly said. In 2020, he had been suspended for bringing a knife onto school grounds.

The boy’s father had also seen signs of increasing “disobedience”, according to an Islamic community leader who accommodated the father at Lakemba Mosque on Tuesday night.

The father had spent the night of the attack driving around western Sydney with a friend, too afraid to go home, before turning to Gamel Kheir, a lawyer and secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association.

“He truly was in shock, he broke my heart,” Kheir told this masthead.

“He said ‘I want to see my son’, he was distraught, in shock, too scared to go home.”

Kheir persuaded the man to spend the night at the mosque with himself and a number of other attendees, who had assembled to defend it against threats of firebombing made in the wake of the stabbing.

According to Kheir, while the boy had been disobedient, his father said there were no signs of him becoming radicalised. “There was nothing he could see that he had gone that far down,” he said.

The Lebanese Muslim Association will undertake an investigation into online radicalisation and how to stop people from consuming radical content.

(continued)

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80104e No.20741543

File: 99e66a2d1c4279f⋯.jpg (6.06 MB,8256x5504,3:2,Muhmood_Wehbe_leaves_the_W….jpg)

File: b3c7cfdac88989f⋯.jpg (4.52 MB,8256x5504,3:2,Muzzy_Elsett_a_regular_at_….jpg)

>>20741536

2/2

Police on Wednesday were processing arrest warrants for members of a crowd who rioted outside the Christ The Good Shepherd Church on Monday, following the stabbing. At 5:40pm, they made their first arrest, a 19-year-old man from Doonside in Sydney’s west.

In the footage released on Wednesday night, police officers stormed into the Power Street house and brought the man outside, saying “the commissioner of police told you we’re coming. We are here”.

The man was told he was under arrest, handcuffed, put in a paddy wagon and taken to Blacktown Police Station.

Several officers were injured in the riot and paramedics took shelter inside the building as crowd members threw projectiles and damaged 51 police vehicles. Police and ambulance officers were eventually evacuated from the church in an armoured vehicle.

Police were also patrolling at mosques on the city’s western outskirts on Wednesday to provide extra security. Several worshippers told this masthead the mosques were quieter than usual.

Speaking through an Arabic translator, Muhmood Wehbe, who prayed at Bonnyrigg Mosque, said what happened at the church was “something we all condemn and are not satisfied with”.

“Islam is the religion of love and peace,” he said.

Muzzy Elsett, who attended the Othman Bin Affan mosque in Cabramatta West, said the stabbing at Christ the Good Shepherd Church was tragic, “like any attack”.

“We don’t preach harm on anyone,” he said.

“If anything, in our religion in Islam, even smiling to a person is an act of charity. You get rewarded for that.”

While not condoning the actions of the 16-year-old accused, who is a Muslim, Elsett said Bishop Emmanuel had appeared in several videos making disrespectful comments about the Prophet Muhammad.

He said many in the Islamic community had been aware of these comments by the “TikTok priest” before the attack.

The bishop has acknowledged that an interview he gave last year on a US podcast had upset some Muslims, but also said he loved and prayed for his “beloved Muslim world”.

Following the fatal shooting of police accountant Curtis Cheng by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar in 2015, the NSW government announced a five-year $47 million program to counter violent extremism, which included schools initiative.

The schools program has since been superseded by another designed to support students including those who are vulnerable and at risk, focusing on wellbeing, attendance and behaviour.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/teenage-terror-accused-dropped-out-of-school-was-increasingly-disobedient-20240417-p5fkmk.html

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80104e No.20741559

File: f40f6d84cf0e834⋯.jpg (218.93 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

File: 894bf71693c0efb⋯.jpg (1.22 MB,815x2085,163:417,Key_points.jpg)

Defence funding strategy: Long-range billions to counteract China

BEN PACKHAM - APRIL 18, 2024

1/2

Labor will boost Defence spending by $50bn over the next decade and claw back $72bn from dumped weapons programs to pay for new submarines, ships, missiles and drones, as the government seeks to deter an increasingly aggressive China.

The swath of cuts includes a ­decision not to proceed with an extra squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters, saving $3bn, and the cancellation of two large support vessels for the navy that would have cost $4.1bn.

Defence will get $330bn worth of new weapons systems over 10 years, including long-range missiles, air and maritime drones, and enhanced air ­defences, to deny potential adversaries the ability to attack the Australian mainland or deployed Australian forces.

Unveiling the government’s new defence investment program on Wednesday, Richard Marles revealed defence spending would rise by $50.3bn over the decade, but only 5.7 per cent of the new money – or just over 10 per cent – will hit the budget in the next four years.

As well as new weapons, the Defence Minister flagged new measures to address the ADF’s workforce crisis, saying the government would look at recruiting New Zealanders and Pacific ­Islanders to plug a 4400 shortfall in uniformed personnel.

Mr Marles, who also released a new national defence strategy, warned Beijing’s growing military build-up and tensions between China and the US had created an environment “where the risk of miscalculation is more ominous and the consequences more ­severe”.

The defence strategy, to be ­updated every two years, warns China is seeking to “change the current regional balance” through increasingly coercive tactics in international waters and airspace.

It reiterates Australia no longer has the luxury of 10 years’ “strategic warning time” before a ­potential conflict, calling for a whole-of-government effort to improve national resilience.

But, amid calls for a more rapid transformation of the ADF to deter rising threats, Mr Marles blasted those who argued Australia would play a major role in a “worst-case contingency” in the next few years, declaring such analysis “lacks wit”.

“As a medium power, we are never going to bring to bear the kind of military capability that exists in the United States or China,” he told the National Press Club.

“The strategic problem that we are trying to meet, that we’re ­trying to solve, is making sure that in a much less certain world in the future, we are able to resist ­coercion, and maintain Australia’s way of life.”

He said an invasion of the ­Australian mainland was “an ­unlikely prospect in any scenario”, and the nation’s defence hinged on the collective security of the ­region.

The new $330bn investment program replaces a $270bn ­Coalition plan. It includes $72bn in savings from axed programs, $22.5bn of which will flow into the Defence budget in the next four years.

The cuts include the deferment of plans to purchase an extra 28 joint strike fighters for at least a decade, the axing of the navy’s planned new support vessels, and the redirection of $1.4bn in funds from Canberra facility ­upgrades to improve the ADF’s Top End bases.

(continued)

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80104e No.20741562

File: 8b20f4405f5f404⋯.jpg (966.93 KB,815x1692,815:1692,DEFENCE_MINISTER_RICHARD_M….jpg)

>>20741559

2/2

Planned nuclear submarines and warships for the navy soak up the lion’s share of the decade-long investment program, accounting for up to $76bn and $69bn ­respectively.

The army will get up to $44bn to transform into an ­amphibious-capable force modelled on the US Marines, while the air force receives up to $33bn over the decade.

The plan includes $14bn to $18bn for missile defence systems, but was unclear on whether ­already-announced ballistic-­defence and medium-range air-defence programs would continue as originally planned.

The blueprint includes $300m over the next four years for new drone and counter-drone systems, while a newly announced $1bn will be spent over the forward ­estimates to fast-track delivery of land-fired precision strike missiles, and underwater autonomous ­vehicles including the in-­development Ghost Shark.

Mr Marles said the government was ploughing more money into Defence than ever, lifting ­outlays to 2.4 per cent of GDP by 2034, compared with a budgeted 2.1 per cent under the Coalition.

“Putting aside adjustments like foreign exchange and operations, the additional $5.7bn will be the biggest lift in Defence expenditure over a forward estimates period in decades,” he said.

Mr Marles said the government was also budgeting more ­responsibly, saying the opposition had failed to fund up to 40 per cent of its Defence equipment promises when it was in government.

But opposition defence spokesman Andrew Hastie said Mr Marles had failed a “leadership test”, branding the Defence funding boost as “very modest”.

Mr Hastie attacked the government’s plan as “vague”, saying it failed to adequately set out the threats the nation faced, and vowed the Coalition would match and exceed Labor’s funding commitments. “We are committing to more Defence expenditure than the ­Albanese government,” he said, without offering details.

Strategic Analysis Australia ­research director Marcus Hellyer said the plan included some ­positive elements, and showed the government was beginning to take seriously the need for uncrewed aerial and maritime systems.

But he questioned the ­adequacy of the funding boost, which amounted to an extra 2.4 per cent a year compared with the Defence budget’s current forward estimates.

“That’s better than nothing, but if we have the worst strategic ­circumstances since WWII, and we have no more 10-year warning time, and if we’re trying to stand up a whole lot of new capabilities, you’d want to see more of the additional money brought forward into the next four years,” Mr Hellyer said.

“There is new money there but it’s concentrated in the back half of the decade, which doesn’t align with the narrative of worsening strategic circumstances.”

Australian Strategic Policy ­Institute defence program director Bec Shrimpton said there were no short-term fixes in the new investment plan.

“The government knows it can’t fix its problems quickly or create the focused and integrated force it wants – and will not have its desired fit-for-purpose force across all domains and enablers within the next five to 10 years,” Ms Shrimpton said.

“That said, an increased focus on autonomy and robotics … can play an important role in filling a capability quickly from commercially available solutions.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/defence-funding-strategy-longrange-billions-tocounteract-china/news-story/0b51589e067aa37cf5866958903a5413

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80104e No.20741567

File: 03446ac87c3b4e5⋯.jpg (357.64 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_US_is_deepening_its_en….jpg)

File: 97acd14c5dad896⋯.jpg (233.74 KB,2048x1152,16:9,_The_risk_of_a_crisis_or_c….jpg)

File: 025d1b2a304e330⋯.jpg (232.13 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Japanese_Prime_Minister_Fu….jpg)

File: f251ec8d1fb2657⋯.jpg (970.25 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0001.jpg)

File: 1fcdc46a55c6c1a⋯.jpg (939.19 KB,1241x1754,1241:1754,0002.jpg)

>>20741559

China’s aggressive behaviour underpins beefed-up defence stance

CAMERON STEWART - APRIL 18, 2024

Australia’s strategic outlook is getting worse, with China increasingly using coercion – including dangerous confrontations with rival warships and planes – to alter the strategic power balance in the region, according to the new ­National Defence Strategy.

The highly critical assessment of China’s assertive military posture in the region underpins the government’s justification in its new strategy for a major increase in defence spending and long-term expansion in the navy and in long-range strike capability.

The assessment comes despite the recent tentative stabilisation of relations between the two countries, with China having removed most of the $20bn in trade sanctions it imposed during the previous government.

It states that Australia’s strategic environment “has continued to deteriorate further” since the release of the Defence Strategic Review early last year which stated that the country faced the most challenging strategic environment since World War II.

“As China’s strategic and economic weight grows, Australia expects it will continue to seek to play a more prominent role in the region (which) will include leveraging all elements of its power as it pursues its strategic objectives, including to change the current regional balance in its favour,’ the strategy states.

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

“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 states.

The document accuses China of lacking transparency about the nature of its military build-up and its objectives.

“In line with its growing strategic and economic weight, China is improving its capabilities in all areas of warfare at a pace and scale not seen in the world for nearly a century. This is happening without transparency about its strategic purpose,” it states.

It adds that China is designing and deploying “highly advanced” capabilities including a growing number of nuclear weapons, new missiles, more potent warships and nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed submarines.

“China has continued fielding new strike missiles including hypersonic missiles, land attack cruise missiles and advanced long-range surface-to-air missiles,” the strategy states.

It also states that “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.”

It accuses China of using “grey-zone” tactics with paramilitary ­forces in the South China Sea where Beijing has been involved in several confrontations over the past year.

Despite this, the strategy says a “stable and constructive relationship” is in the interests of both nations, saying “the government will remain patient, calibrated and deliberate in its approach to China”.

In the face of China’s assertive behaviour in the region, the strategy emphasises the “crucial” role in collective security with the US which was deepening its engagement with allies like Australia including through the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact.

The strategy promotes Japan as an “indispensable partner” for Australia and predicts growing trilateral relations between Australia, Japan and the US. It also foreshadows closer defence ties with South Korea.

Beyond the Indo-Pacific, it ­expresses concern about Russia’s ongoing aggression in Ukraine with the assistance of lethal aid provided by Iran and North Korea.

It also mentions Iran’s support for Hamas as undermining peace and stability.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/chinas-aggressive-behaviour-underpins-beefedup-defence-stance/news-story/21072bf8c81f3a6207752f8dadc49509

https://www.defence.gov.au/about/strategic-planning/2024-national-defence-strategy-2024-integrated-investment-program

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80104e No.20741574

File: ed4f5b002071735⋯.jpg (46.06 KB,600x456,25:19,Foreign_Ministry_Spokesper….jpg)

File: 7da8ea2a0214453⋯.jpg (239.38 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

File: 2b6adc47b0feb08⋯.jpg (237.87 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Chinese_People_s_Liberatio….jpg)

>>20741559

>>20741567

Beijing tells Canberra to ‘stop buzzing about China’ in first response to Australia’s National Defence Strategy

WILL GLASGOW - APRIL 18, 2024

1/2

Beijing has told Australia to “stop buzzing about China” and blamed America and its allies for creating what Canberra has called the most challenging and complex strategic environment the country has faced since World War II.

In its first comments on Australia’s just released National Defence Strategy, the Chinese government was entirely dismissive of Canberra’s criticism of Beijing’s behaviour in the region.

“China is committed to peaceful development and a national defence policy that is defensive in nature,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian.

“We stay committed to the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the wider world, and pose no threat to any country,” he said.

On Wednesday, Australia’s new defence strategy accused Beijing of using “coercive tactics in pushing its strategic objectives”, including “unsafe intercepts” of vessels and aircraft operating in international waters and airspace.

The defence document — the most authoritative strategic assessment released by the Albanese government since it was elected in 2022 — also said the “risk of a crisis or conflict” in the Taiwan Strait was “increasing”, and cited concerns over flashpoints in the South and East China Seas and on China’s disputed border with India.

Beijing disputed Canberra’s analysis, instead claiming “security risks” mainly come from “some major countries outside the region”, not directly naming the United States.

“They have been forming exclusive groupings, stoking bloc confrontation, and in particular, muddying the waters in the South China Sea, as if the world needed any more instability,” the Chinese foreign ministry spokesman said.

Beijing has long opposed AUKUS and the Quad as “exclusive groupings”, which it views as hostile to China.

“We hope Australia will correctly view China’s development and strategic intentions, abandon the Cold-War mentality, do more things to keep the region peaceful and stable, and stop buzzing about China,” he said.

Beijing’s bristling came as relations between Australia and China continue to show modest improvements despite the sharp disagreements over the regional strategic situation.

This week, a senior Chinese trade official and a hundred-strong delegation of Chinese business figures met with China-focused Australian business counterparts in Sydney. Visiting Chinese officials also met with Australian government officials in Canberra on Tuesday to discuss the outlook for the Australia-China free trade agreement, which was agreed to a decade ago in 2014.

The latest Chinese delegation to Australia comes months before a visit by China’s Premier Li Qiang, which is expected to take place in June. Beijing’s almost four-year long ban on Australian lobsters is likely to be lifted to coincide with the trip, the first by a Chinese premier to Australia in seven years.

(continued)

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80104e No.20741576

File: cd742de595fd5b8⋯.jpg (56.19 KB,600x454,300:227,Foreign_Ministry_Spokesper….jpg)

>>20741574

2/2

Despite the sometimes fraught interactions between the Australian and Chinese militaries, dialogue is also continuing between Australian and Chinese officials on security matters.

Next week, representatives from the Australian navy will attend a Chinese naval meeting being hosted in Qingdao, on China’s northeast coast. It will coincide with the 75th anniversary of the Communist Party’s People’s Liberation Army Navy.

Representatives from Cambodia, Chile, France, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Russia, the United States, Pakistan and the United Kingdom will also attend, according to a Chinese defence ministry spokesman.

The conference will discuss “Oceans of Common Destiny” and the naval applications of President Xi Jinping’s “Global Security Initiative”, a banner concept for the Chinese leader’s thoughts on international defence and military matters.

In a development welcomed by capitals across the region, Beijing this week ended an 18-month freeze on contact between its Defence Minister and his American counterpart, which was imposed after then US speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to Taiwan in November 2022.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and China’s Defence Minister Dong Jun discussed the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea in their one-hour long video call. It continues the Biden administration’s efforts to keep lines of communication open with Beijing even as it works with allies to counter Chinese assertiveness.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/beijing-tells-canberra-to-stop-buzzing-about-china-in-first-response-to-australias-national-defence-strategy/news-story/09bf85117fe23d8694b345860883aa0f

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on April 17, 2024

AFP: Australia released the inaugural National Defence Strategy today to address its most significant strategic risks. Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles warned this morning that China has employed “coercive tactics” in pursuit of its strategic objectives and added that Australia will step up its naval capability. How do you view the National Defence Strategy released by Australia today?

Lin Jian: China is committed to peaceful development and a national defense policy that is defensive in nature. We stay committed to the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the wider world, and pose no threat to any country. The security risks in the region mainly come from some major countries outside the region. They have been forming exclusive groupings, stoking bloc confrontation, and in particular, muddying the waters in the South China Sea, as if the world needed any more instability. China firmly opposes it. We hope Australia will correctly view China’s development and strategic intentions, abandon the Cold-War mentality, do more things to keep the region peaceful and stable, and stop buzzing about China.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202404/t20240417_11283249.html

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80104e No.20741589

File: 15b919882f2713c⋯.jpg (2.11 MB,2913x1943,2913:1943,Daniel_Andrews.jpg)

File: e09ee39655f6e67⋯.jpg (513.78 KB,935x1173,55:69,Foreign_Ministry_statement….jpg)

‘Stop list’: Russia sanctions ex-Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, 234 Australian state MPs

'AAP / smh.com.au - April 18, 2024

Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is among more than 200 names on the latest list of Australians who have been banned from entering Russia.

Andrews is one of the most high-profile of the 235 current and former Victorian and South Australian MPs across the political divide who have made Moscow’s list over Australia’s “anti-Russian agenda”.

Other Victorians barred indefinitely range from Deputy Premier Ben Carroll, Treasurer Tim Pallas and Opposition Leader John Pesutto, to Labor MP Paul Mercurio, independent Moira Deeming and former Labor deputy premier James Merlino.

Among the South Australians are Deputy Premier Susan Close, Treasurer Stephen Mullighan, Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis, Health Minister Chris Picton and Opposition Leader David Speirs.

Russia’s foreign ministry said the Australians were handed indefinite bans “in response to politically motivated sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities by the Australian government”.

“Taking into account the fact that official Canberra does not intend to abandon its anti-Russian course and continues to introduce new sanctions measures, work on updating the Russian ‘stop list’ will continue,” the ministry said on its website.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/stop-list-russia-sanctions-ex-victorian-premier-daniel-andrews-234-australian-state-mps-20240418-p5fkpc.html

https://www.mid.ru/ru/foreign_policy/news/1944697/?lang=en

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80104e No.20741593

File: 8f8a66cfba14e41⋯.jpg (54.88 KB,1050x656,525:328,Former_Australian_Labor_Pa….jpg)

>>20700849

>>20736643

AUKUS Pillar 2 is 'fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit' - Bob Carr

rnz.co.nz - 18 April 2024

1/2

Former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has continued to warn New Zealand against joining Pillar 2 of the AUKUS defence pact, saying it is "fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit".

He says Australian taxpayers will also be forking out on the deal for decades, when the country could have got more non-nuclear submarines, faster - and for a fraction of the price.

Carr, along with former Labour prime minister Helen Clark, and former Tuvalu prime minister Enele Sopoaga was speaking at Parliament on Thursday morning, in a Labour Party-hosted discussion about the defence partnership between Australia, the United Kingdom and United States (AUKUS).

The initial agreement focused largely on the provision of nuclear submarines to Australia, precluding New Zealand - with its long-held anti-nuclear policy - from joining.

However, the New Zealand government is exploring the possibility of signing up to the second pillar, focused on cutting-edge defence technology - covering areas like artificial intelligence, hypersonic missiles and cyber warfare, with Foreign Minister Winston Peters saying talks are focused on gathering the facts before making a decision.

The previous Labour government had also spoken about the possibility of joining Pillar 2, but Labour leader Chris Hipkins - introducing the session - told attendees that signals from the coalition suggested New Zealand's independent and largely bipartisan approach to foreign policy "is now changing".

"Having spent the last election campaign saying that they agreed with everything the last Labour government was doing when it came to foreign policy, they now seem to be diverging from that path and AUKUS stands out as a clear example," he said.

The government appeared, he said, to be "rushing headlong" into the Pillar 2 of the agreement without having articulated what it was.

Carr, who was foreign minister in the Julia Gillard government, took a dim view of the deal.

"It's pure bullshit," he said. "Pillar 2 is fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit … Why do I call it bullshit? Because it's been cobbled together to make it look like there's more to AUKUS than subs - there isn't."

Countries like Australia and New Zealand would not be able to produce the kinds of advanced technologies Pillar 2 promised, he said, and the deal was based on ensuring the US became their sole supplier of it.

He said the first part of the deal would also leave Australia less well defended with, possibly, no submarines of its own to replace the ageing ones it has now - all for the cost of $368 billion, far more than the cost of the deal of the French submarine deal Australia previously signed up to.

The Australian-built submarines AUKUS promised would not be available until the 2050s, he said.

"Scott Morrison - whose judgement on nothing would be trusted … who secretly without telling his Cabinet or any individual minister had himself sworn in to a dozen portfolios … settled on AUKUS as a way of dividing the Labor Party, and seeing Labor isolated into the lead-up to an election he was most likely to lose," Carr said.

"For a fraction of that price we could have given ourselves 10, 15, 20, even 40 conventional subs that would have rendered Australia - as far as submarine technology goes - as safe as we've ever been."

Thirdly, he advocated for a different approach which did not assume war between the US and China was inevitable, but instead would define the relationship as adversarial - warning against the risks of nuclear warfare.

(continued)

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80104e No.20741596

File: ba0670e00d8b65c⋯.jpg (85.4 KB,800x600,4:3,Former_Australian_foreign_….jpg)

>>20741593

2/2

Clark had earlier said it was the government's job to navigate relationships with both China and the US, "and not act in ways which support polarisation and support a view that one side is driving tensions".

She said the previous Labour government had missed an opportunity to rule out any involvement in AUKUS, before she laid out her argument that New Zealand was now taking a "different course", aligning itself with the United States.

She highlighted support for the bombing on Yemen after disruption of trade in the Red Sea; the naming of China as the source of hacking New Zealand Parliamentary systems; and finally Peters and US Secretary of State last week announcing the two countries had "powerful reasons" for New Zealand to engage with AUKUS.

"And then the prime minister was quoted in The Australian as saying AUKUS is very good for our reason - well, again, not any specific reason for that given - and prior to all this there was the joint ministerial meeting in Canberra which went down a very similar track, and even invoked ANZUS as a living engagement."

She said claims AUKUS would be good for New Zealand were "highly contestible" and questioned the value of ratcheting up tensions with China, a major trading partner.

Sopoaga said the nuclear submarines were essentially nuclear power plants on boats, with no guarantee they would not carry nuclear weapons, and which would be "cruising through the waters of the Pacific Island nations without any consultation whatsoever with the Pacific countries.

"This is not our agreement, it is theirs - the AUKUS deal was crafted in secret by former Prime Minister Scott Morrison, with no public discussion as I understand it … no mention in the media, nor in the Parliament of Australia, nor in Cabinet."

He and Carr both said the Albanese government in Australia should have reviewed the agreement and whether it was needed.

The relationships between Pacific Islands and Australia and New Zealand were becoming more strained, Sopoaga said, because of Australia's climate policy and continued sale of coal to China. He also pointed to the destabilising effect on security posed by the submarine deal.

https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/political/514608/aukus-pillar-2-a-fragrant-methane-wrapped-bull-bob-carr

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8595770/bob-carr-slams-aukus-in-warning-to-new-zealand/

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80104e No.20741607

File: 055a7a5b2426667⋯.jpg (351.08 KB,675x830,135:166,MRF_D_62.jpg)

File: c75eeb74c4288d3⋯.jpg (188.47 KB,800x1200,2:3,GLWsOvBasAANegs.jpg)

File: 04366abdf3b08ee⋯.jpg (245.08 KB,1200x900,4:3,GLWsOvAagAA_hqt.jpg)

>>20647150

>>20681473

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Tweet

Down Under Diplomacy

#MarineCorps Sgt. Maj. Garret Kirkby and Col. Brian T. Mulvihill visit Caroline Kennedy, the 27th U.S. Ambassador to Australia at the U.S. Embassy Canberra.

(Photo:) Capt. Madison Reynolds

#alliesandpartners #usmc #australia #canberra #embassy #Ambassador

https://twitter.com/MRFDarwin/status/1780518605983256761

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80104e No.20746949

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

>>20731928

Accused Wakeley church teen charged with terrorism offence

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS and ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 18, 2024

A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a terrorism offence after he allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a Sydney Assyrian church.

The teenager has been refused bail and is expected to appear ­before a hospital bedside court hearing on Friday.

Fairfield Police attended the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley about 7.10pm on Monday and found Bishop Emmanuel with significant injuries to his head. Senior Parish Priest Isaac Royel, who attempted to intervene, also sustained lacerations and a shoulder wound.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the teenager allegedly made comments “centred around religion”, while Premier Chris Minns said the terror designation was not “performative”, and the boy’s history and rhetoric aided the decision.

Investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team Sydney interviewed the boy before he was charged. Committing a terrorist act carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life.

Parishioners who witnessed Monday’s violent scenes recounted how they thought the accused 16-year-old boy was simply making his way forward to “kiss the cross”, before he allegedly struck the bishop.

“People assumed he was going up to the cross to kiss it … he walked all the way up and suddenly pulled the hand out of his pocket, the knife went straight for the bishop’s forehead,” a congregation witness said.

Speaking in Assyrian via a translator, the churchgoer alleged the 16-year-old “walked in a straight line down to the priest” upon entering the front door and struck Bishop Emmanuel, before yelling and chaos ensued.

The witness alleged – as have a number – that the boy’s flip-knife “didn’t fully open” during parts of the attack. “When (the bishop) fell down, the attack continued,” he alleged. “(The teenager) then adjusted his knife to make sure it was fully opened.”

The boy lost at least one finger during the incident – “during the commission of a crime”, meaning it was not done to him by someone else – and remains in hospital.

“We just thought it was a normal community guy coming up to kiss the priest’s hand or the cross … then he just took a knife out of his pocket,” the witness alleged.

“This guy was attacking everyone – people jumped on top of him and held him down to the ground. After the police came it became scary again after people started damaging police cars and throwing bricks.”

In the ensuing scuffle as parishioners subdued the teenager, another three were injured as well as 50 more outside the church after a 100-strong riot broke out.

In a video of the incident, the boy allegedly says, in Arabic, that he “wouldn’t be here” if the bishop – who has criticised Islam – hadn’t “offended his prophet”. An audio message recorded by a local leader that identified the boy said his views had been “poisoned”.

However, the boy’s family had seen no signs of radicalisation and did not believe anyone was “brainwashing” their son. They told The Australian on Wednesday they believed he had an undiagnosed health disorder and anger issues.

The family and members of the Muslim community have also been left confused by the quick terror declaration, given the boy had yet to be formally interviewed by NSW Police.

Bishop Emmanuel in his first public comments said he had forgiven the teenager. “I forgive whoever has done this act,” he said, urging for his supporters to pray instead of retaliate. And I say to him, ‘You’re my son, I love you and I will always pray for you’.”

Mr Minns said NSW would emerge intact – if not stronger – from the Bondi and Wakeley attacks as he assembled religious leaders to enlist their help in cooling rising tensions.

Lebanese Muslim Association secretary Gamel Kheir said there remained a “heightened sense of anxiety” after unsubstantiated rumours had circulated that there may be some form of reprisal against the community during ­Friday prayers. The Australian has not verified those rumours, but can confirm they were circulating.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/church-terror-accused-stabber-made-a-beeline-for-bishop-mar-mari-emmanuel/news-story/6e0fd00c306ff4a1981710810755c463

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAwMqxHz5Wg

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80104e No.20751248

File: e0bacec10add572⋯.jpg (852.56 KB,2961x2000,2961:2000,X_owner_Elon_Musk.jpg)

File: 22232a2153a2be5⋯.jpg (3.42 MB,7728x5152,3:2,Outside_Christ_the_Good_Sh….jpg)

File: 8f4d63e7b56c569⋯.jpg (548.55 KB,675x972,25:36,GGA_2.jpg)

File: a0b0ad33cae3a2e⋯.jpg (179.98 KB,675x453,225:151,EM_8.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20731990

Take down order ‘unlawful and dangerous’: X rejects Australian law

Shane Wright - April 20, 2024

The social media giant X has rebuffed demands from the nation’s eSafety commissioner to pull down “distressing” content from Sydney’s stabbing attacks, saying they do not breach its own rules on violent content while rejecting the reach of Australian law on its activities.

In a post endorsed by X owner Elon Musk and retweeted widely by Australian and American-based X users, the company’s global governance affairs department said it would robustly challenge the commissioner’s take-down orders, describing them as “unlawful and dangerous”.

But NSW Premier Chris Minns said it was unsurprising that X would ignore Australian law, arguing the company pumped “lies and rumours” into the nation and was then unprepared to deal with the impact of that commentary on local communities.

Health Minister Mark Butler accused Musk of leaving graphic videos of the attacks on his platform, and said the country would not be bullied by the billionaire.

The eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, last week used her powers to demand X and Meta take down distressing footage of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being attacked during a live-streamed church service.

Meta has said it is trying to comply with the order but Inman Grant has left open the option of taking direct legal action against X which can include daily fines of up to $782,000.

In a statement, the commission said it was disappointed at how “unnecessarily prolonged” the process had become for X and others to comply with its orders.

“ESafety is aware social media users continue to upload and reshare distressing content and appreciate it is challenging for platforms to manage this,” it said.

But X rejected the commission’s claims about the posts that were still on the platform while confirming it had received a take-down order.

“The recent attacks in Australia are a horrific assault on free society. Our condolences go out to those who have been affected, and we stand with the Australian people in calling for those responsible to be brought to justice,” it said.

“Following these events, the Australian eSafety commissioner ordered X to remove certain posts in Australia that publicly commented on the recent attack against a Christian Bishop.

“These posts did not violate X’s rules on violent speech. X believes that eSafety’s order was not within the scope of Australian law and we complied with the directive pending a legal challenge.

“This was a tragic event and we do not allow people to praise it or call for further violence.”

X said there was a public conversation happening across the platform and all of Australia.

“While X respects the right of a country to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety commissioner does not have the authority to dictate what content X’s users can see globally,” it said.

“We will robustly challenge this unlawful and dangerous approach in court. Global take-down orders go against the very principles of a free and open internet and threaten free speech everywhere.”

Musk told his 181 million followers that “the Australian censorship commissar” was demanding global content bans. Many followers replied to his post, claiming Australia was in the grips of a “communist” government opposed to free speech.

Minns said on Saturday afternoon X’s response was unsurprising given its past actions and the way it had dealt with the events of recent days.

“[It has] a disregard for the information they pump into our communities, lies and rumours spreading like wildfire and then when things go wrong, throwing their hands up in the air to say they are not prepared to do anything about it,” he said.

The premier said the federal penalties against social media companies should be strengthened given their actions.

“It is hard enough to calm down a community at 2pm on a Friday afternoon. To do it at one or two in the morning when rumours are spreading out [like] wildfire is virtually impossible,” he said.

Butler, who urged Australians not to share graphic content on any social media platform, said the government would back the eSafety commissioner “to the hilt” in her legal efforts against X and Musk.

He said there was strong bipartisan support for keeping social media a safe place.

“Australia is not going to be bullied by Elon Musk, or any other tech billionaire, in our commitment to making sure that social media is a safe space,” he said.

“So if he wants to fight that fine in court, well, we’re up for that fight. Because we are determined to do the important work of keeping social media safe.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/take-down-order-unlawful-and-dangerous-x-rejects-australian-law-20240420-p5flc3.html

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1781394185951563973

https://twitter.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1781342060668174707

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80104e No.20751269

File: 4490358f226d48c⋯.mp4 (10.24 MB,960x540,16:9,NSW_Premier_Chris_Minns_sa….mp4)

>>20731815

>>20751248

Government declares Australia 'is not going to be bullied by Elon Musk' after X refuses to remove harmful Wakeley material

Stephanie Borys - 20 April 2024

Social media giant X (formerly known as Twitter) has claimed it could face daily fines of $785,000 if it does not take down content that references the stabbing of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

Following the attack on Monday night, politicians from across the country repeatedly called on social media companies to take down any content that risked further inflaming rising tensions.

The office of the eSafety commissioner said it had "engaged" with major social media platforms in relation to the resharing and reposting of class one content that depicted "recent violence" in Sydney.

Class one content is defined as promoting, inciting or instructing in matters of crime or violence and is likely to cause offence to a reasonable adult.

In a statement issued on Friday, eSafety said it expected platforms to make "genuine efforts" to protect Australians from harmful content.

"eSafety is aware social media users continue to upload and reshare distressing content and appreciates it is challenging for platforms to manage this," the statement said.

"We are also aware some platforms are responding by applying technological solutions to prevent or reduce proliferation … eSafety welcomes these actions."

In a statement, X said it had received a "demand" from the eSafety commissioner to take the posts down or face a daily fine of $785,000.

"The Australian eSafety commissioner ordered X to remove certain posts in Australia that publicly commented on the recent attack against a Christian Bishop. These posts did not violate X's rules on violent speech," the statement said.

The content that the eSafety commissioner wants removed is classified as class one content that relates to extreme violent images and videos.

However, X indicated it would not comply with the request and would take the matter to court.

"X believes that eSafety's order was not within the scope of Australian law and we complied with the directive pending a legal challenge.

"While X respects the right of a country to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety commissioner does not have the authority to dictate what content X's users can see globally. We will robustly challenge this unlawful and dangerous approach in court.

"Global takedown orders go against the very principles of a free and open internet and threaten free speech everywhere."

Political leaders up for a fight

Federal government minister Mark Butler said Australia would not back down from the demands issued by the eSafety Commissioner.

"Australia is not going to be bullied by Elon Musk or any other tech billionaire in our commitment to making sure social media is a safe space," he said.

"If he [Elon Musk] wants to fight that fine in court, we are up for that fight."

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said he was shocked but not surprised by X's response.

"This is exactly as I would expect from X … a disregard for information they pump into our communities.

"Lies and rumours spreading like wildfire and then when things go wrong, throwing their hands up in the air to say they are not prepared to do anything about it.

"We have had enough … to think about young police officers who have to go into harm's way to calm down a riot based on a rumour or innuendo means their job is next to impossible for them."

The owner of X, Elon Musk, used his platform to call the eSafety commissioner "the Australian censorship commissar."

The Office of the eSafety Commissioner said yesterday it was considering whether further regulatory action was warranted, but it has not publicly discussed the possibility of fines.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said the government's expectation was that social media companies should remove the content immediately.

"If you operate in Australia, you should comply with the law. It's as simple as that," she said in a statement.

"Our clear message to Australians is please do not share or engage with this content. It is distressing and may very well cause harm to vulnerable Australians — including children."

On Friday, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said social media companies had a responsibility to protect the community.

"It shouldn't need the eSafety commissioner to intervene, to direct companies, in this case X and Meta, to take down violent videos," he said.

"We are prepared to take whatever action is necessary to haul these companies into line. We've made that very clear because of the damage that a failure to act can have."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-20/elon-musk-reacts-to-esafety-commissioner-asking-x-to-take-down-/103748930

https://www.esafety.gov.au/key-topics/Illegal-restricted-content

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80104e No.20751690

File: 88d59b0b31e6099⋯.jpg (3.84 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Puzzle_pieces_at_AFP_HQ.jpg)

File: 50ffdc757707f27⋯.jpg (1.78 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Detective_Acting_Sergeant_….jpg)

File: 12f07a3d6ff12e2⋯.jpg (1.61 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,The_AFP_s_Belinda_Hoek.jpg)

File: d185d045e85e7e3⋯.jpg (2.86 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,AFP_Commander_Helen_Schnei….jpg)

File: 426efc4c73538bc⋯.jpg (244.08 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Inside_the_police_unit_unm….jpg)

Inside the police unit unmasking child predators

Matthew Doran - 17 Apr 2024

1/3

"Some of the things we see, even after all this time, are shocking."

"We quite often will say: 'I actually can't believe that someone else would do that to another human being.'"

"We can't help the awful things that have happened to that child, but we can change their future."

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual abuse that may distress some readers.

It's like putting together a puzzle. A horrible, sickening puzzle.

One where some of the key pieces are missing. And the finished product isn't a picture you'd ever want to see.

"We can be looking at child abuse material six, seven, eight hours a day, day in and day out."

It's a remarkable statement about a standard day in the office, delivered in a remarkably matter-of-fact fashion by acting detective sergeant Kate Laidler.

She leads the Australian Federal Police's Victim Identification Team, based in the nation's capital.

Sitting behind computer screens, they scour hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of photos and videos, trying to find any tiny clue that could help save a vulnerable child suffering at the hands of depraved predators.

"When you were 20 at university, or you finished university – I have a degree in physical education, of all things – is this what I imagined I would be doing? Of course not.

"[But] the value and the reward and the satisfaction you get from this work, I've never found anywhere else."

Laidler's been on the front line of tackling child exploitation online for years, and concedes it can be overwhelming to sift through the sheer volume of images and videos handled by her team.

"You could spend months looking through one particular seizure from an investigation that has got millions of images in there," she said.

"It might be the only chance we have of identifying that child.

"We take the time, and we're thorough, and we're methodical in the way that we work through it, but we also know in the meantime, there's probably another 25 seizures of the same volume that are waiting for review."

The 'bleed' between work and home

Laidler is a mother. Other members of her majority-female team are too.

Disconnecting from the office takes on an entirely different meaning in this line of work.

"When you walk out the door, you have to leave it behind," she said.

"I sometimes wish I maybe lived in that naive world that some other people perhaps do, but we know the realities.

"If I took this work home with me day in and day out, I would become very unwell very quickly."

Laidler revealed the work does affect how she deals with her children. Mum has made sure they're acutely aware of how they should behave online.

"From a very young age, from preschool age, you'd sit them all down, and we would go through the rules," she said.

"Okay, [you'd ask] what's the first rule, and one would pipe up and say 'don't take your clothes off', or whatever it might be.

"They know that those are the rules of being online, and they apply across all platforms — gaming, social media, doesn't matter what that might be.

"When I grew up we actually didn't have to wear seatbelts, but now my children wouldn't get in the car and not put their seatbelt on.

"We've started very young so that it's just normal and natural as part of life for them."

(continued)

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80104e No.20751702

File: 2f822d5314d27f5⋯.mp4 (9.82 MB,960x540,16:9,The_Victim_Identification_….mp4)

File: 8d08743d5db542e⋯.jpg (1.55 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,AFP_jacket_in_computer_roo….jpg)

File: 11d0c53736e3aa0⋯.jpg (208.54 KB,1920x1080,16:9,_It_goes_in_the_bin_.jpg)

>>20751690

2/3

Laidler's colleague, Belinda Hoek, shared a more chilling example of how work and home life crosses over, noting there's "always going to be a bit of bleedover".

Hoek didn't have children when she started in the team. Now she's a proud mother of two, aged six and four.

"Unfortunately at times you will come across material, especially with young kids like mine, where there are items of clothing that I've come across in the material at work.

"And then my daughter has it, or my son might have that particular clothing.

"It goes in the bin."

Despite the pressures, Laidler said the majority of her team had been doing the work for around eight or nine years.

The dangers of the digital world have never been more apparent, and the AFP's top brass will often describe online child sexual abuse as a borderless crime.

"We certainly see through the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation an increase in reporting every year of online child sexual exploitation," Commander Helen Schneider said.

"The amount of material that we're seizing seems to be increasing, which is that volume of material becomes quite challenging and time-consuming.

"It is concerning that we do see an increase in reporting, but we know that more and more children around the globe are using the internet and devices from younger and younger ages — technology is more accessible to children and to online offenders."

The AFP is constantly receiving referrals from international agencies, asking for help from their Australian colleagues or tipping them off to victims who appear to be in Australia.

And the environment is constantly changing.

"We see technology evolving with end-to-end encryption and AI-generated child abuse material — we know that this is something that is likely to grow for us, not only in Australia but internationally as well," Schneider said.

"It's a challenge for our victim identification experts, because of the photorealism of that type of technology.

"It can challenge us in terms of our victim identification specialists wasting time on something that might not be a real victim, and taking them away from efforts that go towards removing real child victims from harm."

'Celebrate the wins'

Laidler and Hoek are reluctant to divulge too much when it comes to how they go about their job — not just because of the sensitivities surrounding vulnerable victims, but also to ensure predators don't learn about the techniques used to bring them to justice.

But they do, as Laidler describes it, "celebrate the wins".

One case in early 2017 was cracked after a referral from an international partner.

"They'd executed a search warrant at an offender's house and had seized material … and had found some videos and images that had some key indicators that suggested that child was here in Australia," Laidler said.

"We spent probably the next three years looking for that child, trying to identify things that we can see — where were they sold, who sold them, those sorts of things, without any success.

"And then in 2020, we had a breakthrough based on what we could see in the imagery and identified the child and the offender."

The prosecution was successful.

Hoek was involved in a similar case, where an international agency seized 50 terabytes of data — the equivalent of around 900,000 files — and passed them on to the AFP.

"Using our specialised software, but also just a large amount of hours and scrolling through all of those images and videos and trying to get details and see if we could find any victims in there, I was able to come across a victim that was about 10 years old," Hoek said.

"There was never any disclosure from that victim at all … if we hadn't found that material, I believe the abuse would still be ongoing and there wouldn't have been any intervention at all, she may still be in harm."

(continued)

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80104e No.20751709

File: e2eb6c2b2739bbc⋯.mp4 (9.64 MB,960x540,16:9,The_decompression_room.mp4)

File: 30ac32add959b6a⋯.jpg (3.08 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Table_tennis_bats_on_a_tab….jpg)

File: bf75b9e78ca0152⋯.jpg (1.83 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Darts_and_dartboard_at_AFP….jpg)

File: 1056c898769295e⋯.jpg (220.94 KB,1920x1080,16:9,homecoming.jpg)

File: 4fddb6faf049ac2⋯.jpg (258.21 KB,1184x594,592:297,Counselling_and_support_se….jpg)

>>20751702

3/3

The decompression room

It's March when the ABC is invited into the AFP's headquarters, in the shadow of Parliament House in the Canberra suburb of Barton.

There's a hush across the floor — perhaps because media are there, perhaps because some staff are downstairs at a fundraising barbeque.

The Victim Identification Unit's office is separated from other AFP teams. It lies behind frosted glass and swipe card locks, with signage warning of the sensitive material being pored over on the other side of the door.

It's a fairly austere room. It could be any office, in any building across the country.

There's a subtle hint of the stresses experienced by its residents, with the placement of a small desktop punching bag standing next to some staplers and other stationery.

Next door is another room, reserved solely for use by the team. Its purpose is very different.

A dartboard hangs next to the window, a masking tape mark stretched across the carpet in front of it. A jar of bright orange table tennis balls sits on a bookcase, next to a table that has seen hours of fierce competition.

Well-worn couches are placed in front of TV screens airing daytime repeats of reality shows, with Xbox and PlayStation consoles hooked up for later use.

Decompression is the name of the game in here.

"Sometimes you just need a break to turn your mind off," Laidler said.

"You need to have some strategies in place and proactively in place — not just when you hit that crisis period — something that you can count on when you're feeling like that."

Laidler said the close-knit team were good at noticing warning signs in each other's behaviour, checking in on each other to ensure they could keep doing the job.

"We all do have different methods of how we get through the job, how we actually prioritise our mental health, but it is one of the main things you need to do," Hoek said.

"My husband knows that if I come home and say I've had a bit of a rough day, I need to go for a run, I need to clear my head, he's always really supportive of that as well."

It's a common theme that continues to pop up as Laidler and Hoek share their experiences.

The need for resilience, in one of the most professionally and personally challenging jobs in law enforcement.

"If we don't help ourselves, we can't help other people, and we can't help the victims."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-17/inside-afp-victim-identification-team/103707618

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80104e No.20751727

File: 819ed4f2f5bc44e⋯.jpg (423.88 KB,2048x1152,16:9,AFP_Commander_Helen_Schnei….jpg)

>>20622417

>>20751690

Child sex abuse cops alarmed by Meta move

DAVID MURRAY - APRIL 18, 2024

Global law enforcement chiefs have gathered in Brisbane and strategised on how to fight a recalcitrant Meta’s decision to expand encryption at the expense of protecting children.

An international alliance of 15 agencies known as the Virtual Global Taskforce and including Britain’s National Crime Agency and the Australian Federal Police workshopped how to respond to the tech giant’s encryption plans and its expected severe impacts on child abuse investigations.

Vital reports of children being abused will plummet following Meta’s global rollout of default end-to-end encryption on Facebook and Messenger that began in December, investigators have warned.

Privacy advocates have supported the expansion of encryption, but Britain’s NCA deputy director for child sexual abuse and taskforce co-chair Wendy Hart said impacts on the detection and prevention of child abuse were being closely monitored.

“Meta has only recently encrypted in the UK (in) January so we’re yet to see the effects of it come through in the reporting to us,” Dr Hart said. “We are concerned that by introducing end-to-end encryption and lessening the protections that they currently have for children, that we won’t be able to protect as many children on the streets of the UK.”

Meta says default end-to-end encryption will mean “nobody, including Meta, can see what’s sent or said, unless you choose to report a message to us”.

Mark Zuckerberg’s company maintains that encryption improves safety and security for users, and has said it expects to continue to provide more reports to law enforcement than its peers.

US-based social media companies are required to report child sexual abuse material to the Nat­ional Centre for Missing and ­Exploited Children but child abuse content shared on Facebook and Messenger that would have previously been detected will now be invisible.

The NCA last year said Meta’s enhanced encryption “would result in the loss of the vast majority of reports of detected child abuse currently disseminated to UK police each year”, with an expected 92 per cent drop in reports from Facebook and an 85 per cent drop from Instagram.

Child abuse investigators and campaigners in March told The Australian that to counter public criticism, Meta may increase reporting to law enforcement but provide information that is of no investigative value.

The chief of the AFP-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation, Helen Schneider, confirmed she was closely watching for reduced actionable information in child abuse reports.

From November, Commander Schneider will take over as chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, whose members include Interpol, US Homeland Security Investi­gations, the FBI, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Dutch National Police and Philippines National Police and National Bureau of Investigations.

The Virtual Global Taskforce meets twice a year and was a “very strategic alliance” where law enforcement agencies could get a global picture of emerging risks and threats to children, she said.

“We haven’t actually seen the impact of end-to-end encryption yet really come into the AFP-led ACCCE,” Commander Schneider said. “We’re still waiting to assess what that is. We are monitoring that very closely.

“Our concern is we want to make sure that any report we get through the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children has the quality we need to be able to action it, to be able to identify offenders and children and make sure we can remove children from harm. That’s always our priority. Anything that could jeopardise that is of great concern to the AFP and global law enforcement.”

Grooming of young children through social media and video games, and the “sextortion” or sexual extortion of youths who are tricked into sending intimate photos to strangers are among the major challenges.

Australia’s online safety regulator, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant, last year named Meta’s Instagram as well as Snapchat as the most frequently targeted sites for sextortion.

Commander Schneider said: “We reiterate strongly to companies like Meta, and others, that they play a crucial role and have a key responsibility in making sure children are safe when they’re using their platforms.”

Artificial intelligence has also emerged as a tool to create realistic child abuse material, while sex offenders are continuing to prey on children overseas through travel and live-streaming online.

Dr Hart said deep fake videos of children being abused were already so convincing they were tying up the limited resources of victim identification experts.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/child-sex-abuse-cops-alarmed-by-meta-move/news-story/6c4ea9d2cb4c92049268e88f6d02cd46

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80104e No.20751795

File: 89e9dd0852e02f3⋯.jpg (2.41 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Former_Bishop_of_Broome_Ch….jpg)

File: 5fbe263807bbe83⋯.jpg (151.14 KB,870x580,3:2,The_former_Bishop_of_Broom….jpg)

File: 42ed40fb83e046d⋯.jpg (1.09 MB,2016x1512,4:3,Police_have_conducted_a_nu….jpg)

File: 79ca540b028e59f⋯.jpg (2.06 MB,3848x2886,4:3,Bishop_Christopher_Saunder….jpg)

>>20455914 (pb)

>>20455946 (pb)

Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders faces two new indecent assault charges

Gareth McKnight - 17 Apr 2024

The former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders is facing two new indecent assault charges after his home in Western Australia's north was raided on Wednesday morning.

The 74-year-old is already facing 26 charges, including two counts of sexual penetration without consent, three counts of indecent dealing with a child and 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault.

WA Police confirmed on Wednesday a 74-year-old Broome man is facing two charges of indecent and unlawful assault.

While police have not named the man, the ABC has confirmed he is the former Broome Bishop.

It will be alleged Bishop Saunders sexually assaulted a man who was 21 or 22 years old in 2016.

The new charges mean two complainants have come forward to police.

The former Bishop is set to reappear in Broome Magistrate's Court on June 17.

Not guilty pleas likely

Last month in the Broome Magistrate's Court his lawyer Seamus Rafferty indicated the former Catholic church figurehead would plead not guilty to all charges.

A suppression order restricting publication and media coverage of proceedings was also requested, but Magistrate Deen Potter later ruled it was not required.

"The interests of justice do not require a suppression order," he told the court on March 1, after the culmination of a temporary suppression order.

"Going forward, in my view, there are sufficient safeguards in place [that will] ensure the interests of open justice and a fair trial."

The ABC reported in March that the first swathe of charges related to one complainant, who was aged 16 or 17 at the time of the first alleged offending in 2008.

Police allege the offending took place at several locations throughout the Kimberley over a five-year period, the court heard.

Bishop Saunders has also been charged with holding a firearm without a licence and inadequate storage of a firearm.

Magistrate Potter confirmed in February the firearms included a shotgun and rounds of ammunition numbering in the hundreds.

Bishop Saunders was granted bail on a $10,000 surety, with his next court appearance scheduled for June 17.

Sizeable footprint in the Kimberley

Both supporters and critics of the former Bishop attended court, with tense scenes as the 74-year-old was granted bail.

Bishop Saunders was first ordained as a priest in Broome in 1976 before being named as Bishop in 1996.

During his time in the Kimberley, he has held positions across the region, including undertaking stints in the remote communities of Kalumburu in the far north and Lombadina on the Dampier Peninsula.

Bishop Saunders has always denied any wrongdoing and maintained his innocence.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-17/bishop-broome-christopher-saunders-charges/103736252

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80104e No.20751856

File: 725c5fc63d78622⋯.jpg (3.76 MB,5062x3375,5062:3375,From_left_Treasurer_Jim_Ch….jpg)

File: 66564a2beb1c112⋯.jpg (68.26 KB,1024x682,512:341,Treasurer_Jim_Chalmers_in_….jpg)

File: 94358a891dc6568⋯.jpg (329.87 KB,1920x1280,3:2,Donald_Trump_and_Kevin_Rud….jpg)

>>20545757

>>20594954

Australia will work with Trump if that’s the card we’re dealt: Treasurer

Farrah Tomazin - April 20, 2024

Washington: Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers insists Australia’s relationship with the US will remain strong if Donald Trump is re-elected, saying Canberra will “play the cards that we’re dealt” after the US presidential election in November.

Speaking in Washington after meeting with G20 finance ministers, the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Chalmers also warned that the risk of further escalation in the Middle East could see inflation spike again.

Noting that a miscalculation “could turn the events of recent days into a full-blown regional war”, Chalmers said: “This is primarily a concern about the innocent people in the Middle East – we don’t want to see more lives lost. But we also don’t want to see more damage done to the global economy.

“So global factors will be a big part of the next few weeks as we put the finishing touches on the budget.”

Chalmers’ comments came after a suspected Israeli drone attack on Iran on Friday sparked fears of an escalating tit-for-tat between two of the Middle East’s biggest military powers.

While the move appeared to be limited in scope, world leaders – who have been urging Israel and Iran to avoid sparking a broader war in the region – once again called for de-escalation.

Chalmers said the Middle East conflict and Russia’s war in Ukraine were the two biggest influences on global economies and would also shape Australia’s coming budget.

The May 19 budget would have a much bigger emphasis on economic security, he said, while China’s sluggish economy – which is affecting Australian commodities and exports – would negatively impact revenue by billions of dollars and force the government to “do more with less”.

“To be really blunt about it, we won’t see anything like the revenue upgrades that we saw in the first two budgets in our third budget,” he said, noting that a drop in the price of iron ore had already wiped $9 billion from the budget this year.

“That is part of the reason why we need a slightly different fiscal strategy – to try and do more with less, but also to try and recognise that in a global economy which is slowing, with a Chinese economy which has been sluggish, that has big implications for us.”

The treasurer attended 19 meetings during his whirlwind trip to Washington, including with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Ukraine Finance Minister Sergii Marchenko, and US Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.

He is yet to meet any members of Trump’s team, but asked how he might be preparing for a potential change of administration, Chalmers replied: “We play the cards that we’re dealt in Australia. The Americans choose their own presidents and leaders, and that’s obviously appropriate.

“But we are confident that in either scenario, we’ll continue to be well-represented and we’ll continue to have our interest recognised here in the US because we’re such close friends.”

Concerns about the future of Australia’s relationship with its most important security partner emerged last month after Trump hit out at former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, now the nation’s ambassador to the US, describing him as “nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”.

During an interview with former Brexiteer Nigel Farage on Britain’s right-leaning GB News, Trump also suggested Rudd may not be welcome under a second Trump presidency, after Farage relayed questions from Sky News Australia concerning comments Rudd had previously made describing Trump as “nuts”, a “traitor to the West” and “the most destructive president in history”.

Rudd was the head of the Asia Society at the time and says he was speaking in his capacity as a member of an independent think tank.

“I’m not going to get into those conversations,” Chalmers said when asked about the conversations he had with Rudd on the matter.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/australia-will-work-with-trump-if-that-s-the-card-we-re-dealt-treasurer-20240420-p5flbd.html

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80104e No.20751933

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20726720

>>20726780

Hidden camera exposes horrific abuse of disabled woman

60 Minutes Australia

Apr 14, 2024

Hours and hours of secret video recordings reveal the terrible scandal of how a woman was abused by the carers who should have been looking after her.

It’s not a proud boast, but this is without doubt some of the cruellest, most horrific vision ever seen on Australian television. It’s part of a major investigation by Tara Brown focusing on shocking accusations that disability support workers were mistreating a vulnerable person they were employed to look after. However, instead of caring for the woman, their attitude and actions screamed that they couldn’t care less. As Brown reveals, the workers smugly assumed that because the victim was unable to speak, their abuse would go undetected. But they were proved wrong when, in an extraordinary act of love, the woman’s elderly parents took the law into their own hands and used a hidden camera to expose the terrible truth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lb_14RWfj-I

>The choice to know will be yours.

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80104e No.20755608

File: d262bcb1943a8fe⋯.jpg (156.7 KB,2000x1126,1000:563,Australian_Space_Agency_s_….jpg)

File: e68fd4e0a375bf1⋯.jpg (277.34 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Graduating_classmates_incl….jpg)

File: 11bfb21050ae69b⋯.jpg (426.38 KB,2000x2666,1000:1333,Bennell_Pegg_to_boldly_go_….jpg)

File: 5f8b54d6694af7c⋯.jpg (536.69 KB,1679x2239,1679:2239,The_astronaut_is_fulfillin….jpg)

File: 61cbd3f8da8f81e⋯.jpg (124.77 KB,1440x810,16:9,Ms_Bennell_Pegg_trained_fo….jpg)

Meet the first astronaut to represent Australia: Katherine Bennell-Pegg

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 21, 2024

On a freezing cold but clear night alone in the Spanish Pyrenees during “winter-survival training”, apprentice-astronaut Katherine Bennell-Pegg had nothing else to do but look up at the sky.

The team of six astronauts attached to the European Space Agency had been learning how to survive in cold temperatures in case, on re-entry to Earth, they unexpectedly landed in a remote place and had to survive until rescued.

For a week, they were taught how to live off the land with only a space capsule, kind-of like a parachute, and spent nights isolated and alone in the forest.

One particularly cold night, the sky was “bright and bursting” with stars.

“Without a phone or even a watch, once I’d set things up, there was nothing to do but look up and be mesmerised by the same stars that had me in awe as a kid and drew me to space in the first place,” she said.

A small number of Australians have trained as astronauts and gone to space, representing the US and other nations.

But on Monday, Ms Bennell-Pegg will become the first ever Australian-badged astronaut.

During 13 months of arduous basic training at the European Space Agency in Germany, she has never lost sight of the child, growing up in Sydney’s northern beaches, who wanted to go to space.

In the stands on Monday, as she graduates with her five classmates, will be her father and her parents-in-law, who have flown over for the occasion, her kids and her husband. Her class, the first to graduate from the ESA in about 15 years, will receive their astronaut “wings”, a class patch and a class name – which will be a surprise.

She has already received the congratulations of Dr Andy Thomas, the first Australian-born NASA Mission Specialist, who told her she was “ready to make the next giant leap” and “boldly go where no Australian woman has gone before”.

Once a certified astronaut, she is eligible for missions to the International Space Station or further to Artemis. While its been her lifelong dream, she says it's a decision Australia will need to make “when the time is right”.

“Some astronauts have waited more than a decade to fly, and it’s more impactful when they do,” she says.

For now, she will return to Adelaide as a permanent employee of the Australian Space Agency where she says she could “contribute to so many things including advising on space and opportunities internationally, as well as how Australia can leverage platforms and maintain connections”.

Australian Space Agency boss Enrico Palermo is sure of that too, saying her training has “opened doors that will further grow our local space ecosystem”.

“Katherine will return to Australia a qualified astronaut brimming with knowledge, insights and connections that will help generate global opportunities for our industry,” he says.

Ms Bennell-Pegg’s astronaut training has included parabolic flight exercises to understand exactly what a plane does to the body in 1.8 G-force; underwater training that emulates descending over the space station in zero gravity; and medical research, since without gravity, astronauts can investigate diseases of the heart and bones, carry out stem-cell experiments, and investigate diseases like Alzheimers.

“Sending people into space is about more than just exploring. It allows us to do unique science, unlocks knowledge and develops technology that benefits life on Earth – from new medicines and health breakthroughs to how we grow food and conserve water,” Mr Palermo says.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/meet-the-first-astronaut-to-represent-australia-katherine-bennellpegg/news-story/951509d84b71ea3d405fbc7a5bd5cdc6

https://twitter.com/AussieAstroKat

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80104e No.20755622

File: 5498217517a0878⋯.jpg (300.46 KB,2400x1474,1200:737,Joe_Biden_suggested_this_w….jpg)

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‘Lost for words’: Joe Biden’s tale about cannibals bemuses Papua New Guinea residents

President’s suggestion that his ‘Uncle Bosie’ was eaten by cannibals harms US efforts to build Pacific ties, say local experts

Rebecca Ratcliffe and Bethanie Harriman - 19 Apr 2024

Joe Biden’s suggestion that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during world war two has been met with a mixture of bemusement and criticism in the country.

Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt Ambrose J Finnegan Jr, while campaigning in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, describing how “Uncle Bosie” had flown single engine planes as reconnaissance flights during the war. Biden said he “got shot down in New Guinea”, adding “they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.”

Official war records say Finnegan was killed when a plane on which he was a passenger experienced engine failure and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The records do not mention cannibalism or state that the plane was shot down.

Analysts in Papua New Guinea who were shown his comments described the claims as unsubstantiated and poorly judged, pointing out that they come at a time when US has been seeking to strengthen its ties with the country, and counter Chinese influence in the Pacific region.

“The Melanesian group of people, who Papua New Guinea is part of, are a very proud people,” said Michael Kabuni, a lecturer in political science at the University of Papua New Guinea. “And they would find this kind of categorisation very offensive. Not because someone says ‘oh there used to be cannibalism in PNG’ – yes, we know that, that’s a fact.

“But taking it out of context, and implying that your [uncle] jumps out of the plane and somehow we think it’s a good meal is unacceptable.”

Cannibalism was practised by some communities in the past in specific contexts, said Kabuni, such as eating a deceased relative out of respect, to prevent their body from decomposing. “There was context. They wouldn’t just eat any white men that fell from the sky,” said Kabuni.

The practice was not due to people lacking food, he added, pointing out that archaeological evidence illustrates that agriculture was practised in Papua New Guinea more than 10,000 years ago.

About 79,000 US soldiers remain unaccounted following the second world war, Kabuni added. “They’re spread from south-east Asia to the Korean peninsula and Europe. What is [Biden] implying? All 79,000 that were never found were eaten?”

Others were simply bemused by the remarks. “I am lost for words actually,” said Allan Bird, governor of the province of East Sepik, who was recently selected as the alternate prime minister for the opposition. “I don’t feel offended. It’s hilarious really. I am sure when Biden was a child, those are the things he heard his parents say. And it probably stuck with him all his life.”

Maholopa Laveil, economics lecturer at the University of Papua New Guinea, said the claims were unhelpful, and pointed out that it comes after Biden cancelled a brief trip to the country last year. “It paints PNG in a bad light. PNG has already had a lot of negative press around riots and tribal fighting and this doesn’t help, and [the claims are] unsubstantiated,” he said.

“For a US president to say that – particularly after a lot of deals have been struck with PNG and the work they’ve been doing in the Pacific – even off the cuff, I don’t think that should have been said at all,” said Maholopa.

According to the Pentagon’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, Biden’s uncle died on 14 May 1944, while a passenger on an A-20 havoc aircraft that departed Momote Airfield, Los Negros Island, bound for Nadzab airfield, New Guinea.

“For unknown reasons, this plane was forced to ditch in the ocean off the north coast of New Guinea,” the agency says. “Both engines failed at low altitude, and the aircraft’s nose hit the water hard. Three men failed to emerge from the sinking wreck and were lost in the crash. One crew member survived and was rescued by a passing barge. An aerial search the next day found no trace of the missing aircraft or the lost crew members.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/apr/19/joe-biden-uncle-bosie-cannibals-eaten-papua-new-guinea

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13327529/Biden-cannibalism-uncle-Papua-New-Guinea-outraged-academics.html

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80104e No.20759583

File: 89c651be6f18f9c⋯.jpg (253.68 KB,1948x1095,1948:1095,Amy_Scott_is_embraced_duri….jpg)

File: 8271f1685e3114b⋯.jpg (282.45 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Amy_Scott_embraces_a_membe….jpg)

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>>20719788

>>20724386

Nation unites in gratitude for hero of Bondi Junction Amy Scott at candlelight vigil

ELIZABETH PIKE - APRIL 21, 2024

A heroic police officer has been embraced by a grateful nation as the Prime Minister joined a beachside vigil to remember those lost in the Bondi Junction killings.

Inspector Amy Scott, who shot Joel Cauchi dead after he killed six people, was on Sunday again the person everyone turned to – a beacon of light and bravery on a night filled with sorrow and pain.

The police officer was ­approached by tear-stricken mourners and colleagues relieved she could join them as the sun went down over Bondi Beach.

Inspector Scott was composed and gracious as she was greeted by wellwishers and the grieving.

In many ways, she represented all of the heroes of the stabbing that shocked the nation a week ago on Saturday: fallen security guard Faraz Tahir and his colleague Muhammad Taha who survived; “bollard man” Damien Guerot; and the pair who took Ashlee Good’s baby and rushed her to safety.

There was another beacon of light on Sunday night. As thousands gathered with Inspector Scott and Anthony Albanese to pay tribute to the five women and one man who died in the attack, Dr Good’s nine-month-old baby was cleared to leave hospital and ­return home to the safety of her family.

But the sorrow and the ­shock of that dreadful Saturday at Bondi Junction were still raw.

Candles were held for Dr Good, 38; Dawn Singleton, 25, daughter of millionaire businessman John Singleton; mother of two Jade Young, 47; artist Pikria Darchia, 55; Chinese student Yixuan Cheng, 27, and Mr Tahir, 30.

The Prime Minister led the vigil, speaking of those who had been lost and those whose lives had been changed forever.

“We gather here to remember them. Our candles held against the darkness. And we offer the condolences of this community, our city, our state and our entire nation to all who loved them the most,” Mr Albanese told the ­gathering.

“We think of Inspector Amy Scott who ran towards danger. The security guards who made the same courageous choice.

“The first responders who acted with such speed and skill, and the everyday people who would never have imagined they would face such a moment and yet when that sternest test arrived, their first instinct was to help ­others at risk … people they did not know.”

Thousands crowded the hill beside the Bondi Pavilion, joined by rows uniformed of emergency service personnel as the sun went down and a week marred by loss and tragedy came to an end.

A cross was held above the heads and shoulders of those gathered to pay their respects as families and friends sat huddled together while the Cafe of the Gate of Salvation gospel choir sung Amazing Grace. Peter Dutton also attended the ceremony, alongside NSW Governor Margaret Beazley, local federal MP Allegra Spender, her electoral neighbour and Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, Deputy Premier Penny Sharpe and Police Commissioner Karen Webb.

Premier Chris Minns encouraged the Bondi community to ­remain hopeful as he spoke of the victims and the way they lived their lives. “We remember them at their happiest, living their life, doing what they loved surrounded by the people they cared about,” he said.

“Patrolling Bronte Beach on a January morning, developing their artworks, raising families, experiencing young love, crossing the world with hope in their heart.

“That is how they deserve to be remembered.”

Mr Minns also took the opportunity to speak women in the crowd after concerns were raised about the motives of the ­attacker. Five of the six victims killed were women.

“This is your state and your city, this is your home and you have every right to live your life as you choose, free from fear and ­violence,” he said.

“We will not be a state where a woman is forced to change their behaviour because of the feelings or anger of other people.”

The vigil came at the end of a day of mourning in Sydney. The Swans, in a game against the Gold Coast Suns at the Sydney Cricket Ground, wore black armbands and held a minute’s silence for the victims.

And at Westfield Bondi Junction, the flowers laid in tribute outside the shopping centre continued to grow.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nation-unites-in-gratitude-for-hero-of-bondi-junction-amy-scott-at-candlelight-vigil/news-story/316410aa317f43f6a41216d52996c91b

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80104e No.20759602

File: ed046028341089d⋯.jpg (120.73 KB,1280x720,16:9,Abu_Ousayd_left_and_Bishop….jpg)

File: 0058f7f600e27ec⋯.jpg (108.41 KB,1279x721,1279:721,Vision_of_the_incident_whe….jpg)

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>>20628581

>>20731815

Don’t blame me for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel terror attack, says radical Sydney preacher Abu Ousayd

ALEXI DEMETRIADI - APRIL 21, 2024

1/2

One of the nation’s most radical Islamic preachers has said “don’t blame me” for the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop in an ­alleged terrorist incident but claims the bishop hates Islam and speaks against the prophet ­Mohammad.

Abu Ousayd – also known as Wissam Haddad – used an online sermon on Friday to claim he and his Al Madina Dawah Centre have been blamed by mainstream Islamic leaders and the community for last Monday’s terror incident.

“You want to push hate on to us for no reason, with allegations that have no proof,” Mr Ousayd said.

“Because you have a personal agenda against us.”

NSW police on Thursday charged a 16-year-old boy with committing a terrorist act, alleging he travelled 90 minutes to Wakeley’s Christ The Good Shepherd Church before stabbing Assyrian Christian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, as well as three others.

Mr Ousayd said he “did not condone” the attack or the boy’s alleged action, and said the bishop’s comments about Islam were “harmful … anyone who heard (them) would be angered”.

Mr Ousayd’s name was raised last week among community members who alleged the teenager had similar views to those preached at the Al Madina Dawah and could have been influenced by it. An audio message was also circulating in which a local community leader alleged the boy’s mind and views had “been poisoned”.

The Australian does not suggest that is true, but that those views were being aired in those community circles.

The Australian is also not suggesting Mr Ousayd had any involvement – implicit or explicit – with the teenager or the attack, reiterating that he himself claims he has been wrongly blamed.

In his Friday sermon, Mr Ousayd said he “did not condone” the teenager’s alleged actions, but criticised Bishop Emmanuel’s remarks about Islam, although adding it did “not justify” what happened.

“This is an individual (the bishop) who speaks against and hates Islam, who speaks against the prophet,” he said, adding that Bishop Emmanuel knew he was “antagonising” the Muslim community. “Words are harmful … they stir up emotions in anyone who believes in (Islam), and anyone who hears the insults would be angered.

“He (the bishop) said himself that he was willing to die for the words he has said … he said he understood his words were causing anger and harm to the Muslim community.”

In December, another of the centre’s directors, Ye Ye, posted a video taking aim at Bishop Emmanuel’s comments about Islam, and in which he theologically “challenged” the bishop.

Titled the “Muslim Challenge Bishop Mar Mari with Koran”, Mr Ye said “the whole community was waiting for you”, although the video is short and does not stray away from that theological “challenge” to the bishop.

Bishop Emmanuel has an ultra-orthodox reading of Christianity, often questioning the validity of other faiths, particularly Islam.

“I don’t have a problem with the Muslim people,” he said.

“But I’ve got a question mark with the faith of the Islamic world.”

He has also said Mohammed would “not greet” people at the gates of heaven, and that he “rotted in a grave” and was dead.

(continued)

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80104e No.20759605

Rumble embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759602

2/2

Mr Ousayd and his centre’s long history of inflammatory statements – which have ramped up since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last year – has made them a point of community speculation since last week’s stabbing.

Mr Ousayd claimed on Friday that the state’s most prominent Islamic leaders, including Sheik Shadi Alsuleiman, the Australian National Imams Council president, audibly blamed him.

“They have a personal issue with myself and this centre, and in a gathering a day after the attack took place (they tried to) stand and push blame of what happened on myself and on this centre,” he claimed.

“Why? Because we have exposed them (mainstream Islamic leaders).

“You (mainstream leaders) have a personal agenda against us, so you push the heat to us for no reason.”

Mr Ousayd has long targeted Sheik Shadi for his opposition to the ANIC president’s mainstream application of Islam, and his willingness to work interfaith and with the government.

Sheik Shadi and his organisation condemned the attack last week and have played a key role in helping quell rising societal tensions in its aftermath.

The Al Madina Dawah Centre has hosted a raft of incendiary sermons mainly targeting Jewish people, but has also warned of violence and death if Allah or the prophet Mohammed were attacked, which prompted the country’s peak Jewish body to lodge a vilification complaint to the Australian Human Rights Commission.

Mr Ousayd has never been charged over any of his sermons. NSW’s hate speech criminal protections are currently being reviewed, given operability concerns.

Gamel Kheir, secretary of the Lebanese Muslim Association, another organisation Mr Ousayd verbally targeted, said Monday’s attack required denunciation from all faiths.

“We’re not going to shy away from the fact there may be (radicalisation) issues, even if isolated,” Mr Kheir said last week.

Mr Kheir also said it was vital that if kids were “falling between the cracks”, both the Muslim and wider communities “needed to understand why”.

“It’s about helping people reintegrate back into society,” he said.

The LMA, along with all leading Islamic bodies, condemned the attack and urged social cohesion.

“Everyone who tries to divide our society will never win,” Mr Kheir said.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw on Friday said police examined the charged teenager’s electronic devices and would continue to trawl through them.

“People have thousands and thousands of videos and images that they store, and also what we find on social media,” he said.

“The investigation will go through all of that material forensically to establish what the other avenues of inquiry are, but also evidence going to the charge.”

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb has said the teenager allegedly made comments “centred around religion”, while Premier Chris Minns said the terror designation was not “performative” and the boy’s history and rhetoric aided the decision.

The boy’s parents have said their son suffers from anger issues, telling The Australian they believed he had an undiagnosed mental health condition and that police were too quick to label his alleged actions as terror-related.

The boy remains in custody, having appeared before a Children’s Court on Friday, and will next appear in June, although his solicitor said it may be sooner given his “history of behaviour consistent with mental illness” and the need for a “psychological assessment”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/dont-blame-me-for-bishop-mar-mari-emmanuel-terror-attack-says-radical-sydney-preacher-abu-ousayd/news-story/fcb68e1d4a40629c4b9d50381d214d20

https://rumble.com/v4qc5ft-friday-khutbah-terrorism-ustadh-abu-ousayd.html

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80104e No.20759620

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

>>20751248

Government accuses ‘narcissist’ billionaire Musk of acting above the law

Paul Sakkal - April 22, 2024

The Australian government has savaged Elon Musk as an egotist and narcissist, as the online safety watchdog prepares to fight social media giant X over its refusal to remove videos of the western Sydney church stabbing.

The billionaire’s comparison of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant to a communist regime censor has fuelled bipartisan attacks on Musk by senior politicians accusing him of acting above the law.

Inman Grant has signalled she will fight Musk in court over the X owner’s refusal to comply with the regulator’s take-down order, which the company described as “unlawful and dangerous”.

Albanese said it was extraordinary X, formerly Twitter, was not complying with the order and the company was failing in its responsibility to uphold societal standards.

“Social media has a social responsibility and in addition to that, of course, we know some of the misinformation including naming some innocent bloke as the perpetrator is just extraordinary … and that was replicated. We need to recognise that and social media has a responsibility,” he said.

Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones said on Monday of the legal dispute: “We will fight it.

“Decency can’t be dead, and I think any Australian looking at that would go, ‘Oh come on’.

“It’s a pretty simple and straightforward request, it’s a lawful request, and it’s one that … Australians would think it was the right, decent thing to do.”

Albanese and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton last week backed in a full-throated pursuit of tech giants over irresponsible moderation on their platforms. Echoing those sentiments on Monday, minister Tanya Plibersek said Musk was egotistical and cabinet colleague Murray Watt called the Tesla founder a narcissist.

Coalition frontbencher Simon Birmingham argued it was a “completely ridiculous and preposterous argument” for Musk to suggest an order from the eSafety Commissioner to remove content was not within the scope of Australian law.

“The … standards that we expect in everyday life, that we expect in other forms of media, should be able to be applied to the online world as well,” he said.

The government and opposition have not suggested new laws in response to the Sydney stabbing incidents, during which NSW Premier Chris Minns said social media misinformation spread like wildfire.

But as reported in this masthead, last week’s events prompted the government to strengthen its resolve to take on foreign-owned companies through anti-misinformation laws and policies to force digital platforms to fund local journalism. It is also pursuing reforms on online safety, harmful content and artificial intelligence.

Inman Grant last week used her powers to demand X and Meta take down distressing footage of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being attacked during a livestreamed church service.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, said it was trying to comply with the order but Inman Grant left open the option of taking direct legal action against X which can include daily fines of up to $782,000.

Over the weekend, Musk told his 181 million followers that “the Australian censorship commissar” was demanding global content bans. Many followers replied to the post claiming Australia was in the grips of a “communist” government opposed to free speech.

X rejected the Australian regulator’s claims about the posts that were still on the platform while confirming it had received a take-down order.

“The recent attacks in Australia are a horrific assault on free society. Our condolences go out to those who have been affected, and we stand with the Australian people in calling for those responsible to be brought to justice,” a company statement said.

“Following these events, the Australian eSafety commissioner ordered X to remove certain posts in Australia that publicly commented on the recent attack against a Christian bishop.

“These posts did not violate X’s rules on violent speech. X believes that eSafety’s order was not within the scope of Australian law and we complied with the directive pending a legal challenge.”

Plibersek said: “This egotistical billionaire thinks it’s more important for him to show whatever he wants on X or Twitter or whatever you want to call it today (…) than to respect the victims of the crimes.”

Dutton said on Sunday that he would be open to examining a rejigged Labor bill to clamp down on social media misinformation, though the opposition was fiercely critical of a draft bill last year.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-accuses-narcissist-billionaire-musk-of-acting-above-the-law-20240422-p5flk4.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LYhk3rDXX9A

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80104e No.20759636

File: 1108b977d6286fc⋯.jpg (171.38 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Meta_s_new_AI_tool_has_nam….jpg)

File: 677525799367ed9⋯.jpg (182.66 KB,848x1130,424:565,Results_from_Meta_s_new_AI….jpg)

File: 869652a951421f5⋯.jpg (146.22 KB,842x1123,842:1123,Results_from_Meta_s_new_AI….jpg)

File: 53569a1688e9338⋯.jpg (60.83 KB,1916x1078,958:539,How_Google_Gemini_now_answ….jpg)

>>20622417

Meta new AI tool names Turnbull, Albanese among our ‘best’ PMs, sparking political bias fears

JARED LYNCH - APRIL 22, 2024

1/2

Meta’s new artificial intelligence tool has ranked Malcolm Turnbull and Anthony Albanese as among Australia’s five best prime ministers, while labelling Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison as controversial and named Peter Dutton among the least humane politicians – sparking fresh concerns of political bias from big tech.

Meta unleashed its latest large language model, Llama 3, on Friday as the AI race intensifies between Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies.

It labelled Kevin Rudd as one of Australia’s most humane politicians for his apology to the stolen generations in 2008, while it said Mr Dutton was the least humane for his role in implementing the “Stop the Boats” policy and his comments on “African gangs”. It comes as big tech has attracted criticism for promoting political biases via its powerful AI models.

The new tool has been incorporated into Meta’s main social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, and has already prompted warnings that it will “punish” Australian publishers via its aggregation of news content as well as fuel misinformation. Its release comes weeks after the Mark Zuckerberg-led company abandoned Australian media content deals worth about $70m a year.

Meta has acknowledged problems in its AI tool, saying “this is new technology and it may not always return the response we intend”.

When asked a simple question, such as who is Australia’s best politician, Meta’s AI tool ignored the country’s longest serving prime ministers, Robert Menzies and John Howard. It instead provided a list dominated by Labor prime ministers, with one exception, Mr Turnbull.

Coming in first place was Gough Whitlam, with Meta citing his “progressive policies and social reforms”. Bob Hawke was No. 2 for his “economic reforms and environmental policies.” It then named Julia Gillard “the first female prime minister of Australia”, with Mr Turnbull and Mr Albanese rounding out the list.

Meta’s AI tool said Mr Turnbull was “known for his progressive policies on issues like same-sex marriage and climate change”, while Mr Albanese earned a spot on the list for “his focus on issues like climate change, economic growth, and social justice”.

Opposition communications spokesman David Coleman said: “This is another shocking example of Meta’s failure to manage its business responsibly”.

“It would be hard to come up with more biased results if you tried. It’s not the fault of AI – it’s the fault of Meta. Other AI model publishers have processes in place to stop political bias – but not Meta.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20759640

File: 24a892d57a2ab20⋯.jpg (205.92 KB,876x652,219:163,Meta_AI_1.jpg)

>>20759636

2/2

Generative AI – technology that provides the ability to generate a raft of content via simple verbal prompts – has attracted heavy criticism for propagating political biases from big tech. Google’s first attempt, Bard, backed the voice to parliament last year and described Mr Albanese as a “man of the people”. Like Meta, Google initially labelled Mr Dutton and Mr Morrison as “controversial”.

Google says it has fixed issues around bias. Its latest Gemini AI model now dodges political questions like ‘who is the best Australian politician’, answering: “I’m still learning how to answer this question. In the meantime, try Google Search”.

According to Meta – which has also come under fire for accepting advertising money from criminals to run scams on Facebook and its other platforms that have fleeced hundreds of thousands of dollars from Australians – the nation’s most controversial politicians all came from the Liberal or National Party.

Heading the list was Mr Morrison. “Morrison was involved in the Robodebt scandal, in which he was the minister responsible for designing, funding, approving and continuing the project,” Meta’s AI said.

“The settlement cost the Australian taxpayers $112m. Many people committed suicide after receiving the debt letters.”

It said Tony Abbot, ranked as the second most controversial, was “involved in the Australian Parliament House sexual misconduct allegations and the ICAC investigation into fundraising at the Liberal Party”.

It also named Mr Dutton, citing the Murugappan family asylum seeker claims, former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian after she became the subject of an ICAC investigation, and former Queensland premier Joh Bjelke Petersen over the Fitzgerald Inquiry into political corruption.

When asked who were the most humane Australian politicians, Meta’s AI tool named Ms Gillard, citing her government’s decision to launch the National Disability Insurance Scheme; Kevin Rudd for his apology to the stolen generations; Penny Wong, who it said was a “strong advocate for LGBTQ+ rights, climate change and multiculturalism; former Greens leader Richard Di Natale; Sarah Hanson-Young and Adam Bandt.

Conversely, its list of the least humane Australian politicians included Mr Dutton, Mr Abbott, Mr Morrison, Eric Abetz – for his criticism of LGBTQ+ issues – and George Christensen “for his comments on Islam and his support for the ‘Stop the Boats’ policy”.

“It’s important to note that labelling someone as “least humane” can be subjective and may not be accurate or fair. However, some politicians in Australia have been criticised for their policies or actions on certain issues, which may be perceived as inhumane or harmful to certain groups,” Meta’s AI tool said.

When asked how it addresses political bias in its AI tool, a Meta spokesman told The Australian: “When we first launched these new features in the US last year, we said this is new technology and it may not always return the response we intend, which is the same for all generative AI systems”.

“As we gradually make this available in more markets, we will constantly release new updates and make improvements to our models to make them better,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/technology/meta-new-ai-tool-names-turnbull-albanese-among-our-best-pms-sparking-political-bias-fears/news-story/b4f2ed596c1d8b67acfa1de0f8f8f47e

https://ai.meta.com/

https://www.meta.ai/

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80104e No.20759654

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

ANZAC Day 2024: Australia’s Federation Guard prepare to stand on hallowed ground

Defence Australia

Apr 22, 2024

Australia’s Federation Guard prepare to stand on hallowed ground, representing ADF at Gallipoli for the 2024 ANZAC Day service. There is no bigger stage than Gallipoli, it is where the ANZAC spirit was forged and continues to live on today. “It’s a huge honour, it feels special to come after them, to keep their legacy going and what they fought for alive,” AC Jordan McGrath, Australia’s Federation Guard.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7rphqJgdfY

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80104e No.20764915

File: 7d640ac80f22031⋯.jpg (3.19 MB,6300x4200,3:2,Communications_Minister_Mi….jpg)

File: e0bacec10add572⋯.jpg (852.56 KB,2961x2000,2961:2000,Elon_Musk_and_his_social_m….jpg)

File: 2d9978e44cf0493⋯.jpg (563.02 KB,750x1448,375:724,EM_9.jpg)

File: 610c029731b2a9a⋯.jpg (604.59 KB,675x1659,225:553,DH_1.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

Watchdog wins urgent court bid to make X take down stabbing videos

Paul Sakkal - April 22, 2024

1/2

Australia’s online watchdog won an injunction to force Elon Musk’s social platform X to hide videos of last week’s Sydney church stabbing as a high-powered ministerial taskforce leads a bid to tackle online algorithms pushing anti-women influencers.

Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have joined the many politicians savaging digital platforms in recent days as momentum grows for new laws to assert Australia’s sovereignty after Musk rebuffed Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s take-down orders, calling them “unlawful and dangerous”.

Late on Monday, Inman Grant launched a Federal Court bid to force X to comply with the order. The court found in favour of the Australian regulator on an interim basis and decided the videos should be removed by putting them behind a notice within 24 hours. The order also applied to Meta, which Inman Grant said last week was co-operating with her demand to take videos down.

Another hearing is likely to be held later this week.

Barrister for X Marcus Hoyne said his client was given next to no notice of the hearing, meaning he had no time to receive instructions on his arguments. X was informed of the hearing at “the last possible moment”, he said. Hoyne indicated X would fight the order.

Christopher Tran, acting for the eSafety Commissioner, said videos should not be left on X to potentially radicalise people, even though X had claimed it had geo-blocked the videos so they could not be seen in Australia, except for those using VPNs.

Last week, Meta said it would comply with the commissioner’s take-down order, but after ignoring the threats of fines for several days, on Saturday, Musk’s company made clear it would not co-operate.

Musk’s swipe at the Australian regulator sparked a backlash in Canberra, with Albanese arguing it was extraordinary the tech baron was not complying with an order described by the X owner to his 181 million followers as a “global content ban” a communist regime might order.

Albanese said on Monday: “We know some of the misinformation including naming some innocent bloke as the perpetrator [of the Bondi attack] is just extraordinary … and that was replicated.

“We need to recognise that, and social media has a responsibility.”

Early on Tuesday morning, Musk responded to the prime minister’s attacks on X, re-posting a screengrab of Albanese’s remarks with the comment: “I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20764934

File: 91b283726eb3c07⋯.jpg (426.63 KB,750x1054,375:527,EM_10.jpg)

File: 0cfea670034a416⋯.jpg (392 KB,750x944,375:472,AM_1.jpg)

File: e46d1f47205d344⋯.mp4 (4.02 MB,888x490,444:245,LQsbW6zLHKU9sUb6.mp4)

>>20764915

2/2

The political clamouring for new rules to curb social media has troubled some free speech advocates and cast a spotlight on a broader federal agenda tackling online misinformation.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland told this masthead a group of top ministers was working to counter the “the vectors for harms” on digital platforms.

Rowland chairs the group which also includes Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil, Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth and Assistant Treasurer Stephen Jones.

“[Video] recommender systems and algorithms do serve up harmful content that can not only promote eating disorders and contribute to poor mental health, but also vile and misogynistic stereotypes about women,” Rowland said, as many community leaders sound the alarm about messages pushed by influencers such as self-declared misogynist Andrew Tate, who is facing charges of rape and human trafficking.

The ministers in the online working group have all asked their departments to examine how to combat the damage caused by the algorithms that amplify claims made by distressing or false social media content.

Findings from that review, to be considered by the ministerial group later this year, could tie in with recommendations from a separate review of the Online Safety Act.

Due in October, that review is looking at new penalties for a broader range of bad behaviour online, while weighing up introducing a duty-of-care requirement for tech giants to protect citizens, particularly children.

As reported by this masthead last week, the two Sydney stabbing events strengthened Labor’s resolve to take on foreign-owned social media firms through anti-misinformation laws and rules forcing them to fund local journalism.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said on Sunday he would be open to examining a rejigged Labor bill to clamp down on misinformation, though the opposition was fiercely critical of a draft bill last year. Civil liberties and religious groups were also worried by elements of the bill.

The Albanese government also pursuing reforms on abuses of artificial intelligence such as deep fakes used to misrepresent the views of prominent figures such as billionaire Andrew “Twiggy” Forrest and science communicator Dr Karl Kruszelnicki.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/government-accuses-narcissist-billionaire-musk-of-acting-above-the-law-20240422-p5flk4.html

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782431330606731694

https://twitter.com/fentasyl/status/1782428840087670928

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782550334155420074

https://twitter.com/anammostarac/status/1781616292107350520

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70e08f No.20764963

File: 486ec0f3bcb87c6⋯.png (2.37 MB,2478x1313,2478:1313,ClipboardImage.png)

Deep Cover

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80104e No.20764968

File: 575b06d46401479⋯.jpg (1.79 MB,5000x3332,1250:833,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: d57eefa5f0e2c57⋯.jpg (389.82 KB,750x964,375:482,EM_11.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

Anthony Albanese and Elon Musk feud over X's bid to show graphic stabbing footage, as conservative senator shares footage

Jake Evans - 23 April 2024

1/2

A federal senator has shared the unedited violent footage of the Wakeley church stabbing attack as a feud continues over X's bid to be able to host it on its site.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday morning hit back at "arrogant" billionaire Elon Musk after he made comments goading Mr Albanese on his social media platform X.

Mr Musk is feuding with Australia's eSafety commissioner over an order to remove graphic footage of last week's Sydney church stabbing, and on Monday night faced a defeat in court when it ruled X must temporarily pull the posts from its site until the next hearing date.

Overnight Mr Musk twice posted comments mocking Australia's prime minister, suggesting X's refusal to remove the violent videos left it alone among social media platforms as a defender of free speech.

"I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one," Mr Musk wrote.

Mr Albanese retorted that Mr Musk's comments only exposed his arrogance.

"This guy is saying more about himself than anything else, he's putting his ego and putting his billionaire's dollars towards taking a court case for the right to put more violent content on what will sow social division and cause distress," Mr Albanese told Channel Nine.

"The other social media operators accepted the decision of the eSafety commissioner.

"It just shows his arrogance really, if he doesn't see that this is essentially a common sense position by the eSafety commissioner."

Federal senator shares violent video on social media

Since the court decision, federal senator Ralph Babet, elected under the banner of Clive Palmer's United Australia Party, has posted a clip on X and Facebook of bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed in open defiance of the federal government's efforts to wipe the footage from the internet.

"This opinion piece contains the video that the Australian Government has gone to the Federal court to have removed. I WILL NOT REMOVE IT. Without free speech our nation will fall. The Liberal party, The Labor party and the eSafety commissioner are a threat to democracy," Senator Babet wrote on a post containing the video.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said Senator Babet's behaviour was "appalling" and he should explain "why he's sharing harmful content".

Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young agreed.

"It shows a total lack of respect for the victims, a total lack of respect for our law enforcement, our emergency people," Senator Hanson-Young said.

"The parliament will have to respond … and I wouldn't be surprised if we don't see a censure. But frankly he's an attention seeking git."

(continued)

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80104e No.20764980

File: 9a50cc827f4c70b⋯.jpg (266.65 KB,675x669,225:223,SB_1.jpg)

>>20764968

2/2

The feud erupted after videos were posted online of the attack at Wakeley, NSW, which the eSafety commissioner last week ordered social media companies to pull from their sites.

X has vowed to continue fighting the eSafety commissioner's order, after claiming the commissioner had threatened the company with daily fines of $785,000 if it did not remove the videos.

Its initial move to restrict visibility of the content to people in Australia was deemed insufficient by the commissioner, because people could still access it from Australia using a Virtual Private Network, which can mask a person's actual location.

Following the social media response to the Wakeley church stabbing and the murder of six people in the stabbing attack at Bondi Junction Westfield, the government has renewed its focus on reintroducing laws that would toughen standards for social media companies.

Mr Albanese said the parliament was united on the issue.

"This is not a partisan issue and I thank the opposition and crossbench, everyone is just strong on this," Mr Albanese said.

"This isn't about censorship. It's about common sense and common decency. And Elon Musk should show some."

Speaking on ABC Radio National, Senator Jacqui Lambie offered a frank assessment.

"He's an absolute friggin' disgrace, and there's nothing else to say about Elon Musk."

Meta details its response

Meta, the corporate owner of Facebook and Instagram, meanwhile detailed a very different response to the stabbing attacks than that of X.

Meta was initially given a take-down notice by the eSafety commissioner, who deemed it also was not taking adequate steps to protect Australians from violent material.

In a blog post, Meta said within an hour of each of the attacks, it had assembled an emergency response team to identify and respond to any content that was posted and communicated with authorities, including police and the eSafety commissioner.

The attacks were designated by Meta as "multiple victim violence" and "terrorism", allowing the company to remove perpetrator accounts and any glorification of the attackers or attacks.

Meta staff also fact-checked posts that wrongly identified the Bondi attacker — which, once rated, were used to reduce distribution of those same claims made by others — and added a label to those posts.

Meta said when it received the removal notice from the eSafety commissioner, the company "quickly responded" to confirm it was already pulling posts subject to the notice.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-23/albanese-musk-feud-x-removal-stabbing-footage/103756722

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782441020036145267

https://twitter.com/senatorbabet/status/1782604633535611296

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80104e No.20765048

File: 098b7f534d65399⋯.jpg (166.99 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ACTU_president_Michele_O_N….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20705252

Anti-Israel ACTU push stirs Jewish fury

JOHN FERGUSON and DAMON JOHNSTON - APRIL 22, 2024

1/2

The ACTU has ignited a ferocious battle with Australia’s Jewish community during Passover by calling for the Albanese government to end military trade with ­Israel, enforce targeted sanctions against Israeli government officials and ­inject a further $100m of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank.

The ACTU savaged Israel’s role in the Middle East conflict and demanded the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, joining some of the most strident pro-Palestinian union critics of the conflict sparked by the October 7 massacre of 1200 Israelis.

It is the ACTU’s strongest statement on the war so far, bringing it into conflict with key aspects of the federal government’s position on Israel and piling pressure on Anthony Albanese’s internal handling of the crisis.

The statement was released under the names of ACTU president Michele O’Neil and secretary Sally McManus, and will heap pressure on Labor MPs already facing a barrage of criticism from the Greens and Muslim constituents in key seats.

The statement’s timing has incensed Jewish leaders, coming on the eve of the holy festival of Passover, with Jewish families urged to provide an empty place at their Passover table in memory of the scores of hostages still missing.

Government insiders said the ACTU was in direct contradiction with some key planks of federal Labor policy.

Zionist Federation of Australia president Jeremy Leibler said the decision to so sharply attack the Israel position had shattered the community.

“We are stunned. From reading their statement, it is as if the ACTU is living in an alternative reality,’’ he said.

“In their reality, there is no Hamas, their statement does not mention the proscribed terrorist organisation that started this war on October 7 and which still holds 130 hostages, including women and children in Gaza.

“In the world inhabited by the ACTU, Iran is not conducting a greater proxy war to destroy Israel, the United States and our allies. This statement does absolutely nothing to help innocent Palestinians and Israelis, all of whom continue to suffer at the hands of Hamas.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chairman Dvir Abramovich slammed the statement as a shameful motion aimed at demonising Israel and minimising the October 7 terrorist attack by Hamas. “Shame on those who crafted this hatchet job,’’ he said. “For the ACTU, Hamas seems to be the hardest word. If a Martian landed on Earth and read today’s shameful ­motion, chock full of delegitimisation and demonisation of Israel, they would think … Israelis massacred on October 7th by the bloodthirsty terrorists of Hamas died in an earthquake or tsunami.”

The ACTU urged the government to use all influence, pressure, and diplomatic measures to achieve a permanent ceasefire and commit additional funding of $100m in humanitarian assistance to Gaza and the West Bank.

The ACTU also called on both the Israeli government and Palestinian leadership to “promote open, tolerant and respectful ­societies through adherence to democratic principles in governance, respect for human rights and equal treatment for all”. In the initial stages of the conflict, the ACTU came under heavy pressure to fall in behind the most outspoken unionists who opposed Israel, almost all from the hard left of the union protest movement.

However, the ACTU did not match the hardline rhetoric, particularly as sections of the broad right faction of the Labor Party and the union movement said Labor needed to maintain its traditional support of Israel and the Australian Jewish community.

(continued)

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80104e No.20765056

File: d4f133cad6a1f8b⋯.jpg (114.33 KB,875x1167,875:1167,The_Zionist_Federation_of_….jpg)

>>20765048

2/2

A spokeswoman for Foreign Minister Penny Wong said: “The ACTU is entitled to express its view. The Albanese government’s position is clear. We have been consistent in our call on all parties … for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, enabling the release of hostages, the protection of civilians, and safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.

“Australia has provided substantial humanitarian assistance for civilians affected by the Hamas-Israel conflict.”

Shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash blasted the timing of the ACTU statement.

“The ACTU’s anti-Israel stance is on display again as it continues to draw a false equivalence between the barbaric acts of terrorism by Hamas on October 7 last year and Israel’s right to defend itself,’’ she said. “The Albanese government should not take advice from the ACTU, but past experience indicates they probably will. Their anti-Israeli rhetoric is particularly disappointing as the important Jewish celebration of Passover begins.

“We’ve seen an unprecedented rise of anti-Semitism since October 7 and our Australian Jewish community remains frightened. All Australians must stand against age-old, enduring and shape-shifting anti-Semitism, not only because it’s an attack on one segment of our community, but because anti-Semitism is an attack on the Australian achievement, our way of life and civilisation itself.”

The ACTU statement acknowledged the deaths of the 1200 Israelis in the October 7 raid but focused overwhelmingly on the Israeli response to the raid.

“We condemn the deaths of over 34,000 civilians since 7 October including (1200 Israelis and over 33,000 Palestinians),’’ it said.

“We condemn the killing of Zomi Frankcom and other aid workers, including those working for Union Aid Abroad-APHEDA partner MA’AN development centre, who have been working on emergency relief in Gaza.

“The situation facing people in Gaza is dire: two million people are facing food insecurity. Food shortages have exceeded famine levels and mass death is imminent.

“The ACTU condemns the use of starvation as a weapon of war and urges Israel to comply with the International Court of Justice’s order to take immediate steps to prevent acts of genocide, punish incitement to genocide, and facilitate the provision of basic services and humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in Gaza.

“Israel must immediately provide food and essentials to people in Gaza and ensure unimpeded access for humanitarian aid.”

The statement said the ACTU welcomed the Albanese government reinstating funding to the UNRWA, appointing a special adviser to assess the IDF investigation of Frankcom’s death and repeating the call for a two-state solution.

“The ACTU is deeply concerned, however, at evidence that Australian companies supply parts used as part of global supply chains, including to F-35 fighter jets. Israel utilises F-35 fighter jets to drop bombs on Gaza,’’ it said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/antiisrael-actu-push-stirs-jewish-fury/news-story/482a345443ffb99127d9c40ae0e6744b

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80104e No.20765123

File: fa7205edefd2793⋯.jpg (627.63 KB,2048x1152,16:9,An_educational_resource_ha….jpg)

File: 24e5f06e40d778e⋯.jpg (375.71 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Australian_War_Memoria….jpg)

File: 29ffbbedb995efd⋯.jpg (713.89 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Teachers_have_been_encoura….jpg)

File: dda5362aebdb7a3⋯.jpg (355.52 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Students_from_Sydney_walk_….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20759654

Teachers’ group to focus on Palestine on Anzac Day

GRACE BALDWIN - APRIL 23, 2024

A pro-Palestine teachers group has excoriated the Anzac legacy just two days before Australia commemorates its military history.

In a statement released on Tuesday, the Teachers and School Staff for Palestine group called for the Anzac legend to be “dismantled” and linked a slaughter committed by World War One Anzac troops to the current war against Gaza.

Secondary schoolteacher Lucy Honan said it was important for students to understand Australia’s role in the Middle Eastern conflict.

“It is so important that students know that the Anzacs left a long and violent historical imprint in Palestine and in Sarafand al-’Amar in particular,” Ms Honan said.

“The British created a prison camp for Palestinian activists at Sarafand al-’Amar.

“The residents fled or were evacuated in the 1948 Nakba, and the site then became one of Israel’s largest military bases.

“This is a legacy to dismantle, not to glorify.”

The group has developed an educational resource for classrooms, aiming to redress current Anzac narratives and “enable rigorous, critical and empowering education”.

Primary schoolteacher Bill Abrahams said it was important to use objective teaching resources rather than relying on information from parties with vested interests in Israeli weaponry.

“Rather than depending on teaching resources published by the Australian War Memorial — which is funded in part by weapons companies implicated in the genocide in Gaza, like Boeing, Thales and Northrupp Grumman — we will use resources that help us and our students reflect critically on Australia’s military involvement in Palestine,” he said.

Teachers have been encouraged to foreground the massacre of as many as 137 people in the Palestinian village, Sarafand al-’Amar, committed by ANZACs in 1918.

The booklet is a 40-page resource featuring explanations about how Anzac Day relates to Palestine, the British Mandate, the Sarafand al-’Amar massacre, the 1948 Nakba, and many primary and secondary historical sources.

The group has connections within hundreds of schools around Australia.

Secondary schoolteacher Pippa Tandy, a member of TSSP, said the booklet was in line with curriculum requirements and was age-adaptable for different grades.

“People talk about Anzac Day as being about Australian identity, but a lot of people are feeling that we want an identity arising out of truth and honesty, rather than lies and obfuscation,” Ms Tandy said.

“We actually find by looking at the curriculum, looking at the outcomes we’re supposed to be achieving in school, we’re finding that talking about Palestine is actually not something we should be prevented from doing.

“It’s quite legitimate to talk about Palestine in the classroom.

“Obviously, we’re not promoting a particular point of view, but we are committed to the idea that there is no neutrality in genocide.”

She said while it was possible there could be backlash from parents, criticism had always been outweighed by support.

“If parents raise issues with us, we talk to them – and that’s the only way through,” she said.

“Ultimately, by informing students about this piece of history, all we’re doing is educating them.”

An RSL Australia spokesman said the matter was “more for education authorities” but emphasised the importance of commemorating the lives of veterans.

“Whatever the political, constitutional and international treaty obligations prevailing at the time (WWI), the RSL’s role is to represent our veterans and remember and honour their service, commitment and bravery, and encourage all Australians to do the same,” they said.

“We do this continually, but particularly on Anzac Day, Remembrance Day and on other key commemoration dates.”

The Australian War Memorial has defended its education programs, saying they are aimed at assisting students to “interpret and understand” the nation’s military history.

Responding to sharp criticism from the pro-Palestinian teachers’ group Teachers and School Staff for Palestine, the Canberra-based institution said its education programs were designed to align with the national curriculum.

“As described on the Memorial’s website, the goal of all our programs is to assist students to remember, interpret and understand the Australian experience of operational, and wartime service, and its enduring impact on Australian society,” an AWM spokesman said to The Australian in a statement.

The Memorial also dismissed criticisms about receiving funding from companies that sponsor weaponry and said the program was purely established to commemorate 100 years since World War One.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/group-of-teachers-to-focus-on-palestine-when-teaching-students-about-anzac-day/news-story/63e3f48b1aefec15ee8402c5d2744fe0

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80104e No.20765147

File: da435f391fa854c⋯.jpg (2.63 MB,5562x3708,3:2,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 71ad5555aedbfa4⋯.jpg (4.68 MB,6000x4000,3:2,Anthony_Albanese_and_James….jpg)

File: f3fe1123d028ac6⋯.jpg (544.88 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,A_view_from_Hoi_Village_ba….jpg)

>>20710562

>>20759654

Albanese to trek Kokoda in campaign for PNG’s hearts and minds

Matthew Knott - April 22, 2024

1/2

Port Moresby: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence in Papua New Guinea, insisting no country can match the depth of Australia’s relationship with its closest neighbour as he prepares to undertake a gruelling hike of the Kokoda Track alongside counterpart James Marape.

Albanese’s arrival in Port Moresby on Monday came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Papua New Guinean capital, a rapid turnaround underscoring the increasingly intense conflict for geopolitical influence in the Pacific.

As well as signing lucrative deals for Papua New Guinea to export cocoa and coffee into the Chinese market, Beijing’s top diplomat used his visit to criticise the AUKUS pact and favourably compare China’s approach to international development with Australia’s.

In a pointed reference to comments by past Australian politicians, including former prime minister Scott Morrison, Wang declared that the Pacific was not part of any other country’s “backyard”, and that countries in the region should be free to co-operate with whichever international partners they chose.

Australian officials were alarmed earlier this year when Papua New Guinea Foreign Minister Justin Tkachenko said PNG was exploring a policing deal with Beijing.

Tkachenko later played down such a prospect, saying that Australia would continue to be PNG’s international security partner of choice.

Albanese used a speech on Monday night to highlight Australia’s historical bonds with Papua New Guinea and an array of current joint projects, drawing an implicit contrast with Beijing’s one-party rule by describing the two nations as proud “free societies” and democracies.

“As regional leaders, together we can play a role in helping shape a region that is stable and at peace, where all Pacific nations are free to pursue their own destiny and secure their own future,” Albanese said in an address at the PNG parliament.

“Both our nations share a desire to shape the future, rather than let it shape us.”

Albanese will become the first sitting prime minister to walk part of the Kokoda Track this week, embarking on a 15-kilometre walk in 30-plus degree temperatures and stifling humidity alongside Marape.

The prime minister will camp in key locations where Australian soldiers fought in close combat with invading Japanese forces during World War II, culminating in an Anzac Day service on Thursday morning.

Albanese said the 1942 Kokoda campaign formed “part of our national story and our shared history”.

“Our two people fighting alongside each other for the same thing: home,” Albanese said. “From that great crucible of courage, suffering, resilience and mateship, what emerged was the powerful bond between the people of our two great lands.

“From the darkness of war to the joyous dawn of your independence and through the decades since, it is a bond that has only grown stronger.”

Albanese pointed to Australia’s work upgrading six major ports in PNG to make it easier to export local goods and connecting 40,000 households, schools and health clinics to grid power for the first time.

Australia is also supporting the redevelopment of a crucial naval base on Manus Island and the construction of PNG’s first solar farms, Albanese said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20765154

File: d724c971e4d5b1c⋯.jpg (321.53 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,Anthony_Albanese_s_two_day….jpg)

File: 51efb58f7c42474⋯.jpg (705.89 KB,2500x1665,500:333,Prime_Minister_Paul_Keatin….jpg)

>>20765147

2/2

Asked about China’s efforts to expand its clout in the Pacific while en route to PNG, Albanese said he did not regard Wang’s visit to Port Moresby as “anything other than business as usual”.

“China seeks to improve its standing in the region. We know that that is just a fact that we are dealing with. But I am very confident that PNG has no stronger partner than Australia,” Albanese said, pointing to a historic joint Australia-PNG defence and security pact signed in December.

In a pleasant surprise to Australian officials, Marape has indicated he wants to join Albanese for all of the walking trip.

“The Anzac spirit is as much ours as it is Australia and New Zealand’s,” Marape told reporters at the weekend. “I will very much be privileged to walk that leg of the journey until the prime minister decides to call it enough.

“As the chief host of Prime Minister Albanese, it would be unfair on him and the Australian people if the PM of PNG does not accompany him for his stay in PNG.”

It is understood that the trip emerged from private discussions between Albanese and Marape, who have formed a close bond since Labor came to power.

In February, Marape became the first PNG prime minister to speak to the Australian parliament, reciprocating the honour earlier granted to Albanese in Port Moresby.

Albanese’s first day of trekking will pass through Hoi Village and finish at Deniki, where he will camp overnight.

On Wednesday, Albanese will continue to Isurava, where a dawn service ceremony will be held on Thursday.

This masthead is travelling with the PM on the trek as part of a five-member media contingent.

The Kokoda campaign, which lasted from July to November 1942, played a crucial role in preventing the Japanese forces from isolating Australia from its allies.

An estimated 625 Australians were killed and more than 1600 were wounded along the track, which was part of Australian territory at the time.

During his trip to Port Moresby, during which PNG signed a deal to export cocoa and coffee to China, China’s top diplomat said the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact was “instigating division” in the region.

“It causes serious nuclear non-proliferation risks, threatening regional peace and security,” Wang said.

Calling for the “non-interference in the domestic affairs of Pacific Island countries”, Wang said: “Both China and Pacific Island countries are members of the global south and are developing countries … Pacific Island countries are the home of the people in this region; they are not the backyard of any major country.”

As prime minister in 1992, Paul Keating famously kissed the ground at the Kokoda Memorial during a visit, while John Howard and Malcolm Turnbull paid respects at key memorial sites during their prime ministerships.

Kevin Rudd walked the Kokoda Track while opposition leader in 2006 alongside then Liberal cabinet minister Joe Hockey.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/albanese-to-trek-the-kokoda-trail-with-png-prime-minister-20240422-p5flnn.html

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80104e No.20765177

File: 372e05ca3366ea9⋯.jpg (430.56 KB,1600x1200,4:3,Leaders_from_the_Oro_tribe….jpg)

File: c60abd11d7388e5⋯.jpg (485.75 KB,1600x1200,4:3,Anthony_Albanese_greeted_a….jpg)

File: b45db83853b44c7⋯.jpg (670.77 KB,1600x1200,4:3,Anthony_Albanese_greeted_a….jpg)

File: 96e9f2e4ed88994⋯.jpg (671.46 KB,1600x1200,4:3,The_prime_ministers_entour….jpg)

File: 85f0a0ffc6a2f10⋯.jpg (359.2 KB,1600x1200,4:3,The_prime_ministers_entour….jpg)

>>20710562

>>20759654

Selfies, snacks and ceremonies: Albanese sets up camp for night on Kokoda Track

Matthew Knott - April 23, 2024

Kokoda Village: Greeted by the sound of tribal chants and pounding drums, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived in Kokoda Village on Tuesday morning for an extravagant traditional welcome ceremony before beginning to walk the Kokoda Track.

Thousands of locals, some of whom walked up to an hour for the event from remote villages, lined up along the hillside to welcome Albanese as he descended in a PNG defence helicopter after travelling from the capital, Port Moresby.

The crowd included scores of schoolchildren wearing the national colours of Australia and PNG. Many waved national flags as they greeted Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape.

A public holiday was declared in the area for the visit from the prime ministers.

Longtime residents said it was the most lavish welcome an Australian leader had received in the country since Paul Keating visited in 1992, when he kissed the ground at the site of one of the most important military campaigns in Australian history.

Leaders from the Oro tribe welcomed Albanese by dressing him in a traditional costume including a feathered headdress, shell necklace and patterned apron – regarded as the ultimate sign of respect for a visitor.

“You’re the chief now,” Marape told Albanese as tribal leaders placed the headdress on his forehead.

Setting off around 1pm, the prime ministers started their two-day 15-kilometre walk with a 30-strong contingent of media, advisers, porters and a well-armed security detail.

After a brief rest stop at Hoi Village, where Albanese threw a mini rugby league ball with children, the walking party began a steep ascent in formidable humidity to the day’s final destination: the Deniki camp ground.

Marape, a keen golfer, completed the climb in white golf shoes with little trouble.

Albanese received an energy boost along the way from his favourite sweet: a bag of liquorice Black Cats, which he shared with fellow walkers.

He posed for selfies along the trail with returning Australian hikers from Mudgee, Scone, Lithgow and Brisbane who were surprised to encounter the prime minister at the end of the journey.

The prime ministers arrived at the camp site at around 5pm, greeted by a welcome song from local women and spectacular views of the lush jungle mountains of PNG.

On Wednesday they will make the arduous climb to the war memorial at Isurava, where they will attend a dawn service on Thursday morning.

The Kokoda campaign, which lasted from July to November 1942, played a crucial role in preventing Japanese forces from isolating Australia from its allies.

An estimated 625 Australians were killed and more than 1600 were wounded along the track, which was part of Australian territory at the time.

Albanese said Australians would never forget the Papua New Guineans who fought alongside Australian troops in their “darkest hour” in 1942 as they beat back the invading Japanese forces.

“The prime minister, my dear friend James Marape and I will walk side by side, step by step, together,” Albanese said to applause at the start of the walk.

“This symbolises the fact that Australia and Papua New Guinea’s future is together.”

Noting that “Oro” translated to “welcome” in English, Albanese thanked the locals for their “extraordinarily warm” welcome to Kokoda.

“The Australian national anthem has never sounded better,” he told the PNG children who sang Advance Australia Fair for the leaders.

Marape, in turn, praised Albanese for becoming the first sitting prime minister to walk the track.

“We don’t take your visit for granted,” he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/you-re-the-chief-now-lavish-welcome-for-albanese-in-kokoda-20240423-p5flz7.html

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f5839b No.20768285

File: eddf574a45a47a6⋯.jpg (648.9 KB,1540x1076,385:269,Liberatore_Collaped_Bulldo….jpg)

Liberatore Collapsed Bulldogs

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80104e No.20769708

File: 18e2d676b7f74e0⋯.jpg (778.54 KB,4893x3262,3:2,Elon_Musk_Chief_Executive_….jpg)

File: 481ab3b0f32d8b2⋯.jpg (632.13 KB,1459x700,1459:700,JL_1.jpg)

File: ec9bb1246d244cf⋯.jpg (322.85 KB,750x937,750:937,EM_12.jpg)

File: 7c62b61250a5bc0⋯.mp4 (83.25 KB,394x216,197:108,DI75Gtlz6uNwQe5L.mp4)

>>20731815

>>20751248

Musk decision to leave knife attack video on X prompts police terror warning, says Australian senator

Byron Kaye - April 24, 2024

SYDNEY, April 24 (Reuters) - An Australian senator said on Wednesday that police feared Elon Musk's decision to ignore a regulator order and leave footage on his social media platform X of a Sydney bishop being stabbed might encourage people to join terrorist groups.

An Australian court has upheld a regulator order for the billionaire to take down posts containing footage of the April 15 stabbing of the Assyrian bishop during a service.

Senator Jacqui Lambie said that by keeping the violent posts online globally the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had told the federal court Musk's platform X created a risk that "the video could be used to encourage people in Australia to join a terrorist organisation or undertake a terrorist act".

Musk "should put his big boy pants on and do the right thing, but he won't because he has no social conscience", Lambie said in her social media posts.

The AFP declined to comment.

Musk overnight escalated his fight over the court order to remove the video post, saying Lambie should be jailed and suggested the country's gun laws were meant to stop resistance against its "fascist government".

Australia's e-Safety Commissioner had told X to remove footage of the stabbing, which police say was religiously-motivated and over which they have charged a 16-year-old boy with a terrorism offence.

After X challenged the order, the federal court told the platform formerly called Twitter to remove the footage temporarily.

X has said it will fight the order and at another court hearing on Wednesday the company's lawyer said the bishop who was attacked had supplied a statement that he wanted the footage kept online.

The conflict has sparked heated exchanges between Musk and senior Australian officials including the prime minister, the e-Safety Commissioner and Lambie, an independent senator from the small island state of Tasmania.

When an unnamed X user posted overnight that it was Lambie who "should be in jail for censoring free speech on X", Musk replied to his 181 million followers, "Absolutely. She is an enemy of the people of Australia".

Musk widened his attacks on Australia, including promoting a post from an unnamed but verified X user which said the country "disarmed all of their citizens in 1996 so that they cannot resist their fascist government", a reference to a gun buy-back and registration scheme after the country's worst mass shooting.

Musk responded with an exclamation mark.

Home Affairs Minster Clare O'Neill said social media companies created "civil division, social unrest … and we're not seeing a skerrick of responsibility taken".

"Instead, we're seeing megalomaniacs like Elon Musk going to court to fight for the right to show alleged terrorist content on his platform," she added.

X and Musk have said they complied with the temporary takedown order by blocking it for Australians, but that they would appeal it. The footage remained visible on X in Australia on Wednesday.

At Wednesday's hearing to decide whether the order should be permanent, a lawyer for the e-Safety Commissioner said X appeared to have failed to comply with the temporary order but "the consequences of any non-compliance are for another day".

A lawyer for X said the global takedown order involved "exorbitant jurisdiction".

The federal court judge, Geoffrey Kennett, extended the temporary takedown order until another hearing on May 10.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/musk-targets-australian-senator-gun-laws-deepening-dispute-over-x-stabbing-2024-04-24/

https://www.instagram.com/senatorjacquilambie/p/C6IVSZUvSl4/

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782627221519097869

https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/1782588176479199666

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1a945b No.20769710

File: c4d35200f3509db⋯.png (424.69 KB,1080x565,216:113,Screenshot_20240424_045855….png)

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1a945b No.20769739

File: 1b59ab3a7c8adba⋯.png (229.92 KB,666x374,333:187,14d1d26d67e6e7391cdd03678e….png)

I don't know a thing about the PM, but this would be good for him holding something like a sign or undies, suggestions?

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1a945b No.20769755

File: fc0c55ef0b4f5ad⋯.png (362.49 KB,621x993,207:331,Screenshot_20240424_051657….png)

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1a945b No.20769778

File: 6295532b9856688⋯.png (190.2 KB,655x979,655:979,Screenshot_20240424_052321….png)

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80104e No.20769780

File: fb001de6584387a⋯.jpg (45.74 KB,650x366,325:183,Elon_Musk_has_responded_to….jpg)

File: eaf3835378774e2⋯.jpg (22.22 KB,650x366,325:183,Jacqui_Lambie_boycotted_so….jpg)

File: c7789caf08ab676⋯.jpg (66.75 KB,748x757,748:757,_jacquilambie.jpg)

File: 5d2193c6484e72d⋯.jpg (341.88 KB,750x795,50:53,EM_13.jpg)

File: 7cdb702d47addf7⋯.mp4 (8.24 MB,640x360,16:9,cgYvxNd_SK_xZpOZ.mp4)

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20769708

'Enemy of the people': Elon Musk unleashes on Jacqui Lambie after the Senator claimed the X owner 'should be 'in jail'

Billionaire Elon Musk has turned up the heat as he hit back at another Australian politician amid ongoing debate over content that social media platform X has refused to remove.

Patrick Staveley - April 24, 2024

1/3

Elon Musk has clapped back at Senator Jacqui Lambie after she launched an attack on the billionaire amid calls for his social media platform X to remove violent content of last week’s alleged terror attack.

Politicians from all sides of the spectrum have called for any content depicting the events of an alleged stabbing at a Wakeley church on Monday, April 15 to be taken down.

Other social media sites complied with an order from eSafety commissioner Julie Inman Grant to remove the footage, however Musk held firm – maintaining X as the platform for free speech.

Speaking to Sky News Australia’s Kieran Gilbert on Tuesday, Senator Lambie said Musk was “creating hatred” by ignoring requests to remove harmful content, and announced she would be boycotting X.

"I think he's a social media knob with no social conscience, he has absolutely no social conscience," she said.

"Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away. That bloke should not have a right to be out there on his own ideology platform and creating hatred, showing all this stuff out there to our kids and doing all the rest.

"I'll say this to everybody else, I'll be switching off X today, I'll be doing that before I get to the airport this afternoon, and I suggest that the other 226, there's 227 members of Parliament, do the same thing. Show him that you mean business.”

Musk responded to Ms Lambie’s suggestions he should be in jail from a clip of her appearance on Sky News Australia.

“This woman has utter contempt for the Australian people,” he wrote.

(continued)

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80104e No.20769783

File: dadcb2101a3fc95⋯.jpg (248.45 KB,750x863,750:863,EM_14.jpg)

File: 1403b63b785b02e⋯.mp4 (432.12 KB,718x404,359:202,xGw_Mq4yhk7UVBcx.mp4)

>>20769780

2/2

Another clip of the Senator again saying how Musk should be jailed was shared by an account on X with the caption: “This Australian Senator should be in jail for censoring free speech on X”.

Musk doubled down in his assessment of the Senator, replying: “Absolutely”.

“She is an enemy of the people of Australia,” he wrote.

The 52-year-old’s brutal comments on Ms Lambie came hot off the heels of a war of words between the billionaire and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Musk mocked Australia’s hard-nosed stance on the censorship of content in a pair of tongue-in-cheek tweets, sparking a fired-up response from Mr Albanese who branded him as “out of touch”.

“He is in social media, but he has a social responsibility, in order to have that social licence. And what has occurred here is that the eSafety commissioner has made very sensible suggestions,” he told Sky News Australia on Tuesday.

“Other social media companies have complied, without complaint. But this bloke thinks he’s above the Australian law, that he’s above common decency.

“And I say to Elon Musk that he is so out of touch with what the Australian public want. This has been a distressing time and I find this bloke on the other side of the world, from his billionaires’ establishments trying to lecture Australians on free speech – well I won’t cop it and Australians won’t either.”

The Australian government and X are currently in a standoff, with Musk threatening a legal challenge after being ordered to take down posts.

Commissioner Grant moved first in taking legal action, with a small victory on Monday night, as she secured a two-day court ordered injunction on posts which featured footage of the alleged Wakeley attack.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/enemy-of-the-people-elon-musk-unleashes-on-jacqui-lambie-after-the-senator-claimed-the-x-owner-should-be-in-jail/news-story/a55d3bc3756823c3324c17b7621b62f3

https://twitter.com/jacquilambie

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782801191639945664

https://twitter.com/stillgray/status/1782729560058175921

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782823597381414933

https://twitter.com/TPostMillennial/status/1782595481639489682

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80104e No.20769820

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

>>20751248

Asio boss says privacy ‘not absolute’ as he urges social media companies to do more on extremism

Mike Burgess also warns artificial intelligence ‘likely to make radicalisation easier and faster’

Josh Butler - 24 Apr 2024

1/2

Social media companies must do more to stamp out extremism and assist law enforcement to track criminals, the heads of Australia’s federal police and security agencies have urged.

In comments likely to provoke criticism from some civil and digital rights campaigners, the Asio director general, Mike Burgess, will use a major speech on Wednesday to argue “privacy is important but not absolute”, while the AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, believes “there is no absolute right to privacy”.

Burgess will also sound an alarm about artificial intelligence, warning the new technology “is likely to make radicalisation easier and faster”.

In the latest salvo in an expanding dispute between the Australian government and tech companies such as Facebook and X, Burgess and Kershaw will use a joint address to the National Press Club to call for social media companies to give more assistance to law enforcement in certain circumstances, including in cases of potential crimes being discussed on encrypted messaging platforms.

It comes as the federal government and eSafety Commissioner remain locked in an incendiary standoff with Elon Musk’s X over vision of the Wakeley church stabbing. The Albanese government has also flagged introducing its long-awaited misinformation bill with large fines for tech companies, and is mulling next responses to the news media bargaining code, which would compel social platforms to pay for news content.

Australia’s anti-encryption laws, passed in 2018, give law enforcement agencies the power to issue notices to companies to render assistance, or build a new capability, to help them snoop on suspects in serious criminal investigations such as terror or child sex offences.

Draft notes for speeches from Burgess and Kershaw indicate the law enforcement chiefs do not believe the laws are working as intended.

Burgess, head of Australia’s domestic security agency, will ask tech companies “to make encryption accountable”, indicating that existing federal legislation compelling the targeted unlocking of encrypted messages for investigative purposes is not being heeded by some companies.

“If the threat, evidence, safeguards and oversight are strong enough for us to obtain a warrant, then they should be strong enough for the companies to help us give effect to that warrant. To make encryption accountable,” Burgess will tell the Press Club, according to an advance copy of his speech.

He will say Asio is investigating “a number of Australians” in racist extremist groups using encrypted platforms “to communicate with offshore extremists, sharing vile propaganda, posting tips about homemade weapons and discussing how to provoke a race war”.

“The chatroom is encrypted, so Asio’s ability to investigate is seriously compromised,” Burgess will claim.

“Obviously, we and our partners will do everything we can to prevent terrorism or sabotage, so we are expending significant resources to monitor the Australians involved. Having lawful and targeted access to extremist communications would be much more effective and efficient.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20769824

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20769820

2/2

Asio this month warned in a submission to a Senate inquiry of an uptick in activity from violent extreme-right hate groups “who want to trigger a so called ‘race war’”.

Burgess will say he is “not calling for an end to end-to-end encryption”, nor asking for new laws, powers or resources for Asio.

“I am not asking the government to do anything. I am asking the tech companies to do more. I’m asking them to give effect to our existing powers and to uphold existing laws.

“Without their help in very limited and strictly controlled circumstances, encryption is unaccountable.”

Kershaw is expected to say the AFP and other law enforcement agencies have appealed to social media companies to work with them to keep children safe.

“That includes not transitioning to end-to-end encryption until they can ensure their technology protects against online crime rather than enabling it,” he will say.

“We recognise the role that technologies like end-to-end encryption play in protecting personal data, privacy and cybersecurity, but there is no absolute right to privacy.

“People have the right to privacy just like they have the right not to be harmed. People expect to have their privacy protected just like they expect police to do their job once a crime has been committed against them, or a loved one. That expectation includes being able to respond and bring offenders before the justice system.”

Kershaw will add: “My door is open to all relevant tech CEOs and chairmen, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg.”

Burgess’s speech will also raise concerns about broader threats from extremism online. He believes artificial intelligence technology is “equal parts hype, opportunity and threat”, warning of some extremist groups offshore asking AI services for advice on building weapons and planning attacks. Asio has concerns AI will increase espionage, foreign interference and disinformation issues.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/apr/24/asio-boss-says-privacy-not-absolute-as-he-urges-social-media-companies-to-do-more-on-extremism

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VMs0zS_X7I8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCgbfP-sgKw

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1a945b No.20769841

>>20769780

Ohhhhh, she's the one that doesn't want to be memed

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80104e No.20769864

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20769820

Security chiefs to target technology giants

GEOFF CHAMBERS - APRIL 24, 2024

1/2

Australia’s top spy and police chief will put tech companies on notice over terrorists, spies and criminals using end-to-end encryption and artificial intelligence to stoke ­extremism, disinformation and foreign interference, harm children, build weapons and plan attacks.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw will warn on Wednesday that technology is “not above the rule of law” and accuse social media giants of refusing to “snuff out” extremist poison.

In a rare joint address to the National Press Club following last week’s church terrorist attack and Bondi Junction murders in Sydney, Mr Burgess and Mr Kershaw will focus on criminals and extremists weaponising the expansion of end-to-end encryption by tech giants.

Urging resistant tech companies to work with security agencies and establish lawful access, Mr Burgess will declare “privacy is important but not absolute” and say ASIO investigations are being “seriously compromised” by ­nationalist extremists using encrypted chat platforms.

The ASIO chief, who reveals some racist extremists are using encrypted platforms to share vile propaganda and tips about homemade weapons, will not call for new laws, powers or resources but rather for tech companies to do more under existing regimes.

“If the threat, evidence, safeguards and oversight are strong enough for us to obtain a warrant, then they should be strong enough for the companies to help us give effect to that warrant. To make encryption accountable,” Mr Burgess says.

“Without their help in very limited and strictly controlled circumstances, encryption is unac­countable. In effect, unaccoun­table encryption is like building a safe room for terrorists and spies, a secure place where they can plot and plan.

“Imagine if there was a section of a city where violent extremists could gather with privacy and impunity. Imagine if they used this safe space to discuss terrorism and sabotage, and vilify Muslims, Jews, people of colour and the LGBTQIA+ community. And imagine if the security service and police were stopped from entering that part of town to investigate and respond.”

Mr Kershaw, who says young people have taken their lives after criminals used social media to trick them into sending intimate images before blackmailing them for money, will reveal law enforcement agencies have directly appealed to social media companies and electronic service providers to help keep children safe.

“That includes not transitioning to end-to-end encryption until they can ensure their technology protects against online crime rather than enabling it. We recognise the role that technologies like end-to-end encryption play in protecting personal data, privacy and cyber security, but there is no absolute right to privacy,” Mr Kershaw will say.

“People have the right to privacy just like they have the right not to be harmed. People expect to have their privacy protected just like they expect police to do their job once a crime has been committed against them, or a loved one. That expectation includes being able to respond and bring offenders before the justice system.”

The intervention by Australia’s senior security chiefs comes amid a political and legal fight ­between the Albanese government and billionaire Elon Musk, whose social media platform X ­refused to remove videos of the church terrorist attack and ­allowed disinformation to spread following the Bondi Junction stabbings. The government has also targeted social media companies, including Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta, for failing to take action on terrorist, violent extremism and child abuse material.

(continued)

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80104e No.20769872

File: 646988c7cde42b5⋯.jpg (184.55 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_left_AFP_….jpg)

>>20769864

2/2

Mr Kershaw will warn that Australians are being “bewitched online by a cauldron of extremist poison on the open and dark web”.

“Social media companies are refusing to snuff out the social combustion on their platforms. Instead of putting out the embers that start on their platforms, their indifference and defiance is pouring accelerant on the flames,” he says.

“If we consider the disinformation and misinformation from two shocking incidents in Sydney this month, and how that social combustion was propagated throughout the world, we see the consequences of that indifference and defiance.

“Our respected leaders of faith tell us how the interpretation of religion is being purposely distorted on social media. Because of this, their communities and religious beliefs are tarnished and blamed for violent acts carried out by those who have been radicalised.”

With the Albanese government yet to finalise AI regulations, Mr Burgess says ASIO expects rapid AI advancements to increase espionage, foreign interference and radicalisation.

“AI is HOT: equal parts Hype, Opportunity and Threat,” he says.

“ASIO assesses that artificial intelligence will allow a step change in adversary capability. We are aware of offshore extremists already asking a commercially available AI program for advice on building weapons and attack planning.

“The internet is [already] … the world’s most potent incubator of extremism. AI is likely to make radicalisation easier and faster.”

Anthony Albanese on Tuesday described Mr Musk as an ­“arrogant” billionaire, as politicians from across the divide joined calls to strengthen online safety laws.

“No one is above the law. Not Elon Musk, not any Australian citizen when it comes to operating here in Australia. He has a business that gives him a lot of profit. And I just find it extraordinary that this bloke thinks he’s above the law,” Mr Albanese said.

Mr Kershaw will say his door is open to “all relevant tech CEOs and chairmen, including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg … I know we can find common ground because, put simply, tech is supposed to make our lives easier and safer, and not the opposite”.

The eSafety Commission last month warned Meta, Google, X, Telegram, WhatsApp, Reddit, TikTok, Twitch and Discord that they faced tens of millions of dollars in penalties if they failed to act on terrorist, violent extremism and child abuse material.

Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said generative AI was ­already being weaponised to spread hate and disinformation.

Ms Inman Grant said “shock-value propaganda” deep fakes, ranging from bombings to beheadings, could be produced as “hyper-realistic” content.

“You can imagine a number of really concerning scenarios ­because we know also (with) algorithms and the way that they ­amplify and content goes viral … by the time some of that content could go viral it can be taken as truth,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/security-chiefs-to-target-technology-giants/news-story/7e0cd797e52cc3399d0f304b3605c293

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysi1aIY4NkU

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80104e No.20769937

File: 47b5349d1c9fca1⋯.jpg (268.81 KB,2048x1152,16:9,AFP_Commissioner_Reece_Ker….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20769820

ASIO boss Mike Burgess says 50 per cent chance terror attack could be planned or conducted in next 12 months

The head of ASIO has explained there is a 50 per cent chance a terrorist attack could be planned or conducted in Australia within the next 12 months, as counter terrorism raids conducted across Sydney on Wednesday in relation to last week’s Wakeley church stabbing.

Laura Grassby - April 24, 2024

There is a 50 per cent chance someone will plan or conduct an act of terrorism in Australia in the next year, ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has revealed.

Mr Burgess explained Australia’s national terrorism threat level during his address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday alongside AFP Commissioner Reece P Kershaw APM.

The intelligence chief said the current threat level remained at “possible”.

“Which means there is a 50% chance that in the next 12 months or even right now there is someone planning an act of terrorism or will conduct an act of terrorism,” he said.

“The most likely attack will come from an individual or a small group of individuals that go to violence with little or no warning.”

He explained there were a variety of factors which could drive terror attacks.

“There is a range of ideologies, violent, extremist ideologies that drive this as an environment, religiously motivated,” he said.

“Sunni violent extremism is the principle in that concern but a few years ago we had a Christian violent extremist attack in this country.

“On the ideological side, the principal group is Neo-Nazis. Nationalist and racist violent extremists.

“But there are a range of individuals including people with conspiracy theories. So, it can come from a range of ideologies and it can happen quickly."

Mr Kershaw said he felt Australia had one of the “best mechanisms” to combat terrorism.

By having intelligence and security agencies embedded with police and others, authorities are able to “get across these matters pretty quickly,” he explained.

“Like we have right now, and there is a major operation underway in Sydney,” he told the press club.

“We do have to make unfortunately lawful interventions to prevent any further planning or attack on our communities.”

Police at about 12pm on Wednesday notified the media they were conducting an anti-terrorism operation across Sydney in relation to the Wakeley church stabbing which occurred last week.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel was allegedly attacked while delivering a sermon at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church, which later labelled as a terror attack by authorities.

The AFP confirmed to Sky News Australia the Joint Counter Terrorism Team was executing search warrants across the harbour city as part of an ongoing investigation.

“There is no current threat to public safety,” the spokesperson said.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/asio-boss-mike-burgess-says-50-per-cent-chance-terror-attack-could-be-planned-or-conducted-in-next-12-months/news-story/05c3e5d50cee440daed0897c436292d6

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80104e No.20769978

File: 2e5aab7282993fa⋯.jpg (2.67 MB,4977x3430,711:490,One_of_the_teenagers_arres….jpg)

File: e4f611d88990592⋯.jpg (1.72 MB,4631x3087,4631:3087,Police_said_they_made_the_….jpg)

File: ef83f017094be56⋯.jpg (4.13 MB,5791x3861,5791:3861,AFP_Commissioner_Reece_Ker….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20769820

>>20769937

‘Unacceptable risk to the people’: Teens arrested in counter-terror raids

Clare Sibthorpe - April 24, 2024

Seven teenage boys allegedly belonging to a terror cell have been arrested in police raids across Sydney as part of a major counter-terrorism investigation launched after the stabbing of a Christian bishop last week.

A further five people, including two men and three other teenage boys, are being questioned by a joint counter-terrorism squad.

Police made the arrests as part of an investigation that was launched after the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at Christ The Good Shepherd Church, Wakeley, last Monday. A 16-year-old boy was charged with terrorism offences.

In the days after the stabbing, officers from ASIO, Australian Federal Police, NSW Police and the NSW Crime Commission started looking into the teenager’s associates.

Official sources briefed on the investigation said the alleged assailant in the church stabbing was part of a loose network of teenagers who communicated on encrypted apps. The federal sources, who were authorised to publicly disclose details of the briefing, said counter-terrorism police believed some members of the group were engaging with radical Islamic material.

The alleged attacker appeared to refer to the bishop’s earlier statements about Islam after allegedly stabbing him. Some members of the dispersed group were also involved in petty street crime, the sources said.

NSW Police Deputy Commissioner David Hudson on Wednesday afternoon said police soon believed the group warranted further investigation and reached the conclusion they were a risk to the community.

“The investigations include comprehensive surveillance activities and intensive scrutiny of these individuals. Meetings were held yesterday between partner agencies where evidence was reviewed and considered,” he said.

“It was considered that the group, subject of their attention, posed an unacceptable risk to the people of NSW, and our current purely investigative strategies could not adequately ensure public safety.”

Hudson said those arrested were aged 15, 16 and 17 years old.

The raids began at 11.15am and involved 400 police officers swooping on properties at 13 locations across the south-west Sydney suburbs of Bankstown, Prestons, Casula, Lurnea, Rydalmere, Greenacre, Strathfield, Chester Hill and Punchbowl. They also searched commercial premises in Goulburn.

Hudson said: “No specific targets had been nominated. However, it’s just the ongoing threat and loose nature of the group as well. Whilst co-ordinated to some degree, there were splinter factions doing their own thing as well.”

The decision to arrest them was made in the context of other terrorist attacks, Hudson said. He referenced a supermarket stabbing in Auckland in 2021 and other terror attacks in the UK by men who were under surveillance.

Police seized numerous items in the raids, including a significant amount of electronic material.

Shortly after 5pm, AFP officers were seen removing belongings and inspecting a small black video camera at a home in Greenacre.

One man dressed in tracksuit pants and a hooded jumper brought out a large cushion and attempted to block the media from taking photos.

Officers left the home carrying a black tub with a yellow lid about 6pm.

AFP Deputy Commissioner Krissy Barrett said the raids were not linked to Anzac Day commemorations or any religious holiday. She said senior members of the AFP had held discussions with faith communities on Wednesday.

“Our relationships are very important, and we never take them for granted. I want to be very clear: We target criminality and not countries. We target radicalisation, not religion,” she said.

A riot erupted in the aftermath of last week’s stabbing at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church, with multiple police officers injured. Police have since arrested and charged five people, but they believe up to 50 could face prosecution.

Speaking at the National Press Club as news of the raids broke, ASIO Director General Mike Burgess described the terrorism threat level as “possible”, meaning a 50 per cent chance that someone would plan or carry out an attack within the next 12 months.

“The most likely attack will come from an individual or a small group of individuals that go to violence with little or no warning,” he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/joint-counter-terrorism-police-execute-search-warrants-in-sydney-20240424-p5fm9y.html

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80104e No.20770002

File: 2b57b9fd5ae68c1⋯.jpg (129.75 KB,1833x1031,1833:1031,X_say_the_bishop_allegedly….jpg)

File: 0cba1eafe869e2b⋯.jpg (379.3 KB,2048x2730,1024:1365,Businessman_Elon_Musk_is_t….jpg)

File: e0d979637f3c7fe⋯.jpg (322.32 KB,750x860,75:86,EM_15.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

X lawyers say Sydney bishop is of ‘strong view’ stabbing video should be live

RHIANNON DOWN - APRIL 24, 2024

Lawyers representing X Corp will argue the bishop attacked in an alleged terrorist stabbing is “strongly of the view” footage of the incident should be visible, as the online safety watchdog wins an extension of a court order for the platform to hide the violent material.

The Federal Court granted eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant a request to extend an injunction requiring X to hide video of the alleged stabbing on Wednesday, despite the social media platform owned by Elon Musk so far refusing to comply with the legal order.

X Corp’s barrister Marcus Hoyne told the court the injunction “might be futile” due to the material being shared and re-posted, suggesting that the order may have increased public awareness of the material despite efforts to block it in a phenomenon known as the Streisand effect.

He also revealed that the alleged victim of the western Sydney stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel would file an affidavit stating that he was “strongly of the view the material should be available”.

Mr Hoyne told the court that the case – which is on course to become a legal showdown between the eSafety Commissioner and X – must grapple with significant legal questions concerning the “jurisdiction” of the watchdog’s powers to operate outside Australia.

“The exorbitant jurisdiction that is being sought to be exercised here effectively operates throughout the whole world,” he said.

Judge Geoffrey Kennett said he would grant the eSafety Commissioner’s request to extend the injunction until the conclusion of the matter because X had failed to act on orders he made on Monday to hide the posts.

Justice Kennett said he did not “see why that further injunction should not be made forthwith”.

The barrister for eSafety, Christopher Tran, referred to the X’s “noncompliance with the orders this court made on Monday” during the hearing.

The eSafety Commissioner has sought civil penalties against X – which could be as high as $782,500 per contravention – for failing to remove the videos, after the platform was issued with a take down notice to remove the material.

X challenged the legality of the order to remove the video, arguing that it constituted a threat to freedom of speech.

The platform will argue the eSafety Commissioner has overstepped her legal powers by ordering X to remove the content for users globally.

The eSafety Commissioner pursued X through the courts because X moved to geoblock the content rather than delete it. She has said she was satisfied with the actions of other platforms including Meta.

Following the commencement of legal action, Mr Musk unleashed a flurry of posts criticising the eSafety Commissioner and Anthony Albanese for undermining freedom of speech.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland has backed the eSafety Commissioner, declaring that the government was operating under the laws in place to bring X Corp into line.

Amid mounting calls to strengthen legislation to regulate tech giants, Ms Rowland said the government needed to consider “every method available” to keep Australians safe when asked if the existing legislation to crack down on social media giants was strong enough.

“I’m not going to come to a conclusion about that,” she said.

“It is clearly the case on a number of fronts that the emergence of these new technologies including AI, the ability for the proliferation of scans and other harms that arise from that, governments need to look at every method available to them to keep Australians safer.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/x-lawyers-say-sydney-bishop-is-of-strong-view-stabbing-video-should-be-live/news-story/44c95071d7b2fcf4438c5253f3eff707

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1782584820549202024

https://twitter.com/cb_doge/status/1782583166706049412

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80104e No.20770058

File: 511bac44a4e1e16⋯.jpg (713.78 KB,3944x2393,3944:2393,Jeff_Lapidos_secretary_of_….jpg)

File: 16573018d29e56b⋯.jpg (179.49 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ACTU_secretary_Sally_McMan….jpg)

File: 8006d8b8478b8d6⋯.jpg (235.43 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Rockets_fired_by_Palestini….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20765048

Union leader hits back at ‘outrageous’ ACTU statement

DAMON JOHNSTON and JOHN FERGUSON - APRIL 23, 2024

A union official has condemned ACTU chiefs Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil over the peak body’s pro-Palestinian statement, claiming it ignored the role of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza tragedy.

Jeff Lapidos, secretary of the taxation officers’ branch of the Australian Services Union, sent an email to the ACTU secretary and president rebutting a controversial pro-Palestinian statement issued on Monday.

Mr Lapidos, who is Jewish, said he sent the email in his capacity as a delegate to the ACTU congress in June, and described its statement as “absolutely outrageous”.

“They completely ignored the role Hamas has played in the tragedy in Gaza,” he told The Australian.

“It’s not just that Hamas wants the Jews out of Israel, they don’t want Israel at all. Hamas says that if they have the opportunity they will attack Israel again and again and again, until they have got them out of the land. The ACTU statement was absolutely outrageous.”

Mr Lapidos expressed “grave disappointment” at the ACTU statement and described it as a “misrepresentation of the facts”.

“Your assertion that over 33,000 Palestinian civilians have died in Gaza since October 7 closes the ACTU’s eyes to the fact that at least 10,000 of these were combatants for Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” he wrote.

“You imply that the dire circumstances facing the people of Gaza (are) the responsibility of Israel, when this is far from true.

“The leadership of Hamas continues to have the power to bring about an immediate ceasefire by releasing their hostages and surrendering their arms. Instead, Hamas continues to launch missiles at Israel and maintains it will again murder, mutilate and rape Israeli civilians whenever they can.”

The Australian approached the ACTU to respond to Mr Lapidos’s criticism, but it did not respond on Tuesday.

The ACTU chose to release its strongest statement on the war in Gaza on the eve of the holy festival of Passover, calling on the Albanese government to end military trade with Israel, recognise a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, and inject a further $100m in aid to Gaza and the West Bank.

Mr Lapidos called on the ACTU leadership to condemn Hamas.

“Where is the ACTU condemnation of Hamas? Why haven’t you condemned its sexual violence against Israeli women and girls? Why are you parroting lines espoused by Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis and Iran? Death to Israel – of course,” he wrote.

“Your statement calls for a two-state solution with security of borders, but you do not acknowledge that the Palestinian leadership has always rejected such offers by Israel. You now want to reward Hamas atrocities with a state to continue their attacks on Israel.

“It’s time you both recognised what is really happening in the Middle East.

“It is time for you both, on behalf of the ACTU, to support the efforts of the governments of Israel and the US to build a new peace in the Middle East by working with the governments of Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and others. Why isn’t the ACTU applauding these efforts and urging the Australian government to work with them?”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Peter Wertheim was scathing in his criticism of the ACTU’s announcement.

“The ACTU has dropped this shockingly misguided statement on us right on the eve of Passover when most Jewish families are preparing for the festival,’’ Mr Wertheim said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/union-leader-hits-back-at-outrageous-actu-statement/news-story/8a4ade53ab1482baf96b06aff136801f

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80104e No.20770083

File: 9719f206d6e2803⋯.jpg (78.33 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Labor_and_the_Coalition_ha….jpg)

File: 7ced1d6f85ca813⋯.jpg (147.6 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Opposition_education_spoke….jpg)

File: ca3474867a9211f⋯.jpg (553.6 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Australian_soldiers_buried….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20759654

>>20765123

Pro-Palestinian teachers ‘deeply disrespectful to all who served’

NATASHA BITA - APRIL 24, 2024

The federal government and ­opposition have united in condemnation of a pro-Palestinian teachers’ group for “attacking our Anzac legacy’’.

On the eve of Anzac Day, federal Education Minister Jason Clare criticised the attack by the activist teachers on what they termed “Anzac mythology’’.

“No one should be attacking our Anzac legacy,’’ Mr Clare said. “It disrespects those that have fought and died in our name.’’

The federal Coalition also condemned the “deeply disrespectful and appalling actions’’ of the Teachers and School Staff for ­Palestine group, which is demanding the Anzac legend “be dismantled”, and has linked killings by Anzac troops in World War I to the current Israeli-Gaza war.

Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said teachers should not be “indoctrinating’’ students. “The attempts to link the sacrifice of our Anzacs to this sort of activism is not only misguided but deeply disrespectful to the men and women who served our country,’’ she said. “Our classrooms should be places of objective learning, not ­indoctrination. It is not the role of educators to push political ­agendas or promote divisive ideologies.’’

Opposition veterans’ affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce blamed the Albanese government for the “rise of anti-Anzac sentiment’’. “They are watering down the seminal day of the soul of our ­nation, which is Anzac Day,’’ he said.

“If you live in this nation and benefit from the freedoms of this nation, then you better respect the people who fought and died, and those who were maimed, and their families who got turned upside down to give today’s generation the right to live life with all of our freedoms and liberties.’’

Mr Joyce said Labor had made the Anzac Day public holiday ­optional for the nation’s 350,000 commonwealth public servants.

“In this environment, it is little wonder radical teacher groups feel they have the green light to dilute the importance of Anzac Day in our classrooms,’’ he said.

Mr Clare said Anzac Day was “a day to come together, not to divide’’. “It’s not about celebrating war,’’ he told Radio 2GB. “It’s about remembering the sacrifices so many Australians made for us.’’

The pro-Palestine teaching group has distributed a 40-page “teaching resource’’ for classrooms, on its Facebook page.

“In the lead up to the glorification of war of Anzac Day, this is useful resource … describing the Anzac massacre of a Palestinian village, that never gets talked about at school Anzac Day myth making ceremonies,’’ it stated.

“In the midst of a new genocide, that we are not allowed to talk about in schools, Anzac Day tries to cement forgetting. We insist on remembering.”

The pro-Palestine group has collated “resources for challenging Anzac Day’’, based largely on ­accounts of a vigilante attack on the Arab village of Sarafand al-Amar, also known as Surafend.

The attack does not appear to be mentioned on the Australian War Memorial website, but is ­described on the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage history website. “Relations ­between the Anzac Mounted Division and Palestinian Arabs reached a new low early on 10 Dec­ember 1918, when Trooper Leslie Lowry was shot dead after disturbing a thief in his tent,’’ it states.

“That night a large group of New Zealanders and Australians exacted vigilante justice, burning the nearby Arab village of Sarafand al-Amar (Surafend) to the ground and killing around 40 of its male inhabitants. The Anzacs ­refused to co-operate with a subsequent British investigation, leading General Edmund Allenby to condemn them as ‘a lot of cowards and murderers’. The village was later rebuilt by the British Army, with Australia and New Zealand contributing to the cost.’’

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/propalestinian-teachers-deeply-disrespectful-to-all-who-served/news-story/2e1ef1361ccfb80da375b85d5b1d7fb1

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80104e No.20770161

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

National Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2024

ABC Australia

Apr 25, 2024

Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 National Commemorative Service in Canberra from 5.30am AEST on April 25.

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

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80104e No.20770166

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Anzac Day 2024 Melbourne Dawn Service

ShrineMelbourne

Apr 25, 2024

Watch the live stream of the Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance.

In solemn tradition, Victorians gather to commemorate those who served and died in defence of our country.

The service is held at dawn to coincide with the time of the Gallipoli landing in 1915 - the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand forces (ANZACs) during the First World War.

The event includes recitations, hymns, wreath-laying and an address by the Governor of Victoria.

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

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80104e No.20770170

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Gallipoli Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2024

ABC Australia

Apr 25, 2024

Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Gallipoli Dawn Service from 12:30pm AEST April 25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QctrurOQ9VM

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80104e No.20770177

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Villers-Bretonneux Service | Anzac Day 2024

ABC Australia

Apr 25, 2024

Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Villers-Bretonneux Service from 1:30pm AEST on April 25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t97UNjXsJdY

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80104e No.20770180

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Melbourne March | Anzac Day 2024

ABC Australia

Apr 25, 2024

Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Melbourne March from 9:00am AEST on April 25.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBT6G6qz1LU

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80104e No.20770188

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Anzac Day 2024 March & Commemoration Service

ShrineMelbourne

Apr 25, 2024

Watch the live stream of the Anzac Day March and Commemoration Service.

Honour and recognise those who have served and who currently serve in defence of Australia and its interests.

The march commences in Swanston Street (near Federation Square) along St Kilda Road to the Shrine of Remembrance.

The march is normally complete by midday, and is followed by a commemoration service at the Shrine of Remembrance

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFgLX1gl9q8

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80104e No.20770211

File: 3bd9be49d1c26fc⋯.mp4 (10.15 MB,640x360,16:9,The_Last_Post.mp4)

>>20759654

ANZAC Day 2024

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Lest We Forget.

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1a945b No.20772830

>>20545723

Hopefully you're checking out Qresearch, the Albane memes have exploded

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80104e No.20774481

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Thousands gather before dawn to commemorate Anzac Day

Stuart Marsh - Apr 25, 2024

1/2

Thousands of Australians have gathered before first light to commemorate the solemn occasion of Anzac Day.

From capital city cenotaphs to local memorials, thousands have braved the cold to honour the memory of all Australians who have served their country at home and abroad.

The dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra began at 5.30am after earlier services across the nation got underway.

Wreaths were laid by Governor-General David Hurley before the Anzac Day dawn service address was delivered by the Vice-Chief of the Defence Force, Vice-Admiral David Johnston.

The traditional sounding of the Last Post was sounded before a minute's silence and the Reveille.

Earlier, across the country crowds composed of young and old people braved chilly weather to attend the sacred event.

In Sydney, the traditional dawn service was held at the Cenotaph in Martin Place from 4.20am, with a march through the CBD to follow at 9am.

In Melbourne, the largest dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance started at 5.30am, with the march to begin from 8.30am. Last year 40,000 people attended the event and organisers are expecting similar numbers today.

Brisbane's dawn service at Anzac Square began at 4.28am.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese who is visiting Papua New Guinea attended a dawn service near the village of Isurava after he completed a walk of the Kokoda Track.

(continued)

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80104e No.20774490

File: 630be7beb21d2e0⋯.jpg (235.37 KB,1600x900,16:9,Troops_in_the_trenches_at_….jpg)

File: 038e4bce18fe8f3⋯.jpg (338.41 KB,1600x900,16:9,The_final_troops_are_evacu….jpg)

File: 2981a53bbbbd79e⋯.jpg (135.21 KB,1600x900,16:9,The_eternal_flame_in_Melbo….jpg)

File: ba23895d320c4ff⋯.jpg (223.62 KB,1600x1067,1600:1067,The_Anzac_Day_dawn_service….jpg)

File: 64b6e1685f2df6f⋯.jpg (166.04 KB,1600x1067,1600:1067,A_veteran_at_the_Anzac_Day….jpg)

>>20774481

2/2

Often regarded as the most solemn day on the Australian calendar, Anzac Day is commemorated on April 25 each year.

It honours the memory of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps who formed part of the allied expedition that landed at Gallipoli in Turkey in 1915.

Approximately 16,000 soldiers - who became colloquially known as "Anzacs" - immediately faced opposition.

The beach they landed on was fenced by high, heavily fortified cliffs that were fiercely defended by Ottoman Turkish defenders.

Any push forward to claim the peninsula would have to be done by near-vertical climbs under heavy fire.

On the first night, it was estimated more than 2000 men were killed.

By the end of the Anzac campaign, which endured eight months of fighting, over 8000 Australian soldiers were killed.

Despite the stalemate between Turkish and Allied forces on the cliffs of Gallipoli, it was the spirit of the men who fought there, along with their ingenuity, endurance and bravery that formed the basis of the Anzac legend.

Today Anzac Day serves to help Australians commemorate all past and living veterans, as well as honouring the sacrifice of current serving Defence Force members.

Dawn services, which typically include songs, the laying of wreaths, a playing of the Last Post and a minute's silence, are held across the country.

Beginning before the sun has started to rise, dawn services are held to commemorate the same time the Anzacs landed at Gallipoli, while also honouring military tradition of "standing to" at dawn in preparation for early morning raids.

Many dawn services are followed by a march through the community or a "gunfire breakfast" at the local RSL, which typically consists of bacon and eggs and coffee or tea with a shot of rum.

https://www.9news.com.au/national/anzac-day-2024-australians-commemorate-with-solemn-services/0357e47f-d4f2-4342-895b-04c66f36bc82

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGD3TKO1ecg

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80104e No.20774499

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20759654

Anzac Day 2024: Marches underway in Sydney and Melbourne

9 News Australia

Apr 25, 2024

Australians across the country move from dawn services to marches in our major cities to honour the fallen this Anzac Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1C-AM8jj10o

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80104e No.20774576

File: 263bbd1273dadd3⋯.mp4 (7.91 MB,640x360,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_attends_A….mp4)

File: 89aeafb5572c789⋯.jpg (1.18 MB,4000x2667,4000:2667,Prime_Minister_of_Australi….jpg)

File: 42623d9d26d8e0d⋯.jpg (197.09 KB,1280x853,1280:853,The_prime_ministers_lay_wr….jpg)

File: 18ecfe8945ffbf1⋯.jpg (1.19 MB,4000x2667,4000:2667,The_400_strong_crowd_at_th….jpg)

File: 502fe27d43f3b00⋯.jpg (1.09 MB,4000x2667,4000:2667,The_Last_Post_is_played_at….jpg)

>>20710562

>>20759654

PM pays tribute on the Kokoda Track, ‘this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance’

Matthew Knott - April 25, 2024

Isurava: Illuminated by the glow of distant stars and campers’ headlights, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood at the site of a crucial World War II battle in remote Papua New Guinea to commemorate Anzac Day.

After spending two days walking the Kokoda Track in often arduous terrain alongside his PNG counterpart James Marape, Albanese told the crowd of approximately 400 people at the Isurava memorial that they were standing on “ground made hallow by Australian sacrifice”.

“We are gathered in a place that has known the most pitiless ferocity of battle, fought with bullet, bayonet, mortar, and the desperation of bare hands,” Albanese said.

“It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit.”

The imposing, jagged mountains of the Owen Stanley ranges loomed to his left, their peaks blanketed in fog, as Albanese delivered his dawn service address at the natural amphitheatre of the jungle memorial.

Ninety-nine Australians died in the battle of Isurava in 1942, a pivotal moment in the successful effort to repel Japanese troops who invaded what was then Australian territory.

“In our pride we feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia’s shared memory,” Albanese said.

“It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit.”

Albanese singled out Private Bruce Kingsbury, who died at the battle of Isurava and became the first Australian to receive a Victoria Cross while serving on Australian territory.

Albanese also paid tribute to the local villagers who risked their lives to feed, guide and shelter Australians in desperate need along the Kokoda Track.

He also spoke of Maiogaru Gimuleia Taulebona, a nurse who risked danger by hiding wounded Leading Aircraftman John Francis Donegan from the Japanese.

“They were angels walking tall through the hell of war,” he said.

“For the Papua New Guineans, this was not a theatre, a backdrop or a battlefield. It was home.”

Standing beside four stone pillars etched with the words courage, endurance, mateship and sacrifice, Marape thanked Albanese for his “kindness of heart and generosity of time” by becoming the first Australian prime minister to walk the Kokoda Track.

Noting that global leadership was being contested in our current age, Marape urged world leaders to pursue “peace at all costs”.

Watching in the crowd was Louise Mundie from Wodonga, Victoria, who was preparing to embark on the final day of a nine-day hike of the Kokoda Track.

“It was a beautiful service,” she said.

Mundie said she had undertaken the walk in honour of her great-grandfather who fought in PNG during the war.

“It has been very, very challenging,” she said of the trek.

Albanese and Marape laid wreaths together at the memorial to symbolise the close bond between Australia and Papua New Guinea.

As the sun began to rise over the mountains, an Australian Army soldier played the Last Post before the crowd observed a minute’s silence.

After returning to Australia, Albanese will attend an Anzac Day event in Townsville later on Thursday.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/pm-pays-tribute-on-the-kokoda-track-this-great-artery-of-mud-and-suffering-and-perseverance-20240425-p5fmf2.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cst9Y39PTFs

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80104e No.20774750

File: 23afa9d08d22a53⋯.jpg (1.64 MB,4096x2731,4096:2731,GL9dxiZaoAAP_By.jpg)

File: c4fdcf1baa0ee6f⋯.jpg (2.01 MB,4096x2731,4096:2731,GL9eE9GboAAMHQX.jpg)

File: 57cd635ce478444⋯.jpg (1.54 MB,2731x4096,2731:4096,GL9eIbXa0AAvfs1.jpg)

>>20710562

>>20759654

Anthony Albanese attends Anzac Day dawn service at Isurava, saying 'we will never forget' people of PNG

Monte Bovill - 25 April 2024

1/2

The prime minister has told the crowd at an Anzac Day dawn service in Papua New Guinea that Australia "will never forget" the help the country's people provided to Australian soldiers during World War II.

Anthony Albanese marked Anzac Day with the completion of a two-day, 16-kilometre journey along the Kokoda Track with PNG's Prime Minister James Marape, a visit the leaders have used to highlight their shared legacy of war in the context of a growing security relationship.

Mr Albanese addressed hundreds of trekkers at an Anzac Day dawn service near the village of Isurava in the early hours on Thursday. The village is the site of an intense six-day period of fighting by Australian and Papuan infantry against Japanese soldiers trying to capture PNG's capital Port Moresby.

"We are gathered in a place that has known the most pitiless ferocity of battle, fought with bullet, bayonet, mortar, and the desperation of bare hands," Mr Albanese told the crowd at the Isurava Memorial Site.

"It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit.

"We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia's shared memory."

Ninety-nine of the 625 Australians who were killed on the Kokoda Track died in the Battle of Isurava.

Mr Albanese used the speech to highlight how the events of the war forged a powerful bond between Australians and the people of PNG.

"We thank every one of them who helped Australians in the face of retribution and sometimes unfathomable cruelty," he said.

"The troops, the coast watchers and the shipping pilots.

"The villagers who risked their own lives to feed and guide and shelter Australians in desperate need. The stretcher bearers whose courage was matched only by their kindness.

"To the people of PNG, I offer Australia's promise: We will never forget."

In addition to the hundreds of Australians killed in PNG, more than 1,600 were wounded along the track.

Mr Albanese's trip to PNG is the longest by an Australian prime minister.

(continued)

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80104e No.20774764

File: 1dcc0a8f5c5d7d0⋯.jpg (367.54 KB,750x982,375:491,PD_20.jpg)

File: abd9738e2577365⋯.mp4 (15.19 MB,640x360,16:9,ybojXmXjehnh1WCr.mp4)

>>20774750

2/2

Australians remembered for service in other parts of the world

The prime minister also honoured soldiers who fought in other parts of the world, as well as serving members of the Australian Defence Force.

"Decades of war have built a universe of loss, constellations of grief spelt out on tombstones, inscriptions from loved ones aching with all that has been taken, and all that might have been.

"We gather for all who went in our name, and never came home. We gather for all who came home, but never fully left the battlefield. And we thank all veterans. Just as they stepped up for us, we must step up for them.

"We have seen what horrors Australians have defeated. We have seen the difference Australians have made in the world – and continue to make."

In his own Anzac Day message published on Wednesday evening, federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said defeats and victories in war had "awakened a national consciousness."

"Just as the Anzac spirit shaped our national soul, our national soul sustained the Anzac spirit," Mr Dutton said.

"And since the First World War, it is a spirit which has characterised Australians whenever and wherever they have served and sacrificed."

He said the "Anzac spirit helped us to prevail in war and prosper in peace … In these difficult times, let us know ourselves again."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-24/pm-gives-dawn-service-address-at-isurava-png/103766126

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1783247978637172791

https://twitter.com/PeterDutton_MP/status/1783213364057157680

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80104e No.20775620

File: 7a7cb247f964531⋯.jpg (3.16 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Crowds_converge_on_the_Hob….jpg)

File: 65b5b468e97afa3⋯.jpg (1.8 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Vincent_Ball_back_right_an….jpg)

File: f3b893ea6fe67c0⋯.jpg (2.34 MB,5000x3335,1000:667,Thousands_also_gathered_in….jpg)

File: db07bcc7c20fd38⋯.jpg (1.34 MB,5000x3332,1250:833,The_Governor_General_David….jpg)

File: 3b407aab1608328⋯.jpg (785.84 KB,2420x1816,605:454,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>20759654

Australians gather at Anzac Day services across the country to honour service men and women

Victor Petrovic and Andrea Mayes - 25 April 2024

1/4

Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders have gathered for Anzac Day dawn services and parades across both countries to honour those who served.

This year marks 109 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Turkish coastline at Gallipoli during World War I.

Their eight-month battle was ultimately unsuccessful, but their courage and bravery amid hardship have become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice.

The day now honours the more than 1.5 million men and women who have served Australia in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations, and the 103,000 Australians who lost their lives while serving.

Dawn services were held in cities and towns across every state and territory in Australia, in Papua New Guinea and Samoa, and a later service at Gallipoli at dawn local time.

'I'm the last one left'

The thrum of 40 bands sounded out across Sydney's CBD this morning as the Anzac Day March walked from Martin Place to Hyde Park.

People waving Australian flags lined the streets and cheered as about 10,000 serving and ex-service members walk alongside taxis filled with veterans from World War II.

Centenarian Vincent Ball travelled down for the parade this year inside a Land Rover, with several other older veterans.

He used to march with his troop of 10 as part of the Odd Bods.

"We made a pact that at least someone would come every year, to remember those who are not with us anymore," he said.

"And I'm the last one left.

"I come here and see a lot of ghostly faces."

Donald Kennedy joined the Merchant Navy at 16-years-old, and went on to serve in the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific oceans during World War II.

He has been marching in the Anzac parade for 70 years, and turned up today for a good reason.

"Because I'm still alive," he said.

Later, two-up games were held at the Australian Heritage Hotel in the Rocks.

Legal in New South Wales only on three days each year, the betting game has drawn a huge crowd.

Lieutenant Adam Wholohan was given the honour of throwing the first coins.

'We feel the weight of history'

The National Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra has wrapped up, with more than 32,000 people paying their respects.

This year's commemorative address was delivered by Vice-Admiral David Johnston, the incoming chief of the defence force.

"We know how many Australians have died in the service of our country but we do not know how many grieve each Anzac Day. How many are grieving amongst us today?" Vice-Admiral Johnson told the service.

"I ask you all to hold in your hearts those who mourn on Anzac Day and remember those whose service left them wounded in body, mind or spirit."

After spending two days trekking on the Kokoda Track, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has attended a dawn service at one of the crucial battlegrounds of the Pacific in World War II.

On a cool, clear morning high in the mountains of Papua New Guinea, Mr Albanese paid tribute to the Australian and Papuan infantry, as well as the villagers, who suffered in 1942.

"We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia's shared memory," he said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20775622

File: 875340d37d5b3af⋯.jpg (2.13 MB,4032x3024,4:3,An_Anzac_Day_ceremony_in_S….jpg)

File: 67dc3172b21fc0e⋯.jpg (173.61 KB,1920x1080,16:9,A_soldier_stands_guard_at_….jpg)

File: 9d132956a7696c5⋯.jpg (3.08 MB,5000x3336,625:417,The_Alice_Springs_dawn_ser….jpg)

File: 89bd8f008b7a36d⋯.jpg (3.45 MB,5000x3294,2500:1647,Pat_Ansell_Dodds_reflected….jpg)

File: 7709d3dfb6f9433⋯.jpg (1.67 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Conditions_were_cold_and_w….jpg)

>>20775620

2/4

In Samoa's capital, Apia, Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mataafa paid tribute to those who've fought and sacrificed to defend their way of life.

"It's a precious moment to remember that now in many places in the world people continue to wake up to continued realities of war-torn zones with the loss of loved ones."

At a dawn service at Adelaide's National War Memorial, one of the centrepieces of local Anzac Day commemorations, a densely packed gathering heard messages of remembrance and mourning.

Chair of the RSL Anzac Day Committee Ian Smith spoke of the importance of continuing to pause and reflect on Anzac Day, but also of safeguarding it.

He used the sombre opportunity to reflect on the occasion's ongoing relevance.

"The conflicts raging today in Ukraine and Gaza remind us that warfare is brutal, destructive and costly. It is an experience that often takes an extreme toll [on] the civilian population.

"As we pause to remember and honour the fallen, we must also guard our Anzac traditions against the heedless nationalism sometimes promoted by those who do not understand what Anzac Day is about."

'They didn't have any rights, but they went and did it'

In the Northern Territory, the humming drone of a didgeridoo opened a dawn service attended by hundreds near Darwin Harbour.

Brigadier Douglas Pashley, Commander of the 1st Brigade, highlighted the efforts of Indigenous Territorians during World War II when the Top End was bombed by Japanese forces.

He spoke of Tiwi Islands man Matthias Ulungura, who became the first Australian to take a Japanese prisoner of war on Australian soil when he captured a pilot who crash landed on Melville Island.

"Anzac Day is about reflecting on the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who have fought harder for Australia than Australia was sometimes willing to fight for them," Brigadier Pashley said.

More than 1,000 people gathered at the Garden Cemetery in Alice Springs to commemorate Australian service personnel.

Among them was senior Arrernte woman and historian Pat Ansell Dodds whose father, Jack Ansell, fought in World War II.

"There was a special unit for Aboriginal soldiers at the time," she said.

"They served all around Australia and they went to Papua New Guinea. A lot of the fellas were from Alice Springs.

"They didn't have any rights, but they went and did it."

Thousands gather in the west

Thousands of people gathered at Kings Park in Perth for the city's Anzac Day dawn service.

Crowds turned up amid cold and windy conditions, with the service incorporating elements from times past, such as poetry readings and the song Abide With Me.

Those in attendance included war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith, who has largely stayed out of the public gaze since he lost a high profile defamation trial last year, which he is now appealing.

Former SAS Commander James McMahon told the gathering Anzac Day provided the opportunity to reflect on our values as a nation.

He said courage, mateship, determination and innovation were Australian values that were a gift from the Anzacs.

In Albany, a crowd of more than 5,000 people turned out for the dawn service, with the RSL saying it could be a record number.

Albany was the last place in Australia many of the Anzacs saw before heading off to war, with two convoys of Australian and New Zealand ships gathering in King George Sound before setting sail.

(continued)

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80104e No.20775633

File: 6d7b3b4b31a71f2⋯.jpg (2.3 MB,4886x3257,4886:3257,Ben_Roberts_Smith_attended….jpg)

File: db937096a89cf46⋯.jpg (3.64 MB,4128x2752,3:2,Several_thousand_people_at….jpg)

File: b8e221294778045⋯.jpg (2.07 MB,3984x2988,4:3,A_potentially_record_crowd….jpg)

File: 1ed77b6c3e8f816⋯.jpg (3.89 MB,4931x3263,4931:3263,A_young_child_pats_a_horse….jpg)

File: b5828a5cd82d42e⋯.jpg (3.66 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Josh_Potts_and_daughter_Na….jpg)

>>20775622

3/4

Surrounded by shadowing boab trees, hundreds of people gathered at Broome's Bedford Park in Western Australia's Kimberley, as the sun rose over the waters of Roebuck Bay.

RSL president Keith Vomiero said the country service was quite unique, given Broome's ties to World War II.

"There's a lot of people in Broome because of past war days who respect the day in general," Mr Vomiero said.

More than 100 people, mostly Dutch refugees, were killed during the 1942 air raids on the town.

'Everyone came down'

At the Cenotaph in Hobart, former Tasmanian soldier Mark Direen was with other men he had served with in the SAS.

His friends had travelled from interstate to be with him in Hobart on Thursday.

"We've got people from Western Australia, Queensland and Victoria," he said.

"Every year we meet up in a different location and this year it was everyone's turn to come to my house, everyone came down to Hobart."

He said it was good to get together with fellow veterans on Anzac Day "who understand you, understand what you've been through in your service".

Another onlooker in Hobart, Josh Potts, wanted to remember those from his family and the wider community who had served over the years.

He brought his daughter Natalie to her first dawn service.

"I think it's good for the young generation to grow up and learn respect for the services," he said.

People travel from far and wide for Sydney services

Thousands turned out for Sydney's official dawn service to commemorate Anzac Day 110 years after the declaration of World War 1.

Premier Chris Minns and Governor-General Margaret Beazley spoke at the 90th ceremony in Martin Place, with NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb and Opposition Leader Mark Speakman amongst those who laid wreaths at the cenotaph.

Veteran Sarah Watson has served in the Australian military for 18 years, including a posting to Iraq.

She travelled from Yass Valley with her two sons George and David, to share the importance of this day with her family.

It's the friendships she forged while serving in Iraq that are most memorable for her, but also, the impact service had on her family.

"I was married, but the issues associated with service and health battles afterwards, sort of, led to my marriage breakdown.

"So I think it's the cost of that, you know, we have a high divorce rate in the ADF and veteran community.

"I would like all Australians to take a moment to just really remember and be grateful for the sacrifices of our men and women who have served for the freedom and great way of life we enjoy today."

In Sydney's West, hundreds of people woke up to watch the sunrise and pay their respects to Australia's service men and women at Castle Hill.

'A new tradition'

In Queensland, thousands attended the dawn service in Brisbane which started with the traditional lowering of flags to half mast.

Queensland's Governor Jeannette Young addressed the service before leading the wreath laying ceremony.

Dean Davies and Ian Withrington both served in the Australian Army at Bougainville in 1994 as peacekeepers but never met.

After spending the last four years chatting on social media and calling each other, they decided this year's Anzac Day service in Brisbane would be the day to meet.

"This Anzac Day has started a new tradition for us" said Mr Davies.

"We were on the flight deck on the HMAS Tobruk. He was on the port side and I was on the starboard side," said Mr Withrington.

"It's like we've known each other for years"

(continued)

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80104e No.20775640

File: b0a8368b39948d2⋯.jpg (2.86 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Sarah_Watson_travelled_wit….jpg)

File: 995ecd09989abbe⋯.jpg (1.79 MB,4032x3024,4:3,The_largest_dawn_service_i….jpg)

File: d1bab370e820f6e⋯.jpg (470.41 KB,2000x1334,1000:667,Francis_Tapim_came_to_Town….jpg)

File: e07f0ccae0aedc2⋯.jpg (2.27 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Crowds_have_braved_the_thr….jpg)

File: 6a564c104805ef2⋯.jpg (5.3 MB,5000x3335,1000:667,People_young_and_old_have_….jpg)

>>20775633

4/4

Thousands of people have also gathered at Currumbin Beach on the Gold Coast for Anzac Day commemorations.

It's the largest Anzac Day service in regional Australia.

In Australia's largest garrison city, Townsville, thousands marched along the Strand, with Colonel Boni Aruma taking the salute.

Francis Tapim represented his father Melpal Tapim, who served with the Torres Strait light infantry battalion, during World War II.

Mr Tapim said his father, from Murray Island, had been just 16, and lied about his age.

"Most of them were underage … they had to put their age up to be 21 at that time, to get enlisted in the armed forces," he said.

His father was sent to Maluka in Papua New Guinea.

"It's good to see Torres Strait Islanders get recognition, for our fathers and fore-fathers."

Peacekeeping remembered in Victoria

In Victoria, thousands of people gathered at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne, despite the threat of rain on Thursday morning.

This year's dawn service in Melbourne is focusing on the work of Australian peacekeepers, which stretches back 76 years.

Victoria's Governor Margaret Gardner told those gathered at the shrine that it was important to continue to honour those who have served their country in wartime and peacetime.

"Anzac Day matters not only because of the stories that were recorded but because of the stories that went unrecorded," she said.

"Those who volunteered their lives and were not singled out for mention."

"The best way to honour the sacrifices of those who have served our nation in wartime is to make every effort to promote and protect peace."

Thousands of people made the early morning march to Geelong's Eastern Beach foreshore on Thursday morning, packing out what is likely to be Victoria's biggest dawn service outside of Melbourne.

Geelong RSL vice-president Matthew Jack spoke at the Eastern Beach dawn service, thanking the public for their attendance and support.

"There's nothing worse than [when] you hear the negative side of [a] country's sending soldiers out to war, so it's good to see when you come back that the community is behind you," Mr Jack said.

This year's ANZAC Day commemorates the 25th anniversary of an Australian-led deployment to East Timor.

This morning was not the first time Mr Jack has dealt with the ABC, having been alongside a television crew in October 1999 when he and his fellow troops were fired upon in East Timor's border town of Motaain.

ABC cameras caught the moment, and ensuing firefight and conversations between opposing forces, which appeared to show the shootout had been sparked by differing maps of the region and confusion over the location of the border.

"I was on the first plane with 2RAR (second battalion, Royal Australian Regiment) to support East Timor independence, on the 20th of September, '99," he said.

"We were all pretty lucky, there was people killed on the other side, but luckily, just from our training, we had no casualties."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-25/australians-gather-for-anzac-day-services-around-the-country/103763630

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80104e No.20775653

File: 37c898bf2ff865c⋯.jpg (417.88 KB,688x642,344:321,MRF_D_63.jpg)

File: 40d71f9d0ffef6e⋯.jpg (316.7 KB,2048x1073,2048:1073,438197018_813789574116861_….jpg)

File: ba5a63e3924e606⋯.jpg (371.35 KB,2048x1073,2048:1073,438217481_813789614116857_….jpg)

File: 62c33f3ad88f490⋯.jpg (778.8 KB,2048x1073,2048:1073,438223149_813789637450188_….jpg)

File: 47fa0a4ff2cce33⋯.jpg (421.7 KB,2048x1073,2048:1073,438230046_813789597450192_….jpg)

>>20647150

>>20759654

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

Lest We Forget

“U.S. Marines and Sailors are honored to be included in #AnzacDay activities with our Australian Defence Force brothers and sisters. The display of national support to those that serve and sacrifice on behalf of this great nation is awe-inspiring. We are humbled to share in the love and support from the people of Darwin and the surrounding communities.” - U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of MRF-D 24.3.

Anzac Day marks the landings in Gallipoli of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers in 1915, and commemorates all Australian personnel who served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.

MRF-D 24.3 #Marines and #Sailors showed their support to Defence Australia personnel commemorating Anzac Day through dawn services and other commemorative services.

U.S. Marine Corps (photos): Cpl. Juan Torres and Cpl. Earik Barton

#lightupthedawn #LestWeForget #anzacday2024 #WeWillRememberThem #AlliesandPartners

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/813790414116777

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c547cb No.20776540

File: b7405639ba42805⋯.png (2 MB,1536x2048,3:4,ClipboardImage.png)

File: f7c8105c771e8f2⋯.png (359.01 KB,869x965,869:965,ClipboardImage.png)

File: afa77e5f8cc8ce9⋯.png (101.38 KB,474x335,474:335,ClipboardImage.png)

File: c4835ab0e6e4359⋯.png (837.96 KB,826x1685,826:1685,ClipboardImage.png)

File: 0f9a7bc5a0e5dce⋯.png (128.66 KB,640x480,4:3,ClipboardImage.png)

Happy ANZAC Day…

i know, it's almost over…

cheers

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80104e No.20780481

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20770002

Stabbed bishop takes swipe at those using attack ‘to serve political purposes’

Olivia Ireland - April 25, 2024

The Sydney bishop who was stabbed in an alleged terror attack has taken a swipe at those who he says are using his assault to serve their political purposes.

In a lavishly produced 11-minute YouTube video – his first public statement since he was stabbed multiple times on April 15 while delivering a livestreamed sermon – Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel commented on eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s takedown order of the graphic footage.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton told Ray Hadley on Sydney’s 2GB radio on Thursday that platforms such as X had to abide by Australian law and remove the video, but the government cannot be the “internet police of the world” in demanding the removal of the footage globally.

Billionaire Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, is citing Emmanuel’s defence of free speech in his Federal Court battle, after he defied the eSafety commissioner’s order to remove the footage from the platform formerly known as Twitter.

Australia won a 24-hour injunction at the Federal Court on Monday to hide videos of the stabbing, which was extended until the final hearing on May 10.

Ahead of the May hearing, Emmanuel provided X with an affidavit in support of the images remaining on the platform and used his YouTube video, uploaded on Wednesday night, to condemn those using the attack on him for political purposes.

“I do acknowledge the Australian government’s desire to have the videos removed because of their graphic nature; I do not condone any acts of terrorism or violence,” Emmanuel said in a voice-over accompanying footage of him walking the processional route of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem.

“However, noting our God-given right of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I’m not opposed to the videos remaining on social media. I would be of great concern if people use the attack on me to serve their own political interests to control free speech.”

Dutton said he had no interest in curbing free speech but believed publishers and social media platforms had a responsibility to abide by Australian law.

“We can’t be the internet police of the world … but if we have a situation where you’ve got a cleric being stabbed and that’s inciting violence, then the laws are very clear about the ability to take that down,” he told 2GB.

“I don’t think the law, as I say, extends to other countries, nor should it.”

On Sunday, Dutton told ABC Insiders host David Speers that there was bipartisan support for tougher measures to rein in social media, and that while he was sure Australian law could not be applied overseas, he thought X and Meta were worried about “the flow on to other markets if Australia’s laws are upheld”.

“That’s all the more reason, I think, for us to take a stance – it’s important for us – but for other democracies as well,” Dutton said.

The bishop’s new video does not contain any footage of the attack and does not directly mention Musk.

Instead, it features extensive footage of him making a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, walking the Via Dolorosa with members of his community, and lighting candles at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in the heart of the Old City.

Emmanuel has developed a global online following for his conservative positions on COVID measures, trans rights and geopolitics.

The 16-year-old who allegedly stabbed the bishop was charged with a Commonwealth terrorism offence on Friday. In addition, more than 400 officers from the Joint Counter-terrorism Team raided 13 locations across Sydney’s south-west on Wednesday.

Five of the seven young people arrested were charged on Thursday with a range of terrorism and extremism offences in connection with the 16-year-old who allegedly stabbed Emmanuel.

The bishop used his YouTube video to forgive “whoever was behind this”.

“My prayer goes for the person who has done this act,” he said. “I will always love this person … He’s my son and he will always be my son, he’ll always be in my heart and in my prayers and in my thoughts.”

He also said he was praying for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Israel and Palestine.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/stabbed-bishop-takes-swipe-at-those-using-attack-to-serve-political-purposes-20240425-p5fmht.html

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

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80104e No.20780521

File: ba8610a12a0c993⋯.jpg (841.2 KB,4893x3262,3:2,Elon_Musk_Chief_Executive_….jpg)

File: e7f1e563d2f4b8b⋯.jpg (1.37 MB,5000x3334,2500:1667,Police_investigate_at_the_….jpg)

File: dbd0dc023a10680⋯.jpg (781.33 KB,750x1342,375:671,GGA_3.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20770002

Musk's X says posts of Australia bishop stabbing don't promote violence

Byron Kaye - April 26, 2024

SYDNEY, April 26 (Reuters) - Elon Musk's social media platform X defended publishing posts showing a bishop in Australia being stabbed during a sermon as "part of public discussion", rejecting a regulator's order to take down the content on grounds it is offensive and violent.

In a post overnight, X's "global government affairs" account said the video taken by an "innocent bystander" should not have been banned under Australian law, which "permits content that can be reasonably considered as part of public discussion or debate".

"The content within the posts does not encourage or provoke violence," the X account said.

The statement from the company formerly called Twitter, which the billionaire bought in 2022, clashes with Australian lawmaker claims that police feared the footage would be used to encourage people to join terrorist groups.

The e-Safety Commissioner ordered X to remove posts containing the video globally to stop Australians seeing them, but X has challenged the order partly on grounds of "exorbitant jurisdiction". A court this week temporarily upheld the takedown order until a hearing on May 10.

The order has sparked increasingly heated public exchanges between Musk, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, and Australian officials including the prime minister and one senator who Musk said should be jailed.

Overnight, Musk shared a series of posts by another user which described the takedown order as part of a World Economic Forum "plot to impose eSafety rules on the world". "Accurate thread," Musk wrote to his 181 million followers.

The e-Safety Commissioner was not immediately available for comment.

The dispute follows an April 15 attack on an Assyrian bishop in Sydney, for which a 16-year-old boy has been charged with terrorist offences, according to the authorities.

After raids related to the incident this week, police charged five associates of the youth, also teenagers, with terrorism offences including possessing extremist material.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/musks-x-says-posts-australia-bishop-stabbing-dont-promote-violence-2024-04-26/

https://twitter.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1783477514645434862

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80104e No.20780540

File: 3962dadb4f7418c⋯.jpg (41.95 KB,800x600,4:3,Opposition_Leader_Peter_Du….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20780521

Dutton backs Musk on global policing of internet

Dominic Giannini - April 26 2024

The opposition says it supports Elon Musk's argument that Australia can't police the internet globally, as the week ended the way it began with a war of words and legal wrangling over graphic videos circulating on X.

Musk's company, formerly known as Twitter, is locked in a legal battle with the eSafety commissioner to be able to keep graphic videos on its site showing the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney.

The company's legal challenge stipulates it doesn't believe the commissioner should have ordered the posts be banned in Australia as it doesn't "encourage or provoke violence" and sits within public debate and discussion.

It also opposes the commissioner's request that the post be removed for all of X users, saying the Australian agency didn't have the jurisdiction to dictate what overseas users saw.

"X believes … governments should not be able to censor what citizens of other countries see online," it said in a post on the platform overnight.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said while he'd love to say no child would be able to watch the video, "we can't pretend that Australia can dictate to other countries around the world what people see within their countries".

"We wouldn't tolerate that here, that Russia could dictate what content is seen in Australia," he told Nine's Today Show on Friday.

"We need to be realistic about what the options are here, we can't police the whole internet across the world, but we can influence what happens in Australian society.

"We strongly support the eSafety commissioner's position in relation to taking it down so that Australians can't view it."

Deputy Liberal Leader Sussan Ley clarified earlier comments backing the commissioner, saying it was "patently obvious" Australian laws couldn't apply internationally.

"Whether you're a mum or dad in Uzbekistan, China, New Zealand or the UK, you don't want to see a live stabbing or your kids to see it," she told Seven's Sunrise program.

"We all support the eSafety commissioner keeping Australians safe online but we recognise that we can't be the internet police for the whole world."

Cabinet minister Bill Shorten backed the commissioner wholeheartedly, saying Australia wasn't trying to police the internet globally.

"We're not trying to do that but this violent filth shouldn't be accessible," he said.

"Elon Musk is not a free speech warrior - if he was, he'd allow Twitter to be able to put up the movements of his jet, which he doesn't.

"If he was really a free speech warrior, what's he saying about his business interests in China when China disagrees with it?"

The eSafety commissioner has argued X's move to just geoblock the content for an Australian audience rather than completely removing it from the site didn't comply with its takedown order.

X and the commissioner are currently engaged in three separate legal battles, according to the ABC.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8606985/dutton-backs-musk-on-global-policing-of-internet/

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80104e No.20780765

File: 2e5aab7282993fa⋯.jpg (2.67 MB,4977x3430,711:490,One_of_the_teenagers_arres….jpg)

File: c5a4a95cc9398f8⋯.jpg (3.07 MB,6000x4000,3:2,Family_members_of_one_of_t….jpg)

File: f1bb028018e9ea6⋯.jpg (2.79 MB,6000x4000,3:2,A_supporter_of_the_14_year….jpg)

File: cd3980b2f0e42d1⋯.jpg (1.76 MB,5940x3880,297:194,A_supporter_of_the_14_year….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20769978

Teen terror suspects had Islamic State beheading and bomb-making videos, court told

Clare Sibthorpe and Jessica McSweeney - April 25, 2024

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Two teenagers arrested in connection with the Wakeley church stabbing had graphic videos of Islamic State beheadings, with one also possessing bomb-making instructions, police allege.

A 14-year-old, who stopped attending school in 2022, is among the five young people charged with a range of terrorism and extremism offences after a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel multiple times during a live-streamed service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on April 15.

Children’s Magistrate Paul Mulroney granted the 14-year-old boy bail with strict conditions, but a last-minute appeal application by the prosecution prevented his release from custody.

However, Mulroney refused a 17-year-old boy bail at Parramatta Local Court for allegedly possessing videos of Islamic State taking, beheading and killing hostages – as well as videos linked to Hamas and bomb-making material.

“There’s a video of a person in military fatigues who is providing instructions as to the making of explosion devices, and military personnel in active combat,” Mulroney said.

“It depicts extreme violence and also depicts methodologies for the commission of violent acts. In my view in this case it is not an easy decision, but bail should be refused.”

The teens were arrested after police seized electronic devices from the alleged church stabber’s home.

On Thursday morning, police charged the 14-year-old with possessing violent extremist material after allegedly finding the videos on his phone and arresting him at his Greenacre home at 2am on Wednesday.

One video allegedly showed graphic Islamic State beheadings and people being run over by military vehicles underneath terrorist symbolism and music, while the other contained violent homophobia.

Commonwealth prosecutor Matthew Nelson argued against the boy’s release on bail due to the videos’ alleged “incredibly serious violence”.

“It is quite varied in what it refers to in terms of different parts of the community … [the child’s age] reflects not a level of immaturity where they’re not aware of what is depicted,” he said.

The child’s defence barrister, Jehane Ghabrial, argued police only accused the child of having been sent the videos, not that he disseminated them or viewed them.

She said the boy left school to work with his father, was educated in Australia, comes from a “moderate” religious background and had no prior criminal record.

She said he “has a limited understanding of Arabic,” the language used in the videos.

Mulroney granted the child bail, after acknowledging the videos were “clearly extremist, violent, distressing and reprehensible”.

“The material is awful. It depicts the worst behaviour of humanity,” he said.

“But I do need to take into account there is no evidence he distributed the material to any other person. At this stage it is not clear how he received this material”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20780772

File: e4f611d88990592⋯.jpg (1.72 MB,4631x3087,4631:3087,Police_said_they_made_the_….jpg)

>>20780765

2/2

Mulroney acknowledged the police alleged the material was of serious concern, but noted his age, lack of maturity and a “considerably reduced capacity to consider the consequences of their behaviour”.

He said the child came from a stable family and was likely to be found guilty but unlikely to face a sentence of full-time jail if convicted.

He said strict bail conditions – including not leaving his house except with a parent or approval from a parent, and being barred from using social media – would help protect community safety.

However, just as the boy’s matter was about to end, the prosecutor advised the court of his intention to appeal, meaning the magistrate’s decision on bail was automatically stayed.

The child is to remain in custody until the application is made again in the NSW Supreme Court.

More than 400 officers from the Joint Counter-terrorism Team (JCTT) raided 13 locations across Sydney’s south-west on Wednesday, including addresses in Greenacre, Strathfield, Bankstown, Prestons, Casula, Lurnea, Rydalmere, Chester Hill and Punchbowl.

A location in Goulburn was also searched.

As well as the teenagers who faced court on Thursday, two 16-year-old boys were charged with conspiring to engage in any act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act. They made no bid for bail and their matters were adjourned to June 21.

A 17-year-old was hit with the same charge, as well as carrying a knife in a public place. He appeared in court from custody via audio-visual link dressed in a blue shirt. His lawyer made no bid for bail but indicated he would make one when the case returns to court next Tuesday.

The young people arrested in the Wednesday raids were all under surveillance by the JCTT following the Wakeley attack. The bishop suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the teenager was charged with a Commonwealth terrorism offence.

Police say they were forced to move quickly on the young people who were under surveillance when it was determined the risk to the public was too great to continue watching them.

Hundreds of people swarmed the church as police arrived to take the alleged attacker into custody. More than 50 officers were injured, and police believe some in the riot had no connection to the church but arrived after word spread about the attack through social media.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/teens-charged-with-planning-attack-after-alleged-terror-cell-uncovered-20240425-p5fmf4.html

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80104e No.20780813

File: df16d30e37982a1⋯.jpg (241.92 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Channel_7_Sunrise_presente….jpg)

File: 923680a46a9fa03⋯.jpg (137.46 KB,768x1023,256:341,Channel_7_named_Benjamin_C….jpg)

>>20719788

>>20724374

>>20736637

Channel 7 has reached a confidential settlement with Benjamin Cohen, wrongly named as the Bondi killer

SOPHIE ELSWORTH - APRIL 26, 2024

Channel 7 has reached a confidential settlement with a 20-year-old university student after the network wrongly identified him as the Bondi Junction mass murderer.

Benjamin Cohen, a first-year student at the University of Technology, Sydney, engaged law firm Giles George after he was wrongly named multiple times as the Westfield Bondi killer on Seven’s Weekend Sunrise program.

On Friday the law firm confirmed the matter was resolved and in a statement, principal Patrick George who was representing Mr Cohen said: “The terms of the settlement are otherwise confidential.”

Under the NSW Defamation Act it can attract damages up to $459,000.

Mr Cohen was seeking an apology, compensation and costs for serious harm after high-profile Sunrise presenter Matt Shirvington and another reporter, Lucy McLeod incorrectly named him as the murderer.

The student also received a lengthy written apology from Seven West Media managing director and chief executive officer Jeff Howard this week.

“Seven accepts the identification was a grave mistake and that these assertions were entirely false and without basis,” Mr Howard said in the letter to Mr Cohen.

“Seven withdraws the false allegations unreservedly and apologises to you for the harm you and your family have suffered as a result of Seven’s statements about you.”

Mr Cohen was named as the wrong man who killed six people at the Sydney shopping centre on April 13, and not the actual killer, 40-year-old Joel Cauchi.

The student’s name had been circulating on social media including X, formerly Twitter, in the lead up to the mistake being aired.

Shirvington and reporter Lucy McLeod both wrongly named Mr Cohen during the Sunday morning broadcast at 6.05am AEST and 6.15am respectively.

NSW police did not name Cauchi as the culprit until about 8.34am that morning.

Mr Howard said after the error became apparent Mr Cohen’s name was no longer broadcast and he also conceded the network had difficulty in contacting him about the mistake.

“Seven made attempts to find a contact number for you but did not have one until your mother rang the newsroom,” he said in the letter.

An internal investigation has also been launched to find out who is responsible for the error that led to it being broadcast on air several times.

Mr Howard also said in his letter to Mr Cohen that Shirvington and McLeod “are devastated that the error was made and that it has affected you.

“Both Mr Shirvington and Ms McLeod nevertheless wish to offer their own personal apology to you for the hurt and distress caused.

“While Seven does not suggest that it is relevant to your reaction, we nevertheless note that the staff members involved are deeply remorseful and traumatised by the mistake.”

At the time of the mistaken name being aired a Seven spokesman said it was due to “human error.”

Mr Cohen said in a statement: “Users who abuse a platform to target individuals or communities should be held accountable for the consequences of their actions and platforms should be more accountable for the content they host.”

Mr George also said the law firm has been instructed to contact the Police Commissioner concerning the “conduct of certain persons on social media who originated, agitated or facilitated this dangerous and harmful accusation.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/channel-7-has-reached-a-confidential-settlement-with-benjamin-cohen-wrongly-named-as-the-bondi-killer/news-story/c83c6349067014f0dab49f944d506702

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80104e No.20780846

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

Morrison on meds: toll of top office laid bare

Scott Morrison says he tried other methods to deal with his ‘debilitating’ anxiety and depression before turning to medication while PM.

CAMERON STEWART - April 26, 2024

Scott Morrison has revealed that he faced mental health challenges during his prime ministership, suffering from anxiety that became so acute he received medication for it.

Mr Morrison says that without the medication he would have fallen into a serious depression and that his anxiety during much of his time in The Lodge was “debilitating and agonising”.

“I think it just sort of built up,” he told The Australian of the anxiety that began to overwhelm him as the pressures of the job grew.

“I couldn’t put my finger on a particular time. It was a very stressful period and the combination of the weight of issues, the length of hours that we were working, the physical demands that brought and to be honest the stuff around China was as, if not more, distressing than the pandemic. You’re flesh and blood and so it would start to impact you.”

With each new challenge, from the Covid pandemic to the showdowns with China, and with each new controversy and subsequent wave of media attacks, Mr Morrison said the waves of anxiety he felt became more acute.

Eventually he sought help from his doctor in Canberra who prescribed him medication to help him deal with it. “My doctor was amazed I had lasted as long as I had before seeking help,” Morrison writes as he reveals for the first time his mental health challenges in his new book Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

“Without this help, serious depression would have manifested. What impacted me was the combination of pure physical exhaustion with the unrelenting and callous brutality of politics and media attacks,” he writes.

“As a politician I know this goes with the territory. That’s not a complaint or even an accusation. It’s just reality. Politicians are not made of stone, yet they’re often treated as though they are, including by each other.”

Mr Morrison, who was prime minister from 2018 to 2022, says his anxiety was “debilitating and agonising”.

“You dread the future and you can’t get out of bed. It can shut you down mentally and physically. It robs you of your joy and can damage relationships. I know this from personal experience.’

“You can’t deal with it by telling yourself to, as we say in Australia, take a teaspoon of cement and harden up.”

The revelation is one of many in Mr Morrison’s book, which is not a traditional political memoir, but rather an unusual blend of how his own faith as a Christian ­intersected with his time as prime minister. In the book, Mr Morrison speaks of how his faith sustained him and guided him on issues including the Covid pandemic, the creation of the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact and the threat posed by China.

He also discusses how faith guided his judgment during the leadership showdowns of August 2018, which led to Mr Morrison taking over from Malcolm Turnbull as prime minister.

“Most politicians write books about what they’ve done; this story is about what I believe God has done for me,” he says.

Mr Morrison believes the mental health of leaders under enormous pressure is not something that should be taken for granted.

“We’re all just people you know,” he writes. “There are no superhuman qualities or superpowers anyone possesses. It’s right to expect a lot of our leaders, don’t get me wrong, but we also have to be conscious that they have to function.”

Mr Morrison says he tried other methods to deal with his anxiety, including swimming and cooking, but these were not enough to ward off his condition without medical help.

In the book Mr Morrison ­explores his own quest to avoid the bitterness and revenge-seeking behaviour that has afflicted so many ex-prime ministers. He says he is trying to forgive his political enemies although he admits this is still a work in progress. “I decided I would be someone who would just move on with my life and there were many other things in my life (because) my life wasn’t completely consumed by politics or the role,” he says. “I never saw the role (of prime minister) as defining who I was as a human being or an individual.”

Mr Morrison says he does not plan to write a traditional political memoir. “It’s just not how I’m wired,” he says.

He says he is much more interested in exploring questions of faith than raking over the legacy of his time in The Lodge.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-medicated-for-anxiety-while-prime-minister/news-story/1ff1cb0eca51fab7af489860a000fa22

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK3ZQUfLLy0

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80104e No.20780890

File: 5f48883c839fc8b⋯.jpg (903.11 KB,4256x2832,266:177,Dylan_Howard_a_former_Chan….jpg)

File: a1f70545c418081⋯.jpg (5.4 MB,8640x5760,3:2,Former_president_Donald_Tr….jpg)

>>20545757

>>20594954

Australian journalist named as co-conspirator in Trump hush money trial

Farrah Tomazin - April 26, 2024

1/2

New York: The Australian journalist embroiled in a hush money plot to help Donald Trump become president has been named as a co-conspirator in the trial, with text messages read in court showing him discussing potentially being pardoned for electoral fraud if he was ever charged.

Dylan Howard, the then editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, also told the tabloid’s boss David Pecker that he believed a story about Trump having sex with porn star Stormy Daniels was true and suggested paying $US120,000 ($183,900) to bury it, according to emails shown in court.

“Woman wants 120k … I know the denials were made in the past – but this story is true,” he wrote in an email to Pecker days before the presidential election.

“I can lock it on publication now to shut down the media chatter and we can assess next steps thereafter. OK?”

The bombshell revelations were made during Trump’s historic trial on Thursday (Friday AEST), in which the former president has been accused of falsifying business records to ensure his 2016 campaign to win the White House wasn’t derailed.

Giving evidence for the third day, Pecker, who then led American Media Inc, the publisher of the Enquirer and other popular tabloid magazines, also told the court that he suppressed stories for other people, including Hollywood actor turned former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, American actor Mark Wahlberg and former Barack Obama staffer Rahm Emanuel.

Trump’s lawyer Emil Bove cited these agreements to suggest to the jury that suppressing stories was merely “standard operating procedure” at the Enquirer, which had used “chequebook journalism” for years.

The Daniels payment began with a tip in October 2016 – shortly after Trump was caught on an Access Hollywood tape bragging about grabbing women by their genitals.

Pecker told the court he was having dinner with his wife one Saturday night in October when he received an “urgent call” from Howard, who had received information from two of his best sources – lawyer Keith Davidson and publicist Jenny Rodriguez – that Daniels was trying to sell a story about having a sexual relationship with Trump.

He said Howard told him they could acquire the story for $US120,000 from Davidson, who was Daniels’ lawyer, “if we made the decision right now”.

However, Pecker said he did not want to pay Daniels because AMI had already forked out $US30,000 ($46,000) to kill an unverified story from a Trump Tower doorman claiming Trump had a child born out of wedlock, plus another $US150,000 ($230,000) to silence an alleged affair with former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal.

“I am not a bank,” he said. “If anyone was going to buy it, I thought Michael [Cohen] and Donald Trump should buy it.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20780899

File: 17d9bc7f6fb6418⋯.jpg (603.82 KB,2973x1673,2973:1673,Former_president_Donald_Tr….jpg)

File: 1fe2d9f784b1b74⋯.jpg (281.16 KB,2028x1650,338:275,David_Pecker_chairman_and_….jpg)

>>20780890

2/2

During legal back-and-forth in between Pecker’s testimony, Judge Juan Merchan and prosecutor Joshua Steinglass also named Howard as a “co-conspirator” in the catch-and-kill scheme to help Trump’s presidential campaign by burying damaging stories about the Republican candidate.

In text messages read aloud with the jury absent, Howard and one of his relatives discussed him travelling to California in 2016 to talk to ex-Playboy model Karen McDougal – the woman who was ultimately paid $US150,000 to kill a story about her affair with Trump.

In another text message on the night of the 2016 election, Howard wrote: “At least if he wins, I’ll be pardoned for electoral fraud”.

Merchan opted to exclude the texts from being shown to the jury for now because it was a private conversation with a family member and not a business record.

The jury was, however, later shown images of Pecker and Howard at the White House after Trump won the election, in what the witness described as a “thank you” dinner.

Howard, 42, a former reporter with the Geelong Advertiser and the Seven network, has not been accused of any crime and will not be a witness in the trial due to a spinal injury.

In a statement to this masthead, his lawyer John Harris said Howard had received statutory immunity for providing evidence in the case last year and “further, in May 2021, the Federal Election Commission concluded that it lacked a sufficient basis to bring election law claims against Mr Howard”.

“Mr Howard’s actions at the behest of, and for the benefit of, the publisher of The National Enquirer have been previously documented extensively. Similarly, as Mr Pecker testified, Mr Howard did not determine which stories regarding Mr Trump would be run by the publication,” Harris said.

“He regrets that he is unable to travel to New York to testify in order to provide his own knowledge and viewpoint, rather than have his actions characterised by third-parties, including his former employer.”

Trump faces 34 counts of falsifying business reports – and the prospect of jail – over the payment to Daniels, which his then-lawyer Michael Cohen says he paid using a shell company set up to conceal its true purpose.

Prosecutors allege Trump then reimbursed Cohen by fraudulently filing the money as a legal expense, even increasing it to $US420,000 ($643, 700) paid in instalments, so it looked more legitimate.

Trump has acknowledged he reimbursed Cohen – and the jury has also been shown cheques bearing his signature – but insists the payments were legitimate for Cohen’s legal services.

As Pecker testified, Trump initially leant back in his seat and closed his eyes briefly, but became more animated as the hearing went on, often folding his arms or passing notes to his lawyers.

Also on Friday, the US Supreme Court considered an appeal by Trump to claim immunity from being prosecuted over his attempt to subvert the 2020 election, although a number of conservative and liberal justices on the bench seemed deeply sceptical of this idea.

The night before, he was also named as a co-conspirator in two separate schemes to create “fake electors” who could falsely declare he won Arizona and Michigan against President Joe Biden four years ago.

And a federal judge rejected his bid to strike out $US83.3 million in damages he was ordered to pay writer E. Jean Carroll for defamation.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/australian-journalist-named-as-co-conspirator-in-trump-hush-money-trial-20240426-p5fmpg.html

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80104e No.20781023

File: c601510aa25e609⋯.mp4 (7.47 MB,960x540,16:9,GBVAHxojqIwplb8CAHjB1wGFBk….mp4)

File: 2c55947f92af80c⋯.jpg (287.15 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_event_came_about_when_….jpg)

File: ae7ef0e01d7cc7b⋯.jpg (287.75 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Russia_s_President_Vladimi….jpg)

File: 5d0a83ee09cb32d⋯.jpg (1.02 MB,1268x2448,317:612,Tucker_Carlson_tickets.jpg)

Tucker Carlson to tour Australia with Clive Palmer

JENNA CLARKE - APRIL 26, 2024

Tucker Carlson is heading to Australia for the first time.

The former Fox News host is teaming up with former federal MP and mining billionaire Clive Palmer to hit the public speaking circuit.

The pair will front The Australian Freedom Conference, an event that will take place all around Australia from late June and host sessions in major cities as well as Cairns, Perth and Adelaide.

Tickets went on sale on Friday and start at $203.

Advertising for the conference with Mr Carlson as the headline act began airing on Friday on Sky News Australia and on social media.

Mr Carlson appears, without his trademark tie, in the one-minute advertisements spruiking the event that is sponsored by Mr Palmer’s company Mineralogy.

“Why am I dressed this way? Because I’m so excited to come to Australia. I’m American, obviously. But I’ve been thinking about Australia my entire life as most Americans my age have. Australia always seemed like a place that was very much like where we lived, but maybe a little more exotic and interesting, but again, I’ve never seen it,” a polo T-shirt clad Mr Carlson said.

The genesis for the event came about, according to Mr Carlson, when he “got a call from Clive Palmer”.

“We’re going be talking about what is happening in your country and ours, countries with common histories, common values, and common threats.

“Free speech is bigger than any one person or any one organisation. Societies are defined by what they will not permit. What we’re watching is the total inversion of virtue,” Mr Carlson added in a heavily edited clip.

Mr Carlson now runs his own media outlet, called The Tucker Carlson Network, and broadcasts via Elon Musk’s social media platform X where his videos frequently clock up hundreds of millions of views.

He has previously weighed in on local issues and politics, including being heavily critical of Australia’s gun laws and the national response to the Covid pandemic.

He is also the first Western journalist to be granted an audience with Russian president Vladimir Putin since the invasion of Ukraine.

“Tucker has long advocated that news coverage in the west can be wrongly used as a tool of repression and control. He believes democracy cannot function properly under these controls and the only solution to ending propaganda is fearlessly speaking the truth,” Mr Palmer said.

As well as speaking tours, Mr Palmer is also busy moving ahead with his long held plans to build Titanic II. A project he said will be “an antidote to woke politics”.

Mr Carlson and Mr Palmer will share the stage with Queensland GP Dr Melissa McCann and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza, whose most recent documentary was launched with a red carpet premiere hosted by former US president Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

The Australian understands more details about Mr Carlson’s visit will be released on Monday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/tucker-carlson-to-tour-australia-with-clive-palmer/news-story/525fbc459c10dcf25c80edfa034027fe

https://www.facebook.com/CliveFrederickPalmer/videos/1076177713479624/

https://iccsydneytheatre.com/event/australian-freedom-conference/

https://premier.ticketek.com.au/shows/show.aspx?sh=TUCKERCA24

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80104e No.20785423

File: 1c9ac8dc0367f07⋯.jpg (345.16 KB,2020x1136,505:284,Chinese_sponsored_Volt_Typ….jpg)

File: 1e759718f1d195a⋯.jpg (216.38 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_ASD_co_signed_the_US_a….jpg)

Chinese-backed hackers Volt Typhoon are targeting Australia’s critical infrastructure

CHRIS UHLMANN and ROSIE LEWIS -APRIL 27, 2024

1/2

A Chinese state-sponsored hacking group called Volt Typhoon is targeting Australia’s critical infrastructure and may have already accessed some systems, after infiltrating essential services in the US.

Confirmation by The Weekend Australian that the group is active in Australia has triggered fresh calls from cyber security ­experts for the Albanese government to be transparent about the risks to business and the community, while critical infrastructure entities have been told to “harden their systems”.

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess referenced the attacks in his latest threat assessment, saying one nation state was conducting “multiple attempts to scan critical infrastructure”.

Government sources confirmed that the aggressor was China and that its hacking group called Volt Typhoon – which has successfully compromised American companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors – was the culprit.

One source said the cyber ­attack had accessed some critical systems, while another said it was likely but not certain that essential utilities had been breached.

Another insider labelled the ­attempts to control critical infrastructure as the “electronic equivalent” of Chinese commando groups putting bombs underneath bridges or on high-voltage pylons for the purposes of blowing them up during a war.

Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil declined to say if she was aware of any Australian critical ­infrastructure being compromised, but her spokesman said: “We’re monitoring Volt Typhoon and other state-backed groups very closely.”

Cyber Security Cooperative Research Centre chief executive Rachael Falk said the group was especially pernicious because it “sits in wait ready to attack in the event of a major conflict” after gaining access to critical infrastructure networks.

FBI director Christopher Wray denounced China’s offensive cyber activities in congressional testimony earlier this year, ­accusing Beijing of prepositioning on US infrastructure in preparation “to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if and when China decides the time has come to strike”.

Last week, Mr Wray admitted that Volt Typhoon had gained ­illicit access to networks within America’s critical telecommunications, energy, water, and other infrastructure sectors.

Volt Typhoon uses malware to exploit vulnerabilities in thousands of home and business routers and harnesses the computational muscle to attack a company’s public-facing computer system.

Once inside, the hallmark of this group is “living off the land”: recruiting legitimate system tools and functions to evade detection. It then engages in “privilege escalation” to ascend the network command chain until it gets the powers of a network administrator and its parasite commands look identical to those of the host victim. It can lie dormant for years, clandestinely monitoring the company’s activities and poised for a future strike.

The intention is not to steal ­information but to control critical systems.

(continued)

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80104e No.20785431

File: 14da322fa9de7d3⋯.jpg (191.72 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_has_been_urged_t….jpg)

>>20785423

2/2

The Australian Signals Directorate joined with Five Eyes ­partners earlier this year to ­advise of US infrastructure being ­compromised by Russian and Chinese state-sponsored actors, including Volt Typhoon.

The advisory said Australian and New Zealand assets could be vulnerable to similar activity and explained how Volt Typhoon ­actors exhibited “minimal ­activity within the compromised environment … suggesting that their objective is to maintain persistence ­rather than immediate exploitation”.

CyberCX chief strategy officer Alastair MacGibbon, the former head of the ASD’s Australian Cyber Security Centre, said it should be assumed foreign governments were attempting to ­access our critical infrastructure and businesses.

Amid industry concerns that businesses have been told to identify activity by groups such as Volt Typhoon without the skills or knowledge, Mr MacGibbon called for transparency.

“A mature, open conversation with business and the broader community about these risks and what can be done to mitigate them is increasingly necessary as the threat landscape continues to evolve,” he said.

“Australia operates the same types of systems, technologies, and critical infrastructure China indicates it will look to disrupt or destroy if it suits their strategic interests in times of increased tension or conflict. The Australian government issued an advisory notice on the internet, but industry and the broader community need and deserve more insight and guidance than this.”

Ms Falk said industry must step up and take responsibility for their cyber security, urging critical-infrastructure entities to ­actively scan for anomalous user and device behaviour in addition to their standard cyber security practices.

“Australia’s critical infrastructure regime is world-leading and requires the owners and operators of designated critical infrastructure assets to take an ‘all hazards’ risk approach,” Ms Falk said.

“Given Volt Typhoon clearly presents a threat, critical-infrastructure entities should take proactive steps to harden their systems and build it into risk-management plans.

“This is especially the case for communications, energy, transport and water infra­structure, as we know these have been targeted by Volt Typhoon in the US.”

Government sources, who wouldn’t confirm if Volt Typhoon had compromised Australian critical infrastructure, said Mr Burgess had spoken extensively about the potential use of cyber attacks as a form of sabotage by foreign governments.

“With our agencies and allies we will continue to call that out where we see it, and work to strengthen our defences,” one source said.

The Security of Critical Infrastructure Act outlines the legal obligations entities have across 11 sectors – including defence, ­energy, communication and healthcare – if they own, operate or have direct interests in critical infrastructure assets.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/chinesebacked-hackers-volt-typhoon-are-targeting-australias-critical-infrastructure/news-story/280d12ffd4c926cf6c085d8f078e01c5

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80104e No.20785526

File: c14b5013969e889⋯.jpg (530.85 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Cyber_security_experts_war….jpg)

>>20785423

China’s cyber traps already inside the castle wall

CHRIS UHLMANN - APRIL 27, 2024

1/2

The landmines for a future war have likely already been laid inside our borders.

The cyber battalions of the People’s Republic of China have compromised parts of our critical infrastructure and are hunting for weaknesses in all of it. The bombs may never be detonated but the intention is clear, and hostile. If Australia does find itself in conflict with China the first sign may be when the lights go out and the dams empty.

The evidence for this is hiding in plain sight in the latest threat assessment by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess and in warnings issued by the Australian Signals Directorate.

“The most immediate, low-cost and potentially high-impact vector for sabotage is cyber,” Burgess said. “Our critical infrastructure networks are interconnected and interdependent, which increases the vulnerabilities and potential access points.

“ASIO is aware of one nation-state conducting multiple attempts to scan critical infrastructure in Australia and other countries, targeting water, transport and energy networks.”

The domestic spy chief’s counterpart in the US admits what Burgess omits; the enemy is already inside the castle walls. In testimony before a congressional committee in January FBI director Christopher Wray acknowledged the vast scope of the operation and named China as the adversary.

“There has been far too little public focus on the fact that (People’s Republic of China) hackers are targeting our critical infrastructure, our water treatment plants, our electrical grid, our oil and natural gas pipelines, our transportation systems,” Wray said. “And the risk that poses to every American requires our attention now.

“China’s hackers are positioning on American infrastructure in preparation to wreak havoc and cause real-world harm to American citizens and communities, if and when China decides the time has come to strike.”

Here, ASD director-general Rachel Noble has been warning about the threat posed by state-based hackers to critical infrastructure for years. In the days after Wray’s testimony Noble’s agency joined Five Eyes partners in the US, Canada, Britain and New Zealand in releasing a guide to help network administrators spot signs their systems had been hacked by Chinese government-backed actors.

Last week Wray released more details on Beijing’s hacking campaign, by a group known as Volt Typhoon.

Volt Typhon uses malware to exploit vulnerabilities in thousands of home and business routers in the target country to build an interconnected zombie battalion called a botnet. The computational muscle is then harnessed to punch a hole in the defences of a company’s public-facing computer system.

Once inside, the mode of attack changes. Instead of using malware, the hallmark of Volt Typhoon is “living off the land”: recruiting legitimate system tools and functions to evade detection.

Then it employs a technique called “privilege escalation” to ascend the network command chain until the adversary becomes an administrator and its parasite commands look identical to those of the host victim. It can then lie dormant for years, clandestinely monitoring the company’s activities and poised for a future strike.

Government sources have confirmed that China is the country Burgess was referencing, that Volt Typhoon is the vector and that it has likely infected some of our critical systems. This is something that should be shouted from the rooftops because it is no different to planting a bomb on the Sydney Harbour Bridge. It is a blatant act of aggression.

Our security agencies are doing their job but have become cautious, muted by a government desperate to remarry an unrepentant, abusive partner. In a triumph of optimism over experience it believes this bad relationship is best managed by hiding the bruises.

The mantra for managing Beijing is “co-operate where we can, disagree where we must”. But if you aren’t going to violently disagree when virtual bombs are planted on home soil, then when are you going to do it?

(continued)

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80104e No.20785530

File: f7b7b465b47f3a0⋯.jpg (501.74 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Russian_Foreign_Minister_S….jpg)

>>20785526

2/2

The official silence on this extends to the top of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Its secretary, Glyn Davis, managed to get through an entire speech to the Australian National University’s National Security College this month without once saying “China” in assessing threats to Australia’s critical infrastructure.

The establishment is busy dusting the shelves for the expected June visit of Chinese Premier Li Qiang and no one in PM&C or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade wants to sully the experience with uncomfortable truths. The notion that vocal security hawks saying alarming things are to blame for all the troubles of the past is now accepted wisdom.

This blithely ignores that the troubles arose as Australia sought to defend itself from routine acts of aggression. Beijing’s overt hostility against our nation goes well beyond the recent preparation for sabotage and is evident inside our borders and without.

Beijing conducts industrial-scale information theft from our governments and the private sector. It runs a relentless information war aimed at undermining our democracy and our alliances. It sought to buy influence in politics through donations. Its officials have threatened to leverage the Chinese diaspora to bring political parties to heel, and its supporters have intimi­dated university students.

Chinese diplomats have demanded Australian MPs cancel meetings with Hong Kong’s pro-democracy advocates and whistled up domestic sympathisers to hound journalists. The worst abuse is against Chinese Australians, who have been targeted by CCP agents who threaten the lives and liberty of their China-based families. The PRC views them not as Australians but “overseas Chinese” and expects them to show fealty to it or suffer the consequences, no matter where they are in the world.

Beyond our borders Beijing has illegally occupied and militarised the South China Sea, trampled the legitimate claims of other nations, harassed our navy in international waters, fired a military-grade laser at an RAAF plane and has threatened the safety of our divers.

It is seeking to establish a naval base off our east coast, which would effectively ring-fence Australia’s sea lanes. Its fishing fleet of more than half a million vessels is stripping the oceans bare and its footprint in the Antarctic just keeps expanding.

This is not an exhaustive list but a solid starting point for a bit of healthy disagreement.

But the Canberra establishment does have a point in recognising one truth: all Beijing really wants is our silence. To voice no objection no matter what it decides to do in the world, our region or our nation. Stay silent and the rivers of gold will keep flowing.

It seems such a trifle and has enthusiastic advocates in the serried ranks of ex-politicians, bureaucrats, state governments, business people and university vice-chancellors.

To others that silence means living in a mental gulag. It means giving up the one thing that makes living in a democracy meaningful: the right to disagree.

The failure to call out egregious behaviour is not an act of policy genius. Silence denotes consent for the world that China is building in tandem with other tyrannies. It makes Australia a willing labourer in the walled garden Beijing intends to brick us into.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/chinas-cyber-traps-already-inside-the-castle-wall/news-story/44f265a20a9bd8579a60f475f9475554

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80104e No.20785616

File: 24053123732350c⋯.jpg (257.82 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Scott_Morrison_with_former….jpg)

>>20764963

>>20780846

Scott Morrison prayed with former US vice-president Mike Pence over China’s military build-up

CAMERON STEWART - APRIL 26, 2024

Scott Morrison has blasted Chinese leader Xi Jinping for deceiving Australia about his militaristic ambitions and says he once prayed with US vice-president Mike Pence about combating China in the region.

In his strongest comments yet about China’s attempts to coerce and bully Australia during his prime ministership, Mr Morrison said the country would have “lived in fear” if his government had not stood up to Beijing.

He accused China of being on a “neo-Marxist mission” to become a hegemonic power, saying it was willing to go to war if necessary to bend the rules of the global order in its favour.

Mr Morrison, a committed Christian, reveals that at the 2018 APEC leaders’ summit in the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, the then prime minister asked to be alone in a room with Mr Pence, a fellow Christian and Donald Trump’s vice-president so that the two men could pray for solutions to “the increasing assertiveness of China in our region”.

“I was aware of Mike’s faith and asked for us to pray together over the things we had discussed, which included the increasing ­assertiveness of China in our ­region,” Mr Morrison writes in his new book, Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

Mr Morrison reveals that China’s aggressive behaviour in the region and its unprecedented military build-up were the ­dominant reasons why Australia sought to create the AUKUS pact to acquire nuclear-powered ­submarines.

“We could not continue to ­indulge in passive appeasement of China’s assertiveness; we could not give in to fear,” he writes.

“I decided it was not in ­Australia’s long-term interests to duck and cover. We had to stand up for ourselves, face our fears and not capitulate to China’s bullying.”

Nuclear submarines, he says, were “key to our plan to resist Chinese coercion”.

Mr Morrison uses the book to accuse Mr Xi of being two-faced about China’s true ambitions in the Indo-Pacific. He says that during a visit to Australia in 2014 Mr Xi “hit all the right notes”, “speaking admirably about our koalas” and “our friendliness and ingenuity”.

“Xi’s message was clear: there was nothing to fear from a rising and stronger China in our ­region,” he writes.

Mr Morrison says the belief that a more affluent China would lead to a more liberal China proved to be the most misplaced assumption since Neville Chamberlain’s appeasement of Adolf Hitler in 1938.

He says “Xi’s real ambition is a neo-Marxist mission” to “realise China’s destiny of hegemonic power in the Indo-Pacific, ­reunifying Taiwan with China (by force if necessary), centralising and asserting Beijing’s ­authority at home (resulting in human rights abuses in Xinjiang and Hong Kong) and rewriting the rules of the global order in China’s favour”.

Mr Morrison says China’s rise and the deteriorating ­strategic outlook meant that ­nuclear-power submarines had gone from “a nice-to-have to a need-to-have”.

He said he would never regret the decision to call for an independent inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic, a decision that angered China and led it to slap $20bn worth of sanctions on Australian exports.

“It was my call for an independent inquiry into the origins of Covid that angered the Chinese government the most,” he writes. “How dare we? Covid-19 had killed millions of people and shut down the global economy, and Australia had the audacity to want to know how it started, to prevent this kind of catastrophe from happening again. I will never regret that call.”

Mr Morrison says China ­appeared to be puzzled as to why Australia refused to be cowed by the sanctions and threats.

“There were no more speeches about our lovely koalas … the ­Chinese government was trying to coerce us into submission (but) they did not expect our response,” he writes.

“I was happy to trade with China, but our values and sovereignty were not up for sale. I ­refused to allow China to intimidate us and have our nation live in fear.”

He says Mr Xi has backed up his hegemonic plans by pursuing a military force that is able to win wars.

“There are no prizes for guessing who those wars would be against,” he says. “As prime minister I would receive regular ­briefings on the status and projection of China’s military power and build-up … China is working hard to make sure it can back up its threats.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-prayed-with-former-us-vicepresident-mike-pence-over-chinas-military-buildup/news-story/378ec93f667aad61ca718c637b7e5880

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80104e No.20789168

File: e6e54486c79698e⋯.jpg (177.46 KB,1605x903,535:301,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

File: 4b8c273ad67c46a⋯.jpg (454.25 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Richard_Marles_visited_sev….jpg)

File: 3ec297229101dca⋯.jpg (191.21 KB,2048x1152,16:9,US_President_Joe_Biden_add….jpg)

>>20665462

Richard Marles unveils $100m new aid for Ukraine

BEN PACKHAM - APRIL 28, 2024

Australia will hand new drones and air defence systems to Ukraine in a new $100m military aid package to help the country’s flagging forces rally against Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the new support in the western Ukraine city of Lviv on Saturday – a week after the US Congress unlocked $94bn in fresh funding for the country.

The package, including $50m in anti-air missile launchers and missiles and $30m in unmanned aerial vehicles, bolster’s Australia’s support for Ukraine to $1bn.

Mr Marles visited several secure military sites on brief visit to the city, about 70 km from the Polish border, before talks with Ukraine’s Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal.

“Ukraine and its people have endured more than two years of Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion but their spirit remains strong,” he said.

“Australia remains committed to supporting Ukraine to resolve the conflict on its terms.”

Mr Marles’ visit to Ukraine comes ahead of Anthony Albanese’s expected trip to Washington DC in July for the 2024 NATO conference, where the war in Ukraine will again be centre stage.

The fresh support includes a further $15m worth of much-needed equipment, including rigid hull boats, combat helmets and generators.

It follows Kyiv’s disappointment at the Albanese government’s decision to junk Australia’s fleet of 40-plus MRH-90 Taipan helicopters rather than donate them to its war effort.

Australia’s failure to reopen its embassy in Kyiv since the start of the war has also been an ongoing cause of concern for Ukraine.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US was now working with allies “rushing Ukraine the capabilities to meet its urgent battlefield needs”.

Joe Biden signed a new bill into law on Wednesday green lighting major new military support to Ukraine, after House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson brokered a cross-chamber deal, defying opposition from presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.

The UK also announced a major military aid package for the country in recent days, worth $1bn, lifting its support to Ukraine this year to $6bn.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned on Friday that Russia had already fired 9000 guided aerial bombs at his country this year, and his country needed fresh air defence systems – including US-made Patriot batteries – to shoot them down.

“We urgently need better systems. And missiles for them to save lives right now,” he told a meeting of NATO members and partner countries.

Mr Marles said also included world-leading drone technology, provided with the support of Australian industry.

It’s unclear which drones Australia will provide, but it has previously sent Melbourne-made cardboard models that can be used to drop bombs, deliver supplies and undertake vital reconnaissance missions.

The latest announcement brings Australia’s military support for Ukraine to $880m. The government maintains all its support to Ukraine must be safe to use, and sustainable in the country – which it said the Taipans were not.

The Albanese government has maintained Australia is one of the largest non-NATO donors to Ukraine, but has faced opposition calls to be more generous.

Australia’s contribution is just 0.041 per cent of GDP, according to tracking by the Kiel Institute. Canada has pledged $6.154 billion or 0. 3 per cent of its GDP, while Japan has donated $8bn, or 0.13 per cent of GDP.

Past support has included 120 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles, 56 M113 armoured vehicles, six lightweight howitzers, and the deployment of a E-7A Wedgetail airspace battle management aircraft to Europe.

Mr Marles also visited Poland and met his counterpart, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/richard-marles-unveils-100m-new-aid-for-ukraine/news-story/9df3438a4a16d2d42ca9eb44786ef3e4

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80104e No.20789170

File: 5fcd9aac566ac94⋯.jpg (230.46 KB,2048x1152,16:9,An_Australian_Border_Force….jpg)

>>20686589

Boat from Vietnam intercepted as arrivals continue to rise

PAUL GARVEY - APRIL 28, 2024

Authorities have confirmed they intercepted a boat carrying three Vietnamese nationals, in what is believed to be the first boat to make the journey from Vietnam towards Australia in almost a decade.

Australian Border Force on Friday said that it had “resolved” what it described as a people-smuggling venture and confirmed that the vessel was intercepted in March.

“All three persons were safely returned to Vietnam in close co-operation with the Vietnamese government,” Border Force said in a brief statement.

It is the latest in a growing list of boats to be intercepted in the past two years and is the fifth vessel to arrive since September.

In that month, a boat carrying 11 people was intercepted at sea with all those on board transferred to Nauru for processing. Another 12 people were then transferred to Nauru in November after a boat, which is believed to have travelled from Indonesia, reached Australian shores undetected. That boat was never found.

In February, dozens of men from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh were found on the Dampier Peninsula north of Broome on Western Australia’s Kimberley coast. And earlier this month, around 15 people believed to be from China were found near the remote Truscott air base, also in the Kimberley.

The three on board the Vietnam vessel will not be sent to Nauru, with Australia and Vietnam having a longstanding agreement to return those who make the journey back to Vietnam.

In April 2015, a group of around 50 Vietnamese asylum seekers were reportedly intercepted and returned to Vietnam in a major operation involving navy supply ship HMAS Choules. That was, up until now, considered the last people-smuggling attempt out of Vietnam.

The rise in the number of vessels making it to Australia undetected has given rise to fears with Border Force that people-smugglers are investing in faster, more modern boats.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/boat-from-vietnam-intercepted-as-arrivals-continue-to-rise/news-story/711b6789664cda08c305a373dbd4d100

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80104e No.20789187

File: d59691ee97ddc7c⋯.mp4 (14.54 MB,404x720,101:180,Children_led_in_chants_of_….mp4)

File: d82a4903c1eaa23⋯.jpg (303.48 KB,1600x1600,1:1,Randa_Abdel_Fattah.jpg)

>>20550335

>>20705252

Children lead ‘intifada’ chants at pro-Palestine university protest

Young children have chanted ‘intifada’ and other anti-Israel slogans at a controversial encampment of Palestine supporters at the University of Sydney last week, dialling up fears that the anti-Semitism crisis on the nation’s campuses is now out of control.

In videos, children who look younger than ten were leading others in chants calling for “intifada” and calling Israel “haram”, being clapped along by controversial anti-Israel Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah among others.

Earlier on Thursday, Dr Abdel-Fattah shared a post to Instagram promoting a “kids excursion to Sydney University”. In one comment below that post, someone asked, “I have a 2yr old and 4yr old and newborn. Will this be suitable?” Dr Abdel-Fattah replied, “we are bringing some colouring in and bubble wands. All kids are welcome.”

This comes amid a continuing encampment protest at the sandstone university, where students and protesters since Tuesday have pitched tents on campus demanding that the university “cut ties with Israeli universities and weapons manufacturers”.

The protest follows similar protests on US college campuses.

In those videos shared to social media, Dr Abdel-Fattah is standing in front of children and parents, clapping along to another child chanting into a loudspeaker calling Israel ‘haram’ – Arabic term for ‘forbidden’ – and calling for ‘intifada’, or an uprising against oppression.

In the context of the Palestine-Israel conflict, the term ‘intifada’ is often related with the violent resistance on the part of Palestinians to Israel.

The audience sings along and children appear to come up to take a turn at leading chants.

In another clip, a child leads a march while chanting into a loudspeaker, “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state”.

Dr Abdel-Fattah has previously been the subject of controversy when she disseminated a leak of private details of hundreds of Jewish artists and publicly stated that “Zionists have no right to cultural safety”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin condemned the behaviour and raised concerns about children being “groomed for violence and indoctrinated into extremism”.

“Compelling children to chant in support of an ‘intifada’, an explicit reference to Palestinian suicide bombings that killed and maimed thousands of Israeli civilians in cafes and nightclubs, is perverse and inhuman,” he said.

“Our country faces the very real threat of religiously and racially motivated violence, including by minors. This incident of children being groomed for violence and indoctrinated into extremism poses a serious threat to our society, and should be closely examined by government and law enforcement.

“By forcing children to repeat calls that Israel is ‘haram’, the organisers are attempting to convince Muslim children that Jewish Australians, who have deep emotional and historic bonds to the Jewish state, are their enemy. The organisers of this horrific spectacle want to split our country apart by inducting children into racial hatred and religious extremism. We cannot allow this to occur.

“Sydney University must remove and ban those involved from its campus before its reputation suffers permanent damage.”

Furthermore, Mr Ryvchin called on the Australian government to cease funding to Dr Abdel-Fattah and for Macquarie University to review her position.

“State and federal governments, police and our security agencies have all acknowledged the grave danger of youth radicalisation in the wake of the attack on the Assyrian bishop and the arrests of multiple teenagers for terrorism-related offences,” he said. “Yet at the same time, the government is funding an individual who has been filmed participating in the radicalisation of children, to the tune of $800,000.”

He was referring to Australian Research Council funding awarded to Dr Abdel-Fattah in 2022 – continuing to the 2025-26 financial year – for a total of $802,000 for a research program on “Arab/Muslim Australian social movements since the 1970s”.

“Abdel-Fattah holds an academic position at Macquarie University and is frequently invited to speak to school children,” Mr Ryvchin continued. “This hypocrisy has to stop. Coercing children to support suicide bombings and instructing them to believe that opposing the Jewish state is an Islamic duty, cannot be tolerated. It is a direct threat to our multiculturalism, social cohesion and safety.

“Our government and Macquarie University must end their financing of an individual grossly unfit to influence young Australians and must demand the return of public funds and review her position at the university.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/children-lead-intifada-chants-at-propalestine-university-protest/news-story/084299cd6d4944326ac881a0707395ec

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80104e No.20789205

File: 277135e79deb66c⋯.mp4 (15.07 MB,720x406,360:203,Locals_in_Alice_Springs_ri….mp4)

File: 35df0f9b29b9023⋯.jpg (214.76 KB,2001x1126,2001:1126,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 88590ca7ef5426a⋯.jpg (440.85 KB,1866x1400,933:700,Children_of_Alice_Springs_….jpg)

>>20634736

Prime minister Anthony Albanese to return to crime-ridden Alice Springs

LIAM MENDES - APRIL 28, 2024

Anthony Albanese will return to Alice Springs for the first time in over a year following a spate of high-profile public violence, rioting and youth crime resulting in a 20-day-long youth curfew.

Fifteen months after the Prime Minister’s controversial four-hour trip in January last year, Mr Albanese is returning to Alice Springs on Monday following calls by members of the Coalition who claim he has been neglecting the troubled town.

Sources not authorised to speak have told The Australian Mr Albanese will spend a day and a night in the town.

At the end of March a youth curfew was implemented after more than 100 people ­rioted in the town and cornered one of its most popular pubs, which police said at the time they did not have the resources to control.

Hours later, police were called to a town camp where they say about 150 people were “armed in public and engaging in violent conduct”.

Those incidents on March 27 saw parts of Alice Springs in lockdown over what sources claimed was “payback” for the death of a young man who died after a stolen car overturned on March 8.

CCTV revealed by The Australian showed a group attempting to smash the windows of a popular pub, pelting bricks and throwing their bodies at glass doors as workers try to barricade themselves in on the other side, following a ceremony for the 18-year-old who was killed.

The Australian also revealed in February that children as young as 10 are caught behind the wheel of stolen vehicles and ­immediately returned to a ­“responsible adult” – only to continue to reoffend.

Last month Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson called upon the Albanese government to ‘step in’ following the riots, saying he had never seen violence escalate to the level seen in March and that violence had escalated to a point where it was beyond the control of the Northern Territory Government, calling for the Federal Government to step in and restore control.

On Sunday Mr Paterson was more restrained, saying he would be calling on Mr Albanese to push for “more sustained funding” to continue the increased number of police on the streets following the riots, and to ensure auxiliary police remain at bottle shops.

“The chief minister has made some temporary improvements but we need more long-term solutions,” he said.

He also called for an audit on Indigenous service providers who fail to deliver outcomes they are funded by the federal government to deliver.

“Mr Albanese should really consider an audit of the Indigenous service providers he is funding, to hold them accountable because we are spending millions and millions of dollars and we’re not getting any outcomes,” he said.

Alice Springs advocate Darren Clark questioned who Mr Albanese would be meeting with and listening to during his visit.

“Are you going to speak to crime effected locals? Are you going to meet with the kids on the streets?” Mr Clark said. “These are the real kids in need that never get spoken to,” he said. “Will the PM get to the bottom of the underlying issues that create and affect the problems that we see here everyday?” Mr Clark said. “Its not just a matter of putting in alcohol restrictions, we need better solutions that change the lives of these children, you’ve got to stop the cycle,” Mr Clark said.

The town has also been facing a lawyer and court resourcing crisis, with Aboriginal people accused of serious crimes left without representation and having to fend for themselves in court.

Extensive reporting of the issue in The Australian has revealed claims of corruption, fraud, bullying and drug use within the North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency. Amid these allegations, staff have left the organisation in droves, leaving it chronically short-staffed.

Mr Albanese was in central Australia in October last year, just days before voting for his failed Voice referendum.

Earlier this month Territory Labor unveiled Alice Springs Deputy Mayor Allison Bitar and local Arrernte woman Sheralee Taylor as its candidates for Braitling and Namatjira for the August general election.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/prime-minister-anthony-albanese-to-return-to-crimeridden-alice-springs/news-story/da5a7b4ddf0038254d66a0879da6883c

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80104e No.20793336

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

‘Not a tin ear, a wall of concrete’: Anthony Albanese lashed over rally speech

SARAH ISON - APRIL 29, 2024

Anthony Albanese has been accused of misogyny and showing “a lack of compassion” by the organisers of the rally against men’s violence, who said the Prime Minister had “abused his power” when he took the stage on Sunday to speak.

Founder of advocacy group What Were You Wearing, Sarah Williams, told the crowd at Sunday’s rally that Mr Albanese had refused to speak as part of the event and said he was telling a “flat out lie” when he took the stage to rebuff the accusation and declare he had offered to make an address at the rally.

Mr Albanese said on Monday he wished Ms Williams – who broke down in tears on Sunday as he spoke – all the best and that she had done “very well in organising the rallies”.

“The organisers throughout the country deserve credit for organising these rallies. I was happy not to speak. I was happy to speak. It was about raising awareness of the issue,” he told the Today show.

He added that it had been “an emotional day for people” at the rally.

But Ms Williams blasted Mr Albanese for his actions, declaring he had demonstrated “misogyny at its finest”.

“What broke my heart was the lack of compassion for myself and my team. I was beyond vulnerable and I am pretty traumatised by the situation,” she said in a post on Instagram.

“(Mr Albanese) demonstrated … what entitlement looks like. A man with power trying to diminish a vulnerable young woman. “Just because you are the Prime Minister of the country does not mean you get to use your title to scare a young woman into letting you speak.”

Mr Albanese used his address to outline what the government was doing to tackle gendered violence, including convening an emergency meeting of national cabinet this week.

The rally, which was one of many being held across the country, was prompted by the skyrocketing number of women who have died as a result of gendered violence.

So far this year, at least 27 women have lost their lives.

Senior women in the Coalition also criticised Mr Albanese for failing to properly listen to victim survivors.

Opposition finance spokeswoman Jane Hume said Mr Albanese had demonstrated he had “not so much a tin ear as a wall of concrete”.

“The women out there are hurting, and they want actions, not words. They want actions, not platitudes,” Ms Hume told Sky News.

“Quite frankly, the fact that the prime minister couldn’t read that room speaks volumes in itself.”

Opposition women’s minister Sussan Ley also said she hoped Mr Albanese was “up to the job” of tackling gendered violence.

“We are calling for strong leadership, determined action and an approach that crosses all levels of government,” she said.

Nationals leader David Littleproud accused Mr Albanese of being “tone deaf” in making his address.

“I get we’re all angry, but as Prime Minister it’s your responsibility to lead this nation, not to fight it, and make petty political points at the expense of a brave woman who has come forward in her community,” he said.

“I have no sympathy for him whatsoever.”

Women’s Minister Katy Gallagher echoed Mr Albanese’s comments in applauding the organisers for organising the rally, but maintaining the government was always willing to speak at the event.

“We’d been working with the organisers about an opportunity to speak, we weren’t on the speakers list, and … we weren’t able to land that by the time the rally started,” she told ABC.

“And then when we were at the rally, I think the rally expected to hear from their Prime Minister, so he stood up and spoke. And I would say I can’t think of another Prime Minister who spent a couple of hours, one hour walking and the rest of the time listening to speakers. He was there as a sign of solidarity. He wanted to show that he was deeply interested and cared about the matters that were being raised at that rally and he did.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/not-a-tin-ear-a-wall-of-concrete-anthony-albanese-lashed-over-rally-speech/news-story/474f9ddc04f140da4f05549031f084e2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yClz8GrPv3A

https://www.instagram.com/sarahwilliamss5/p/C6TVHinLrEb/

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80104e No.20793370

File: 2b7abf6c73dfd34⋯.mp4 (10.3 MB,960x540,16:9,bLv1i0y2wSnb7YQR.mp4)

>>20793336

‘Do you want me to speak or not? I am the prime minister’: Albanese caught on film

Olivia Ireland - April 29, 2024

1/2

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught on camera at Sunday’s Canberra domestic violence rally asking the organiser whether she wanted him to speak or not, saying “I am the prime minister” before stepping up to take the microphone.

The ABC footage shows the scene moments before the prime minister told the crowd he’d been initially asked not to speak, prompting rally organiser Sarah Williams to start weeping as she cried out that this was “a flat-out lie”.

The rancorous debate over the prime minister’s words at the rally spilled over into Monday, as Williams doubled down on her criticisms of the prime minister, appearing on several national television programs and using her Instagram account to claim she overheard Albanese say: “I’m the prime minister. I run this country.”

While the prime minister refused to discuss Williams’ claims in his morning interviews, the recording first aired on ABC’s Afternoon Briefing shows the prime minister become irritated as Williams said the organisers of the What Were You Wearing rally would consider if the government ministers attending the rally could speak.

Standing on the side, he shrugged and said: “Do you want me to speak or not? I’m the prime minister,” before he stands up and takes the microphone handed to him by Williams.

Minister for Women Katy Gallagher on Monday morning told ABC the confusion over who would speak came from discussions about the five reforms the organisers wanted the government to back if they were going to speak alongside the organisers at the rally.

Williams used part of her 40-minute speech on Sunday to ask Albanese and Gallagher to signal thumbs up or down if they would agree to the organisation’s demands: to declare a domestic violence national emergency; to block the media from publishing images of victims for 48 hours; mandatory victim-blaming prevention training; alternative reporting options for victims; and increased funding.

Albanese and Gallagher were heckled when they did not respond to this request, but the prime minister rose to speak after Williams told the crowd: “We gave the opportunity to Anthony Albanese to make comments today and we didn’t get any.”

Albanese then addressed the crowd, saying “[We] were told that wasn’t possible and that’s fine. I respect the organisers’ right to do that,” as the crowd booed him and Williams said that was a lie.

Gallagher told ABC’s Radio National Breakfast that she had wished to speak but decided to come in support after they could not agree on the terms.

“I had wanted to speak, it was a rally in my hometown and I thought that was appropriate, but you know, there was some concern about … the five key asks that were being sought at the rally and you know, a commitment that they were seeking from us, and we weren’t able to reach agreement on how to proceed,” she said.

“In the end, we decided to just walk and attend the rally … as a sign of respect and it’s a sign of solidarity with women around the country.”

Williams told this masthead: “I said at the event, any chance I can convince you guys to set up something with us or to commit to one of the demands, and they said ‘no’,” she said.

“So I made it clear I was going to say all the demands and ask them there – the PM didn’t respond to the five demands, the audience started getting upset.

“He never asked to speak, I asked if he would consider speaking and I was told there wasn’t enough time because the march was so soon.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20793379

File: b49cde72e75dc86⋯.mp4 (15.25 MB,960x540,16:9,PM_dismisses_claims_he_lie….mp4)

>>20793370

2/2

Asked on Seven’s Sunrise if he had said “I’m the prime minister, I run the country”, Albanese would not comment.

“I’m not going to get into that sort of debate,” he said. “People, including Seven, were there for the recording of everything that went on.”

This masthead spoke to several witnesses at the rally but was unable to independently verify the claim he said “I run the country”, and he does not say this in the latest video footage.

Albanese also made a point of congratulating Williams for organising the event.

“The organisers throughout the country deserve credit for organising these rallies. I was happy not to speak, I was happy to speak. It was about raising awareness of the issue [and] a call to action [to] all governments. Quite clearly, we need to do more,” he told Nine’s Today program.

“It was an emotional day for people and I get that [it] is an emotional issue because women were saying yesterday, enough is enough.”

Opposition frontbencher Jane Hume said women were hurting and wanted action, not words.

“They want actions, not platitudes,” Hume told Sky News.

“Quite frankly, the fact that the prime minister couldn’t read that room speaks volumes in itself.”

Williams said she had not heard anything from Albanese or Gallagher to apologise for causing her distress and she hoped to see more consultation between the government and activist groups on what was needed to address domestic violence.

“If he does think I’ve done a good job, why hasn’t he reached out, why aren’t we meeting soon, why am I not meeting with an adviser?” she said.

“It would be nice to have a response from him to actually figure out what happened, to see if we could make change, because the priority is to resolve violence against women.”

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins, who was raped in Parliament House on a minister’s couch, posted a comment to Williams’ Instagram sending her love.

“I’m so sorry. This is unacceptable and I am heartbroken you were made to feel so small on a day you accomplished something so incredible. Sending love always,” Higgins wrote.

In 2023, Williams led a nightlife safety campaign, during which she collected more than 20,000 signatures on a petition to the NSW government that resulted in mandated drink-spiking education for venue and bar staff in the state. She also developed Australia’s first sexual assault service for music festivals, which is in place at more than 30 festivals a year.

If you or someone you know is affected by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

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

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/a-full-out-lie-five-key-demands-at-centre-of-pm-rally-furore-20240429-p5fn8g.html

https://twitter.com/6NewsAU/status/1784839235461341535

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80104e No.20793404

File: e693844a494c664⋯.jpg (260.32 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_and_Katy_….jpg)

File: a0b28a556bfa73a⋯.jpg (168.23 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Protest_organiser_Sarah_Wi….jpg)

File: 399d449d12e0659⋯.jpg (2.9 MB,6153x4102,3:2,Rally_organiser_Sarah_Will….jpg)

>>20793336

>>20793370

Years of political attacks on Scott Morrison catch up with Anthony Albanese

GEOFF CHAMBERS - APRIL 29, 2024

Anthony Albanese – whose party spent years attacking Scott Morrison over misogyny – has been hit by a political karma bus and reality check.

While some in government feel the Prime Minister is being unfairly maligned following his appearance at a gendered violence rally in Canberra on Sunday, Albanese owns his government’s pledge to “end violence against women and children in one generation”.

Akin to Bob Hawke’s pledge that no Australian child would live in poverty by 1990 and Scott Morrison’s zero suicides ambition, Albanese’s promise is a populist declaration that will not be realised in his lifetime, if ever.

All three pledges, along with measures to Close the Gap for Indigenous Australians, must be prioritised for more targeted resources and funding tied to results, structural reforms and change.

Ahead of the 2022 election, Albanese and his senior ministers led the pile-on targeting Morrison’s handling of women’s policies and scandals that the former prime minister struggled to fully comprehend and address. Labor’s political attacks framing Morrison as misogynistic were a constant theme in the lead-up to the election.

After offering to privately meet with March4Justice organisers in 2021, Morrison – who once described Marise Payne as the “prime minister for women” and deferred to his wife Jenny following the Brittany Higgins rape allegation – clumsily invoked Myanmar in parliament and said “not far from here, such marches, even now are being met with bullets, but not here in this country”.

For all of Morrison’s poor judgment, Albanese sought to put himself and his party on a pedestal when it came to dealing with the complex nature of a domestic and family violence scourge that does not discriminate along social or cultural lines. Labor poured petrol on every political opportunity to malign Morrison and accuse the Coalition of being anti-women.

Just over one-year out from the 2025 election and facing a public blowtorch over gender violence, Albanese is under pressure to deliver on his rhetoric to keep women and children safe.

Issues predominantly led by states and territories have become priorities for the federal government under Albanese.

The Prime Minister – who will convene an urgent national cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the family violence crisis – has taken greater responsibility for reforming and overhauling domestic violence policy settings, a national firearms register, housing, health, NDIS funding, education, public safety and court systems.

Family and gendered violence is horrific and senseless.

The number of Australian women killed by men this year is tracking at an unacceptable rate.

Amid a proliferation of pornography and social media, increasingly fractured family units and growing lack of respect across society, the challenge is generational and in some communities institutionalised.

The government’s national plan to end violence against women and children, backed by more than $2.3bn across Labor’s first two budgets, cannot become another big spending, unwieldy manifesto that leads nowhere.

There is no easy, quick fix. But for the sake of victims and families of murdered women and children, politicians need to get on with the job of combating the evil at its roots.

Geoff Chambers is The Australian’s Chief Political Correspondent.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/years-of-political-attacks-on-scott-morrison-catch-up-with-anthony-albanese/news-story/a7a7d7d89eaf87cec20fe282d8d8c71b

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80104e No.20793447

File: 2e5aab7282993fa⋯.jpg (2.67 MB,4977x3430,711:490,One_of_the_teenagers_arres….jpg)

File: e4f611d88990592⋯.jpg (1.72 MB,4631x3087,4631:3087,Police_said_they_made_the_….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20769978

Alleged teen terror group ‘wanted to target Jews’

NOAH YIM and JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 29, 2024

1/2

Members of an alleged youth terror cell in western Sydney reportedly wanted to target Jews, were ready to “die” for their cause, and called themselves “soldiers of Allah” in a series of text messages.

Sydney’s Jewish leaders were on alert on Sunday night after ­revelations the alleged teenage ­ terrorists arrested in a mass raid had been planning to target their community.

A police fact sheet tendered to court at the weekend says the teens started their plot after the stabbing of an Ayssrian bishop by one of their alleged associates, and that they planned to buy guns and store them in abandoned homes.

One alleged jihadi also wrote that he wanted to target Jews.

The Australian has previously revealed one of them had been following a Hamas supporter on ­social media.

“I really want to target the ­yahood (Jewish people) … we will plan it,” one 15-year-old allegedly sent to a group chat titled “Plans” on April 19, four days after the Wakeley stabbing incident.

The Australian understands Jewish leaders found out about the teens’ focus on their community only when reports emerged of the fact sheet on Sunday night. NSW Board of Deputies president David Ossip said he hoped to receive more information from the police and the relevant ministers. “These are obviously very troubling reports and we look forward to receiving further information from the relevant authorities,” he said.

The four alleged terrorist youths were arrested in sweeping anti-terror raids last Wednesday following a possible terrorism incident at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, western Sydney, where a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbed four people.

The four teenagers used end-to-end encryption platform Signal to allegedly discuss obtaining guns and committing jihad, the Daily Telegraph reported, quoting a police fact sheet tendered to court.

The four are teenage boys aged 15, 16, and two aged 17.

The 15-year-old also allegedly sent a message after the Wakeley stabbings that “I know the bloke who done it he’s my mate”, the Daily Telegraph reported.

“I wanna die and I wanna kill … I’m just excited … Is your plan to get caught or die or escape?” one of the 17-year-olds wrote in a message on April 20.

The 16-year-old allegedly wrote online: “Allah is the best of planners and we are the soldiers of Allah.”

It was previously reported that seven teenagers arrested in Joint Counter Terrorism Team raids had been connected to the 16-year-old accused of stabbing four in the Wakeley stabbings through an encrypted group chat and that they shared a “violent extremist ideology”.

The Australian has previously revealed that the 16-year-old appeared to idolise 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden and his Muslim community leaders and peers had grown increasingly concerned with his “extreme religious views”.

That 16-year-old has been charged with committing a terrorist act under federal law and faces a maximum of life imprisonment. He has not yet submitted a plea.

(continued)

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80104e No.20793454

File: 15b5366974bbe73⋯.jpg (274.46 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Isaac_Royel_pictured_durin….jpg)

>>20793447

2/2

The latest update from NSW police was that six teenagers, aged between 14 and 17, have been charged in the JCTT’s investi­gation into associates of that 16-year-old who allegedly stabbed four at the Wakeley church.

A 14-year-old and a 17-year-old have been charged with possessing or controlling violent extremist material obtained or accessed using a carriage service.

Two 16-year-olds have been charged with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.

A 17-year-old has been charged with conspiring to engage in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act and custody of a knife in a public place.

And a 15-year-old has been charged with conspiring to engage in any act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act.

None has entered pleas and all matters remain before courts.

Amid revelations of the boys’ alleged plan, Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay backed Australia’s online safety laws amid a legal stoush between the eSafety Commissioner and billionaire X owner Elon Musk over the Wakeley stabbing.

Mr Musk’s social media platform X has refused to take down a video of the Wakeley church stabbing despite such an order and is now under scrutiny by a Federal Court judge.

While the social media company has restricted access for Australian IP addresses, Australian users can still access the video when on a virtual private network.

In an opinion column for The Australian on Monday, Ms Finlay said “global tech companies … need to understand that they are not above the law”.

“The material in question here is a video showing a violent attack that has led a 16-year-old to be charged with committing a terrorist act,” she writes.

“Australian law rightly restricts online content that shows or encourages terrorism, other forms of extreme violence, or child sexual abuse.”

Ms Finlay urged caution about the “remit of Australian laws overseas and the broader impact on free speech, but this does not mean we should remove online safety laws altogether”.

She said tech companies should be held accountable if they did not back up with action their public promises to remove terrorist and violent extremist content online.

It comes as one of the priests injured in the Wakeley church stabbing two weeks ago on Sunday appeared at mass for the first time since the incident.

Isaac Royel, 39, sustained lacerations and a shoulder wound as he tried to intervene, police said.

Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, 53, who was stabbed on the church’s live stream, has not been seen since the incident.

In a live stream of the service on Sunday morning, Father Royel appeared to be moving without visible discomfort, taking part in the service and using both his arms. It was a Palm Sunday service, the first day of Holy Week in Christianity.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/wakeley-stabbing-priest-isaac-royel-reappears-in-mass-for-first-time-since-suspected-terrorist-incident/news-story/765020a8a13d32f8298e314a12dcede4

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80104e No.20793510

File: 35d2703bda3200b⋯.jpg (237.21 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_s_eSafety_Commis….jpg)

File: c26d9abf89a171a⋯.jpg (166.3 KB,2048x1152,16:9,X_owner_Elon_Musk.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20780521

Anthony Albanese’s war on Elon Musk is just a national security blanket

CHRIS MITCHELL - APRIL 28, 2024

1/2

Anthony Albanese’s war on Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, is low politics but might just divert Australians’ attention away from his government’s national security failures.

It took chutzpah for Albanese to raise “misinformation” and “disinformation” last week in defence of legal action by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, against Musk.

She is a former executive at Twitter, now X.

The commissioner wants to force X to remove footage of an attack, allegedly by a 16-year-old boy, on an Assyrian bishop at Wakeley in western Sydney on April 15.

Albanese last Monday said: “This isn’t about freedom of expression. This is about the dangerous implications that can occur when things that are simply not true, that everyone knows are not true, are replicated and weaponised in order to cause division.”

Yet there is no suggestion the video of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel’s stabbing by a minor who cannot be named for legal reasons is “simply not true”.

The former chief of the ASPI (the Australian Strategic Policy Institute), Peter Jennings, was closer to the truth speaking with Chris Kenny on Sky News Australia on Wednesday night. Jennings blamed a decline in social cohesion in Australia on Labor’s policy of playing down the actions of Muslim protesters since Hamas’s massacre of 1200 innocent Israeli civilians on October 7.

Sermons by local Muslim imams celebrating that massacre and preaching hatred of Jews remain freely available on social media and news platforms.

While Albanese has often spoken against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, he has never spoken against the outrageous anti-Israel demonstration at the Opera House on October 9, only two days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Nor have politicians criticised the October 8 rally at Sydney’s Lakemba train station when Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun told followers of the previous day’s obscenities: “I’m smiling. I’m happy. I’m elated. It’s a day of courage. It’s a day of pride, It’s a day of victory.”

Dadoun’s speech remains online.

No charges have been laid or take-down orders issued over a sermon on November 4 by Brother Ismail at the Al Madina Dawah Centre in southwestern Sydney. Ismail praises Hamas members as “freedom fighters”, calls for jihad by local Muslims and criticises any Muslims who have spoken against ISIS.

Another speaker at the same event, believed to be Abu Ousayd, who runs the centre, is shown on YouTube quoting scripture: “Towards the end of times, when the Muslims will be fighting the Jews, the trees will speak.

“They will say ‘oh Muslim, there is a yahud (Arabic for Jew) behind me, come and kill him’.”

Ditto a December 22 sermon by Ahmed Zoud at a Sydney mosque in which the imam shouts in Arabic that Jews are bloodthirsty, treacherous monsters.

His sermon mocks the civilian victims of October 7: “Those cowards collapsed in the face of the attacks by the mujahideen, and ran away from them like rats.”

We will have to wait until court proceedings to learn if the five young Muslim males arrested in raids in western Sydney last Wednesday were motivated by the Wakeley incident or by seven months of anti-Israel hate preaching. We know they shared ISIS beheading videos.

This is not to say the security agencies are wrong to worry the Wakeley footage could trigger copycat attacks. The 15-year-old male killer of Parramatta police employee Curtis Cheng in 2015 had been radicalised listening to extremist views. As was Numan Haider, an 18-year-old killed while attempting to stab two police officers in Melbourne in September 2014.

Neither is it in the interests of a fair trial for the accused for the unedited footage to be freely available.

Yet it is clear the federal government is tiptoeing around Muslim extremism, partly out of concern for social cohesion but also because of the large number of Muslim voters in Labor seats on the outskirts of Sydney and Melbourne.

(continued)

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80104e No.20793519

File: e2b6aea2607da37⋯.jpg (97.48 KB,1280x720,16:9,Sheikh_Ahmed_Zoud.jpg)

File: 38be0fffad96380⋯.jpg (116.96 KB,1200x675,16:9,That_s_my_boy_Sharrouf_kid….jpg)

>>20793510

2/2

This column has been briefed over three decades by ASIO bosses and police commissioners but still believes sunlight is a reliable disinfectant when trouble breeds in the darkness. The Australian was often attacked in left-wing media for its aggressive approach to national security reporting in the years after 9/11.

Then editor Clive Mathieson and I were slammed in late 2014, especially on the ABC, for publishing a photo from the Twitter account of now dead Sydney ISIS fighter Khaled Sharrouf showing he and his son holding a severed head with the caption from Sharrouf’s own social media account: “That’s my boy.” The son’s face was pixilated.

Tony Abbott, prime minister at the time, did not criticise The Australian for publishing a true image, but criticised ISIS for “seeking not just a terrorist enclave but effectively a terrorist state”. Media criticism here of the decision to publish died down the following day when both The Times in London and The New York Times published the same photo.

So is Musk right to defend publishing the Wakeley stabbing video? His lawyer, Marcus Hoyne, is surely correct to say that the video has already spread globally beyond the URLs targeted by Inman Grant.

The video is on many platforms, including Facebook, and has been shown regularly here on free-to-air television. Hoyne on Wednesday produced a statement from Bishop Emmanuel saying he believed the video should not be taken down.

None of this seems to be worrying one of the world’s richest men. Musk was bragging last week that Albanese had done X a favour: it is now our fastest growing social media platform.

X, far less left-wing under Musk than when it was Twitter, is out of favour with journalists who preferred the original product.

Yet whatever reporters think about X, the government’s rhetorical case against Musk relies on a confused understanding of what AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw and ASIO chief Mike Burgess were discussing at the National Press Club last Wednesday.

Sure they want more co-operation from people like Musk and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. But their real concern is end-to-end encryption and the rise of AI, both of which allow criminals and would-be terrorists to have anonymity. They want the platforms to co-operate in exposing illegality.

X is an open platform relying on public commentary. It is not a vehicle for private communication between criminals.

That does not mean publication of certain videos on X might not radicalise young minds. Indeed, the Christchurch killer who massacred 51 people in attacks on two mosques in 2019 had posted his entire anti-immigration hate manifesto on Twitter the day before.

It’s just that criminals and terrorists are much more likely to use platforms such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Signal, Flickr, Vimeo, Instagram and SoundCloud. More open channels for sharing radical ideas include Facebook and YouTube.

Often young people flirting with radical ideas are directed online to messaging apps and forums such as 4chan, 8chan or 8kun.

Inman Grant on Wednesday won an extension in the Federal Court in Sydney of Justice Kennett’s temporary take-down order last Monday until a full hearing on May 10.

Whatever that decides, Musk’s criticism that Inman Grant and Albanese think they can control global content under a law in Australia is correct.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/anthony-albaneses-war-on-elon-musk-is-just-a-national-security-blanket/news-story/7aea586cd3df3256946894076f09a80f

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/defence/thats-my-boy-sharrouf-kids-witness-wars-horror/news-story/752b93c71b672bac308cf8677f0e6a3b

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80104e No.20793584

File: 1cb99887bb6d4c5⋯.mp4 (14.83 MB,640x360,16:9,Immigration_detainee_relea….mp4)

File: abaa2e0ca80b4e6⋯.jpg (162.98 KB,1280x720,16:9,Clockwise_from_left_Perth_….jpg)

File: 0dcd30b0943b409⋯.jpg (179.73 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Home_Affairs_Minister_Clar….jpg)

>>20405583 (pb)

>>20405592 (pb)

Released detainee Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan charged over vicious Perth home invasion, bashing

PAUL GARVEY - APRIL 29, 2024

A former immigration detainee released in the wake of last year’s High Court decision who had already allegedly breached his curfew has been charged over his alleged involvement in a violent home burglary in Perth.

Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan appeared in court on Monday after allegedly being one of three men who bashed an elderly cancer patient inside her home earlier this month.

Western Australian Police had previously described how three assailants had arrived at the home of 73-year-old Ninette Simons and her 76-year-old husband Philip Simons in Girraheen in Perth’s north, and gained entry to the home after telling them they were police officers.

The three men then allegedly pushed Mr Simons to the ground and tied his hands behind his back, before punching Mrs Simons in the face repeatedly. She lost consciousness during the assault and was left with significant facial injuries.

The trio allegedly stole gold jewellery and other items worth more than $200,000, which Mr and Mrs Simons said constituted their life savings.

Doukoshkan is one of more than 150 convicted criminals released from immigration detention as a result of last year’s High Court decision.

He had already been charged earlier this year with two counts of breaching the curfew orders imposed on those detainees. He was granted bail at that time, with the magistrate reportedly warning him that he was “on very thin ice”.

He was one of three men arrested over the weekend in relation to the incident. Police raided a home in Nollamara on Saturday, recovering handcuffs, a WA Police badge, a police hat and several items of jewellery.

Video footage released by WA police on Monday showed armoured Tactical Response Group officers bashing in the door of the Nollamara home, where two of Doukoshkan’s alleged accomplices were living.

Doukoshkan was arrested the following day at an apartment block in Osborne Park. He was escorted out of the building by seven officers.

Detective Inspector Gary Butler would not comment on whether any of the offenders had been released from immigration detention when he briefed media on the arrests on Monday.

He described the offending as “horrific and outrageous” and said it had taken an enormous toll on Mr and Mrs Simons.

“Life will never be the same for them,” he said.

“They are still extremely traumatised, they haven’t been home yet, they aren’t eating.”

Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the incident showed that the Albanese government was not using the full range of powers available to it.

“What happened to Annette and Philip Simons should never have happened. They are victims of the incompetence and weakness of the Albanese government, who’ve failed to use the powers the parliament gave them to protect the community,” he said.

“If they’d used preventive detention orders to get violent offenders off the street this might never have occurred.

“The Ministers for Home Affairs and Immigration should stand up and explain this shocking failure. And if they can’t, they should resign or be sacked.”

WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam said WA Premier Roger Cook was at least partly to blame for the episode, noting that the opposition had raised questions in parliament about the plans for released detainees who were in the state.

“Roger Cook’s response was to abdicate any responsibility, assure Western Australians that the detainees were going east, and that those who were left in Western Australia would be closely monitored by police,” she said.

“You couldn’t get further from the truth. Roger Cook has failed in his responsibility to keep Western Australians safe.”

Doukoshkan is one of several former detainees to have been charged with offences subsequent to their release.

Among them, convicted child sex offender Emran Dad was refused bail earlier this year after allegedly engaging in “sexually charged” online chats with a 15-year-old girl on TikTok.

Aliyawar Yawari was arrested late last year and charged with two counts of indecent assault, but the charges were withdrawn earlier this month.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/released-detainee-majid-jamshidi-doukoshkan-allegedly-behind-vicious-perth-bashing/news-story/4da58e761bdb7ea69f73d08829a4198d

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80104e No.20793630

File: 7aefab6cc5abab8⋯.jpg (422.31 KB,2150x1350,43:27,Jamie_Scott_was_left_with_….jpg)

File: 6fc2aa8d5d0e6d9⋯.jpg (430.87 KB,2500x1567,2500:1567,A_2021_view_inside_Oxford_….jpg)

>>20339584 (pb)

AstraZeneca admits for first time in court documents its Covid vaccine can cause rare side effect

Pharmaceutical giant being sued in class action over claims its vaccine caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases

Robert Mendick - 28 April 2024

1/2

AstraZeneca has admitted for the first time in court documents that its Covid vaccine can cause a rare side effect, in an apparent about-turn that could pave the way for a multi-million pound legal payout.

The pharmaceutical giant is being sued in a class action over claims that its vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases.

Lawyers argue the vaccine produced a side effect which has had a devastating effect on a small number of families.

The first case was lodged last year by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who was left with a permanent brain injury after developing a blood clot and a bleed on the brain that has prevented him from working after he received the vaccine in April 2021. The hospital called his wife three times to tell her that her husband was going to die.

AstraZeneca is contesting the claims but has accepted, in a legal document submitted to the High Court in February, that its Covid vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”.

TTS – which stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome – causes people to have blood clots and a low blood platelet count.

Fifty-one cases have been lodged in the High Court, with victims and grieving relatives seeking damages estimated to be worth up to £100 million.

AstraZeneca’s admission – made in a legal defence to Mr Scott’s High Court claim – follows intense legal wrangling. It could lead to payouts if the drug firm accepts that the vaccine was the cause of serious illness and death in specific legal cases. The Government has pledged to underwrite AstraZeneca’s legal bills.

In a letter of response sent in May 2023, AstraZeneca told lawyers for Mr Scott that “we do not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level”.

But in the legal document submitted to the High Court in February, AstraZeneca said: “It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known.

“Further, TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine (or any vaccine). Causation in any individual case will be a matter for expert evidence.”

Lawyers argue that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is “defective” and that its efficacy has been “vastly overstated” – claims AstraZeneca strongly denies.

Scientists first identified a link between the vaccine and a new illness called vaccine-induced immune thrombocytopenia and thrombosis (VITT) as early as March 2021, shortly after the Covid-19 vaccine rollout began.

Lawyers for the claimants argue that VITT is a subset of TTS, although AstraZeneca does not appear to recognise the term.

The Government has indemnified AstraZeneca against any legal action but has so far refused to intervene.

Kate Scott, Mr Scott’s wife, told the Telegraph: “The medical world has acknowledged for a long time that VITT was caused by the vaccine. It’s only AstraZeneca who have questioned whether Jamie’s condition was caused by the jab.

“It’s taken three years for this admission to come. It’s progress, but we would like to see more from them and the Government. It’s time for things to move more quickly.

“I hope their admission means we will be able to sort this out sooner rather than later. We need an apology, fair compensation for our family and other families who have been affected. We have the truth on our side, and we are not going to give up.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20793646

File: a21bc6e9a040783⋯.jpg (370.93 KB,2500x1563,2500:1563,Boris_Johnson_praised_the_….jpg)

>>20793630

2/2

‘Patient safety is our highest priority’

Sarah Moore, a partner at law firm Leigh Day, who is bringing the legal claims, said: “It has taken AstraZeneca a year to formally admit that their vaccine can cause the devastating blood clots, when this fact has been widely accepted by the clinical community since the end of 2021.

“In that context, regrettably it seems that AZ, the Government and their lawyers are more keen to play strategic games and run up legal fees than to engage seriously with the devastating impact that their AZ vaccine has had upon our clients’ lives.”

In a statement AstraZeneca said: “Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has lost loved ones or reported health problems. Patient safety is our highest priority, and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.

“From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.”

The company is pointing out that product information relating to the vaccine was updated in April 2021, with the approval of the UK regulator, to include “the possibility that the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine is capable, in very rare cases, of being a trigger for” TTS.

The company does not recognise claims it has performed an about-turn in acknowledging that the vaccine can cause TTS in court documents.

Independent studies show the AstraZeneca vaccine was incredibly effective in tackling the pandemic, saving more than six million lives globally in the first year of the rollout.

The World Health Organisation has said the vaccine was “safe and effective for all individuals aged 18 and above” and the adverse effect that has prompted the legal action was “very rare”.

The vaccine – heralded at its launch by Boris Johnson as a “triumph for British science” – is no longer used in the UK.

In the months after the rollout, the potentially serious side effect of the jab was identified by scientists. It was then recommended that under-40s be offered an alternative jab because the risk of the AstraZeneca vaccine outweighed the harm posed by Covid.

Lawyers representing families suing the drugs company argue that the vaccine was not as safe as individuals were entitled to expect. They are suing the firm, based in Cambridge, under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

Mr Scott’s lawyers have argued that he suffered “personal injuries and consequential losses arising out of his sustaining vaccine induced immune thrombosis with thrombocytopenia (VITT) as a result of his vaccination on 23 April 2021, with the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccination”.

Official figures from the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) show at least 81 deaths in the UK are suspected to have been linked to the adverse reaction that caused clotting in people who also had low blood platelets.

In total, almost one in five people who suffered from the condition died as a result, according to the MHRA’s figures.

The Government runs its own vaccine compensation scheme but alleged victims claim the one-off payment of £120,000 is inadequate.

Figures obtained under a Freedom of Information request show that out of 163 payouts made by the Government by February this year, at least 158 went to recipients of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme gives compensation to those injured by vaccines or to bereaved next of kin. Fewer than five people under the scheme received vaccines other than AstraZeneca.

AstraZeneca has previously argued in court papers that claims against the company are “confused” and “wrong in law”. In the defence filing, AstraZeneca said the benefit/risk profile of the vaccine was, and remains, positive.

AstraZeneca is the second largest publicly listed company in the UK, with a market capitalisation of more than £170 billion. Its chief executive, Sir Pascal Soriot, is the highest-paid boss among FTSE 100 companies, with earnings close to £19 million.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/04/28/astrazeneca-admits-covid-vaccine-causes-rare-side-effect/

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80104e No.20798679

File: ddb402ba40e05bd⋯.jpg (3.19 MB,5000x3334,2500:1667,Solomon_Islands_Prime_Mini….jpg)

>>20715815

Solomon Islands opposition parties combine in race to form government

Kirsty Needham - April 27, 2024

April 27 (Reuters) - The two major opposition parties in the Solomon Islands struck a coalition deal on Saturday as they vie with former Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare's party to form a government after an election delivered no clear winner.

Last week's election was the first since Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022, inviting Chinese police into the Pacific Islands archipelago and drawing the nation closer to Beijing.

The election is being watched by China, the U.S. and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security.

Election results on Wednesday showed Sogavare's OUR party won 15 of the 50 seats in parliament, two more than the opposition CARE coalition. Independents and micro parties won 15 seats, and courting the independents will be the key to reaching the 26 seats needed to form a government.

On Saturday, the CARE coalition of Matthew Wales' Solomon Islands Democratic Party, U4C and former Prime Pinister Rick Houenipwela's Democratic Alliance Party struck an agreement with the second-largest opposition party, Peter Kenilorea Jr's United, to form a coalition with 20 seats.

Houenipwela told Reuters the groups had not decided which party leader to nominate as the bloc's candidate for prime minister.

"Our Group is responding to the cries and wishes of our people to take back Solomon Islands and to bring back confidence in the leadership and the governing of our country," the coalition said in a statement.

Sogavare said last week his party had the support of two micro parties and would woo independents.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/solomon-islands-opposition-parties-combine-race-form-government-2024-04-27/

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80104e No.20798689

File: 7deb07904471422⋯.jpg (173.47 KB,1500x1009,1500:1009,Solomon_Islands_Prime_Mini….jpg)

>>20715815

Solomon Islands: Unexpected defeat for Sogavare

Sogavare was tipped for a sweeping victory but suffered a major defeat. Now Solomon Islands politicians must form a new government, and keep the peace.

JON FRAENKEL - 26 Apr 2024

1/2

The Solomon Islands election of 17 April was widely anticipated to result in a sweeping victory for Manasseh Sogavare’s government. Sogavare, who has been prime minister on four separate occasions, is only the second head of government in his country’s history to serve a full term. He fended off an opposition no-confidence challenge in late 2021, extended his parliamentary term for seven months to 2024, and presided over a diplomatic switch from recognising Taiwan to links with China in 2019. A subsequent security deal with Beijing in April 2022 and the deployment of Chinese police to the capital, Honiara, led Australian media reporters to warn of an emerging Chinese-assisted authoritarian regime. Yet what transpired on 17 April was an emphatic defeat for the ruling party.

Never before had an entire Solomon Islands cabinet gone into an election all contesting for a single party, Sogavare’s Ownership, Unity and Responsibility (OUR). The only exception was a minister from the west of the country who stood aside to allow her husband to take her seat for the OUR party.

Yet 18 of the incumbent OUR ministers lost their seats and none of the party’s ten newer challenger candidates was successful. The economic downturn since 2020, and a major contraction in log exports to China, conflicted with Sogavare’s promises of considerable developmental gains arising from the new diplomatic disposition.

Worse still, OUR suffered a major setback on the island of Malaita. Following the diplomatic switch to China, the provincial government on Malaita had defied the national government by retaining links with Taiwan, with some assistance from the United States. In early 2023, after a protracted showdown, the island’s premier, Daniel Suidani, was ousted in a no-confidence vote that was openly orchestrated by the national government. He was replaced by a pro-China administration led by Martin Fini. Yet in the provincial elections, which were held simultaneously with the national elections on 17 April, not only was Suidani returned to the provincial assembly but his successor as premier lost his seat. Four of the eight OUR incumbents representing Malaita in the national parliament were ousted. In the west, Sogavare fought off a strong challenge in his own East Choiseul constituency, where he claimed that the United States backed his major rival.

Sogavare’s OUR party remains the largest party, with 15 seats in the 50-member parliament. Former opposition leader Matthew Wale and his Democratic Party has 11 seats, and Peter Kenilorea, the son of the country’s first post-independence prime minister, has 6 or 7 seats for his United Party. At least ten independents have been elected, while the remaining seven MPs belong to smaller parties, including Marovo businessman Amoi Chachabule’s Peoples First Party with three seats.

(continued)

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80104e No.20798691

File: 885b4f8689e608c⋯.jpg (137.43 KB,1500x1000,3:2,A_woman_casts_her_vote_dur….jpg)

>>20798689

2/2

In Solomon Islands, party affiliations have limited significance. MPs regularly switch sides in search of ministerial portfolios or other advantages. After elections, parliamentarians habitually gather at the major hotels in Honiara, with Sogavare’s camp presently installed in the Cowboy’s Grill in eastern Honiara, Wale’s group at the Heritage Park, and former Prime Minister Gordon Darcy Lilo – re-elected after two terms in the wilderness – having established a base at the Honiara Hotel in Chinatown.

Sogavare may have failed to secure victory for his incumbent cabinet, but in the past he has found other roads to power. In 2000 and 2006, he took office in the wake of violent disturbances and at the head of highly fragmented parliaments. In 2014 and 2019, he took advantage of schisms in the major post-election coalitions and forged alliances with wavering first-time MPs, leaving many longer-standing incumbent MPs on the opposition benches. Former opposition leader Matthew Wale was outmanoeuvred after both elections.

The present system gives an enormous advantage to opportunist MPs who are prepared to sit on the fence waiting for maximum advantage. It also gives the upper hand to less scrupulous would-be prime ministers who are prepared to make the necessary payoffs.

Solomon Islands citizens, particularly those in Honiara and in Auki, the provincial capital of Malaita, are not oblivious to corruption among political elites. That hostility fuelled major riots in 2006, 2019 and 2021. Urban disquiet about Manasseh Sogavare’s recently exposed real estate deals in Honiara raises that risk. OUR won none of the Honiara seats. Reputational damage, and the risk of political instability, is also a factor influencing post-election coalition formation in Solomon Islands.

If violence does again ensue, Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Fiji have a far larger force on the ground than in 2019 or 2021 to try to nip it in the bud.

https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/solomon-islands-unexpected-defeat-sogavare

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80104e No.20798708

File: 2764521554d558b⋯.jpg (4.93 MB,6000x4000,3:2,Solomon_Islands_Prime_Mini….jpg)

File: b381e6827f4d506⋯.jpg (335.77 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>20715815

Pro-China Solomons leader Sogavare steps down after ‘awful’ election result

Matthew Knott - April 29, 2024

The most pro-China leader in the Pacific, Manasseh Sogavare, has conceded his prime ministership is over after suffering a bruising voter backlash in this month’s Solomon Islands elections, a development that will come as a major relief to Australian officials.

Sogavare has been the dominant figure in Solomon Islands politics over more than two decades, holding the prime ministership on four separate occasions since 2000.

Sogavare has often had an antagonistic relationship with Australia, alarming Australian officials when he switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019 and again in 2022 when he agreed to a secretive security pact with Beijing.

Sogavare announced he was standing aside from the prime ministerial leadership contest on Monday to allow Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele to run for the position on behalf of a coalition led by his Ownership, Unity and Responsibility (OUR) Party.

Solomon Islands Governor-General David Vunagi has summoned MPs to attend the national parliament on Thursday to choose a prime minister.

Sogavare’s governing party won 15 seats in the April 17 elections, well below the 26 seats required to form a government.

Terence Wood, a fellow at the Australian National University’s Development Policy Centre, said that Sogavare’s party had suffered an “awful” election result, performing far worse than it would have expected.

Wood said Sogavare’s departure was a significant moment that would alter Solomons-Australia relations, even if his party is returned to power.

“I doubt any other Solomons politician feels the degree of animus to Australia that Sogavare does, or is as wedded to China,” Wood said.

The election was mostly fought on local economic issues rather than geopolitical issues such as Chinese influence, Wood said.

Sogavare was re-elected to his local seat, raising the prospect he could continue to wield influence if his party forms a governing coalition.

After visiting Beijing last year, Sogavare declared that China was “the way to go forward” for his nation, and insisted that China did not have strategic ambitions in the Pacific.

The failure of any party to gain an outright parliamentary majority has triggered an intense round of negotiations, with rival politicians and their advisers holed up at chosen hotels in the nation’s capital as they scramble to secure the numbers required to form a government.

Sogavare’s allies have been meeting at the Cowboy’s Grill Bar and Restaurant by the Honiara waterfront.

“We are in the phase when the real bargaining happens,” Meg Keen, director of the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Islands program, said.

“The game is not over; no-one has the magic number yet.”

However, Keen said the results showed a clear mood for change among Solomon Islands voters.

While Australia and the United States would welcome the end of Sogavare’s prime ministership, Keen said that competition for influence in the Pacific would remain intense.

Sogavare delayed the parliamentary elections for seven months to focus on the Pacific Games, leading to accusations he was backsliding on democratic rights.

University of Queensland emeritus professor Clive Moore, one of Australia’s foremost experts on Solomon Islands, has described Sogavare as intelligent and energetic, but also emotional, “quite paranoid” and “self-serving”.

Sogavare expelled Australia’s high commissioner in Honiara, Patrick Cole, in 2007, declaring him “persona non grata” and accusing him of meddling in local politics.

Former Solomon Islands politician Alfred Sasako suggested there was a mystical element behind Sogavare’s apparent antagonism towards Australia. In 2007, Sasako claimed Sogavare had told him that he had been visited by the spirit of a deceased prime minister who warned him that Australia couldn’t be trusted.

Jon Fraenkel, an expert on pacific politics at the Victoria University of Wellington, has described Sogavare as a “master of the mayhem that so regularly afflicts his country”.

The Solomon Islands, with a population of about 730,000, is one of the Pacific’s poorest countries, with most of the working population engaged in subsistence farming and fishing.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/solomons-pro-china-leader-sogavare-steps-down-after-awful-election-result-20240429-p5fn8t.html

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80104e No.20798716

File: 13fe56e1d1dc0a8⋯.jpg (416.82 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_with_the_….jpg)

File: a83f073ec61ce81⋯.jpg (251.91 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Chinese_President_Xi_Jinpi….jpg)

>>20715815

Manasseh Sogavare exits Solomon Islands’ PM race

RICHARD FERGUSON - APRIL 29, 2024

Solomons Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has called time on his five-year rule of the ­Pacific nation after losing his ­majority in parliament, in a move which may reset the Solomons’ pro-China direction.

Mr Sogavare on Monday conceded he would not have the numbers in a hung parliament to stay on and will instead leave his Foreign Minister, Jeremiah Manele, to attempt to put together a coalition to keep his Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party in power.

Voters had rejected a Sogavare re-election platform anchored by a “look north” strategy that would deepen security and ­economic ties with China despite Australia’s heightened efforts to strengthen ties with the Pacific nation.

The Prime Minister – who is on his fourth separate stint in the Solomons’ top job – on Monday said it was time for new leadership and blamed local media for the backlash he suffered from voters.

“I have been accused of many things,” Mr Sogavare said.

“My family, and my children included, have been subjected to unprecedented verbal abuse. I have been increasingly vilified in the media, our family home has been razed to the ground.

“But that did not waver my resolve to serve my country. It is a monumental sacrifice.”

Mr Sogavare drew global attention when he signed a controversial security deal with Beijing in 2022 amid violent riots in Honiara.

The OUR Party leader had used his failed election manifesto to tout opportunities he argues have been created by his government’s controversial decision months after the 2019 election to switch ties from Taipei to Beijing.

But Mr Sogavare had also tried to be more conciliatory to Australia in recent months, despite accusing it in 2022 of using “covert” delays to aid to pressure his government’s finances over his growing relationship with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Governor-General David Vunagi will call MPs on Thursday to determine Mr Sogavare’s successor.

It was not clear if the outgoing Prime Minister’s preferred candidate, Mr Manele, would have the numbers to take over despite the OUR Party still holding the most seats.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/manasseh-sogavare-exits-solomon-islands-pm-race/news-story/8df644c3b9163bba478d6f7db9a9a68f

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80104e No.20798733

File: 23b23d968e00854⋯.jpg (1.09 MB,3563x2375,3563:2375,Manasseh_Sogavare_has_with….jpg)

File: 29fc6576bf4f290⋯.jpg (1.52 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,The_main_road_in_Honiara_i….jpg)

File: d14751a38b2421d⋯.jpg (528.61 KB,1600x1467,1600:1467,A_new_stadium_was_construc….jpg)

>>20715815

Manasseh Sogavare was China's man in the Pacific. Will his exit as prime minister reverberate across the region?

Nick Sas - 30 April 2024

1/2

Driving down Solomon Islands' main road in the capital city Honiara is a test in patience and skill.

The road is so littered with potholes, it's like playing a game of chess on wheels.

It has become folklore in the capital, so much so there's a mantra the police follow to spot people breaking the law: "We can tell a drunk-driver from a mile away … they just drive straight."

Last year, the dichotomy of this situation became almost laughable.

As Honiara's residents crawled along at a snail's pace on the road, weaving in and out of the potholes, on the side of the road a huge, wonderful structure was being built.

The $120 million national stadium complex, built and paid for by China for last year's Pacific Games, sticks out like a peacock in a paddock.

For many, it symbolised the problem with Manasseh Sogavare, the Solomon Islands' now former prime minister.

And last night, his reign over the Pacific Island nation officially ended.

A sudden exit

After switching the country's diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China in 2019, Mr Sogavare led Solomon Islands in an entirely new direction.

He signed a security pact with the country and was seen as China's man in the Pacific, openly embracing the Chinese Communist Party's governing style — even going as far as saying it felt like "home" when visiting China.

He consistently amplified combative stoushes with Western democracies, such as Australia and the United States — whether they were real or not — and last week even made unsubstantiated claims of influence by the US in the Solomon Islands election.

Heading into this month's national election, for many Solomon Islanders, it seems, all this was an unnecessary distraction.

They were dealing with other issues: the terrible roads, high rates of unemployment, a health system on its knees, access to education and the constant dark clouds of corruption.

Mr Sogavare's party lost more than half of its 37 seats at the April 17 election.

And last night he resigned.

Citing "geopolitics at play", Mr Sogavare said he had been "vilified in the media" and "accused of many things" — a veiled reference to a report from the US-funded Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project about his alleged real estate holdings.

Insiders suggest Mr Sogavare, who was not considered a popular leader in Solomon Islands, was pushed out by his party.

However, he rejected that notion saying he "felt great" handing over to a "very competent captain".

But with Mr Sogavare now gone, what does it mean for Solomon Islands and the region?

Turning down the heat?

China has long-established relationships with many Pacific countries.

It has policing agreements with Vanuatu and Kiribati, and earlier this year Chinese officials were in talks with Papua New Guinea.

In Fiji, a police deal was being reviewed and then reinstated, but not before its prime minister removed Chinese police from the country.

Yet, the security agreement signed by Solomon Islands is easily the most far-reaching in the region, sparking fears — that have constantly been rejected by Mr Sogavare — of China building a military base in the country.

(continued)

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80104e No.20798735

File: fa2647f64d31947⋯.jpg (1.14 MB,3150x2100,3:2,Manasseh_Sogavare_pictured….jpg)

File: 33209f8087f4126⋯.jpg (372.65 KB,1600x1200,4:3,Manasseh_Sogavare_speaking….jpg)

File: 5cf118a5e923dbf⋯.jpg (1.74 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Solomon_Islands_MP_Peter_K….jpg)

>>20798733

2/2

But experts say, again, this is largely just noise for Solomon Islanders.

Director of the Lowy Institute Pacific Islands Program, Meg Keen, said Mr Sogavare's resignation — and performance at the election — was a rejection of the direction he was taking the country.

"But it wasn't about the fact he was aligning the country with China," she said.

"It was a rejection of the development benefits, or lack of them, that were flowing to the people.

"This election was fought on very local issues, like healthcare and education, and the voting shows Solomon Islanders felt that the government weren't delivering."

Mr Sogavare's replacement as leader of his party, Jeremiah Manele, was foreign minister in his government and was a central figure in the country's switch to China.

On Monday night, he said if he was elected as prime minister, he would have the "same foreign policy basis — friends to all and enemies to none".

However, in a statement that will no doubt be welcomed by Canberra, Dr Keen said there was "no question" he'd be "less fiery as Sogavare".

"He's indicated the 'look north' policy will continue if he's elected," she said, referring to Mr Sogavare's policy of deepening security and economic ties with China.

"But he's been a foreign diplomat in Western countries … and the way in which he implements his policy will be different, it will be a much more measured policy."

Tess Newton Cain, project lead for the Pacific Hub at the Griffith Asia Institute, agreed.

"I don't think the temperature will be as high with Manele," she said.

"This is assuming Manele will be the prime minister, and we shouldn't get too far ahead of ourselves.

"But if he is [elected] there will be an attempt to maintain a degree of continuity, whilst also recognising there are concerns in the Solomon Islands community about how their relationships with various partners are being used, developed or even manipulated."

A search for simple answers

On Thursday, Solomon Islanders will know who their new government, and prime minister, is after no party gained enough seats to win the election.

In Solomon Islands, 26 MPs are needed to form a government.

Mr Sogavare's party, the OUR Party, now led by Mr Manele claims to have as many as 28 — though those numbers have not been confirmed.

The country's opposition group, led by Matthew Wale and the son of the country's first prime minister, Peter Kenilorea Jr, claims to have 20 MPs.

There were 10 independent MPs elected.

But history suggests votes — and allegiances — could swing at the last minute.

Either way, the residents of Solomon Islands navigating the potholes in the capital this afternoon — or waiting for treatment at the derelict national hospital — will be hoping for some answers come Thursday.

Just simple answers, insulated from the complexity of geopolitics, that will help make their lives a little better.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-30/solomon-islands-manasseh-sogavare-election-pacific-analysis/103784844

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80104e No.20798750

File: 2cae010e99c532f⋯.jpg (298.15 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_teen_accused_of_conspiri….jpg)

File: 4e05144800a3239⋯.jpg (288.35 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Another_boy_arrested_as_pa….jpg)

File: 081f72442a8c8e7⋯.jpg (116.75 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Bishop_Mar_Mari_Emmanuel_s….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20769978

Terror-accused, 16, ‘effectively made admission’ he was conspiring to plan attack

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - APRIL 30, 2024

A 17 year-old boy, charged with possessing extremist propaganda and a video of associates committing alleged assaults under an ISIS watermark, has been granted bail.

One of his bail conditions included a non-association order with Wassim Fayad, who was previously identified as the influential former IS supporter listed on search warrants in relation to the stabbing of Assyrian Christian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on April 15.

A 16 year-old, charged with the more serious offence of having conspired with three others to plan an unspecified terrorist attack, calling them “the soldiers of Allah” in messages, was denied bail in the same court, after the prosecution alleged he made “effectively an admission” in encrypted messages when he thought police were onto them.

The boys were two of the six arrested and charged in raids after material was discovered on the device of a 16-year-old boy who allegedly stabbed the Bishop Emmanuel.

The bail application for the 17 year-old was opposed by the prosecution, who said one video in his possession allegedly involved associates of the young person carrying a knife and “advocating terrorism”, as well as someone who looks similar to the young person “in acts of alleged violence”.

The video had an ISIS watermark on it “suggesting it’s somehow associated with terror”, the court heard. It puts the offence “slightly outside” of just possession of material, the commonwealth prosecution argued.

But Magistrate Janet Wahlquist at Parramatta Children’s Court said there was “nothing to suggest any action on his part”.

The 16 year-old, who was denied bail, allegedly told an associate “we were planning big stuff bro” when he believed they might have been caught by the police, with Magistrate Wahlquist telling the Children’s Court on Tuesday “he clearly knew” what he was involved in.

The messages came after some young people were arrested for an assault and their phones were believed to have been seized. The 16 year-old told another boy “it’s conspiracy, conspiracy for a terror (attack), I think”.

“We’re actually gone for a long time if they (go) through his phone … You know that yeah?,” he is alleged to have said.

Commonwealth prosecutors told the magistrate that it was “effectively an admission by this young person, made in circumstances where he believes that the phone of the person he’s been contacting, will have been seized by police after that arrest”, adding that it said “quite a lot as to his state of mind, in terms of what these conversations involved”.

Magistrate Wahlquist said, based on the fact sheet, he was “clearly aware that what he was doing amounted to terrorism and that did not stop him”.

“(He was) clearly concerned about getting caught. This young person clearly knew that they would be regarded as planning a terrorist attack. He was fully aware of the potential danger of what he was doing and what might happen if he got caught and that did not stop him,” she added.

Defence barrister Greg James KC, representing the 16 year-old, submitted letters from his parents who said they had “no complaint, never have, in relation to his behaviour” but that he was “an excellent son” and a good student “with whom they’ve had no issues” in the past.

He also said there was “nothing whatsoever in the household”, with two regular, working parents, that would indicate a likelihood to “be involved in anything illegal at all”, particularly an act of violence. Mr James also argued his continued custody would amount to “pre-emptive punishment” since the prosecution, on the current fact sheet, could not specify what terrorist act they were planning, just that they were making plans.

His mother, who was present in court, and the 16 year-old boy, both put their heads in their hands when the magistrate revealed her decision.

The court also heard the 16-year-old discussed obtaining guns, and establishing an abandoned “stash house” in regards to “the Kuffar plan” which police allege is a “non-believer plan”.

In the conversation, the 16-year-old and another boy refer to “nerf guns” but later speak of buying a “shotty”, with one of the boys claiming he can get two or three “dirty guns” for $2000-$4000. Police will allege there is a “strong inference available that these communications are directly about sourcing firearms”.

In another conversation, one of the other boys says: “I know it is … But I wanna die an I wanna kill … I’m just excited” and the 16 year-old responds, “We’re gonna kill dw (don’t worry) … but we need patience”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/terroraccused-16-effectively-made-admission-he-was-conspiring-to-plan-attack/news-story/02eaf03b6c4d1c08a923a693af685969

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80104e No.20798781

File: 1a5657d28c5dafa⋯.jpg (123.85 KB,1599x899,1599:899,Macquarie_University_acade….jpg)

File: 678bd3763afa4df⋯.jpg (182.97 KB,1280x720,16:9,Randa_Abdel_Fattah_s_intif….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20705252

>>20789187

‘Intifada’ protest gave kids ‘agency’, says Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah

NOAH YIM - APRIL 29, 2024

1/2

Controversial Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah says criticism of her by the nation’s peak Jewish body was “defamatory and racist” and an event where children were filmed chanting for “intifada” was intended to give them a “sense of agency”.

On Friday last week Dr Abdel-Fattah, with a group called Families for Palestine, held a “kids excursion” to the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Sydney. Videos from the event showed children – many who looked younger than 10 – leading anti-Israel chants such as calling for an “intifada” and labelling Israel a “terrorist state”.

Dr Abdel-Fattah was standing beside them clapping, as was a crowd of children and parents.

An intifada is an uprising against oppression. In the context of the Palestine-Israel conflict, the term intifada often is used in relation to violent resistance on the part of Palestinians to Israel.

A Macquarie spokesperson did not condemn Dr Abdel-Fattah’s actions on Monday.

“Macquarie University has policies and procedures in place to balance lawful free speech and academic freedom with its commitment to providing a safe and welcoming environment for all,” the spokesperson said.

“This extends to those representing Macquarie University outside the campus. Where there is found to be a breach of policy, the university will act to address the matter under its policies and procedures.”

Independent MP Allegra Spender, who represents an electorate with a large Jewish population, has called on federal Education Minister Jason Clare and relevant universities to condemn the encampments and ensure campuses are “safe and inclusive for all students”.

“These encampments are only further escalating the sense of fear among Jewish students and are exacerbating an already tense atmosphere,” Ms Spender said in a statement. “Some of the speeches and social media posts are anti-Semitic or at least deliberately inflammatory. It is unconscionable that young children are being included in this as well.”

This followed similar denunciation by opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson on Sunday.

Dr Abdel-Fattah, in a statement posted to her social media accounts on Monday, defended the Friday event.

“We came together in a family-friendly gathering to express our solidarity with and admiration for students protesting at Sydney University, Melbourne University and across the US,” the statement read. “We spoke about Aboriginal sovereignty. We spoke about finding the courage to stand up for a better world.

“We gave children a space to participate in craft, ball games, face-painting and embroidery. We offered them the megaphone to lead chants of their choosing, hoping to give them a sense of agency in a moment of distress. The ones who jumped at the opportunity had been to the weekly rallies for over seven months, observing and participating in chants and calls for justice, freedom and an end to the slaughter.”

She said accusations made against her by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry were “not only defamatory and racist as concerns me, a Palestinian Egyptian Muslim woman, but reprehensible in daring to portray the compassionate, brave children who attended as radicalised and violent extremists”.

“The ECAJ feels entitled to publicly pressure my employer, Macquarie University, to dismiss me and revoke my Future Fellowship awarded by the Australian Research Council,” she said. “Macquarie has policies in place to protect me from ‘improper pressures’ aimed at restricting my academic freedom.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20798784

File: bfe43eb8ad377c2⋯.jpg (337.9 KB,2048x1536,4:3,The_pro_Palestine_camp_at_….jpg)

>>20798781

2/2

Her statement referred to comments from ECAJ co-CEO Alex Ryvchin on Monday, when he said “compelling children to chant in support of an ‘intifada’ … is perverse and inhuman”.

“By forcing children to repeat calls that Israel is ‘haram’, the organisers are attempting to convince Muslim children that Jewish Australians, who have deep emotional and historic bonds to the Jewish state, are their enemy,” he continued. “The organisers of this horrific spectacle want to split our country apart by inducting children into racial hatred and religious extremism. We cannot allow this to occur.”

He also called on Macquarie University and the federal government to cease funding to Dr Abdel-Fattah and for the university to review her position.

Following Dr Abdel-Fattah’s statement, ECAJ co-CEO Peter Wertheim said the assertion the event was intended to give children “a sense of agency” was “risible”.

“Children under the age of ten years do not spontaneously burst into ugly political chants that call for an intifada and delegitimise other nations,” he said. “They are taught to do these things by adults.

“To suggest that this gives the children ‘agency’ is risible. In truth these children are being indoctrinated and used for a political purpose that they are too young to genuinely comprehend.

“This is a form of child emotional abuse and ideological conditioning. If this is what government research grants are helping to fund, it is an appalling misuse of taxpayers’ money and needs to stop now.”

More Australian universities are following the lead of some US colleges in staging a pro-Palestine encampment protest, sleeping nights on campus and demanding that the university cut ties with Israeli universities and with weapons manufacturers. After students pitched tents at the University of Sydney and University of Melbourne, students from the University of Queensland and the Australian National University have since joined in.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/higher-education/intifada-protest-gave-kids-agency-says-macquarie-university-academic-randa-abdelfattah/news-story/4deffb561eb1b9c2dcf3b674e9694684

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80104e No.20798809

File: d890d61f96d9a59⋯.jpg (359.74 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_with_Davi….jpg)

File: 3db9b15ba4d7ba5⋯.jpg (314.11 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Linda_Reynolds_with_her_hu….jpg)

File: e9ea56e87285d49⋯.jpg (532.2 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,David_Sharaz.jpg)

File: 1cb9028fa835d49⋯.jpg (259.38 KB,750x1068,125:178,DS_1.jpg)

>>20676399

>>20726614

>>20736640

David Sharaz waves white flag in Linda Reynolds defamation case

PAUL GARVEY and PAIGE TAYLOR - APRIL 30, 2024

Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz has declared he will no longer defend himself against the defamation claim lodged against him by Linda Reynolds, in the latest twist in the long-running legal saga.

Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz at the same time over the social media posts in 2022 and 2023. Senator Reynolds is expected to argue that her reputation was destroyed by a false allegation that she was part of an attempt to cover-up the rape of Ms Higgins by her then-colleague Bruce Lehrmann and the social media posts by the pair that pushed that false allegation.

In a directions hearing in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Tuesday, Mr Sharaz’s lawyer described the impending six week trial – scheduled to start in late July – as horrendously expensive and a disaster for everyone. He said Mr Sharaz could not afford to participate in it.

Earlier, Mr Sharaz had posted a statement on social media saying he had informed the court that he would not fight the legal action against him any more.

“I will now appeal for Senator Reynolds to settle her litigation against Brittany, a rape victim, by agreeing to disagree and putting all of this behind them. It’s time to move on,” he wrote.

“It’s time to let Brittany heal.”

Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz returned to Australia from their new home in France earlier this year for a court-ordered and ultimately fruitless mediation with Senator Reynolds.

Since then, Justice Michael Lee handed down his Federal Court judgment in Mr Lehrmann’s defamation claim against Network 10 finding that, on a balance of probabilities, Mr Lehrmann had in fact raped Ms Higgins.

But Justice Lee also slammed the cover-up allegation pushed by Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz as “objectively short on facts, but long on speculation and internal inconsistencies”.

“Trying to particularise it during the evidence was like trying to grab a column of smoke,” he wrote.

After Justice Lee’s judgment, Ms Higgins issued a public statement in which she acknowledged that “Senator Reynolds and Fiona Brown have also been hurt and for that I am also sorry”.

“My perceptions and feelings about what happened in the days and weeks after my rape are different from theirs,” she said.

‘I deeply regret we have not yet found common ground. I hope we can resolve our differences with a better understanding of each other’s experiences.”

Senator Reynolds said soon after that while she appreciated the apology, she would continue her defamation case unless Ms Higgins accepted Justice Lee’s findings there was no political cover-up.

“If Ms Higgins does not accept Justice Lee’s findings on the claims of cover-up and mistreatment then, regrettably, it will have to be proved again in our trial set for July this year,” she said.

Senator Reynolds, who was defence minister at the time of the rape, has previously announced that she will retire from politics at the next election.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/david-sharaz-waves-white-flag-in-linda-reynolds-defamation-case/news-story/c62a9d799d2726f9f3b9af58922fb74c

https://twitter.com/SharazDavid/status/1785196814838178181

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80104e No.20798867

File: 877d7e83c601021⋯.jpg (144.07 KB,787x1024,787:1024,Disgraced_teacher_Bill_Edw….jpg)

File: 333ef89408d043c⋯.jpg (383.71 KB,1999x1334,1999:1334,Salesian_College_in_Chadst….jpg)

File: 9c1d73cad82dcdd⋯.jpg (1.15 MB,1268x3773,1268:3773,Disgraced_former_teacher_F….jpg)

Catholic college ordered to remove paedophile priest from honour roll

Cameron Houston - April 30, 2024

A Catholic college will remove disgraced former teacher Father Bill Edwards from its honour roll and hall of fame years after it became aware of shocking child abuse allegations against Edwards – and only when this masthead approached it for comment.

The victim, who asked not to be identified because he is a victim of sexual abuse, sent a letter to Salesian College Chadstone principal Mark Ashmore almost two years ago, asking the Catholic college to stop eulogising Edwards, who died in 2010.

“Your school website describes his ‘fifty years of incredible service’ and refers to him as ‘a great man’,” the letter from July 2022, seen by The Age, says.

The letter also quotes the former head of the Salesians describing Edwards as “perhaps the Australian Salesian who most closely resembled [Salesians founder] Don Bosco himself”.

It continues: “Actually, Edwards was a paedophile. I know that because he violently sexually assaulted me on a year 7 camp when I was a student at another Salesian school in the early 1990s.”

The Salesian order was made aware of Edwards’ shocking abuse in 2011, when the victim’s mother informed Father Francis Moloney, who was the provincial of the Salesians in Australia-Pacific at the time.

Her son received an apology from Moloney, who also expressed a “deep sadness” that Edwards’ legacy would be tarnished by the allegations of clerical abuse.

“What your mother has told me, although she did not go into details, is tragic in the extreme for all who have known and loved Fr Bill Edwards. It is even more tragic, however, for you,” Moloney said in a letter to the victim on July 29, 2011.

In August 2021, the victim launched civil action in the Supreme Court of Victoria against the Salesian Society and Archbishop Peter Comensoli.

According to the writ, the boy was 12 when he began at St Joseph’s College in Ferntree Gully in 1990 and attended a camp that was supervised by Edwards, who was a teacher and rector at the Salesian-run school.

Edwards was accused in court documents of forcing the boy to perform a sexual act after dragging him from bed.

The Salesians settled the case in June 2022 with a payment of more than $1 million but continued to acknowledge Edwards’ contribution to the college.

“He walked alongside all those who suffered through the ‘valley of darkness’, consoling, comforting and reassuring them of God’s presence and love,” according to a website for the school’s honour roll.

Father Frank Bertagnolli, the former rector of the Salesian College Chadstone, also provided a glowing tribute to Edwards on the website.

“The spirit of Salesianity that still lives on today is a result of the major contributions Fr Bill Edwards has made to the establishment of the college,” Bertagnolli said on the website.

Salesian College Chadstone did not respond to requests for comment from The Age.

However, the new Australia-Pacific provincial of the Salesians, Father Peter Hoang Kim Huy, made an order on Monday to “remove all references and recognitions to Fr Edwards across all Salesian schools”.

“Any allegation of harm to a child is profoundly distressing, and while this has been a complex issue, it is deeply regrettable that this action was not taken sooner,” he said.

The man allegedly abused by Edwards is furious that the college ignored his repeated requests to correct the record.

“They didn’t pay me out of kindness. It was compensation for the abuse. So why are they still celebrating his life?

“What are they more interested in, protecting the reputation of a dead paedophile, or looking after the mental health of his victims?” the man told The Age on the condition of anonymity.

Rightside Legal partner Grace Wilson said she was baffled by the college’s failure to respond to her client’s requests.

“Institutions like the Salesians behave as well as they are forced to, and no better,” Wilson said.

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.theage.com.au/national/victoria/catholic-school-refused-to-remove-paedophile-priest-from-honour-roll-20240430-p5fnkz.html

https://web.archive.org/web/20190321142725/https://www.salesian.vic.edu.au/profile/bill-edwards/

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80104e No.20798881

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20647150

>>20759654

>>20775653

MRF-D 24.3 U.S. Marines, Sailors honor Anzac Day in Darwin, Palmerston

Gunnery Sgt. Kassie McDole - 04.25.2024

April 25, 1915, etched into history as the day 140 soldiers of the first wave set sail, their destination: the Gallipoli Peninsula. Among them, only 38 would step onto the shores alive, marking the harrowing beginning of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' campaign in World War I.

Today, over 100 years later, April 25th stands as Anzac Day, a solemn tribute to the courage and sacrifice of Australians and New Zealanders who served and perished in wars and peacekeeping missions.

As dawn broke over the grounds of the Darwin Cenotaph War Memorial and Palmerston War Memorial Park, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, U.S. Marines and Sailors of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin 24.3, alongside their Australian Allies, reflected on the earnestness of the occasion and the enduring legacy of service and sacrifice.

"We gather here before the dawn, because they did,” said Australian Army Brigadier Douglas Pashley, the commander of 1st Brigade, Australian Army.

The morning commenced with the time-honored Dawn Service, where the notes of the Last Post echoed through the crisp morning air, marking the moment when ANZAC soldiers first landed on the shores of Gallipoli in 1915. As the bugle call faded, a profound silence enveloped the gathered crowd, honoring the memory of those who gave their lives for their countries.

"Anzac Day is about more than Gallipoli and the Western Front,” said Pashley. “It's about the service of Australians and our partners and Allies, and conflicts, and peacekeeping operations and deployments since then.”

Following the Dawn Service, U.S. Marines, Sailors and Australian Defence Force members and veterans participated in the Anzac Day march in Darwin City and Palmerston. They marched in solidarity, parading through Palmerston and downtown Darwin to honor their Allies' memory, embodying the mateship between the United States and Australia.

“U.S. Marines and Sailors are honored to be included in Anzac Day activities with our Australian Defence Force brothers and sisters,” said U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of MRF-D 24.3. “The display of national support to those that serve and sacrifice on behalf of this great nation is awe-inspiring.”

The participation of MRF-D 24.3 U.S. Marines and Sailors in Anzac Day events underscores the enduring bond between the United States and Australia, founded on mutual respect, shared sacrifice, and a commitment to freedom and democracy.

https://www.dvidshub.net/news/469484/mrf-d-243-us-marines-sailors-honor-anzac-day-darwin-palmerston

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nglua6gyDVQ

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80104e No.20803291

File: 05573b7ef67b0bc⋯.jpg (204.51 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Dr_Randa_Abdel_Fattah_is_t….jpg)

File: 4e3a830ff85918f⋯.jpg (92.94 KB,1170x1560,3:4,Academic_Dr_Randa_Abel_Fat….jpg)

>>20789187

>>20798781

Academic Randa Abdel Fattah brands critics ‘white supremacists’ over her anti-Israeli activism

NATASHA BITA and NOAH YIM - MAY 1, 2024

1/2

Anti-Israel activist Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has attacked her critics as “white supremacists’’, and vowed to fight to keep her $837,174 taxpayer-funded research grant.

Dr Abdel-Fattah – who posted an image of a Palestinian parachutist as her Facebook cover photo the day after Hamas terrorists parachuted into Israel to murder and kidnap hundreds of civilians on October 7 last year – is being investigated by her employer, Macquarie University, over her anti-Israeli activism.

Dr Abdel-Fattah led a protest of school students at the rival University of Sydney campus last Friday, when children as young as five could be heard chanting “intifada’’ and “Israel is a terrorist state’’.

The University of Sydney is now investigating alleged violations of its code of conduct in relation to the pro-Palestinian encampment protests, vice-chancellor Professor Mark Scott revealed on Wednesday.

“In recent days we’ve become aware of a number of alleged instances of unacceptable conduct associated with the encampment,” he wrote in an all-staff email on Wednesday.

Professor Scott listed a number of violations, including protesters entering buildings and harassing staff, graffiti on walls, a truck driver making an unauthorised delivery to the encampment and spitting at staff, and protesters blocking a road.

His email said the university was “investigating these violations of our policies in the usual way, including co-operating with police investigations where alleged unacceptable conduct might have broken the law”.

He warned that university buildings may be placed in a “secure mode” in the interests of safety and require card access.

And he threatened “firm and decisive disciplinary action” on staff and students who disrupt classes, harass other staff or students, prevent free movement around campus, or damage property.

Parts of the University of Queensland were locked down on Wednesday after pro-Palestinian protesters stormed two of the main buildings. Federal Opposition education spokeswoman Senator Sarah Henderson is demanding the federal government cancel Dr Abdel-Fattah’s Australian Research Council (ARC) grant of $837,174, awarded in 2022 for a four-year research project, Arab/Muslim Australian Social Movements since the 1970s: a hidden history.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare is refusing to intervene, and Dr Abdel-Fattah used social media on Tuesday to defend her taxpayer grant.

“When Zionists demand my fellowship be cancelled, they are purposefully targeting me and the next generation of Arab and Muslim women academics,’’ she wrote on X.

“They see to eliminate us from the academy because our voices, knowledge production and impact threaten the White supremacist status quo they so desperately seek to maintain.

“They grossly underestimate me.

“White supremacists are cowards who slink around corridors of power and throw matches at the grassroots.

“But they can never match our spirit and power.

“They burn down. We just keep rising and growing.’’

(continued)

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80104e No.20803303

File: ca39e512a797c95⋯.jpg (185.27 KB,750x420,25:14,RA_F_1.jpg)

File: 65e7dda08a1372a⋯.jpg (207.1 KB,750x480,25:16,RA_F_2.jpg)

>>20803291

2/2

Senator Henderson has written to Mr Clare demanding that he cancel Dr Abdel-Fattah’s research grant, on the grounds of her conduct.

She said Dr Abdel-Fattah had co-hosted the kids’ excursion to the University of Sydney last Friday, leading very young children to chant anti-Israel and anti-Jewish slogans.

“This indoctrination of children not only fuels anti-Jewish hatred but puts the wellbeing of these children at risk,’’ she wrote.

“Australian taxpayers should not be funding such activism and hate speech under the guise of so-called research.’’

Mr Clare yesterday criticised the involvement of school children at the pro-Palestinian rallies.

“It is never okay to fill kids’ minds with hate,’’ he said.

“There is no place for hate in our universities or anywhere else and it’s never okay to involve kids in things like this.

“There is no place in our country for antisemitism, Islamophobia or racism of any kind.

“Students and staff must feel and be safe on campus.’’

The Institute for Palestine Studies has published a provocative essay by Dr Abdel-Fattah dismissing the “mass rape claims’’ against Hamas terrorists on October 7.

“Israeli and US government claims of mass sexual assault are not the ‘believe women’ or #MeToo flex that they think it is,’’ she wrote.

“We are confronted with the political reality that sexual assault against Israeli women is being weaponised in the service of manufacturing consent for genocide against Palestinian men, women and children in Gaza.’’

Video footage shows a savage Hamas attack on the Supernova festival in the Israeli desert on October 7, when more than 250 young concertgoers were shot dead and others taken hostage.

The terrorists paraded the body of Shani Louk, a 22-year-old Israeli-German national, stripped to her underwear and lying face-down in the back of a pick-up truck.

The ARC yesterday said grant agreements are signed with universities, and not individual researchers.

“These agreements set clear obligations on universities about conduct of researchers and staff employed by them, to ensure Commonwealth funds are invested in high-quality research,’’ a spokesman said.

“The ARC can, and does, terminate funding agreements with administering organisations and recover funds where those obligations have been breached.

“This would require clear evidence of a failure to meet obligations regarding the quality and timeliness of research being conducted under the project.’’

The ARC spokesman said that “social media and other activities’’ by researchers are “for the employer to manage’’.

“Any employment matter requires an employer and employee to follow due process,’’ it states.

“Where (universities) take disciplinary action against researchers, including termination of employment, ARC funding agreements provide for cessation of the project, including return of some or all of the grant funds.’’

Dr Abdel-Fattah did not respond to questions from The Australian yesterday about why she had chosen the Palestinian parachute image for her Facebook profile, or whether children had been pulled out of school to attend the rally on Friday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/academic-randa-abdel-fattah-brands-critics-white-supremacists-over-her-antiisraeli-activism/news-story/4fceee4b37bf710ead989e13e39ab2da

https://twitter.com/RandaAFattah/status/1785449973704015914

https://twitter.com/RandaAFattah/status/1785449983363412428

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80104e No.20803319

File: d741814b340560f⋯.jpg (1.16 MB,3500x2392,875:598,In_June_2020_Brett_Sutton_….jpg)

File: 73ffe1f2ae2781a⋯.jpg (318.49 KB,2000x1333,2000:1333,Authorities_outside_Melbou….jpg)

Charges dropped: Victorian Government escapes punishment over quarantine blunders that cost 768 lives

Alex Crowe and David Estcourt - May 1, 2024

1/2

Victoria’s Department of Health will not face prosecution on dozens of criminal charges over the bungled hotel quarantine scheme because the state’s top prosecutors are barred from using evidence from a public inquiry.

The County Court ruling – which rendered 10 witnesses statements inadmissible – has forced the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) to drop 32 charges that alleged hotel staff and guests were put in danger during the COVID-19 outbreak that sent parts of Victoria into one of the world’s longest lockdowns.

The department had originally faced 58 charges, but that had been reduced to 32 throughout the prosecution.

The 10 witnesses were employees of the Department of Health who had provided statements to an inquiry investigating the state government’s handling of the hotel quarantine scheme, known as the Coate Inquiry.

By providing those statements on behalf of the department to the Hotel Quarantine Board of Inquiry – a public hearing – their evidence was later deemed inadmissible in the criminal proceedings brought by WorkSafe Victoria.

In an oral ruling on April 9, Judge Andrew Palmer said the court was bound by an earlier Supreme Court decision in 2021, but that the witness statements might have been obtained under the powers of the Occupational Health and Safety Act instead, which could have been admissible.

“It is possible that those documents could have been obtained using coercive powers under the [OH&S Act], but that question can be reserved for another day,” Palmer found.

“I find that the prosecution is not permitted to use the witness statements or oral evidence provided to the inquiry by the witnesses.”

The OPP chose not to appeal the ruling.

Gavin Silbert, KC, a former chief Crown prosecutor, said prosecutors needed to start the investigation anew to ensure their evidence was admissible to court, instead of relying on evidence collected during the Coate Inquiry.

“What a prosecution service has to do in this situation is start from scratch and put to one side – not even look at the inquiry that’s been conducted, all the evidence that’s been collected,” he said.

“All they can do is go to the individual witnesses and take fresh statements.”

Silbert said a person was normally protected from self-incrimination when they gave evidence to an inquiry, which meant their evidence could not be used in any other context, including their prosecution.

“Part of our rule of law and presumption of innocence is that there’s no obligation on an accused to do anything,” he said.

“You have a right against self-incrimination, and you can’t be compelled to give evidence and no accused can be compelled to give evidence.“

If the witness statements were used to prosecute individuals, then it would abrogate the right against self-incrimination, Silbert said.

(continued)

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80104e No.20803327

File: 86b9c20ee7acc4c⋯.jpg (375.31 KB,4244x2829,4244:2829,Returning_travellers_about….jpg)

File: e31e4bb068ab95c⋯.jpg (1.4 MB,5479x3653,5479:3653,Former_judge_Jennifer_Coat….jpg)

>>20803319

2/2

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “We’re pleased to see this matter resolved, avoiding a lengthy and costly trial in circumstances where there has already been a public inquiry into the hotel quarantine program.”

WorkSafe Victoria had accused the department of 17 occupational health and safety breaches for failing to provide and maintain a safe working environment for employees.

The department was charged with an additional 41 breaches for failing to ensure that non-employees were not exposed to risks to their health and safety. Of those, 16 charges were dropped.

“WorkSafe is deeply disappointed by the decision to discontinue criminal proceedings against the Department of Health in relation to the Victorian hotel quarantine program,” a WorkSafe spokesman said.

WorkSafe alleged the department had failed to appoint experts in infection prevention and control at the hotels, to provide proper training to security guards or to provide proper instructions around mask-wearing.

In all charges, WorkSafe alleged Victorian government employees and security guards were put at risk of serious illness or death through contracting COVID-19 from returned travellers, other people working in the hotels or from contaminated surfaces.

An OPP spokesman said the inadmissible evidence of 10 witnesses had “substantially weakened the prosecution case”.

“As a consequence of the evidentiary ruling, a determination was made that there were not reasonable prospects of conviction in relation to the charges before the court,” he said.

The hotel quarantine inquiry found a multitude of failures had contributed to the deaths of 768 people and the infection of 18,000 more.

The charges against the department had followed a 15-month WorkSafe investigation which involved the review of tens of thousands of documents, including those submitted to the inquiry.

WorkSafe will review the matter to determine whether to provide advice to the Victorian government on legislative changes to prevent government departments avoiding charges through the use of inquiries.

Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the outcome had further eroded Victorians’ expectation of government accountability.

“No matter what the level of the blowout, no matter what the level of the cost is in terms of human life, no one is ever held accountable, they lose confidence in institutions, and they further lose confidence in the government,” he said.

Pesutto said it appeared all avenues to hold those responsible for hotel quarantine’s failures had been exhausted.

“The sad truth for all Victorians is that after the disaster and the catastrophe of hotel quarantine that saw over 800 people lose their lives, no one – no one – will be held accountable,” he said. “That’s not acceptable in Victoria.”

Health Minister Mary-Anne Thomas said she was advised that the charges would be dropped on Tuesday but had not been aware of when the decision was made.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/hotel-quarantine-charges-against-health-department-dropped-20240501-p5fnzs.html

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80104e No.20803334

File: ccc1c64b7ea67de⋯.jpg (66.64 KB,800x600,4:3,Foreign_Minister_Winston_P….jpg)

>>20700849

>>20736643

New Zealand not yet invited into AUKUS camp: Peters

Ben McKay - May 1 2024

New Zealand is some way from deciding whether it will collaborate with AUKUS members under pillar two of the military alliance, primarily because it hasn't been asked.

In a major speech on Wednesday night, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Australia, the UK and US had not decided whether they wanted New Zealand involved.

"There is one crucial precondition and one consequential decision required before New Zealand could or would participate in pillar two," he said.

"AUKUS partners need to want us to participate in pillar two and invite us to do so.

"That precondition has not yet been met, which is why we are exploring with our traditional partners the scope of pillar two and seeking a much more detailed understanding of what this involves."

AUKUS is the military tie-up that will see Australia obtain nuclear-powered submarines from the UK and US.

A second pillar of the pact will see those powers developed and share advanced military capabilities, including cyber and AI-powered technologies, and hypersonic weaponry.

Last month Japan, and, on Wednesday, South Korea confirmed their interest in pillar two, with Canada and New Zealand mooted as possible members.

In a hint that Wellington stood ready to collaborate, Mr Peters spent long stretches of his 30-minute speech attacking critics of the pact.

Former prime minister Helen Clark and the current Labour opposition have argued against membership, saying it belies New Zealand's independent foreign policy.

"The critics are sadly out of date," Mr Peters said.

"There is … an ideological element underpinning the critics' outright rejection of pillar two and their claim that we are abandoning an independent foreign policy.

"Their conception of our independent foreign policy has always carried a strand of anti-Americanism, so being independent means for them saying no to the United States.

"There is an old saying that nostalgia is the most seductive of liars. We think some of the critics are seduced by old battles, and projecting those onto the pillar two debate."

Mr Peters said it was prudent to explore the opportunities that pillar two provided, particularly as New Zealand rebuilds its defence capacity in the wake of attrition and growing security threats.

"if Australia adopts new advanced technologies what does that mean for New Zealand's ability to communicate with our ally's capabilities?

"It would be irresponsible for us not to consider whether (military assets) will still be fit for purpose under pillar two's technology advances."

Taking office in November last year, the 79-year-old is in his third stint as foreign minister, and has visited 14 countries since - including a week in the US last month.

He said one of the biggest messages from his travel abroad has been the importance of investing in defence in a deteriorating security environment - as evidenced by conflicts in Ukraine and Palestine.

"New Zealand needs to ask hard questions of itself. As we seek a more secure region and world, are we doing our share?" he said.

"New Zealand's long history of parsimony when it comes to defence cannot hold if we wish to continue garnering respect from, and influence on, others."

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8613411/new-zealand-not-yet-invited-into-aukus-camp-peters/

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80104e No.20803352

File: 482e3b511ba5a2e⋯.jpg (192.65 KB,1000x666,500:333,Australian_Foreign_Ministe….jpg)

>>20700849

>>20736643

South Korea discusses participating in AUKUS tech pillar

JESSE JOHNSON - May 1, 2024

1/2

The South Korean and Australian defense chiefs said Wednesday that Seoul was in talks to participate in the defense technology pillar of the AUKUS security pact — just weeks after Japan also said it was in discussions to join.

"During today's meeting, we discussed the possibility of partnering with AUKUS Pillar II," South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said via an interpreter when asked about the pact at a live-streamed joint news conference following a meeting between South Korean and Australian defense and foreign ministers in Melbourne. "We do welcome that the members are considering Korea as a Pillar II partner.”

The AUKUS pact, announced in 2021, involves Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Widely seen as a means of countering China’s growing military clout in the Indo-Pacific region, the grouping’s primary goal, known as Pillar I, is to provide Australia with its own fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines.

But the pact’s second program, known as Pillar II, is centered around developing and sharing advanced capabilities across a broad swath of area including hypersonics, anti-submarine warfare and cyberweapons, as well as quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

South Korea’s growing defense, science and technological capabilities could help contribute to that program and to regional peace and stability, Shin said.

Australian defense chief Richard Marles echoed this view.

“Korea is obviously a country with deeply impressive technology," he said. "So as AUKUS Pillar II develops, I think there will be opportunities in the future, and we're seeing that play out in relation to Japan, too."

Although South Korea will not be partaking in the nuclear submarine pillar of AUKUS, the pact — and now the talks on joining Pillar II — have raised questions about the possibility of Seoul joining Pillar I at some point.

Seoul has long advocated for being able to acquire nuclear-powered submarine technology, but this has repeatedly been shot down by the United States, which has concerns about proliferation and instability on the Korean Peninsula.

As far as Pillar II goes though, formal consultations with South Korea, Japan and other countries as potential collaborators are expected to begin later this year.

Japan was the first country to be formally considered for Pillar II, ahead of other U.S. allies, including Canada and New Zealand, the two other members of the “Five Eyes” intelligence alliance that also groups the U.S., U.K. and Australia.

Tokyo’s participation is expected to not only enhance Japanese capabilities, but also provide a new set of opportunities to boost the country's defense industry.

But Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been quick to note that adding new collaborators to Pillar II of the pact would not mean expanding its formal membership.

AUKUS is one of the crown jewels of a U.S.-led push to create a number of “minilateral” groupings — many intended to push back against what partner nations say is rising Chinese assertiveness. Others include “the Quad,” which includes the U.S., Australia, India and Japan, as well as more informal trilateral and quadrilateral groupings that bring South Korea and the Philippines into the mix.

(continued)

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80104e No.20803353

File: 3fbd0500fcdd24a⋯.jpg (156.83 KB,1000x666,500:333,Australian_Prime_Minister_….jpg)

>>20803352

2/2

China has been critical of these groupings, especially the AUKUS pact, frequently referring to it as the start of an “Asian NATO” and raising the specter of regional destabilization.

"We firmly oppose relevant countries cobbling together exclusive groupings, building bilateral or multilateral military alliances targeting China, creating division and confrontation and stoking bloc confrontation,” Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian told a news conference last week. “The Asia-Pacific is a big stage for peace and development, not a wrestling ground for geopolitical competition.”

In a statement released earlier this month, the defense chiefs of the three AUKUS partners said that their respective countries had “been clear” in their intent to engage “like-minded partners” in Pillar II projects since the pact’s formation.

“AUKUS partners have developed principles and models for additional partner engagement in individual Pillar II projects and will undertake consultations in 2024 with prospective partners regarding areas where they can contribute to, and benefit from, this historic work,” they said.

“In identifying collaboration opportunities, we will take into account factors such as technological innovation, financing, industrial strengths, ability to adequately protect sensitive data and information, and impact on promoting peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region,” they added.

However, opening the pact’s second pillar up to more countries will face a challenge from tough U.S. restrictions on technology-sharing.

The U.S. State Department only Tuesday unveiled its proposal to reduce licensing requirements for transferring military equipment and sensitive technology to AUKUS partners Australia and the U.K.

Those requirements, which govern the sharing of closely guarded technology and are known as International Traffic in Arms Regulations, could also present an obstacle for South Korea. Japan, meanwhile, is still grappling with reforming its own internal systems for protecting both national security and economic secrets.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/05/01/asia-pacific/politics/south-korea-aukus-discussions/

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80104e No.20803363

File: 501c5f627aef496⋯.jpg (1.4 MB,4651x3101,4651:3101,ASIO_Director_General_Mike….jpg)

>>20589296

Indian spies booted out of Australia for trying to steal sensitive information

Matthew Knott - April 30, 2024

1/2

Australian authorities expelled two Indian intelligence operatives in 2020 for being members of an elaborate “nest of spies” that attempted to steal sensitive information about defence technology, airport security and trade relationships.

The revelation about the previously secret operations of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), raises uncomfortable questions about Australia’s deepening ties with India, including through the high-profile Quad security grouping.

As part of a detailed investigation into Indian foreign interference efforts around the globe, The Washington Post reported on the expulsion of the two RAW officers on Monday.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess revealed in 2021 that ASIO had uncovered a “nest of spies” from a foreign intelligence service, whose operations included grooming politicians and a foreign embassy as informants, but did not identify the country behind it.

Two Australian sources with access to classified briefings and close connections to the intelligence community, but not authorised to speak publicly, confirmed the accuracy of The Washington Post report to this masthead.

In his 2021 annual threat assessment, Burgess said the spies developed targeted relationships with current and former politicians, a foreign embassy and a state police service.

“They monitored their country’s diaspora community. They tried to obtain classified information about Australia’s trade relationships. They asked a public servant to provide information on security protocols at a major airport.

“They successfully cultivated and recruited an Australian government security clearance holder who had access to sensitive details of defence technology.”

Burgess said ASIO confronted the spies, quietly removed them from the country and cancelled the security clearance of the government employee who had access to defence technology details.

The nation behind the spy operation was “not from a country in our region”, he said at the time, and naming it “would be an unnecessary distraction”.

Some media reports on the 2021 speech speculated that Burgess was probably referring to Russia.

In his 2023 threat assessment, Burgess described the operations of a separate foreign “hive of spies”, later identified as Russian operatives by this masthead.

Greens home affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said Australia needed to make plain to India that “these are clearly not the actions of a supposed ally”.

“It speaks loudly to the degree of subservience and self-censorship from successive Australian governments that we only hear about this four years after the event through disclosures in the US,” he said.

“Australia must have a robust, mature and honest relationship with India that includes being frank about the human rights and political challenges the [Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party] BJP administration is creating both at home and abroad.”

An ASIO spokesperson said: “As is long-standing practice, ASIO does not comment on intelligence matters.”

The Indian high commission in Canberra has not responded to a request for comment.

(continued)

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80104e No.20803368

File: e863ddb6bba8433⋯.jpg (664.81 KB,5115x3410,3:2,In_his_2021_annual_threat_….jpg)

>>20803363

2/2

The Post report also accused an Indian RAW official, Vikram Yadav, of allegedly ordering a hired hit team to assassinate prominent Sikh activist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun in the US.

One of the key figures in the global Khalistan movement, Pannun serves as the spokesman and legal counsel for the Sikhs for Justice organisation, which advocates for the creation of a separate Sikh state.

Pannun has been designated as a terrorist by the Indian government.

Ian Hall, an expert on Indian politics at Griffith University, said he was surprised to learn that the “nest of spies” Burgess referred to in his 2021 speech was an Indian operation.

He said it was revealing that the spies had been quietly removed from the country with no prosecutions or public rebuke from the Australian government.

“That tells you how incredibly significant India is, and how determined Australia is not to derail the relationship.”

While Australia and the US were determined to stay close to India for economic and strategic reasons, he added: “This kind of thing can fester away and generate mistrust.”

Hall said American anger at India’s attempt to assassinate Pannun on US soil helped explain why plans to hold a leaders’ meeting of the Quad – comprising India, Australia, the US and Japan – in India this year were looking shaky.

“Some of the Quad initiatives, like quantum computing, require a lot of trust between the member nations, and this kind of thing does not help develop that,” he said.

Hall said India’s RAW was old-fashioned, underfunded and not as skilful as some other foreign spy agencies, such as Israel’s Mossad.

Ministry of External Affairs of India spokesman Randhir Jaiswal responded to the Post’s report on Twitter by saying: “The report in question makes unwarranted and unsubstantiated imputations on a serious matter.

“There is an ongoing investigation of the high-level committee set up by the government of India to look into the security concerns shared by the US government on networks of organised criminals, terrorists and others.

“Speculative and irresponsible comments on it are not helpful.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government is widely expected to be easily returned to power for a third parliamentary term in elections under way in India.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/indian-spies-booted-out-of-australia-for-trying-to-steal-sensitive-information-20240430-p5fnol.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/04/29/india-assassination-raw-sikhs-modi/

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80104e No.20803391

File: c23d5d50371a7aa⋯.mp4 (15.76 MB,640x360,16:9,Detectives_have_charged_a_….mp4)

‘Beast Boy’: NSW Police charge one of state’s worst alleged bestiality offenders

Jessica McSweeney and Sally Rawsthorne - May 1, 2024

Warning: Graphic content

Sexual gratification and financial advantage motivated a man labelled by police as one of the state’s worst alleged bestiality offenders, who was arrested in a raid on his remote Mid North Coast home this week.

The sex crime squad’s child exploitation internet unit began targeting those creating and distributing child abuse material through the internet in February this year, coming across a man using the pseudonym Beast Boy online.

Police allege the profile had a large online presence and used encrypted messaging apps to share and sell bestiality material.

In their investigation, police uncovered videos showing the alleged sexual abuse of various animals including dogs, sheep, goats and chickens. One video featured a dead kangaroo.

Detectives were able to identify the man allegedly behind the disturbing account as 38-year-old Colin Baker, with police swarming a rural property in Moorland, 30 kilometres north of Taree, at 7.30am on Tuesday.

As the man was being arrested, accompanying RSPCA inspectors found a small dog on the property. Police say the Jack Russell cross named Locky was among the animals abused by the man for the purposes of creating online videos.

She was taken into “protective custody” and has been inspected by a vet, RSPCA Inspector Lachlan King said on Wednesday.

“She is safe and doing well,” King said.

Multiple electronic devices also were seized that allegedly show the animal abuse occurring over a period of years.

“His online presence indicates there is a lot more than what we have so far viewed. We have viewed in excess of 500 videos at this point,” Sex Crimes squad commander Detective Superintendent Jayne Doherty told reporters on Wednesday.

The man was taken to Taree police station where he was charged with eight counts of bestiality, six counts of producing bestiality material and four counts of sharing bestiality material.

He was also charged with possessing and soliciting child abuse material.

Baker was refused bail to appear in Taree Local Court on Tuesday and will appear at the same court July 8.

“Police anticipate a number of further charges to be laid,” said Doherty.

Asked about the man’s prospects for rehabilitation, Doherty said: “Any person’s chances of rehabilitation is dependent on that person. Definitely from the conversations he has had, he is very much gratified through his [alleged] actions.”

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/beast-boy-nsw-police-charge-one-of-state-s-worst-alleged-bestiality-offenders-20240501-p5fnx6.html

https://qresear.ch/?q=Adam+Britton

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80104e No.20808099

File: ef20e2af5b3f6b7⋯.jpg (446.16 KB,2400x1600,3:2,Solomon_Islands_foreign_mi….jpg)

>>20715815

Solomon Islands chooses China-friendly ex-diplomat Jeremiah Manele as new prime minister

Move seen as continuation of Pacific country’s policy of growing closer to Beijing

Charley Piringi - 2 May 2024

Solomon Islands lawmakers have elected as their new prime minister Jeremiah Manele, a former foreign minister who has pledged to continue the Pacific country’s policy of embracing China.

Manele said outside parliament on Thursday “the people have spoken” and called for calm.

“I humbly stand before you, as your elected prime minister. We must respect and uphold the democratic process,” Manele said.

The previous PM, Manasseh Sogavare, withdrew from the contest this week and backed Manele after failing to secure a majority in last month’s election.

Manele was foreign minister in 2019 when Sogavare’s government turned its back on Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with Beijing.

Police had boosted security in the capital, Honiara, as the newly elected lawmakers arrived at parliament on Thursday to conduct the secret ballot.

The country’s governor, Gen Sir David Vunagi, announced outside parliament house that Manele had won 31 votes, against 18 votes for opposition leader Matthew Wales. The election of the PM was due to be followed by the swearing-in of the parliament, as well as the election of the speaker.

A national election in April failed to deliver a majority to any political party, and two camps lobbied to win support from independents ahead of the vote for prime minister.

The poll is being closely watched by China, the US and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security after Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022.

Australia’s prime minister, Anthony Albanese, congratulated Manele: “I look forward to working closely with him. Australia and Solomon Islands are close friends and our futures are connected.”

Lowy Institute research fellow Mihai Sora, a former Australian diplomat in Solomon Islands, said Manele had “a strong track record of working well with all international partners”, compared with Sogavare who was “a polarising figure”.

The new prime minister’s Our party has pledged to build more infrastructure and won 15 seats, gaining four under a renewed coalition with two micro-parties.

It needed support from independents to reach 26 seats for a majority in the 50-seat parliament.

In his speech, Manele also flagged a recent report by the Central Bank of Solomon Islands (CBSI). “We as a country continue on the recovery path after the Covid-19 global pandemic and 2021 riots.

“The recent report by CBSI on the state of our economy is concerning and calls for a more focused and aggressive approach. It is not an easy task but we will be reaching out to all relevant stakeholders as we progress on our road to recovery.”

Reaction to the new government has included calls for a fresh focus on health and education.

“We want to see a serious government that is proactive in addressing health issues in the country. Health has been neglected especially in rural clinics where people have to struggle to survive,” said Regina Lepping, a youth activist.

Junior Kurt Mamaloni, leader of the Makira Youth Council, said he was cautious about growing closer to China. “I would like to see a government that is more people-centred and focused on development. I don’t want to see foreign influence trying to shape our country into their geopolitical sphere.

“There’s nothing wrong with China. After the switch, we see tangible development in just four years. But as a youth, we fear something, nothing is free from China, and there are always strings attached to its projects.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/may/02/solomon-islands-new-pm-prime-minister-jeremiah-manele

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80104e No.20808123

File: 32c35a9f8234bfa⋯.jpg (110.12 KB,1298x730,649:365,The_parents_of_a_15_year_o….jpg)

File: 0b00fcfb52e6bfc⋯.jpg (145.16 KB,1280x720,16:9,One_of_the_teens_questione….jpg)

File: 795b87cb7d13282⋯.jpg (99.48 KB,1280x720,16:9,The_stabbing_of_Assyrian_B….jpg)

>>20731815

>>20769978

Youngest terror-accused teen wanted to do ‘catastrophic [act] to either Assyrian or Jewish people’

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - MAY 2, 2024

1/2

A 15-year-old who allegedly declared in an online group chat that he wanted to attack Jewish and Assyrian people, and “do jihad now”, before being arrested for conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack, has been denied release following a lengthy bail hearing.

The lawyer for the youngest of the four teenagers charged in Sydney with conspiracy following the stabbing of Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, told waiting media he would take the application to the NSW Supreme Court, as the juvenile’s parents covered their faces.

“Obviously the family is disappointed, and we will appeal to the Supreme Court,” he said, after a court heard the 15-year-old’s parents would put up their home, worth $1.5 million, as surety and offered to pay for expensive third-party ankle-monitoring technology.

“They’re a loving family, so you could imagine (how they’re feeling) … They’re a loving family … with kids they are worried about,” he said.

Despite hearing the matter over two days, Magistrate James Viney refused bail at Parramatta Children’s Court on Thursday morning to the teenager who “bragged” about being a “mate” of the 16 year-old who allegedly stabbed Bishop Emmanuel at Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on April 15.

The charges against six “associates” of the alleged stabber came following raids across southwest Sydney.

Magistrate Viney said “with the explicit threats to stab either Jewish or Assyrian people”, paired with a charge of common assault over an incident on April 22 when the accused teen threw a plank of wood at a bottle shop owner and was armed with a knife, he created an “unacceptable risk to the protection of the community that cannot be satisfied by bail conditions being imposed’’.

This was despite acknowledging an affidavit of the teenager’s mother painted a picture of “parents who have tried very hard to deal with their son’s problems as he’s grown older’’.

In his decision, the magistrate read out portions of the fact sheet, saying “it clearly set out the young person wanted to do something catastrophic to either Assyrian or Jewish people and wanted to do it bad”.

As far back as January, police allege the 15-year-old spoke to an unknown person on TikTok to say he was “actually thinking about doing an attack … my friends all support it but I don’t think they would do it”, adding he would “maybe (do it) by myself” and “I wanna do an attack on France so bad … I hate them”.

On April 19, the 15-year-old allegedly wrote to a Signal group called “Plans” to say “I really want to target the yahood (Jewish people)”, “we will plan it” and “when do youse want to do the bayah” – which police say is an ­Islamic term for a pledge of allegiance to a leader.

(continued)

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80104e No.20808128

File: 837cc797ce519e6⋯.jpg (286.88 KB,2030x1142,1015:571,The_father_of_a_15_year_ol….jpg)

File: aed05d6174fac4d⋯.jpg (238.12 KB,2044x1150,1022:575,Sydney_lawyer_Ahmed_Dib_wi….jpg)

>>20808123

2/2

On April 20, the 15-year-old messaged a co-accused on Snapchat, airing frustrations that they couldn’t partake in violence that never came following the Wakeley stabbing. “They’ve made peace with the Assyrians,” the older teen allegedly said.

In response, the 15-year-old said: “Wanna do it to a bunch of Jews?” He also said: “Don’t youse want to do any attack? … The bloke is literally offering us money … What about Jews, brother? … What about Palestine?” and “We can attack Jews here … I wanted to do it so bad”.

He also told a co-accused on Snapchat, “I really want to do a attack now too because I have so much hatred for these kuffar [unbelievers] it’s not funny … and I wanna do jihad now.”

On Wednesday, the court heard his mother confiscated his phone because he was “getting heightened by the stabbing of the bishop”; she also spoke to him about his “inappropriate” language around the alleged incident.

Commonwealth prosecutor Rebekah Rodger argued that despite his parents’ best efforts to talk to him and “de-escalate” the situation after the stabbing of the bishop, the 15-year-old “persisted” and his behaviour “escalated”.

Magistrate Viney summarised it as his mother not being able to “control him”.

She said if he were released now, knowing he had “nothing left to lose”, it might make him more of a risk to the community.

His solicitor, Ahmed Dib, said the boy was “venting very wrong, very unethical, deranged (thoughts)’’, using words like “want to” and “thinking about” an attack, rather than taking “proactive steps in terms of planning”.

“(It) would not be outside the realm of possibility that a 15-year-old would be trying to brag and be macho about something that he has nothing to do with”, in terms of trying to fit in with the other kids,’’ he added.

Mr Dib also argued there were “significant flaws in the facts sheet”, something Magistrate Viney agreed with.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/youngest-terroraccused-teen-wanted-to-do-something-catastrophic-to-either-assyrian-or-jewish-people/news-story/aa95097744c6c62ee1b0f707c5aa6f3a

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80104e No.20808144

File: 3609353d9962b49⋯.jpg (510.66 KB,3800x2280,5:3,Carr_shared_his_criticisms….jpg)

>>20736643

>>20741593

>>20803334

Bob Carr accuses Winston Peters of defamation after NZ deputy PM calls him a ‘Chinese puppet’

Eva Corlett - 2 May 2024

Australia’s former foreign minister and New South Wales premier, Bob Carr, says he intends to sue New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, for allegations made about Carr’s closeness to China as debate about Aukus ramps up.

Peters called Carr “nothing more than a Chinese puppet” on the national broadcaster RNZ on Thursday morning.

New Zealand is considering whether it should involve itself in pillar two of the military pact between Australia, the UK and the US, which involves developing and sharing advanced technologies. New Zealand has not been offered the chance to join pillar one – nor would it accept, due to its anti-nuclear position.

Debate has been mounting as to whether it should join the pact, which China – the country’s largest trading partner – views as hostile.

Carr shared his criticisms of the pact on a visit to Wellington in April, calling it “bullshit” and saying he admired New Zealand foreign policy as it wasn’t as “gullible to the Americans” as Australia’s.

In a speech to parliament on Wednesday evening, Peters, who is also the foreign affairs minister, said New Zealand was still “a long way” from joining pillar two, in part because it had not yet been invited to do so.

Peters followed up with a round of interviews on Thursday morning in which he was asked about Carr’s criticism, then launched an extraordinary broadside.

“What on earth does he think he’s doing walking into our country and telling us what to do?” Peters told RNZ. “We would no more do that in Australia than he should do here. That’s the kind of arrogance we don’t like.”

Peters called Carr “nothing more than a Chinese puppet” before suggesting even further alignment in comments RNZ later removed from its clip of the interview.

In statement to the Post, Carr said these comments were “entirely defamatory” and he would be taking legal action.

In a statement to the Guardian, Peters’ office said the minister would respond to queries about Carr’s threats of legal action “if [Peters] receives formal notification of any such action”.

The former New Zealand primeminister Helen Clark, who spoke alongside Carr at the Labour-aligned, anti-Aukus conference in April, told RNZ Peters had “seriously defamed” Carr.

The Labour leader, Chris Hipkins, has called on the prime minister, Christopher Luxon, to stand Peters down. “The allegations that he made against Bob Carr, a senior and well-respected politician, are totally unacceptable,” Hipkins told media.

“The fact you have Bob Carr taking defamation action is embarrassing for New Zealand, it shows Winston Peters has abused his office. He should stand Winston Peters down immediately.”

Responding to Hipkins’ comments, Luxon said Carr – an experienced politician – should understand the “rough and tumble of politics”. Peters was doing an “exceptionally good job” as foreign minister, he said, and the comments posed no diplomatic risk.

Carr led the Australia China Relations Institute at the University of Technology in Sydney from 2014 to 2019 after his departure from politics.

Speaking to Australian Associated Press in Wellington in April, Carr said he was not blind to China’s misdeeds. “Australia is entitled to challenge China, to press back against China’s influence-building in the South Pacific,” he said.

“I’ve criticised China for militarising artificial structures in the South China Sea. I believe the extinction of legal autonomy for Hong Kong was wrong.

“I’ve always said Australia and other partners of China are entitled to press human rights and make specific reference to Tibet and Xinjiang province and the Uyghurs.

“No one’s ever advocating that we not talk about deterrence, where it’s required to maintain an honourable balance of power in Asia.

“But I’ve made very clear my reservations about Aukus. A$368bn is the biggest transfer of wealth outside of Australia that has ever happened in our history.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/may/02/bob-carr-suing-winston-peters-defamation-nz-deputy-pm-chinese-puppet-remark

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80104e No.20808182

File: d17a9119221b5a3⋯.jpg (207.26 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_and_David….jpg)

File: 221f4e22ad10099⋯.jpg (280.85 KB,1080x1439,1080:1439,Brittany_Higgins_and_partn….jpg)

File: be5530a65f16335⋯.jpg (577.7 KB,2048x1152,16:9,La_Forge_the_house_in_Luna….jpg)

>>20676399

>>20798809

Sharaz could be bankrupt if he loses: Reynolds’ lawyer

STEPHEN RICE - MAY 2, 2024

Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz could “go bankrupt” if he loses the defamation claim lodged against him by former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds, following his declaration he was abandoning his defence of the case.

In the midst of a directions hearing in the West Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday, Mr Sharaz posted a statement on social media saying he could not afford to pay the costs of a six-week trial fighting Senator Reynolds’ legal action.

Senator Reynolds has made it clear through her lawyer, Martin Bennett, that she has no intention of abandoning her case against Mr Sharaz or Ms Higgins without an apology over their allegations she was involved in a cover-up of Ms Higgins’ rape by Bruce Lehrmann. Senator Reynolds says the cover-up allegations – found by Justice Michael Lee to be false – destroyed her reputation.

Mr Sharaz tweeted his decision to abandon his defence – and an appeal for Senator Reynolds to “settle her litigation with Ms Higgins, a rape victim” – while the court hearing before Justice Paul Tottle was still in session.

Outside the court, Mr Bennett described the timing of the tweet as ironic given Mr Sharaz posted it while his defence to a defamation action over tweets was being heard.

“It seemed to be staged … You’ve seen the terms of the post – it’s another attack on Senator Reynolds,” Mr Bennett said.

He described it as insulting and an “attention-seeking stunt to manipulate the media”.

“That’s what Mr Sharaz does best,” he said, noting the legal action would go ahead regardless. “He defamed my client. You can jump off litigation but it’s a costly exercise.”

Mr Bennett ridiculed Mr Sharaz’s claim that he could not afford his defence, observing he now lived with Ms Higgins in a five-bedroom country house in the south of France. “He lives in a chateau. He hasn’t got a job and he’s got a QC and a junior solicitor, two solicitors representing him,” he said. “If he’s impecunious as he asserts in France, he’ll go bankrupt.”

It is understood Mr Sharaz’s lawyers have thus far been working on a pro-bono basis.

Earlier this year, Senator Rey­nolds took steps to freeze Ms Higgins’ assets after she and Mr Sharaz went to live in France, to ensure the $2.4m, or any part of it, was not beyond the reach of an adverse defamation judgment.

Mystery surrounds the purposes and holdings of a trust apparently set up by Ms Higgins, active from February 9 last year, called The Brittany Higgins Protective Trust.

In his judgment, Justice Lee slammed the cover-up allegation pushed by Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz as “objectively short on facts, but long on speculation and internal inconsistencies”.

“Trying to particularise it during the evidence was like trying to grab a column of smoke,” he wrote.

Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz over social media posts in 2022 and 2023, arguing the posts pushed false allegation that she was part of an attempt to cover-up the rape of Ms Higgins by Mr Lehrmann.

After Justice Lee’s finding that those allegations were false, Ms Higgins issued a public statement in which she acknowledged that “Senator Reynolds and (her then chief of staff) Fiona Brown have also been hurt and for that I am also sorry”.

Senator Reynolds said she appreciated the apology and hoped the findings would give Ms Higgins peace, but would continue her defamation case unless Ms Higgins accepted Justice Lee’s findings there was no political cover-up.

“If Ms Higgins does not accept Justice Lee’s findings on the claims of cover-up and mistreatment then, regrettably, it will have to be proved again in our trial set for July this year,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/sharaz-could-be-bankrupt-if-he-loses-reynolds-lawyer/news-story/31bb1a604ef7f2dacee8ffa856a7aa55

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80104e No.20808279

File: eece9058edf1d54⋯.jpg (117.56 KB,1280x720,16:9,New_data_released_by_the_A….jpg)

File: 82acd0fbbdc42d2⋯.jpg (113.35 KB,1011x859,1011:859,GENDER_SHIFT_Students_enro….jpg)

>>20561119

Non-binary pupils up as teachers told to forgo ‘boys and girls’

NATASHA BITA - MAY 2, 2024

1/2

The number of school students identifying as neither male nor female is now 20 times higher than before the pandemic, as new school rules warn teachers against calling students boys and girls, or referring to parents as mothers and fathers.

Data released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority reveals that at least 2560 students enrolled as non-binary last year – up from 128 in 2019.

Non-binary enrolments account for barely 0.05 per cent of the nation’s four million school students but create a legal and ethical minefield for principals and teachers as education ­departments and anti-discrim­ination bodies dictate increas­ingly complex regulations.

ACARA said not all schools provided non-binary enrolment data to the Australian Bureau of Statistics so “this number does not reflect the total number of Australian school students who identify as neither male nor ­female’’.

The sharp rise in non-binary identification among children comes as schools are forced to introduce gender-neutral uniforms, combine boys’ and girls’ toilet facilities, and use personal pronouns.

Teachers are discouraged from referring to children as boys or girls under new “inclusive language guidelines’’ published by the Tasmanian Department for Education, Children and Young People. “Wherever possible, use gender-neutral language and terms that recognise gender ­equity,’’ the guidelines state.

“Try ‘student’ or ‘child’ instead of ‘boy’ or ‘girl’. Try ‘parent’ instead of ‘mother’ or ‘father’.’’

Emails and letters must be ­gender-inclusive: “Try ‘Dear Parent’, ‘Dear Colleague’ or ‘Dear Student’,’’ the guidelines state. “Do not use ‘Dear Sir/Madam’.

“Do not use male terms to refer to everyone – eg ‘guys’.’’

The Tasmanian guidelines even discourage teachers from referring to students as ‘kids’’ as it “can come across as patronising’’.

And to avoid offending people with a disability, teachers must “avoid phrases such as tone deaf or blind spot’’.

The document states that gender identity “has nothing to do with sexual orientation’’.

“Gender identity is an inner sense of oneself as man, woman, masculine, feminine, neither, both, or moving around freely between or outside of the gender ­binary,’’ it states. “Misgendering is insulting and humiliating.

“If you hear others misgendering … politely correct them.’’

The Victorian Education Department allows children to change gender identity without parents’ permission. “There may be circumstances in which students wish or need to undertake gender transition without the consent of their parent/s or carer/s and/or without consulting medical practitioners,’’ its LGBTIQ student support policy states.

“If a student is considered a mature minor, they can make decisions … without parental consent and should be affirmed in their gender identity at school without a family representative/carer participating in formulating the school management plan.’’

The NSW Education Department requires teachers to monitor transgender children, including in the playground, toilets and change-room facilities, to ensure safety.

In a legal bulletin, the department advises principals they may need to report students to its Child Wellbeing Unit or to Child Safety.

“On rare occasions, a parent’s or carer’s response to a student identifying as being transgender could give rise to a reasonable suspicion that the student is at suspected risk of harm,’’ it states.

“This could relate to the parent’s stated response to their child identifying as transgender but other risk factors may be present.’’

(continued)

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80104e No.20808287

File: b810b54120b88c8⋯.jpg (156.02 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_bathroom_for_men_transge….jpg)

>>20808279

2/2

Transforming Families, a federally funded organisation run by the Telethon Kids Institute, has ­issued a guide for teachers that warns schools are “fraught with traumatic experiences’’ for ­gender-diverse students.

“Using the wrong pronouns, deadnaming, separating the class by gender, or forcing a non-binary child to use a gendered toilet can trigger distress, dysphoria and even self-harm,’’ it states.

“School records should be updated to reflect the student’s new name and pronoun if these have been changed.

“A student may choose to change their pronouns to align with their gender identity.

“Pronouns can change over time. Every attempt should be made to ensure the right pronoun is used to address the student.’’

Queensland Education recently changed its uniform policy to give girls the option of wearing shorts and trousers.

It has told principals that “students may refer to themselves by a name of their choosing’’.

The Queensland Human Rights Commission has issued a Trans@School guide warning that “trans and gender-diverse students are at significant risk of developing difficulties with mental health including anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts’’.

It says teachers and classmates “may wish to wear a pronoun badge in solidarity’’.

“Students have the right to alter their personal details, such as their gender and name, so that their correct name is reflected on school records for day-to-day use,’’ the official guide states.

“Parental disapproval should not prevent day-to-day use of a student’s correct name and ­pronoun.

“However, this situation will need careful management by school administration, especially if the student has not disclosed their gender identity to one or both parents.’’

South Australia’s Education Department is offering teachers training sessions “to support ­gender-diverse, intersex and sexually diverse children and young people’’.

It issued a new “mandated procedure’’ in February to let schools override parents’ views on a child’s gender. “When parents make it clear they do not support their child’s gender affirmation, the site leader must decide what is in the best interests of the child or young person,’’ it states. “The primary consideration is the safety and wellbeing of the child or young person within the learning setting.

“Sometimes a child or young person might not want their parents to know about their gender diversity.’’

The SA department requires principals to sensitively ask the child about their concerns.

They must then access all information about the child’s family situation, including child protection or safety concerns, and “decide whether there are serious and legitimate reasons, such as safety concerns, not to inform a child or young person’s parents’’.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/nonbinary-pupils-up-as-teachers-told-to-forgo-boys-and-girls/news-story/4f0cf1c0549a83080b44da464076753d

https://www.acara.edu.au/reporting/national-report-on-schooling-in-australia/student-numbers

https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/people/education/schools/2023

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80104e No.20813692

File: bfb0be2d25e0d49⋯.jpg (154.16 KB,1280x720,16:9,Canadian_activist_Billboar….jpg)

File: 7f1d0491039c208⋯.jpg (143.41 KB,1279x719,1279:719,Transgender_activist_Teddy….jpg)

File: 0353abe4a9b8d99⋯.jpg (237.58 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_s_eSafety_Commis….jpg)

File: 65c96a56f592054⋯.jpg (442.23 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Canadian_activist_Billboar….jpg)

>>20671085

>>20731990

>>20705542

eSafety Commissioner’s war on ‘misgendering’ tweet

RACHEL BAXENDALE - MAY 2, 2024

1/2

Weeks before Julie Inman Grant took action against X (previously Twitter) over footage of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in western Sydney, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner curiously issued the social media giant with a take-down order over a tweet “misgendering” an Australian transgender activist.

As the author of the tweet, Canadian activist Chris Elston — better known as “Billboard Chris” sees it, it was “not my nicest tweet ever, but technically accurate,” and in the context of all the vile content available on the internet, rather benign.

Currently visiting Australia to campaign against what he views as the “irreversible harming” of gender dysphoric children through the use of puberty blockers, hormones and surgery, Mr Elston told The Australian he found the eSafety Commissioner’s action against X regarding both his tweet and footage of the stabbing as “absurd” and “politically motivated”.

The social media giant — owned by billionaire Elon Musk — is pursuing action against the eSafety Commissioner in the Federal Court, while Mr Elston, represented by the Free Speech Union of Australia, is appealing Ms Inman Grant’s decision via the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Mr Elston’s tweet, which is geo-blocked in Australia but remains visible to the rest of the world, related to Sydney-based World Health Organisation transgender health adviser and community health director at LGBTIQ+ organisation ACON, Teddy Cook.

Cook, who has not responded to a request for comment, was born with two X chromosomes, but has undergone surgery and hormone treatment and identifies as male.

Mr Elston’s tweet linked to a February Daily Mail article which made reference to Cook’s use of private social media accounts to post material relating to bestiality, public nudity, bondage parties and transgender orgies, as well as the transgender activist’s contribution to a 2022 paper in the International Journal of Transgender health, which found transgender people were more likely to enjoy sex while “using illicit drugs.”

“This woman (yes, she’s female), is part of a panel of 20 ‘experts’ hired by the @WHO to draft their policy on caring for ‘trans people.’ People who belong in psychiatric wards are writing the guidelines for people who belong in psychiatric wards,“ Mr Elston’s tweet read.

“(It was) not my nicest tweet ever, but technically accurate, and I don’t mean that to say all trans-identified people belong in psychiatric wards, especially kids,” Mr Elston said.

“These kids are lost and confused and they’re being lied to, but there are clearly psychiatric issues, and as per all the scientific evidence, the children who end up in these gender clinics are struggling with various mental health comorbidities.”

Mr Elston said guidelines for gender dysphoric children should not be written by activists like Cook, but by people like the British physician Dr Hilary Cass, whose recent landmark review of that country’s policy found a “lack of high-quality evidence” for the use of puberty blockers and hormones in treating minors.

In late March, weeks after tweeting about Cook, the Vancouver-based former financial adviser, who has more than 400,000 followers on X, received a message from the social media giant, notifying him of a “removal notice” from the Australian eSafety Commissioner, requiring X to “remove cyber-abuse material targeted at an Australian adult”.

A delegate for the eSafety Commission indicated a complaint had been received from Cook, which the commission was upholding on the basis that the tweet “is likely to cause serious harm to the complainant … because the material misgenders the complainant” in a “deliberate” manner “likely intended to invalidate and mock the complainant’s gender identity”.

The commission also indicated that it viewed the tweet as “equating transgender identity with a psychiatric condition”, and ordered X to take it down, or face a fine of up to $782,500.

(continued)

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80104e No.20813709

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20813692

2/2

Mr Elston said his first reaction to the notice was to find it “hilarious”, before becoming concerned about what he believes are political motivations behind it.

Cook has previously featured alongside Ms Inman Grant in eSafety commission press releases, having been consulted by the government body in 2022 regarding resources it produced “to help the LGBTIQ+ community safely navigate the online world.”

Mr Elston said he regarded the relationship between the two as “certainly” representing a conflict of interest.

It is also not the first time the eSafety commission has taken action over tweets relating to similar issues, ordering in 2023 that X take down a tweet from Sydney mother and breastfeeding advocate Jasmine Sussex, which expressed the view that using hormones to induce breastfeeding in biological men is an “unethical medical experiment”.

“There was no profanity or anything like that in her tweet or mine. I think it’s absurd (to order they be taken down),” Mr Elston said.

“How do you have some unelected bureaucrat determining, unilaterally, what is acceptable speech or not? The line that we cross should be incitement to violence. Criticism, especially of a public official, should not be reason to take something down, and when you read the eSafety legislation itself, hurt feelings are not cause for taking down tweets.”

The office of the eSafety Commission is not commenting on its orders against X while the matter is before the courts.

Mr Elston, who began campaigning in response to the backlash against British author JK Rowling for her views on transgender issues in 2020, and funds his travel via donations, said he had already booked his trip to Melbourne and Sydney “before all this drama,” but that the release of the Cass review highlighted the global implications of the issue.

“To say that the Cass review doesn’t affect or doesn’t have an impact or isn’t relatable to what’s going on here in Australia is totally ridiculous. Are children’s endocrine systems different in Australia?” he said.

“Is their psychology somehow different in Australia? Of course not.

“The positive message we should always be sending is that children are beautiful just as they are. They don’t need drugs and hormones to be their true selves. We should leave them alone and let them grow up … we shouldn’t be teaching them that there’s such a thing as being born wrong, because that’s also an ideology, and it’s very damaging psychologically.”

While in Melbourne, Elston has used a billboard stating “children cannot consent to puberty blockers” to spark conversations with passers by at Federation Square and the University of Melbourne, filming the interactions and posting them on social media.

He has also met with Libertarian Party MP David Limbrick and expelled Liberal MP Moira Deeming, denouncing Ms Deeming’s expulsion from the Liberal Party over her attendance at a “Let Women Speak” rally which was gatecrashed by neo-Nazis as “completely outrageous”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/esafety-commissioners-war-on-misgendering-tweet/news-story/92a74e73508e0443471a945811c2111f

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldr7rVnn5cs

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80104e No.20813748

File: 445a623aaff7319⋯.jpg (256.04 KB,1858x1045,1858:1045,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

File: 5c55f2b69764805⋯.jpg (204.62 KB,1858x1045,1858:1045,Mr_Austin_with_Mr_Marles_a….jpg)

File: a7fea13ad6f8851⋯.jpg (200.16 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Mr_Marles_meets_US_Lieuten….jpg)

File: 7c99318c87cd1db⋯.jpg (726.66 KB,3000x2000,3:2,Chinese_Coast_Guard_vessel….jpg)

>>20676429

Allies unite as Beijing pushes the boundaries in South China Sea

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 3, 2024

Australia will ramp up participation in joint naval exercises with the US, Japan and The Philippines under a co-ordinated security plan to deter increasingly aggressive Chinese incursions into Filipino waters.

Defence Minister Richard Marles travelled to Hawaii to flesh out the strategy with counterparts on Friday. He said afterwards that Australia was “utterly committed to asserting freedom of navigation”.

“We’ve spoken about an ­increased tempo of defence exercises based on the reciprocal ­access agreements … that we have between our countries or which are being negotiated,” he said.

The commitment will place Australian sailors on the frontline of maritime tensions in the South China Sea amid repeated clashes between Chinese and Filipino vessels. On Tuesday, China’s Coast Guard damaged two Filipino vessels en route to the Scarborough Shoal, prompting the 20th diplomatic protest by Manila against such conduct this year.

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin blasted China over the ­“irresponsible behaviour” of its ships, saying the action breached international law.

He said the US would work with its partners to make the ­region safer, with more joint exercises and support for The Philippines to strengthen its military capabilities. “We’re clear-eyed about the challenges that exist throughout the region and so we’ll need to continue to work together to increase interoperability, to make sure that we share information, share intelligence and … promote security and stability,” Mr Austin said.

He said the US’s commitment to The Philippines was “ironclad”, but would not speculate on whether the nations’ bilateral ­defence treaty would be triggered by a further escalation in Chinese aggression.

Philippines Defence Secretary Gilberto Teodoro said the nations were committed to preventing any situation that required the treaty to be invoked.

“We need to assert our rights but in a manner that safeguards the safety of each and every member of the Philippines’ armed force,” he added.

Japan’s Defence Minister Kihara Minoru said the partners needed to urgently strengthen their co-operation to safeguard regional peace.

“While the security environment surrounding us is facing even harsher challenges, it is ­extremely vital for us allies and likeminded countries to co-operate and collaborate with each other,” he said.

The meeting at US Indo-­Pacific Command headquarters was just the second of its kind for the four nations. It followed a joint maritime exercise last month in the Philippines’ exclusive economic zone involving ships from each country.

Mr Marles also participated in trilateral talks with Mr Austin and Mr Minoru, agreeing to a new ­defence science and technology testing and evaluation arrangement, that is likely to involve greater use by the US and Japan of Australia’s vast weapons ranges.

The Royal Australian Navy’s Anzac-class frigate HMAS Warramunga joined last month’s ­exercise in the Philippine Sea to assert maritime freedoms under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The increased pace of joint ­exercises will place pressure on the navy’s shrinking fleet, amid the retirement of an Anzac-class frigate this year and another in 2026. The vessels aren’t due to be replaced until the end of the decade at the earliest.

China seized the Scarborough Shoal from The Philippines in 2012, prompting Manila to seek an internat­ional ruling on the validity of Beijing claims to almost all of the South China Sea.

The UN-backed 2016 ruling found no legal basis to China’s claims, but Beijing has ­refused to back down and has since accelerated its militarisation of disputed islands and shoals.

Anthony Albanese visited Manila last September, signing a new strategic partnership with counterpart Ferdinand Marcos and backing the country’s pushback against Beijing in the contested waterway.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/allies-unite-as-beijing-pushes-the-boundaries-in-south-china-sea/news-story/aa00bd8bfcc2223216938b1169dd64d8

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80104e No.20813816

File: 52f37fa9c5ecb41⋯.jpg (122.62 KB,1280x720,16:9,Bob_Carr_is_suing_Winston_….jpg)

File: c3034ca2dbd91ab⋯.jpg (192.71 KB,825x460,165:92,WP_1.jpg)

File: d1ba0b1457fa578⋯.jpg (452.09 KB,825x1218,275:406,WP_2.jpg)

File: e01f0ad318341ab⋯.jpg (586.62 KB,825x961,825:961,BC_8.jpg)

>>20736643

>>20741593

>>20808144

Bob Carr sues NZ Deputy PM Winston Peters over ‘Chinese puppet’ insult

ANNE BARROWCLOUGH - MAY 3, 2024

New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has appeared to dig in over comments about Bob Carr, for which the former Labor foreign minister is suing him.

Mr Carr’s lawyers have written to Mr Peters, who is also NZ Foreign Minister, confirming their intention to sue for defamation after Mr Peters called Mr Carr a “Chinese puppet,” on NZ radio

But on Friday morning, just half an hour before he was due to address the NZ China Council, Mr Peters went back on the attack, lashing out at an “irrelevant, ill-informed shill from some other country.”

Without naming his target, Mr Peters wrote on X: “We should never be accepting of any irrelevant ill-informed shill from some other country to walk into New Zealand and try to tell us what to do.

“Here in New Zealand we respect something called a ‘country’s independent nationhood’. That principle seems lost on these people who just use it as a punchline”

He dug in further in a press conference, telling reporters: “I’ve got a right to say what I said,” adding: “This isn’t my first (legal) rodeo.”

“I’ve been on the stage internationally for a long time and I’ll never tell another country what they should be doing. I don’t interfere - it’s called nationhood,” he said.

“This is a serious matter and we’re not going to slide by it. You might be cowed by threats of legal action [but] I’m not.”

The row between Mr Peters and Mr Carr began with a fiery Peters interview on Radio NZ, in the wake of a foreign policy speech he delivered in Wellington on Wednesday night where he laid out New Zealand’s position on AUKUS.

Although having previously spoken positively - including to The Australian - about joining Pillar Two of the defence pact, which deals with technology, in his speech Mr Peters appeared to row back from aligning NZ with the deal, which is unpopular with the country.

His attack on Mr Carr came in the wake of the former foreign minister’s own remarks about AUKUS, which he described as “Fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit,” adding that Pillar 2 was a smokescreen for introducing nuclear submarines.

“Why do I call it bullshit? Because it’s been cobbled together to make it look like there’s more to AUKUS than subs – there isn’t,” he told a Labour defence conference in Wellington.

In response, Mr Peters accused Mr Carr of being “nothing more than a Chinese puppet.”

“What on earth does he think he’s doing walking into our country and telling us what to do?” Mr Peters asked. “We would no more do that in Australia than he should do here. That’s the kind of arrogance we don’t like.”

Mr Peters made other comments about Mr Carr, which have been removed from Radio NZ’s website over their litigious content.

In a legal letter published by NZ’s TV1, Mr Carr’s lawyers describe Mr Peters’ comments as “indefensibly defamatory,” saying they have “no basis in fact”.

In the letter, Mr Carr’s lawyers say: “In the circumstances, we place you on notice that we are now in the process of instructing New Zealand lawyers to advise in relation to the immediate commencement in New Zealand of defamation proceedings against you.

“We also place you on notice that any further publication of the same or similar defamatory statements about our client will be relied upon in support of a claim for aggravated damages in the foreshadowed proceedings.”

The letter to Mr Peters adds: “Our client has never had any business relationship with any Chinese entity, nor has he ever served on the board of any Chinese company, nor has he ever been in receipt of any income from any Chinese company.”

NZ’s Labour party has demanded Mr Peters resign over the remarks, with Labour leader Chris Hipkins accusing him of embarrassing the country.

“These sorts of allegations by a foreign affairs minister are unacceptable,” Mr Hipkins said.

“They cannot be left unchallenged. Winston Peters cannot execute his duties as foreign affairs minister while he has this hanging over him.”

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has distanced himself from Mr Peter’s remarks but stopped short of rebuking his deputy.

“Look, they’re not comments I would make,” he told reporters.

“I’m sure Bob Carr, as a seasoned politician, understands the rough and tumble of politics.”

Mr Peters has been approached for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/bob-carr-sues-nz-deputy-pm-winston-peters-over-chinese-puppet-insult/news-story/bec6eedfe2e33786ee2761271dd3a132

https://twitter.com/winstonpeters/status/1786140398706122813

https://twitter.com/winstonpeters/status/1786192233383030922

https://twitter.com/bobjcarr/status/1786004103220629871

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80104e No.20817961

File: 2fe878591988d54⋯.jpg (138.25 KB,1200x675,16:9,A_group_of_Australian_lawm….jpg)

File: 4fd7ea4de676c15⋯.jpg (438.68 KB,750x1367,750:1367,AW_2.jpg)

File: 6e1be782e562659⋯.jpg (217.86 KB,1249x1754,1249:1754,GMncL8aaIAA1Kxb.jpg)

>>20565278

>>20736646

>>20736652

Australian lawmakers send letter urging Biden to drop case against Julian Assange on World Press Freedom Day

Press freedom groups called for the release of Julian Assange and other journalists around the world fighting legal cases

Landon Mion - May 4, 2024

1/2

A group of Australian lawmakers wrote to President Biden on World Press Freedom Day urging him to drop the charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as press freedom groups call for the release of Assange and other journalists around the world facing legal cases.

In a Friday letter, the co-chairs of the "Bring Julian Assange Home" Parliamentary Friendship Group – Members of Parliament Andrew Wilkie, Independent; Josh Wilson, Labor Party; Bridget Archer, Liberal Party, and Sen. David Shoebridge, Greens – called on Biden to end the prosecution of Assange, who is in a U.K. prison fighting extradition to the U.S. to face espionage charges for publishing classified American military documents 14 years ago.

A hearing will be held May 20 in front of the British High Court in London to determine if Assange, an Australian publisher, can be extradited to the U.S. to stand trial or if he can make a full appeal challenging his extradition. If the court rules in favor of extradition, Assange's only remaining option would be at the European Court of Human Rights.

"On World Press Freedom Day, we write as a group of Australian Parliamentarians from across the political spectrum seeking the freedom of Julian Assange," the lawmakers wrote. "We write in the hope that Mr. Assange, who has endured maximum security imprisonment in the United Kingdom's Belmarsh Prison for more than five years without conviction on any substantial charge, can go free, can go home, can be reunited with his wife, children, and family."

Assange, 52, faces 17 counts under the Espionage Act for allegedly receiving, possessing and communicating classified information to the public, as well as one charge alleging conspiracy to commit computer intrusion. If extradited, Assange would stand trial in Alexandria, Virginia, and could face up to 175 years in a maximum security prison if convicted.

The charges were brought by the Trump administration's DOJ over WikiLeaks' 2010 publication of cables leaked by U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, and the Biden administration has continued that prosecution. The information detailed alleged war crimes committed by the U.S. government in Iraq, Afghanistan and the detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, as well as instances of the CIA engaging in torture and rendition.

The letter comes after Biden said last month he is considering a request from Australia to drop the charges against Assange.

"We were heartened by President Biden's recent acknowledgment that the United States is considering Australia's request to end the prosecution of Julian Assange," the letter reads. "We respectfully urge the United States to discontinue the long, expensive, and punishing extradition process that prevents Mr Assange from returning to his family in Australia."

The White House did not respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

A U.K. district court judge had rejected the U.S. extradition request in 2021 on the grounds that Assange was likely to kill himself if held under harsh U.S. prison conditions. Higher courts overturned that decision after getting assurances from the U.S. about his treatment.

Assange's lawyers have continued to fight against his extradition, currently seeking the opportunity for a full appeal following the May 20 hearing, which comes after the U.S. provided assurances to the U.K. last month that Assange would not face new charges that could lead to the death penalty. They also said he would be allowed to make a First Amendment argument in a U.S. courtroom – things Assange's lawyers and family described as empty promises.

In March, when the British court asked the U.S. to provide assurances, it rejected most of Assange’s appeals – six of nine he lodged, including allegations of a political prosecution and concerns about an alleged CIA plot under the Trump administration to kidnap or kill Assange while he remained hunkered down in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party has said "there is nothing to be served by his ongoing incarceration" and the Leader of the Opposition, Peter Dutton of the Liberal Party, has said he believes this case has "gone on for too long."

In February, the House of Representatives in the Australian Parliament passed a motion demanding Assange be freed, stressing "the importance of the U.K. and the U.S.A. bringing the matter to a close so that Mr. Assange can return home to his family in Australia."

(continued)

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80104e No.20817968

File: 1663898f7380b34⋯.jpg (141.41 KB,1200x675,16:9,Stella_Assange_wife_of_Jul….jpg)

File: 02b24d646e9abe7⋯.jpg (239.07 KB,1200x675,16:9,Julian_Assange_faces_17_co….jpg)

>>20817961

2/2

A cross-party delegation of Australian lawmakers visited Washington, D.C., in September and met with U.S. officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups in an attempt to secure Assange's freedom.

"While we believe the prosecution of Julian Assange is wrong as a matter of principle, we say in any case that there is no justice, compassion, or reasonable purpose in the further persecution of Mr. Assange when one considers the duration and harsh conditions of the detention he has already suffered," the letter concludes.

The Obama administration in 2013 decided not to indict Assange over WikiLeaks' 2010 publication of classified cables because it would have had to also indict journalists from major news outlets who published the same materials.

President Obama also commuted Manning’s 35-year sentence for violations of the Espionage Act and other offenses to seven years in January 2017, and Manning, who had been imprisoned since 2010, was released later that year.

"President Biden has repeatedly said that journalism is not a crime, all the while his administration continues to prosecute WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange under the Espionage Act for acts that journalists engage in every day," Caitlin Vogus, Deputy Director of Advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation, told Fox News Digital. "To truly celebrate World Press Freedom Day, the Biden administration should immediately drop the Espionage Act charges against Assange."

She continued: "If the DOJ tried to prosecute reporters at the New York Times or Wall Street Journal under the Espionage Act for speaking to sources, obtaining classified information, and publishing that information, we would rightfully see it as a severe threat to the First Amendment. The Espionage Act prosecution of Assange threatens press freedom by opening the door to precisely those kinds of prosecutions of journalists by the current or future administrations."

Reporters Without Borders Executive Director Clayton Weimers told Fox News Digital that the prosecution of Assange "could set a very dangerous precedent for American press freedom."

"This would be the first time the Espionage Act, an archaic law badly in need of reform, would be used to punish the publisher of factual information, not just the leaker," he said. "In this case, the leaker, Chelsea Manning, has already served her sentence. But if the Justice Department is successful in prosecuting Assange, they're opening the door to prosecuting any journalist or media outlet – including Fox News – to prosecution for publishing government secrets, even if that publication is in the public interest."

On World Press Freedom Day, many other journalists around the world are facing legal cases for their journalistic work, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is being held in Russia on espionage charges for allegedly stealing secret military documents.

"We continue to call for the Kremlin to release Evan Gershkovich, and indeed for the release of all wrongly jailed journalists around the world," Weimers said. "We also call on the State Department to designate journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, a US citizen, as 'wrongfully detained.'"

When governments arrest or imprison journalists for covering the news, Vogus said, it "threatens everyone's freedom and ability to be informed."

"Arresting journalists for covering the news is an authoritarian bullying tactic whether it's happening in Russia or Austin, Texas," she said. "Compelling reporters to reveal their confidential sources will make whistleblowers less likely to come forward. Sources often risk their livelihoods and even their freedom to tell journalists what they know about corruption, crimes, and wrongdoing."

Reporters Without Borders downgraded the U.S. to 55 among nations in the 2024 World Press Freedom Index.

"The U.S. should be a beacon for press freedom around the world. Instead, we have recently seen journalists in the U.S. arrested and prosecuted simply for doing their jobs across the country, and witnessed growing distrust fueled by the irresponsible rhetoric of some political officials," National Press Club president Emily Wilkins and National Press Club Journalism Institute president Gil Klein said in a statement. "The falling ranking of the U.S. in the World Press Freedom Index shows that we are headed in the wrong direction."

The Freedom of the Press Foundation, Reporters Without Borders, National Press Club and many other press freedom groups are urging Congress to pass the bipartisan PRESS Act, which would prevent the federal government from compelling journalists to reveal their sources and confidential work.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/australian-lawmakers-letter-urging-biden-drop-case-julian-assange-world-press-freedom-day

https://twitter.com/WilkieMP/status/1786200957812130120

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80104e No.20818041

File: 674767a8923dc00⋯.jpg (1.86 MB,4096x2731,4096:2731,GMnz3onbgAA_Ukh.jpg)

File: bb210c230d36129⋯.jpg (1.05 MB,4096x2736,256:171,GMnz0KCaoAAoe6K.jpg)

>>20550335

>>20789187

Anthony Albanese in private: ‘Blames Trotskyists for university protests, will speak strongly’

NOAH YIM and JOE KELLY - MAY 4, 2024

1/2

Leading rabbis say Anthony Albanese used a private meeting to dismiss pro-Palestine protesters encamped at universities as “Trots” who were ignorant of Middle East history, with leading Jewish MP Julian Leeser calling for a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on campuses.

Multiple rabbis who attended the hour-plus meeting at Central Synagogue in Bondi Junction confirmed the Prime Minister had described the protesters as “Trots” – short for Trotskyists – and had committed to “unequivocally fight anti-Semitism”.

One source at the meeting, convened by rabbinical councils and Jewish leaders, claimed Mr Albanese said a lot of university protesters were “just Trots who are just looking to instigate and make trouble”. Rabbinical Council of Australasia president Rabbi Nochum Schapiro confirmed Mr Albanese’s “Trots” comment.

“That’s what he said. “He didn’t have to say more – we understood what he meant,” he told The Weekend Australian.

The Central Synagogue’s Rabbi Levi Wolff also confirmed the remark. “That’s what he labelled them,” he said. “It was very dismissive of them. He even said, ‘what do these people think? That the Jewish people came to Israel only in 1948? Do they not know the history?’.

“He was very concerned. He’s also obviously very disappointed in how things are unfolding. He’s being hounded himself wherever he goes by people who are absolutely crazy, and they’re making his life miserable.”

Rabbi Wolff said the Prime Minister took a lot of notes and “said he’d like to come out a lot stronger than perhaps in the past”.

A spokeswoman for the Prime Minister said: “We don’t comment on discussions that happen in private meetings. The Prime Minister was pleased to meet with and listen to the rabbinical councils from across the country today … and speak about the government’s commitment to the safety of Jewish Australians.

“Anti-Semitism has no place in Australia, nor does racism or the targeting of any group.”

Later on Friday evening, Mr Leeser used an address at the Central Synagogue to call for a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on Australian campuses, saying universities had “lost their way” and risked losing funding and falling down international rankings.

Mr Leeser, who describes himself as a “proud public Jew”, accused vice-chancellors of a “failure of leadership” and caring more about “adorning their own necks with AOs and ACs than ensuring the students in their care can get their own start in life”.

“For me, ground zero in Australia is our campuses,” he said.

Amid escalating tensions across key Australian universities where pro-Palestinian supporters have established encampments to protest the Gaza war, Mr Leeser said the nation was witnessing “a failure in propagating our Australian values” and “a failure in enforcing the law”.

“The idea that young Jewish Australians do not feel safe getting an education is anathema to me,” he said. “Our universities are failing the principle test of character.”

Mr Leeser said it was time for Education Minister Jason Clare to “step up”, and accused the government of being “hamstrung by Labor’s Corbynite left and its fear of the Greens an teals”.

Encampments have been established at major universities including Sydney, Melbourne, Queensland and the ANU, inspired by the pro-Palestinian movement sweeping US college campuses, where classes have been cancelled and police have reportedly made more than 2000 arrests.

Australian protesters have issued demands for universities to cut ties with weapons manufacturers and Israeli research bodies, but vice-chancellors have said there is not yet any replication of the violence being seen in the US.

This is despite calls by Australian protesters – some of which have been led by young children – for an intifada, as well as public statements of support for Hamas, which slaughtered 1200 Israelis on October 7, and demands that Israel be wiped off the map.

(continued)

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80104e No.20818052

File: 6c459a2d2b46732⋯.jpg (1.62 MB,4096x2731,4096:2731,GMnz3orbIAAHoPp.jpg)

File: d83bb2675756885⋯.jpg (2.43 MB,4096x2731,4096:2731,GMn0Ckpa0AAAjhb.jpg)

>>20818041

2/2

University of Sydney vice-chancellor and Group of Eight chair Mark Scott told ABC radio on Friday the pro-Palestine encampment at Sydney comprised about 60 people, less than 0.1 per cent of the student population. “We’ve cancelled no classes,” he said. “Overwhelmingly, though, the encampment has been peaceful and, I think, respectful.”

While Professor Scott understood Jewish students and staff would prefer the encampment was not there, he rejected arguments the university was “an unsafe space” and confirmed it was carefully monitoring complaints of anti-Semitism. He said the university was trying to ensure the protests did not escalate. “If you look at what has happened in the United States, universities have taken action and the day after that, it’s more violent.”

Rabbi Schapiro said Mr Albanese seemed “very much against” the anti-Semitism on university campuses.

“The lack of ability to have a conversation about issues – he himself said he feels it himself: outside his electorate office, there are demonstrators constantly,” Rabbi Schapiro said. “He said it’s unacceptable for Jewish people to feel that there are places they can’t go – that they feel uncomfortable going.”

A statement released by the rabbinical councils after the meeting said Mr Albanese “expressed his deep regret for the breakdown in civil discourse”.

“The Prime Minister also reiterated his support for the Jewish people’s historic connection to the land of Israel and Israel’s right to exist in peace and security, and its right to defend itself,” the statement said.

Mr Albanese has also visited mosques in his capacity as Prime Minister, including as recently as April 26, when he was invited to speak at the Baitul Huda Mosque at Marsden Park for the funeral of Bondi Junction stabbing victim Faraz Tahir.

Mr Leeser said universities had a long tradition of protests where young people challenged authority, but argued these protests were different. “They aren’t protests against authority. They are protests against the presence of other students and staff.

“The conflict in Gaza is the thin veneer or the excuse to protest the presence of Jewish students and staff. In coming months, these protests will take full flight during university open days, because these protests are not about Gaza, they are about making young Jewish Australians feel unwelcome on Australian campuses.

“It is pure anti-Semitism.”

Mr Leeser said he would move a private member’s bill this month to “establish an independent judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on Australia’s campuses”. He wanted an inquiry conducted by a judicial leader who was “widely respected” to “give Jewish students and staff the confidence to come forward”.

The indicative terms of reference Mr Leeser proposed would allow the inquiry to report on the incidence of anti-Semitic activity at universities, including violence, intimidation and support for listed terrorist organisations.

Mr Clare said on Friday there was “no place for anti-Semitism, Islamophobia or racism of any kind in our universities or anywhere else”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/jewish-leaders-anthony-albanese-dismissed-palestine-protesters-as-trotskyite-troublemakers/news-story/3dd3f04f5e3aca749e0d1417cff0a1e6

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1786227122757046764

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1786227126750134769

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1786227130424246465

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80104e No.20818106

File: 799786ad2885c0b⋯.jpg (605.77 KB,2560x1707,2560:1707,Anti_trans_activist_Chris_….jpg)

File: 206bb036220f972⋯.jpg (509.68 KB,750x1660,75:166,BC_3.jpg)

File: d789000a2bfe8c5⋯.jpg (212.22 KB,1278x1838,639:919,GMiPEnDWgAAuFd_.jpg)

>>20671085

>>20813692

‘Billboard Chris’ and X to Appeal Order to Remove Post Criticising Trans Activist

Australia’s internet regulator ordered X to remove a post critical of the WHO appointing a trans-activist to an expert panel.

Rex Widerstrom - 5/3/2024

A new front has opened in the ongoing battle between Elon Musk’s X Corp. and Australia’s internet regulator, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant.

The Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is to rule on whether eSafety was justified in ordering X to block a post by Canadian activist Chris Elston, who goes by the pseudonym “Billboard Chris.”

The former financial advisor, from Vancouver, has more than 400,000 followers on the platform.

Mr. Elston’s X post showed a screenshot of a Daily Mail story published in late February, about Teddy Cook, an Australian female-to-male trans activist who was appointed to a World Health Organisation (WHO) expert panel to draft guidelines for the care of trans and non-binary people.

In his post, Mr. Elston misgendered Mr. Cook and made other allegedly “disparaging” remarks.

On March 22, Mr. Elston received a letter from an unnamed person in the office of the eSafety commissioner, demanding he remove the “deliberately degrading” post, characterising it as “cyber-abuse material targeted at an Australian adult.

“An ordinary reasonable person in the position of the complainant would regard the material as being offensive,” the letter said, which was posted by Mr. Elston on his account.

“This is because the material singles out the complainant to personify the poster’s contempt for transgender identity as well as equating transgender identity with a psychiatric condition.”

It’s not known whether Mr. Cook lodged the complaint himself.

The transgender activist was also drafted by the eSafety commissioner in 2022 to advise on the production of resources “to help the LGBTIQ+ community safely navigate the online world,” and featured alongside Ms. Inman Grant in press releases.

X Corp. was also served with an order demanding the post be removed within 24 hours, or face a fine of up to $782,500 (about US$515,000).

Mr Elston, who travels the world campaigning against “gender ideology,” refused to remove the post, but X complied and geo-blocked it for internet users with Australian IP addresses.

It is still visible to people in other parts of the world and to anyone in Australia using a VPN.

Further, the social media company is pursuing action against the commissioner in the Federal Court of Australia, while Mr. Elston—represented by the Free Speech Union of Australia—is appealing the decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal, which he revealed in another post.

Mr. Elston, currently in Australia as part of his campaign, admitted, “(It was) not my nicest tweet ever, but technically accurate.”

“How do you have some unelected bureaucrat determining, unilaterally, what is acceptable speech or not?” he asked. “The line that we cross should be incitement to violence. Criticism, especially of a public official, should not be reason to take something down, and when you read the eSafety legislation itself, hurt feelings are not cause for taking down tweets.”

The office of the eSafety commissioner has yet to respond to inquiries from The Epoch Times.

https://www.theepochtimes.com/world/billboard-chris-and-x-to-appeal-order-to-remove-post-criticising-trans-activist-5641830

https://twitter.com/BillboardChris/status/1785834579128992205

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f2efa5 No.20821185

KIDS COLLAPSING AND DYING SUDDENLY IN APRIL 2024

https://www.bitchute.com/video/gQvmoFqJTSeL/

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80104e No.20822380

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20719788

>>20731815

‘Radicalised teen’ shot dead by police in Willetton after stabbing

Heather McNeill, Hamish Hastie and Rebecca Peppiatt - May 5, 2024

1/2

A “radicalised” teenage boy was shot dead by police following an “extremely confronting” incident in Perth’s southern suburbs on Saturday night.

WA Premier Roger Cook said a 16-year-old boy was shot by a police officer after rushing him with a knife in a Bunnings car park on High Street in Willetton about 10pm.

“A 16-year-old male armed with a knife who had already wounded a member of the public, rushed the attending officers, in response a police officer discharged his firearm fatally wounding the male,” he said.

“There are indications [the teenager] had been radicalised online.

“Members of the WA Muslim community who were concerned by his behaviour contacted police prior to the incident and I thank them for their help.

“Our police responded within minutes, they encountered a very confronting situation but their rapid and professional response kept our community safe.”

WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said several people called triple zero concerned about the actions of the teenager, after he indicated he was going to hurt people.

The teen, who was a Caucasian male who had converted to Islam, also called police and told them he was going to commit acts of violence, but did not tell the phone operator who or where he was.

Three minutes after the first triple zero call from a person at the scene, three police officers arrived at the Bunnings car park and found the boy running around with a large kitchen knife. Two officers drew their Tasers, a third drew his firearm and ordered him to drop the weapon.

The teen lunged at two officers, who both deployed their Tasers, however the boy was wearing baggy clothes and was not brought down.

When he lunged at the third police officer, he was shot.

Blanch said the teen had a complex mental health history and was taking part in a rehabilitation program for people who had been radicalised online.

He had been in the program since he was 14.

“We believe he was very much acting alone. We do not believe there was a network involved,” he said.

Blanch declined to declare the event a terror incident.

“If I need extra capability, particularly from the Commonwealth, sometimes you would see a terrorist act be declared very early,” he said.

“Because this is a person acting alone, I don’t need additional capability at this time. Whilst it meets the criteria, or at least the definition [of a terrorist act], that’s something we can work towards as we find out more information from the motivations behind this.

“It would be too early for me to act now because I don’t have the concerns of a broader network that might be involved.”

A man aged in his 30s, not known to the teenager, was stabbed in the back before police arrived. It’s understood the man was exiting a nearby 24-hour gym when he was attacked.

He is in hospital in a serious but stable condition.

The Bunnings store has been closed for the day.

(continued)

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80104e No.20822384

File: 666fdea8f155918⋯.jpg (70.12 KB,800x450,16:9,Police_operation_under_awa….jpg)

File: a94b30a4b0e270b⋯.jpg (288.89 KB,1262x751,1262:751,The_Bunnings_car_park_wher….jpg)

File: 8b07c5e45e308b0⋯.jpg (290.43 KB,1026x826,513:413,_Radicalised_teen_shot_dea….jpg)

>>20822380

2/2

WA Police Minister Paul Papalia said the community violence extremism program the teenager was taking part in was based on a neo-Nazi program in the Netherlands and focused on de-radicalising people.

“This individual may not have done anything that would have enabled police to do anything other than get him into this program,” he said.

The incident comes weeks after a teenager is alleged to have stabbed a Sydney church leader during a livestreamed sermon.

Official sources briefed on the investigation said the alleged assailant in the church stabbing was part of a loose network of teenagers who communicated on encrypted apps. The federal sources, who were authorised to publicly disclose details of the briefing, said counter-terrorism police believed some members of the group were engaging with radical Islamic material.

Blanch said this type of event in Perth was very rare.

“I know we have seen incidences of it, but we have a very large population in Australia and we don’t see these types of attacks almost ever really,” he said.

“So my message for community is one of assurance. We live in one of the safest places in the world. This is a tragic and sad event … one is too many, but we do live in a safe place.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese extended his thoughts to the people impacted by the incident in Willetton.

“I have spoken with WA Premier Roger Cook this morning, and I thank the WA Police for acting swiftly to contain the incident,” he said.

“I have also received a briefing on the situation by the ASIO director-general and the AFP commissioner, and I’m advised there is no ongoing threat to the community on the information available.

“We are a peace-loving nation and there is no place for violent extremism in Australia.”

Cook will hold a meeting with multi-faith community leaders later on Sunday.

The Australian National Imams Council described the incident as “tragic” and said its Perth members “will continue to assist the authorities as required.”

https://www.theage.com.au/national/western-australia/major-police-incident-in-willetton-teenager-believed-shot-20240505-p5fozf.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kK6w6aoYnQ

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80104e No.20822408

File: f70942ee30c8a8c⋯.mp4 (9.1 MB,960x540,16:9,WA_Police_shoot_and_kill_a….mp4)

File: 958764caaa43d5e⋯.jpg (261.4 KB,750x612,125:102,AA_17.jpg)

>>20822380

Rossmoyne Senior High School parents flagged ‘disturbing behaviour’ before teen’s Bunnings carpark stabbing

PAUL GARVEY and PAIGE TAYLOR - MAY 5, 2024

1/2

Parents at the Perth public high school attended by the radicalised Muslim convert teen shot to death by police at a Bunnings carpark on Saturday night repeatedly raised fears with authorities about disturbing behaviour among a cohort of the boy’s year group.

The caucasian boy – who has not yet been publicly identified – was a student at Rossmoyne Senior High School, one of the top public high schools in the state.

The boy was shot dead after he stabbed a man in the back and had called triple-0 to warn police that he was preparing to commit “acts of violence”. CCTV footage showed the boy charging at police cars as they arrived at the scene.

Rossmoyne’s reputation means homes within the catchment area attract a premium, and the school’s gifted and talented program attracts students from across the Perth metropolitan area.

But parents at the school told The Australian that there had been growing concerns across the school community about what they described as disturbing behaviour by a cohort of boys.

Parents in the local community had repeatedly tried to alert authorities about the group, with one concerned parent having gone to both WA’s Department of Education and the Australian Federal Police earlier this year over fears that the boys were trying to “indoctrinate” their son.

They said that one boy in the group had previously brought a homemade bomb to school and had used the device to damage a toilet block. The same student, they said, had made comments about bringing a bomb to an upcoming graduation ceremony.

One parent said there had been multiple “red flags” about the conduct of some boys at the school, and that the fears had been raised with local MPs at both a state and federal level.

“Parents have been raising this with the school for some time,” one parent told The Australian.

“His life could have been saved, this incident could have been averted, if he was given the help and care he needed.”

Commissioner Blanch confirmed that the boy had been enrolled in a deradicalisation support program that involved input from police, psychologists, the Department of Education and faith leaders.

The boy, the commissioner said, was one of “three or four” under-18s in the program.

“All police around the country have what is called the countering violent extremism program for those that are exhibiting behaviours that might be religious or issues-motivated concerns,” Commissioner Blanch said.

“We do have young people in those programs that have exhibited those behaviours. This 16-year-old caucasian male was part of that program.”

WA police minister Paul Papalia said no deradicalisation program could guarantee success.

“It is a really tough task and none of the programs that have been attempted anywhere have been universally successful. They are confronting a really serious challenge in changing someone who’s been radicalised and attempting to get them back into a more reasonable pathway,” he said.

“What it demonstrates is just how tough a task it is. individuals acting alone in isolation from other people can easily be influenced online and we would not necessarily know about it, and they can act with little warning.”

A police officer shot the boy in a carpark outside a Bunnings store in Willetton, a suburb in Perth’s south known for its significant Asian and Indian population. He had earlier used a large kitchen knife to stab a man in the back, before advancing towards police and refusing to drop his weapon.

WA police commissioner Col Blanch said the incident had all the hallmarks of an act of terrorism, with the boy having been on the radar of authorities for at least two years.

(continued)

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80104e No.20822413

File: d8e477e03821498⋯.jpg (244.71 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_scene_was_described_as….jpg)

File: e28ed9f50d07905⋯.jpg (676.82 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Rossmoyne_Senior_High_Scho….jpg)

File: df5322977ea7ba3⋯.jpg (228.84 KB,1234x1645,1234:1645,John_Chi_a_restaurant_work….jpg)

>>20822408

2/2

Saturday night’s incident played out over a matter of minutes. The boy sent messages to people across Western Australia’s Muslim community, with several of them then calling triple-0 to alert police before, during and after the incident.

The boy too called triple-0, telling police he intended to cause harm but providing neither a name nor a location.

Three officers arrived at the carpark three minutes after a member of the public alerted police to the presence of a male carrying a kitchen knife.

The boy refused to put down his knife and advanced towards the officers. Two of them fired their tasers but neither slowed the boy down, with the third officer then firing a single deadly shot.

The officers then found a man who had been stabbed in the back by the boy. The man, who was not known to the boy, is in Royal Perth Hospital in a serious but stable condition.

John Chi was working in a restaurant next to Bunnings on Saturday night when he witnessed the shooting.

He told The Australian that the body language of the boy made him think that he was under the influence of drugs or was experiencing some sort of episode.

“The way he was approaching the police officers, it looked like he was on something,” Mr Chi said.

“The reason why I say this is he was jumping around, walking with a very menacing stance.”

The incident immediately drew parallels with the recent stabbing at the Christ The Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley, in which another 16-year-old boy attacked Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel.

Commissioner Blanch said there was one key difference between the incidents.

“We are dealing with complex issues with this 16 year old male, both mental health issues but also online radicalisation issues,” he said.

“He is known to police, but we believe he very much is acting alone and we do not have concerns at this time that there is an ongoing network or other concerns that might have been seen over in Sydney.”

Four teenage associates of the Christ The Good Shepherd stabber have since been charged with conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack.

The confidence that the boy killed on Saturday night was acting alone means that the stabbing will not be declared a terrorist incident for now.

Such a declaration would activate more resources, but at this stage police are confident that such additional support is not necessary.

“Whilst it meets the criteria, or at least the definition (of terrorism), that’s something that we can work towards as we find out more information from the motivations behind this,” Commissioner Blanch said.

“It would be too early for me to act now because I don’t have the concerns of a broader network that might be involved at this stage.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had received a briefing on the incident from ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw and that there was “no ongoing threat” to the community.

He said his thoughts were with all those who had been affected by the incident.

“We are a peace-loving nation and there is no place for violent extremism in Australia,“ he said.

A message sent to Rossmoyne parents on Sunday confirming that one of the school’s student had died following “an incident” at the weekend.

A spokesman for the WA Department of Education confirmed that additional support will be provided for all students and staff at school tomorrow and remain available for as long as it is needed.

Additional support will be provided for all students and staff at school tomorrow and remain available for as long as it is needed.

Imam Syed Wadood Janud – the Imam of Perth’s largest mosque, the Nasir Mosque – said the whole community was shaken by the incident.

He said they were also concerned about the boy’s online radicalisation.

“There is no place for violence in Islam,” he said.

“We appreciate the effort of the police to keep our communities safe. I also want to commend the local Muslim community who had flagged the individual prior with the police.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/radicalised-teen-shot-dead-after-stabbing-in-perth/news-story/39e693dbfc18105f468edfb89c5b3293

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1786933007301165434

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80104e No.20822460

File: e0d49081e278d3b⋯.jpg (124.6 KB,1280x720,16:9,Draft_AUKUS_laws_could_all….jpg)

File: 3337bb4bb4aead5⋯.jpg (186.96 KB,1280x719,1280:719,A_satellite_image_shows_so….jpg)

File: 42ec482ac9ca49d⋯.jpg (399.42 KB,2048x1152,16:9,US_Navy_Virginia_class_sub….jpg)

File: e274d722d6334ce⋯.jpg (452.62 KB,2048x1152,16:9,HMAS_Stirling_and_Fleet_Ba….jpg)

>>20589317

>>20612813

Draft AUKUS laws would ‘allow disposal of British, US nuclear sub waste’, BAE concedes

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 5, 2024

The British company appointed to build Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines says the government’s draft nuclear safety laws leave the door open to the disposal here of high-level radio­active waste from British sub­marines.

BAE Systems’ chief counsel made observation at a committee hearing examining the government’s naval nuclear power safety bill, which is due to be pushed through parliament after next week’s federal budget.

The bill will impose strict safety rules on facilities to be used “for managing, storing or disposing of radioactive waste from an AUKUS submarine”.

As its currently drafted, it defines an AUKUS submarine as a nuclear-powered, conventionally armed boat operated by Australia, Britain or the US.

Under questioning by Greens senator David Shoebridge, BAE’s Peter Quinlivian agreed that the wording of the bill opened a pathway for the disposal of high-level British radioactive waste in Australia. “The legislation as drafted is in language that would accommodate that scenario,” he said.

Britain is yet to dispose of any of the 20 nuclear submarines it has decommissioned since the 1980s. It estimates it won’t fully dispose of the boats, plus seven more due to retire in coming years, until the late 2060s.

Mr Quinlivian said BAE had not informed the British government of the prospect that Australia could legally dispose of its nuclear waste “because it didn’t immediately strike us”.

The apparent loophole flies in the face of Labor’s re­assurances that AUKUS won’t require us to become a dumping ground for other countries’ nuclear waste.

Liberal senator David Fawcett asked Defence officials in the April 22 committee hearing whether the bill could be amended to avoid unintended consequences, something the govern­ment is understood to be open to.

In a written response, Defence conceded a tightening of the bill’s language could be needed. It said specifying the “disposal” of only “Australian submarine” nuclear waste would be consistent with government policy but the government would have to “carefully consider any amendment which excluded the possibility of regulatory control of the management of low-level radioactive waste from UK or US submarines”.

“The rotational presence of UK and US submarines in Western Australia … provides a core opportunity for Australia to learn how these vessels operate, which involves the management of low-level radioactive waste from routine sustainment operations,” the department said.

“Low-level radioactive waste will consist of items such as disposable gloves, wipes, reactor coolant and used personal protective equipment, with minor levels of contamination from contact with radioactive materials.

“Defence has a strong record of securely managing radioactive waste, which is stored safely in ­licensed facilities on the Defence estate.”

The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency is poised to declare a site at the HMAS Stirling naval base off Perth as a low-level radioactive waste management facility, but a decision on where to store high-level waste from Australia’s planned nuclear submarines is years if not decades away.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said after the government announced its nuclear submarine plans in March 2023 that Australia would not take nuclear waste from its AUKUS partners. “We’re not talking about establishing a civil nuclear industry, nor are we talking about opening Australia up as a repository for nuclear waste from other countries,” he told the ABC.

Senator Shoebridge said British bureaucrats were almost certainly “rubbing their hands together at the prospect of the Albanese government being foolish enough to pass this bill”.

“Minister Marles … has now been embarrassed by not only his own department but the very people he signed up to make the nuclear subs,” he said.

A Defence spokeswoman said the government would introduce a regulatory framework that delivered the highest levels of nuclear safety and stewardship.

“Australia will be responsible for nuclear waste generated from Australia’s conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines over the full life cycle,” she said.

“The government has been clear that it will not accept high-level nuclear waste and spent nuclear fuel from other countries as part of Australia’s acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine capability.”

The Senate standing committee on foreign affairs, defence and trade is to release its report on the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2023 on May 13.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/draft-aukus-laws-would-allow-disposal-of-british-us-nuclear-sub-waste-bae-concedes/news-story/cf37007cdf0461e2952303bfcf1c3e60

https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Hansard/Hansard_Display?bid=committees/commsen/27954/&sid=0001

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80104e No.20826937

File: d6fd283b8e51261⋯.jpg (370.62 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Brittany_Higgins_pictured_….jpg)

File: d8f30befc3ff61d⋯.jpg (276.6 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Linda_Reynolds_centre.jpg)

File: bc8934a2c0ad3fc⋯.jpg (628.48 KB,1080x1439,1080:1439,Brittany_Higgins_and_David….jpg)

>>20676399

Linda Reynolds seeks to overturn Brittany Higgins trust

JANET ALBRECHTSEN and STEPHEN RICE - MAY 5, 2024

Linda Reynolds is preparing new legal action to set aside a trust established by Brittany Higgins that the former Liberal minister asserts may have been set up by Ms Higgins to protect the money she received in a $2.4m commonwealth compensation payout.

Senator Reynolds’ move is designed to ensure that in the event she wins her upcoming defamation case against Ms Higgins, she is able to access any assets still held by her former staffer.

In a draft of an application to be filed in the Western Australian Supreme Court on Monday Senator Reynolds demands a copy of the Brittany Higgins Protective Trust deed, set up in February last year, to ascertain who is the trustee – and who to sue in the event Ms Higgins claims not to be able to meet any costs or damages awarded.

If the court grants the order, Senator Reynolds would then be able to bring an action under section 89 of the WA Property Act – or other similar provision in the relevant jurisdiction where the trust was established – to have the trust set aside.

The trust should be set aside, Senator Reynolds asserts, because it was made to potentially deny future creditors when Ms Higgins made representations to the commonwealth.

Senator Reynolds sets out in the draft version of the affidavit her belief that the trust was set up “with knowledge of potential impending indebtedness”.

That included knowledge of her potential indebtedness to the commonwealth in circumstances when Senator Reynolds asserts she knew certain particulars of the claim were false; and when she knew she might be obliged to repay money to her publisher, Penguin Random House Australia, given the ­outcome of the criminal trial against Bruce Lehrmann and Senator Reynolds’ warning to Penguin that the memoir contained defamatory allegations against her.

Ms Higgins was also aware that Senator Reynolds had brought defamation proceedings against her fiance, David Sharaz.

The pre-action discovery would require Ms Higgins to ­produce all documents in her ­possession comprising the Trust or any other trust created to hold any part of the $2.4m awarded by the commonwealth.

Senator Reynolds cites an article in the Daily Mail, published in August 2023, which stated that “following the settlement, Ms Higgins took Mr Sharaz on a holiday to the Maldives, rented a house on the Gold Coast, and then set up a discretionary investment trust in February – which protects her assets from any future lawsuits”.

In a separate letter filed with the draft version of the application, Senator Reynolds’ lawyer, Martin Bennett, tells Ms Higgins’ lawyer: “This information would only have come from Ms ­Higgins.”

“For these reasons I verily believe (Ms Higgins) has established a trust for the purpose of protecting some of her assets from litigation”, Senator Reynolds says in her affidavit.

“I have concerns (Ms Higgins) will not be able to satisfy a potential judgment debt in the defamation proceedings in the event I am successful due to some part of her assets being transferred to the trust.”

Senator Reynolds also notes that she sought legal advice on getting freezing orders against Ms Higgins after learning she had bought a property in France, but held off an application for the orders in order not to interfere with an upcoming mediation.

Senator Reynolds’ solicitors wrote to Ms Higgins’ lawyer, Leon Zwier, in March and April, requesting a copy of the trust deed, but a copy was not provided.

Senator Reynolds has asked the National Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate the circumstances behind the compensation payment to Ms Higgins, after she was excluded from participating in a mediation conference that preceded the settlement payout.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/linda-reynolds-seeks-to-overturn-brittany-higgins-trust/news-story/9cc91f5e3020f84847d2b40b68c81f53

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80104e No.20826973

File: b26db9f4d8b785d⋯.jpg (516.74 KB,2500x1563,2500:1563,Security_personnel_gather_….jpg)

File: 1da91f28415db8e⋯.jpg (824.68 KB,2500x1563,2500:1563,Dominic_Raab_and_Mike_Pomp….jpg)

>>20793630

US shared ‘gobsmacking’ Covid lab leak file with UK

Evidence supporting theory was presented to Dominic Raab, then the Foreign Secretary – but ‘was ignored’

Tony Diver - 4 May 2024

1/2

The US shared “gobsmacking” evidence with Britain at the height of the Covid pandemic suggesting a “high likelihood” that the virus had leaked from a Chinese lab, The Telegraph can reveal.

In January 2021, Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations were convened to discuss the possibility of a lab leak as the US warned that China had covered up research on coronaviruses and military activity at a laboratory in Wuhan.

In a previously unreported phone call that month, Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, presented evidence that supported the lab leak theory to Dominic Raab, then the Foreign Secretary, and representatives from Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Speaking to The Telegraph, two Trump administration officials accused Mr Raab and the UK Government of ignoring the lab leak theory because of resistance from government scientists who supported the explanation that the virus had jumped between animals and humans.

Mr Pompeo presented a summary of classified American intelligence reports collected in the early days of the pandemic and compiled by the State Department. The intelligence reports themselves are understood to have been shared separately with the UK via the Five Eyes network between October and December 2020.

“We saw several pieces of information and thought that they were, frankly, gobsmacking,” said one former official who worked on the intelligence that informed Mr Pompeo’s report. “They obviously pointed to the high likelihood that this was indeed a lab leak.”

In one document, which has since been released by the State Department under Freedom of Information laws, US officials warned of “consistent stonewalling” by China after the virus was first discovered and accused local officials of “gross corruption and ineptitude”.

The research revealed for the first time that Chinese military officials had worked with the Wuhan Institute of Virology in the years leading up to the pandemic, and that some researchers at the lab had become ill shortly before the virus was first recorded nearby.

It also showed that Chinese scientists had carried out “gain of function” research at the institute, which has since become a key piece of evidence for the lab leak theory.

The theory has become a divisive topic among scientists and government officials in the years following the pandemic and has prompted two investigations by the World Health Organisation, which China has been accused of obstructing.

(continued)

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80104e No.20826980

File: ba9f82d8ed63ffa⋯.jpg (1.13 MB,4779x2688,1593:896,Virologist_Shi_Zheng_li_le….jpg)

File: 3eec7114ff0c05e⋯.jpg (344.08 KB,2048x1152,16:9,An_officer_stands_guard_as….jpg)

>>20826973

2/2

British government ministers including Boris Johnson initially dismissed the possibility that Covid had been created by scientists, arguing in June 2021 that “the advice that we have had is that it doesn’t look as though this particular disease of zoonotic origin came from a lab”.

Two former officials claimed the UK had ignored the evidence presented by the US because ministers saw the lab leak claims as a “radioactive American political issue” fuelled by public disagreement between government scientists and Donald Trump.

“Once the thing became fundamentally political, the ability to pursue it internationally really just collapsed because no one else was interested in touching it,” said one of the officials. “I think [Five Eyes] were kind of annoyed by the way the issue had become treated in US politics.”

Both separately named Sir Jeremy Farrar, a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies as one of the leading opponents of the lab leak theory within the British government.

A majority of scientific experts have long said that they believe an animal to human interaction was the most likely cause of the first infection.

However, some Government figures, including Michael Gove, have since said that they believe the virus was “man-made”.

In November, Mr Gove told the Covid Inquiry that there was a “significant body of judgment that believes that the virus itself was man-made – and that presents its own set of challenges”.

Both the FBI and US Department of Energy have said they believe a lab leak is the most likely cause of Covid, while other agencies have said they think it occurred naturally.

Joe Biden, the US president, has said he does not know where the virus started, while the US National Intelligence Council said last year it “probably emerged and infected humans through an initial small-scale exposure”.

UK ministers are now facing calls to expand the terms of the Covid Inquiry to include an investigation into the origin of the virus.

The Telegraph understands that the call in Jan 2021 was deliberately held on an “open line” without security encryption in the hope that Chinese intelligence agencies would hear that Western countries were aware of military activity in Wuhan.

“We did that deliberately…we wanted to put pressure on the bad guys,” said a State Department source.

Ten days after the call, in which officials said the UK was unwilling to assist with a US-led lab leak investigation or share its own research, the summary compiled by Mr Pompeo’s officials was released to the public in a “fact sheet”.

Those involved in the release said they took care to avoid revealing the sources or methods of US spy agencies, and that it was just the “tip of the iceberg” of the underlying intelligence that had been gathered.

A UK government spokesman said: “There are still questions that need to be answered about the origin and spread of Covid-19, not least so we can ensure we are better prepared for future pandemics.

“The UK continues to support the World Health Organisation in its expert study of the origins of Covid-19. It is important that China and other countries cooperate fully with the researchers.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/04/us-shared-gobsmacking-lab-leak-evidence-with-uk-pandemic/

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80104e No.20827002

File: 48f2ad1c2b2fee9⋯.mp4 (14.63 MB,640x360,16:9,A_Chinese_jet_has_dropped_….mp4)

File: d7e6f6a4c658ad9⋯.jpg (685.8 KB,3000x1984,375:248,An_Australian_Seahawk_heli….jpg)

File: 1be717a43509439⋯.jpg (238.65 KB,906x765,302:255,Chinese_fighter_dropped_fl….jpg)

‘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

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80104e No.20827038

File: 42342df5732f18d⋯.mp4 (15.1 MB,848x480,53:30,An_armed_attack_last_week_….mp4)

File: 19dc08c25025269⋯.jpg (127.07 KB,1024x768,4:3,A_pitched_battle_at_the_No….jpg)

>>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

1/2

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.

(continued)

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80104e No.20827043

File: 03856d925098afb⋯.jpg (103.78 KB,768x1022,384:511,A_Daly_River_local_who_pre….jpg)

File: fa4d4ed27475649⋯.jpg (255.87 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Nauiyu_resident_Mark_Casey….jpg)

File: 7159780560e0368⋯.jpg (106.87 KB,1024x768,4:3,A_fire_burns_in_Daly_River….jpg)

File: 15eb0089df663ce⋯.jpg (112.57 KB,1280x720,16:9,A_torched_car_can_be_seen_….jpg)

>>20827038

2/2

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

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80104e No.20831561

File: 327ad71250e3d94⋯.mp4 (1.63 MB,406x720,203:360,Footage_of_WA_teen_setting….mp4)

File: 9ef66e7576042d0⋯.jpg (94.43 KB,1280x720,16:9,Perth_teen_James_Hollands.jpg)

>>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)

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80104e No.20831565

File: cca1d68d480580f⋯.jpg (341.44 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,The_scene_following_the_po….jpg)

File: 6692029407374a5⋯.jpg (103.8 KB,1280x720,16:9,WA_Premier_Roger_Cook.jpg)

>>20831561

2/2

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

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80104e No.20831574

File: 3c87d0a2efc17af⋯.mp4 (15.54 MB,960x540,16:9,Australian_PM_Albanese_say….mp4)

>>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/

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80104e No.20831586

File: 33c15753adffde4⋯.jpg (4 MB,7451x4967,7451:4967,Daniel_Kritenbrink_the_US_….jpg)

File: ce0deafd4399c0b⋯.jpg (1.19 MB,5000x3335,1000:667,Chinese_Foreign_Ministry_s….jpg)

>>20827002

>>20831574

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

Matthew Knott and Olivia Ireland - May 7, 2024

1/2

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.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20831595

File: d7e6f6a4c658ad9⋯.jpg (685.8 KB,3000x1984,375:248,An_Australian_Navy_Seahawk….jpg)

>>20831586

2/2

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

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80104e No.20831610

File: 148af88ebdf77c1⋯.jpg (39.9 KB,354x314,177:157,This_book_prompted_complai….jpg)

File: 735c1fea5ea9731⋯.jpg (111.92 KB,1088x820,272:205,Cumberland_councillor_Stev….jpg)

File: af97ccd8415b3d9⋯.jpg (445.27 KB,2362x1577,2362:1577,NSW_Arts_Minister_John_Gra….jpg)

‘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

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80104e No.20831652

File: ca7ee395eed37e7⋯.mp4 (15.54 MB,960x540,16:9,Op_Arkstone_Kendall_NSW.mp4)

>>20575610

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

Clare Sibthorpe - May 7, 2024

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20831658

File: a142261e2ea3313⋯.jpg (321.21 KB,1595x2393,1595:2393,AFP_officers_search_a_NSW_….jpg)

File: b970b9c9c8a5502⋯.jpg (962.36 KB,2126x2835,2126:2835,The_sweeping_Operation_Ark….jpg)

File: 08c4cb4ba5f712d⋯.png (538.36 KB,3000x1688,375:211,Op_Arkstone_infographic.png)

>>20831652

2/2

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

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80104e No.20831682

File: 63ce442cee73f02⋯.mp4 (9.11 MB,960x540,16:9,Inside_Arkstone_Australia_….mp4)

File: 11d74c1d13aa530⋯.jpg (259.48 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Commander_Kate_Ferry_at_Th….jpg)

File: 2aede8673a2275f⋯.jpg (562.89 KB,882x802,441:401,Where_to_find_help_2024.jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20836899

File: 523a9d81d2c9405⋯.jpg (4.57 MB,6000x4000,3:2,Australia_has_protested_to….jpg)

File: 336c8e723a4ea4a⋯.jpg (249.74 KB,750x546,125:91,DER_1.jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20836959

File: b52972a47284f28⋯.jpg (1.36 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Helicopter_flare_up_reigni….jpg)

File: 66b8bdc85c3088e⋯.jpg (2.18 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,HMAS_Toowoomba_was_subject….jpg)

File: 05a693805933301⋯.jpg (40.34 KB,1024x576,16:9,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20836962

File: 221e321933eda02⋯.jpg (44.52 KB,600x447,200:149,Foreign_Ministry_Spokesper….jpg)

File: b919312efe4d726⋯.jpg (1.44 MB,4488x3444,374:287,Senior_Colonel_Zhang_Xiaog….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20836971

File: 0e6f971a51a8183⋯.jpg (118.95 KB,1200x720,5:3,Lin_Jian_a_spokesperson_fo….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20836979

File: 922d4eaff1c61b7⋯.jpg (365.38 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>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

1/2

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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80104e No.20836985

File: 2fc791606fbb629⋯.jpg (223.82 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Penny_Wong_and_Chinese_For….jpg)

>>20836979

2/2

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

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80104e No.20836991

File: d9ddc0b0d30433c⋯.jpg (418.43 KB,2588x1725,2588:1725,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20837033

File: 29cd2fccb76e4d0⋯.jpg (200.05 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australia_s_Foreign_Minist….jpg)

File: 123281e59996764⋯.jpg (237.6 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Executive_Council_of_Austr….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20705252

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

JOE KELLY - MAY 8, 2024

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20837039

File: 3ad19ca923c5db1⋯.jpg (1.83 MB,3712x5197,3712:5197,Australian_Palestinian_Adv….jpg)

>>20837033

2/2

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

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80104e No.20837099

File: 8abb73822d96c87⋯.mp4 (14.92 MB,640x360,16:9,Sami_Hamdi_following_Octob….mp4)

File: b25e578ace428c4⋯.jpg (451.35 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Student_activists_have_put….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20789187

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

NOAH YIM and NATASHA BITA - MAY 7, 2024

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20837111

File: 67ef4d346e30fc6⋯.mp4 (15.95 MB,250x360,25:36,Sami_Hamdi_speaks_at_the_U….mp4)

>>20837099

2/2

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

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80104e No.20837133

File: 24656c175cb3366⋯.mp4 (4.18 MB,352x624,22:39,Refugees_on_Saibai_Island_….mp4)

File: 65b4b63837e3954⋯.jpg (649.26 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_men_were_found_in_mang….jpg)

>>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

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20837134

File: d1fcd7e118075a3⋯.jpg (180.42 KB,800x600,4:3,Illegal_border_crossers_ca….jpg)

>>20837133

2/2

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/

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80104e No.20837151

File: c7cada16246d6f7⋯.jpg (952.73 KB,5000x3333,5000:3333,The_AstraZeneca_vaccine_ha….jpg)

>>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/

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80104e No.20841256

File: 8ab9cc1226d3783⋯.jpg (150.13 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Chinese_ambassador_to_Aust….jpg)

File: e5c136d36ae275b⋯.jpg (172.34 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_MH_60R_Seahawk_Helicopte….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20841263

File: 5cece56448f52bd⋯.mp4 (8.3 MB,960x540,16:9,ADF_Chief_says_Chinese_act….mp4)

>>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

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80104e No.20841268

File: 15912153b8706b3⋯.jpg (236.23 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Deputy_Prime_Minister_and_….jpg)

File: 9abd71b71ed0a0a⋯.jpg (536.68 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Chinese_Premier_Li_Qiang.jpg)

File: b454b1aa1641c75⋯.jpg (464.81 KB,1429x1905,1429:1905,Xi_Jinping_and_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>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)

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80104e No.20841269

File: 918e7953118b642⋯.jpg (177.93 KB,1638x922,819:461,Anthony_Albanese_meets_wit….jpg)

>>20841268

2/2

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

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80104e No.20841292

File: 1d900a166fcc33f⋯.mp4 (15.95 MB,304x540,76:135,Footage_has_emerged_of_stu….mp4)

>>20550335

>>20789187

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

NATASHA BITA - MAY 8, 2024

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20841295

File: 053b7218a281ba7⋯.jpg (503.56 KB,2048x1152,16:9,_From_UQ_to_Gaza_sign_at_t….jpg)

File: 2a3d727cec87bf7⋯.jpg (417.19 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Pro_Israel_camp_at_the….jpg)

>>20841292

2/2

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

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80104e No.20841316

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20726696

Former Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama sentenced to year in jail

Long-serving leader Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for perverting the course of justice

Ivamere Nataro - 9 May 2024

Fiji’s former long-serving prime minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for perverting the course of justice, the country’s director of public prosecutions said.

Bainimarama was initially spared jail in the case during sentencing last month, before an appeal by the country’s director for public prosecutions. On Thursday, that appeal was upheld by Fiji’s high court.

After the hearing, supporters of his FijiFirst party gathered outside the high court in Suva and sang a Fijian hymn.

Regardless of the ruling, Bainimarama would remain the leader of the FijiFirst party, said Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, a former attorney general and the party’s former general secretary.

“Bainimarama will continue to be the leader of the FijiFirst party. Come 2026, we will deal with it,” he told a press conference held by the party after the ruling.

Unity Fiji party leader Savenaca Narube said he believed the court ruling would not cause any political chaos. “We believe that everybody will follow the law, and for those who don’t agree, there’s a court process to follow. That’s what democracy is all about,” he said.

“The court case and sentencing show the accountability framework is working, that people who break the law, doesn’t matter who they are, they are brought to account.”

A former military chief, Bainimarama came to power in a bloodless coup in 2006 and later won democratic elections in 2014 and 2018.

He was found guilty this month by the high court of attempting to pervert the course of justice while prime minister by telling then police commissioner Sitiveni Qiliho not to investigate allegations of graft at the region’s University of South Pacific, court documents show.

Qiliho was sentenced to two years in jail at the same hearing for abuse of office, the Fiji’s office of the director of public prosecutions said in a statement.

The case relates to allegations of financial mismanagement at the university, one of the best in the region and which is collectively owned by 12 Pacific states.

Bainimarama led the Pacific island nation for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December 2022 to a coalition of parties led by current prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/may/09/former-fiji-pm-frank-bainimarama-sentenced-jail-ntwnfb

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0mUuc9NA9Ak

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80104e No.20841340

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20622409

>>20676473

SNEAK PEEK: Daniel Duggan - Hero or traitor?

60 Minutes Australia

May 8, 2024

Hero or traitor? SUNDAY on #60Mins, why an Australian citizen, a former Top Gun fighter pilot, is wanted by the United States government.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otabcTnh1Tg

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80104e No.20841352

File: e504e8b69c2f29f⋯.jpg (125.91 KB,1280x720,16:9,Premiers_blasted_by_Greg_H….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20841371

File: d429da3368840a1⋯.jpg (116.44 KB,1106x638,553:319,Australian_Government_Thre….jpg)

File: 67cccbc389405ac⋯.jpg (114.63 KB,1504x404,376:101,Australian_Government_Thre….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20841393

File: d69a01224e1b99c⋯.jpg (138.07 KB,1019x916,1019:916,Donald_Day_has_been_offere….jpg)

File: a7665aed083d2b8⋯.jpg (87.86 KB,800x600,4:3,Donald_Day_Jr_was_a_close_….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20846679

File: 2faa782f6891d25⋯.jpg (1.02 MB,5000x3334,2500:1667,Elon_Musk_Chief_Executive_….jpg)

File: c66a75749a89947⋯.jpg (317.66 KB,750x1205,150:241,DD_1.jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20846729

File: d38c09d9400a1c2⋯.mp4 (10.12 MB,640x360,16:9,Australia_targets_social_m….mp4)

>>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/

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80104e No.20846766

File: f15b5c89fecec33⋯.jpg (1.78 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Penny_Wong_says_Australia_….jpg)

File: 3a84f904cc2b3a7⋯.jpg (95.24 KB,1024x576,16:9,The_United_States_last_mon….jpg)

>>20550335

>>20705252

>>20837033

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

Patricia Karvelas and Georgia Roberts - 10 May 2024

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20846774

File: 26f672b69012ac0⋯.jpg (1.88 MB,5000x3335,1000:667,Australia_leans_towards_su….jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20846807

File: bf658c986915fc2⋯.mp4 (15.9 MB,304x540,76:135,Muslim_community_calls_for….mp4)

>>20731815

>>20769937

>>20769978

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

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - MAY 10, 2024

1/2

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)

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80104e No.20846814

File: 361c10c13d7ca93⋯.jpg (384.57 KB,1905x1072,1905:1072,A_joint_press_conference_h….jpg)

File: e6f502148c7ecbf⋯.jpg (172.46 KB,2048x1152,16:9,ASIO_Director_General_Mike….jpg)

>>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

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f2efa5 No.20851652

Scott Morrison bites the dust // GAME OVER - EYEDROPMEDIA https://rumble.com/v4u4625-game-over-eyedropmedia.html

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80104e No.20852029

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20705252

>>20837033

>>20846766

‘We did not reward Hamas’: Penny Wong defends United Nations vote backing Palestinian statehood

Matthew Knott and Rachel Clun - May 11, 2024

1/2

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has insisted Australia did not reward the terror group, Hamas, by backing Palestinian statehood in a high-profile United Nations vote, a move that has drawn fierce criticism from Israel and its local advocates.

The Albanese government broke with some of its closest security partners early on Saturday morning by voting in favour of a General Assembly resolution that declared “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules.

In a rare public display of disunity on foreign affairs, Labor MP Josh Burns said Jewish Australians would feel more isolated as a result of the vote, arguing that the government should have abstained rather than vote yes.

“An abstention would have signalled we’re open to further recognition, but that we acknowledge the short-term hurdles that need to be overcome in order to achieve lasting peace,” Burns, who is Jewish, said in a statement.

Other Labor MPs including cabinet member Ed Husic, who is Muslim, welcomed Australia’s vote as an “important step” that could accelerate progress towards the creation of a Palestinian state.

Wong said the vote did not mean Australia had officially recognised Palestine as a state, but showed “unwavering support” for a two-state solution.

“This resolution that we have supported is about long-term peace and security for both Israelis and Palestinians, and I truly believe that the only path to securing peace and security for Israel is with the establishment of two states,” she said following the vote.

Rebutting the charge from pro-Israel advocates that a vote in favour would reward Hamas for the brutal October 7 attacks on Israel, Wong said: “I want to say this is a clear rejection of the goals and methods of Hamas.

“A two-state solution, both Israel and Palestine, is the opposite of what Hamas wants … The rejection of Hamas is amongst the reasons why Australia voted for this resolution.”

The vote confers additional rights on Palestine at the world body, allowing it to take part fully in debates, propose agenda items and have its representatives elected to committees.

However, it will not be able to vote in the General Assembly after the United States used its veto power in the Security Council last month to block a bid for full Palestinian membership of the UN.

Former prime minister Scott Morrison declared he was “terribly saddened and disappointed” by the vote, which he described as “the most hostile act of an Australian government to the state of Israel in our history”.

In a day of high emotion at UN headquarters in New York, Israel’s UN ambassador Gilad Erdan said that the global community had rewarded Hamas for its October 7 terror attacks, which led to 1200 deaths.

Erdan said the UN had “opened up the United Nations to modern-day Nazis, to genocidal jihadists committed to establishing an Islamic state across Israel and the region, murdering every Jewish man, woman and child”.

“It makes me sick,” he said.

Declaring that the nations supporting the resolution had shredded the UN charter, Erdan inserted a miniature copy of the UN charter into a transparent paper shredder during his speech.

The resolution, which “reaffirms the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine”, was supported by 143 nations – the overwhelming majority of UN member states.

Nine countries voted against and 25 abstained.

Wong said many of Australia’s regional partners voted in favour, including New Zealand, Japan, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea.

However, Australia’s vote contrasted with its AUKUS partners, the United States and United Kingdom, which respectively voted no and abstained.

The result underlies the growing strength of the Palestinian cause within Labor, which abstained from voting on a 2012 resolution granting Palestine observer status at the UN but has since incorporated support for Palestinian statehood into its policy platform.

(continued)

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80104e No.20852038

File: a923b2cc4d7acf2⋯.jpg (389.42 KB,1920x1080,16:9,The_UN_resolution_was_supp….jpg)

File: a4c683cabdfe89e⋯.jpg (196.38 KB,1920x1080,16:9,Israel_s_UN_ambassador_Gil….jpg)

File: 14f7a52bc9e3e4f⋯.jpg (3.7 MB,5305x3537,5305:3537,Foreign_Affairs_Minister_P….jpg)

File: ee58fdcf5c2ad4b⋯.jpg (3.52 MB,5950x3960,595:396,Palestinian_ambassador_to_….jpg)

File: 87e8c6a7b944f0f⋯.jpg (409.38 KB,750x926,375:463,ScoMo_38.jpg)

>>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

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80104e No.20852084

File: 840a96aa7d9fe1e⋯.jpg (2.15 MB,3200x4800,2:3,U_S_Space_Force_Chief_of_S….jpg)

File: 56cafa2f18da171⋯.jpg (1.84 MB,4800x3200,3:2,U_S_Space_Force_Chief_of_S….jpg)

File: 0f5f161ccc11e69⋯.jpg (2.69 MB,4800x3200,3:2,U_S_Space_Force_Chief_of_S….jpg)

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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a5b34f No.20852471

File: 41f2138cde6c6f5⋯.png (3.16 KB,911x563,911:563,ClipboardImage.png)

1010101010110101010101>>20852084

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a5b34f No.20852690

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

https://files.catbox.moe/sg321d.pdf

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a5b34f No.20852770

File: 0f15a6c6239d673⋯.jpg (57.42 KB,819x551,819:551,photo_2024_05_03_09_12_12.jpg)

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80104e No.20855545

File: 4061f95e9a09f98⋯.jpg (377.87 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Fishingboats_near_Kupang_I….jpg)

>>20686589

>>20789170

Chinese boat migrants bound for Australia intercepted in Indonesian fishing town

DIAN SEPTIARI - MAY 12, 2024

A heavily modified Indonesian fishing boat intercepted with six Chinese nationals on board trying to get to Australia was owned and operated by a Chinese boat captain believed to be involved in a new modus operandi of people smuggling.

The group was intercepted by Indonesian fisheries authorities in waters near the eastern city of Kupang, a straight-line 500km journey to the north West Australian coast where 39 Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indian asylum- seekers were ferried by fishermen earlier this year.

The interception was on Tuesday night in the harbour at Kupang, a traditional departure point in West Timor, part of East Nusa Tenggara province, and involved a boat carrying six Chinese men and a group of Indonesians.

The interception come only hours before a visit by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neill to Jakarta, where she met with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto, to discuss co-operation on law enforcement and maritime security.

The Indonesian Marine and Fisheries Ministry’s surveillance unit in Kupang had been stalking the suspicious boat for a week but it was not until Sunday it began moving to cross the borders into Australia.

After a half-hour chase, the patrol boat apprehended the fishing vessel at around 2.30am on Wednesday.

The boat appeared to be modified with three extra motors and no lights to increase its speed and stealth, an officer involved in the arrest told The Australian on Sunday.

The modified boat was owned and captained by Jiang Xiao Jia, a Chinese national who had lived in South Sulawesi for four years and had intended to smuggle five other Chinese nationals into ­Australia.

The ministry’s surveillance ­director-general, Pung Nugroho Saksono, said the interception happened during routine patrols.

“This is a new modus operandi we have encountered behind fishing capture violations,” he said.

“The unnamed vessels, each less than 10GT, were found to contain 12 individuals, including six Chinese nationals suspected to be smuggled to Australia and six Indonesian nationals serving as crew and operational staff.”

He said the ministry’s data showed several vessels intending to cross the Indonesia-Australia maritime border.

“On Wednesday at 2.30am, the fishing vessel was observed crossing without proper vessel name and identification. When interception was attempted, the vessel increased its speed, raising suspicions and resulting in a chase between the ­patrol boat and the fishing vessel,” Ipunk said.

The unnamed fishing vessel was successfully apprehended and subjected to inspection in the waters near Semau Island.

The case was later handed over to local police.

The East Nusa Tenggara Regional Police said they have named six Indonesians and one Chinese national as suspects, charging them with violation of immigration rules that carried minimum penalty of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum of 15 years’ imprisonment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/chinese-boat-migrants-intercepted-in-indonesian-fishing-town-where-wa-north-coast-arrivals-came-from/news-story/fc3275748d38c38379bd9f9f86dcd0f4

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80104e No.20855549

File: a274782e053cd20⋯.jpg (424.8 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_judge_has_found_Victoria….jpg)

File: 5f90a7c727f9cbc⋯.jpg (476.17 KB,2048x1536,4:3,More_than_a_dozen_proteste….jpg)

File: 327adeae62667c6⋯.jpg (502.37 KB,2048x1536,4:3,The_judgment_has_prompted_….jpg)

File: 5719f4c0a1345d5⋯.jpg (533.02 KB,2048x1536,4:3,Mounted_police_at_the_Mill….jpg)

File: 1f13117d62b7dce⋯.jpg (343.79 KB,2000x1500,4:3,County_Court_Judge_Liz_Gay….jpg)

>>20803319

>>20841352

Judge rules Victoria Police violence ‘unjustified’ in Covid lockdown protest

A judge has found Victoria Police used “unjustified violence” to make arrests during a Covid lockdown rally, in which protesters were thrown to the ground and one man was left with a dislocated arm.

Shannon Deery - May 11, 2024

Victoria Police used “unlawful” and “unjustified violence” in a violent attack on anti-lockdown protesters during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a judge has found.

In a stunning decision handed down in the County Court, Judge Liz Gaynor ruled police were the “aggressors” and “employed unjustified violence” amid a public protest on 29 May, 2021 that left one man with a dislocated arm.

The judgment has called into question police tactics and prompted calls for prosecutors to consider laying charges against the police involved.

At the time of the protest Victorians were subject to strict lockdown conditions including bans on leaving the home and wear face mask requirements.

A 5km bubble was in place for needing to go shopping or wanting to exercise, and both public and private gatherings were explicitly banned.

The protest, around the city’s Flagstaff Gardens, drew a huge police presence with officers outnumbering the 150 protesters and forming a ring of steel around the gardens.

More than a dozen protesters were arrested for offences including assaulting police, affray and breaching the chief health officer’s directions, during the protests.

They included Jason Reeves, Nicholas Patterson and Adam Roob who were each thrown to the ground and arrested by police at the scene.

The men had been asked to leave before their arrests.

In her stinging judgment Judge Gaynor ruled the arrests unlawful, saying the men did nothing to warrant the violent police response which was captured by body-worn cameras.

Mr Reeves was the first to be arrested after being punched to the face by police and thrown to the ground in what Judge Gaynor dubbed an “immediate and violent” response.

Mr Patterson and Mr Roob, who said they were trying to defend Mr Reeves, were then sprayed with OC spray and thrown to the ground, with Mr Paterson suffering a dislocated arm.

The pair was in court facing a string of charges including assaulting an emergency worker on duty and common law assault.

But Judge Gaynor ruled police evidence inadmissible because “by their unlawful violence police instigated the response by the accused which underlies the charges they now face.”

“There are a number of ways in which the charging of the accused could have taken place,” Judge Gaynor said.

“It could have been done by the issuing of infringement notices at any stage … it could have been done by way of stopping the accused and other members of the group informing them that they were in breach of the restrictions and that they were to be placed under arrest.

“However, the police chose not to respond that way. I am satisfied that in arresting Mr Reeves, police used unnecessary and unwarranted force and violence.”

Judge Gaynor said footage of the group in the half-hour leading to the arrest showed no behaviour which warranted police forming a view they would engage in violent behaviour.

“I am satisfied that (police) were the aggressors in the situation and that they employed unjustified violence on Mr Reeves in effecting the arrest.

“They did not wait for a line to be formed across the footpath which could have been observed by Mr Reeves.

“They did not speak to him and inform him he was under arrest and then inform him why.

“They simply confronted, pushed, and attacked him before bringing him to the ground. In my view, they used unlawful violence in arresting Mr Reeves.”

Judge Gaynor also found Mr Paterson and Mr Roob “were met with physical intervention”.

A senior justice figure, who could not be named, said the matter warranted further investigation.

“I’m not a fan of those who were protesting and carrying on during the lockdowns, but considering the waste of money and resources that continue, and now what appears to be police committing serious indictable offences, people should be held to account,” they said.

“If protesters were charged, so should the police who have been found by a court to have committed impropriety or contravention of an Australian law.”

Both Victoria Police and Office of Public Prosecutions refused to comment.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-victoria/judge-rules-victoria-police-violence-unjustified-in-covid-lockdown-protest/news-story/c447aa4f4e903c06a2bbd8b72753b9e1

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80104e No.20855565

File: ad1333aec897f77⋯.jpg (259.26 KB,2048x1152,16:9,An_inmate_in_his_quarters_….jpg)

File: abb2ff082f1603b⋯.jpg (517.06 KB,1964x2619,1964:2619,The_sign_outside_the_Centr….jpg)

File: 133d0d6f4b3655f⋯.jpg (153.44 KB,913x1218,913:1218,The_front_of_the_facility_….jpg)

File: 6a3d2b709250724⋯.jpg (281.47 KB,1280x1706,640:853,The_facility_s_solitary_co….jpg)

File: dbd5e28068fb2e1⋯.jpg (257.72 KB,1000x787,1000:787,If_you_or_anyone_you_know_….jpg)

Six former inmates of Magill Youth Training Centre sue SA government over alleged sexual abuse in the former facility

Six men have come forward claiming they were repeatedly sexually abused, as children, at a notorious Magill youth detention facility - describing it as “hell on earth”.

Sean Fewster - May 12, 2024

A demolished SA youth detention centre once reported to the United Nations as “a living human rights abuse” was “a pedophile’s playground” where children were sexually abused on a nightly basis, former inmates claim.

The Advertiser can reveal six men held, as children, in the Magill Training Centre have sent letters of demand to the state government, seeking compensation for repeated sexual assaults.

Each of the men was remanded to the centre, which operated from 1869 to 2012, at different times and were unknown to one another - but each alleges near-identical abuse.

They also accuse the same guards of perpetrating that abuse, claiming it began immediately upon their arrival and continued each night until they were released.

The men further claim they were warned, by other and longer-serving detainees, not to complain “otherwise it will just get worse”.

Lawyer and survivors advocate Andrew Carpenter, who is representing the men, said those given “short sentences” at Magill actually received “life sentences” of trauma.

“Over the years, Magill has been known by many names - but the brave people who’ve come forward describe it as ‘hell on earth’,” he said.

“Magill was not only a place where people were sentenced to be abused by those acting in positions of authority, it turned into a pedophile’s playground.

“Many young boys and girls were sentenced there with targets on their backs, and were sexually abused by a series of opportunistic people in positions of power.”

Known initially as the Boys Reformatory Centre, the facility was also called the McNally Training Centre and SA Youth Training Centre during its 143-year history.

It was first investigated over allegations of child abuse, ranging from sexual assaults to poor conditions and harsh treatment of detainees, in the late 1940s.

A commission of inquiry held between 2004 and 2008 reported “horrendous” allegations of abuse and “threats made to the children if they disclosed what had occurred”.

“Many of the people who told the inquiry they were sexually abused while in state care said they still suffer the long-term effects,” it reported.

“Those effects include difficulty to disclose the abuse, even as adults.”

In 2009, Australia’s Youth Representative to the United Nations called the Magill facility “the worst of its kind” and a “living human rights abuse”.

That prompted a campaign calling for the government to close the centre, claiming it contravened the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child.

Twelve months after its closure, the centre was slated for demolition, which began in December 2012 and gave rise to a 250-site housing development.

In 2014, a 19-year-old former detainee sued the government for $100,000 claiming he had been sexually abused eight years earlier.

On Thursday, Mr Carpenter said the government had been sent letters on behalf of four of the former detainees, with two more being finalised.

“All six people have the exact same stories, name the exact same guards, and each was there at different times independent of one another

All were abused on intake, and then on an almost nightly basis - in the same place, by the same offenders, in the same kinds of ways

Some of the complainants say that older children who had been at Magill for some time already told them ‘don’t complain, just go with it, otherwise it will just get worse’.”

A Department of Human Services spokeswoman said it was “aware of a civil claim in relation to an individual’s contact with the youth justice system between 1997 and 2001”.

“As the matter is currently active, the department is unavailable to provide any further detail,” she said.

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.adelaidenow.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-sa/six-former-inmates-of-magill-youth-training-centre-sue-sa-government-over-alleged-sexual-abuse-in-the-former-facility/news-story/67d334ee061aebee493c43009d0398eb

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d9dffc No.20858332

Australia To Ban Live Sheep Exports By Sea From May 2028

By Emily Cadman Bloomberg May 11, 2024

May 11, 2024 (Bloomberg) —Australia will ban the live export of sheep by sea from May 2028, and help those impacted by the decision to adjust, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said.

“Certainty for when the trade will end is critical,” Watt said Saturday in the government’s formal response to an independent report it commissioned on phasing out the controversial practice. “The timeframe balances the transition steps required with our commitment to uphold improved sheep welfare outcomes.”

Read Also: Animal Deaths At Sea Spike Fueling Calls For EU Livestock Carrier Ban

The government said it will provide a A$107 million ($70.7 million) transition package to help impacted business. Trade can continue until the end date without any additional restrictions such as caps or quotas. The prohibition will not apply to other livestock export industries or live sheep exports by air.

The industry has already begun moving away from the trade. Australia exported approximately 652,000 sheep by sea in 2022-23, compared to 5.92 million sheep 20 years ago, government data showed.

Still, the National Farmers’ Federation said the four-year time frame would be devastating for farmers and accused the government of pandering to activists.

“We will not rest until this misguided policy is overturned,” NFF Chief Executive Officer Tony Mahar said. “Today’s announcement just sentences foreign sheep to the practices we banned a decade ago.”

https://gcaptain.com/australia-to-ban-live-sheep-exports-by-sea-from-may-2028/

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80104e No.20859867

File: 74bcbff7acb7230⋯.jpg (333.11 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: ece3977fa37763a⋯.jpg (159.42 KB,1497x1123,1497:1123,Macnamara_MP_Josh_Burns.jpg)

>>20705252

>>20852029

Bid to defuse tensions as Victorian Labor faces Gaza ‘split’

DAMON JOHNSTON - MAY 12, 2024

Israeli and Palestinian supporters in the Victorian ALP remain locked in high-stakes talks in a bid to defuse an eruption of tension at Labor’s state conference.

Amid an escalating threat of an internal showdown over the war in Gaza at the key meeting, ­security fears are also emerging with hard-left groups calling on supporters to join an anti-Israel rally outside the event being staged at Moonee Valley Racecourse.

Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns, the federal MP for Macnamara, and other pro-Israeli supporters have been attempting to negotiate a compromise to convince Labor’s pro-Palestinian faction to remove inflammatory language from any motion debated at the May 18-19 conference.

Mr Burns, whose electorate covers Jewish heartland Melbourne suburbs such as Caulfield, St Kilda East and Balaclava, has previously said the ALP must “find a resolution where we express the values of the Labor Party … that demonstrates our longstanding commitment to human rights and the legitimate aspirations of Palestinians and Israelis”.

Mr Burns declined to comment on Sunday on the progress of the talks.

Palestinian supporters in the party’s majority Left faction are behind a push to move a motion at the state conference, which ­ Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan are expected to ­attend.

Israel supporters in the ALP are concerned that the motion at the event – the first state conference since the October 7 Hamas terror attack on Israel – will be loaded with anti-Israeli sentiments, provoking a bitter debate that could split the party.

“Some of the pro-Palestine faction in Labor and the union movement are more to the left than the Greens,” one ALP figure said.

Another pro-Israeli figure within the ALP said that unless a moderate motion was put forward by the Left, a bitter debate would almost certainly be ignited.

“We’re not in the mood for haggling on this issue; if we don’t like it, we will argue against it,” the figure said.

The Australian has previously reported that the motion could be strongly critical of Israel’s military operation in Gaza, raise the issue of Jewish settlements and demand the Australian government backs international legal action that has accused Israel of committing genocide.

The potential for a damaging internal split within the ALP at the state conference has increased as anti-Israeli sentiment has grown within the union ­movement.

The ACTU chose the eve of Passover last month to issue its strongest statement against Israel since the Hamas terror attack, calling on the Albanese government to end military trade with ­Israel, enforce targeted sanctions against Israeli government officials and ­inject a further $100m of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank.

In its statement, the ACTU also demanded the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state, with East Jerusalem as its capital.

The Victorian ALP’s state conference could also trigger clashes with various pro-Palestinian groups, some linked to unions, calling for supporters to rally outside the venue.

One poster accused the federal and state branches of the Victorian ALP as being “complicit in Israel’s genocide in Gaza”.

“Bring your disapproval to their doorstep,” the poster states, before going on to list three demands: “Elbit (an Israeli-linked company) out of Victoria, Labor to cancel contracts with Israel” and “break the siege! End the ­occupation!”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/labor-faces-split-on-gaza/news-story/7ceb0ca8d160fed2914b25aa7f41b673

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80104e No.20859885

File: b81949afe517411⋯.jpg (134.08 KB,1280x720,16:9,Elon_Musk_and_Australian_E….jpg)

File: 081f72442a8c8e7⋯.jpg (116.75 KB,1280x721,1280:721,Sydney_bishop_Mar_Mari_Emm….jpg)

File: 061de2ef014704a⋯.jpg (395.07 KB,750x1096,375:548,EM_16.jpg)

>>20731815

>>20751248

>>20780521

Federal Court ends temporary block on Australians viewing bishop stabbing footage on X

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS and ANGELICA SNOWDEN - MAY 13, 2024

A temporary order by Australia’s eSafety commissioner to block Australians from viewing footage of the alleged terrorist stabbing attack of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has been refused, in a win for tech giant X.

In April, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant ordered X (formerly Twitter) remove access to the video for Australian users, slapping the footage with a Class 1 classification, reserved for high-impact violent or child sex abuse material.

While X complied with a take-down notice, “geo-blocking” the content, Australian users with VPNs could still watch the attack on the platform and the tech company has refused to totally remove the footage from its platform.

In a brief court hearing on Monday morning, Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett said: “In the this matter which I heard on Friday, the orders of the court will be that the application to extend the interlocutory injunction granted on the 22nd of April 2024, as extended on the 24th of April, is refused, and that the cost of the application are reserved.”

His reasons for the decision will be available either later on Monday or on Tuesday.

In a hearing on Friday, barrister Tim Begbie KC, representing eSafety, told the court the material posted online showed “actual graphic and shocking moments of that attacker (allegedly) repeatedly and violently stabbing” the bishop.

The commission was pushing for the power to enforce global take-down orders, arguing worldwide censorship of offensive material is reasonable in light of the Australian parliament’s online safety legislation.

“This is not a proceeding about a free speech policy,” Mr Begbie said. “X Corp itself can and does take that stance (to make footage inaccessible) when it wishes to.”

He said “X’s position is a fairly striking one” and referred in its submissions to one of its policy statements that posts must “continue to flow”, evidencing X’s pro free speech stance.

Barrister Bret Walker SC, representing X Corp with law firm Ashurst, told the court it would be a “matter of real concern” if the only way X could reasonably comply with a takedown order was to remove the content for users worldwide.

He said it was “remarkable” to consider “the only way to control what is available to end users in Australia … (is) to deny it to everybody on earth (the content).”

Earlier, he said a statement of reasons supplied by the eSafety commissioner’s office in support of their take-down notices looked “informal” under the Administrative Appeals Tribunal Act.

“There are strong reasons to doubt the validity of the notice,” he said.

Mr Walker also pointed out Mar Mari Emmanuel did not want the footage to be removed from online.

Meanwhile, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) asked the Federal Court on Friday to allow them intervene in the high profile case between eSafety Commission and Elon Musk’s X Corp to advance arguments about whether or not the take-down notice should apply globally.

A further case management hearing is set for Wednesday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/federal-court-ends-temporary-block-on-australians-viewing-bishop-stabbing-footage-on-x/news-story/710747417afac077f46d77d3ff2dfb19

https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1789870567224402136

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80104e No.20859919

File: a47d21b2e6e7e13⋯.jpg (1.11 MB,5000x3333,5000:3333,The_former_spy_Eric_is_now….jpg)

File: edc158d4cba8006⋯.jpg (902.64 KB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Eric_worked_as_a_spy_for_C….jpg)

File: 973ef4077619533⋯.jpg (40.81 KB,862x575,862:575,The_unit_Eric_worked_for_i….jpg)

File: b2c143af90a79f7⋯.jpg (57.48 KB,862x485,862:485,Xi_Jinping_has_paid_close_….jpg)

Former spy for China's secret police reveals operations targeting dissidents in Australia and overseas

Echo Hui, Elise Potaka and Dylan Welch - 13 May 2024

1/2

The inner workings of China's notorious secret police unit and how it hunts down dissidents living overseas – including in Australia – have been exposed by a former spy in a Four Corners investigation, raising tough questions about Australia's national security.

It is the first time anyone from the secret police – one of the most feared and powerful arms of China's intelligence apparatus – has ever spoken publicly.

The investigation also found the existence of an espionage operation on Australian soil only last year and the secret return of an Australian resident to China in 2019.

Spy speaks out

The spy — who goes by the name Eric — worked as an undercover agent for a unit within China's federal police and security agency, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) between 2008 and early 2023.

The unit is called the Political Security Protection Bureau, or the 1st Bureau. It is one of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) key tools of repression, operating across the globe to surveil, kidnap and silence critics of the party, particularly President Xi Jinping.

"It is the darkest department of the Chinese government," Eric said.

"When dealing with people who oppose the CCP, they can behave as if these people are not protected by the law. They can do whatever they want to them."

Four Corners has chosen not to publish Eric's full name or the identities of his secret police handlers due to concerns for the 39-year-old's safety.

Eric fled China and arrived in Australia last year where he revealed his history to ASIO, Australia's domestic spy agency.

ASIO declined to comment for this story.

Eric revealed to Four Corners how China collects intelligence on those it deems enemies of the state – and in some cases the tactics it uses to see them return to China to face prosecution.

He was tasked by his handlers with hunting down dissidents across the globe, sometimes by using elaborate cover stories — once as a property executive and another as an anti-CCP freedom fighter — to try to gain their confidence and lure them to countries where they could be abducted and returned to China.

Four Corners has seen hundreds of secret documents and correspondence that back up Eric's story about his assignments and targets which covered China, India, Cambodia, Thailand, Canada and Australia.

'Secret agents in Australia'

In 2023, AFP officers raided a Sydney location and uncovered a Chinese espionage operation targeting Australian residents.

One of them was Edwin Yin, a political activist whose online videos have targeted President Xi and his daughter.

The AFP spoke to Mr Yin after the raid.

"They told me … they had disrupted an intelligence agency in Australia," he said.

"They acquired information and material that indicated the CCP was looking for me in Australia through this intelligence agency."

Four Corners understands the AFP's investigation is ongoing.

In 2021, Mr Yin was the victim of a physical attack in Melbourne that left him with a broken nose. Mr Yin thought the two men who attacked him, and a third who filmed it, were Chinese government agents.

"I don't feel safe in Australia," he said.

Eric was asked to target Mr Yin in 2018.

He told Four Corners he has no doubt Chinese secret agents currently operate in Australia, and that they rely on a network of support organisations and businesses.

"In an area where there are secret agents, a support system is required so when the agents are dispatched there, they can receive the necessary support," he said.

"They certainly have established a support system in Australia."

China says it is seeking Mr Yin's return over several financial fraud allegations. Four Corners spoke to one of his alleged victims who maintained the crimes happened.

Mr Yin says he was framed.

(continued)

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80104e No.20859932

File: 1e7fb14d8cdab46⋯.jpg (984.78 KB,5000x3333,5000:3333,Edwin_Yin_moved_to_Austral….jpg)

File: 39ff54b9e86d19c⋯.jpg (207.44 KB,1630x978,5:3,The_attack_on_Mr_Yin_was_c….jpg)

File: 1ca4cec7ccfff35⋯.png (329.27 KB,1318x900,659:450,The_UFWD_is_tasked_with_in….png)

File: fdebec04b5a87da⋯.jpg (89.54 KB,670x388,335:194,The_Chinese_embassy_in_Aus….jpg)

>>20859919

2/2

China's global reach

Counter-intelligence experts said it was "political security" with which China's vast spying network was most concerned.

Holden Triplett previously led the FBI's office in Beijing where he regularly dealt with the Ministry of Public Security.

"The MPS portrays itself as a police service … but in my mind, they're anything but that," he said.

"Their job is to protect the party's status … and when I say status, I mean control … The party has to remain in control."

Under Mr Xi's rule, that control has become much tighter. Since becoming leader in 2012, Mr Xi has reordered the Chinese security and intelligence services and strengthened the party's grip on the Chinese population overseas.

"Now they're heavily engaged in the world, they need resources from all sorts of places," Mr Triplett said.

"So anyone within the Chinese population internally, or in the diaspora … that could threaten the party's control … that's what they would be investigating, opposing and disrupting if necessary."

MPS works with other elements of China's national state security including the country's foreign spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, and the CCP's main foreign influence arm, the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

The UFWD is tasked with increasing China's influence abroad and UFWD-associated community groups exist in virtually all countries where there is a significant Chinese population – including Australia.

"United Front work creates tall grass to hide the snakes," said former CIA analyst Peter Mattis.

"The MPS are some of those snakes."

Citizens returned

Mr Xi has used his anti-corruption campaigns Fox Hunt and Sky Net to return more than 12,000 so-called fugitives to China since 2014. Many were returned in covert operations without the knowledge or permission of local authorities.

As part of Fox Hunt, in 2014 two Chinese police officers covertly entered Australia to pursue and return a Melbourne bus driver. When it was made public the following year, it caused a major diplomatic incident and the Chinese government promised it would never happen again.

In 2019, Chinese officers came to Australia again and returned with a 59-year-old Australian resident.

"The MPS sent officials … to Australia to have a so-called heart-to-heart with a female who was then persuaded to come back," said Laura Harth, campaigns director at human rights NGO, Safeguard Defenders.

"They used the [Australian] Chinese consulate-general and embassy to help them."

Four Corners has established that the AFP did approve the 2019 visit, but the Chinese officers didn't follow the agreed protocol and the woman was escorted back to China by them without the AFP's approval.

Last month, Safeguard Defenders released a report documenting more than 280 cases of foreign citizens and residents being repatriated to China. The individuals are accused of committing economic crimes.

There were at least 16 successful individual extrajudicial returns from Australia between 2014 and 2023, according to the report, which relied on Chinese state media. Four of those returns took place last year.

"These successful operations — or even the attempts at operations that turn out not to be successful — are a clear violation of Australia's sovereignty," Ms Harth said.

A spokeswoman for the AFP said it "will never endorse or facilitate a foreign agency to come to Australia to intimidate or force foreign nationals to return home".

"Under Australian law, that is a crime," she said.

"It is an offence for foreign governments, or those acting on their behalf, to threaten culturally and linguistically diverse communities, or anyone else in Australia. This includes harassment, surveillance, intimidation and other coercive measures."

An Australian Government spokesperson said defending against malicious foreign interference was "a top priority".

"Australia's law enforcement and intelligence agencies assess, investigate, disrupt and where possible, prosecute acts of foreign interference."

"The ASIO and AFP-led Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce is actively investigating a range of foreign interference cases."

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Australia and China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond to a request for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-13/china-secret-police-operations-revealed-by-spy-four-corners/103826622

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80104e No.20859947

File: 128e2c43ed5f281⋯.gif (9.61 MB,739x492,739:492,A_man_appears_to_give_a_Na….gif)

>>20695650

Nazi-saluting soccer fan slapped with two-year ban as police investigate

Vince Rugari - May 13, 2024

A spectator who performed a Nazi salute at last month’s Sydney A-League derby has been banned from attending matches for two years and could yet be subject to criminal charges.

Football Australia says it has concluded an investigation into the incident after broadcast cameras captured the man – who has been identified as a well-known member of the Western Sydney Wanderers’ main active support group, the Red and Black Bloc – making the gesture at Allianz Stadium on April 13.

“As the governing body of football in Australia, we hold a firm stance against any form of racist and/or anti-social behaviour,” an FA spokesperson said.

“The actions of this individual not only breached the A-League Terms of Admission and our Spectator Code of Behaviour but fundamentally contradicted the values of respect and inclusivity that Football Australia stands for.

“We are committed to ensuring that football remains a sport that unites communities and offers a safe and respectful environment for all.”

The ban is for all matches sanctioned by FA, including Socceroos, Matildas, A-Leagues, Australia Cup, and National Premier Leagues fixtures, as well as the yet-to-be-established National Second Tier, which is launching next year.

NSW Police confirmed to this masthead that their own investigation into the incident was ongoing and that no arrests had yet been made.

The man was caught by Network 10’s cameras holding his middle finger up in the air before raising his right hand in what was widely interpreted as a Nazi salute.

It has been illegal to perform the Nazi salute in NSW since mid-2022, while similar laws passed by the federal parliament came into effect in January.

Three other soccer fans faced court last month after being charged with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public without reasonable excuse at the Australia Cup final between Sydney United 58 FC and Macarthur FC at CommBank Stadium in October 2022. One of the men was handed a lifetime ban by FA.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/soccer/nazi-saluting-soccer-fan-slapped-with-two-year-ban-as-police-investigate-20240513-p5jd95.html

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80104e No.20859967

File: ec06346c1b6c019⋯.mp4 (15.89 MB,640x360,16:9,60_Minutes_Australia_Why_i….mp4)

>>20622409

>>20676473

>>20841340

Why is a former fighter pilot wanted by the US government?

Dimity Clancey - 12 May 2024

1/2

To his family, Daniel Duggan is a hero, but in the eyes of the US Government, he's a traitor.

"One man against the US, it's disgraceful," Daniel's wife Saffrine told 60 Minutes.

For 19 months, the former US Marine fighter pilot turned proud Australian citizen has been sitting in maximum security jail, accused of sharing top secret military information with China.

But that's nothing compared to the 65 years he could be locked up for, if the Americans get a hold of him and prove the father-of-six sold them out.

"It's a death sentence for my husband," Saffrine said.

"We will never see him again and my kids will never grow up with a father."

The US claims when the former Marine major was employed at a flying school in South Africa in 2012, he taught Chinese military pilots secret combat techniques, including how to take off and land on aircraft carriers.

Homeland security expert Dr Charles Edel says the allegations against Daniel Duggan couldn't be more serious.

"The military is privy to secrets and they cannot trade those secrets away with foreign countries, with foreign competitors, with foreign adversaries," Dr Edel said.

"The last thing in the world that we want to do is make the Chinese military more capable, more adept at being able to fight."

Daniel Duggan always wanted to be a pilot, so he joined the Marines in 1990 and flew Harrier jets.

In 2002, his service ended and he moved to Australia.

Ten years later he became an Aussie, but curiously, instead of being a dual national, he gave up his American citizenship.

It was while living in Tasmania, he met and fell in love with Saffrine.

"Dan had an adventure company flying planes, and I was a photographer," she said.

"He was my Top Gun."

Life was good, but while running his business in Tasmania, Duggan also took temporary contracts to train pilots at a flying school in South Africa.

It's what happened there between 2009 and 2012 that the Americans are now questioning.

Daniel said he only ever taught civilian pilots from China, but the US claims they were in fact Chinese military aviators.

Dr Edel said it's often difficult to separate the two.

"The Chinese have introduced a concept that they call civil-military fusion in how they go about acquiring technology," he told 60 Minutes.

"But it basically lays out the case that there is no distinction between civilian and military application and use."

"There is no bright shining line between those who are trained in the civilian arena and those who have the ability to actualize things from a military perspective when you're dealing with the Chinese state."

Speaking from inside his prison cell, where he's now been in solitary confinement for 569 days, Duggan argues the work he was doing in South Africa was all above board.

"I served honourably and proudly for 12 years," Daniel said.

"There was not one time at any point where my oath to the Constitution was ever violated or in question, ever."

(continued)

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80104e No.20859971

File: abcf1de6eb630c7⋯.jpg (190.99 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Former_US_fighter_pilot_Da….jpg)

File: 5364437bc9ad049⋯.jpg (129.65 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Daniel_Duggan_and_his_wife….jpg)

File: c36d28ece91ee69⋯.jpg (102.96 KB,1274x717,1274:717,The_US_claims_Duggan_taugh….jpg)

File: f4eb895f383b455⋯.jpg (98.17 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Homeland_security_expert_D….jpg)

File: 8d397bb7e88a5e3⋯.jpg (145.03 KB,1274x717,1274:717,Duggan_faces_65_years_in_p….jpg)

>>20859967

2/2

But America says as a former Marine fighter pilot, Duggan needed government approval - in the form of a state-approved licence - to do that kind of work.

Former UK Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood says his country has faced similar controversies with a number of former RAF pilots earning big money to help the Chinese.

As a consequence, he has little sympathy for Daniel Duggan.

"We are entering a dangerous era now," Tobias said.

"It's absolutely adamant that anybody serving in the British armed forces, or the Australian or the American, you may leave the armed forces, but your loyalty to the nation must remain sacrosanct."

Suspicion only grew against Daniel in 2014, when he relocated his entire family from Australia to China, but Saffrine says there was nothing untoward about the move.

"It was the place to be, there were lots of Australians going over there. Asia was a real hotspot," Saffrine said.

After six years, she and the kids returned home to Australia - but for Daniel, it wasn't that simple.

It's not clear why but the Chinese government confiscated his passport and didn't return it until September 2022.

Just a month after arriving back in the country, Australian Federal Police arrested Duggan in a supermarket car park in regional New South Wales.

"We didn't know for two months why he'd been arrested," Saffrine said.

"This is an innocent man, an innocent man that has no Australian charges."

On May 24, Daniel Duggan will learn whether he will be extradited to the US and face trial.

Tobias Ellwood said Duggan's case should act as a warning, as political tensions simmer around the world.

"China is growing in its military competence, certainly in its power, but it's not actually engaged in warfare," Tobias said.

"That's when you are truly tested."

It's one man up against the might of the United States government and the odds are not stacked in the former Marine major's favour.

Of course, the bid to extradite Daniel Duggan might fail and he could walk free.

More likely though, he'll be sent to America to face four charges including conspiracy and money laundering.

If found guilty, the 55-year-old faces spending the rest of his life in an American prison.

"We will not give up," Saffrine said defiantly.

"I want to be proud that our Australian government does the right thing and brings Dan home."

https://9now.nine.com.au/60-minutes/why-is-a-former-fighter-pilot-wanted-by-the-us-government/a6618e96-e250-42ea-9b7d-b713f2a4aa38

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d2cc96 No.20860722

Rumble embed. Click thumbnail to play.

10:00 AM EDT

War Room With Steve Bannon

Real America's Voice

https://rumble.com/v4uu278-war-room-with-steve-bannon.html

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d9dffc No.20861656

General Research #25585 >>20860536

Elon Musk wins court battle against Australia

13 May, 2024

The tech billionaire’s X platform has insisted that Canberra’s order to remove a stabbing video was invalid

An Australian Federal Court judge has decided not to extend an order banning Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) platform from displaying a video of a stabbing attack in a church in Sydney.

On Monday, Justice Geoffrey Kennett denied an application by the country’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, to extend restrictions on the clip, which she had deemed to be “class 1” material relating to high-impact violence. The judge hasn’t yet provided explanations for his ruling.

The initial ban on the video, which was imposed by the Federal Court in Melbourne on April 22, expired on Monday.

X had refused to comply with the order, which would have made the clip inaccessible to users worldwide. The platform only agreed to block the content in Australia. Musk insisted back then thatone country should not have the power to censor the whole internet. The eSafety commissioner argued that a blanket ban was needed as Australians could still access the video through a VPN.

The clip in questionshowed a stabbing that took place during a live-streamed sermon at an Assyrian Christian churchin the suburbs of Sydney on April 15. Four people, including Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, were injured in what the Australian authoritiesdescribed as a “terrorist incident.”The footage of the attack was widely shared online and allegedly prompted heated protests near the crime scene.

During the hearing on Friday, lawyer for the eSafety Commissioner, Tim Begbie, argued that the refusal to comply with the order by X amounted to mockery of the Federal Court. “What that says about the authority of the court is pretty striking,” he said.

X’s lawyer Bret Walker argued that the platform did not implement the ban on the stabbing video because the commissioner’s initial take-down notice was invalid and“manifestly inadequate” due to the absence of a detailed description of the reasons for the ban.

The social media company believes that “global removal is reasonable when X does it because X wants to do it,but it becomes unreasonable when it is told to do it by the laws of Australia,” Walker told the judge.

In late April, Bishop Emmanuel supported Musk during a sermon, saying that he wanted thevideo of the attack against him to remain onlinebecause it is “our God-given right to freedom of speech and freedom of religion.”

https://www.rt.com/news/597503-musk-x-australia-stabbing/

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80104e No.20864699

File: c72f3895091ea01⋯.jpg (185.45 KB,2048x1152,16:9,David_McBride_pleaded_guil….jpg)

David McBride: Australian army whistleblower jailed for leaking documents

Tiffanie Turnbull - 14 May 2024

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A whistleblower who helped expose allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan has been sentenced to five years and eight months in jail.

David McBride pleaded guilty to stealing and sharing military secrets on the eve of his trial last year, after legal rulings sunk his defence.

An ex-military lawyer, McBride said he felt a moral duty to speak up.

A landmark inquiry later found evidence that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war.

McBride's case has sparked uproar in Australia, putting a spotlight on what some say are flimsy whistleblower protections and slow progress towards prosecuting soldiers alleged to have killed with impunity under its flag.

McBride, 60, admits he gave troves of document to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), saying he was concerned about the attitudes of commanders and what he then thought was the "over-investigation" of troops, the court heard.

But instead the information he provided underpinned a series of reports in 2017 called The Afghan Files, which gave unprecedented insight into the operations of Australia's elite special forces in Afghanistan, and contained allegations of war crimes.

Prosecutors argued McBride was motivated by "personal vindication", and that the way he gathered, stored and then leaked the documents endangered Australia's national security and foreign policy.

But McBride's lawyers asked for leniency, saying he shared the information with "honourable" intentions and out of a sense of personal duty.

During sentencing in the nation's capital on Tuesday, Justice David Mossop agreed McBride was of "good character" but said that he seemed to have become obsessed with the correctness of his own opinions. Sharing military secrets was "a gross breach of trust" for which he has shown "no contrition", he added.

McBride will be eligible for release on parole after 27 months.

After the sentence was read out, some in the public gallery shouted "shame on you" towards the judge as he left the bench.

His support dog nearby, McBride hugged his friends and family before being led off into custody.

He has maintained that his leak was justified as it had ultimately exposed wrongdoing.

"I did not break my oath to the people of Australia and the soldiers that keep us safe," he said on Tuesday ahead of his sentencing, addressing a crowd of supporters which included relatives of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and fellow whistleblower Jeff Morris.

Files smuggled over 18 months

Even before he became one of Australia's most high-profile whistleblowers, McBride led a colourful life.

After graduating from Oxford University with a law degree, he started his career with a stint in the British army. Leaving after reaching the rank of captain, he then tried his hand at everything from private security to reality TV and politics, before coming full circle and joining the Australian Defence Force (ADF).

As a legal officer, he did two tours of Afghanistan in 2011 and 2013, the latter with the special forces. It was then that he began to form the impression that "a line had been crossed" by commanders.

Over the next few years, while suffering from undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and abusing drugs and alcohol, McBride said he became more and more convinced he needed to speak up.

Working late into the night at an army base near Canberra, he started covertly copying hundreds of sensitive documents, smuggling them home in a backpack over 18 months.

He tried an internal complaint first. When that failed, he went to the police and the defence minister, before turning to the press.

He believed the dossier he compiled would show the ADF's chain of command was so concerned about the perception of unlawful killings that they were scapegoating soldiers and undermining special forces' confidence to do their work.

Instead, ABC journalist Dan Oakes found they contained evidence that Australian forces had committed war crimes and lied to conceal them.

"The more I looked into it, I couldn't conceive how anyone would think these guys were being too tightly monitored. It was precisely the opposite," he recently told the Four Corners programme.

"What happened out in the field stayed in the field."

(continued)

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80104e No.20864704

File: a49fe1af6483efe⋯.jpg (132.67 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australian_troops_were_dep….jpg)

>>20864699

2/2

The Afghan Files included revelations military leaders themselves had concerns about a "warrior culture" within the force, and details of how soldiers were allegedly covering up the unlawful killings of unarmed men and children - including a six-year-old boy who was allegedly shot in his sleep in 2013.

Until that point, there had been very little reported about allegations of war crimes.

McBride was quickly fingered as the man behind the leak and he fled to Spain shortly before the Australian Federal Police (AFP) descended on his apartment. There officers found four plastic tubs filled with classified documents stashed in a cupboard.

After a year in hiding, McBride returned to Australia and was charged with stealing Commonwealth property, breaching the Defence Act and disclosing confidential information.

Police also started building a case against Mr Oakes and his producer Sam Clarke. In 2019, they dramatically raided the ABC's Sydney headquarters and seized documents.

It was an unprecedented moment in Australia which made headlines around the globe. Under public pressure, prosecutors ultimately decided against charging the journalists, arguing doing so would not be in the public interest.

Within a month, the findings of a landmark inquiry known as the Brereton report found credible evidence of unlawful killings of civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan from 2007 to 2013.

The government also set up the Office of the Special Investigator to begin criminal investigations into the allegations. Only one person has been charged so far.

But despite mounting pressure, the government refused to order prosecutors to drop the case against McBride.

'Chilling effect'

Australia has some safeguards for whistleblowers enshrined in law. But advocates have long complained that they're weak and also demand whistleblowers meet a raft of onerous requirements before they disclose information - some of which ironically make it easier for authorities to catch them.

McBride had initially planned to rely on those protections, but his legal team say they were forced to withdraw that defence after much of their evidence was struck out on national security grounds.

After failed attempts to convince Attorney General Mark Dreyfus to intervene and drop the prosecution - as Mr Dreyfus did in the case of fellow whistleblower Bernard Collaery in 2022 - McBride then tried to argue that he had a duty to leak the documents, because doing so was in the public interest.

But that defence too was scuppered by the judge, who ruled it had no legal basis and could not be put to a jury - a decision McBride's lawyer says they will appeal.

Advocates say McBride's case shows that whistleblower protections do not work, and will dissuade others from speaking up about wrongdoing.

"It is a stain on Australia's reputation that some of its soldiers have been accused of war crimes in Afghanistan, and yet the first person convicted in relation to these crimes is a whistleblower not the abusers," said Daniela Gavshon, Australia director at Human Rights Watch.

Among the critics were a raft of parliamentarians who called it a "perverse" outcome.

"The prison sentence handed to David McBride sends a chilling message to whistleblowers across Australia… We need better whistleblower protections urgently," said independent MP Allegra Spender.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-69006714

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-07-11/killings-of-unarmed-afghans-by-australian-special-forces/8466642

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80104e No.20864718

File: c6c6da4f8a71883⋯.jpg (315.91 KB,2048x1152,16:9,David_McBride_told_reporte….jpg)

>>20864699

David McBride sentenced to five years, eight months jail for leaking classified military documents

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 14, 2024

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Former army legal officer David McBride, 60, has been sentenced to five years and eight months jail, with a non-parole period of 27 months, for stealing classified ­Defence secrets and sharing them with journalists.

ACT Supreme Court Justice David Mossop found McBride had committed a “gross breach of trust” and had shown “no contrition for his offending”.

McBride’s supporters cried “shame on you” as Justice Mossop delivered the sentence. His legal team vowed an appeal.

Justice Mossop said McBride was “not such a bad lawyer” that he could have genuinely believed he was not committing a crime. “He hoped that his conduct would ultimately be somehow vindicated. That is very different from an honest belief no offence was ­occurring,” he said.

The principle of “general deterrence” was key in formulating the penalty, Justice Mossop said, noting “self-confident people with strong opinions” needed to be deterred from making unlawful disclosures.

Ahead of the sentence, McBride declared he had “never been so proud to be an Australian”.

“I may have broken the law, but I did not break my oath to the people of Australia, and the soldiers who keep us safe,” he said as he ­entered the court.

McBride – who served two tours in Afghanistan – leaked the classified documents to the ABC, which used them to produce its 2017 Afghan Files reports alleging a cover-up of war crimes by Australian soldiers. The judge said McBride’s conduct had caused significant harm to the commonwealth by releasing Defence ­secrets, including its rules of engagement in Afghanistan.

He said Australia’s foreign partners had to be informed of the leak, which may have “reduced their willingness to share information with Australia”.

Justice Mossop said the release of the information risked informing Australia’s adversaries on the ADF’s use of force and its limitations, offering them a “technical advantage”.

The former army major pleaded guilty in November to three charges of stealing and unlawfully sharing secret information, after Justice Mossop struck out his planned defence that he was doing his duty as an army officer. The court heard McBride believed the ADF was undertaking “illegal” and “overzealous” murder investigations into serving soldiers who had killed captured Afghans while defending themselves.

He believed such investigations were of a “political nature”, and made a complaint to the Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force. But the IGADF found McBride’s complaint could not be substantiated.

The court heard McBride stole 235 Defence documents from his workplace, 207 of were marked “secret”, storing them in plastic tubs in his Canberra house.

On one occasion in 2016, when he was moving house, the documents remained in the tubs in the lounge room during a real estate inspection.

“Unsurprisingly, this did not comply with the Commonwealth government’s policy and storage of information bearing protective marking secret,” Justice Mossop said.

He said “secret” and “top secret” security classifications were designed to protect material that, should it be released, “could be expected to cause serious damage” to the national interest or loss of life.

(continued)

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80104e No.20864725

File: a08e23b34867fee⋯.jpg (301.17 KB,2048x1152,16:9,David_McBride_was_joined_b….jpg)

>>20864718

2/2

The court heard McBride leaked secret documents to three journalists, including the ABC’s Dan Oakes.

The journalist told a “totally different story to the one I was pushing”, said McBride, who was furious at the suggestion that Australia’s special forces “kill people unnecessarily”.

Justice Mossop said he accepted McBride was of good character but said he had become “obsessed with the correctness of his own feelings” to the point that he was unable to comprehend when his views may have been incorrect.

He found his conduct was honourable only to the extent that it was not motivated by financial gain or to assist Australia’s adversaries.

Independent MP and staunch David McBride supporter Andrew Wilkie has lambasted the Attorney-General for not exercising his powers to keep Mr McBride out of jail while accusing the government of not practising what it preaches.

“Governments have said in the past that whistleblowers have their place in a democracy, and they should have some protection” he said.

“But frankly that looks more and more like lip service when this government has no interest in proving the protections in the Corporations Act, and has shown little interest in proving the protections in the public disclosure act

“Instead the Attorney-General chose not to intervene. We’ve got to understand here that the Attorney-General has the legal power to intervene in a case like this.

“He has a responsibility to intervene in a case like this.

“The federal Attorney-General chose not to and the result being that we had this astonishing turn of events today, where not only was the first Australian to front a court for war crimes a whistleblower, but he is also the first person to go to jail for war crimes as a whistleblower.

“This is a shameful day for the Australian Government. I wish Mr McBride strength as he goes through his prison sentence and I criticise the court in no way. The court merely applied the law.”

The Human Rights Law Centre said the sentence represented a “dark day for democracy”.

“The imprisonment of a whistleblower will have a grave chilling effect on potential truth-tellers,” the centre’s Kieran Pender said. “Our democracy suffers when people can’t speak up about potential wrongdoing. There is no public interest in prosecuting whistleblowers.”

Greens justice spokesman David Shoebridge, who has long supported McBride, described his imprisonment as the “definition of injustice”.

“A five-year prison sentence has sent a chill down the spines of truth-tellers across the country, just as what it was designed to do,” Senator Shoebridge said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/david-mcbride-sentenced-to-five-years-eight-months-jail-for-leaking-classified-military-documents/news-story/a5a3f4a5924e91ce120bb7317b4e26ec

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80104e No.20864771

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20859919

Unmasking the man who’s been spying for China | Four Corners

ABC News In-depth

May 13, 2024

For the first time ever, a former spy for China’s notorious secret police - one of the most powerful arms of the country’s intelligence apparatus - goes public, exposing the covert and illegal operations he was ordered to carry out on foreign soil and the dissidents he was tasked with tracking, including in Australia, Canada, India, Cambodia and Thailand.

In a major investigation reported by the ABC’s Echo Hui, the spy - who goes by the name Eric - comes out of the shadows at great danger to himself, revealing his face to expose how China has used its global network over the last two decades to surveil, silence and kidnap those its government and president Xi Jinping deems enemies of the state.

The spy divulges his double life and the secrets he’s been guarding. He reveals the inner workings of the secret police, including the companies they use as cover, who his targets were, and the tactics he used to hunt them down.

It raises tough questions about China’s global reach and Australia’s national security.

Read more about this story here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-13/china-spy-secret-police-agent-tells-all-four-corners/103826708

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STq7LNwa3Gs

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80104e No.20864786

File: bc2db0bd5c16899⋯.jpg (277.34 KB,3800x2280,5:3,The_Coalition_s_home_affai….jpg)

>>20859919

>>20864771

AFP must explain deal allowing Chinese ‘secret police’ to conduct operations in Australia, Coalition says

Opposition questions extension of bilateral security treaties amid ‘gravely concerning’ reports of activities on Australian soil

Daniel Hurst - 14 May 2024

The Australian federal police must explain why it renewed a cooperation deal with China’s ministry of public security (MPS) after “gravely concerning” reports about the agency’s activities on Australian soil, the Coalition has said.

The opposition has identified at least seven active agreements relating to AFP cooperation with Chinese agencies, three of which were extended only last month.

The agreements are in the spotlight after an ABC Four Corners investigation found that Chinese police had been permitted to enter Australia in 2019 – when the Coalition was still in power – to question a 59-year-old Chinese-born Australian resident.

Four Corners reported that the MPS officers had approval to visit Australia under an agreement with the AFP, but then “breached protocol and returned to China with the woman”.

The Coalition’s home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, said the AFP must now “justify why they recently re-signed a bilateral law enforcement cooperation treaty with the MPS now we know for sure they [the MPS] cannot be trusted”.

“The revelations that the Australian Federal Police allowed the Ministry of Public Security to apparently operate with impunity on Australian soil is gravely concerning,” Paterson told Guardian Australia on Tuesday.

“No one should be surprised the MPS did not adhere to their end of the deal. You cannot trust the secret police of an authoritarian state, particularly one which is the primary source of foreign interference and espionage in our country.”

The Chinese embassy in Canberra was contacted for a response to Paterson’s comments and the ABC report.

The ABC reported that the woman’s China-based family members were harassed until she agreed to return to China to face charges related to alleged contract fraud.

According to the ABC report, Chinese state media had congratulated the MPS officers for undertaking “patient and meticulous work” and said the woman had “returned to China, surrendered, and was arrested”.

When asked for comment, the AFP said it was “aware of domestic and international media reporting in relation to foreign nationals in Australia being forced to return to their homeland”.

A spokesperson for the AFP said it did, when appropriate, “provide relevant information to overseas agencies about suspected criminals in Australia, where there are mutual assistance treaties and other avenues underpinned by evidence and Australian law”.

But the AFP would “never endorse or facilitate a foreign agency to come to Australia to intimidate or force foreign nationals to return home”, the spokesperson said on Tuesday.

They said it was “an offence for foreign governments, or those acting on their behalf, to threaten culturally and linguistically diverse communities, or anyone else in Australia” including through “harassment, surveillance, intimidation and other coercive measures”.

“The AFP would like to reinforce with the diaspora community, that it is unlawful for any country or agency, without legal authority, to remove them from Australia,” the spokesperson said.

The AFP said anyone with concerns should phone the national security hotline on 1800 123 400.

Last month the AFP re-signed three agreements, including a statement of intent with the MPS in combating transnational crime and enhancing police cooperation.

It also extended a joint agency agreement on economic crime with the MPS, and one with China’s national narcotics control commission relating to the next phase of an illicit drug taskforce.

A statement of intent with the same narcotics commission was signed last year.

A previous memorandum of understanding between the AFP and China’s national commission of supervision, signed in December 2018 for five years, was allowed to lapse in 2023.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/article/2024/may/14/afp-deal-chinese-secret-police-operations-australia

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80104e No.20864839

File: edce197a8360de4⋯.jpg (244.29 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Anthony_Albanese_and_Joe_B….jpg)

File: 0e34121921d165a⋯.jpg (1.68 MB,5000x3335,1000:667,The_AUKUS_deal_will_see_th….jpg)

File: e456bc17954d631⋯.jpg (436.92 KB,2048x1152,16:9,US_Navy_Virginia_Class_sub….jpg)

File: d432054dcc990cc⋯.jpg (3.79 MB,6555x4375,1311:875,Australia_is_expected_to_b….jpg)

File: c04f0e425adf6b1⋯.jpg (1.08 MB,3000x1929,1000:643,Australia_will_acquire_a_n….jpg)

>>20555443

>>20589317

AUKUS back on track as US congress set to double purchases of Virginia-class submarines

ADAM CREIGHTON - MAY 14, 2024

The US House of Representatives is on track to overturn the Biden administration’s surprise request to buy only one Virginia-class submarine in 2025, which had raised fears the US Navy wouldn’t be able to supply Australia with promised nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact.

The powerful House Armed Services Committee on Monday (Tuesday AEST) has doubled to two the number of Virginia-class submarines the US government will buy in 2025, putting congress on track to increase production of the critical vessels which Australia is meant to start purchasing in the early 2030s.

The Biden administration in its March 2025 budget proposal had indicated it would purchase only one of the submarines in 2025, far below the annual number required (around three per year on average) to satisfy both the US and Australian navies’ future needs.

“Authorising the second boat through incremental funding authority, which restores the two-per-year procurement rate and allows the Navy to contract for two submarines in FY25, will provide additional resources to ensure all suppliers are covered and increase the inventory of attack submarines for the Navy,” said Democratic Party congressman Joe Courtney.

Mr Courtney had slammed the Navy’s original request as creating instability in US submarine production schedules and raising questions about whether the Navy would be able to sell a planned three Virginia-class submarines to Australia.

“Given the critical need for attack submarines across the globe and the impending decision to certify the sale of three submarines to Australia starting in 2032, the subcommittee mark takes decisive action – as required in Article One of the US Constitution – to add back the second submarine,” Mr Courtney added in a statement.

Analysis of the House committee’s proposal for the 2025 National Defence Authorisation Act reveals an extra $US1 billion to purchase a second submarine and a reduce spending on the navy’s delayed Constellation-class frigate. The plan maintains the overall cap on defence spending at $US895 billion for 2025.

“This effort demonstrates congress’s iron-clad commitment to fulfilling the AUKUS security partnership and will make it easier for the future president to certify the sale of three Virginia-class submarines beginning in 2032,” Mr Courtney said.

The House is yet to pass the legislation, but 132 of its members have publicly endorsed the Committee’s proposal, suggesting it will find safe passage. The Senate will have to agree before the purchases becomes law.

In March 2023 President Joe Biden and Prime Ministers Anthony Albanese and Rishi Sunak announced in San Diego a plan for Australia to buy three nuclear-powered submarines to replace the ageing Collins-class fleet, with the first sale scheduled for 2032.

The proposal should calm nerves in Canberra after the President’s 2025 budget, which was released in March, had fuelled concern that bottlenecks in US submarine construction, which have fallen below targets for years, could delay the US government’s undertaking to Australia.

In March, Undersecretary of the Navy Erik Raven denied the unexpected production cut imperilled US promises to Australia under AUKUS, arguing additional investment in the US submarine production base including by Australia would facilitate increased production in “the out years” beyond 2029.

“Thanks to the Australians and the support of congress, there are additional investments that we expect to bring us up above that 2.0 delivery cadence to that 2.33 that we would need to produce the submarines to fulfil our AUKUS commitments,” Mr Raven then said.

The government has promised to pay $US3bn to the US to help it bolster its submarine production capacity, as part of the estimated $368bn cost of the total program, as part of the AUKUS plan laid out in San Diego that foreshadowed an Australian fleet of at least eight Virginia-class submarines by the late 2040s.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/aukus-back-on-track-as-us-congress-set-to-double-purchases-of-virginiaclass-submarines/news-story/2cd621ce039f8d80f5559d7c684b36d4

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80104e No.20868824

YouTube embed. Click thumbnail to play.

>>20705252

>>20852029

‘This is a genocide’: Labor senator breaks with government over Israel war

Matthew Knott - May 15, 2024

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Labor senator Fatima Payman has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza in the most strident criticism of Israel by a government MP since the war in Gaza began.

Reflecting division within the Labor caucus over the Israel-Palestine conflict, Payman also deployed the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a slogan that has been criticised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as provocative.

Jewish groups accused Payman of using a “vile” phrase that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, while the federal opposition called for Albanese to demand the backbencher apologise.

Payman, who was elected to the Senate in the 2022 election, was born in Afghanistan and is the first Muslim woman to wear a hijab in the federal parliament.

Her comments came after Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, publicly criticised the government for voting in favour of granting Palestine extra privileges at the United Nations at the weekend.

“Instead of advocating for justice, I see our leaders performatively gesture defending the oppressor’s right to oppress, while gaslighting the global community about the rights of self-defence,” Payman told SBS News and other outlets at a small press conference.

“My conscience has been uneasy for far too long and I must call this out for what it is.

“This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise.

“The lack of clarity, the moral confusion, the indecisiveness is eating at the heart of this nation.”

Payman called for Australia to end trade with Israel, implement sanctions and immediately recognise a Palestinian state.

Addressing Albanese directly, Payman said: “I ask our prime minister and our fellow parliamentarians, how many international rights laws must Israel break for us to say enough? What is the magic number? How many mass graves need to be uncovered before we say enough? How many images of bloody limbs of murdered children must we see?”

Payman originally planned to deliver her comments at a pro-Palestine rally outside Parliament House commemorating the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, the displacement of Palestinians during the founding of Israel, but instead only watched from the sidelines.

At the protest, activists chanted “shame, shame Penny Wong” and “from the river to the sea”.

At the end of her remarks in Parliament House, Payman said: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Jewish groups regard the “from the river to the sea” slogan as a coded call for the elimination of Israel while others have insisted it is simply a call for freedom and equal rights for Palestinians.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said: “‘From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ is an old Arab supremacist slogan calling for the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of its Jewish population.

“This is why it has been denounced as antisemitic by both the White House and our prime minister.

“The senator should immediately apologise for stoking hatred in such a vile way.

“If she can’t refrain from using racist slogans at a time of extreme tension in our society, she should consider her position.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20868827

File: 696e09d1e1f552a⋯.jpg (1.38 MB,3954x2636,3:2,Labor_senator_Fatima_Payma….jpg)

>>20868824

2/2

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network President Nasser Mashni applauded Payman for her comments, saying: “Senator Payman’s comments should be held up as an example of speaking truth to power, in the interests of the sanctity of human life and human rights.

“We urge Senator Payman’s colleagues, across the political spectrum, to hear her voice and the voices of hundreds of thousands of conscientious people right across this continent, and to stand up for a free Palestine.”

The Prime Minister’s Office was approached for comment.

Albanese this week said that university students chanting “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” were engaging in a “provocative act”.

“One of the really disappointing things is that I reckon if you asked those people chanting it, heaps of them wouldn’t have a clue, wouldn’t be able to find the Jordan [River] on a map,” he told radio 3AW.

“It’s beyond me why people would think that it advances their cause to engage in this sort of behaviour.”

Albanese has previously said he does not endorse the slogan because it “calls for ­opposition to a two-state solution”, which both major parties say they support.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said Albanese “must denounce what Senator Payman has said and have her apologise”.

“This slogan is inconsistent with Israel’s right to exist and is frequently used by those who seek to intimidate Jewish Australians via acts of antisemitism,” he said.

“Such statements should have no place among members of the government.”

Burns on Saturday publicly criticised the government for voting in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution that declared “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules, saying Australia should have abstained alongside the United Kingdom.

“An abstention would have signalled we’re open to further recognition, but that we acknowledge the short-term hurdles that need to be overcome in order to achieve lasting peace,” Burns said.

The invasion of Gaza started after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7 last year, killing 1200 people and taking more than 250 hostages. Since then, Israel has killed more than 35,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to Gazan officials.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/this-is-a-genocide-labor-senator-breaks-with-government-over-israel-war-20240515-p5jdwm.html

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

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80104e No.20868853

File: 7a38746d32a7b8c⋯.jpg (193.83 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Defence_Minister_Richard_M….jpg)

File: 34fe0d0edcad61e⋯.jpg (435.71 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Special_Operations_Task_Gr….jpg)

File: 0e64e9f5c990387⋯.jpg (569.5 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australian_Special_Operati….jpg)

File: 3121d42e7664fea⋯.jpg (348.16 KB,1240x1753,1240:1753,SSF030P0124051414580.jpg)

File: 828a78053cda930⋯.pdf (5.37 MB,SSF030P0124051414580.pdf)

>>20647022

>>20864699

Diggers’ anger as commanders duck responsibility for war crimes, report warns

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 15, 2024

The refusal of the nation’s military leaders to accept responsibility for war crimes in Afghanistan has generated “anger and bitter resentment” among serving personnel and veterans that will take years to overcome, an independent panel has warned.

The Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel says in its final report to Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles that it does not accept the Brereton inquiry’s finding that senior commanders should not be held accountable for the murders of 39 Afghans by up to 25 special forces soldiers.

It says there has been “an unmet need for Defence senior leadership to communicate to the serving and ex-serving ranks of the ADF that they collectively accept organisational responsibility and accountability for part of what went wrong in Afghanistan”.

“There is ongoing anger and bitter resentment amongst present and former members of the special forces, many of whom served with distinction in Afghanistan, that their senior officers have not publicly accepted some responsibility for policies or decisions that contributed to the misconduct, such as the overuse of special forces,” the panel warns.

The report, obtained by The Australian, says the resentment among special forces soldiers was “expressed forcefully and repeatedly to the panel by Defence members of all ranks” during visits to SAS and 2nd Commando Regiment headquarters.

It warns that the anger in the Defence and veterans’ community over the issue will “likely last for a long time”.

The November 2020 Brereton report explicitly cleared senior commanders of responsibility for the war crimes it identified but the panel led by former inspector-general of intelligence and security Vivienne Thom says com­mand­ers need to accept account­ability to “prevent or mitigate any recurrence” of such crimes.

“The panel did not agree with the Brereton inquiry’s view that some accountability and responsibility could not fall on the most senior officers and it suggested that issue should be the subject of further consideration,” its report says.

The report is due to be tabled in the Senate this week after Mr Marles moved on Tuesday to authorise its release – six months after he received the document.

Mr Marles is still considering recommendations by outgoing Chief of the Defence Force Angus Campbell on the stripping of honours and awards for commanders for war crimes that occurred on their watch.

His spokeswoman said: “Work remains ongoing to address the issues identified in the Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel final report and the government will have more to say about this in coming months.”

The report compares the failure of Defence’s senior leaders to accept accountability for war crimes with the actions of company CEOs who face dismissal and even criminal charges after major corporate collapses.

“In the private sector, major corporate failures result in both an organisational and individual responsibility,” it says. “Personal knowledge or direct involvement of the senior officers in the causes or behaviour that led to the corporate failure are not required.”

Australian Special Operations Task Group soldiers prepare to board a helicopter during the Afghanistan war. Picture: Defence

The panel says “substantial progress” has been made in addressing special forces cultural issues highlighted by Paul Brereton in his report for the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force. “While there are still occasions when individuals exhibit behaviours indicative of unhealthy exceptionalism, today the responses from the leadership appear to be rapid, clear and appropriate,” its report says.

It warns that there are still some signs of “toxic competitiveness” between the SAS and 2nd Commando Regiments that Justice Brereton identified as a contributing factor, with “significant and forceful comments” by some soldiers on their rival regiments in interviews by the panel.

The Albanese government is yet to implement a Brereton inquiry recommendation to compensate the families of Afghans unlawfully killed by ADF troops but the panel says it accepts that the government faces difficulties in identifying, locating and paying those affected since the fall of Kabul to the Taliban.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/diggers-fury-as-commanders-duck-responsibility-for-war-crimes-report-warns/news-story/b401fa8eba6bb370baa0251a1b6d1e25

https://www.malcolmrobertsqld.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SSF030P0124051414580.pdf

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80104e No.20868896

File: d81ea959ea5f0ed⋯.jpg (354.72 KB,1280x960,4:3,Chinese_international_stud….jpg)

File: 9dec21e93865c59⋯.jpg (989.67 KB,1240x1754,620:877,0001.jpg)

File: b2d7a96f6514eb5⋯.jpg (576.93 KB,1240x1754,620:877,0002.jpg)

File: 7b13294df73fc72⋯.jpg (736.13 KB,1240x1754,620:877,0003.jpg)

>>20859919

>>20864771

>>20864786

Aaron staged a protest in Australia, then Chinese police paid his parents a visit

Lisa Visentin - May 15, 2024

1/2

Aaron, an international student studying in Sydney, knows all too well that the industrial-scale surveillance deployed by the Chinese government on its citizens doesn’t stop at the border.

In March, ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Australia, Aaron received a flurry of missed calls from his parents in China. When he answered, their voices were strange and unusually monotonous.

“It was like they were reading a script. They told me not to attend any protests or organise any protest, and don’t use Twitter from Monday to Friday,” said Aaron, a University of Sydney student who prefers to be known only by his Western pseudonym.

He suspects that a Chinese police officer was standing over his parents while they gave him the instructions.

If so, it was not the first time Chinese authorities had paid his parents a visit. Aaron, who regularly participates in anti-Chinese Communist Party protests, first attracted the attention of the Chinese government when he staged a demonstration at a bus stop outside the entrance of the University of Sydney in February last year.

Dressed in a Winnie the Pooh costume, which has become a figure of derision and dissent used to mock Chinese President Xi Jinping, Aaron displayed handmade posters and signs featuring photos of CCP critics who had disappeared in China after participating in the White Paper protests that swept the country in 2022 in response to years of gruelling COVID lockdowns and growing censorship.

Over the course of the days-long protest, he sparred with groups of pro-Beijing Chinese nationals, who he says verbally abused him and tore down his posters, and in one incident kicked him in the chest. He filmed some of the confrontations, including one where university staff appeared to try to defuse the situation after his posters were torn down and cautioned him against following the pro-government student through campus.

Soon after, authorities knocked on his parents’ door.

“[The police] threatened my parents about their income and their superannuation, and about my relatives’ future ability to become public servants or get a job in national-owned companies if I did not stop,” he said.

His experience reflects the price paid by many CCP critics who, in exercising their democratic rights in Australia, cannot escape the long arm of the Chinese government – particularly on university campuses.

A 2021 Human Rights Watch report compiled one of the most comprehensive accounts to date of CCP influence stifling free speech on Australian campuses. It found that Chinese students would often self-censor comments critical of the Chinese government for fear they would be reported to authorities or harassed by their pro-Beijing peers.

Universities, in collaboration with Australia’s security agencies, have since beefed up foreign interference guidelines aimed at countering CCP influence on campuses, and have adopted free speech charters – though some have been more proactive than others in tackling on-campus intimidation.

The surveillance of Chinese international students in Australia is part of the broader picture of what Amnesty International has called “transnational repression”.

In a report released this week, the organisation detailed a pattern of Chinese students at universities in western Europe, Canada and the US being monitored and intimidated by Chinese authorities or their agents, including photographing them at protests and pressuring their families back home in China.

“The Chinese authorities have honed a strategy to curb students’ human rights wherever they are in the world,” Sarah Brooks, China director of Amnesty International, said.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed Amnesty’s report as “smear and vilification”, saying “the vast majority of Chinese nationals overseas are proud of the development achievements of their home country”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20868912

File: 88c07962d47be96⋯.jpg (299.65 KB,1500x1000,3:2,Aaron_an_undergraduate_stu….jpg)

File: 43bd47807fae8ba⋯.jpg (885.57 KB,1240x1754,620:877,0004.jpg)

File: 7c988bf85ecca9d⋯.jpg (730.25 KB,1240x1754,620:877,0005.jpg)

File: 40c4b532e19d3e1⋯.jpg (374.85 KB,1240x1754,620:877,0006.jpg)

File: 718edc2690a7095⋯.pdf (8.05 MB,On_My_Campus_I_Am_Afraid_C….pdf)

>>20868896

2/2

Amnesty’s report also contained accounts of politically active students being harassed by other Chinese students with pro-government views, bearing a similarity with the abuse Aaron says he encountered during his protest outside Sydney University last year.

During one altercation, he says his sunglasses were snatched from his face, thrown on the ground and kicked, causing them to break. In another incident, he says he was assaulted after he followed a group of student-age Chinese nationals, who had been harassing him, onto a nearby bus. At the next stop, he claims he was repeatedly kicked in the chest by one man with such force that his Apple watch falsely detected he had been in a car crash.

He reported the abuse to NSW Police, which launched an investigation but was ultimately unable to identify those responsible. “The investigation is currently suspended pending further information,” a police spokesperson said.

Sydney University also investigated a complaint Aaron made through its channels and identified one student involved in destroying his posters. The university informed him in a written response to his complaint that it had no jurisdiction to act because the posters were affixed to a bus stop outside the campus grounds. It nonetheless sent a caution letter to the student warning him that such actions, if repeated on campus, could breach the university’s free speech charter.

The university declined to comment on Aaron’s case citing privacy concerns, but said it routinely provided support for students to peacefully protest on campus.

“When we are aware a student may be at risk, we work to provide appropriate support and assistance – and if we find members of our community have violated our codes of conduct, we don’t hesitate to take disciplinary action in line with our policies,” a spokesperson said.

Several months after his university protest, CCP authorities tightened the screws on Aaron again, banning the social media accounts he used to communicate with friends and family back home, severing a key link to his life back in China. This, too, is a common tactic in the arsenal of the Chinese state in its efforts to silence dissent abroad.

“I am socially dead to people in my past,” he said. “I lost all of my contacts with my friends and classmates. I had no preparation; they were all gone in the one day.”

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/aaron-staged-a-protest-in-australia-then-chinese-police-paid-his-parents-a-visit-20240514-p5jdly.html

https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/china-overseas-students-face-harassment-and-surveillance-in-campaign-of-transnational-repression/

https://www.amnestyusa.org/reports/on-my-campus-i-am-afraid-chinas-targeting-of-overseas-students-stifles-rights/

https://www.amnestyusa.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/On-My-Campus-I-Am-Afraid-Chinas-Targeting-of-Overseas-Students-Stifles-Rights.pdf

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80104e No.20868933

File: e09f04f709c22ef⋯.jpg (181.08 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Taiwan_s_president_elect_L….jpg)

File: a7d8fc4ab035d9b⋯.jpg (141.64 KB,1136x1515,1136:1515,Labor_senator_Raff_Ciccone.jpg)

File: 3a70ca184b66681⋯.jpg (1.14 MB,1011x1286,1011:1286,Remarks_of_the_Spokesperso….jpg)

>>20676406

>>20695591

>>20710541

Beijing warns MPs’ Taiwan trip threatens Australia-China ties

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 15, 2024

Beijing has blasted Australia over an upcoming parliamentary ­delegation to Taiwan, saying the bipartisan trip violates Australia’s “One China” policy.

The five member delegation departs for Taipei on Saturday to attend next week’s inauguration of Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te.

Labor’s Raff Ciccone and Luke Gosling will be joined on the four-day visit by the Coalition’s David Fawcett, Claire Chandler and Scott Buchholz.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra issued a statement on Wednesday warning Australia that Taiwan was “an inalienable part of China’s territory”, and urging the Albanese government not to deviate from its recognition of the People’s Republic of China as the country’s sole legal government.

“The visit to Taiwan by the Australian parliamentarians and their attendance of the president-elect’s inauguration violates the One China principle, blatantly emboldens and supports the ­Taiwan independence separatist ­activities,” the embassy said.

“We hope that relevant members of the Australian parliament will adhere to the fact that Taiwan is a province of China and respect the sentiments of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.”

It called for Australia to “fully honour” its commitment to the One China policy “without any compromise or inconsistency”, and to safeguard hard-won improvements in the Australia-China relationship.

Mr Ciccone, chair of the Senate’s foreign affairs, defence and trade committee, said the trip was “entirely consistent with Australia’s One China Policy”.

“Australian parliamentarians from both sides of the aisle have a tradition of visiting Taiwan,” he said. “Taiwan and Australia are Indo-Pacific democracies with a shared interest in a peaceful and stable region.

“The Prime Minister has already congratulated Dr Lai Ching-te on his victory in the election and I look forward to celebrating the vibrancy of Taiwan’s democracy with the Taiwanese people at the inauguration of their new president.”

China’s fury over the trip comes ahead of an expected trip to Australia by Chinese Premier Li Qiang next month, and follows a Chinese fighter jet’s dangerous encounter with an Australian navy helicopter in the Yellow Sea less than a fortnight ago.

The federal government has protested the mid-air incident in which the PLA-Air Force jet dropped flares in front of the helicopter as it enforced sanctions against North Korea.

The upcoming parliamentary trip comes just a month after another delegation of federal MPs visited Taipei to meet Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai Ing-Wen and key government, ­security and defence officials. Under Australia’s One China policy, the government does not recognise Taiwan as a sovereign country but maintains economic and informal political connections.

The inauguration will further escalate tensions across the Taiwan Strait, and follows multiple “combat patrols” by Chinese fighter jets near the self-governed island this month.

Taiwan’s defence ministry said 23 Chinese military aircraft including advanced stealth fighters crossed the median line between mainland China and Taiwan on Tuesday, carrying out “joint combat readiness patrols” in conjunction with Chinese warships.

US and Taiwanese ships carried out an unofficial joint naval exercise in April, which Beijing branded a “stunt”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/beijing-warns-mps-taiwan-trip-threatens-australiachina-ties/news-story/8732ef8a78fef8fecd0e4b4116f264ff

http://au.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zagx_0/sgxw/202405/t20240515_11304820.htm

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80104e No.20868956

File: b3ffd352de6fd4f⋯.jpg (113.63 KB,999x562,999:562,A_U_S_Marine_with_Marine_M….jpg)

File: 8974b697879b3ab⋯.jpg (113.26 KB,1000x667,1000:667,U_S_Marines_with_Marine_Me….jpg)

File: ff54aad7f6a4e71⋯.jpg (91.12 KB,1000x667,1000:667,U_S_Marine_Corps_MV_22B_Os….jpg)

File: 0a8a213fd3f6b73⋯.jpg (74.4 KB,1000x667,1000:667,U_S_Marine_Corps_MV_22B_Os….jpg)

File: 6ab842d4d68ea85⋯.jpg (118.2 KB,1000x667,1000:667,U_S_Marine_Corps_MV_22B_Os….jpg)

>>20647150

US COLONEL HAS ‘UTMOST CONFIDENCE’ IN OSPREYS AS THEY LAND IN DARWIN

Staff reporter - May 15, 2024

A US Marine Corps Colonel has expressed “utmost confidence” in the MV-22B Osprey aircraft as a squadron begins operating from Darwin.

Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force – Darwin (MRF-D) 24.3, said he backed the tilt-rotor aircraft, which was grounded for three months after being involved in two fatal incidents last year.

“I have the utmost confidence in the reliability of the aircraft and the capabilities of our pilots and crews,” he said.

“The well-being of our Marines and sailors is always a priority, and we have spared no effort in ensuring that they are prepared for the missions ahead.”

Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 (Reinforced) landed in Darwin on 11 May as part of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), finalising the formation of the 13th rotation of MRF-D.

“The arrival of the Ospreys to Darwin brings together the full capabilities of the MAGTF and amplifies our interoperability opportunities with the Australian Defence Force,” said Mulvihill.

“As a MAGTF, the Ospreys give us an over-the-horizon capability that, alongside our Australian allies, enhances security in the region.”

The MV-22B joint service multi-role combat aircraft, which can take off and hover like a helicopter before transitioning to turboprop aircraft flight, was given the green light by US Naval Air Systems Command to return to service on 8 March after being out of service since December.

Eight personnel were killed when a US Air Force V-22A Osprey suffered a materiel failure to a V-22 component and crashed off the coast of Japan near Yakushima Island on 29 November 2023. The aircraft were then grounded from 6 December while investigations were undertaken into the cause of the crash.

An MV-22B Osprey aircraft also crashed near Melville Island, 60 kilometres off the coast from Darwin during Exercise Predators Run in August 2023. That tilt-rotor aircraft had previously appeared at Gold Coast Pacific Airshow earlier in the year.

A US Naval Air Systems Command official said in March that a thorough review had been undertaken to ensure the aircraft is safe, and each service branch had performed different processes in returning the aircraft to operation.

“This decision follows a meticulous and data-driven approach prioritising the safety of our aircrews,” the Navy official said.

“Maintenance and procedural changes have been implemented to address the materiel failure that allow for a safe return to flight.”

https://australianaviation.com.au/2024/05/us-colonel-has-utmost-confidence-in-ospreys-as-they-land-in-darwin/

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8400098/mrf-d-243-mv-22b-ospreys-take-off-first-flight-mrf-d-243-rotation

https://www.8kun.top/qresearch/res/19188850.html#19440283

https://www.8kun.top/qresearch/res/19188850.html#19452993

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80104e No.20868983

File: c580a7bb6b37b02⋯.jpg (362.82 KB,687x614,687:614,MRF_D_64.jpg)

File: ccb65fe6efd628b⋯.jpg (695.94 KB,2048x1365,2048:1365,438095878_826458649516620_….jpg)

File: 788e7f439b09a85⋯.jpg (464.58 KB,1365x1365,1:1,438081290_826462252849593_….jpg)

File: fd22156180eb810⋯.jpg (563.98 KB,2048x1365,2048:1365,442423819_826458662849952_….jpg)

File: 22df2d4c7dfcb68⋯.jpg (891.05 KB,2048x1365,2048:1365,442414557_826461329516352_….jpg)

>>20647150

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

15 May 2024

82nd Battle of the Coral Sea commemorative service

MRF-D 24.3 #Marines and Sailors paid their respects alongside their Australian Allies during the 82nd Battle of the Coral Sea commemorative service at the USS Peary Memorial, Darwin, NT, Australia, May 4, 2024.

The ceremony commemorated U.S. and Australian service members who lost their lives in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which took place from May 4-8, 1942, during WWII.

The Australian-American Association hosted the annual memorial to recognize the combined sacrifice of both nation’s services, and the tremendous stepping stone the Battle of the Coral Sea provided the allied forces as they sailed north through the Pacific.

U.S. Marine Corps (photos): Cpl. Manuel Rivera

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/826465726182579

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80104e No.20873174

File: bf2ce41ec0b5954⋯.jpg (209.35 KB,1600x910,160:91,Scott_Morrison_shakes_hand….jpg)

File: f9655c9e4aa0953⋯.jpg (935.55 KB,750x1496,375:748,ScoMo_39.jpg)

File: 8e2e7bd998723b6⋯.jpg (557.63 KB,1536x2048,3:4,GNnwUXqbMAAWdHW.jpg)

>>20589317

>>20785616

>>20864839

Scott Morrison meets with Donald Trump to discuss AUKUS and China

CAMERON STEWART - MAY 16, 2024

1/2

Donald Trump has given a powerful signal that he will back the AUKUS plan to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines if he becomes president, telling former prime minister Scott Morrison that he believes AUKUS plays a critical role in deterring China.

A meeting between the two former leaders in Trump Tower in New York focused on the growing strategic threat posed by China in the Indo Pacific and the need to deter Beijing from continued military aggression against Taiwan.

Mr Morrison said Mr Trump was “in good spirits and appreciated the visit, especially amid the issues he is currently dealing with in New York”.

Only hours before their meeting, the presumptive Republican nominee for president was in a Manhattan court hearing lurid testimony from his former lawyer Michael Cohen about hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels to hide her alleged sexual encounter with Mr Trump.

“Our meeting took place on the same day that (Republican House) Speaker (Mike) Johnson and other congressional colleagues visited New York and attended the court hearings where the former president is compelled to attend,” Mr Morrison said.

He said the meeting in Mr Trump’s private residence in Trump Tower on Tuesday night (US time) was “warm and friendly” and that “we spoke of the issues where we worked together in office and the other leaders we worked with, such as the late (Japanese leader) Shinzo Abe”.

“Our discussion focused primarily on the Indo Pacific, the escalating threat of violence in the Taiwan Straits and the need to continue the work to establish and maintain a strong, credible and effective deterrent in the region to PRC aggression, especially in relation to Taiwan,” Mr Morrison said.

“In this context, I discussed how the AUKUS agreement played a critical role, which I was pleased was a view shared by former president Trump.

“There was a welcome level of comfort about AUKUS in our discussion.”

Mr Trump has not publicly discussed the AUKUS pact for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, including US Virginia-class submarines, leaving the Albanese government uncertain about whether Mr Trump as president would support the three-nation pact which was created under the Morrison government in 2021 with the backing of the Biden ­administration.

Under the AUKUS plan, Australia will acquire at least three Virginia-class submarines from the US Navy from the early 2030s despite concerns expressed by some Republicans that this would undermine US naval capability.

(continued)

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80104e No.20873178

File: dc9414b466395fb⋯.jpg (1.54 MB,3031x2021,3031:2021,Scott_Morrison_arrives_at_….jpg)

>>20873174

2/2

Mr Trump and Mr Morrison developed a close relationship during Mr Trump’s term as president, and in 2019 Mr Trump hosted a State Dinner for Mr Morrison at the White House Rose Garden, the first given to an Australian leader since 2006.

At that time the two leaders bonded over their shared hostility towards the behaviour of China under Xi Jinping, and their meeting this week suggested that Mr Trump’s views towards Beijing have not softened.

“It was good that the need to maintain an active, strong and effective short, medium and long term deterrent in the Indo Pacific was primary, appreciated and considered essential,” Mr Morrison said of his meeting. “We don’t need to be shy about it. The former president was certainly not shy about these issues and we agreed that the PRC (People’s Republic of China) was also not shy about their ambitions.”

Mr Morrison said future US and British support for AUKUS would be bolstered by appreciating its role as a deterrent against China “especially in relation to Taiwan”. He warned that if Australia softened its approach to China, it might undermine support for AUKUS.

“To maintain necessary support from key partners such as the USA and Japan, we must continue to be seen not to be appeasing the PRC or allowing our rate of effort to diminish,” he said.

Mr Morrison is visiting the US where he is a consultant at American Global Strategies, run by former Trump national security adviser Robert O’Brien.

His visit comes at a time when Mr Trump is leading in most polls against his presidential rival Joe Biden despite his involvement in the current hush money trial and the prospect of three more upcoming felony trials against him.

Mr Morrison, a committed Christian, has recently released a book, Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness, which recounts his “spiritual journey” as it intersected with his time as prime minister. This includes the role his faith played during crises like the Covid pandemic, major decisions such as the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact and amid political challenges like his accession to the prime ministership in 2019 at the expense of Malcolm Turnbull.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-meets-with-donald-trump-to-discuss-aukus-and-china/news-story/485767d8d84031f1f813356583c8e5fa

https://x.com/ScoMo30/status/1790726586725277880

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80104e No.20873196

File: 2776d800fb701e4⋯.mp4 (15.81 MB,960x540,16:9,Scott_Morrison_declined_to….mp4)

>>20594954

>>20873174

Scott Morrison says Donald Trump gave 'warm reception' to AUKUS pact at Trump Tower meeting

Carrington Clarke and Brad Ryan - 16 May 2024

1/2

Donald Trump has given a "warm reception" to the AUKUS defence pact during a meeting with Scott Morrison in New York, the former prime minister says.

Mr Trump has never publicly endorsed the pact, which was announced by Australia, the US and the UK in 2021, when Mr Morrison was prime minister.

That's raised questions about whether the former president — who has questioned America's commitment to some international alliances — would support AUKUS if re-elected in November.

But in a social media post, Mr Morrison said the pair discussed AUKUS on Tuesday night, local time, and it "received a warm reception" from Mr Trump.

In an interview with the ABC in Washington on Wednesday, Mr Morrison declined to reveal specifically what Mr Trump told him about his position on AUKUS. "I'm not going to go into that because obviously [it was] a private conversation," he said.

Central to the pact is a plan to supply Australia with American-built nuclear-powered submarines.

But some Republicans have previously resisted delivering submarines to Australia while local shipbuilders struggle to manufacture enough to meet local targets.

Under the pact, the US could cancel the transfer of the submarines if it deems it would degrade American capabilities. But Mr Morrison said he saw no cause for concern.

"I think there's a lot of hyperventilation that has gone on about this issue, and I think much of it has been overstated and ill-founded," Mr Morrison told the ABC.

The ABC has contacted Mr Trump's campaign for comment. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told the ABC's RN Breakfast he hadn't spoken to Mr Morrison in recent times. "I will leave our diplomacy, funnily enough, to diplomatic endeavours."

After resigning from politics earlier this year, Mr Morrison was appointed non-executive vice chairman at US consulting firm American Global Strategies, founded by former Trump White House national security advisors Robert O'Brien and Alex Gray.

He also joined the strategic advisory board of DYNE Maritime, a venture capital fund investing in defence technologies, alongside Mr Trump's secretary of state Mike Pompeo.

Mr Pompeo helped Mr Morrison launch his new book — Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister's Testimony of God's Faithfulness — at the Australian embassy in Washington DC.

Mr Trump's former vice-president Mike Pence, who wrote the foreword for the book, also attended the launch.

Mr Pence has refused to endorse Mr Trump's 2024 re-election bid, citing "profound differences".

(continued)

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80104e No.20873201

File: e225baffa90e1dd⋯.jpg (3.19 MB,5000x2813,5000:2813,Scott_Morrison_says_Donald….jpg)

File: dc7460d5e331b52⋯.jpg (2.52 MB,5000x2813,5000:2813,Scott_Morrison_says_Donald….jpg)

File: 9f6733261229103⋯.jpg (1.93 MB,3206x1804,1603:902,Scott_Morrison_says_Donald….jpg)

File: 92ef6a0adf908a1⋯.jpg (456.2 KB,3000x2000,3:2,Donald_Trump_and_Scott_Mor….jpg)

>>20873196

2/2

Trump is victim of a 'pile on', says Morrison

The former leaders met at Trump Tower after Mr Trump spent another day in a New York court, where his "hush money" trial is in its fifth week.

He's facing 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to unlawfully conceal a payment to porn star Stormy Daniels.

On Tuesday, Mr Trump's former lawyer and personal "fixer", Michael Cohen, continued giving evidence against his old boss, saying that "to do the things that he asked me to do, I violated my moral compass".

Mr Trump says the trial is the result of a political witch-hunt.

Mr Morrison, in his tweet, said it was nice to catch up with Mr Trump "given the pile on he is currently dealing with in the US".

"There's a lot of politics in these things – I don't think anyone could credibly argue otherwise," Mr Morrison later told the ABC.

"Politics is played pretty brutally here as it is back in Australia. And you know, when you see that being played out in institutions like the courts, that concerns me."

Mr Morrison developed a strong relationship with Mr Trump while both were in power. In 2019, Mr Trump invited Mr Morrison to the first US state dinner for an Australian prime minister since 2006, when George W Bush hosted John Howard.

But his feelings towards other former Australian leaders are less positive. Earlier this year, Mr Trump insulted Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd during an interview with British politician-turned-broadcaster Nigel Farage.

After Mr Farage told the former president that Dr Rudd had said "the most horrible things" about him, including calling him a "traitor to the West", Mr Trump said: "He won't be there long if that's the case."

"I heard he was a little bit nasty," Mr Trump said. "I hear he's not the brightest bulb, but I don't know much about him."

But Mr Morrison said he did not discuss the ambassador during his conversation with Mr Trump. "It didn't come up," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-16/scott-morrison-donald-trump-aukus-autobiography/103854096

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80104e No.20873218

File: af6f1629fb97972⋯.jpg (244.87 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Scott_Morrison_speaks_duri….jpg)

File: 3d5234b546e6667⋯.jpg (124.34 KB,835x1114,835:1114,Former_US_vice_president_M….jpg)

File: da8aadb970f3403⋯.jpg (380.18 KB,1429x1905,1429:1905,Former_presidential_adviso….jpg)

File: fffd8e261921116⋯.jpg (206.93 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Australian_Ambassador_to_t….jpg)

>>20594954

>>20873174

Scott Morrison backs nuclear power and protectionist US tariffs

ADAM CREIGHTON - MAY 16, 2024

Scott Morrison expects to see multiple nuclear power stations in Australia within his lifetime and has defended the push for higher tariffs in the US by both Democrats and Republicans as “entirely reasonable”.

The former prime minister, speaking in Washington on Wednesday evening (Thursday AEST), said the reality of the “post globalisation economy” meant nations would inevitably increase tariffs in response to unfair Chinese competition, playing down any negative impact on Australia.

“I think it’s entirely reasonable that a country, which is operating in what I call our sphere, takes that response,” Mr Morrison said in an interview with The Australian, in response to a question about the potential impact of higher global tariffs on Australia. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has promised a 10 per cent tariffs on all US imports if elected, while president Joe Biden last week slapped a range of high tariffs on Chinese imports, in particular electric vehicles.

Mr Morrison was speaking at the Washington launch of his memoir, Plans for Your Good – A Prime Minister’s Testimony of Faithfulness, alongside ambassador Kevin Rudd, former vice-president Mike Pence, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, and former Donald Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway.

Mr Morrison, who spoke about the importance of his Christian faith, the subject of his new book, was in good spirits as he mingled with attendees at the exclusive event at the new Australian embassy in Washington.

Mr Rudd and Mr Morrison in the past engaged in a bitter war of words, but all of that was put aside at the launch, where Mr Rudd spoke about the importance of the former PM’s book, because talking about Christianity was “often not a popular thing to do”.

Conservative Republican senator James Langford was also in attendance. The three senior Republicans, Pence, Conway and Pompeo, spoke warmly about their interactions with Mr Morrison, triggered in part by their Christian faith, when they were in office during the Trump administration.

“Because we’re here tonight to talk about God, only Scott Morrison could bring together such a broad church,” Mr Rudd said.

Mr Morrison, who refused to be drawn on domestic political matters, including the budget, said small-scale nuclear power stations were desirable and inevitable in Australia.

“I do think public opinion in changing,” he told The Australian. “I hope we see many of these reactors in our future, I think they are a big part of our energy future; and I would hope, at some point, the policy becomes bipartisan,” he added.

Mr Morrison said that although “we spent a large part of our time on opposite sides of the fence” the one thing they shared was their faith.

“While we come together like this, it’s very injurious to our political reputations back home, but I think tonight is a great opportunity to share the things that mean the most to us,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison was speaking after a meeting with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in Trump Tower, in which the former president gave a powerful signal that he would back the AUKUS plan to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines if he becomes president,

A meeting between the two former leaders in New York focused on the growing strategic threat posed by China in the Pacific and the need to deter Beijing from continued military aggression against Taiwan.

Mr Morrison said Mr Trump was “in good spirits and appreciated the visit, especially amid the issues he is currently dealing with in New York”.

“In this context, I discussed how the AUKUS agreement played a critical role, which I was pleased was a view shared by former president Trump … There was a welcome level of comfort about AUKUS in our discussion”.

“I have no doubt that that would be something that he would be able to address … I don’t think the Trump administration would fail on that score,” he said.

The former prime minister, who has advocated for Australia’s defence spending to rise to the equivalent of 2.5 per cent of GDP, defended Mr Trump’s critical attitude to defence spending by other US allies.

“He’s accused of being isolationist. No, he just has a strong view about people not taking a lot from the US, yes, free riders,” Mr Morrison said.

Mr Morrison denied the cost of the AUKUS security pact would require increased taxation in ­Australia.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/scott-morrison-backs-nuclear-power-and-protectionist-us-tariffs/news-story/1fc8bb9f62c057dcad5146bab9456875

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80104e No.20873227

File: 6be4117c3672034⋯.jpg (123 KB,1280x720,16:9,Fatima_Payman_says_Israel_….jpg)

>>20705252

>>20852029

>>20868824

PM says Labor senator Fatima Payman’s use of Israel ‘genocide’, ‘river to the sea’ was inappropriate

RHIANNON DOWN and ELLEN RANSLEY - MAY 16, 2024

1/2

Anthony Albanese says it’s “not appropriate” a WA Labor senator used a controversial chant when she broke ranks with the government’s position on Palestine, as the Coalition heaps on pressure on him to “take action” against her.

Fatima Payman on Wednesday accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and questioned how many more deaths would be needed before the Prime Minister declared “enough”.

In a significant split from the Labor Party’s position, the Muslim senator called for sanctions and divestment from Israel, and declared “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” – a phrase Mr Albanese has previously condemned as a violent opposition to a two-state solution.

She said the phrase was a call for “freedom from the occupation, freedom from the violence, and freedom from the inequality”.

Senator Payman criticised Mr Albanese and her Labor colleagues for failing to condemn Israel and “stand up for what is right”, accusing her government’s leaders of making “performative gestures” while defending the ­“oppressor’s right to oppress”.

Mr Albanese on Thursday morning was asked if he had spoken to Senator Payman since she made the comments, to which he gave an emphatic “no”.

He said he did speak to her regularly, as he does all his Labor Party colleagues, and their last conversation was “very pleasant”.

But he said her use of the politically charged phrase was “not appropriate” and did not reflect the Labor Party’s position.

“What is appropriate is a two-state solution, where both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in security and peace and prosperity,” he told ABC Radio.

“It is not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians to advocate there just be one state. That is a forerunner of enormous conflict and grief.”

Coalition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said the Prime Minister “has to take action”, noting Senator Payman had “laid down the gauntlet” to Mr Albanese.

“She’s used a phrase the Prime Minister himself has agreed is a violent statement. She’d endorsed the phrase, and in the Prime Minister’s own analysis, people who make this statement are in opposition to a two-state solution,” Senator Paterson told Sky.

“She’s not just undermined decades of bipartisan foreign policy, she’s undermined decades of Labor Party policy.

“The Prime Minister has said this phrase has no place in Australia. Surely he cannot (have) a member of his caucus saying this.”

Senator Payman gave a statement to a small selection of media on Wednesday on Nakba day – the anniversary of Israel’s 1948 establishment – where she acknowledged there was “disillusionment” in the community with the political parties.

“Today, more than ever, is the time to speak the truth – the whole truth – with courage and clarity,” she told SBS News and Capital Brief.

“My conscience has been uneasy for far too long. And I must call this out for what it is. This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise.”

Mr Albanese said the scenes coming out of Gaza were “very traumatic”, but said Jewish Australians were also experiencing “a lot of trauma” due to rising anti-Semitism.

“People who happen to be Jewish are being held responsible here for the actions of the Netanyahu government. I don’t believe that is appropriate,” he said.

Senator Paterson said Senator Payman’s call for Australia to end trade with Israel especially at a time of rising anti-Semitism would “further undermine and test social cohesion”.

(continued)

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80104e No.20873232

File: 2cc4ecffdc0a019⋯.jpg (888.52 KB,2001x2668,3:4,27_year_old_Muslim_senator….jpg)

File: 4c5804031107a63⋯.jpg (642.87 KB,2048x2731,2048:2731,Former_Labor_MP_Mike_Kelly.jpg)

>>20873227

2/2

Former Labor MP says senator’s comments ‘completely wrong’

Former Labor minister and ALP Friends of Israel co-convener Mike Kelly labelled Senator Payman’s comments “disappointing” and “completely wrong”, while opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the slogan had “no place” being ­uttered by members of the ­government.

Jewish leaders have repeatedly sounded the alarm about the “river to the sea” chant, which they argue calls for the destruction of Israel.

In a small press conference at Parliament House on Wednesday to which only a handful of journalists were invited, Senator Payman said Australians should no longer “shy away” from standing up to “face evil … My conscience has been uneasy for far too long and I must call this out for what it is,” she told SBS.

“This is a genocide and we need to stop pretending otherwise. The lack of clarity, the moral confusion, the indecisiveness is eating at the heart of this nation.”

Senator Payman claimed ­Israel was “gaslighting the global community about the rights of self-defence” in its justification.

She addressed her Labor colleagues directly, demanding to know “how many international rights laws must Israel break for us to say enough”.

“What is the magic number?” she said. “How many mass graves need to be uncovered before we say enough? How many images of bloody limbs of murdered children must we see?”

The 27-year-old Muslim senator, parliament’s youngest member, was also approached for comment.

A government spokeswoman said Australia’s position has been “clear and consistent” and it “unequivocally opposed the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7”.

“The government is using Australia’s voice to advocate for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and humanitarian access, the release of hostages, and for the protection of civilians,” she said.

“The government supports a two-state solution with the right of Israelis and Palestinians to live in peace, security and prosperity.”

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the slogan used by Senator Payman to close her address was an “old Arab supremacist slogan” that advocated for the destruction of Israel and the ethnic cleansing of its Jewish population.

“This is why it has been denounced as anti-Semitic by the White House and our Prime Minister,” he said.

“The senator should immediately apologise for stoking ­hatred in such a vile way. If she can’t refrain from using racist slogans at a time of extreme tension in our society, she should consider her position.”

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich criticised Senator Payman for invoking the controversial phrase, lamenting that the ­nation was seeing the “monster of anti-Semitism running wild across the country”.

“The trafficking in slurs, ­peddling the word genocide, when Israel is trying to ensure that the depravities of October 7 are not to be repeated, as Hamas as vowed to do, is beyond offensive,” he said.

“What happened to the compassion and humanity that our elected representatives are expected to showcase for the sanctity of human life, or does that not extend to Jews and Israelis.”

Senator Birmingham said the slogan was “inconsistent with Israel’s right to exist and is frequently used by those who seek to intimidate Jewish Australians via acts of anti-Semitism”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/labor-senator-breaks-ranks-over-israels-genocide/news-story/cf597ea6581533f513a8fca0be0bbc5e

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80104e No.20873260

File: 02f31622348f7dc⋯.jpg (470.05 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_man_walks_by_a_wall_cove….jpg)

>>20705252

>>20852029

>>20859867

Labor motions slam Israel but not Hamas terrorists

DAMON JOHNSTON - MAY 16, 2024

1/2

Motions demanding the Albanese Government support the “inalienable right of self-determination for the Palestinian people” and calling for the end to Israel’s “perpetual military occupation and human rights violations” in Gaza will be debated at this weekend’s Victorian ALP state conference.

Four motions drafted by pro-Palestinian supporters within the Socialist Left faction seen by The Australian make only a passing mention of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed an estimated 1200 Israelis.

While one of the motions calls for the release of hostages it fails to reference the number - estimated to be more than 200 who were taken by Hamas terrorists - and goes on to accuse Israel of conducting a “brutal 17-year long blockade and siege” of Gaza.

“These motions are vile and embarrassing for what they say and the deafening silence on October 7, the greatest loss of Jewish life since the Holocaust,” one pro-Israel Labor figure said.

This weekend’s key meeting will be the first Victorian ALP state conference since the October 7 terrorist attack which triggered Israel’s military operation in Gaza and both Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Premier Jacinta Allan are expected to attend on Saturday. Tens of thousands of Palestinians are estimated to have been killed in the war triggered by the terror attack.

The scene is now set for bitter split at the conference with pro-Israel supporters within the ALP expected to argue against the motions. Major protests in support of the Palestinian cause are also expected.

The four motions are headlined “Justice for Palestine - Right to Self-Determination”,

“United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees”, “International Court of the Justice” and “Illegal Settlements”.

The first motion states:

“State Conference resolves that Victorian Labor affirms the Palestinian people’s inalienable right to self-determination and calls on the Federal Labor Government to: Support the inalienable right of self-determination for the Palestinian people; Immediately recognise Palestine as a fully independent sovereign state within the term of this parliament.

“Welcomes the Federal Labor Government’s vote in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution extending Palestine’s participation rights as a UN observer; Utilise international forums to demand an end to the perpetual military occupation and human rights violations, which are in flagrant violation of international law; and Advocate for the implementation of UN Resolutions which provide a solution for peace and security for both sides.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20873264

File: 1130ebf5217c85d⋯.jpg (395.66 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Displaced_Palestinians_wal….jpg)

>>20873260

2/2

The “International Court of Justice” motion states:

“That State Conference resolves that the Federal Labor Government: Advocates strongly for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.

“Calls for the immediate release of all hostages and political prisoners;

“Upholds its obligations to prevent genocide by taking urgent steps to ensure Israel complies with the ICJ’s provisional measures;

“Ensure Australia is not a party to any Israeli actions or policies that contravene the ICJ’s ruling.

“Exert pressure on Israel to immediately open up access to Gaza and end its brutal 17-year long blockade and siege.”

This motion references the Hamas attack, but only repeats comments made by the International Court of Justice. The motion does not describe Hamas as a terrorist organisation.

“Conference notes that Australia is a state party to the International Court of Justice and has a general obligation to cooperate fully with the court’s investigations and prosecution.

“The Court has also stated that it “is gravely concerned about the fate of the hostages abducted during the attack on Israel on 7 October 2023 and held since then by Hamas and other armed groups, and calls for their immediate and unconditional release.”

A motion also makes strong criticism of what it describes as Israel’s “illegal settlements”.

“Israel’s settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories are illegal under international law and contravene the Geneva Convention,” the motion states.

“These settlements along with unprecedented settler and military violence, continue to result in the ongoing forcible displacement of Palestinians; a further reduction in territory through the depopulation of villages and neighbourhoods; and a further entrenchment of the Occupation.

“That State Conference resolves that the Federal Labor Government take concrete steps to:

Call on Israel to dismantle and remove its settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories;

Support political and legal action against Israeli settlements and settlement activity in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.”

The motion also calls for “visa bans on violent Israeli settlers, make it illegal for Australian citizens, companies and organisations to fund settlement activity”.

The motion entitled “United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees” calls on the Albanese Government to assist UNRWA to provide “assistance and protection to Palestine refugees pending a just and lasting solution to their plight”.

“It is the responsibility of the Australian Government to assist the international community in finding that solution,” the motion states.

“Therefore, that State Conference resolves that the Federal Labor Government: Recognises the essential role of aid workers and seek to ensure their safety at all times; Commit to ongoing annual funding for UNRWA (and) reaffirm the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and to help safeguard and advance the rights of Palestine refugees.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/labor-motions-slam-israel-but-no-hamas-terrorists/news-story/5b6b594055115aec5dba627baf8a25d6

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80104e No.20873283

File: af15bbe07ae8a32⋯.jpg (122.95 KB,1024x768,4:3,Police_will_not_press_char….jpg)

>>20705252

>>20852029

NSW Police blasted after force reveals tourist who wore 'October 7' soccer jersey won't face charges: 'Tolerating public support for terrorism'

NSW Police has revealed it will not be pressing charges against a man who wore a shirt glorifying the October 7 terror attack to a major tourist attraction, sparking outrage from the Australian Jewish community.

Caroline Marcus - May 15, 2024

Police will not press charges against a man who wore a shirt glorifying the October 7 terror attack to a major NSW tourist attraction because it did not break any laws.

The inaction has infuriated the peak organisation representing the Jewish community, with its chief executive saying it demonstrated the “weakness of our laws” and authorities’ tolerance for public support for terrorism.

The witness who reported the matter to police, Steve Joffe, said he was left feeling “disappointed” after receiving a phone call informing him that police had received legal advice that the sports jersey was not in breach of current legislation.

A NSW Police spokesman confirmed that officers attached to Blue Mountains Police Area Command had received legal advice and other than seizing and destroying the jersey, no further police action was expected against the 29-year-old who wore it.

Sky News Australia revealed in March that Mr Joffe, a Jewish father-of-three from Sydney’s north shore, had reported the shirt to police shortly after spotting the man wearing it at the Scenic World café, but officers failed to follow it up with him until this news outlet made inquiries.

Prior to those inquiries, NSW Police had claimed the incident had not been reported to them.

The soccer jersey was emblazoned with “Oct 7”, the colours of the Palestinian flag and a watermelon icon, a symbol of Palestinian resistance often used by pro-Palestinian activists.

October 7 is the date Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, slaughtering 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 240 hostages.

Scenic World in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, is Australia’s most-visited privately-owned tourism attraction, according to its website.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said at the time that the jersey’s slogan was “reprehensible” and does nothing but “incite racial hatred”.

Laws criminalising Nazi hate symbols came into effect in January, banning the Nazi salute and making the “praising the doing of a terrorist act” a criminal offence in certain circumstances.

Threatening or inciting violence by a public act is also an offence under the Crimes Act, as determined by police on a case-by-case basis.

A spokesman for Mr Minns declined to comment on the lack of police action, saying it was an “operational matter”.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ) co-CEO Alex Ryvchin said the “lowlife” who wore the shirt would be “laughing at the weakness of our laws and our tolerance towards public support for terrorism and mass atrocities”.

“For many years, neo-Nazis have transmitted their violent ideology and signalled to one another using coded numbers and terms,” Mr Ryvchin said.

“Islamist anti-Semites are now doing the same in the wake of the October 7 atrocities, which seem to have been a high point in their lives.

“The law and the police need to stay ahead of these extremists or their ideology and following will grow.”

ECAJ in late March formally lodged complaints with the Australian Human Rights Commission against two Islamic preachers who described Jews as “monsters” and “criminals”, after authorities failed to act.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/nsw-police-blasted-after-force-reveals-tourist-who-wore-october-7-soccer-jersey-wont-face-charges-tolerating-public-support-for-terrorism/news-story/be951ade8eb4286d9ffe45ea6a15f46e

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80104e No.20873298

File: d1f16577c5e6ea1⋯.jpg (210.74 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Julian_Assange_May_2017.jpg)

File: 044b04ce0a42320⋯.jpg (200.63 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Stella_Assange_speaks_duri….jpg)

>>20565278

>>20736646

>>20736652

Julian Assange may live in Australia under new deal: lawyer

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - MAY 16, 2024

1/2

Julian Assange’s wife says she will move to Australia with their two children if a political outcome between Five Eyes allies Australia, Britain and the United States results in him being freed and released to his home country.

On the eve of a crucial British High Court appeal decision which could confirm Assange’s extradition to the United States next Monday, Stella Assange said that among the possible court outcomes, one could be that her husband could walk free.

She told a meeting of the Foreign Press Association in central London: “I believe anything could happen, Julian could be extradited or he could be freed. It is important to have in mind, this (extradition case) has gone on for over five years, and he has been in the UK’s most notorious prison the entire time and in one form of detention or another for longer.’’

Interestingly, Assange’s lawyer Jen Robinson appeared to indicate that behind the scenes the Australian government was lobbying the Americans to drop the extradition case and as part of the deal, have Assange return to Australia.

She said: “The (Australian) prime minister has said Australia has been raising it at very high levels and has repeatedly done so. Our lawyer general has met with the US lawyer general, raising the matter at the highest levels. We hope the US accedes to Australia’s request that the case be closed and Julian returns to Australia.”

If that was the case, Mrs Assange – born as Sara Gonzalez Devant in South Africa with Swedish, Spanish and British citizenship – and their two children, Gabriel, who turns seven today, and five year old Max both born and raised in the United Kingdom – would follow.

Mrs Assange, an international lawyer, said: “I will follow Julian wherever he goes and wherever he is safe, Julian misses Australia and I am very keen to travel to Australia with the kids and show his whole country to our children.”

For her it would be a huge upheaval, but enormous relief. “I’ve only been (to Australia) once, and for a few days, so I will follow him wherever he goes and his safety is the most important thing.’’

Previously the British court had been reassured that mentally fragile Assange, deemed such a high suicide risk that the US extradition was initially denied, could serve any sentence imposed by a US court back in Australia. This was to ensure he would not be subject to the strict special isolation measures the US justice system may impose.

But it appears political pressure and negotiations may provide a way for Assange to walk free.

Mrs Assange, 40, said the Australian government’s backing of Assange’s freedom “has been crucial” and “potentially decisive”.

She said: “The Australian government’s decision to back Julian’s freedom has been crucial, it has I think changed the direction that this can go in a decisive way potentially. Our battle up until the Albanese government was that the Australian administrations were complicit, I say, in abandoning Julian and facilitating the US persecution. ”

(continued)

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80104e No.20873300

File: ea451a77884dbd0⋯.jpg (371.22 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Supporters_of_WikiLeaks_fo….jpg)

File: ba6f87b039ef12a⋯.jpg (228.17 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Julian_Assange_at_Ecuador_….jpg)

>>20873298

2/2

Of late she has been heartened by the Valentine’s Day parliamentary resolution calling for Assange to be freed.

“The backing of Julian is across the board, for without the backing of your government, you have no chance of release,’’ she said.

The parliamentary motion, moved by independent MP Andrew Wilkie passed with 86 votes in favour, including that of Mr Albanese, and 42 against.

The Americans want Assange to face 18 charges, most of them relating to espionage for conspiring to obtain and releasing war logs and secret US documents relating to the Afghan and Iraq wars in 2010.

Monday’s British high court decision will centre around assurances sought by the judges that if he is extradited to the US Assange will not face the death penalty and that he would not be discriminated against because of his foreign nationality.

US citizens have the protections under the constitution and the US government has told the court Assange has the ability to raise and seek to rely upon the first amendment, but confirmed that particular decision was exclusively within the purview of the US courts.

At Wednesday’s foreign press conference the WikiLeaks editor in chief Kristinn Hrafnsson accused the British judicial system of corruption. He said “it is abundantly clear the process in the court in the UK is corrupt. The case is rigged against Julian.’’

Mrs Assange said the high court judges could decide the close the case allowing Assange to walk free, or they could accept the US assurances and Assange could be extradited almost immediately, pending an emergency injunction sought at the European Court of Human Rights. Another possibility is for the judges to allow a full appeal to the high court, which would be heard at a future date.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/julian-assange-may-live-in-australia-under-new-deal-lawyer/news-story/aa0b1d29c2151acac08098153627917c

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80104e No.20878221

File: f14181af5e74236⋯.jpg (191.37 KB,1638x922,819:461,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 34ead6ff9464962⋯.jpg (251.78 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: bb4cbb88dfed8ac⋯.jpg (121.15 KB,1280x720,16:9,Former_Chinese_Communist_P….jpg)

>>20710546

>>20827002

>>20868933

WA iron resources ties key to Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s trip

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 16, 2024

Plans are firming for Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s trip to Australia next month, with the country’s No.2 leader expected to stop in Canberra and Perth and make a site visit to a West Australian resources project.

Officials in both countries are negotiating the final details of the mid-June visit, which is set to go ahead despite Chinese fury over an upcoming trip by to Taiwan by a delegation of Australian MPs, and an Australian protest over a Chinese jet’s unsafe encounter with a navy helicopter.

Anthony Albanese is expected to meet Mr Li for bilateral talks in Canberra around June 16, before Mr Li heads to Perth for meetings with business leaders and Premier Roger Cook.

The Business Council of Australia will host a CEO roundtable for Mr Li in Perth, to be attended by a the heads of major companies that do business in China, including the big miners, the banks and agricultural exporters.

It’s understood Mr Li will then head to a mine site to illustrate the importance of Chinese demand – and investment heft – to the Australian economy.

Speculation has centred on Rio Tinto’s Western Ranges iron ore project in the Pilbara – a joint venture with China Baowu Steel Group – as the likely location.

The giant’s 46 per cent stake in the $2bn venture is the biggest Chinese investment approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board under Jim Chalmers.

Bob Hawke famously hosted former Chinese Communist Party general secretary Hu Yaobang at Rio’s Mount Channar mine in 1985, paving the way for a joint venture with China’s Sinosteel two years later that kickstarted Australia’s lucrative export trade.

Mr Li’s visit will come less than two months after Dr Chalmers announced changes to FIRB rules to strengthen safeguards around investments in critical minerals and infrastructure projects, and those close to Defence sites.

It follows the Prime Minister’s state visit to Beijing in November for talks with Xi Jinping and Mr Li, who urged more favourable treatment of Chinese investment bids.

Businessman Warwick Smith, who until recently headed the BCA’s international engagement and security committee, said the FIRB’s treatment of Chinese companies would again be a key focus.

“It was very much an issue for President Xi and others that Chinese investment into Australia continue, and be dealt with expeditiously and appropriately, especially with existing investors,” Mr Smith told The Australian.

“What they want to say, I think, is: ‘We have been doing this for a long time. We understand and respect your new FIRB rules, but don’t make it harder than it needs to be’.

“The message from China is, ‘Look what our partnership has delivered to you. Don’t send us away’.”

Mr Li’s visit comes at a tense time for Australia-China relations, despite the resolution of nearly all of Beijing’s trade bans against Australian exports except for those on seafood and a number of Australian abattoirs.

This month, Mr Albanese condemned the actions of a Chinese fighter jet that dropped flares in front of an Australian helicopter over the Yellow Sea as “unprofessional and unacceptable”.

China responded by accusing the helicopter of spying on its naval fleet – a charge rejected by the Albanese government.

Beijing also blasted Australia this week over a scheduled bipartisan trip by five federal MPs to ­Taiwan for the inauguration of Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te.

The Chinese embassy in Canberra claimed the trip violated Australia’s “One China” policy.

However, a Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokeswoman said the MPs’ trip was “consistent with Australia’s One China policy and with past ­practice”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/wa-iron-resources-ties-key-to-chinese-premiers-trip/news-story/491ae66c43c7f1cb0f78cbc92a34bb50

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80104e No.20878316

File: 5a2eee411c65f62⋯.jpg (295.06 KB,2042x1532,1021:766,Scott_Morrison_criticised_….jpg)

File: fea6d47278102ac⋯.jpg (415.55 KB,2048x1536,4:3,US_President_Donald_Trump_….jpg)

>>20594954

>>20873174

Scott Morrison says Donald Trump deserves respect from Australia if he’s President again

Former PM Scott Morrison has opened up about Donald Trump’s critics and how Australia should treat the billionaire if he is re-elected as US President.

Tom Minear - May 17, 2024

1/2

Donald Trump deserves Australia’s respect if he returns to power, former prime minister Scott Morrison said as he dismissed the “hyperventilation” of the ex-president’s critics.

Mr Morrison – who worked with Mr Trump and President Joe Biden – said both leaders had a “deep commitment” to the US-Australia alliance that would endure regardless of the result of November’s extraordinary election rematch.

And he praised Kevin Rudd for his efforts to engage with Mr Trump’s allies as Australia’s ambassador to the US, amid polls showing the former president is on track for re-election.

Mr Morrison avoided predicting the election result, as he acknowledged the polls “say what they say”, but he declared: “Democracy at the end of the day decides.”

“The only people whose views matter on that are Americans themselves,” he said.

“There’ll be a triumph of democracy … Whoever is elected should have the respect that they’re entitled to, not just here in the United States, but from partners and allies.”

He criticised the “hyperventilation” of Mr Trump’s critics given Australia’s alliance with the US worked well under both he and Mr Biden, even though it would be “hard to think of two presidents that were more different”.

“I see it back in Australia, often from people who don’t know what they’re talking about, who don’t really know and largely just parrot the commentary of others,” Mr Morrison said.

“All I know is in both the candidates, the incumbent and President Trump, there is a deep commitment to the alliance and that matters to us.”

The former prime minister – who this week met Mr Trump amid his criminal hush money trial and launched his book with Dr Rudd – refused to weigh in on the Republican’s broadside on the “nasty” ambassador who he warned “won’t be there long”.

“We all say things – we can’t pretend we didn’t,” Mr Morrison said.

“It comes down to what gets done, and I’ve been encouraged and pleased to see the commitment to making AUKUS work.”

He said Dr Rudd had done “a great job” lobbying for crucial laws to enact the pact, and praised his “very industrious” efforts to build relationships with potential figures in a second Trump administration.

“He’s got a clear mission and project and I think he’s applying himself … I’d expect nothing less,” Mr Morrison said.

After his meeting with Mr Trump, he said the ex-president offered a “warm reception” to his pitch on the importance of AUKUS, including the sale of US nuclear submarines to Australia.

Mr Morrison said he was in regular contact with Defence Minister Richard Marles as continued to lobby for the pact’s success in his post-parliamentary career.

“I feel a very strong sense of proprietorship when it comes to AUKUS, understandably, and I’ve been doing this now ever since the election defeat,” he said.

“It is a collective effort, it’s a national effort … I don’t buy into the domestic politics of it. I’ve got my own views about that but I do that at the ballot box now.”

(continued)

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80104e No.20878324

File: 042b0f2a85a0cd5⋯.jpg (639.53 KB,2048x1536,4:3,AUKUS_Aussie_minnow_scores….jpg)

File: beda7e5c1315ad0⋯.jpg (660.71 KB,1920x1080,16:9,An_illustration_of_a_SSN_A….jpg)

File: 42c1d05ef11d298⋯.jpg (113.82 KB,757x392,757:392,POTUS_0.jpg)

File: 704d754e9376399⋯.jpg (127.79 KB,744x485,744:485,POTUS_5.jpg)

File: 7fae13a8ff68d97⋯.jpg (107.3 KB,825x441,275:147,POTUS_9.jpg)

>>20878316

2/2

SCOMO’S DEFENCE OF TRUMP AS TRIAL CONTINUES

Donald Trump has issued a strong signal of support for the AUKUS pact in a meeting with former prime minister Scott Morrison amid the ex-president’s criminal trial in New York.

Uncertainty about the Republican’s stance on AUKUS – as he campaigns to return to the White House in this year’s US election – has been a major cause for concern in Canberra, Washington DC and London.

But Mr Morrison, the architect of the three-way deal between the US, the UK and Australia, said it received a “warm reception” during their meeting at Trump Tower in Manhattan.

“It’s a good deal – and he knows what a good deal is,” he said in an interview.

The former prime minister said he used the talks to put AUKUS “in its context” for Mr Trump as “part of the credible deterrent to deal with Chinese assertions in the region”.

“It is part of a much bigger picture where I know he has had long-term interest and concern. It was certainly something, the issues in the Indo-Pacific, that he and I talked about quite a lot when we were both in office,” he said.

“On that, we’re all very aligned. So there’s nothing there which is standing out as a massive impediment, and I think we just have to be respectful and positive in the way we continue to make the case, and I think there’s a very receptive ear to that case.”

The former conservative leaders caught up during what Mr Morrison described as “the pile on he is currently dealing with” – a historic criminal trial over Mr Trump’s hush money payment to silence a porn star’s claim that they had an affair before the 2016 election.

Mr Trump is neck-and-neck with US President Joe Biden in polls ahead of November’s election, prompting the Australian government – led by Kevin Rudd, the ambassador to the US – to try and shore up key elements of the alliance including AUKUS.

Mr Trump has not publicly commented on the agreement that was negotiated by Mr Biden, and his campaign team has ignored multiple requests to detail his stance on the policy.

The AUKUS agreement has received strong bipartisan support in Washington DC, with Congress last year passing crucial laws to enact the pact including the submarine sale.

But several prominent Republicans – including potential figures in a second Trump administration – have expressed concerns about whether the Navy could afford to give up some of its nuclear-powered boats when its own fleet was smaller than required and the US industrial base was struggling to accelerate production.

Mr Morrison said he was confident that if Mr Trump was re-elected, he would have “strong policies” to overcome those issues.

“President Trump has been accused of being isolationist and a whole range of things, and then you’ve got commentary on commentary on commentary, and everyone works themselves up into quite a lather,” he said.

“But I have no doubt that his commitment to the defence industrial base and ensuring that it can meet the tempo that is necessary would be very, very strong, and it’s one of the other reasons I’m quite confident.”

While Mr Morrison and Mr Trump worked closely when they were in office, Australia’s plan to access America’s nuclear submarine technology only came to fruition after Mr Biden was elected in late 2020.

The AUKUS deal was announced in September 2021, with the partners later confirming that the US would sell at least three nuclear-powered vessels to Australia in the early 2030s.

The US president at the time of the transfer in the 2030s will be required to certify that sending nuclear submarines to Australia will not degrade America’s military capabilities.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/donald-trump-gives-support-to-aukus-pact-in-meeting-with-scott-morrison/news-story/89ea1803425743157fa7124d9741eae2

https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1033148759084093440

https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1214513143021527046

https://x.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1262392931962454020

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322289 No.20881579

File: 1c4f6b9330663bc⋯.png (625.49 KB,889x1026,889:1026,ClipboardImage.png)

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80104e No.20883003

File: c10f6db4afa380f⋯.mp4 (2.84 MB,720x1280,9:16,pqfZZcU9bY5h8loR.mp4)

File: 890b94816a1d364⋯.jpg (374.46 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Pro_Palestine_activists_ha….jpg)

File: 5b99faa1cb340d1⋯.jpg (282.07 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Victorian_Labor_Party_….jpg)

File: c2dbdebb7d4a849⋯.jpg (450.14 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_Victorian_Labor_Party_….jpg)

File: 943b8a5dd63a168⋯.jpg (404.74 KB,2048x1152,16:9,A_speaker_telling_the_cong….jpg)

>>20859867

>>20873260

‘Disgusted’: Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan slams pro-Palestine gatecrashers as controversial Gaza motions pass

TRICIA RIVERA and DAMON JOHNSTON - MAY 18, 2024

1/2

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says she is “disgusted” by the pro-Palestine activists who gatecrashed the Victorian Labor State conference as six contentious motions on Gaza were carried on Saturday.

Urgency motions relating to the Israel-Hamas war, drafted by pro-Palestinian supporters within Labor’s Socialist Left faction, were debated and met with overwhelming support.

One of the motions demands the Albanese government support the “inalienable right of self-determination for the Palestinian people,” and another calls for the end to Israel’s “perpetual military occupation and human rights violations” in Gaza.

Two delegates for and against the motions were given a few minutes each to advocate their position.

The speeches from the two speakers seeking to move the motion earned cheers from crowd.

However Nick Dyrenfurth, co-convener of Labor Friends of Israel, who sought to oppose the motion, was heckled when he addressed the conference.

Mr Dyrenfurth said he supported Palestinian self-determination and the establishment of a Palestinian state, but said the actions of Hamas had damaged this cause.

“Why? Because of the existence of the … genocidal racists of Hamas,” he said.

“This motion barely acknowledges them, October 7 and their rejection of Israel’s existence.

“By contrast it implicitly rewards them for the actions of October 7.”

He said a State Labor conference recognising a Palestinian state over Hamas makes no difference to the people in Israel or Gaza.

“It will not prevent one death, it will not deliver one aid package, it will not bring peace a single day closer,” he said.

“And it will not repair the damage to social cohesion which has occurred in this country, in this state, outside our conference, in fact, inside our conference.”

Mr Dyrenfurth said Hamas was no friend of the Labor Party.

“This motion is a betrayal of all we hold dear as Labour people and internationalists,” he said.

“Hamas holds trade unions, freedom of assembly and workers’ rights in contempt. Hamas holds freedom of religion in contempt.”

He told The Weekend Australian that after he described himself as a “proud Jew”, someone in the crowd yelled “sit down Zionist”.

When the group of motions was put to a vote, a majority of the room shouted a resounding “I”, as a small number of dejected “no’s” were heard afterwards.

Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns launched a scathing attack on the “one sided motions” passed by the state conference, claiming they would “cause division and hurt” in Australia.

“Today at the Victorian Labor conference police had to move violent and aggressive pro-Palestinian protestors from the building,” he told The Weekend Australian.

“MPs and delegates were abused and physically assaulted. It was completely unacceptable. It was not a safe environment.

“Later on the conference moved a series of one sided motions which passed the floor.”

He said the motions won’t bring peace to those on the ground and will cause division and hurt in Australia.

“It would have been preferable if the motions had recognised the breadth of pain and anxiety felt by so many people in Victoria while watching the scenes in the Middle East,” Mr Burns said.

The federal MP for Macnam­ara – an electorate covering Jewish heartland suburbs such as Caulfield, St Kilda East and Balaclava – had been involved in negotiating with the pro-Palestinian faction within the Socialist Left to amend the motions.

“Despite my best efforts to work with other delegates to find common ground, no agreement was reached. I will continue to stand up inside the party as I was elected to do,” he said.

State and federal governments are not bound by motions passed on the floor of state conference, but the debate frequently offers insights into party divisions, and the directions in which the membership is moving on key issues.

The carriage of the motions come after the Victorian Premier took to social media to condemn the activists, which forced her and Deputy Premier Ben Carroll to be rushed into the conference room away from the group.

“Today, protestors and intruders brought violence, homophobia and anti-Semitism to the front door of state conference,” she wrote on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“I’m disgusted. No one should be cowered by these bullies.”

Members of the conference were told to either take their seats or leave the room on Saturday morning, with a speaker advising the congregation that the doors would be closed due to a “security issue”.

About 50 Gatecrashers stormed the Moonee Valley Racecourse after 10am and made their way to the building’s upper level.

(continued)

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80104e No.20883006

File: a68238717d8d895⋯.jpg (118.82 KB,750x390,25:13,JA_2.jpg)

File: fad26be623633d5⋯.jpg (381.01 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Protesters_chanted_Free_fr….jpg)

File: 5e3d74899ef6a5a⋯.jpg (266.14 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

File: 44a8ee8dee8adee⋯.jpg (420.29 KB,2048x1152,16:9,Senator_Lidia_Thorpe_shout….jpg)

File: 92f684372d514ce⋯.jpg (197.92 KB,2047x1152,2047:1152,Prime_Minister_Anthony_Alb….jpg)

>>20883003

2/2

The conference room was locked for about 20 minutes while the protesters were present.

The group chanted “Free, free Palestine” and “Labor Party you can’t hide, you’re supporting genocide” outside the room where market stalls were set up.

Some activists donned keffiyehs around their neck and waved around Palestinian flags.

A woman with a megaphone spoke to the crowd said that the Labor Party had given them “no choice” but to bring politics to their door.

The group then made their way towards the conference room and proceeded to heavily bang on the doors and shouted “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”.

After a few minutes, the activists made their way out using the escalators, as two police officers emerged to direct the group to move on.

A pro-Palestine supporter shouted at a non-protest member, who appeared visibly upset by the altercation.

“You’re supporting genocide!” the man shouted at the non-protest member.

Security blocked entrances after the protesters left.

Earlier in the conference, Anthony Albanese was met with a rock star welcome at the conference as he spruiked his government’s third budget as one that delivers cost of living relief and a focus on a future made in Australia.

He slammed Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, and said he had no policies or plans to help with cost of living.

“The Liberal Party are scared of the present but they’re terrified of the future,” the Prime Minister told the crowd.

“They’re stuck in the past and set on dragging the rest of Australia back there, just to keep them company.

“Dragging the country back to denial and delay on climate change, back to an economy where low wages were a deliberate design feature, back to wage theft, insecure work and the law of the jungle in industrial relations.”

The Prime Minister did not directly mention the conflict in the Middle East, but acknowledged the decade had already seen “all manner of challenges”.

He referenced natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, but also mentioned “conflict and challenge overseas”.

“You helped each other through these difficult times, and you’ve worked so hard to preserve and nourish the great national asset of our social cohesion and our respect for one another,” Mr Albanese said.

“Even when it’s been tested by conflict and tension overseas.

“The worst of times always revealed the best of the Australian character, their compassion and their courage.”

The Prime Minister did not directly mention the conflict in the Middle East, but acknowledged the decade had already seen “all manner of challenges”.

He referenced natural disasters, the Covid-19 pandemic, economic uncertainty, but also mentioned “conflict and challenge overseas”.

“You helped each other through these difficult times, and you’ve worked so hard to preserve and nourish the great national asset of our social cohesion and our respect for one another,” Mr Albanese said.

“Even when it’s been tested by conflict and tension overseas.

“The worst of times always revealed the best of the Australian character, their compassion and their courage.”

Police said they will have a visible presence in response to the planned protests over the course of the two-day conference.

“A group of protesters entered the gates to a venue on Feehan Ave this morning and were moved on without incident,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

“Our priority is the safety of the community and officers will ensure there are no breaches of the peace.”

The Victorian Premier also touted Victorian Labor’s policies and used the forum to announce new laws to protect customer-facing workers in retail, fast food and public transport roles from assault and abuse.

“As we’ve seen today, there are those who want to distract us, to silence us, to scare us,” Ms Allan said in her speech.

“But our movement and our party is one of the oldest in the world.”

About 150 pro-Palestine activists, joined by independent Senator Lidia Thorpe, gathered an hour ahead of the conference.

Unionists for Palestine called on its followers to “bring your discontent and rage”, with the protesters outside the premise seen calling out to people filing into the conference.

Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dr Dvir Abramovich expressed concern over the protests.

“I hope that those ALP delegates who are determined to demonise and delegitimise Israel through a series of motions will reflect on who are the truly bad actors in this situation,” he said.

“I hope that these extremists will be dealt with to the full extent of the law.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/propalestine-activists-gatecrash-victorian-labor-state-conference-in-melbourne/news-story/d2b293c0eade5c8f460d607953398c64

https://x.com/JacintaAllanMP/status/1791671509960024488

https://x.com/tricialeerivera/status/1791630370519036372

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80104e No.20886045

Notables

are not endorsements

#35 - Part 1

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 1

>>20550335 Jewish leaders back US’s ‘floating pier’ Gaza aid plan, amid calls to fund UNRWA - Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim has urged Labor to support the United States’ plan to build a “temporary floating pier” in Gaza to deliver aid, rather than restore funding to the UN’s aid agency. Mr Wertheim said the Jewish community supported the provision of aid to civilians in Gaza who were in desperate need but remained “totally opposed” to using the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to deliver that aid.

>>20550344 Vietnam War memorial in Canberra defaced with Gaza message - The RSL National President Greg Melick has condemned pro-Palestine activists who vandalised the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra by spray-painting slogans on the monument describing Israel as a "colony" and warning of "genocide" in Gaza. The protestors vandalised the memorial on Anzac Parade overnight on Sunday in a protest to highlight the situation in Gaza, with Mr Melick describing their actions as "contemptible" and Opposition veterans' affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce warning they had undermined their own cause.

>>20555418 Video: Wong backs Biden, urges Israel to ‘change course’ - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned that Israel will lose further support from its traditional allies if it proceeds with further ground attacks in the Gaza Strip, backing similar remarks from US President Joe Biden at the weekend. “Unless Israel changes its course, it will continue to lose support,” Ms Wong said at The Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney

>>20570374 Australia to resume funding for UN aid agency - Australia will restore a $6 million funding pledge to the peak United Nations body that helps the Palestinian people in Gaza after a seven-week suspension due to claims that some of the agency’s staff took part in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians last October. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the funding would be released under “stringent conditions” in a new agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency with tougher controls to ensure staff neutrality in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. “The best available current advice from agencies and the Australian government lawyers is that UNRWA is not a terrorist organisation, and that existing and additional safeguards sufficiently protect Australian taxpayer funding,” she said.

>>20580396 ‘We are delighted’: Government backflips on cancelled Gaza visas - Several Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza who were devastated after their visas were cancelled while en route to Australia have again been granted permission to travel to the country, a move that has thrilled advocates in Australia. The Home Affairs Department had told applicants their visas had been cancelled because it believed they may wish to stay in Australia when their visas run out.

>>20617439 Australia out of step with US on UNRWA funding - The Albanese government has slipped further out of step with the US on Gaza after the Biden administration slapped a one year ban on support for UNRWA, just over a week after Australia resumed funding the Palestinian aid agency. Australian Jewish groups said the US move - in a bill to avert a partial government shutdown – should mark the beginning of the end for the “corrupt, inept” organisation whose employees have been accused of participating in Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.

>>20628581 Jewish leaders file vilification complaints to AHRC against Sydney clerics - The country’s peak Jewish body has formally lodged vilification complaints with Australia’s human rights body against two Sydney Muslim clerics, after they gave sermons that described Jews as “monsters”, “rats”, “bloodthirsty” and “vile”. The sermons also included parables about killing Jews and how if people “spat” on Israel “the Jews would drown”, among anti-Semitic tropes about them having “hands everywhere in business” and “owning the majority of banks”. The Australian can reveal the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has lodged vilification complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission against cleric Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, and sheik Ahmed Zoud, for a December sermon at southwest Sydney’s As-Sunnah Mosque.

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80104e No.20886051

#35 - Part 2

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 2

>>20665416 Video: 'Selfless, outstanding' Australian aid worker killed in airstrike in central Gaza - The family of an Australian citizen killed in an airstrike in Gaza has described the humanitarian aid worker as "an outstanding human being" driven by kindness and selflessness. Melbourne-born Lalzawmi "Zomi" Frankcom, along with three other international aid workers and a Palestinian driver, was killed in Central Gaza while working with the World Central Kitchen (WCK) charity. Video footage posted to social media showed the bodies of the five dead at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central Gaza town of Deir al-Balah. Staff showed the British, Australian and Polish passports of three of the dead. All of the workers killed were wearing protective gear with the charity's logo on it.

>>20665443 Australian World Central Kitchen aid worker Zomi Frankcom killed by apparent Israeli air strike in Gaza - Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom has been killed in what Palestinian officials say was an Israeli air strike on central Gaza. Charity organisation World Central Kitchen (WCK) said seven of its international aid workers were killed by the strike while helping to deliver food and other supplies to northern Gaza. The charity said the team were travelling in a "deconflicted zone" in two armoured cars branded with the WCK logo despite coordinating movements with the Israeli Defense Forces. WCK said the seven killed were from Australia, Poland, the United Kingdom, a dual United States-Canadian citizen and Palestine. The organisation said it had ordered an immediate pause on its operations, as Israeli forces carry out an "in-depth examination to understand the circumstances of this tragic incident".

>>20665454 Radical preacher Abu Ousayd’s ‘Dawah Van’ charity takes to Sydney streets - A high-profile Sydney preacher who urged people to spit on Israel so “Jews would drown” and gave a series of anti-Semitic sermons runs a registered charity called the Dawah Van that he and other leaders from his centre use as a vehicle to convert young Australians and tourists to Islam. Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, is one of five board members of The Dawah Van Incorporated, the charitable arm of his Al Madina Dawah Centre. The Dawah Van’s social media pages, including Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, which has come under fire for not doing enough to clamp down on hate speech – show Mr Ousayd, Mr Ye, and other volunteers outside Sydney’s Town Hall preaching predominantly to young men, or tourists and expats.

>>20671014 Video: PM Albanese demanding explanation from Israel PM after aid work’s death - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is demanding an explanation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after the Israel Defence Forces took responsibility for an airstrike that killed seven people, including Australian aid worker "Zomi" Frankcom. - 9 News Australia

>>20671024 No action against Sydney hate preacher Abu Ousayd after latest ‘met by death’ sermon - Police have said it is unable to lay charges against a radical Sydney cleric who warned of violence and “men who love death” if Islam was attacked, saying legal advice had determined that the threats didn’t constitute a criminal offence. On Wednesday, NSW Police confirmed that a Friday sermon by Bankstown-based cleric Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, that promised “humiliation” and “men who love death” if Allah was attacked did not breach state hate-speech provisions.

>>20686521 ‘Inexcusable’: Angry Australia condemns aid worker killings, Israel suspends two officers - The Israeli military has dismissed two army officers who were involved in the operation that killed Australian Zomi Frankcom and six fellow aid workers after an investigation found the deadly strikes were a serious violation of its operating procedures. The snap probe has failed to quell the anger of the Albanese government, which is demanding assurances that evidence be preserved and calling for Israel to be prepared to change their targeting practices in the war. “The information Israel has provided on its investigation hasn’t yet satisfied our expectations,” Wong said.

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80104e No.20886056

#35 - Part 3

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 3

>>20686545 Israel pressed to co-operate with ‘unprecedented’ Australian probe into aid worker killings - The Albanese government is pressing Israel to take further action against the troops responsible for the killing of Australian Zomi Frankcom and six fellow aid workers if they are found guilty of wrong-doing after being left unsatisfied by the initial probe into their deaths. It is also urging Tel Aviv to co-operate with an Australian review – which an international law expert described as “unprecedented in modern times” – of the Israeli Defence Forces’ investigation into the strikes on the aid convoy in Gaza. Foreign Minister Penny Wong decried the operation that killed the aid workers as a “deadly failure”. “It cannot be brushed aside, and it cannot be covered over,” Wong said at a press conference in Adelaide.

>>20695582 Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin to lead probe into Israel’s World Central Kitchen strike - Anthony Albanese has said intelligence from Israel about its investigation into the air strike that killed seven humanitarian aid workers including Australian Zomi Frankcom “hasn’t yet satisfied expectations,” as Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin was appointed special adviser to the government on Israel’s response to the disaster. Air Chief Marshal Binskin will be tasked with engaging with Israel and Israel Defence Forces on the response to the attack which killed Ms Frankcom and six other World Kitchen aid workers. The initial Israeli investi­gation, rejected as unsatisfactory by Australia, found drone strikes on three World Central Kitchen aid vehicles occurred after IDF troops mistakenly determined Hamas gunmen were travelling with the aid convoy. Two Israeli officers were dismissed from their positions over the tragedy, and two senior commanders were reprimanded. The army said its findings would be sent to military prosecutors, but it is unclear whether any of the personnel will face charges. Mr Albanese said he hoped Air Chief Marshal Binskin would have “full access” to the Israeli investigation.

>>20700802 Details of defence deal with Israel kept under wraps to protect Australia's 'reputation' - Details of an agreement struck between Australia and Israel on defence industry cooperation will not be released publicly over concerns the information could damage Australia's "international relations". Scrutiny of military relations with Israel has intensified since last week's air strike on an aid convoy in Gaza, which killed Australian Zomi Frankcom, along with six other humanitarian workers. Shortly after the outbreak of the Gaza war in October, the Greens submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request for a copy of the "Memorandum of Understanding" (MOU) signed between Australia and Israel in 2017. Following a three-month process, the defence department formally rejected the application, arguing that the document, which contains sensitive diplomatic information, is exempt under FOI legislation. "The document within the scope of this request contains information which, if released, could reasonably be expected to damage the international relations of the Commonwealth," the Defence Department said in a letter explaining its decision.

>>20700805 Video: Israel Defense Forces spokesperson defends strike that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six others - Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner has launched a defence of the Israeli drone strikes that killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, during an interview with 7.30 where he also said Israel was looking into whether a criminal investigation needed to take place. Asked whether the incident was a war crime, Lieutenant Colonel Lerner denied it was but said there was a series of failures from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). However, he suggested they were understandable ones that occurred under the cover of darkness in an area where IDF forces thought Hamas gunmen were present. The Australian government has been left unimpressed by Israel's reaction to the strike that killed an Australian citizen, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese angered by his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu describing the incident as "what happens in war".

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80104e No.20886059

#35 - Part 4

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 4

>>20705252 Video: Penny Wong says peace for Israel will only come with Palestinian state recognition - Australia's foreign minister says peace and security will only come to Israel if Palestine is recognised as a state. Foreign Minister Penny Wong used an address at the Australian National University on Tuesday night to announce that the federal government was contemplating recognising Palestinian statehood. She said international recognition could help "build momentum towards a two-state solution" with Israel. Senator Wong repeated calls on Wednesday morning for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war before repeating the same sentiment she had expressed in a speech the night prior. She added that Australia could be both a friend to Israel and a friend to Palestinians.

>>20705294 Video: ‘Reward for terrorism’: Wong’s speech draws backlash from pro-Israel groups' - Pro-Israel groups and the federal opposition have reacted furiously to Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong’s suggestion the Albanese government could recognise Palestinian statehood, declaring such a move would reward Hamas for the October 7 terrorist attacks. Wong said recognising Palestinian statehood could improve the chances for peace while “building momentum” towards a two-state agreement with Israel, in a speech in Canberra on Tuesday night. Her comments have been welcomed by pro-Palestinian advocates and progressive Labor activists, who have campaigned for many years to shift Labor’s position on the question of statehood. However, the speech has further strained the government’s fraught relations with prominent Jewish groups, which were already angry with the government over its decision to appoint a special adviser to review the Israel Defence Force’s killing of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six colleagues. “Any talk of recognition of Palestinian statehood in such close proximity to the 7 October attacks is entirely premature and will be seen as a reward for those attacks,” Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler said.

>>20705307 Penny Wong’s position on Palestine wrong on many levels - "Foreign Minister Penny Wong has delivered an emotionally ­manipulative, substantially dishonest speech implying, without quite stating, that the Albanese government is on the brink of extending formal diplomatic recognition to a state of Palestine. Her reasoning inverts reality, her facts are dubious if not outright wrong, her logic is missing, but the politics is compelling. That is the internal Labor politics and the broader politics of the left. The political bottom line is this. If the government officially recognises a Palestinian state, Labor will go to the election with the enthusiastic support of Muslim voters in key western Sydney and Melbourne electorates. Not only that, Labor thinks it will have a better chance of fending off its most deadly enemy, the Greens, in inner-city electorates in every big Australian city." - Greg Sheridan, The Australian's foreign editor - theaustralian.com.au

>>20715805 Video: Israel's Foreign Ministry has rejected the Australian special adviser appointed to investigate the death of Australian Zomi Frankcom in drone strike - Israel's foreign ministry has rejected the Australian adviser appointed to investigate the deadly strikes which killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom and six of her colleagues in Gaza on April 1. Following the international fallout from the Israeli drone strikes, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese made a move to appoint a special adviser to oversee their investigation into Ms Frankcom’s death. However, Sky News Australia host Sharri Markson broke the news on Thursday night that he government's foreign office had opposed the request. Markson revealed the foreign ministry felt there was "no place for Australia to do such an unprecedented move” and that Israel could "conduct its own investigation without interference from other countries".

>>20726669 Israel urges Australia to list Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as terrorists - Israel is seeking urgent action from Australia and other democracies to label the Iranian Revolutionary Guard a terrorist organisation in a bid to prevent it amassing weapons and launching more strikes after it bombarded Israeli targets on Saturday. The formal request is likely to be put to Canberra within days to gain a practical outcome by limiting the supply of materials and weapons to the Iranian military force, as well as securing a symbolic show of unity with Israel as it comes under attack. Israel’s deputy ambassador to Australia, Chris Cantor, said the issue had been raised with the government in the past but needed swift action because of the unprecedented Iranian decision to launch 300 drones and missiles against Israeli soil on Saturday.

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80104e No.20886063

#35 - Part 5

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 5

>>20765048 Anti-Israel ACTU push stirs Jewish fury - The ACTU has ignited a ferocious battle with Australia’s Jewish community during Passover by calling for the Albanese government to end military trade with ­Israel, enforce targeted sanctions against Israeli government officials and ­inject a further $100m of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the West Bank. The ACTU savaged Israel’s role in the Middle East conflict and demanded the immediate recognition of a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, joining some of the most strident pro-Palestinian union critics of the conflict sparked by the October 7 massacre of 1200 Israelis. It is the ACTU’s strongest statement on the war so far, bringing it into conflict with key aspects of the federal government’s position on Israel and piling pressure on Anthony Albanese’s internal handling of the crisis. The statement was released under the names of ACTU president Michele O’Neil and secretary Sally McManus, and will heap pressure on Labor MPs already facing a barrage of criticism from the Greens and Muslim constituents in key seats.

>>20770058 Union leader hits back at ‘outrageous’ ACTU statement - A union official has condemned ACTU chiefs Sally McManus and Michele O’Neil over the peak body’s pro-Palestinian statement, claiming it ignored the role of Hamas terrorists in the Gaza tragedy. Jeff Lapidos, secretary of the taxation officers’ branch of the Australian Services Union, sent an email to the ACTU secretary and president rebutting a controversial pro-Palestinian statement issued on Monday. Mr Lapidos, who is Jewish, said he sent the email in his capacity as a delegate to the ACTU congress in June, and described its statement as “absolutely outrageous”. “They completely ignored the role Hamas has played in the tragedy in Gaza,” he told The Australian. “It’s not just that Hamas wants the Jews out of Israel, they don’t want Israel at all. Hamas says that if they have the opportunity they will attack Israel again and again and again, until they have got them out of the land. The ACTU statement was absolutely outrageous.”

>>20765123 Teachers’ group to focus on Palestine on Anzac Day - A pro-Palestine teachers group has excoriated the Anzac legacy just two days before Australia commemorates its military history. In a statement released on Tuesday, the Teachers and School Staff for Palestine group called for the Anzac legend to be “dismantled” and linked a slaughter committed by World War One Anzac troops to the current war against Gaza. Secondary schoolteacher Lucy Honan said it was important for students to understand Australia’s role in the Middle Eastern conflict. “It is so important that students know that the Anzacs left a long and violent historical imprint in Palestine and in Sarafand al-’Amar in particular,” Ms Honan said. “The British created a prison camp for Palestinian activists at Sarafand al-’Amar. “The residents fled or were evacuated in the 1948 Nakba, and the site then became one of Israel’s largest military bases. “This is a legacy to dismantle, not to glorify.”

>>20770083 Pro-Palestinian teachers ‘deeply disrespectful to all who served’ - The federal government and ­opposition have united in condemnation of a pro-Palestinian teachers’ group for “attacking our Anzac legacy’’. On the eve of Anzac Day, federal Education Minister Jason Clare criticised the attack by the activist teachers on what they termed “Anzac mythology’’. “No one should be attacking our Anzac legacy,’’ Mr Clare said. “It disrespects those that have fought and died in our name.’’ The federal Coalition also condemned the “deeply disrespectful and appalling actions’’ of the Teachers and School Staff for ­Palestine group, which is demanding the Anzac legend “be dismantled”, and has linked killings by Anzac troops in World War I to the current Israeli-Gaza war. Opposition education spokeswoman Sarah Henderson said teachers should not be “indoctrinating’’ students. “The attempts to link the sacrifice of our Anzacs to this sort of activism is not only misguided but deeply disrespectful to the men and women who served our country,’’ she said. “Our classrooms should be places of objective learning, not ­indoctrination. It is not the role of educators to push political ­agendas or promote divisive ideologies.’’

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80104e No.20886065

#35 - Part 6

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 6

>>20789187 Video: Children lead ‘intifada’ chants at pro-Palestine university protest - Young children have chanted ‘intifada’ and other anti-Israel slogans at a controversial encampment of Palestine supporters at the University of Sydney last week, dialling up fears that the anti-Semitism crisis on the nation’s campuses is now out of control. In videos, children who look younger than ten were leading others in chants calling for “intifada” and calling Israel “haram”, being clapped along by controversial anti-Israel Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah among others. Dr Abdel-Fattah is standing in front of children and parents, clapping along to another child chanting into a loudspeaker calling Israel ‘haram’ - Arabic term for ‘forbidden’ - and calling for ‘intifada’, or an uprising against oppression. In the context of the Palestine-Israel conflict, the term ‘intifada’ is often related with the violent resistance on the part of Palestinians to Israel. In another clip, a child leads a march while chanting into a loudspeaker, “five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state”.

>>20803291 Academic Randa Abdel Fattah brands critics ‘white supremacists’ over her anti-Israeli activism - Anti-Israel activist Dr Randa Abdel-Fattah has attacked her critics as “white supremacists’’, and vowed to fight to keep her $837,174 taxpayer-funded research grant. Dr Abdel-Fattah led a protest of school students at the rival University of Sydney campus last Friday, when children as young as five could be heard chanting “intifada’’ and “Israel is a terrorist state’’. “When Zionists demand my fellowship be cancelled, they are purposefully targeting me and the next generation of Arab and Muslim women academics,’’ she wrote on X. “They see to eliminate us from the academy because our voices, knowledge production and impact threaten the White supremacist status quo they so desperately seek to maintain.’’

>>20837033 Penny Wong told not to ‘reward terrorism’ by supporting Palestine UN vote - 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.”

>>20837099 Video: University of Sydney campus speaker Sami Hamdi said to ‘celebrate victory’ of Israel attack - 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.

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80104e No.20886069

#35 - Part 7

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 7

>>20841292 Video: Police called in after radical activists hijack Gaza war protests at universities - Hardline activists have hijacked student peace protests as universities call in police to investigate claims of violence on campus. 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’’.

>>20846766 Australia leans towards supporting resolution extending Palestinians' rights as United Nations observer - 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.

>>20846807 Video: Sack ASIO boss, probe arrests of teens on terror charges: Grand Mufti - 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. 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.”

>>20852029 Video: ‘We did not reward Hamas’: Penny Wong defends United Nations vote backing Palestinian statehood - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has insisted Australia did not reward the terror group, Hamas, by backing Palestinian statehood in a high-profile United Nations vote, a move that has drawn fierce criticism from Israel and its local advocates. The Albanese government broke with some of its closest security partners early on Saturday morning by voting in favour of a General Assembly resolution that declared “the State of Palestine is qualified for membership in the United Nations” under its charter rules. In a rare public display of disunity on foreign affairs, Labor MP Josh Burns said Jewish Australians would feel more isolated as a result of the vote, arguing that the government should have abstained rather than vote yes. “An abstention would have signalled we’re open to further recognition, but that we acknowledge the short-term hurdles that need to be overcome in order to achieve lasting peace,” Burns, who is Jewish, said in a statement.

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80104e No.20886073

#35 - Part 8

Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 8

>>20859867 Bid to defuse tensions as Victorian Labor faces Gaza ‘split’ - Israeli and Palestinian supporters in the Victorian ALP remain locked in high-stakes talks in a bid to defuse an eruption of tension at Labor’s state conference. Amid an escalating threat of an internal showdown over the war in Gaza at the key meeting, ­security fears are also emerging with hard-left groups calling on supporters to join an anti-Israel rally outside the event being staged at Moonee Valley Racecourse. Jewish Labor MP Josh Burns, the federal MP for Macnamara, and other pro-Israeli supporters have been attempting to negotiate a compromise to convince Labor’s pro-Palestinian faction to remove inflammatory language from any motion debated at the May 18-19 conference.

>>20868824 Video: ‘This is a genocide’: Labor senator breaks with government over Israel war - Labor senator Fatima Payman has accused Israel of conducting a genocide in Gaza in the most strident criticism of Israel by a government MP since the war in Gaza began. Reflecting division within the Labor caucus over the Israel-Palestine conflict, Payman also deployed the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a slogan that has been criticised by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as provocative. Jewish groups accused Payman of using a “vile” phrase that calls for the destruction of the state of Israel, while the federal opposition called for Albanese to demand the backbencher apologise. Payman, who was elected to the Senate in the 2022 election, was born in Afghanistan and is the first Muslim woman to wear a hijab in the federal parliament. Her comments came after Labor MP Josh Burns, who is Jewish, publicly criticised the government for voting in favour of granting Palestine extra privileges at the United Nations at the weekend.

>>20873227 PM says Labor senator Fatima Payman’s use of Israel ‘genocide’, ‘river to the sea’ was inappropriate - Anthony Albanese says it’s “not appropriate” a WA Labor senator used a controversial chant when she broke ranks with the government’s position on Palestine, as the Coalition heaps on pressure on him to “take action” against her. Fatima Payman on Wednesday accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, and questioned how many more deaths would be needed before the Prime Minister declared “enough”. Mr Albanese on Thursday morning was asked if he had spoken to Senator Payman since she made the comments, to which he gave an emphatic “no”. But he said her use of the politically charged phrase was “not appropriate” and did not reflect the Labor Party’s position. “What is appropriate is a two-state solution, where both Israelis and Palestinians have the right to live in security and peace and prosperity,” he told ABC Radio. “It is not in the interests of either Israelis or Palestinians to advocate there just be one state. That is a forerunner of enormous conflict and grief.”

>>20873260 Labor motions slam Israel but not Hamas terrorists - Motions demanding the Albanese Government support the “inalienable right of self-determination for the Palestinian people” and calling for the end to Israel’s “perpetual military occupation and human rights violations” in Gaza will be debated at this weekend’s Victorian ALP state conference. Four motions drafted by pro-Palestinian supporters within the Socialist Left faction seen by The Australian make only a passing mention of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attack that killed an estimated 1200 Israelis. While one of the motions calls for the release of hostages it fails to reference the number - estimated to be more than 200 who were taken by Hamas terrorists - and goes on to accuse Israel of conducting a “brutal 17-year long blockade and siege” of Gaza.

>>20873283 NSW Police blasted after force reveals tourist who wore 'October 7' soccer jersey won't face charges: 'Tolerating public support for terrorism' - Police will not press charges against a man who wore a shirt glorifying the October 7 terror attack to a major NSW tourist attraction because it did not break any laws. The inaction has infuriated the peak organisation representing the Jewish community, with its chief executive saying it demonstrated the “weakness of our laws” and authorities’ tolerance for public support for terrorism. The witness who reported the matter to police, Steve Joffe, said he was left feeling “disappointed” after receiving a phone call informing him that police had received legal advice that the sports jersey was not in breach of current legislation.

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80104e No.20886076

#35 - Part 9

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>20545757 OPINION: The alternative is awful, but not even conservatives should back Trump - "Trump is not a conservative. A right-wing demagogue he may be. The most scornful and effective scourge of the condescending and censorious liberal elite, he surely is. But that alone is no excuse for conservatives to turn a blind eye to the threat Trump poses to values which they have always considered sacrosanct. Those values include respect for constitutional government. A failed candidate who stubbornly refused to accept the outcome of an election, encouraged his supporters to disrupt the proceedings of Congress to prevent the result being declared, and propagated without a shred of evidence the fantasy that the election had been stolen, is no conservative." - George Brandis, former high commissioner to the UK, former Liberal senator and federal attorney-general - theage.com.au

>>20555431 ‘No idea what we’re facing’: Alice crime scourge escalating - "Despite last year’s intense focus, violence is still on the rise and few locals expect anything to change. CCTV does little to deter the gangs in search of cars to steal - including mine. Houses are attacked with golf clubs, assaults are carried out on joggers. Shopping malls have been left ghostlike. Store owners lock their doors even when they’re open. Little more than a year ago, a national spotlight was placed on the town amid fly-in visits from Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton, but the intense focus was vanishingly brief and the town is again awash in grog. Locals will continue to live in a state of constant hypervigilance." - Liam Mendes - theaustralian.com.au

>>20555490 OPINION: How terrible would a second Trump presidency be for Australia? Terrible enough. - "Now that Donald Trump is the inevitable Republican candidate for the US presidency, countries everywhere need to prepare. Can Australia Trump-proof itself somehow? Some of Australia’s most senior officials have turned to Mike Green for his advice in recent weeks. Green is an American politico-policy expert who relocated to Australia a couple of years ago to run the US Studies Centre at Sydney University. The bad news about a second Trump presidency: “It’d be terrible,” he tells me. The good news: “It wouldn’t be as terrible as people think.” He worked in the White House leading Asia policy for George W. Bush, but he would never work in a Trump White House. He was one of 50 “never Trumpers” national security officials, all of whom had worked for Republican presidents – who published a full-page letter in The New York Times to warn voters that Trump would be “the most reckless president in American history”. They got that right." - Peter Hartcher, political and international editor - smh.com.au

>>20561119 Puberty blockers for trans kids under fresh scrutiny as NHS issues ban - Australia’s children’s hospitals are increasingly being left as international outliers as Britain’s National Health Service moves to ban the routine prescription of puberty blockers in children, raising questions over the safety and clinical effectiveness of the hormone drugs that are given to children experiencing gender dysphoria. The NHS released a statement saying “we have concluded that there is not enough evidence to support the safety or clinical effectiveness of [puberty blockers] to make the treatment routinely available at this time” and announced the drugs will only be able to be prescribed as part of clinical trials. The decision is in line with a central recommendation of pediatrician Hillary Cass following an extensive examination of the care being provided to children at London’s Tavistock clinic in the wake of clinical governance concerns raised by doctors and patients. While Australian gender-affirming doctors continue to maintain puberty blockers simply “pause” sexual development while confused children weigh up whether to progress to transition, the Cass review found that an ideologically-driven approach at the Tavistock had essentially transplanted usual clinical governance practice and usual practices of comprehensive assessment and care, and that children were being rushed onto the drugs and placed on a medical pathway that almost invariably progressed to the later prescription of cross-sex hormones and sometimes surgery.

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80104e No.20886081

#35 - Part 10

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>20565302 AHRC transgender rights inquiry ‘biased, waste of taxpayer funds’: experts - A national inquiry into trans­gender human rights focusing on “anti-trans mobilisation” and “disinformation” has been ­branded a “serious misuse of taxpayer funds” by experts concerned it fails to balance the rights of transgender people with the rights of women and girls. Specialists and lobby groups have also flagged a possible “bias” exhibited in the Australian Human Rights Commission’s ­inquiry because it restricts submissions to experts “in trans and gender diverse matters”. As part of the inquiry, the commission will probe “discrimination, harassment, vilification and violence” levelled at trans and gender diverse (TGD) Australians, and investigate “extremism and radicalisation”. The inquiry, which will also examine how “education, employment, healthcare, housing, migration, service provision and the law” affect transgender Australians, is open for submissions but will only accept the opinions of experts “in TGD matters”. Senior Queensland child psychiatrist Jillian Spencer said the inquiry fails to focus on how the rights of transgender people ­intersect with the rights of women and children. “All they seem to want is for the transgender community to voice any bad experiences they’ve had, and they don’t want to look at the whole rights issue for the whole of the community,” she said.

>>20570458 Women athletes launch landmark case against transgender inclusion - A group of 16 American women have launched a landmark legal case against the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) over the participation of transgender athletes in their sports, with their lawyer stating that the organisation has “institutionalised cheating and discrimination” against them. With a particular focus on Lia Thomas, the transgender swimmer who claimed a NCAA women’s title in March 2022, the group has filed its 156-page claim at the United States District Court in the northern district of Atlanta, Georgia. It was in Atlanta that the NCAA Division 1 swimming championships took place, with the fact that about 300 women shared a dressing room with Thomas - at the time with “full male genitalia” - cited in the complaint.

>>20570471 Massive nationwide outage of McDonald's payment processing services in Australia - McDonald's says a global IT outage that prevented its servers from processing payments and saw restaurants closed across Australia and several other countries on Friday evening was not a cybersecurity incident. The company has also confirmed some of its restaurants' systems are now back online, and it is working to restore service to the remainder of its restaurants as soon as possible. "The issue is now being resolved," a McDonald's spokesperson told the ABC.

>>20589286 ‘A bowl of vomit’ - Ukrainian ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko blasts Four Corners episode - Ukraine’s Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko has blasted an ABC program about the war in Ukraine as a “journalistic equivalent of a bowl of vomit”. The documentary by filmmaker Sean Langan titled “Ukraine’s War: The Other Side” aired on Four Corners on Monday night and was plugged as offering a human perspective of life on the Russian frontline. But Mr Myroshnychenko on Tuesday accused it of unquestioningly repeating “countless blatant lies, historical distortions, racist claims and propaganda narratives emanating from the Kremlin”.

>>20589296 Video: ASIO, ASIS chiefs removed from national security committee - Two of Australia’s leading intelligence bosses have been dumped from the Albanese government’s top security body. The head of ASIO, Director-General Mike Burgess, and the head of ASIS, Director-General Kerri Hartland, have been removed from the Albanese government’s national security meeting of Cabinet, according to Sky News. The director-generals have previously given advice on key security and sovereignty issues within the cabinet, which makes decisions on the highest risk and most urgent national security matters. But it’s understood Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet secretary Glyn Davis has removed both as permanent members.

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80104e No.20886085

#35 - Part 11

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>20594954 Video: Donald Trump says ‘nasty’ Kevin Rudd won’t ‘be there long’ if he returns as president - Donald Trump has issued a firm warning to Kevin Rudd, claiming the former Australian prime minister won’t remain ambassador to the US if his “hostile" language continues. GB News host Nigel Farage questioned Mr Trump about some of Mr Rudd’s “horrible” comments where he labelled the former president a “traitor to the West”. “I don’t know much about him, I heard he was a little bit nasty,” Mr Trump said. “I hear he is not the brightest bulb, but I don’t know much about him. “If he is at all hostile, he will not be there long.”

>>20594987 Video: Penny Wong vows to keep Kevin Rudd in Washington if Donald Trump is re-elected - Penny Wong says Labor will keep Kevin Rudd on as Ambassador to the US if Donald Trump wins the upcoming election, after the former president and Republican candidate warned he was “not the brightest bulb” and might not last as Australia’s envoy if he returned to the White House. In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, to be aired in Australia by Sky News, the former president said he had heard Mr Rudd, who last year succeeded Arthur Sinodinos as the government’s man in the US capital, was “a little bit nasty”. Anthony Albanese appointed Mr Rudd to the post in December 2022, despite the possibility of a Trump comeback, and the former Labor prime minister’s past criticisms of the Republican president as “nuts”, a “traitor to the West” and “the most destructive president in history”. The Foreign Minister delivered an unequivocal “yes” when asked on Wednesday whether the government would retain Mr Rudd as ambassador in the event of a Trump victory in November.

>>20595004 Video: Rudd to stay in US after Trump threatened to boot him as ambassador - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has backed Kevin Rudd as Australia's ambassador to the US, after former president and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump threatened to have him booted from the role if he is re-elected. In an interview on GB News with former UK far-right politician Nigel Farage, Trump was quizzed on potentially working in Washington with Rudd, who previously called him a "destructive president" and "a traitor to the West". The former president responded with a heated spray, suggesting Rudd "won't be there long" if he wins this year's presidential race. "I don't know much about him. I heard he was a little bit nasty. I hear he's not the brightest bulb. But, I don't know much about him," Trump said. "But if he's at all hostile, he will not be there long." In light of the comments, the foreign minister was asked whether the Albanese government would keep Rudd on as ambassador if Trump returned to the White House. "The answer is yes," Wong said. "Rudd is a very effective ambassador. He's recognised as doing across this parliament, as doing an excellent job in advancing Australia's interests in the United States."

>>20595009 Video: Former US president Donald Trump insults ambassador Kevin Rudd, says 'he won't be there long' if he's 'hostile' - Donald Trump has insulted Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd as "not the brightest bulb", and suggested he might not remain in the role if the former president is re-elected. Mr Trump, who recently became the Republican Party's presumptive nominee for the 2024 presidential election, was asked about the former prime minister during an interview on British television. Politician-turned-broadcaster Nigel Farage told Mr Trump that Dr Rudd had "said the most horrible things" about him, including calling him a "destructive president" and a "traitor to the West". "He won't be there long if that's the case," Mr Trump responded. Dr Rudd has not commented today, but previously defended his criticisms of Mr Trump, arguing he made them in his capacity as an "independent think-tanker". "I haven't done them as the Australian ambassador to the United States," he told Sky News in November last year. Dr Rudd was the president and CEO of the Asia Society prior to becoming the Australian ambassador a year ago.

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80104e No.20886088

#35 - Part 12

Australian Politics and Society - Part 4

>>20595022 Trump has lit the fuse, but Rudd has been a ticking time bomb all along - "Tick, tick, tick. Since Anthony Albanese chose Kevin Rudd to be Australia’s top diplomat in the United States, the former prime minister’s appointment has been a bomb waiting to explode. Now Donald Trump has lit the fuse, threatening to blow up Rudd’s diplomatic career in Washington and damage Australia’s most important security alliance. Installing Rudd as Australia’s ambassador to the US was always a high-risk, high-reward gamble by Albanese. On the plus side, Rudd has a prodigious work ethic and a formidable intellect. His status as a world-renowned China expert promised a level of access in DC that other diplomats could not match. The prospect of a Trump return to the White House just became even more alarming for Canberra. Intellect and work ethic won’t get you far if the leader of the free world hates your guts." - Matthew Knott - smh.com.au

>>20595024 Video: Donald Trump threatens to get rid of 'nasty' Kevin Rudd - Donald Trump has threatened that Kevin Rudd, currently Australia's ambassador to the US, "won't be there long" because of his supposed "hostile" stance towards the former president. - 9 News Australia

>>20595025 Video: Trump vs Rudd: What the former President said about the former Prime Minister - Donald Trump has declared Kevin Rudd “not the brightest bulb” and suggested the former Labor prime minister wouldn’t be welcome in Washington as ambassador under a second Trump presidency. In an interview with Nigel Farage on GB News, to be aired in Australia by Sky News, the former president said he had heard Mr Rudd, who last year succeeded Arthur Sinodinos as the government’s man in the US capital, was “a little bit nasty”. “He won’t be there long if that’s the case … I don’t know much about him,” Mr Trump told Mr Farage during the interview, when the former Brexit party leader rattled off some of Mr Rudd’s less complimentary remarks about Mr Trump before he became ambassador. - The Australian

>>20595028 'Poor choice': Kevin Rudd showed ‘lack of judgement’ prior to becoming ambassador - Kevin Rudd has shown a “lack of judgement” and was a “poor choice” to become Australia’s Ambassador to the US, says Nationals Leader David Littleproud. Mr Littleproud’s comments come after former US president Donald Trump called Mr Rudd "nasty" in an interview with GB News host Nigel Farage. “I find it extraordinary that Kevin Rudd, who has had experience in the diplomatic pool and then as a prime minister has wanted to weigh in on foreign politics and then ended up as the ambassador to the United States,” Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia. “It shows that he was a poor choice to start with. “Now if we have a Trump administration, we’re going to have a very difficult time in negotiating with a new administration, particularly with things as important as AUKUS. “This is a problem for the government, they mismanaged this, and Kevin Rudd should have known better than to make disparaging comments about a potential future president of the United States.” - Sky News Australia

>>20595031 Video: Albanese defends Kevin Rudd after Donald Trump labels former PM as 'nasty' - Anthony Albanese has been pressed in Question Time for comment after Donald Trump labelled Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd as “nasty” during an exclusive interview with GB News host Nigel Farage. The interview between former US President Donald Trump and Nigel Farage is set to air in Australia on Sky News this evening. Donald Trump also slammed Kevin Rudd as being “not the brightest bulb” during the interview. Prime Minister Albanese was on Wednesday questioned by Liberal MP Paul Fletcher about Mr Trump’s comments. Mr Albanese said the question "says everything about the character of this current Opposition". "At a time when Australians are worried about the cost of living and a range of issues that affect their daily lives - they decide to politicise Australia's representative in Washington DC, something that was never done by this side of the chamber when Arthur Sinodinas occupied that position, when Joe Hockey occupied that position," Mr Albanese said. - Sky News Australia

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80104e No.20886091

#35 - Part 13

Australian Politics and Society - Part 5

>>20595035 Video: Trump's swipe dominates Question Time as PM takes second shot defending Ambassador Rudd - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has taken a second opportunity during a fiery Question Time to defend Australia's Ambassador to the United States Kevin Rudd after Donald Trump labelled the former prime minister as being "nasty". Mr Trump's comments came during an interview with GB News host Nigel Farage. Donald Trump also slammed Kevin Rudd as being “not the brightest bulb” during the interview. The issue dominated Question Time on Wednesday, with the Prime Minister later taking to the dispatch box to point out Opposition Leader Peter Dutton had made positive comments about Ambassador Rudd on Sky News as recently as last month. - Sky News Australia

>>20595038 Video: Penny Wong responds to Donald Trump’s comments about Kevin Rudd - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has responded to comments made by former US president Donald Trump on Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd. In a GB News interview with Nigel Farage, Trump said he thought Rudd was “not the brightest bulb”, “nasty” and said he “won't be there long”. In response to the scathing critique of Rudd, Ms Wong described the former Australian Prime Minister as a “very effective ambassador”. She said he is recognised as doing an “excellent job” in advancing Australia’s interest in the United States. “Even Mr Dutton has expressed confidence in Mr Rudd,” she said. “He’s been extremely active in engaging in members of Congress on both sides.” - Sky News Australia

>>20595042 Trump 2.0 could end Kevin Rudd’s Washington stint - "Donald Trump’s criticism of Kevin Rudd in a British television interview presents a major problem for Australia should the former president be re-elected in November. With or without AUKUS, Australia will depend on the US for our security even more in coming years. Insisting on having an ambassador in Washington whom the US president, for personal reasons, intensely dislikes would obviously be foolish. If Donald Trump isn’t re-elected in November, Mr Rudd’s tenure is secure. If he is, Canberra will have to give serious thought to recalling him. Pride will have to be swallowed quick smart. It’s highly unlikely a future President Trump would actively seek to persuade Australia to terminate Mr Rudd’s commission. But he could easily ignore him, relegating anything related to Australia way down the White House’s to do list, putting AUKUS in jeopardy and making visits by Australian primes ministers difficult." - Adam Creighton - theaustralian.com.au

>>20600270 Make Kevin great again: embassy’s high-wire act to placate Trump - Moments after Donald Trump publicly cast doubt on Kevin Rudd’s future as Australia’s ­ambassador in Washington under a second Trump presidency, the phones started ringing inside the Australian embassy in ­Washington. Several senior Republicans who are close to Trump called to reassure Rudd, and Australia, not to take Trump’s words literally, saying that Rudd would be able to continue as ambassador if Trump defeated Joe Biden in the presidential election in November.

>>20600280 Kevin Rudd’s Republican mates go quiet after Donald Trump’s hit - The congressional Republicans most likely to come to Kevin Rudd’s defence after he endured sharp criticism from Donald Trump have remained strangely silent. The two Republicans who lead the Friends of Australia caucus - Mike Gallagher and Senator Dan Sullivan - have not responded to requests for comment over 24 hours since Mr Trump’s comments became public. The former president described Mr Rudd as “nasty” and “not the brightest bulb” after Nigel Farage brought up the ambassador’s past criticism of Mr Trump. Similarly, Republican Senator Roger Wicker, whom Mr Rudd worked closely with to ensure critical AUKUS legislation passed congress last year, has also declined to comment via his staff. The office of Congressman Michael McCaul, chairman of the influential House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee, also didn’t respond.

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80104e No.20886093

#35 - Part 14

Australian Politics and Society - Part 6

>>20600296 Kevin Rudd breaks silence as Donald Trump feud deepens - The Republican leaders of the US congressional Friends of Australia Caucus have failed to publicly come to Kevin Rudd’s aid after he was blasted by former US president Donald Trump. Congressman Mike Gallagher and Senator Dan Sullivan did not respond when asked about their party leader’s threat to refuse to work with Australia’s ambassador to the US if he was re-elected in this year’s presidential election. But Mr Rudd, who has refused to comment on the diplomatic drama, took to social media on Thursday to post photos of himself with Mr Gallagher. He did not say when the pictures were taken, but referred to the Republican’s role co-chairing the Friends of Australia Caucus, as well as his position chairing the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party. “Huge week in Congress. House passed legislation on Tiktok on 3/13 and voted unanimously to support the digital privacy bill,” Mr Rudd said. “Amid all this, I caught up with @repgallagher.”

>>20606157 Sky News obtains footage of Kevin Rudd mocking and ridiculing Donald Trump during former president's first term - The Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd’s ability to work constructively with the Trump administration if he is to secure the presidency in the upcoming November election may be uncertain, as more examples resurface of the former prime minister making politically charged and highly offensive comments about Trump during his last term in office. At an address to the Oxford Union in 2017, Rudd said of then-President Trump that he was a “problem” for Australia and the world more broadly. “Trump at present represents a political liability for both sides of Australian politics,” Mr Rudd said. “This guy is a problem. He is an objective problem, for the world, for the region, for my country.” During the address, Mr Rudd - who had transitioned from politician to active political commentator – suggested Congressional Republicans in the United States should act to remove Trump from office.

>>20606184 Video: Unearthed video shows now-Ambassador Rudd calling Trump a ‘problem,’ ‘liability,’ ‘must be removed’ - Sky News has revealed more footage of now-Ambassador Kevin Rudd calling Donald Trump, who was US President at the time, a political liability - saying he’s a problem for the world and must be removed as president. “The freshly unearthed videos from showing Rudd ridiculing Trump's intellect raise serious questions about his viability in Washington should Trump return to the White House,” Sky News host Sharri Markson said. “Trump's remarks about Australia's politically divisive and controversial Washington ambassador have gone global, with Rudd's media and political supporters working overtime to claim he's doing a terrific job and has developed contacts on both sides of the aisle. “But Rudd can't escape from his past invective which is coming back to bite him as Trump's path towards the White House gathers steam.”

>>20622388 Elon Musk criticises fact checkers and accuses them of ‘tyranny’ after Dick Smith complains about ABC RMIT fact check - Billionaire Elon Musk has condemned the work of fact checkers and accused them of “tyranny” after businessman Dick Smith claimed the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit published a report that is “full of lies” about nuclear energy. On Monday, Mr Musk responded to a Sky News Australia article shared on the social media platform he owns, X, formerly Twitter, that explained Mr Smith's disgust over a fact check about the Australian businessman’s comments relating to nuclear power. Mr Musk replied to a post by US columnist Michael Shellenberger that said, “one of the government’s main fact-checker groups has been caught spreading misinformation about renewables and nuclear. Mr Musk replied, “Having government ‘fact-checkers’ is a giant leap in the direction of tyranny.”

>>20622409 Australian intelligence chiefs want law to stop former spies taking skills overseas - Australia’s intelligence chiefs have asked the government for new laws to stop former spies marketing their skills abroad, fearing current provisions are allowing foreign adversaries to gain invaluable knowledge of Australian tradecraft. ASIO is seeking specific consolidated legislation requiring that former spies gain explicit permission before they offer themselves as trainers, in light of what it says is the serious and growing threat of espionage and foreign interference.

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80104e No.20886095

#35 - Part 15

Australian Politics and Society - Part 7

>>20628570 ASIO boss tells inquiry into Australian secrecy laws foreign intelligence operatives are posing as journalists - The head of ASIO has warned some foreign intelligence services may be using journalism as a cover as journalists themselves become a target for foreign intelligence services. Mike Burgess has addressed an inquiry by the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor into secrecy offences in the Criminal Code. The inquiry comes amid concerns about the lack of protection for whistleblowers and the press. Mr Burgess told the inquiry journalists were a target of foreign intelligence services, and some operatives pretended to be a journalist to do their job. He warned any alterations to the law needed to be carefully assessed. "ASIO does not investigate journalists for their journalism. I'm not saying that we are, but if we do, we investigate them for potential threats to security," Mr Burgess said.

>>20628610 U.S. Naval Institute Tweet: Video: Mar 26, 2024 - #OTD in 1941, U.S. Navy ships made a goodwill visit to Australia. The Americans were mobbed by Aussie women who broke through the crowds to give beer and sweets to the sailors. One sailor boasted of getting a date within 3 minutes of stepping ashore.

>>20634719 Dick Smith receives an apology over ABC RMIT Fact Check unit’s report on renewable energy - The ABC has issued an apology to businessman Dick Smith just hours after he wrote to managing director David Anderson demanding corrections to an RMIT ABC Fact Check report on renewable energy that he claimed was “full of lies”. Just one day after the fact checking unit repeatedly told The Australian it stood by its work, in an embarrassing backdown the ABC published an online apology at 8.03pm on Tuesday and made changes to the report, conceding it was riddled with errors. Furious with his treatment by the ABC, Mr Smith wrote a letter to Mr Anderson and said the fact check was published to “discredit me and my comments so people will not trust me”.

>>20634736 Video: ‘Emergency situation’: Youth curfew declared in Alice Springs - An “emergency situation” has been declared in Alice Springs, with the government implementing a curfew in the CBD for anyone under the age of 18, effective tonight, for 14 days. Fifty-eight additional police will be sent to the area “as soon as possible”, Chief Minister Eva Lawler has announced. “I know youth curfews have been called on before, I’m the Chief Minister now, and my government is determined to get on top of the issues, the youth issues in particular in Alice Springs,” she said. The emergency declaration comes after The Australian revealed a violent riot through the streets of Alice Springs on Tuesday had escalated calls for a total federal government takeover of the town, with the mayor asking the territory’s government to temporarily step aside so that order can be restored to the “lawless” town.

>>20634742 Video: Jacinta Price suggests riot squad be brought into Northern Territory - Shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has suggested a riot squad be brought in to restore law and order in Alice Springs. Hundreds of people were involved in a riot yesterday as people marched through the Alice Springs CBD bearing weapons. Ms Price called for the Northern Territory government to take “drastic measures” to address the violence. “I would like to see our authorities, the Territory government, do whatever it takes, whether they need to bring in a riot squad,” Ms Price told Sky News Australia. “There needs to be calm, there needs to be peace … we can’t see it get any worse than it already is.”

>>20634758 Video: Politicians respond to ‘out of control’ violence in Alice Springs as pressure grows for federal intervention - Jacinta Price has called for the Defence force to descend on Alice Springs after a violent riot through the town on Tuesday, as discussions of federal intervention ramp up on both sides of the political aisle. The Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians said she was “deeply disturbed” by the crisis in Alice Springs, which has so far led to five arrests, thousands of dollars in property damage, and terrified local residents. “Violence is escalating, and to say it is out of control is an understatement - I think it’s the absolute worst I have seen the violence in my home town,” Senator Price said. “The people of Alice Springs are beside themselves, businesses are petrified to stay open, nowhere else in Australia would this be accepted, so why is it being tolerated in Alice Springs?”

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80104e No.20886099

#35 - Part 16

Australian Politics and Society - Part 8

>>20634790 Video: Two-week youth curfew in place for Alice Springs CBD - A youth curfew will be imposed in Alice Springs from tonight after violent unrest in the town. The unrest came to a head when a large group of people armed with knives and weapons attacked a pub and walked menacingly through the streets last night. The curfew will include the CBD of Alice Springs and apply to everyone under 18 years of age. It will run from 6pm to 6am for the next 14 days. There will be no criminal penalties imposed on anyone breaking curfew. Instead, NT Chief Minister Eva Lawler said anyone under 18 found in the town centre after curfew "will be taken home or taken to a safe place". More than 50 extra police officers will also be deployed.

>>20646846 South Korea's ambassador to Australia resigns after less than a month in the job - South Korea's new ambassador to Australia has resigned after less than a month in the job, as he faces a corruption probe at home. On March 4, Lee Jong-sup was named by President Yoon Suk Yeol's conservative administration to replace Kim Wan-joong in Canberra. The former defence minister then flew to Australia on March 12 to take up the position as top envoy after South Korea's justice ministry lifted a travel ban on him to allow him to leave. But he was forced home 10 days later amid an investigation by the country's Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials over allegations he interfered with a probe into the drowning of a South Korean soldier. Mr Lee has denied any wrongdoing. Opposition MPs accused the government of sending Mr Lee to Australia to shield him from facing justice.

>>20646927 Twelve-year-old boy found hiding in a container at ‘secure’ Fremantle Port - The Australian Border Force and WA Police are investigating how a 12-year-old boy was found in a container being moved around a secure area at Fremantle Port. The boy was only found after the container had been lifted, put on a truck, moved, and then offloaded onto the ground with a forklift on Tuesday evening, according to a source not authorised to speak to the media. He was spotted by the forklift driver at Patrick Terminals’ container facility after he came out of the open machinery space at the end of the refrigerated container. Workers who detected the boy immediately stopped work and escorted him to security personnel, a spokeswoman for Patrick Terminals said. She said the appropriate authorities were notified, and the company was fully cooperating with their investigation. Police were called to the port at 10pm after the dangerous incident. The boy was uninjured and after inquiries was identified and returned to his home, a police spokesman said.

>>20647022 ‘I apologise’: ADF chief General Angus Campbell’s admission of failure - Australian Defence Force chief General Angus Campbell has vowed to push for enduring reform in Australia’s military and defence culture to address the suicide crisis that has taken the lives of 1600 servicemen and women between 1997 and 2020 - 20 times the number of service personnel killed on active duty. General Campbell, appearing as the final witness before the Royal Commission Into Defence and Veteran Suicide on Thursday, closed his remarks with a call for everyone in Defence to “stand up” and build and protect a culture of moral excellence. “My comment to everybody would be to know and do what is right and when you see that is not what is happening, just stand up and you will be supported.” In his opening statement before the commission, General Campbell apologised “unreservedly” for what he called organisational “deficiencies” that let down ADF members during their service and post-service life. “Our people deserve and should rightly expect the wellbeing and care they need both during and after their service,” he said. “I am committed to doing better.”

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80104e No.20886101

#35 - Part 17

Australian Politics and Society - Part 9

>>20647150 Australian military news: Marine Rotational Force - Darwin arrives - Military activity in the Northern Territory is set to soar, with more than one thousand Marines arriving in the Top End for the 13th rotation of Marine Rotational Force - Darwin. On Friday, Marines got a taste for the Top End’s conditions as they stepped onto the airstrip tarmac. The new rotation’s Commanding Officer Colonel Brian Mulvihill said his troops were “excited” to get started. “The marines and sailors of MRF-D are honoured and excited to continue the legacy of cooperation and interoperability with our Australian Defence Force brothers and sisters,” he said. “Our strong alliance contributes to stability in the region and makes all our forces more ready to respond to any crisis or contingency that arises.”

>>20647189 Marines back in Australia during six months of training across South Pacific - U.S. Marines have returned to northern Australia to train as an air-ground task force for six months across the continent and in the Philippines and Indonesia, a Marine Corps spokesman said Thursday. This year’s 2,000-strong Marine Rotational Force-Darwin is the 13th contingent to arrive in the Northern Territory since 2012, according to a Marine Corps statement that day. “The Marines and Sailors of Marine Rotational Force-Darwin are honored and excited to continue the legacy of cooperation,” force commander Col. Brian Mulvihill said in the statement. “Our strong Alliance contributes to stability in the region and enables the readiness of our forces to respond to any crisis or contingency that arises.” Led by an infantry regiment from Camp Pendleton, Calif., for the third year in a row, the Marines are scheduled to train until October with Australian troops and counterparts throughout the region.

>>20647223 Marines, Sailors Arrive in Australia for 6 Months of Training, Exercises - "Over the next six months, MRF-Darwin will conduct a series of exercises and training events with the Australian Defense Force and other regional allies and partners to establish a forward-postured crisis response force, enhance interoperability between our forces, and contribute to a more stable and secure Indo-Pacific," Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told the media during a briefing today. Led for the third year in a row by a California-based Marine infantry regiment, this will be the 13th annual iteration of MRF-Darwin, according to a news release sent out by MRF-Darwin's media team today. MRF-Darwin dates back to 2011, when former President Barack Obama and then-Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced an agreement on force posture initiatives designed to significantly enhance defense cooperation between the U.S. and Australia. While the initial iteration consisted of only a small liaison element and a company of 250 Marines, the agreement intended to "establish a rotational presence of up to a 2,500-person Marine Air Ground Task Force," according to White House archives.

>>20647263 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Tweet: Video: We are happy to be back in Darwin - MRF-D 24.3 is part of an annual six-month rotational deployment to enhance interoperability with the Australian Defence Force and Allies and partners and provide a forward-postured crisis response force in the Indo-Pacific.

>>20651703 Video: South Australia government dubs state Voice election ‘strong first result’ despite low voter turnout - The South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament election has been declared a success by the Malinauskas government despite a disappointing voter turnout. Indigenous and Torres Strait Islanders were asked to elect the 46 members of the state’s Voice to Parliament in a non-compulsory election on March 16. Only 2619 votes of an approximate 30,000 eligible voters were counted across the state according to the Electoral Commission of South Australia. The Malinauskas government described the election as “successful” despite the turnout and was upbeat it set the platform for the Voice to grow in the state.

>>20656128 Government and creators slam Meta’s political posts move amid disengagement fears - Tech giant Meta is “turning the tap off” on some political content across its Instagram and Threads platforms, threatening to leave ­affected Australians uninformed, the government has warned. The change, where both platforms let users decide what political content they are recommended to see but at the risk of blocking valuable information, went through with little fanfare and many users not realising the ramifications.

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80104e No.20886102

#35 - Part 18

Australian Politics and Society - Part 10

>>20656192 ABC ombudsman hands down scathing review of ABC RMIT Fact Check report on Dick Smith - The ABC ombudsman has delivered a scathing assessment of the RMIT ABC Fact Check unit in the wake of its botched report about businessman Dick Smith’s on-air comments on nuclear and renewable energy. The ABC received 11 complaints about the fact check titled, “Can a country run entirely on renewable energy?”, published on March 22, that delved into Mr Smith’s public statements on energy including renewables and nuclear. In the report, RMIT ABC Fact Check rejected Mr Smith’s comment that “no country has ever been able to run entirely on renewables”, prompting the well-known businessman to write an urgent letter to managing director David Anderson demanding corrections. But in a two-page finding published late last week, ABC ombudsman Fiona Cameron determined that the fact checkers “had inaccurately asserted that Mr Smith’s support for nuclear-generated power meant that he rejected renewable-led electricity generation in the process”.

>>20664917 BEAT THE PHONE TRACKERS - MITIGATING EMF & TRACKING - cairnsnews.org

>>20665462 World of warcraft: Australians in England teach Ukrainians how to defeat Russia - In a military camp in the east of England, Australian Defence Force personnel are barking orders. Cries of “get down”, “quick, quick” echo along a smoke-filled street with a realistic looking medical centre and pub. The team of Ukrainian soldiers has just breached the door of a mock house, quaintly called “door appreciation”, and under the protective cover of their compatriots they check for booby traps, and storm inside to capture “the enemy”. Rounds of gunfire are heard as the team expertly clears the area. It takes less than a minute and then the team prepares for an assault on the property next door. Watching with a keen eye is Major Michael Jack from the 7th Battalion Royal ­Australian Regiment: the only ­soldier here given permission to speak and to show his face. This is Operation Interflex, the British-led mission to train members of the AFU (Force Ukraine) that has been in operation since June 2022.

>>20671030 ‘A leader who represents the best of modern Australia’: PM - Anthony Albanese has announced that businesswoman and gender equality advocate Sam Mostyn AO will be Australia’s next governor-geneMs Mostyn, 59, is currently the chair of Women’s Economic Opportunities Review, and chair of Aware Super fund. She was previously the president of Chief Executive Women (CEW). A Canberran who grew up as the daughter of an Australian Army officer, Ms Mostyn was the first female Australian Football League commissioner, and served for over a decade until 2017. She has also held senior roles with Reconciliation Australia, the Australia Council for the Arts, and the National Mental Health Commission.

>>20671037 Sam Mostyn: Read Australia's next Governor-General's controversial deleted tweets: 'Invasion Day' - Australia's next Governor-General referred to Australia Day as 'invasion day' and urged the country not to 'waste' the opportunity offered by the Uluru Statement from the Heart in now-deleted comments posted to X. Sam Mostyn wiped her social media presence before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced the businesswoman, gender and climate activist as General David Hurley's replacement on Wednesday morning. The once prolific tweeter who boasted 22,000 followers on X, wiped clean her X, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts just prior to her appointment to the vice-regal role. But posts Ms Mostyn made over the years - obtained by Daily Mail Australia - offer an insight into the politics of the woman now tasked with representing King Charles in Australia.

>>20671085 Elon Musk’s X threatens to sue Australian government over anti-transgender post - Elon Musk’s social media platform X has threatened to sue the Australian government as it faces a fine of up to $800,000 over a post that made disparaging comments about transgender activist Teddy Cook, declaring it will “protect its user’s right to free speech”. X, formerly known as Twitter, has removed the post written by Canadian Chris Elston, who is known as ‘Billboard Chris’ and says he has “decided to take a stand against gender ideology”, which he has described as “pseudo-religious movement”. But the post targeting Mr Cook - who was part of a panel that advised the World Health Organisation on developing guidelines for the health of trans and gender diverse people - was reshared thousands of times. This prompted the Australian eSafety Commissioner to take action, which X said it would challenge.

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80104e No.20886106

#35 - Part 19

Australian Politics and Society - Part 11

>>20676381 Anthony Albanese’s fury at Israel raises Jewish concern - Australia’s position on Israel’s conduct in Gaza has shifted to outright condemnation following the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom, prompting a warning from the nation’s Jewish community that a premature end to the conflict will leave Hamas in control of the Palestinian enclave. Anthony Albanese confronted Benjamin Netanyahu over the strike on an aid convoy that killed Frankcom and six colleagues, ­expressing the nation’s fury over the attack, as Foreign Minister Penny Wong warned Israel to “change course” or face inter­national ­isolation. The Australia-Israel and Jewish Affairs Council said the demand by the Prime Minister for Israeli accountability was “perfectly reasonable and proper” but argued that responsibility for all deaths in the conflict lay with Hamas. It questioned whether the government still believed there was no role for the terrorist organisation in Gaza’s future.

>>20681364 Navy chief Mark Hammond full steam ahead in bid to lead Australian Defence Force - Chief of Navy Mark Hammond is the frontrunner to replace Angus Campbell as the nation’s next Defence chief, as Anthony Albanese prepares to stamp his authority on the force’s biggest transformation since World War II. The former submarine commander, who is close to the Prime Minister, would be the first naval officer in 22 years to hold the post if he is selected to succeed General Campbell, whose term ­expires at the end of June. But Vice Admiral Hammond faces tough competition from the army’s Lieutenant-General Greg Bilton, who has served as the ADF’s current Chief of Joint ­Operations for the past five years. Admiral Hammond is an ­astute political player who shares Mr Albanese’s love of the South Sydney Rabbitohs NRL team, and was tapped to join the Prime Minister in the US for last year’s AUKUS announcement.

>>20681374 Video: Meta accused of encouraging and reinforcing NT youth crime crisis - Meta Australia boss William ­Easton must step up and do more to remove content on his platform that is putting Indigenous children at risk amid a violent crime wave that has plagued Alice Springs for months, child protection experts and the Coalition have warned. A spokeswoman for Meta on Friday said the company had contacted Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler directly after she accused the tech giant of ­“encouraging and reinforcing” youth crime among Indigenous children seeking social media ­infamy. “At Meta, we have rules that outline what is and isn’t allowed on Facebook and Instagram. We have reached out to the Chief Minister’s office for their letter and will be following up to engage directly,” the spokeswoman said.

>>20681397 Tech titan Meta guilty in Northern Territory youth crime crisis, says Chief Minister Eva Lawler - Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler has accused tech titan Meta of “encouraging and re­inforcing” youth crime among some of the country’s most vulnerable children seeking social media fame. Ms Lawler has demanded an urgent meeting with Meta, saying her government is considering following other states in launching “post and boast” legislation that could lead to jail time for anyone sharing videos of committing a crime via social media, following a rise in crime that has seen a two-week youth curfew imposed on the Alice Springs CBD. It comes just over a week after children under 18 in Alice Springs were forced off the streets in a move aimed at stopping the riots and violence that have plagued the red centre for months, with police and sources on the ground noticing a significant drop in illegal behaviour such as parading stolen cars in town.

>>20681473 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: Video: Ambassador Kennedy will soon drive a 2004 Ford Falcon into the outback to raise funds for the Cancer Council as part of the Shitbox Rally. This Sunday, she speaks to @60Mins about the (Australia / United States) cancer research that gives her hope and takes us for a spin in her shitbox.

>>20686553 SA Libs put future of Indigenous voice in doubt - Australia’s only elected voice to parliament could be scrapped within two years, as the South Australian Liberals toughen their stance against the Indigenous ­advisory group after a dismal turnout in the first voice elections. In a situation critics have ­described as embarrassing and laugh­able, voice delegates who were elected with as few as six votes in a statewide general election will have the right to address parliament, cabinet and departmental chiefs on policy matters. Less than 10 per cent of the state’s estimated 30,000-strong Indigenous population voted in the voice elections late last month, with the turnout of 2583 voters ­resulting in some farcical results.

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80104e No.20886107

#35 - Part 20

Australian Politics and Society - Part 12

>>20686589 Boat carrying asylum seekers reportedly lands in Western Australia’s Kimberley coast - WA Police are searching for a man following reports an unknown vessel carrying multiple people landed on the West Australian coastline, also triggering an Australian Defence Force operation. In reports published by The Australian, the occupants of the boat, believed to be Chinese, arrived at the remote Mungalalu Truscott Airbase in the far north Kimberley region on Friday afternoon. Sky News has also reported it’s understood about 13 Chinese nationals walked onto the Truscott air base about 4pm on Friday. It’s been reported more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel were at the air base on Saturday afternoon, with staff deploying artillery drones in search of other boats and illegal arrivals.

>>20686594 Another illegal boat lands on WA coast, ‘carrying 15 Chinese’ - Another group of non-citizens is believed to have been delivered undetected to the Australian mainland by boat, the third known arrival since November. The latest group, understood to comprise 15 people, arrived at the old WWII Truscott airbase in an extremely remote pocket of the far north Kimberley region of Western Australia late on Friday afternoon. The airbase is owned by the Wunambal Gaambera people who run it as a commercial airstrip. The Australian Border Force has not commented on the arrivals, in keeping with a practice established by the Coalition in 2013, but both residents of the region and sources close to the operation have told The Australian the people in the group are being treated as illegal boat arrivals. Two sources said the group is thought to be Chinese. The last known Chinese to arrive by boat in Australia were Falung Gong. They sailed into Darwin harbour in 2012.

>>20686636 Julie Bishop named United Nations special envoy for Myanmar - Former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop says she is deeply honoured to have been named by United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as his special envoy on Myanmar. Bishop, who is currently Australian National University chancellor, will take up the post left vacant by the departure of Singaporean diplomat Noeleen Heyzer last June. “I am deeply honoured to be appointed Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations on Myanmar to help deliver on the mandate of the General Assembly and the Security Council Resolution of December 2022,” she said in a statement on Saturday. Announcing the role, the UN noted one-time deputy Liberals leader had “extensive policy, legal and senior management experience”.

>>20695601 Anthony Albanese vows no turnback on Operation Sovereign Borders as third boat arrives - People who arrive by boat seeking a better life or even asylum “won’t be settled in Australia”, Anthony Albanese has said as he doubles down on his government’s commitment to the Coalition’s Operation Sovereign Borders policy following another undetected mainland arrival. The latest illegal maritime arrivals to reach Western Australia’s far north Kimberley coastline were the third known group since November and the first Chinese to reach Australia by boat since 2012. All but one of the group was put on a charter jet to Nauru on Sunday. The Prime Minister was adamant that the border control principles established by the Abbott government remained in place. “We will deal with any unauthorised arrivals consistent with Operation Sovereign Borders, and that’s what we’ve done,” Mr Albanese said.

>>20695650 ‘It had nothing to do with Nazis’: Man denies making salute at Sydney soccer match - A young man has denied making a Nazi salute during a soccer match and labelled the accusations “disgusting”, in the first high-profile case testing new laws banning the hate symbol in public. Dominik Sieben, 24, told a court he was simply holding a beer in one hand and cheering on his team with the other and TV footage “twisted” what happened. Sieben was charged alongside 45-year-old Nikola Marko Gasparovic and 44-year-old Marijan Lisica with knowingly displaying a Nazi symbol in public without reasonable excuse, at the Australia Cup final match between Sydney United 58 FC and Macarthur FC at CommBank Stadium on October 1, 2022. The legislation passed through NSW Parliament in mid-2022 and could lead to someone being jailed for one year. The three men were charged with the offence after Sydney United supporters complained about the alleged action.

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80104e No.20886109

#35 - Part 21

Australian Politics and Society - Part 13

>>20700919 Video: Alice Springs youth curfew extended until end of school holidays - The Northern Territory government has extended Alice Springs’ youth curfew for a further five days, to expire at the end of the school holidays. The curfew was implemented at the end of March after more than 100 people ­rioted in Alice Springs and cornered one of the town’s most popular pubs, which police said at the time they did not have the resources to control. It will now expire 6am on Tuesday, April 16. The riot on March 27 saw parts of Alice Springs in lockdown over what sources claimed was “payback” for the death of a young man who died after a stolen car overturned on March 8. CCTV revealed by The Australian showed a group attempting to smash the windows of a popular pub, pelting bricks and throwing their bodies at glass doors as workers try to barricade themselves in on the other side, following a ceremony for the 18-year-old who was killed. For weeks, locals in Alice Springs had feared a war would begin between families seeking payback against the driver of the vehicle.

>>20705379 US colleges impose new limits on transgender athletes - The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, the governing body for small US colleges, has announced a policy that effectively bans transgender athletes from competing in women’s sports. In a move that was approved by a 20-0 vote of its council of presidents, the NAIA ruled athletes will only be allowed to compete in women’s sports if they were assigned the female gender at birth. Transgender athletes may still participate in college sport, but only in male categories. A student who has begun hormone therapy may participate in activities such as workouts, practices and team activities, but not in inter-scholastic competition.

>>20705409 Women-only social media app Giggle for Girls taken to court by transgender woman Roxanne Tickle after her account was restricted - A transgender woman who was excluded from a women-only social media app should be awarded damages because the app's founder has persistently denied she is a woman, a Sydney court has heard. In February 2021, Roxanne Tickle downloaded the Giggle for Girls social networking app, which was marketed as a platform exclusively for women to share experiences and speak freely. Users needed to provide a selfie, which was assessed by artificial intelligence software to determine if they were a woman or man. Ms Tickle's photograph was determined to be a woman and she used the app's full features until September that year, when the account became restricted because the AI decision was manually overridden. In a case before the Federal Court, Ms Tickle alleges unlawful discrimination on the basis of gender identity.

>>20705415 ‘Evolutionary biologist’ to be called in trans defamation case - An evolutionary biologist is set to give evidence in a case brought by an Australian transgender woman against a female-only social media app and its founder for discrimination, a court heard. Roxanne Tickle, who underwent gender affirming surgery in 2019 and is now designated as female on her birth certificate, will argue she was discriminated against on the grounds of gender identity by the Giggle for Girls app and its owner Sall Grover when she was denied access to the app, which was otherwise available to cisgender women. Ms Tickle claims she was initially accepted into the app when she submitted a ‘selfie’ through Giggle’s third-party artificial intelligence tool but was later blocked by Ms Grover. Ms Grover’s defence barrister Bridie Nolan said they would call the evidence Colin Wright, an evolutionary biologist, whose expert report and affidavit would suggest it was “objectively and scientifically reasonable” for Ms Grover to identify Ms Tickle as of the “male species”. In that evidence, Mr Wright would argue there are only two sexes, and there can only be two sexes, the court heard.

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80104e No.20886110

#35 - Part 22

Australian Politics and Society - Part 14

>>20705428 No transition from gender reality, app boss Sall Grover tells court - The founder of a women's-only social media app says she does not accept that a person who trans­itions from male to female surgically, socially and legally is a woman, and removed her from the app as she does with “all males”. The view, held by Giggle for Girls app founder and CEO Sall Grover was described in court on Wednesday by Roxanne Tickle’s legal team as being at the “heart” of the discrimination case. Ms Tickle, who underwent gender-affirming surgery in 2019 and is now designated as female on her birth certificate, will argue she was discriminated against on the grounds of gender identity by Giggle for Girls and Ms Grover when she was denied access to the app. Ms Tickle claims she was ­initially accepted into the app in February 2021 when she submitted a “selfie” through Giggle’s third-party artificial intelligence tool but was later blocked by Ms Grover. It is the first time a case alleging gender identity discrimination has been heard by the Federal Court following changes to the Sex Discrimination Act in 2013, which made it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity or intersex status.

>>20705439 Landmark review rejects puberty blockers for children wanting to change gender - An entire field of medicine aimed at ­enabling children to change gender has been “built on shaky foundations”, the chairwoman of a National Health Service review has concluded. Dr Hilary Cass found that there was no good evidence to support the global clinical practice of prescribing hormones to under-18s to halt puberty or transition to the opposite sex. This method of medical intervention for young people who identify as transgender has become embedded in clinical guidelines around the world over the past two decades. Thousands of children have received puberty blockers on the NHS since 2011, and referrals to its youth gender identity service have increased 100-fold in little over a decade. Cass, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, was commissioned by NHS ­England in 2020 to review services for children with gender dysphoria. Her final report has endorsed a ­fundamental shift in approach away from medical intervention towards a holistic model that addresses other mental health problems the children may have.

>>20705542 ‘Shaky foundations’: England’s health system to review all transgender treatment - England’s publicly funded National Health Service will review all transgender treatment, after a landmark report said the evidence for allowing children and young people to change gender was built on “shaky foundations”. On Wednesday, Dr Hilary Cass, a paediatrician, published her long-awaited review into the support and treatment offered to children who believe they are transgender, and cautions that extreme care should be taken before anyone under the age of 25 transitions. It also calls for an end to the prescribing of any powerful hormone drugs to those under 18; warns children who change gender may regret it; finds that many have experienced trauma, neglect and abuse; and says there is no “good evidence” on the long-term outcomes of the treatments that have been given to children. The review warns of pressures on families, with parents feeling forced to allow their children to transition so they are not labelled transphobic amid a “toxic” debate. Cass declares that “gender medicine for children and young people is built on shaky foundations”.

>>20705580 Anthony Albanese under pressure to probe puberty blocker harms - Anthony Albanese is being urged to replicate a landmark British review into interventionist medical treatments that enable young children to change gender, amid increasing concern that puberty blockers may cause serious harm. The National Association of Practising Psychiatrists has urged the federal government to facilitate a national independent investigation into the use of treatments including puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, warning their use should be ­approached with caution. The calls come after the release of an NHS review which found the entire field of medicine aimed at enabling children to change gender was “built on shaky foundations”, with review chair Dr Hilary Cass finding there was no good evidence to support the practice of prescribing hormones to halt puberty. Pressure on the Prime Minister to act on the findings is growing in Australia with the federal opposition saying the results were “concerning” and should be taken seriously.

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80104e No.20886115

#35 - Part 23

Australian Politics and Society - Part 15

>>20710562 Albanese to visit the Kokoda Track for Anzac Day - Anthony Albanese will mark Anzac Day by walking part of the Kokoda Track with his Papua New Guinea counterpart, James Marape. The two leaders are expected to attend a dawn service at Isurava to commemorate the hundreds of people who died during the World War II Kokoda campaign. Originally a network of trails to connect mountain villages, the track stretches for 96 kilometres from the Kokoda Plateau in the north to Owers Corner in the south. Australian forces were stationed in the area from July 1942 to stop Japan advancing towards the PNG capital of Port Moresby. More than 600 Australians were killed during the campaign, and thousands more became ill or were seriously injured. The campaign was considered critical to the security of the Australian mainland. Now part of Australian folklore, Kokoda attracts thousands of Australian tourists every year.

>>20719788 Video: Multiple dead and more seriously injured in horror stabbing at Westfield Bondi Junction - A heroic police officer ended a knifeman’s reign of terror inside a packed Westfield at Sydney’s Bondi Junction as she bravely took him on alone and shot him dead with a bullet to the chest. The horror unfolded at 3.20pm on Saturday afternoon when a man in an NRL jersey began stabbing shoppers at random, including a woman and her nine-month-old baby, with six people confirmed dead and many more injured. Multiple people were stabbed during the horror as panicked families ran for their lives. He was then shot dead by a senior female police officer who was nearby at the time and bravely decided to take him on alone, stalking him through the mall before gunning him down. Five people were confirmed dead at the scene, as well as the attacker, with a sixth victim later dying in hospital. The sixth victim is the mother of the nine-month-old baby, with witnesses describing how the 38-year-old desperately battled to save her child despite her own injuries by stumbling towards other shoppers and handing the infant to them.

>>20719871 Video: Six people killed in stabbing attack at Sydney's Westfield Bondi Junction, alleged offender shot dead - Six people have been killed in a knife attack at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's east on Saturday afternoon, NSW Police say. Five of the victims died at the scene and the sixth died from their injuries in hospital, NSW Police said. Nine people, including a small child, were stabbed by a man in the centre and some are in a critical condition. The offender was shot dead at the scene by a police officer. NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke said authorities believe the man acted alone and there is no ongoing threat. Assistant Commissioner Cooke said he did not have further information about the man's identity. He said there was no indication of the offender's motive but police had not ruled anything out.

>>20719889 Video: Six people killed, attacker shot dead in Bondi Junction stabbing attack - Six people have been killed and an attacker has been shot dead after multiple people were stabbed at Westfield Bondi Junction shopping centre in Sydney's east. - 9 News Australia

>>20719892 Attacker identified as 40-year-old man: Police Commissioner Webb - Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the six victims killed in the Bondi Junction Westfield attack were five women and a man. Five died onsite, while one woman died later in hospital. The attacker has been identified as a 40-year-old man known to law enforcement, though police are waiting to formally identify him. He is believed to have acted alone. “If he is the person that we believe, then we don’t have fears of that person holding an ideation. In other words, it’s not a terrorism incident,” Webb said. She said it was too early to comment on his psychological state.

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80104e No.20886117

#35 - Part 24

Australian Politics and Society - Part 16

>>20719904 Video: ‘Horrific act of violence’: Anthony Albanese speaks out on Bondi Junction stabbing - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has spoken out about the stabbing at Bondi Junction Westfield describing it as a "horrific act of violence". Mr Albanese’s comments come after police confirmed five have been killed and several have been conveyed to hospital following the stabbing at the shopping centre. “This was a horrific act of violence indiscriminately targeted at innocent people going about an ordinary Saturday doing their shopping,” Mr Albanese said during a media conference on Saturday. “Tonight, the first thoughts of all Australians are with the victims of these terrible acts and their loved ones. “Our nation offers our deepest condolences and sympathies - to all those who are grieving for someone they’ve lost and we send our strength to those who have been injured.” - Sky News Australia

>>20719914 Video: Prime Minister describes Bondi Junction stabbing as ‘horrific act of violence’ - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the attack which has killed six people at a Sydney shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon a "horrific act of violence". - 9 News Australia

>>20724352 Video: Westfield Bondi attack: John Singleton’s daughter, new mum among victims - The daughter of millionaire businessman John Singleton is among the victims of the horror Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing attack. Friends of Dawn Singleton have started sharing tributes to the soon-to-be-married 25 year-old. Jade Young, of Bellevue Hill, has been identified as a victim of the Bondi Junction stabbing attack. Ms Young was an architect at Georgina Wilson Associates, a mother-of-two and a beloved member of the Bronte Surf Club. 38-year-old osteopath Ashlee Good has died at St Vincent’s hospital and medics are still fighting to save her baby daughter, who has undergone surgery overnight and is a stable but serious condition. Dr Good was pushing the baby, nine months, through the centre when the attacker stabbed her in her pram, The Daily Telegraph reports. As Dr Good thrust the bleeding infant into the arms of strangers, the knifeman then turned the weapon on her. Dr Good later died in hospital. Refugee and security guard Faraz Ahmad Tahir is the fourth victim named after Saturday’s tragedy at Bondi Westfield. The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community Australia confirmed the death of Mr Ahmad in a short statement on Sunday afternoon. Mr Ahmad, who is a 30-year-old Muslim Pakistani, was killed while working as a security guard at the shopping centre.

>>20724362 Video: Bondi Westfield attacker Joel Cauchi ’possibly’ targeting women - Less than a week before killing six people in a deadly stabbing rampage at an upmarket Sydney shopping centre, 40-year-old Queensland man Joel Cauchi was appealing for surfing buddies on Facebook. “Hi I am surfing Bondi this afternoon if anyone wants to meet there for a surf!” Cauchi posted on the Beginning Surfing & Adventuring (Sydney AU) Facebook page on the morning of April 8. Cauchi’s family is now helping NSW Police with their investigations, which are focusing on his apparent mental health issues. NSW Police are investigating whether Cauchi was deliberately targeting women on Saturday. Cauchi was shot dead by police as he ran around Westfield Bondi Junction stabbing shoppers including a nine-month-old baby in a pram. Five of the victims, including the baby, were female.

>>20724374 Video: Channel 7 presenter Matt Shirvington names innocent man Benjamin Cohen as Bondi Junction killer - One of Channel 7’s highest-profile presenters, Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington, named an innocent man as the Bondi Junction knife-wielding murderer during an on-air wrap of the tragedy. Shirvington told Weekend Sunrise that the killer was “40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, dressed in a Kangaroos ARL jersey”, who was “shot and killed by a brave female police officer.” Shirvington’s comments aired at 6.05am AEST and just 10 minutes later during the same broadcast, presenters Monique Wright and Michael Usher spoke with reporter Lucy McLeod who was outside the shopping centre. She too wrongly named Cohen as the killer. NSW Police subsequently named 40-year-old Joel Cauchi as the killer; Benjamin Cohen had nothing to do with the murderous rampage whatsoever. Seven also contacted Cohen on Sunday afternoon to apologise and an apology was also broadcast on TV.

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80104e No.20886120

#35 - Part 25

Australian Politics and Society - Part 17

>>20724386 Policewoman who ended Westfield Bondi attack hailed a hero - With a bullet to a murderer’s chest, a heroic female police officer ended the Bondi massacre and saved multiple lives after racing through the busy Westfield shopping mall to confront the knifeman who had fatally stabbed six people. An emotional Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday night singled out the courage of NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott, who had been nearby when the stabbing frenzy began and rushed alone to the top floor of the centre where the rampaging killer was armed with a 30cm knife. “She entered the proceedings that were taking place, obviously very dangerous, by herself,” Mr Albanese said. “She is certainly a hero. “There is no doubt that she saved lives through her actions.”

>>20726609 Sixth Bondi Junction victim identified as Chinese international student Yixuan Cheng as Westfield crime scene finalised - A Chinese national has been identified as the sixth victim in the Bondi Junction stabbing attack. Nine News has identified 27-year-old Yixuan Cheng as the remaining victim in Joel Cauchi’s stabbing rampage through the Westfield shopping centre on Saturday afternoon. Cheng is understood to be an international student and the delay in revealing her identity was likely due to police attempting to contact the young woman's family in China. NSW Police confirmed late Sunday evening 55-year-old Pikria Darchia was among the people who died at the shopping centre after the 40-year-old knifeman unleashed on 18 shoppers in a random and horrific attack. Ms Darchia is of Georgian origin and understood to have moved to Australia in 2013.

>>20726696 Accused Fijian torturer sacked from Australian Army command - Fijian Col­onel Penioni (Ben) Naliva has been removed from his post as deputy commander of the Australian Army’s 7th Brigade following allegations first revealed by The Australian earlier this year that he was involved in the torture of detainees in Fiji. A one-time right-hand man to former Fiji coup leader and prime minister Frank Bainimarama, Col­onel Naliva will now be posted to the Australian Defence College, where he will “contribute to ­Pacific-related research projects”. Colonel Naliva is alleged to have been involved in several incidents of torture, including a violent beating of two Fijian politicians, with one victim claiming the soldier tried to force an M16 rifle barrel into his anus during an interrogation. The revelation Colonel Naliva will remain with the Australian Defence Forces, albeit in a diminished role, has sparked further outrage from his alleged victims, who had wanted him expelled from the country or prosecuted.

>>20731815 Video: Two people allegedly stabbed by 15-year-old youth at western Sydney church as riot erupts outside - A 15-year-old boy was accused of stabbing an Assyrian bishop at a western Sydney church on Monday night, with some officers forced to use capsicum spray as the streets descended into mayhem and a nearby hospital was put on lockdown. Riot police were deployed to the Christ the Good Shepherd church in Wakeley where hundreds of people flocked following the shock stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and another person, who were both treated for stab wounds after the alleged attack. The teenager - who is known to police - was apprehended by parishioners until police arrived. In a livestreamed video, the youth dressed in black can be seen approaching Bishop Mar Mari at the altar, before allegedly stabbing him in the face with an implement, and then multiple times on his body. At the time, Bishop Mar Mari was delivering a sermon to a full congregation.

>>20731832 Video: Street riots unfold after Sydney church attack - A terror attack in Sydney’s west has triggered ugly riots on the streets of Wakeley, involving hundreds of the bishop's supporters. Many turned on police and paramedics as they arrived on the scene. - 9 News Australia

>>20731841 Video: Church stabbing in Sydney's south-west declared a terrorist act - Sydney is reeling after an Orthodox bishop was attacked with a knife during a church service in what police have declared a terrorist act. The attack occurred at the Assyrian Orthodox, Christ the Good Shepherd Church, in Wakeley, with graphic video showing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel being stabbed. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested and is in police custody. - ABC News (Australia)

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80104e No.20886124

#35 - Part 26

Australian Politics and Society - Part 18

>>20731911 Video: ‘Act of terror’: Alleged attacker yelled ‘Allahu Akbar’ after stabbing Sydney bishop - The teenager who allegedly attacked a prominent Sydney bishop in the middle of his sermon last night screamed “Allahu Akbar” after plunging a knife into his face, neck and torso at least eight times. Police allege a 16-year-old male stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley the city’s west at about 7.10pm last night. The incident, which was captured on a live YouTube stream of the Assyrian orthodox Christian service, has been declared a terrorist attack. In addition to allegedly yelling “Allahu Akbar”, counter-terrorism authorities are also aware of other comments the male is accused of making, including a reference to the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Separate vision circulating on social media show the aftermath of the alleged attack, with several man holding the teenager face down on the ground. One of the men holding him down strikes him in the back of the head and says in English: “While people are praying, you’re gonna do this? You’re gonna f*cking do this?” The chilling vision shows the teen’s grinning face being revealed, prompting anger from one onlooker. “You’re a f*cking idiot. Laughing? You’re a f*cking idiot. You’re gonna cop it.”

>>20731928 Video: PM calls for Australians to ‘unite, not divide’ after Sydney church stabbing - Australians have been urged to remain vigilant and report suspicious behaviour after an alleged terrorist attack against a Sydney priest prompted a call for peace from Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Islamic leaders. As the nation remains in shock over the weekend’s Bondi stabbing spree, Albanese declared there was no space for “violent extremism” in a peace-loving, multicultural nation after a Christian leader and a number of his followers were stabbed at a church in Sydney’s west on Monday night. The prime minister chaired a meeting of the national security committee of cabinet on Tuesday before holding a press conference with federal police chief Reece Kershaw and ASIO boss Mike Burgess in Canberra. Albanese confirmed the incident inside the church on Monday night was being treated as religiously motivated, a development which gives NSW police extraordinary powers to search people and vehicles and demand the disclosure of people’s identities to avoid any further violence. “There is no place for violence in our community. There’s no place for violent extremism. We’re a peace-loving nation. This is a time to unite, not divide, as a community, and as a country,” Albanese said.

>>20731951 Video: Bishop questioned Islam before livestreamed terror attack - The high-profile Assyrian Christian orthodox leader stabbed during a live stream of his service has in the past vocally proclaimed support for Palestinian civilians and criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza, but has also said he had a “question mark with Islam”, as authorities scramble to investigate the motive for Monday’s terror attack. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has questioned the validity of other faiths, including and particularly Islam, but said that he has “love and respect for Muslims”. His views, religious leaders explained, were a conservative orthodox reading of Christianity – that only Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the way to heaven – which, alongside all different faith views, “should be tolerated and accepted in Australia”. He has, however, taken aim at the Islamic faith. “This is a very controversial topic, but the truth must be said,” the bishop said in a recent sermon, uploaded in March. “… With all my love and respect (for Muslims), I don’t have a problem with the Muslim people. But I’ve got a question mark with the faith of the Islamic world.”

>>20731990 Video: eSafety commissioner orders X and Meta to remove violent videos following Sydney church stabbing - Facebook’s parent company Meta and X/Twitter have been told to remove violent and distressing videos and imagery of the stabbing of a prominent Orthodox Christian leader in Sydney’s west on Monday evening. The eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, told reporters on Tuesday that X and Meta had been issued with notices to remove material within 24 hours that depicted “gratuitous or offensive violence with a high degree of impact or detail”, with the companies facing potential fines if they fail to comply. “While the majority of mainstream social media platforms have engaged with us, I am not satisfied enough is being done to protect Australians from this most extreme and gratuitous violent material circulating online,” Inman Grant said. “That is why I am exercising my powers under the Online Safety Act to formally compel them to remove it.”

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80104e No.20886126

#35 - Part 27

Australian Politics and Society - Part 19

>>20736626 Accused Islamist terror teen ‘poisoned by monster’: social media radicalisation claim after Bishop Mar Mari, Wakeley stabbing - Community leaders and fellow young Muslims had grown increasingly concerned with the “extreme religious views” of the 16-year-old alleged to have stabbed an orthodox Assyrian bishop during a service in Sydney’s southwest, amid claims he had been radicalised online. The teenager alleged to have stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and three others during a live-streamed service at Wakeley’s Christ the Good Shepherd Church on Monday remains in police custody. The Australian understands concerns had grown among community members that the teenager had “spent too much time online”, particularly on radical content across social media un­aligned to mainstream Islamic views.

>>20736633 ‘He’s just a child’: Family of teen accused of Wakeley church stabbing break silence - The family of the 16-year-old alleged to have stabbed an Assyrian bishop in Sydney say they are distraught after Monday’s attack, and can’t believe their once “gentle” but troubled son could be a terrorist. The boy, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is alleged to have stabbed high-profile orthodox Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on Monday while he live-streamed a service. The teenager’s parents have told The Australian, through a spokesman, that he suffers from anger outbursts, and have been left confused at NSW Police for designating the incident a terror-attack - the first since 2017 - so quickly after the event.

>>20736637 Video: Student Benjamin Cohen has taken legal action after being wrongly named as Bondi attacker - A university student wrongly named as the Bondi Junction knife-wielding murderer has taken legal action against Channel 7 after the network aired multiple live broadcasts labelling him as the culprit. Benjamin Cohen, a first-year student at the University of Technology, Sydney, has engaged law firm Giles George and is seeking an apology, compensation and costs for serious harm after he was falsely named as the Bondi killer. A concerns notice has been sent by Mr Cohen’s lawyers to Seven West Media chief executive officer and managing director James Warburton outlining that the network incorrectly identified Mr Cohen as the wrong man who killed six people, and not the actual killer, 40-year-old Queenslander Joel Cauchi. Among those to wrongly name Mr Cohen included one of the network’s highest profile stars - Sunrise co-host Matt Shirvington - who told Weekend Sunrise viewers on Sunday the killer was “40-year-old Benjamin Cohen, dressed in a Kangaroos ARL jersey”, who was “shot and killed by a brave female officer.” Shirvington’s comments were aired on the program at 6.05am AEST and then just 10 minutes later hosts Monique Wright and Michael Usher spoke with reporter Lucy McLeod in a live cross and she too wrongly named Cohen as the murderer.

>>20741519 Stabbed Sydney Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel releases update, publicly forgives attacker and calls for calm - The bishop who was stabbed at a Sydney church on Monday night says he forgives his attacker and is "doing fine" after undergoing surgery. The Assyrian Orthodox Christ The Good Shepherd Church posted an update on social media this morning that included an audio recording from the bishop. A 16-year-old boy has been arrested over the attack and authorities are investigating it as a "terrorist incident". No charges have been laid. Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel said he forgives "whoever has done this act". "I will always pray for you. And whoever sent you to do this, I forgive them as well is Jesus's mighty name," he said.

>>20741536 Teenage terror accused dropped out of school, was increasingly ‘disobedient’ - The 16-year-old boy accused of carrying out a terrorist attack at a western Sydney church had not attended school for months and displayed increasing disobedience at home before the shock stabbing of a bishop on Monday night. The 16-year-old, who cannot legally be identified, allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in Wakeley during a livestreamed Bible session shortly after 7pm on Monday. Bishop Emmanuel and another clergyman received non-life-threatening injuries. The boy lost a finger during the attack, according to Premier Chris Minns. The teenager had not attended his high school for more than six months, a source not authorised to speak publicly said. In 2020, he had been suspended for bringing a knife onto school grounds. The boy’s father had also seen signs of increasing “disobedience”, according to an Islamic community leader who accommodated the father at Lakemba Mosque on Tuesday night.

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80104e No.20886127

#35 - Part 28

Australian Politics and Society - Part 20

>>20736687 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: Paying Respects - #Marines with MRF-D 24.3 visit the Australian War Memorial in Campbell, ACT, Australia. The Australian War Memorial is a national war memorial and museum dedicated to all Australians who died during war.

>>20741589 ‘Stop list’: Russia sanctions ex-Victorian premier Daniel Andrews, 234 Australian state MPs - Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews is among more than 200 names on the latest list of Australians who have been banned from entering Russia. Andrews is one of the most high-profile of the 235 current and former Victorian and South Australian MPs across the political divide who have made Moscow’s list over Australia’s “anti-Russian agenda”. Russia’s foreign ministry said the Australians were handed indefinite bans “in response to politically motivated sanctions against Russian individuals and legal entities by the Australian government”. “Taking into account the fact that official Canberra does not intend to abandon its anti-Russian course and continues to introduce new sanctions measures, work on updating the Russian ‘stop list’ will continue,” the ministry said on its website.

>>20741607 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Tweet: Down Under Diplomacy - #MarineCorps Sgt. Maj. Garret Kirkby and Col. Brian T. Mulvihill visit Caroline Kennedy, the 27th U.S. Ambassador to Australia at the U.S. Embassy Canberra.

>>20746949 Video: Accused Wakeley church teen charged with terrorism offence - A 16-year-old boy has been charged with a terrorism offence after he allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at a Sydney Assyrian church. The teenager has been refused bail and is expected to appear before a hospital bedside court hearing on Friday. Fairfield Police attended the Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley about 7.10pm on Monday and found Bishop Emmanuel with significant injuries to his head. Senior Parish Priest Isaac Royel, who attempted to intervene, also sustained lacerations and a shoulder wound. NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the teenager allegedly made comments “centred around religion”, while Premier Chris Minns said the terror designation was not “performative”, and the boy’s history and rhetoric aided the decision. Investigators from the Joint Counter Terrorism Team Sydney interviewed the boy before he was charged. Committing a terrorist act carries a maximum penalty of imprisonment for life.

>>20751248 Take down order ‘unlawful and dangerous’: X rejects Australian law - The social media giant X has rebuffed demands from the nation’s eSafety commissioner to pull down “distressing” content from Sydney’s stabbing attacks, saying they do not breach its own rules on violent content while rejecting the reach of Australian law on its activities. In a post endorsed by X owner Elon Musk and retweeted widely by Australian and American-based X users, the company’s global governance affairs department said it would robustly challenge the commissioner’s take-down orders, describing them as “unlawful and dangerous”.

>>20751269 Video: Government declares Australia 'is not going to be bullied by Elon Musk' after X refuses to remove harmful Wakeley material - Social media giant X (formerly known as Twitter) has claimed it could face daily fines of $785,000 if it does not take down content that references the stabbing of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel. "The Australian eSafety commissioner ordered X to remove certain posts in Australia that publicly commented on the recent attack against a Christian Bishop. These posts did not violate X's rules on violent speech," the statement said. "While X respects the right of a country to enforce its laws within its jurisdiction, the eSafety commissioner does not have the authority to dictate what content X's users can see globally. We will robustly challenge this unlawful and dangerous approach in court." New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said he was shocked but not surprised by X's response. "This is exactly as I would expect from X … a disregard for information they pump into our communities. Lies and rumours spreading like wildfire and then when things go wrong, throwing their hands up in the air to say they are not prepared to do anything about it."

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80104e No.20886132

#35 - Part 29

Australian Politics and Society - Part 21

>>20751856 Australia will work with Trump if that’s the card we’re dealt: Treasurer - Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers insists Australia’s relationship with the US will remain strong if Donald Trump is re-elected, saying Canberra will “play the cards that we’re dealt” after the US presidential election in November. He is yet to meet any members of Trump’s team, but asked how he might be preparing for a potential change of administration, Chalmers replied: “We play the cards that we’re dealt in Australia. The Americans choose their own presidents and leaders, and that’s obviously appropriate. “But we are confident that in either scenario, we’ll continue to be well-represented and we’ll continue to have our interest recognised here in the US because we’re such close friends.” Concerns about the future of Australia’s relationship with its most important security partner emerged last month after Trump hit out at former Australian prime minister Kevin Rudd, now the nation’s ambassador to the US, describing him as “nasty” and “not the brightest bulb”.

>>20755608 Meet the first astronaut to represent Australia: Katherine Bennell-Pegg - A small number of Australians have trained as astronauts and gone to space, representing the US and other nations. But on Monday, Katherine Bennell-Pegg will become the first ever Australian-badged astronaut. She has already received the congratulations of Dr Andy Thomas, the first Australian-born NASA Mission Specialist, who told her she was “ready to make the next giant leap” and “boldly go where no Australian woman has gone before”. Once a certified astronaut, she is eligible for missions to the International Space Station or further to Artemis.

>>20755622 ‘Lost for words’: Joe Biden’s tale about cannibals bemuses Papua New Guinea residents - Joe Biden’s suggestion that his uncle may have been eaten by cannibals in Papua New Guinea during world war two has been met with a mixture of bemusement and criticism in the country. Biden spoke about his uncle, 2nd Lt Ambrose J Finnegan Jr, while campaigning in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, describing how “Uncle Bosie” had flown single engine planes as reconnaissance flights during the war. Biden said he “got shot down in New Guinea”, adding “they never found the body because there used to be a lot of cannibals, for real, in that part of New Guinea.” Official war records say Finnegan was killed when a plane on which he was a passenger experienced engine failure and crashed into the Pacific Ocean. The records do not mention cannibalism or state that the plane was shot down.

>>20759583 Nation unites in gratitude for hero of Bondi Junction Amy Scott at candlelight vigil - A heroic police officer has been embraced by a grateful nation as the Prime Minister joined a beachside vigil to remember those lost in the Bondi Junction killings. Inspector Amy Scott, who shot Joel Cauchi dead after he killed six people, was on Sunday again the person everyone turned to - a beacon of light and bravery on a night filled with sorrow and pain. The police officer was ­approached by tear-stricken mourners and colleagues relieved she could join them as the sun went down over Bondi Beach. Inspector Scott was composed and gracious as she was greeted by wellwishers and the grieving.

>>20759602 Video: Don’t blame me for Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel terror attack, says radical Sydney preacher Abu Ousayd - One of the nation’s most radical Islamic preachers has said “don’t blame me” for the stabbing of an Assyrian Christian bishop in an alleged terrorist incident but claims the bishop hates Islam and speaks against the prophet Mohammad. Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, used an online sermon on Friday to claim he and his Al Madina Dawah Centre have been blamed by mainstream Islamic leaders and the community for last Monday’s terror incident. “You want to push hate on to us for no reason, with allegations that have no proof,” Mr Ousayd said. “Because you have a personal agenda against us.”

>>20759620 Video: Government accuses ‘narcissist’ billionaire Musk of acting above the law - The Australian government has savaged Elon Musk as an egotist and narcissist, as the online safety watchdog prepares to fight social media giant X over its refusal to remove videos of the western Sydney church stabbing. The billionaire’s comparison of eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant to a communist regime censor has fuelled bipartisan attacks on Musk by senior politicians accusing him of acting above the law. Inman Grant has signalled she will fight Musk in court over the X owner’s refusal to comply with the regulator’s take-down order, which the company described as “unlawful and dangerous”.

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80104e No.20886134

#35 - Part 30

Australian Politics and Society - Part 22

>>20759636 Meta new AI tool names Turnbull, Albanese among our ‘best’ PMs, sparking political bias fears - Meta’s new artificial intelligence tool has ranked Malcolm Turnbull and Anthony Albanese as among Australia’s five best prime ministers, while labelling Tony Abbott and Scott Morrison as controversial and named Peter Dutton among the least humane politicians - sparking fresh concerns of political bias from big tech. Meta unleashed its latest large language model, Llama 3, on Friday as the AI race intensifies between Silicon Valley’s biggest tech companies. It labelled Kevin Rudd as one of Australia’s most humane politicians for his apology to the stolen generations in 2008, while it said Mr Dutton was the least humane for his role in implementing the “Stop the Boats” policy and his comments on “African gangs”. It comes as big tech has attracted criticism for promoting political biases via its powerful AI models.

>>20759654 Video: ANZAC Day 2024: Australia’s Federation Guard prepare to stand on hallowed ground - Australia’s Federation Guard prepare to stand on hallowed ground, representing ADF at Gallipoli for the 2024 ANZAC Day service. There is no bigger stage than Gallipoli, it is where the ANZAC spirit was forged and continues to live on today. “It’s a huge honour, it feels special to come after them, to keep their legacy going and what they fought for alive,” AC Jordan McGrath, Australia’s Federation Guard. - Defence Australia

>>20764915 Video: Watchdog wins urgent court bid to make X take down stabbing videos - Australia’s online watchdog won an injunction to force Elon Musk’s social platform X to hide videos of last week’s Sydney church stabbing as a high-powered ministerial taskforce leads a bid to tackle online algorithms pushing anti-women influencers. Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton have joined the many politicians savaging digital platforms in recent days as momentum grows for new laws to assert Australia’s sovereignty after Musk rebuffed Australian eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s take-down orders, calling them “unlawful and dangerous”. Late on Monday, Inman Grant launched a Federal Court bid to force X to comply with the order. The court found in favour of the Australian regulator on an interim basis and decided the videos should be removed by putting them behind a notice within 24 hours. The order also applied to Meta, which Inman Grant said last week was co-operating with her demand to take videos down.

>>20764968 Video: Anthony Albanese and Elon Musk feud over X's bid to show graphic stabbing footage, as conservative senator shares footage - Federal senator Ralph Babet has shared the unedited violent footage of the Wakeley church stabbing attack as a feud continues over X's bid to be able to host it on its site. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Tuesday morning hit back at "arrogant" billionaire Elon Musk after he made comments goading Mr Albanese on his social media platform X. Overnight Mr Musk twice posted comments mocking Australia's prime minister, suggesting X's refusal to remove the violent videos left it alone among social media platforms as a defender of free speech. "I’d like to take a moment to thank the PM for informing the public that this platform is the only truthful one," Mr Musk wrote. Mr Albanese retorted that Mr Musk's comments only exposed his arrogance. "This guy is saying more about himself than anything else, he's putting his ego and putting his billionaire's dollars towards taking a court case for the right to put more violent content on what will sow social division and cause distress," Mr Albanese told Channel Nine. "It just shows his arrogance really, if he doesn't see that this is essentially a common sense position by the eSafety commissioner."

>>20765147 Albanese to trek Kokoda in campaign for PNG’s hearts and minds - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has brushed off Beijing’s attempts to expand its influence in Papua New Guinea, insisting no country can match the depth of Australia’s relationship with its closest neighbour as he prepares to undertake a gruelling hike of the Kokoda Track alongside counterpart James Marape. Albanese’s arrival in Port Moresby on Monday came a day after Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited the Papua New Guinean capital, a rapid turnaround underscoring the increasingly intense conflict for geopolitical influence in the Pacific. As well as signing lucrative deals for Papua New Guinea to export cocoa and coffee into the Chinese market, Beijing’s top diplomat used his visit to criticise the AUKUS pact and favourably compare China’s approach to international development with Australia’s. Albanese will become the first sitting prime minister to walk part of the Kokoda Track this week, embarking on a 15-kilometre walk in 30-plus degree temperatures and stifling humidity alongside Marape.

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80104e No.20886135

#35 - Part 31

Australian Politics and Society - Part 23

>>20765177 Selfies, snacks and ceremonies: Albanese sets up camp for night on Kokoda Track - Greeted by the sound of tribal chants and pounding drums, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese arrived in Kokoda Village on Tuesday morning for an extravagant traditional welcome ceremony before beginning to walk the Kokoda Track. Thousands of locals, some of whom walked up to an hour for the event from remote villages, lined up along the hillside to welcome Albanese as he descended in a PNG defence helicopter after travelling from the capital, Port Moresby. The crowd included scores of schoolchildren wearing the national colours of Australia and PNG. Many waved national flags as they greeted Albanese and PNG Prime Minister James Marape. A public holiday was declared in the area for the visit from the prime ministers. Longtime residents said it was the most lavish welcome an Australian leader had received in the country since Paul Keating visited in 1992, when he kissed the ground at the site of one of the most important military campaigns in Australian history.

>>20769708 Video: Musk decision to leave knife attack video on X prompts police terror warning, says Australian senator - An Australian senator said on Wednesday that police feared Elon Musk's decision to ignore a regulator order and leave footage on his social media platform X of a Sydney bishop being stabbed might encourage people to join terrorist groups. An Australian court has upheld a regulator order for the billionaire to take down posts containing footage of the April 15 stabbing of the Assyrian bishop during a service. Senator Jacqui Lambie said that by keeping the violent posts online globally the Australian Federal Police (AFP) had told the federal court Musk's platform X created a risk that "the video could be used to encourage people in Australia to join a terrorist organisation or undertake a terrorist act". Musk "should put his big boy pants on and do the right thing, but he won't because he has no social conscience", Lambie said in her social media posts. The AFP declined to comment.

>>20769780 Video: 'Enemy of the people': Elon Musk unleashes on Jacqui Lambie after the Senator claimed the X owner 'should be 'in jail' - Elon Musk has clapped back at Senator Jacqui Lambie after she launched an attack on the billionaire amid calls for his social media platform X to remove violent content of last week’s alleged terror attack. Speaking to Sky News Australia’s Kieran Gilbert on Tuesday, Senator Lambie said Musk was “creating hatred” by ignoring requests to remove harmful content, and announced she would be boycotting X. "I think he's a social media knob with no social conscience, he has absolutely no social conscience," she said. "Someone like that should be in jail and the key be thrown away. That bloke should not have a right to be out there on his own ideology platform and creating hatred, showing all this stuff out there to our kids and doing all the rest. "I'll say this to everybody else, I'll be switching off X today, I'll be doing that before I get to the airport this afternoon, and I suggest that the other 226, there's 227 members of Parliament, do the same thing. Show him that you mean business.” Musk responded to Ms Lambie’s suggestions he should be in jail from a clip of her appearance on Sky News Australia. “This woman has utter contempt for the Australian people,” he wrote.

>>20769820 Video: ASIO boss says privacy ‘not absolute’ as he urges social media companies to do more on extremism - Social media companies must do more to stamp out extremism and assist law enforcement to track criminals, the heads of Australia’s federal police and security agencies have urged. In comments likely to provoke criticism from some civil and digital rights campaigners, the ASIO director general, Mike Burgess, will use a major speech on Wednesday to argue “privacy is important but not absolute”, while the AFP commissioner, Reece Kershaw, believes “there is no absolute right to privacy”. Burgess will also sound an alarm about artificial intelligence, warning the new technology “is likely to make radicalisation easier and faster”. In the latest salvo in an expanding dispute between the Australian government and tech companies such as Facebook and X, Burgess and Kershaw will use a joint address to the National Press Club to call for social media companies to give more assistance to law enforcement in certain circumstances, including in cases of potential crimes being discussed on encrypted messaging platforms.

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80104e No.20886137

#35 - Part 32

Australian Politics and Society - Part 24

>>20769864 Video: Security chiefs to target technology giants - Australia’s top spy and police chief will put tech companies on notice over terrorists, spies and criminals using end-to-end encryption and artificial intelligence to stoke ­extremism, disinformation and foreign interference, harm children, build weapons and plan attacks. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess and Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw will warn on Wednesday that technology is “not above the rule of law” and accuse social media giants of refusing to “snuff out” extremist poison. In a rare joint address to the National Press Club following last week’s church terrorist attack and Bondi Junction murders in Sydney, Mr Burgess and Mr Kershaw will focus on criminals and extremists weaponising the expansion of end-to-end encryption by tech giants.

>>20769937 ASIO boss Mike Burgess says 50 per cent chance terror attack could be planned or conducted in next 12 months - There is a 50 per cent chance someone will plan or conduct an act of terrorism in Australia in the next year, ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess has revealed. Mr Burgess explained Australia’s national terrorism threat level during his address to the National Press Club in Canberra on Wednesday alongside AFP Commissioner Reece P Kershaw APM. The intelligence chief said the current threat level remained at “possible”. “Which means there is a 50% chance that in the next 12 months or even right now there is someone planning an act of terrorism or will conduct an act of terrorism,” he said. “The most likely attack will come from an individual or a small group of individuals that go to violence with little or no warning.”

>>20769978 ‘Unacceptable risk to the people’: Teens arrested in counter-terror raids - Seven teenage boys allegedly belonging to a terror cell have been arrested in police raids across Sydney as part of a major counter-terrorism investigation launched after the stabbing of a Christian bishop last week. A further five people, including two men and three other teenage boys, are being questioned by a joint counter-terrorism squad. Police made the arrests as part of an investigation that was launched after the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel at Christ The Good Shepherd Church, Wakeley, last Monday. A 16-year-old boy was charged with terrorism offences. In the days after the stabbing, officers from ASIO, Australian Federal Police, NSW Police and the NSW Crime Commission started looking into the teenager’s associates. Official sources briefed on the investigation said the alleged assailant in the church stabbing was part of a loose network of teenagers who communicated on encrypted apps. The federal sources, who were authorised to publicly disclose details of the briefing, said counter-terrorism police believed some members of the group were engaging with radical Islamic material.

>>20770002 X lawyers say Sydney bishop is of ‘strong view’ stabbing video should be live - Lawyers representing X Corp will argue the bishop attacked in an alleged terrorist stabbing is “strongly of the view” footage of the incident should be visible, as the online safety watchdog wins an extension of a court order for the platform to hide the violent material. The Federal Court granted eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant a request to extend an injunction requiring X to hide video of the alleged stabbing on Wednesday, despite the social media platform owned by Elon Musk so far refusing to comply with the legal order. X Corp’s barrister Marcus Hoyne told the court the injunction “might be futile” due to the material being shared and re-posted, suggesting that the order may have increased public awareness of the material despite efforts to block it in a phenomenon known as the Streisand effect. He also revealed that the alleged victim of the western Sydney stabbing Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel would file an affidavit stating that he was “strongly of the view the material should be available”.

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80104e No.20886138

#35 - Part 33

Australian Politics and Society - Part 25

>>20770211 Video: The Last Post - Anzac Day 2024 - "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them." Lest We Forget.

>>20770161 Video: National Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 National Commemorative Service in Canberra from 5.30am AEST on April 25. - ABC Australia

>>20770166 Video: Anzac Day 2024 Melbourne Dawn Service - Watch the live stream of the Dawn Service at the Shrine of Remembrance. In solemn tradition, Victorians gather to commemorate those who served and died in defence of our country. The service is held at dawn to coincide with the time of the Gallipoli landing in 1915 - the first major military action by Australian and New Zealand forces (ANZACs) during the First World War. The event includes recitations, hymns, wreath-laying and an address by the Governor of Victoria. - ShrineMelbourne

>>20770170 Video: Gallipoli Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Gallipoli Dawn Service from 12:30pm AEST April 25. - ABC Australia

>>20770177 Video: Villers-Bretonneux Service | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Villers-Bretonneux Service from 1:30pm AEST on April 25. - ABC Australia

>>20770180 Video: Melbourne March | Anzac Day 2024 - Join us as we go LIVE for the Anzac Day 2024 Melbourne March from 9:00am AEST on April 25. - ABC Australia

>>20770188 Video: Anzac Day 2024 March & Commemoration Service - Watch the live stream of the Anzac Day March and Commemoration Service. Honour and recognise those who have served and who currently serve in defence of Australia and its interests. The march commences in Swanston Street (near Federation Square) along St Kilda Road to the Shrine of Remembrance. The march is normally complete by midday, and is followed by a commemoration service at the Shrine of Remembrance. - ShrineMelbourne

>>20774481 Video: Thousands gather before dawn to commemorate Anzac Day - Thousands of Australians have gathered before first light to commemorate the solemn occasion of Anzac Day. From capital city cenotaphs to local memorials, thousands have braved the cold to honour the memory of all Australians who have served their country at home and abroad. The dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra began at 5.30am after earlier services across the nation got underway. Wreaths were laid by Governor-General David Hurley before the Anzac Day dawn service address was delivered by the Vice-Chief of the Defence Force, Vice-Admiral David Johnston. The traditional sounding of the Last Post was sounded before a minute's silence and the Reveille.

>>20774499 Video: Anzac Day 2024: Marches underway in Sydney and Melbourne - Australians across the country move from dawn services to marches in our major cities to honour the fallen this Anzac Day. - 9 News Australia

>>20774576 Video: PM pays tribute on the Kokoda Track, ‘this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance’ - Illuminated by the glow of distant stars and campers’ headlights, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stood at the site of a crucial World War II battle in remote Papua New Guinea to commemorate Anzac Day. After spending two days walking the Kokoda Track in often arduous terrain alongside his PNG counterpart James Marape, Albanese told the crowd of approximately 400 people at the Isurava memorial that they were standing on “ground made hallow by Australian sacrifice”. “We are gathered in a place that has known the most pitiless ferocity of battle, fought with bullet, bayonet, mortar, and the desperation of bare hands,” Albanese said. “It is also a place that has seen the unadorned strength of the Australian spirit.”

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80104e No.20886141

#35 - Part 34

Australian Politics and Society - Part 26

>>20774750 Video: Anthony Albanese attends Anzac Day dawn service at Isurava, saying 'we will never forget' people of PNG - The prime minister has told the crowd at an Anzac Day dawn service in Papua New Guinea that Australia "will never forget" the help the country's people provided to Australian soldiers during World War II. Anthony Albanese marked Anzac Day with the completion of a two-day, 16-kilometre journey along the Kokoda Track with PNG's Prime Minister James Marape, a visit the leaders have used to highlight their shared legacy of war in the context of a growing security relationship. "We feel the weight of history as we gather here along the Kokoda Track, this great artery of mud and suffering and perseverance that has come to occupy a place of singular power in Australia's shared memory." Mr Albanese used the speech to highlight how the events of the war forged a powerful bond between Australians and the people of PNG. "We thank every one of them who helped Australians in the face of retribution and sometimes unfathomable cruelty," he said. "The troops, the coast watchers and the shipping pilots. The villagers who risked their own lives to feed and guide and shelter Australians in desperate need. The stretcher bearers whose courage was matched only by their kindness. To the people of PNG, I offer Australia's promise: We will never forget."

>>20775620 Australians gather at Anzac Day services across the country to honour service men and women - Thousands of Australians and New Zealanders have gathered for Anzac Day dawn services and parades across both countries to honour those who served. This year marks 109 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers landed on the Turkish coastline at Gallipoli during World War I. Their eight-month battle was ultimately unsuccessful, but their courage and bravery amid hardship have become an enduring symbol of military sacrifice. The day now honours the more than 1.5 million men and women who have served Australia in all conflicts, wars and peacekeeping operations, and the 103,000 Australians who lost their lives while serving. Dawn services were held in cities and towns across every state and territory in Australia, in Papua New Guinea and Samoa, and a later service at Gallipoli at dawn local time.

>>20775653 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: - Lest We Forget - “U.S. Marines and Sailors are honored to be included in #AnzacDay activities with our Australian Defence Force brothers and sisters. The display of national support to those that serve and sacrifice on behalf of this great nation is awe-inspiring. We are humbled to share in the love and support from the people of Darwin and the surrounding communities.” - U.S. Marine Corps Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of MRF-D 24.3. Anzac Day marks the landings in Gallipoli of Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers in 1915, and commemorates all Australian personnel who served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations. MRF-D 24.3 #Marines and #Sailors showed their support to Defence Australia personnel commemorating Anzac Day through dawn services and other commemorative services.

>>20780481 Video: Stabbed bishop takes swipe at those using attack ‘to serve political purposes’ - The Sydney bishop who was stabbed in an alleged terror attack has taken a swipe at those who he says are using his assault to serve their political purposes. In a lavishly produced 11-minute YouTube video – his first public statement since he was stabbed multiple times on April 15 while delivering a livestreamed sermon – Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel commented on eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant’s takedown order of the graphic footage. “I do acknowledge the Australian government’s desire to have the videos removed because of their graphic nature; I do not condone any acts of terrorism or violence,” Emmanuel said in a voice-over accompanying footage of him walking the processional route of Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem. “However, noting our God-given right of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, I’m not opposed to the videos remaining on social media. I would be of great concern if people use the attack on me to serve their own political interests to control free speech.”

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80104e No.20886143

#35 - Part 35

Australian Politics and Society - Part 27

>>20780521 Musk's X says posts of Australia bishop stabbing don't promote violence - Elon Musk's social media platform X defended publishing posts showing a bishop in Australia being stabbed during a sermon as "part of public discussion", rejecting a regulator's order to take down the content on grounds it is offensive and violent. In a post overnight, X's "global government affairs" account said the video taken by an "innocent bystander" should not have been banned under Australian law, which "permits content that can be reasonably considered as part of public discussion or debate". "The content within the posts does not encourage or provoke violence," the X account said.

>>20780540 Dutton backs Musk on global policing of internet - The opposition says it supports Elon Musk's argument that Australia can't police the internet globally, as the week ended the way it began with a war of words and legal wrangling over graphic videos circulating on X. Musk's company, formerly known as Twitter, is locked in a legal battle with the eSafety commissioner to be able to keep graphic videos on its site showing the stabbing of a bishop in Sydney. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said while he'd love to say no child would be able to watch the video, "we can't pretend that Australia can dictate to other countries around the world what people see within their countries. We need to be realistic about what the options are here, we can't police the whole internet across the world, but we can influence what happens in Australian society."

>>20780765 Teen terror suspects had Islamic State beheading and bomb-making videos, court told - Two teenagers arrested in connection with the Wakeley church stabbing had graphic videos of Islamic State beheadings, with one also possessing bomb-making instructions, police allege. A 14-year-old, who stopped attending school in 2022, is among the five young people charged with a range of terrorism and extremism offences after a 16-year-old boy allegedly stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel multiple times during a live-streamed service at Christ the Good Shepherd Church in Wakeley on April 15. Children’s Magistrate Paul Mulroney granted the 14-year-old boy bail with strict conditions, but a last-minute appeal application by the prosecution prevented his release from custody. However, Mulroney refused a 17-year-old boy bail at Parramatta Local Court for allegedly possessing videos of Islamic State taking, beheading and killing hostages - as well as videos linked to Hamas and bomb-making material.

>>20780813 Channel 7 has reached a confidential settlement with Benjamin Cohen, wrongly named as the Bondi killer - Channel 7 has reached a confidential settlement with a 20-year-old university student after the network wrongly identified him as the Bondi Junction mass murderer. Benjamin Cohen, a first-year student at the University of Technology, Sydney, engaged law firm Giles George after he was wrongly named multiple times as the Westfield Bondi killer on Seven’s Weekend Sunrise program. On Friday the law firm confirmed the matter was resolved and in a statement, principal Patrick George who was representing Mr Cohen said: “The terms of the settlement are otherwise confidential.” Under the NSW Defamation Act it can attract damages up to $459,000.

>>20780846 Video: Morrison on meds: toll of top office laid bare - Scott Morrison has revealed that he faced mental health challenges during his prime ministership, suffering from anxiety that became so acute he received medication for it. Mr Morrison says that without the medication he would have fallen into a serious depression and that his anxiety during much of his time in The Lodge was “debilitating and agonising”. With each new challenge, from the Covid pandemic to the showdowns with China, and with each new controversy and subsequent wave of media attacks, Mr Morrison said the waves of anxiety he felt became more acute. Eventually he sought help from his doctor in Canberra who prescribed him medication to help him deal with it. “My doctor was amazed I had lasted as long as I had before seeking help,” Morrison writes as he reveals for the first time his mental health challenges in his new book Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

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80104e No.20886144

#35 - Part 36

Australian Politics and Society - Part 28

>>20780890 Australian journalist named as co-conspirator in Trump hush money trial - The Australian journalist embroiled in a hush money plot to help Donald Trump become president has been named as a co-conspirator in the trial, with text messages read in court showing him discussing potentially being pardoned for electoral fraud if he was ever charged. Dylan Howard, the then editor-in-chief of the National Enquirer, also told the tabloid’s boss David Pecker that he believed a story about Trump having sex with porn star Stormy Daniels was true and suggested paying $US120,000 ($183,900) to bury it, according to emails shown in court. The bombshell revelations were made during Trump’s historic trial on Thursday (Friday AEST), in which the former president has been accused of falsifying business records to ensure his 2016 campaign to win the White House wasn’t derailed.

>>20781023 Video: Tucker Carlson to tour Australia with Clive Palmer - Tucker Carlson is heading to Australia for the first time. The former Fox News host is teaming up with former federal MP and mining billionaire Clive Palmer to hit the public speaking circuit. The pair will front The Australian Freedom Conference, an event that will take place all around Australia from late June and host sessions in major cities as well as Cairns, Perth and Adelaide. Advertising for the conference with Mr Carlson as the headline act began airing on Friday on Sky News Australia and on social media. Mr Carlson appears, without his trademark tie, in the one-minute advertisements spruiking the event that is sponsored by Mr Palmer’s company Mineralogy. “Why am I dressed this way? Because I’m so excited to come to Australia. I’m American, obviously. But I’ve been thinking about Australia my entire life as most Americans my age have. Australia always seemed like a place that was very much like where we lived, but maybe a little more exotic and interesting, but again, I’ve never seen it,” a polo T-shirt clad Mr Carlson said. “We’re going be talking about what is happening in your country and ours, countries with common histories, common values, and common threats. “Free speech is bigger than any one person or any one organisation. Societies are defined by what they will not permit. What we’re watching is the total inversion of virtue,” Mr Carlson added in a heavily edited clip.

>>20789168 Richard Marles unveils $100m new aid for Ukraine - Australia will hand new drones and air defence systems to Ukraine in a new $100m military aid package to help the country’s flagging forces rally against Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Defence Minister Richard Marles announced the new support in the western Ukraine city of Lviv on Saturday, a week after the US Congress unlocked $94bn in fresh funding for the country. The package, including $50m in anti-air missile launchers and missiles and $30m in unmanned aerial vehicles, bolster’s Australia’s support for Ukraine to $1bn. The fresh support includes a further $15m worth of much-needed equipment, including rigid hull boats, combat helmets and generators. It follows Kyiv’s disappointment at the Albanese government’s decision to junk Australia’s fleet of 40-plus MRH-90 Taipan helicopters rather than donate them to its war effort.

>>20789170 Boat from Vietnam intercepted as arrivals continue to rise - Authorities have confirmed they intercepted a boat carrying three Vietnamese nationals, in what is believed to be the first boat to make the journey from Vietnam towards Australia in almost a decade. Australian Border Force on Friday said that it had “resolved” what it described as a people-smuggling venture and confirmed that the vessel was intercepted in March. “All three persons were safely returned to Vietnam in close co-operation with the Vietnamese government,” Border Force said in a brief statement. It is the latest in a growing list of boats to be intercepted in the past two years and is the fifth vessel to arrive since September. The three on board the Vietnam vessel will not be sent to Nauru, with Australia and Vietnam having a longstanding agreement to return those who make the journey back to Vietnam.

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80104e No.20886147

#35 - Part 37

Australian Politics and Society - Part 29

>>20789205 Video: Prime minister Anthony Albanese to return to crime-ridden Alice Springs - Anthony Albanese will return to Alice Springs for the first time in over a year following a spate of high-profile public violence, rioting and youth crime resulting in a 20-day-long youth curfew. Fifteen months after the Prime Minister’s controversial four-hour trip in January last year, Mr Albanese is returning to Alice Springs on Monday following calls by members of the Coalition who claim he has been neglecting the troubled town. Sources not authorised to speak have told The Australian Mr Albanese will spend a day and a night in the town. At the end of March a youth curfew was implemented after more than 100 people rioted in the town and cornered one of its most popular pubs, which police said at the time they did not have the resources to control.

>>20793336 Video: ‘Not a tin ear, a wall of concrete’: Anthony Albanese lashed over rally speech - Anthony Albanese has been accused of misogyny and showing “a lack of compassion” by the organisers of the rally against men’s violence, who said the Prime Minister had “abused his power” when he took the stage on Sunday to speak. Founder of advocacy group What Were You Wearing, Sarah Williams, told the crowd at Sunday’s rally that Mr Albanese had refused to speak as part of the event and said he was telling a “flat out lie” when he took the stage to rebuff the accusation and declare he had offered to make an address at the rally. Mr Albanese said on Monday he wished Ms Williams - who broke down in tears on Sunday as he spoke - all the best and that she had done “very well in organising the rallies”.

>>20793370 Video: ‘Do you want me to speak or not? I am the prime minister’: Albanese caught on film - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was caught on camera at Sunday’s Canberra domestic violence rally asking the organiser whether she wanted him to speak or not, saying “I am the prime minister” before stepping up to take the microphone. The ABC footage shows the scene moments before the prime minister told the crowd he’d been initially asked not to speak, prompting rally organiser Sarah Williams to start weeping as she cried out that this was “a flat-out lie”. The rancorous debate over the prime minister’s words at the rally spilled over into Monday, as Williams doubled down on her criticisms of the prime minister, appearing on several national television programs and using her Instagram account to claim she overheard Albanese say: “I’m the prime minister. I run this country.”

>>20793404 Years of political attacks on Scott Morrison catch up with Anthony Albanese - "Anthony Albanese, whose party spent years attacking Scott Morrison over misogyny, has been hit by a political karma bus and reality check. While some in government feel the Prime Minister is being unfairly maligned following his appearance at a gendered violence rally in Canberra on Sunday, Albanese owns his government’s pledge to “end violence against women and children in one generation”. Ahead of the 2022 election, Albanese and his senior ministers led the pile-on targeting Morrison’s handling of women’s policies and scandals that the former prime minister struggled to fully comprehend and address. Labor’s political attacks framing Morrison as misogynistic were a constant theme in the lead-up to the election. For all of Morrison’s poor judgment, Albanese sought to put himself and his party on a pedestal when it came to dealing with the complex nature of a domestic and family violence scourge that does not disriminate along social or cultural lines. Labor poured petrol on every political opportunity to malign Morrison and accuse the Coalition of being anti-women. Just over one-year out from the 2025 election and facing a public blowtorch over gender violence, Albanese is under pressure to deliver on his rhetoric to keep women and children safe." - Geoff Chambers, The Australian’s Chief Political Correspondent - theaustralian.com.au

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80104e No.20886149

#35 - Part 38

Australian Politics and Society - Part 30

>>20793447 Alleged teen terror group ‘wanted to target Jews’ - Members of an alleged youth terror cell in western Sydney reportedly wanted to target Jews, were ready to “die” for their cause, and called themselves “soldiers of Allah” in a series of text messages. Sydney’s Jewish leaders were on alert on Sunday night after ­revelations the alleged teenage ­ terrorists arrested in a mass raid had been planning to target their community. A police fact sheet tendered to court at the weekend says the teens started their plot after the stabbing of an Ayssrian bishop by one of their alleged associates, and that they planned to buy guns and store them in abandoned homes. One alleged jihadi also wrote that he wanted to target Jews. “I really want to target the yahood (Jewish people) … we will plan it,” one 15-year-old allegedly sent to a group chat titled “Plans” on April 19, four days after the Wakeley stabbing incident.

>>20793510 Anthony Albanese’s war on Elon Musk is just a national security blanket - "Anthony Albanese’s war on Elon Musk, owner of social media platform X, is low politics but might just divert Australians’ attention away from his government’s national security failures. It took chutzpah for Albanese to raise “misinformation” and “disinformation” last week in defence of legal action by Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, against Musk. Albanese last Monday said: “This isn’t about freedom of expression. This is about the dangerous implications that can occur when things that are simply not true, that everyone knows are not true, are replicated and weaponised in order to cause division.” Yet there is no suggestion the video of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel’s stabbing by a minor who cannot be named for legal reasons is “simply not true”. While Albanese has often spoken against anti-Semitism and Islamophobia, he has never spoken against the outrageous anti-Israel demonstration at the Opera House on October 9, only two days after the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust." - Chris Mitchell - theaustralian.com.au

>>20793584 Video: Released detainee Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan charged over vicious Perth home invasion, bashing - A former immigration detainee released in the wake of last year’s High Court decision who had already allegedly breached his curfew has been charged over his alleged involvement in a violent home burglary in Perth. Majid Jamshidi Doukoshkan appeared in court on Monday after allegedly being one of three men who bashed an elderly cancer patient inside her home earlier this month. Western Australian Police had previously described how three assailants had arrived at the home of 73-year-old Ninette Simons and her 76-year-old husband Philip Simons in Girraheen in Perth’s north, and gained entry to the home after telling them they were police officers. The three men then allegedly pushed Mr Simons to the ground and tied his hands behind his back, before punching Mrs Simons in the face repeatedly. She lost consciousness during the assault and was left with significant facial injuries.

>>20798750 Terror-accused, 16, ‘effectively made admission’ he was conspiring to plan attack - A 17 year-old boy, charged with possessing extremist propaganda and a video of associates committing alleged assaults under an ISIS watermark, has been granted bail. One of his bail conditions included a non-association order with Wassim Fayad, who was previously identified as the influential former IS supporter listed on search warrants in relation to the stabbing of Assyrian Christian bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel on April 15. A 16 year-old, charged with the more serious offence of having conspired with three others to plan an unspecified terrorist attack, calling them “the soldiers of Allah” in messages, was denied bail in the same court, after the prosecution alleged he made “effectively an admission” in encrypted messages when he thought police were onto them.

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80104e No.20886151

#35 - Part 39

Australian Politics and Society - Part 31

>>20798781 ‘Intifada’ protest gave kids ‘agency’, says Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah - Controversial Macquarie University academic Randa Abdel-Fattah says criticism of her by the nation’s peak Jewish body was “defamatory and racist” and an event where children were filmed chanting for “intifada” was intended to give them a “sense of agency”. On Friday last week Dr Abdel-Fattah, with a group called Families for Palestine, held a “kids excursion” to the pro-Palestine encampment at the University of Sydney. Videos from the event showed children – many who looked younger than 10 – leading anti-Israel chants such as calling for an “intifada” and labelling Israel a “terrorist state”. Dr Abdel-Fattah, in a statement posted to her social media accounts on Monday, defended the Friday event. “We gave children a space to participate in craft, ball games, face-painting and embroidery. We offered them the megaphone to lead chants of their choosing, hoping to give them a sense of agency in a moment of distress. The ones who jumped at the opportunity had been to the weekly rallies for over seven months, observing and participating in chants and calls for justice, freedom and an end to the slaughter.”

>>20798881 Video: MRF-D 24.3 U.S. Marines, Sailors honor Anzac Day in Darwin, Palmerston - April 25, 1915, etched into history as the day 140 soldiers of the first wave set sail, their destination: the Gallipoli Peninsula. Among them, only 38 would step onto the shores alive, marking the harrowing beginning of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps' campaign in World War I. Today, over 100 years later, April 25th stands as Anzac Day, a solemn tribute to the courage and sacrifice of Australians and New Zealanders who served and perished in wars and peacekeeping missions. As dawn broke over the grounds of the Darwin Cenotaph War Memorial and Palmerston War Memorial Park, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, U.S. Marines and Sailors of Marine Rotational Force - Darwin 24.3, alongside their Australian Allies, reflected on the earnestness of the occasion and the enduring legacy of service and sacrifice. Following the Dawn Service, U.S. Marines, Sailors and Australian Defence Force members and veterans participated in the Anzac Day march in Darwin City and Palmerston. They marched in solidarity, parading through Palmerston and downtown Darwin to honor their Allies' memory, embodying the mateship between the United States and Australia.

>>20803363 Indian spies booted out of Australia for trying to steal sensitive information - Australian authorities expelled two Indian intelligence operatives in 2020 for being members of an elaborate “nest of spies” that attempted to steal sensitive information about defence technology, airport security and trade relationships. The revelation about the previously secret operations of India’s foreign intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), raises uncomfortable questions about Australia’s deepening ties with India, including through the high-profile Quad security grouping. As part of a detailed investigation into Indian foreign interference efforts around the globe, The Washington Post reported on the expulsion of the two RAW officers on Monday. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess revealed in 2021 that ASIO had uncovered a “nest of spies” from a foreign intelligence service, whose operations included grooming politicians and a foreign embassy as informants, but did not identify the country behind it.

>>20808123 Youngest terror-accused teen wanted to do ‘catastrophic [act] to either Assyrian or Jewish people’ - A 15-year-old who allegedly declared in an online group chat that he wanted to attack Jewish and Assyrian people, and “do jihad now”, before being arrested for conspiracy to commit a terrorist attack, has been denied release following a lengthy bail hearing. The lawyer for the youngest of the four teenagers charged in Sydney with conspiracy following the stabbing of Assyrian Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel, told waiting media he would take the application to the NSW Supreme Court, as the juvenile’s parents covered their faces. “Obviously the family is disappointed, and we will appeal to the Supreme Court,” he said, after a court heard the 15-year-old’s parents would put up their home, worth $1.5 million, as surety and offered to pay for expensive third-party ankle-monitoring technology.”

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80104e No.20886152

#35 - Part 40

Australian Politics and Society - Part 32

>>20808279 Non-binary pupils up as teachers told to forgo ‘boys and girls’ - The number of school students identifying as neither male nor female is now 20 times higher than before the pandemic, as new school rules warn teachers against calling students boys and girls, or referring to parents as mothers and fathers. Data released by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority reveals that at least 2560 students enrolled as non-binary last year, up from 128 in 2019. Non-binary enrolments account for barely 0.05 per cent of the nation’s four million school students but create a legal and ethical minefield for principals and teachers as education departments and anti-discrimination bodies dictate increasingly complex regulations. The sharp rise in non-binary identification among children comes as schools are forced to introduce gender-neutral uniforms, combine boys’ and girls’ toilet facilities, and use personal pronouns.

>>20813692 Video: eSafety Commissioner’s war on ‘misgendering’ tweet - Weeks before Julie Inman Grant took action against X (previously Twitter) over footage of the stabbing of Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel in western Sydney, Australia’s eSafety Commissioner curiously issued the social media giant with a take-down order over a tweet “misgendering” an Australian transgender activist. As the author of the tweet, Canadian activist Chris Elston - better known as “Billboard Chris” sees it, it was “not my nicest tweet ever, but technically accurate,” and in the context of all the vile content available on the internet, rather benign. Currently visiting Australia to campaign against what he views as the “irreversible harming” of gender dysphoric children through the use of puberty blockers, hormones and surgery, Mr Elston told The Australian he found the eSafety Commissioner’s action against X regarding both his tweet and footage of the stabbing as “absurd” and “politically motivated”.

>>20818041 Anthony Albanese in private: ‘Blames Trotskyists for university protests, will speak strongly’ - Leading rabbis say Anthony Albanese used a private meeting to dismiss pro-Palestine protesters encamped at universities as “Trots” who were ignorant of Middle East history, with leading Jewish MP Julian Leeser calling for a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on campuses. Multiple rabbis who attended the hour-plus meeting at Central Synagogue in Bondi Junction confirmed the Prime Minister had described the protesters as “Trots” - short for Trotskyists - and had committed to “unequivocally fight anti-Semitism”. One source at the meeting, convened by rabbinical councils and Jewish leaders, claimed Mr Albanese said a lot of university protesters were “just Trots who are just looking to instigate and make trouble”. Rabbinical Council of Australasia president Rabbi Nochum Schapiro confirmed Mr Albanese’s “Trots” comment.

>>20818106 ‘Billboard Chris’ and X to Appeal Order to Remove Post Criticising Trans Activist - A new front has opened in the ongoing battle between Elon Musk’s X Corp. and Australia’s internet regulator, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant. The Australian Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) is to rule on whether eSafety was justified in ordering X to block a post by Canadian activist Chris Elston, who goes by the pseudonym “Billboard Chris.” Mr. Elston’s X post showed a screenshot of a Daily Mail story published in late February, about Teddy Cook, an Australian female-to-male trans activist who was appointed to a World Health Organisation (WHO) expert panel to draft guidelines for the care of trans and non-binary people. In his post, Mr. Elston misgendered Mr. Cook and made other allegedly “disparaging” remarks. On March 22, Mr. Elston received a letter from an unnamed person in the office of the eSafety commissioner, demanding he remove the “deliberately degrading” post, characterising it as “cyber-abuse material targeted at an Australian adult. The social media company is pursuing action against the commissioner in the Federal Court of Australia, while Mr. Elston - represented by the Free Speech Union of Australia - is appealing the decision in the Administrative Appeals Tribunal,

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80104e No.20886154

#35 - Part 41

Australian Politics and Society - Part 33

>>20822380 Video: ‘Radicalised teen’ shot dead by police in Willetton after stabbing - A “radicalised” teenage boy was shot dead by police following an “extremely confronting” incident in Perth’s southern suburbs on Saturday night. WA Premier Roger Cook said a 16-year-old boy was shot by a police officer after rushing him with a knife in a Bunnings car park on High Street in Willetton about 10pm. “A 16-year-old male armed with a knife who had already wounded a member of the public, rushed the attending officers, in response a police officer discharged his firearm fatally wounding the male,” he said. “There are indications [the teenager] had been radicalised online.” WA Police Commissioner Col Blanch said several people called triple zero concerned about the actions of the teenager, after he indicated he was going to hurt people. The teen, who was a Caucasian male who had converted to Islam, also called police and told them he was going to commit acts of violence, but did not tell the phone operator who or where he was. Blanch said the teen had a complex mental health history and was taking part in a rehabilitation program for people who had been radicalised online.

>>20822408 Video: Rossmoyne Senior High School parents flagged ‘disturbing behaviour’ before teen’s Bunnings carpark stabbing - Parents at the Perth public high school attended by the radicalised Muslim convert teen shot to death by police at a Bunnings carpark on Saturday night repeatedly raised fears with authorities about disturbing behaviour among a cohort of the boy’s year group. The caucasian boy, who has not yet been publicly identified, was a student at Rossmoyne Senior High School, one of the top public high schools in the state. The boy was shot dead after he stabbed a man in the back and had called triple-0 to warn police that he was preparing to commit “acts of violence”. CCTV footage showed the boy charging at police cars as they arrived at the scene. Parents in the local community had repeatedly tried to alert authorities about the group, with one concerned parent having gone to both WA’s Department of Education and the Australian Federal Police earlier this year over fears that the boys were trying to “indoctrinate” their son. They said that one boy in the group had previously brought a homemade bomb to school and had used the device to damage a toilet block. The same student, they said, had made comments about bringing a bomb to an upcoming graduation ceremony.

>>20831561 Video: Schoolmates of ‘jihadi’ Perth teen circulate bombing video - 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.

>>20827038 Gang rampage: ‘There’s a war zone in Australia that no one knows about’ - 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 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. “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.

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80104e No.20886156

#35 - Part 42

Australian Politics and Society - Part 34

>>20831610 ‘Not Marrickville or Newtown’: Sydney council bans same-sex parenting books - 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. “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.

>>20837133 Video: Men caught ‘in mangroves’ in Torres Strait after trying to enter Australia illegally - 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. 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.

>>20841316 Former Fiji PM Frank Bainimarama sentenced to year in jail - Fiji’s former long-serving prime minister Frank Bainimarama has been sentenced to a year in prison for perverting the course of justice, the country’s director of public prosecutions said. Bainimarama was initially spared jail in the case during sentencing last month, before an appeal by the country’s director for public prosecutions. On Thursday, that appeal was upheld by Fiji’s high court. After the hearing, supporters of his FijiFirst party gathered outside the high court in Suva and sang a Fijian hymn. Regardless of the ruling, Bainimarama would remain the leader of the FijiFirst party, said Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, a former attorney general and the party’s former general secretary. Bainimarama led the Pacific island nation for 16 years until narrowly losing an election in December 2022 to a coalition of parties led by current prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka.

>>20841371 Australian Government Threatens Gab With $500,000 Fine For Refusing To Censor Video - "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. 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. We refuse to succumb to the pressure of the Australian government and will not censor the video posted by our user." - Andrew Torba - CEO, Gab.com

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80104e No.20886158

#35 - Part 43

Australian Politics and Society - Part 35

>>20841393 Christian extremist allegedly linked to Wieambilla police shooting, Donald Day, offered plea deal by the FBI - 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.

>>20846679 Australian regulator says Musk's X should not set limits of internet law - 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. 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."

>>20846729 Video: Australia targets social media with parliamentary probe - 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."

>>20852084 United States Space Force CSO speaks at Australian Air, Space Power Conference - 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.’’

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80104e No.20886160

#35 - Part 44

Australian Politics and Society - Part 36

>>20855545 Chinese boat migrants bound for Australia intercepted in Indonesian fishing town - A heavily modified Indonesian fishing boat intercepted with six Chinese nationals on board trying to get to Australia was owned and operated by a Chinese boat captain believed to be involved in a new modus operandi of people smuggling. The group was intercepted by Indonesian fisheries authorities in waters near the eastern city of Kupang, a straight-line 500km journey to the north West Australian coast where 39 Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indian asylum- seekers were ferried by fishermen earlier this year. The interception was on Tuesday night in the harbour at Kupang, a traditional departure point in West Timor, part of East Nusa Tenggara province, and involved a boat carrying six Chinese men and a group of Indonesians. The interception come only hours before a visit by Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neill to Jakarta, where she met with Coordinating Minister for Political, Legal and Security Affairs Hadi Tjahjanto, to discuss co-operation on law enforcement and maritime security.

>>20858332 Australia To Ban Live Sheep Exports By Sea From May 2028 - Australia will ban the live export of sheep by sea from May 2028, and help those impacted by the decision to adjust, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said. The industry has already begun moving away from the trade. Australia exported approximately 652,000 sheep by sea in 2022-23, compared to 5.92 million sheep 20 years ago, government data showed. Still, the National Farmers’ Federation said the four-year time frame would be devastating for farmers and accused the government of pandering to activists.

>>20859885, >>20861656 Federal Court ends temporary block on Australians viewing bishop stabbing footage on X - A temporary order by Australia’s eSafety commissioner to block Australians from viewing footage of the alleged terrorist stabbing attack of Sydney bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel has been refused, in a win for tech giant X. In April, eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant ordered X (formerly Twitter) remove access to the video for Australian users, slapping the footage with a Class 1 classification, reserved for high-impact violent or child sex abuse material. While X complied with a take-down notice, “geo-blocking” the content, Australian users with VPNs could still watch the attack on the platform and the tech company has refused to totally remove the footage from its platform. In a brief court hearing on Monday morning, Federal Court Justice Geoffrey Kennett said: “In the this matter which I heard on Friday, the orders of the court will be that the application to extend the interlocutory injunction granted on the 22nd of April 2024, as extended on the 24th of April, is refused.”

>>20859947 Nazi-saluting soccer fan slapped with two-year ban as police investigate - A spectator who performed a Nazi salute at last month’s Sydney A-League derby has been banned from attending matches for two years and could yet be subject to criminal charges. Football Australia says it has concluded an investigation into the incident after broadcast cameras captured the man - who has been identified as a well-known member of the Western Sydney Wanderers’ main active support group, the Red and Black Bloc - making the gesture at Allianz Stadium on April 13. The ban is for all matches sanctioned by FA, including Socceroos, Matildas, A-Leagues, Australia Cup, and National Premier Leagues fixtures, as well as the yet-to-be-established National Second Tier, which is launching next year. NSW Police confirmed to this masthead that their own investigation into the incident was ongoing and that no arrests had yet been made. The man was caught by Network 10’s cameras holding his middle finger up in the air before raising his right hand in what was widely interpreted as a Nazi salute. It has been illegal to perform the Nazi salute in NSW since mid-2022, while similar laws passed by the federal parliament came into effect in January.

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80104e No.20886161

#35 - Part 45

Australian Politics and Society - Part 37

>>20868956 US COLONEL HAS ‘UTMOST CONFIDENCE’ IN OSPREYS AS THEY LAND IN DARWIN - A US Marine Corps Colonel has expressed “utmost confidence” in the MV-22B Osprey aircraft as a squadron begins operating from Darwin. Col. Brian T. Mulvihill, the commanding officer of Marine Rotational Force - Darwin (MRF-D) 24.3, said he backed the tilt-rotor aircraft, which was grounded for three months after being involved in two fatal incidents last year. “I have the utmost confidence in the reliability of the aircraft and the capabilities of our pilots and crews,” he said. “The well-being of our Marines and sailors is always a priority, and we have spared no effort in ensuring that they are prepared for the missions ahead.” Ospreys from Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron 268 (Reinforced) landed in Darwin on 11 May as part of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF), finalising the formation of the 13th rotation of MRF-D. The MV-22B joint service multi-role combat aircraft, which can take off and hover like a helicopter before transitioning to turboprop aircraft flight, was given the green light by US Naval Air Systems Command to return to service on 8 March after being out of service since December. Eight personnel were killed when a US Air Force V-22A Osprey suffered a materiel failure to a V-22 component and crashed off the coast of Japan near Yakushima Island on 29 November 2023. The aircraft were then grounded from 6 December while investigations were undertaken into the cause of the crash. An MV-22B Osprey aircraft also crashed near Melville Island, 60 kilometres off the coast from Darwin during Exercise Predators Run in August 2023. That tilt-rotor aircraft had previously appeared at Gold Coast Pacific Airshow earlier in the year.

>>20868983 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post - 82nd Battle of the Coral Sea commemorative service - MRF-D 24.3 #Marines and Sailors paid their respects alongside their Australian Allies during the 82nd Battle of the Coral Sea commemorative service at the USS Peary Memorial, Darwin, NT, Australia, May 4, 2024. The ceremony commemorated U.S. and Australian service members who lost their lives in the Battle of the Coral Sea, which took place from May 4-8, 1942, during WWII. The Australian-American Association hosted the annual memorial to recognize the combined sacrifice of both nation’s services, and the tremendous stepping stone the Battle of the Coral Sea provided the allied forces as they sailed north through the Pacific.

>>20873174 Scott Morrison meets with Donald Trump to discuss AUKUS and China - Donald Trump has given a powerful signal that he will back the AUKUS plan to acquire US nuclear-powered submarines if he becomes president, telling former prime minister Scott Morrison that he believes AUKUS plays a critical role in deterring China. A meeting between the two former leaders in Trump Tower in New York focused on the growing strategic threat posed by China in the Indo Pacific and the need to deter Beijing from continued military aggression against Taiwan. Mr Morrison said Mr Trump was “in good spirits and appreciated the visit, especially amid the issues he is currently dealing with in New York. Our discussion focused primarily on the Indo Pacific, the escalating threat of violence in the Taiwan Straits and the need to continue the work to establish and maintain a strong, credible and effective deterrent in the region to PRC aggression, especially in relation to Taiwan,” Mr Morrison said. “In this context, I discussed how the AUKUS agreement played a critical role, which I was pleased was a view shared by former president Trump. There was a welcome level of comfort about AUKUS in our discussion.”

>>20873196 Video: Scott Morrison says Donald Trump gave 'warm reception' to AUKUS pact at Trump Tower meeting - Donald Trump has given a "warm reception" to the AUKUS defence pact during a meeting with Scott Morrison in New York, the former prime minister says. Mr Trump has never publicly endorsed the pact, which was announced by Australia, the US and the UK in 2021, when Mr Morrison was prime minister. That's raised questions about whether the former president - who has questioned America's commitment to some international alliances - would support AUKUS if re-elected in November. But in a social media post, Mr Morrison said the pair discussed AUKUS on Tuesday night, local time, and it "received a warm reception" from Mr Trump. In an interview with the ABC in Washington on Wednesday, Mr Morrison declined to reveal specifically what Mr Trump told him about his position on AUKUS. "I'm not going to go into that because obviously [it was] a private conversation," he said.

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80104e No.20886162

#35 - Part 46

Australian Politics and Society - Part 38

>>20873218 Scott Morrison backs nuclear power and protectionist US tariffs - Scott Morrison expects to see multiple nuclear power stations in Australia within his lifetime and has defended the push for higher tariffs in the US by both Democrats and Republicans as “entirely reasonable”. The former prime minister, speaking in Washington on Wednesday evening (Thursday AEST), said the reality of the “post globalisation economy” meant nations would inevitably increase tariffs in response to unfair Chinese competition, playing down any negative impact on Australia “I think it’s entirely reasonable that a country, which is operating in what I call our sphere, takes that response,” Mr Morrison said in an interview with The Australian, in response to a question about the potential impact of higher global tariffs on Australia. Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump has promised a 10 per cent tariffs on all US imports if elected, while president Joe Biden last week slapped a range of high tariffs on Chinese imports, in particular electric vehicles.

>>20878316 Scott Morrison says Donald Trump deserves respect from Australia if he’s President again - Donald Trump deserves Australia’s respect if he returns to power, former prime minister Scott Morrison said as he dismissed the “hyperventilation” of the ex-president’s critics. Mr Morrison - who worked with Mr Trump and President Joe Biden – said both leaders had a “deep commitment” to the US-Australia alliance that would endure regardless of the result of November’s extraordinary election rematch. Mr Morrison avoided predicting the election result, as he acknowledged the polls “say what they say”, but he declared: “Democracy at the end of the day decides.” “The only people whose views matter on that are Americans themselves,” he said. “There’ll be a triumph of democracy … Whoever is elected should have the respect that they’re entitled to, not just here in the United States, but from partners and allies.”

>>20883003 ‘Disgusted’: Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan slams pro-Palestine gatecrashers as controversial Gaza motions pass - Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan says she is “disgusted” by the pro-Palestine activists who gatecrashed the Victorian Labor State conference as six contentious motions on Gaza were carried on Saturday. Urgency motions relating to the Israel-Hamas war, drafted by pro-Palestinian supporters within Labor’s Socialist Left faction, were debated and met with overwhelming support. The carriage of the motions come after the Victorian Premier took to social media to condemn the activists, which forced her and Deputy Premier Ben Carroll to be rushed into the conference room away from the group. “Today, protestors and intruders brought violence, homophobia and anti-Semitism to the front door of state conference,” she wrote on social media platform X. “I’m disgusted. No one should be cowered by these bullies.”

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80104e No.20886163

#35 - Part 47

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

>>20768285 (30 September 2021) - Entire Western Bulldogs squad received first dose of a coronavirus vaccine - (12 April 2024) AFL veteran Tom Liberatore ‘just collapsed’ in bizarre moment against Essendon.

>>20793630 AstraZeneca admits for first time in court documents its Covid vaccine can cause rare side effect - AstraZeneca has admitted for the first time in court documents that its Covid vaccine can cause a rare side effect, in an apparent about-turn that could pave the way for a multi-million pound legal payout. The pharmaceutical giant is being sued in a class action over claims that its vaccine, developed with the University of Oxford, caused death and serious injury in dozens of cases. Lawyers argue the vaccine produced a side effect which has had a devastating effect on a small number of families. The first case was lodged last year by Jamie Scott, a father of two, who was left with a permanent brain injury after developing a blood clot and a bleed on the brain that has prevented him from working after he received the vaccine in April 2021. AstraZeneca is contesting the claims but has accepted, in a legal document submitted to the High Court in February, that its Covid vaccine “can, in very rare cases, cause TTS”. TTS, which stands for Thrombosis with Thrombocytopenia Syndrome, causes people to have blood clots and a low blood platelet count. AstraZeneca’s admission made in a legal defence to Mr Scott’s High Court claim , follows intense legal wrangling. In a letter of response sent in May 2023, AstraZeneca told lawyers for Mr Scott that “we do not accept that TTS is caused by the vaccine at a generic level”. But in the legal document submitted to the High Court in February, AstraZeneca said: “It is admitted that the AZ vaccine can, in very rare cases, cause TTS. The causal mechanism is not known. “Further, TTS can also occur in the absence of the AZ vaccine (or any vaccine). Causation in any individual case will be a matter for expert evidence.”

>>20803319 Charges dropped: Victorian Government escapes punishment over quarantine blunders that cost 768 lives - Victoria’s Department of Health will not face prosecution on dozens of criminal charges over the bungled hotel quarantine scheme because the state’s top prosecutors are barred from using evidence from a public inquiry. The County Court ruling, which rendered 10 witnesses statements inadmissible, has forced the Office of Public Prosecutions (OPP) to drop 32 charges that alleged hotel staff and guests were put in danger during the COVID-19 outbreak that sent parts of Victoria into one of the world’s longest lockdowns. The department had originally faced 58 charges, but that had been reduced to 32 throughout the prosecution. The 10 witnesses were employees of the Department of Health who had provided statements to an inquiry investigating the state government’s handling of the hotel quarantine scheme, known as the Coate Inquiry. By providing those statements on behalf of the department to the Hotel Quarantine Board of Inquiry - a public hearing - their evidence was later deemed inadmissible in the criminal proceedings brought by WorkSafe Victoria. An OPP spokesman said the inadmissible evidence of 10 witnesses had “substantially weakened the prosecution case”. “As a consequence of the evidentiary ruling, a determination was made that there were not reasonable prospects of conviction in relation to the charges before the court,” he said.

>>20821185 Video: KIDS COLLAPSING AND DYING SUDDENLY IN APRIL 2024 - 30 Kids who made the news

>>20826973 US shared ‘gobsmacking’ Covid lab leak file with UK - The US shared “gobsmacking” evidence with Britain at the height of the Covid pandemic suggesting a “high likelihood” that the virus had leaked from a Chinese lab, The Telegraph can reveal. In January 2021, Five Eyes intelligence-sharing nations were convened to discuss the possibility of a lab leak as the US warned that China had covered up research on coronaviruses and military activity at a laboratory in Wuhan. In a previously unreported phone call that month, Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, presented evidence that supported the lab leak theory to Dominic Raab, then the Foreign Secretary, and representatives from Canada, New Zealand and Australia. Speaking to The Telegraph, two Trump administration officials accused Mr Raab and the UK Government of ignoring the lab leak theory because of resistance from government scientists who supported the explanation that the virus had jumped between animals and humans. “We saw several pieces of information and thought that they were, frankly, gobsmacking,” said one former official who worked on the intelligence that informed Mr Pompeo’s report. “They obviously pointed to the high likelihood that this was indeed a lab leak.”

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80104e No.20886165

#35 - Part 48

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

>>20837151 AstraZeneca withdraws COVID-19 vaccine citing a decline in demand - 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.

>>20841352 Premiers blasted by Greg Hunt for Covid overreach without medical advice - 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”.

>>20855549 Judge rules Victoria Police violence ‘unjustified’ in Covid lockdown protest - Victoria Police used “unlawful” and “unjustified violence” in a violent attack on anti-lockdown protesters during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, a judge has found. In a stunning decision handed down in the County Court, Judge Liz Gaynor ruled police were the “aggressors” and “employed unjustified violence” amid a public protest on 29 May, 2021 that left one man with a dislocated arm. The judgment has called into question police tactics and prompted calls for prosecutors to consider laying charges against the police involved. At the time of the protest Victorians were subject to strict lockdown conditions including bans on leaving the home and wear face mask requirements. A 5km bubble was in place for needing to go shopping or wanting to exercise, and both public and private gatherings were explicitly banned. The protest, around the city’s Flagstaff Gardens, drew a huge police presence with officers outnumbering the 150 protesters and forming a ring of steel around the gardens. More than a dozen protesters were arrested for offences including assaulting police, affray and breaching the chief health officer’s directions, during the protests. In her stinging judgment Judge Gaynor ruled the arrests unlawful, saying the men did nothing to warrant the violent police response which was captured by body-worn cameras.

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80104e No.20886167

#35 - Part 49

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 1

>>20565278 Stella Assange begs Anthony Albanese to pressure Americans to drop Julian Assange case - Julian Assange’s wife has called on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to “bring it up a notch” and publicly call for the release of the WikiLeaks founder amid fears that the United States government could secretly extradite him across the Atlantic on a military jet. Stella Assange said that for several years Mr Albanese has been saying the case should be brought to an end, but she said that his language was ambiguous. In response to a question from The Australian at a Foreign Press Association event in central London on Wednesday Mrs Assange said: “The terms he uses are still quite ambiguous and I would like to see a much clearer statement from the Prime Minister that Julian has to be released.” She added: “Enough is enough, he’s been saying that for three years, you have to bring that up a notch and of course he has the backing of the Australian people and the Australian public to say it clearly now: that Julian has to be released; he needs to be released now.”

>>20600525 Julian Assange, Justice Department Exploring Guilty Plea to End 14-Year Legal Drama - The U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to allow Julian Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information, according to people familiar with the matter, opening up the possibility of a deal that could eventually result in his release from a British jail. Justice Department officials and Assange’s lawyers have had preliminary discussions in recent months about what a plea deal could look like to end the lengthy legal drama, according to people familiar with the matter, a potential softening in a standoff filled with political and legal complexities. The talks come as Assange has spent some five years behind bars. U.S. prosecutors face diminishing prospects that he would serve much more time even if he were convicted stateside.

>>20600532 Assange supporters welcome possible plea deal with US - Julian Assange’s supporters say they are thrilled by the prospect of a plea deal with the United States Justice Department that would allow the WikiLeaks founder to avoid the threat of a lengthy jail term in America. The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the Justice Department was considering whether to allow Assange to plead guilty to a reduced charge of mishandling classified information rather than more serious espionage charges, citing people familiar with the matter. Such a deal would potentially allow Assange to enter a plea to the misdemeanour charge remotely, and walk free without travelling to the US, which has been seeking his extradition from the United Kingdom for years. Independent MP Andrew Wilkie, one of Assange’s biggest champions in federal parliament, said many Australians would be heartened by the report of a possible deal. “Personally, I’d be thrilled with a breakthrough because this injustice has been wrong from the start and must be brought to an end,” he said.

>>20628594 Court to announce if WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will be extradited to the United States - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will know whether he will be extradited to the United States later tonight Australian time. After five years of battling extradition to the United States to face 17 counts of espionage and a computer misuse charge for revealing hundreds of thousands of classified military documents in 2010, Mr Assange will hear his fate at 9.30pm AEDT when two British High Court judges hand down a decision. This could be the 52-year-old’s final day in the UK and hundreds of supporters are expected outside the Royal Courts of Justice to hear the decision. If the result goes Mr Assange’s way, the court will allow a further appeal to a full court of the High Court and he will most likely remain in Belmarsh prison. If it doesn’t, Mr Assange will be on a US military plane to Virginia almost immediately and he will be held in a maximum security remand centre until trial.

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80104e No.20886171

#35 - Part 50

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 2

>>20634678 Video: Julian Assange avoids immediate extradition to US - WikiLeaks founder Julian ­Assange has avoided immediate extradition to the US, with the British High Court seeking reassurances from the Biden administration that he will not face the death penalty and he will have the right to free speech. There was confusion outside the Royal Courts of Justice in London when the decision was handed down, with many people unsure if the delay – and with further legal action pending – was good news as supporters had wanted the entire extradition case thrown out. After more than a decade of court battles, seven years of asylum in the Ecuadorean ­embassy and five years as a ­remand prisoner at the Belmarsh prison in London, the Australian is likely to be flown to Virginia in the US to face espionage allegations once the British court is satisfied he will not face the death penalty and that he is able to rely on the first amendment of the US constitution, which allows for journalists’ freedom of speech. If the assurances are not filed by April 16, the court has allowed Assange’s legal team leave to ­appeal. If the assurances are provided the court will list the case for May 20 for a one-day hearing, after which Assange will be extradited to the US.

>>20634687 Video: Julian Assange handed legal lifeline by London's High Court after delay in appeal ruling - WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has been handed a legal lifeline by the High Court in London where he is trying to appeal his extradition to the United States. In a written judgement released on Tuesday, two of the court's justices did not make a final decision. They said they'd give the US more time to provide assurances about several points "before making a final decision on the application for leave to appeal". The justices wrote that if the US could not provide adequate assurances on three of nine points identified in the judgement, Assange, an Australian, would be granted leave to appeal. They are: That Assange is permitted to rely on the US Constitution's first amendment (which protects free speech), that Assange is not prejudiced at trial or sentence because of his nationality, and that the death penalty is not imposed should he be convicted. Lawyers for the US have been given three weeks to provide the information.

>>20634690 ‘His health is very risky’: Assange’s brother fears for his life - Julian Assange’s brother says he fears for the Wikileaks founder’s life as lawyers appeal his extradition to the US on grounds the espionage charges against him are politically motivated. On Tuesday (Wednesday AEDT), a British court put the extradition process on hold and upheld part of a claim by Mr Assange’s legal team that the US had provided insufficient guarantees he wouldn’t receive the death penalty, or that he could rely on the First Amendment which protects freedom of speech in the US. “Belmarsh Prison is an awful place, and Julian’s hanging in there,” said his brother, Gabriel Shipton, who visited him last month. “But it’s very scary to watch him deteriorate. He’s suffering every day and his health is in a very risky position now.”

>>20710527 Video: Joe Biden says US 'considering' dropping pursuit of Julian Assange, announces plan for missile system with Australia and Japan - Joe Biden has indicated the United States could abandon its pursuit of Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, who is fighting America's bid to extradite him to face serious espionage charges. Mr Assange's plight has been a sore point in the close alliance between the two nations, which Mr Biden has revealed will tighten further with the development of an integrated missile system with Japan. Ahead of press conference in Washington on Wednesday (local time), the US president was asked if he had a response to Australia's request that he end Mr Assange's prosecution. Mr Biden responded: "We're considering it." Assange, who faces 18 criminal charges in the US over the publication of classified documents in 2010, is trying to appeal his extradition in the UK High Court. The court has asked the US to provide several assurances before it makes a decision, including that Mr Assange would not be sentenced to death if he were convicted.

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80104e No.20886172

#35 - Part 51

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 3

>>20710531 Video: Biden says he’s considering Australia’s request to drop prosecution of Wikileaks founder Assange - President Joe Biden said Wednesday that he is considering a request from Australia to drop the decade-long U.S. push to prosecute Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for publishing a trove of American classified documents. For years, Australia has called on the U.S. to drop its prosecution against Assange, an Australian citizen who has fought U.S. extradition efforts from prison in the U.K. Asked about the request on Wednesday, as he hosted Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for an official visit, Biden said, “We’re considering it.” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Biden’s comment on Assange was encouraging. “I have said that we have raised, on behalf of Mr. Assange, Australia’s national interests that enough is enough and this needs to be brought to a conclusion and we’ve raised it at each level of government in every possible way,” Albanese told Australian Broadcasting Corp. “Mr. Assange has already paid a significant price and enough is enough. There’s nothing to be gained by Mr. Assange’s continued incarceration in my very strong view and I’ve put that as the view of the Australian government,” he added.

>>20736646 Video: Julian Assange extradition edges closer after US promises not to seek death penalty - Julian Assange's bid to avoid extradition to America has been dealt a blow, after lawyers for the United States provided the assurances about his treatment a London court had demanded. Assange, an Australian, is trying to challenge the extradition in the High Court of England and Wales - his last legal avenue in that jurisdiction. Last month, two of the court's justices handed the 52-year-old a legal lifeline when they asked the US legal team to provide assurances that if he was extradited, Assange would be permitted to rely on the US Constitution's first amendment (which protects free speech), Assange would not be prejudiced at trial or sentence because of his nationality, and the death penalty would not imposed should he be convicted. The US on Tuesday provided those, although they came with one catch. In a diplomatic note sent from the US embassy in London, it said while Assange would be able to "seek to rely" upon the US Constitution's provisions for free speech, "a decision as to the applicability of the first amendment is exclusively within the purview of the US courts".

>>20736652 US provides assurances to prevent Julian Assange appeal against extradition - The US has provided assurances to the high court in London in an attempt to prevent a last-ditch appeal by Julian Assange against extradition, but the WikiLeaks founder’s wife has dismissed them as “weasel words”. Last month, two judges deferred a decision on whether Assange, who is trying to avoid being prosecuted in the US on espionage charges relating to the publication of thousands of classified and diplomatic documents, could take his case to an appeal hearing. They granted him permission to appeal but only if the Biden administration was unable to provide the court with suitable assurances “that the applicant [Assange] is permitted to rely on the first amendment, that the applicant is not prejudiced at trial, including sentence, by reason of his nationality, that he is afforded the same first amendment [free speech] protections as a United States citizen, and that the death penalty is not imposed”. On Tuesday details emerged of the assurances given by the US, which stated that he “will not be prejudiced by reason of his nationality with respect to which defences he may seek to raise at trial and at sentencing”. It referred specifically to him having “the ability to raise and seek to rely upon” the first amendment but also said that its applicability “is exclusively within the purview of the US courts”. The assurances also state: “A sentence of death will neither be sought nor imposed on Assange.”

>>20817961 Australian lawmakers send letter urging Biden to drop case against Julian Assange on World Press Freedom Day - A group of Australian lawmakers wrote to President Biden on World Press Freedom Day urging him to drop the charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange as press freedom groups call for the release of Assange and other journalists around the world facing legal cases. In a Friday letter, the co-chairs of the "Bring Julian Assange Home" Parliamentary Friendship Group - Members of Parliament Andrew Wilkie, Independent; Josh Wilson, Labor Party; Bridget Archer, Liberal Party, and Sen. David Shoebridge, Greens – called on Biden to end the prosecution of Assange, who is in a U.K. prison fighting extradition to the U.S. to face espionage charges for publishing classified American military documents 14 years ago.

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80104e No.20886173

#35 - Part 52

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 4

>>20873298 Julian Assange may live in Australia under new deal: lawyer - Julian Assange’s wife says she will move to Australia with their two children if a political outcome between Five Eyes allies Australia, Britain and the United States results in him being freed and released to his home country. On the eve of a crucial British High Court appeal decision which could confirm Assange’s extradition to the United States next Monday, Stella Assange said that among the possible court outcomes, one could be that her husband could walk free. She told a meeting of the Foreign Press Association in central London: “I believe anything could happen, Julian could be extradited or he could be freed. It is important to have in mind, this (extradition case) has gone on for over five years, and he has been in the UK’s most notorious prison the entire time and in one form of detention or another for longer.’’ Mrs Assange, an international lawyer, said: “I will follow Julian wherever he goes and wherever he is safe, Julian misses Australia and I am very keen to travel to Australia with the kids and show his home country to our children.”

#35 - Part 53

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

>>20555470 Ghislaine Maxwell appeal over 2021 sex trafficking conviction to begin in New York - Disgraced British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s appeal over her conviction for sex trafficking in 2021 is due to begin this week. Maxwell, 62, was sentenced to 20 years behind bars last year, after being found guilty of five counts of trafficking and abusing young girls over decades with the late paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Her appeal, which is taking place at a federal court in New York, is set to begin on Tuesday. Lawyers have argued that if her conviction is not overturned then she should be given a new trial or re-sentenced. It is expected that during the appeal, Maxwell will claim that the four victims who testified against her at trial had “faded, distorted and motivated memories”. Her lawyers will argue that she was prosecuted as a “proxy” for Epstein to satisfy public outrage after his death in custody while awaiting trial in 2019. The Associated Press reported that she will also claim that prosecutors breached a non-prosecution agreement, charged her with “time-barred offenses”, and recast Epstein’s crimes to make her the culprit.

>>20570486 Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer tell appeals judges that Jeffrey Epstein’s Florida plea deal protects her - Imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyer asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to toss out her sex trafficking conviction and 20-year prison sentence, saying Jeffrey Epstein’s 2007 non-prosecution deal with a U.S. attorney in Florida should have prevented her prosecution. Attorney Diana Fabi Samson’s argument was repeatedly challenged by Judge Raymond Lohier on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals before the three-judge panel reserved decision. Lawyers for Maxwell are challenging her December 2021 conviction on multiple grounds, but the only topic at oral arguments was whether the deal Epstein struck in Florida to prevent a federal case against him there also protected Maxwell in New York.

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80104e No.20886176

#35 - Part 54

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

>>20864699 David McBride: Australian army whistleblower jailed for leaking documents - A whistleblower who helped expose allegations of Australian war crimes in Afghanistan has been sentenced to five years and eight months in jail. David McBride pleaded guilty to stealing and sharing military secrets on the eve of his trial last year, after legal rulings sunk his defence. An ex-military lawyer, McBride said he felt a moral duty to speak up. A landmark inquiry later found evidence that Australian forces had unlawfully killed 39 Afghans during the war. McBride's case has sparked uproar in Australia, putting a spotlight on what some say are flimsy whistleblower protections and slow progress towards prosecuting soldiers alleged to have killed with impunity under its flag. McBride, 60, admits he gave troves of document to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), saying he was concerned about the attitudes of commanders and what he then thought was the "over-investigation" of troops, the court heard. But instead the information he provided underpinned a series of reports in 2017 called The Afghan Files, which gave unprecedented insight into the operations of Australia's elite special forces in Afghanistan, and contained allegations of war crimes.

>>20864718 David McBride sentenced to five years, eight months jail for leaking classified military documents - Former army legal officer David McBride, 60, has been sentenced to five years and eight months jail, with a non-parole period of 27 months, for stealing classified ­Defence secrets and sharing them with journalists. ACT Supreme Court Justice David Mossop found McBride had committed a “gross breach of trust” and had shown “no contrition for his offending”. McBride’s supporters cried “shame on you” as Justice Mossop delivered the sentence. His legal team vowed an appeal. McBride - who served two tours in Afghanistan - leaked the classified documents to the ABC, which used them to produce its 2017 Afghan Files reports alleging a cover-up of war crimes by Australian soldiers. The judge said McBride’s conduct had caused significant harm to the commonwealth by releasing Defence ­secrets, including its rules of engagement in Afghanistan. He said Australia’s foreign partners had to be informed of the leak, which may have “reduced their willingness to share information with Australia”. Justice Mossop said the release of the information risked informing Australia’s adversaries on the ADF’s use of force and its limitations, offering them a “technical advantage”.

>>20868853 Diggers’ anger as commanders duck responsibility for war crimes, report warns - The refusal of the nation’s military leaders to accept responsibility for war crimes in Afghanistan has generated “anger and bitter resentment” among serving personnel and veterans that will take years to overcome, an independent panel has warned. The Afghanistan Inquiry Implementation Oversight Panel says in its final report to Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles that it does not accept the Brereton inquiry’s finding that senior commanders should not be held accountable for the murders of 39 Afghans by up to 25 special forces soldiers. It says there has been “an unmet need for Defence senior leadership to communicate to the serving and ex-serving ranks of the ADF that they collectively accept organisational responsibility and accountability for part of what went wrong in Afghanistan”. “There is ongoing anger and bitter resentment amongst present and former members of the special forces, many of whom served with distinction in Afghanistan, that their senior officers have not publicly accepted some responsibility for policies or decisions that contributed to the misconduct, such as the overuse of special forces,” the panel warns. The report, obtained by The Australian, says the resentment among special forces soldiers was “expressed forcefully and repeatedly to the panel by Defence members of all ranks” during visits to SAS and 2nd Commando Regiment headquarters.

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80104e No.20886178

#35 - Part 55

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 1

>>20575539 Judge asks whether Brittany Higgins should be recalled over $2.4m compo evidence - The judge in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case has sensationally asked whether Brittany Higgins should be recalled to give evidence about her $2.4m compensation payout, after the Ten Network suggested it would be unfair to her for the court to make findings about whether she had made false represent­ations to the commonwealth. Justice Michael Lee emailed parties to the defamation case earlier this week after receiving a submission from Ten that allegations Ms Higgins had “committed a fraud on the common­wealth” should not be adjudi­cated in the case. Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers had argued that Ms Higgins made 11 separate representations about her alleged rape in her settlement that were either false or contradicted by her own evidence in the defamation case. Ms Higgins made false representation “for the purposes of securing a life-changing payment” and were a breach of the warranties made by her in the deed, Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers alleged.

>>20656143 Ten seeks to reopen Bruce Lehrmann defamation case after ex-Seven producer Taylor Auerbach’s evidence - In a dramatic last-minute move, Network Ten has launched an urgent application asking the Federal Court to reopen its case in the defamation action brought against it by Bruce Lehrmann, after it received sensational new information from former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach. The application by the network will be heard by Justice Michael Lee on Tuesday, just two days before the judge was due to deliver his verdict in the long-running trial. On Sunday, Ten filed an application for “leave to reopen the … case for the purpose of adducing fresh evidence be granted”.

>>20660643 Inside Ten’s eleventh-hour manoeuvre in the Lehrmann defamation case - On Easter Sunday, Network Ten filed an urgent application seeking to call fresh evidence as part of its defence to Bruce Lehrmann’s multimillion-dollar defamation suit over an interview with Brittany Higgins helmed by Lisa Wilkinson and aired on The Project on February 15, 2021. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee will preside over a hearing at 5pm on Tuesday to determine whether he will allow Ten to reopen its case, less than 48 hours before his judgment was expected to be delivered on Thursday morning. If Lee accedes to Ten’s application, the network is seeking to call Taylor Auerbach, a former producer on Seven’s Spotlight program, who was part of a team working to woo Lehrmann into striking an exclusive interview deal with the broadcaster in late 2022. Those efforts proved persuasive, and Lehrmann inked a media exclusivity deal with Seven in April 2023.

>>20671056 Federal Court publishes affidavit detailing Seven Network payments to Bruce Lehrmann, including for sex, drugs - A former Seven Network producer has claimed the broadcaster paid for "illicit drugs and prostitutes" as part of its efforts to secure an exclusive sit-down interview with Bruce Lehrmann. The evidence has come to light in an affidavit from Taylor Auerbach, who was a producer on the Spotlight program, which aired two interviews with Mr Lehrmann last year. The affidavit has now been released by the Federal Court, after it was tendered during Network Ten's application to reopen its case in Mr Lehrmann's defamation claim. Mr Auerbach's affidavit details multiple payments in late 2022 and early 2023. He said that over two days in January 2023, money Mr Lehrmann allegedly paid for illicit drugs and to engage sex workers was reimbursed to him "by Seven through 'per diems' … in the days after [Mr Lehrmann's] departure from Sydney in early January".

>>20676391 Lehrmann invoiced Seven for ‘bender’ with cocaine and sex workers, court told - Bruce Lehrmann asked Seven to pay for a “bender” in Sydney with cocaine and sex workers as the network sought to secure an exclusive interview with the former federal Liberal staffer, an ex-producer on its Spotlight program has claimed in explosive evidence in the Federal Court. Taylor Auerbach has emerged as an unlikely witness in Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and high-profile presenter Lisa Wilkinson after Ten won an eleventh-hour court bid on Tuesday to reopen its case and call him to give evidence in its defence. The former senior producer on Spotlight told the Federal Court in Sydney on Thursday that Lehrmann had “purchased a bag of cocaine while we were dining at Franca” in Potts Point in Sydney on January 5 last year before the exclusive interview deal was inked in April.

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80104e No.20886179

#35 - Part 56

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 2

>>20676399 Court told Brittany Higgins colluded with Lisa Wilkinson to ‘attack’ Linda Reynolds, as defamation case heads for trial - Liberal senator Linda Reynolds intends to claim that Brittany Higgins and her now fiance David Sharaz colluded with Lisa Wilkinson and a Channel Ten producer to politically attack her, if her defamation cases against the couple go to trial. The former defence minister, who plans to retire from politics at the next election, is suing both her former political staffer and Sharaz over a series of social media posts that she says damaged her reputation. Lawyers for the parties appeared in the Western Australian supreme court on Wednesday, after a closed-door mediation hearing failed last month as the matters edged closer to trial. They wrangled over how the prospective trials should be run, with Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett saying they were so “intertwined” they should be partially merged to prevent duplication and save the parties money.

>>20700884 Brittany Higgins questions whether she ‘may have been drugged’ on night Bruce Lehrmann allegedly raped her - Brittany Higgins has questioned whether she may have been drugged on the night she was allegedly raped by Bruce Lehrmann in Parliament House, and that she wishes the Federal Court had explored this possibility during Mr Lehrmann’s defamation case against Network Ten and presenter Lisa Wilkinson, new court documents have revealed. The former Liberal staffer also claims the circumstances in which her $2.4m commonwealth payment was “prepared, agreed and executed” had not been explored “in any meaningful way” during proceedings, saying there is “no proper basis” to make adverse findings against her in relation to the compensation package. Mr Lehrmann’s lawyers had argued that Ms Higgins made 11 separate representations about her alleged rape in her settlement that were either false or contradicted by her own evidence in the defamation case.

>>20700895 Judgment day finally announced for epic Bruce Lehrmann, Ten, Lisa Wilkinson defamation saga - Bruce Lehrmann will learn on Monday next week whether judge Michael Lee has found he was defamed by Network Ten and Lisa Wilkinson when they aired an interview with alleged rape victim Brittany Higgins. On Tuesday, the Federal Court advised that Justice Lee would deliver his verdict at 10.15am next Monday, with the judge expected to read an abbreviated version of his judgment, live-streamed on the Federal Court’s YouTube channel, with longer reasons to be published in full on the court’s website at the conclusion. The judgment had been delayed by an 11th-hour intervention last week by disaffected former Seven producer Taylor Auerbach, who provided Ten with affidavits about Mr Lehrmann’s involvement with the Seven network. Mr Lehrmann sued Ten and Wilkinson over her interview with Ms Higgins on The Project in 2021, detailing accu­sations that Mr Lehrmann had raped Ms Higgins but not naming him as the alleged attacker. Ten and Wilkinson have relied on a defence of truth, in an attempt to prove Mr Lehrmann sexually assaulted Ms Higgins on the couch of senator Linda Reynolds in Parliament House in the early hours of March 23, 2019. Mr Lehrmann has consistently denied raping Ms Higgins.

>>20726614 Bruce Lehrmann ‘raped Brittany Higgins’, Ten wins defamation case - Network 10 and Lisa Wilkinson have won their landmark defamation case against Bruce Lehrmann after Justice Michael Lee found the former Liberal staffer raped Brittany Higgins in Parliament House. In delivering his long-awaited judgement, Justice Lee found Mr Lehrmann was “hellbent” on having sex with Ms Higgins after passionately kissing her in a Canberra night club, and was “so intent upon gratification” that he “did not care one way or the other whether Ms Higgins understood or agreed to what was going on.” Mr Lehrmann will receive no damages from the media outlet, and a debate regarding costs will be heard in coming weeks. Justice Lee also rejected suggestions aired by The Project that there was a political conspiracy to cover up Ms Higgins’ rape allegations, saying the accusations caused a “broom of confusion” and did much “collateral damage, including to the fair and orderly progress of the underlying allegation of sexual assault through the criminal justice system”.

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80104e No.20886180

#35 - Part 57

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 3

>>20726638 ‘Bruce Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat’ - Justice Michael Lee’s defamation judgement was a masterstroke. Here are some of his sharpest observations. ‘I’m convinced … that sexual intercourse did take place, and that took place with Mr Lehrmann on top of Ms Higgins on the couch in the minister’s office’ - ‘Mr Lehrmann raped Ms Higgins. I hasten to stress this is a finding on the balance of probabilities’ On Lehrmann pursuing damages after his aborted criminal trial: ‘Having escaped the lion’s den Mr Lehrmann made the mistake of coming back for his hat’

>>20736640 Reynolds breaks silence over Lehrmann judgment, vows to pursue Higgins - Former Coalition minister Linda Reynolds has broken her silence following Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation defeat, vowing to proceed with her own civil case against Brittany Higgins and her partner David Sharaz while declaring accusations of a political cover-up had been dispelled. Hours after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said his Liberal colleague had been vindicated by Federal Court Justice Michael Lee’s findings into the “sordid affair”, the West Australian senator became the first MP embroiled in the saga to speak out. Dutton also suggested Higgins and Sharaz should apologise to her. “For three years I have endured intense public scrutiny, vilification, vile trolling and have been demonised as the villain in a story of a political cover-up I have always known to be untrue,” Reynolds said. She said both her and her former chief-of-staff Fiona Brown had lost their careers, “had our reputations destroyed and have had our health seriously and irreparably compromised”.

>>20798809 David Sharaz waves white flag in Linda Reynolds defamation case - Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz has declared he will no longer defend himself against the defamation claim lodged against him by Linda Reynolds, in the latest twist in the long-running legal saga. Senator Reynolds is suing Ms Higgins and Mr Sharaz at the same time over the social media posts in 2022 and 2023. Senator Reynolds is expected to argue that her reputation was destroyed by a false allegation that she was part of an attempt to cover-up the rape of Ms Higgins by her then-colleague Bruce Lehrmann and the social media posts by the pair that pushed that false allegation. In a directions hearing in the Supreme Court of Western Australia on Tuesday, Mr Sharaz’s lawyer described the impending six week trial, scheduled to start in late July, as horrendously expensive and a disaster for everyone. He said Mr Sharaz could not afford to participate in it. Earlier, Mr Sharaz had posted a statement on social media saying he had informed the court that he would not fight the legal action against him any more. “I will now appeal for Senator Reynolds to settle her litigation against Brittany, a rape victim, by agreeing to disagree and putting all of this behind them. It’s time to move on,” he wrote. “It’s time to let Brittany heal.”

>>20808182 Sharaz could be bankrupt if he loses: Reynolds’ lawyer - Brittany Higgins’ fiance David Sharaz could “go bankrupt” if he loses the defamation claim lodged against him by former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds, following his declaration he was abandoning his defence of the case. In the midst of a directions hearing in the West Australian Supreme Court on Tuesday, Mr Sharaz posted a statement on social media saying he could not afford to pay the costs of a six-week trial fighting Senator Reynolds’ legal action. Senator Reynolds has made it clear through her lawyer, Martin Bennett, that she has no intention of abandoning her case against Mr Sharaz or Ms Higgins without an apology over their allegations she was involved in a cover-up of Ms Higgins’ rape by Bruce Lehrmann. Senator Reynolds says the cover-up allegations, found by Justice Michael Lee to be false, destroyed her reputation. Mr Bennett ridiculed Mr Sharaz’s claim that he could not afford his defence, observing he now lived with Ms Higgins in a five-bedroom country house in the south of France. “He lives in a chateau. He hasn’t got a job and he’s got a QC and a junior solicitor, two solicitors representing him,” he said. “If he’s impecunious as he asserts in France, he’ll go bankrupt.”

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80104e No.20886183

#35 - Part 58

Brittany Higgins Rape Allegations and Bruce Lehrmann Defamation Trial - Part 4

>>20826937 Linda Reynolds seeks to overturn Brittany Higgins trust - Linda Reynolds is preparing new legal action to set aside a trust established by Brittany Higgins that the former Liberal minister asserts may have been set up by Ms Higgins to protect the money she received in a $2.4m commonwealth compensation payout. Senator Reynolds’ move is designed to ensure that in the event she wins her upcoming defamation case against Ms Higgins, she is able to access any assets still held by her former staffer. In a draft of an application to be filed in the Western Australian Supreme Court on Monday Senator Reynolds demands a copy of the Brittany Higgins Protective Trust deed, set up in February last year, to ascertain who is the trustee – and who to sue in the event Ms Higgins claims not to be able to meet any costs or damages awarded. If the court grants the order, Senator Reynolds would then be able to bring an action under section 89 of the WA Property Act - or other similar provision in the relevant jurisdiction where the trust was established - to have the trust set aside.

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80104e No.20886185

#35 - Part 59

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 1

>>20555443 US Navy cuts Virginia-class submarine from budget in potential blow to AUKUS pact - The US Navy is cutting a Virginia-class submarine from its latest budget in a move that critics fear could send a troubling signal to Australia and other nations about Washington’s commitment to the AUKUS military pact. Three months after a divided US Congress finally passed legislation to help Australia acquire nuclear-propelled submarines, the US Navy has proposed removing an attack submarine from its 2025 spending plan, in a tacit recognition that American shipbuilding yards are struggling with the pace of keeping its local fleet healthy. Democratic congressman Joe Courtney said if approved, the navy’s proposal could have “a profound impact” on it and the Australian Navy, and make it harder to assuage concerns about America’s ability to deliver on AUKUS while maintaining its own industrial base.

>>20555460 USS Annapolis Visits Australia - USS Annapolis (SSN 760) arrived in HMAS Stirling in Perth, Western Australia Sunday. This marks the second visit by a U.S. fast-attack submarine to HMAS Stirling since the announcement of the AUKUS [Australia, United Kingdom, United States] Optimal Pathway in March 2023. The Optimal Pathway is designed to deliver a conventionally armed, nuclear-powered attack submarine capability to the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). “It’s an honor to be here and the team looks forward to working with the Australians and furthering our relationship,” said Cmdr. James Tuthill, Commanding Officer, USS Annapolis. “The enthusiasm and professionalism of the HMAS Stirling team is apparent, and we look forward to making this visit as productive as possible.”

>>20561037 US Navy’s nuclear submarine AUKUS charm offensive begins in Perth - The United States Navy and Royal Australian Navy have launched a PR assault on Perth this week to address a looming AUKUS recruitment crisis. The USS Annapolis Los Angeles-class fast-attack nuclear submarine docked at HMAS Stirling Naval Base on Sunday where much of its 155 crew will use their time on land to sell the job to Australians who will be needed to man the RAN’s own Virginia-class nuclear submarines over the next decade. At the head of the charm offensive is USS Annapolis’ commanding officer Commander James Tuthill who lead media on a tour of the submarine on Tuesday and spoke volumes of Perth. As part of AUKUS about 700 US Navy personnel will live and work in Perth and US Naval Attache to Australia Kevin Quarderer said every sailor wanted to come to Australia. “Everyone has heard about Perth, they hear the great stories from the crews that return out of these visits,” he said. “This is where people want to be.”

>>20570394 ‘Too big to fail’: US insists AUKUS deal is not sub par - The Biden administration has assured Australia that the US remains strongly committed to the AUKUS military pact after a contentious decision to halve American submarine production raised alarms about the future of the agreement. Three months after legislation to help Australia acquire nuclear-propelled submarines finally passed in Washington, the US Navy this week proposed removing an attack submarine from its 2025 spending plan, in a tacit recognition that American shipbuilding yards are struggling with the pace of producing and maintaining the national fleet. The proposed budget cut prompted fears about the viability of AUKUS, which was designed by the US, Australia and the UK to safeguard the Indo-Pacific from the growing threat of China, but requires the US maintain a production rate of 2.33 submarines a year to sell any subs to Australia.

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80104e No.20886187

#35 - Part 60

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 2

>>20570434 Video: US congressman Joe Courtney hits back at Malcolm Turnbull’s claim Australia was ‘mugged by reality’ on AUKUS deal: 'Never stepped foot in that shipyard' - US Democratic Congressman Joe Courtney has hit back at former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull’s claim Australia was "mugged by reality" over the production of submarine deliverables from the United States as part of the tripartite AUKUS deal with the UK and the US. Mr Turnbull claimed on Wednesday that Australia was now at the mercy of its ally after the US announced it will halve the number of submarines it will build in 2025. The Pentagon's budget draft request calls for just one Virginia-class submarine to be built next year, potentially jeopardising plans for the US to provide three of the models to Australia by the early 2030s. "This is really a case of us being mugged by reality. I mean, there's a lot of AUKUS cheerleaders, and anyone that has any criticism of AUKUS is almost described as being unpatriotic. We've got to be realistic here," Mr Turnbull said. Speaking to Sky News host Peter Stefanovic on Friday morning, Mr Courtney shot down Mr Turnbull's concerns, claiming the deal was in a "healthy" position. "He has never stepped foot in that shipyard, he’s never gone to the job creating programs where we are building up capacity every single day, so I think that the reality is not one that’s mugging anyone. I think the reality is positive," Mr Courtney said.

>>20575568 ‘It’s a deal between countries, not a deal between individuals’: PM Anthony Albanese says AUKUS agreement has support required to survive another Trump presidency - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the AUKUS agreement has the support required to survive a second Trump presidency, declaring “it’s a deal between countries, not a deal between individuals”. Mr Albanese, Premier Peter Malinauskas and a host of industry leaders discussed their ideas for building a bigger, better South Australia at The Advertiser’s Future SA forum at SkyCity Adelaide on Friday. Asked by moderator David Penberthy whether the AUKUS deal would be threatened by a second Trump presidency, Mr Albanese said support had already been shored up. “I think that it’s beyond question now,” he said. “It did take effort, it was essentially an idea without a plan. “That plan is now in place. It enjoys bipartisan support here and it enjoys bipartisan support in the US.”

>>20589317 Australia should be talking to Trump about AUKUS: ex-security chief Michael Rogers - "Australia needs to sell the benefits of the AUKUS pact for the US to Donald Trump to prevent the planned sale of nuclear-powered submarines being knocked off course, a former US security chief who served in the Trump presidency says. Former US National Security Agency head Michael Rogers said in an interview with The Australian Financial Review that Australian officials should reach out to Mr Trump and his campaign ahead of November’s presidential election to shore up the trilateral deal between Australia, the US and UK. Mr Rogers said the Turnbull and Morrison governments’ successful management of relations with Mr Trump during his first term in office offered pointers for how the Albanese government should handle him. “I would argue that during President Trump’s term of office, he ultimately had a stronger relationship in many ways with Australia for example than he did with the United Kingdom which we traditionally talk about as the ‘special relationship’,” he said. “My recommendation to my Australian teammates would be is there is a lot to learn from the past. I would step back and ask ‘How did you manage to put the US-Australian relationship in such a strong position during President Trump’s term’?”" - Andrew Tillett - afr.com

>>20589317 Q Post #585 - TRUST Adm R. He played the game to remain in control. Q - https://qanon.pub/#585

>>20612791 US needs to step up assurances on AUKUS, admits Kurt Campbell - The US could do more to reassure partners Australia and the UK on the progress of AUKUS, says the country’s new deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell. He admitted more effort was needed to counter China’s “propaganda” on the nuclear-powered submarine deal. “We could tell the story better,” Dr Campbell, who has also been the Biden administration’s top Indo-Pacific envoy, told The Australian Financial Review. “There’s a huge number of things that have happened, but I don’t think we’ve done enough to tell that story to the Australian people,” he said, “The truth is the steps that have been taken towards AUKUS in all three countries are very substantial.”

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80104e No.20886192

#35 - Part 61

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 3

>>20612813 AUKUS: Taxpayers fund Rolls Royce subs plan in $4.6bn bailout for British plant - Australian taxpayers will hand $4.64bn to Britain’s Rolls-Royce over the next decade so it can build nuclear reactors for the navy’s future AUKUS submarines, matching funds provided to the US to expand its submarine industry under the trilateral pact. The funding injection for the under-pressure British submarine sector will be announced on Friday, as Australian government submarine builder ASC is named as a joint venture partner to build the AUKUS boats with the UK’s BAE Systems.

>>20612852 Video: David Cameron says Aukus and Nato must be in ‘best possible shape’ ahead of potential Trump win - The UK foreign secretary, David Cameron, has suggested the Aukus pact and Nato alliance must get into “the best possible shape” to increase their chances of surviving Donald Trump’s potential return to the White House. Speaking after high-level talks in Australia, Cameron was careful to avoid criticising the former US president and presumptive Republican nominee for 2024, saying it was “up to America who they choose as their president”. “What we will do, as I am sure an Australian government would do, is work with whoever becomes the president,” Cameron told reporters in Adelaide, South Australia.

>>20617415 Video: Defence Minister Richard Marles confident Kevin Rudd can deliver AUKUS under Trump presidency, despite 'nasty' remarks - Defence Minister Richard Marles says he is still confident United States ambassador Kevin Rudd can deliver Australia's AUKUS nuclear submarine program, despite recent comments by former president Donald Trump throwing his future into question. Speaking on ABC's Insiders, the defence minister said he had no reason to believe AUKUS would be threatened by a Trump presidency. "We have seen Kevin working at a pace, lobbying in respect of legislation in Congress across the political spectrum with Democrats and Republicans alike, and he's doing a great job," Mr Marles said. "Obviously the relationship has experienced a Trump presidency before and the relationship went through that period of time well, so we do have a sense of confidence of being able to work across the political spectrum and we had a sense of confidence that Kevin would be able to do that, and he has."

>>20676443 AUKUS subs ‘could be deployed against China’, Kurt Campbell says - Joe Biden’s No. 2 diplomat says Australia’s future nuclear-­powered submarines could one day be deployed against China in a conflict over Taiwan. While the Albanese government has insisted the AUKUS pact won’t require Australia to join a US war against China, US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell said Australia’s and Britain’s submarines could play a decisive role in a conflict across the Taiwan Strait. Dr Campbell told Washington’s Centre for a New American Security that the AUKUS pact boats, with their long-range missiles, had “enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances”.

>>20686729 Japan to take part in AUKUS 'Pillar 2', America's ambassador to Japan tells Wall Street Journal - Japan is set to participate in the second pillar of the AUKUS pact with Australia, the United Kingdom and United States in the first expansion to date of the defence technology-sharing arrangement. Australia is working to develop nuclear-powered submarines under "Pillar 1" of AUKUS, utilising US and UK technology. But there has been persistent speculation that Japan will at some point join "Pillar 2" of AUKUS, which is being used as a mechanism for all three countries to share advanced defence technologies across a range of fields including quantum technology, hypersonic missiles and artificial intelligence. On Friday, America's ambassador in Tokyo, Rahm Emanuel, wrote in the Wall Street Journal that Japan was "about to become the first additional Pillar II partner" in AUKUS.

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80104e No.20886193

#35 - Part 62

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 4

>>20686736 Campbell bares AUKUS’ destabilizing nature - "Since its formation, AUKUS has been a wedge the US drives in regional peace and stability by luring allies into this process under the banner of military-technological cooperation. But let's talk about the elephant in the room: it's afraid that AUKUS won't even achieve its Pillar 1, which is to support Australia to acquire its nuclear-powered submarines, on time. Media reports on Friday show that US shipyards are running up to three years late in building new Virginia-class submarines for Canberra, raising even greater concerns about the future of AUKUS. Against this backdrop, it is hard not to suspect that by emphasizing AUKUS's role in the Taiwan Straits as a hook to the "already expected benefits," Campbell's words on Wednesday also aimed to give a shot in the arm into AUKUS in an attempt to prove the significance of AUKUS' existence and boost allies' confidence in the pact." - Xia Wenxin - globaltimes.cn

>>20691491 Aukus weighs expanding security pact to deter China in Indo-Pacific - The US, UK and Australia are to begin talks on bringing new members into Aukus as Washington pushes for Japan to be involved in the security pact aimed as a deterrent against China. The Aukus defence ministers will announce on Monday that they will launch talks related to Pillar II of the alliance, which involves collaboration on technologies such as undersea capabilities and hypersonic weapons, according to people familiar with the situation. They are not considering expanding Pillar I, which focuses on Australia’s procurement of nuclear-powered submarines.

>>20691508 Video: Senior US diplomat lets the AUKUS cat out of the bag - US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has once more torn away the veil of what the AUKUS submarines are actually intended for: a potential war with China over Taiwan. But he has gone much further. Campbell has criticised the Albanese government’s public emphasis – and indeed that of his own President – on AUKUS’ capacity for domestic job creation, and says “more money” will be required to realise the audacious plan. Speaking in Washington last week, Campbell referred to the “practical circumstances in which AUKUS has the potential to have submarines from a number of countries operating in close co-ordination that could deliver conventional ordnance from long distances”. “Those have enormous implications in a variety of scenarios, including in cross-strait circumstances,” he said.

>>20691520 Japan set to join AUKUS tech pact - Australia, the US and Britain are poised to admit Japan to the AUKUS pact’s advanced technology partnership, in a move set to turbocharge the alliance’s development of hi-tech weapons aimed at deterring China. Defence Minister Richard Marles will within days have talks with his US and British counterparts on expanding the membership of AUKUS’s ‘Pillar II’, which is focused on hypersonics, AI and autonomous systems, quantum computing, advanced cyber capabilities and electronic warfare. The move, reported initially by Britain’s Financial Times, comes despite concerns among AUKUS members that Tokyo does not yet have sufficient security arrangements in place to prevent the theft of sensitive technology.

>>20700772 Vice Admiral David Johnston named new chief of the defence force - Vice Admiral David Johnston will lead Australia's armed forces as chief of the defence force, pending the approval of the governor-general. Vice Admiral Johnston will replace General Angus Campbell, who has served as defence chief since 2018. The appointment comes as Australia considers expanding its key partnership with the United States and United Kingdom, AUKUS, to include Japan in some of the alliance's military projects. The AUKUS agreement for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines will be one of the most significant projects Vice Admiral Johnston takes on, with the first stages of construction due to begin late this decade.

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80104e No.20886195

#35 - Part 63

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 5

>>20700778 ‘Safe pair of hands’ David Johnston the new Defence Force chief - A navy officer will lead the nation’s military for the first time in over two decades as Japan, Canada and other nations clamour to gain access to the technology-sharing benefits of the AUKUS pact. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said it was an “easy decision” to elevate Australian Defence Force vice chief David Johnston to the top job, while Defence Minister Richard Marles praised him as a “safe pair of hands”. However, critics questioned whether Johnston would be able to drive major reform inside the ADF given he will serve a truncated two-year term in the role at his request, rather than the usual four years. Johnston will be the first naval officer to helm the Australian Defence Force since Chris Barrie in 2002, and comes to the job as Australia commits up to $368 billion over 30 years to acquire a nuclear-powered submarine fleet through AUKUS, a security pact with the United States and the United Kingdom. The three AUKUS nations on Tuesday agreed to begin talks to allow other nations to join the so-called “pillar II” of the pact, beginning with Japan.

>>20700793 Vice Admiral David Johnston’s status quo promotion to ADF chief is a bad mistake from Anthony Albanese - "The government has made a mistake in promoting Vice Admiral David Johnston to be Chief of the Australian Defence Force. Johnston is a patriotic and distinguished Australian who has given his life to the military. He is still a bad appointment because, as the incumbent Vice Chief of the Defence Force, he is the status quo candidate, the continuity candidate. A better appointment, because it would have signalled at least the possibility of change, would have been Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mark Hammond. The Albanese government, and especially Defence Minister Richard Marles, can’t have it both ways. They can’t tell us one minute that there are endemic cultural problems in the entire Defence establishment, civilian and military, and that this has led to wasted money, horrendous ­delays in projects and a gravely sub-optimal performance, and then go ahead and reward, promote and shower praise on everyone who has overseen that culture over the past decade." - Greg Sheridan, The Australian's foreign editor - theaustralian.com.au

>>20700849 Australia, US and UK confirm Japan could be brought into AUKUS fold on eve of Kishida's Washington visit - Australia and its AUKUS partners, the US and UK, are considering including Japan in some of the alliance's military projects, the three countries have confirmed. But they've stopped short of announcing a formal expansion of the AUKUS partnership, which has been the subject of ongoing speculation and was flagged by the US ambassador to Japan last week. China, which has long opposed AUKUS, responded by saying it was "gravely concerned" about the prospect of Japan joining the pact. Its foreign ministry warned such a move would "intensify the arms race in the Indo-Pacific region and disrupt regional peace and stability", the South China Morning Post reported.

>>20700866 Trump will see nuclear subs as a ‘win-win’, US foreign policy guru predicts - One of America’s leading foreign policy thinkers, Richard Fontaine, has played down fears that Donald Trump could discard the AUKUS pact or seek revenge against Australian ambassador Kevin Rudd if the former president is re-elected in November. Speaking as the US, Australia and United Kingdom begin talks to allow other nations such as Japan to enter the trilateral pact, Fontaine said he feels “pretty confident” that Trump would stick with AUKUS if he defeats incumbent Joe Biden. “There are grounds to worry about what Trump might do if he were back in office, but AUKUS is unlikely to be one of them,” said Fontaine, who served as a senior official on Asia policy in George W. Bush’s administration and is visiting Australia for a national security conference run by the Australian National University. “I think it’s such a win-win and I think would be perceived that way if a Trump administration was to come back into office. The chances that AUKUS would survive a political transition in the US - just as it survived one in Australia - are very high.”

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80104e No.20886200

#35 - Part 64

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 6

>>20715916 Trump flexible on AUKUS subs: Republicans - Republican members of Congress say presidential nominee Donald Trump is likely to back the AUKUS agreement to sell nuclear-powered submarines to Australia even if US production targets are not met. Congressman Rob Wittman, a Trump supporter, whose electorate includes a major submarine building yard in Virginia, said Mr Trump would likely back AUKUS and be flexible around the sale of submarines. “I think [Mr Trump] sees partnerships as being incredibly important to make sure that we have the wherewithal to deter malign forces like China. I think he sees the US cannot do it by itself, I think you’ll see that the strong strategic relationships are going to be key,” Mr Wittman said.

>>20736643 Bob Carr tells New Zealand: steer clear of AUKUS - Former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has urged New Zealand not to acquiesce to American interests and join up to AUKUS as an associate member. Mr Carr is visiting Wellington this week to be part of a foreign policy symposium at Parliament House alongside former Prime Minister Helen Clark. The pair are strident critics of AUKUS, the military alliance between Australia, the UK and United States that will see Australia kitted out with nuclear-powered submarines. They also oppose New Zealand's involvement in pillar two of the pact, which aims to bring together a broader clutch of like-minded nations - like Canada, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand - with AUKUS members to share advanced military technologies.

>>20741593 AUKUS Pillar 2 is 'fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit' - Bob Carr - Former Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr has continued to warn New Zealand against joining Pillar 2 of the AUKUS defence pact, saying it is "fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit". He says Australian taxpayers will also be forking out on the deal for decades, when the country could have got more non-nuclear submarines, faster - and for a fraction of the price. The government appeared, he said, to be "rushing headlong" into the Pillar 2 of the agreement without having articulated what it was. Carr, who was foreign minister in the Julia Gillard government, took a dim view of the deal. "It's pure bullshit," he said. "Pillar 2 is fragrant, methane-wrapped bullshit … Why do I call it bullshit? Because it's been cobbled together to make it look like there's more to AUKUS than subs - there isn't."

>>20803334 New Zealand not yet invited into AUKUS camp: NZ Foreign Minister Winston Peters - New Zealand is some way from deciding whether it will collaborate with AUKUS members under pillar two of the military alliance, primarily because it hasn't been asked. In a major speech on Wednesday night, Foreign Minister Winston Peters said Australia, the UK and US had not decided whether they wanted New Zealand involved. "There is one crucial precondition and one consequential decision required before New Zealand could or would participate in pillar two," he said. "AUKUS partners need to want us to participate in pillar two and invite us to do so. "That precondition has not yet been met, which is why we are exploring with our traditional partners the scope of pillar two and seeking a much more detailed understanding of what this involves."

>>20803352 South Korea discusses participating in AUKUS tech pillar - The South Korean and Australian defense chiefs said Wednesday that Seoul was in talks to participate in the defense technology pillar of the AUKUS security pact, just weeks after Japan also said it was in discussions to join. "During today's meeting, we discussed the possibility of partnering with AUKUS Pillar II," South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said via an interpreter when asked about the pact at a live-streamed joint news conference following a meeting between South Korean and Australian defense and foreign ministers in Melbourne. "We do welcome that the members are considering Korea as a Pillar II partner.” The AUKUS pact, announced in 2021, involves Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Widely seen as a means of countering China’s growing military clout in the Indo-Pacific region, the grouping’s primary goal, known as Pillar I, is to provide Australia with its own fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines. But the pact’s second program, known as Pillar II, is centered around developing and sharing advanced capabilities across a broad swath of area including hypersonics, anti-submarine warfare and cyberweapons, as well as quantum computing and artificial intelligence.

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80104e No.20886202

#35 - Part 65

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 7

>>20822460 Draft AUKUS laws would ‘allow disposal of British, US nuclear sub waste’, BAE concedes - The British company appointed to build Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines says the government’s draft nuclear safety laws leave the door open to the disposal here of high-level radio­active waste from British sub­marines. BAE Systems’ chief counsel made observation at a committee hearing examining the government’s naval nuclear power safety bill, which is due to be pushed through parliament after next week’s federal budget. The bill will impose strict safety rules on facilities to be used “for managing, storing or disposing of radioactive waste from an AUKUS submarine”. As its currently drafted, it defines an AUKUS submarine as a nuclear-powered, conventionally armed boat operated by Australia, Britain or the US. Under questioning by Greens senator David Shoebridge, BAE’s Peter Quinlivian agreed that the wording of the bill opened a pathway for the disposal of high-level British radioactive waste in Australia. “The legislation as drafted is in language that would accommodate that scenario,” he said.

>>20864839 AUKUS back on track as US congress set to double purchases of Virginia-class submarines - The US House of Representatives is on track to overturn the Biden administration’s surprise request to buy only one Virginia-class submarine in 2025, which had raised fears the US Navy wouldn’t be able to supply Australia with promised nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS security pact. The powerful House Armed Services Committee on Monday (Tuesday AEST) has doubled to two the number of Virginia-class submarines the US government will buy in 2025, putting congress on track to increase production of the critical vessels which Australia is meant to start purchasing in the early 2030s. The Biden administration in its March 2025 budget proposal had indicated it would purchase only one of the submarines in 2025, far below the annual number required (around three per year on average) to satisfy both the US and Australian navies’ future needs. “Authorising the second boat through incremental funding authority, which restores the two-per-year procurement rate and allows the Navy to contract for two submarines in FY25, will provide additional resources to ensure all suppliers are covered and increase the inventory of attack submarines for the Navy,” said Democratic Party congressman Joe Courtney.

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80104e No.20886204

#35 - Part 66

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>20550378 Video: Yang Hengjun not that sick, says Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian - Hopes for the release of dissident writer Yang Hengjun on medical grounds have been dampened after the Chinese ambassador said the democracy advocate was not as sick as his family has claimed. Dr Yang, who is an Australian citizen, is facing a suspended death penalty in China after being found guilty of espionage and tried in a closed-door hearing in May 2021. But Xiao Qian, who has been the Chinese ambassador to Australia for the last two years, said fears that Dr Yang may die in custody due to sustained ill-health and a serious kidney condition were overblown. “His health is not perfect, but his health problems are not as serious as that has been described publicly,” Mr Xiao told The Australian Financial Review Business Summit.

>>20550390 Chinese ambassador says tariff discussions ‘on the right track’ - Beijing’s restrictions on imports worth some $2.5 billion are “on the right track” to be lifted by the end of the month, China’s ambassador Xiao Qian says, reassuring local companies that Australia’s largest trading partner would meet its ambitious growth target this year despite economic challenges.

>>20550396 Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu Meets with Ambassador of Australia to China Scott Dewar - "On March 8, 2024, Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu met with Ambassador of Australia to China Scott Dewar, and they had an exchange of views on China-Australia relations and issues of mutual interest and concern." - Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China - 2024-03-10

>>20560986 Australian wine back on the menu as China to remove tariffs - The Australian wine industry is one step closer to reclaiming ­access to the China market and more than $1bn in annual sales after the Chinese Ministry of Commerce released an interim draft determination that proposed a lifting of crippling tariffs on Australian wine imports. The largest exporter of Australian wine, ASX-listed Treasury Wine Estates, whose labels include Penfolds, Pepperjack and Wolf Blass, said on Tuesday night it had been advised of the draft ­determination. It noted it was not a final determination and was “subject to change” by the ministry.

>>20561052 Why this cyber chief thinks your electric car is a security risk - Chinese technology is “inherently suspect” and deserves much greater scrutiny, a top US cybersecurity official says, as warnings grow that Beijing’s stranglehold on the electric vehicle market poses a security threat to Western countries. In an interview with The Australian Financial Review, US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency executive director Brandon Wales also flagged that Five Eyes members and other Western nations would step up co-operation to call out cyberattacks and act against adversaries such as China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

>>20561062 ‘Societal chaos’: US cyber chief sounds alarm on China threat - China is hacking into rival nations’ critical infrastructure networks so it can disrupt American military activities in the Asia-Pacific and unleash societal chaos, one of the United States’ most senior cybersecurity officials has warned. Brandon Wales, executive director of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said the US, Australia and other democratic nations needed to respond to an “extremely significant shift” in Beijing’s strategy from a focus on more passive forms of espionage to laying the groundwork for offensive cyberattacks.

>>20565284 Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi to meet Penny Wong in Canberra - Foreign Minister Penny Wong will press her Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, to remove Beijing’s remaining trade sanctions on Australian exports and the need to prevent conflict in the region when she hosts him in Canberra on Wednesday. Two days after China flagged it would remove crippling tariffs on Australian wine exports, Senator Wong confirmed she would host Mr Wang for the Seventh Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue. Mr Wang will also meet Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Senator Wong is also expected to raise human rights and protest the jailing of Chinese-Australian pro-democracy blogger Yang Hengjun in her meeting with Mr Wang.

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80104e No.20886206

#35 - Part 67

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>20575587 Fiji to stick with China police deal after review, home affairs minister says - Fiji will uphold a policing cooperation agreement with China after reviewing the deal, the country’s home affairs minister, Pio Tikoduadua, has confirmed, despite earlier concerns within the Pacific nation over the deal. The controversial agreement was signed in 2011 when Fiji was under military rule. Under the deal, Fijian officers have been trained in China while Chinese police have been embedded in the Fijian force. Beijing has also provided hi-tech equipment including surveillance gear and drones. The deal has been under review after Fiji’s prime minister, Sitiveni Rabuka, raised concerns last year over the countries’ differing values and judicial systems. Tikoduadua said the review had been completed and Fiji would be sticking with Beijing.

>>20580414 TikTok faces new calls for bans or curbs - Australia should pass new laws to curb the power of TikTok and protect the community from misinformation on the social media app, a leading security expert has warned after days of political dispute over Chinese control of the popular platform. Cybersecurity expert Fergus Ryan said it had become “trivially easy” for TikTok to influence Australian debate because it had swollen to 8.5 million users in this country while officials considered how to act on its growing power.

>>20584533 Paul Keating invited to meet China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on his visit to Australia - An “unofficial” meeting between Xi Jinping’s top foreign policy ­adviser Wang Yi and Paul Keating could overshadow the Albanese government’s diplomatic agenda during the Chinese envoy’s high stakes visit to Australia this week. The Australian can reveal Chinese officials have invited the former Labor prime minister to a meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister this week in Sydney, a jarring addition to a trip that Beijing says is intended to send “positive signals” for the relationship. Mr Keating’s audience with Mr Wang, the most senior Chinese ­official to visit Australia in seven years, would be the most extraordinary intervention yet in the Labor legend’s public campaign against the Albanese government’s foreign policy.

>>20584558 Keating confirms meeting with Chinese envoy - Paul Keating has revealed he has accepted an invitation to meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Sydney this week during a key bilateral visit by the senior Communist Party official. “As a matter of courtesy, let alone anything else, I was happy to advise the Chinese Foreign Ministry that, given I had the time, I would be pleased to sit down and discuss international matters with the Foreign Minister,” the former Labor prime minister said in a statement.

>>20584566 What’s behind Wang Yi’s meeting with Paul Keating? - "Paul Keating has accepted Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s extraordinary invitation to meet on the sidelines of his official visit to Australia. It’s clear the meeting will overshadow the official diplomatic meetings Wang Yi will participate in this week, but it goes much further: China’s chief diplomat has found a novel way to insult his Australian host and advance his country’s interests at the same time. Beijing is fully aware that the former prime minister has been levelling personal and ungracious criticisms against Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Australian strategic policy more generally. That Wang Yi’s invitation was a calculated move to belittle his Australian host is obvious. He will be delighted Keating accepted. There is cunning and purpose behind Wang reaching out to Keating. From foreign interference to economic punishment, Beijing’s aim is to divide the Labor Party and the Australian community. This is attempted through seduction or coercion to encourage voices within the government to agitate for a softening of policies towards China." - John Leel, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington DC and former senior adviser to the Australian Foreign Minister - theaustralian.com.au

>>20589267 Business scrambles for Canberra audience with China’s foreign minister as Paul Keating confirms meeting - Senior Australian business figures are scrambling to get to Canberra for a secretive, hastily-organised event with China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on a trip that has been overshadowed by a “pointed and somewhat insulting” meeting between Xi Jinping’s top international affairs adviser and Paul Keating. The Australian can reveal senior executives from mining giants Rio Tinto and BHP are expected to be at the closed-door lunch on Wednesday, which is being arranged by the Chinese government and the Australia China Business Council.

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80104e No.20886207

#35 - Part 68

Australia / China Tensions - Part 3

>>20589270 Paul Keating appears to be a willing partner in Chinese charade - "Wang’s request for an audience with Keating is straight out of the Chinese Communist Party playbook. Senior Chinese officials often call on sympathetic former leaders in the countries they travel to, just as they seek out supporters in the Australian-Chinese business communities. It sends a signal to the host government and the Chinese domestic audience about China’s wider influence. But it’s a particularly bold move in this case, given Labor’s relatively accommodating position on China and the scale of Keating’s attacks on Wong. As China watcher Clive Hamilton has observed, Keating is one of Beijing’s “most committed advocates”, arguing human rights are a Western concept that doesn’t apply to China, and lauding the CCP as “the best government in the world in the last 30 years”." - Ben Packham The Australian's foreign affairs and defence correspondent - theaustralian.com.au

>>20600307 Penny Wong downplays Paul Keating’s influence ahead of meeting with Chinese envoy Wang Yi - Penny Wong has sent a clear message to China that Paul Keating has no influence over government policy ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s meeting with the pro-Beijing former prime minister. In her first comment on Mr Wang’s scheduled audience with Mr Keating on Thursday, Senator Wong told The Australian: “Mr Keating is entitled to his views. He does not speak for the government nor the country.” The pointed remark follows Mr Keating’s repeated criticism of Senator Wong’s performance as Foreign Minister, and the government’s ongoing warnings over China’s destabilising influence in the region.

>>20600321 China-Australia relation not targeted at third party, nor should be influenced by any third party: Chinese FM Wang Yi - ''"Since the relationship between China and Australia is on the right track, we should not hesitate, deviate, or backtrack, and the development of the bilateral ties is not targeted at any third party, nor should it be influenced or interfered with by any third party, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Canberra on Wednesday. Wang said China has always pursued an independent foreign policy of peace, and our policy toward Australia has been consistent. The development of China-Australia relations is not directed against any third party, nor should it be influenced or interfered with by any third party."' - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>20600350 Paul Keating leaves Chinese consulate after meeting Wang Yi - Paul Keating says Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi showed a “keen understanding of Australia’s strengths” in their private meeting on Thursday, underlining China’s importance to Australia’s economy. Mr Keating said his hour and five minute meeting with Mr Wang was “very pleasant and engaging”. They had a largely “big picture discussion about the geostrategic balances and influences in the world”, he said. “The Foreign Minister was very positive about putting bilateral difficulties behind us as he was encouraged by the government’s efforts in restoring appropriate equilibrium between our two countries,” Mr Keating said in a statement after the meeting.

>>20600399 Wang Yi’s trip only worsens Australia’s biggest problem with China - "There are many questions Australian journalists would have liked to ask Mr Wang - but that would require China’s foreign minister to have fronted up to the media. Instead, Mr Xi s international affairs adviser slunk off to meet with a group of vetted China-focused business figures, along with two of Chinese state media’s favourite Australian academics: former Defence official Hugh White and ACRI head James Laurenceson. In the prelude to a question at the Wednesday press conference, one of the Chinese journalists remarked: “Many Chinese people believe that the bottleneck in Australia-China relations lies in Australia’s lack of trust in China.” They are spot on. Most Australians don’t trust China. And is unlikely this secretive trip by one of Mr Xi’s top advisers will change their minds." - Will Glasgow - theaustralian.com.au

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80104e No.20886209

#35 - Part 69

Australia / China Tensions - Part 4

>>20600485 Paul Keating diminishes himself with made-for-CCTV meeting with Wang Yi - "There is a Chinese term for someone who tries to promote the Communist Party, but does it so ineptly they embarrass China. They are called a dijihong, or “low-level red”. Former Prime Minister Paul Keating and the visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi have both earned the title this week. Keating has said there was nothing off about his summoning to the Chinese Consulate in Sydney on Thursday. His protests were about as convincing as his claim to being a supporter of the Albanese government’s foreign policy - “most, if not all the time”. Worst of all has been the spectacle Keating has allowed China to make of him. Ultimately though, this exercise in Chinese statecraft seems to have backfired. Its lasting effect will be to undermine trust between the government and Beijing - and to further diminish Potts Point’s most outspoken “low-level red”." - Will Glasgow - theaustralian.com.au

>>20600494 'No backward steps' as China-Australia ties are on right track - "Since China-Australia relations are on the right track, both sides should have no hesitation, no yawing and no backward steps, and China is willing to work with Australia to further prepare for high-level exchanges between the two countries, restart consultation and dialogue mechanisms, and manage differences based on mutual respect, top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi told Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in Canberra on Wednesday. After bilateral relations enduring a tumultuous rollercoaster of ups and downs over the past decade, Wang embarked on a visit to Australia at a crucial stage of development of ties. Experts believe that his visit will not only help mend ties and foster mutual trust, but also push forward future development of bilateral relations." - Zhao Yusha - globaltimes.cn

>>20606226 Video: ‘Statesman’ Paul Keating voices Chinese lines after meeting with Wang Yi - Paul Keating has amplified Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s claims that his country is underwriting global living standards and Australia must integrate more closely with China to secure its economic future. The former prime minister said after his private meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister that Mr Wang underlined China’s importance to Australia’s economy, declaring Australia’s future lay in East Asia. In Chinese media footage of the encounter, Mr Wang told the pro-China former prime minister he was a “world-renowned statesman” who had “always cared about and supported China-Australia relations”.

>>20617427 Raided, hooded and flown to China: Secret Fiji video reveals Beijing’s ‘rendition’ tactics - Fiji’s prime minister Sitiveni Rabuka has called on China to retreat from the South Pacific and warned that Beijing’s “unwarranted influence” risks the region’s stability. Rabuka’s comments - his most forthright on China since his election in December 2022 - came as Australian researchers unearthed an extraordinary Chinese security agency video, casting new light on a controversial police operation in Fiji that has become a case study of Beijing’s desire to operate beyond its borders. The video, obtained by 60 Minutes, shows dozens of Chinese police flying to Fiji in 2017, conducting raids and arresting and hooding 77 mostly young male and female Chinese alleged cyber scammers, who are then loaded onto a charter plane bound for China as Fijian police observe passively.

>>20622314 Fiji to Sign Ports Deal with Australia in Shipbuilding Boost - Fiji will strike a deal with Australia to upgrade ports and shipbuilding infrastructure, months after its prime minister said it was likely to partner with China on the project, the government of the Pacific Islands nation said on Thursday. Fiji’s government said its cabinet had agreed to enter into a memorandum of understanding with Australia for the project, after Australia committed to financing. “The revival of the shipbuilding industry in Fiji has been articulated as a key priority,” Fiji’s government said in a statement. Australia will provide initial grant financing to the Fiji Government and the Fiji Ports Corporation, it said. Australia, the largest aid donor to the Pacific Islands region, is stepping up its infrastructure support to counter China’s push to expand security and policing ties in the region.

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80104e No.20886210

#35 - Part 70

Australia / China Tensions - Part 5

>>20628528 UK set to declare China threat to national security after cyber attacks on politicians, electoral commission - Britain is set to declare China a threat to national security after two malicious cyber campaigns targeting Westminster parliamentarians and Britain’s 40 million voters. Australia’s Five Eyes spy network supported Britain in identifying China state-affiliated actors as responsible for two malicious cyber campaigns targeting Westminster parliamentarians and Britain’s 40 million voters. Britain has raised the issue of China’s targeting of British democratic institutions and political processes with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and has made public its concerns about China so “other countries should see the detail of threats that our systems and democracies face”. Oliver Dowden, Britain’s Deputy Prime Minister, also indicated the UK would officially declare China a threat, The Times reports.

>>20628552 Coalition calls for sanctions against China after Beijing accused of cyber espionage in US and UK - The Coalition is pressing the federal government to hit China with sanctions after Australia joined with the United States, the United Kingdom and New Zealand to accuse Beijing of orchestrating a sweeping campaign of cyber espionage targeting voters, parliamentarians and companies in the West. The UK and the US have already unveiled sanctions on state-backed hackers they accuse of being behind "malicious" cyber attacks which hit Britain's electoral commission and British MPs critical of China, as well as a host of companies, individuals and politicians in the US. And on Tuesday morning New Zealand's Defence Minister Judith Collins announced that in 2021 hackers from a group linked to China's Ministry of State Security also managed to gain access to the country's Parliamentary Service, as well as the Parliamentary Counsel Office.

>>20628558 China-Nauru ties open a new chapter in history: Xi - "Nauru's political decision to adhere to the one-China principle and restore diplomatic ties with China in January is a move that conforms to the trend of history and the times, Chinese President Xi Jinping told visiting Nauruan President David Adeang on Monday in Beijing Xi said China-Nauru relations have opened a new chapter in history, and China is ready to work with Nauru to create a better future of China-Nauru relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples. Friendship, whenever it is started, will have a bright future. Cooperation, whatever its size, will be productive as long as it is sincere, Xi said." - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>20634693 Andrew Forrest says claims China poses a military threat are ‘complete rubbish’ - Australian mining billionaire Andrew Forrest says China is not a threat and his companies will continue investing in the world’s second-largest economy despite growing concerns about national security crackdowns, cyberattacks and Beijing’s stuttering economic recovery. Forrest, one of several global executives in China this week for the China Development Forum and the Boao Forum for Asia, said competition with the Asian giant had increased global living standards by forcing businesses to innovate, but that dynamic was now being threatened by “childish bickering” between Western governments and Beijing. “Worrying about China as more than a strong, determined and capable competitor is completely different to calling them a military threat,” the Fortescue chairman said in an interview on Tuesday. “The latter is just complete rubbish.”

>>20634702 The slander by the Five Eyes alliance is just a clumsy political farce - "On Monday, the UK and the US falsely accused China of carrying out cyber attacks and imposed sanctions on China. Subsequently, Australia and New Zealand also came forward to jointly accuse China of orchestrating a so-called sweeping campaign of cyber espionage. Last year, the Canadian Foreign Ministry slandered China for conducting cyber attacks against Canada. There is no doubt that this is another collective smear campaign against China by the Five Eyes alliance. This "witch-hunt," typical of Western zero-sum mentality, stirs up wave after wave of "China threat" theory for election purposes and is a tragedy for Western democracy." - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

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80104e No.20886212

#35 - Part 71

Australia / China Tensions - Part 6

>>20641684 Video: China's government officially abolishes heavy tariffs on Australian wine - China's government has officially abolished heavy tariffs on Australian wine, offering a potential lifeline to an industry struggling with low prices and global oversupply. Beijing agreed to review the tariffs five months ago as it gradually unwinds the trade barriers it placed on around $20 billion of Australian exports in 2020 and 2021, when the bilateral relationship was at its nadir. Earlier this month, China's Commerce Ministry handed down an interim decision all but confirming that the tariffs of up to 220 per cent on Australian wine would be dropped. Now, the Commerce Ministry in Beijing has announced it is "no longer necessary to impose anti-dumping duties and countervailing duties on the imports of the relevant wines originating in Australia."

>>20665469 China steps up business embrace even as Australian tension persists - Beijing has marked Australia a priority location for Chinese businesses to expand while calling for the Albanese government to be more “rational” in its treatment of investment from China. In a striking sign of the improvement in the bilateral relationship, Beijing’s influential China Council for the Promotion of International Trade declared over the Easter long weekend that many Chinese businesses were now looking to expand in Australia. The top Chinese government trade promotion agency - described by one business figure as “Austrade on steroids” – said China and Australia’s economies were “highly complementary and have huge potential”.

>>20665486 Video: Australian media urged to play a more positive role in promoting cooperation, peace as they enhance sneaky maneuvers in PICs to smear China - "Some Western media outlets have been sparing no effort to smear China's cooperation with South Pacific Island Countries (PICs). In a recent move, 60 Minutes Australia released a video program entitled "China's dirty tactics to control Pacific" on March 24 to further smear normal exchanges and cooperation between China and Fiji. The video alleges that behind this cooperation are China and Chinese businesspeople who are "supporting drug trafficking organizations in Fiji" and are seeking as much influence as possible in the island natThe video and the following reports are based on lies, speculations, and presumptions of guilt and are full of ideological bias and distortion of facts, the spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy in Fiji said in a statement on March 26. He firmly denounced the video and the subsequent reports in the statement." - Leng Shumei and Shan Jie - globaltimes.cn

>>20676406 Australia-China relations to be tested by parliamentary delegation visit to Taiwan - Australia is poised to anger China by sending a bipartisan parliamentary delegation to Taiwan to meet senior government leaders and reiterate Canberra’s support for the democratic nation in a time of rising regional tensions. The visit is certain to be criticised by Beijing at a time when the Australia-China relationship has been improving slowly despite tensions over cyber warfare, trade, human rights and defence. The five-member parliamentary delegation will be the first to visit Taiwan in six months and will meet with Taiwan’s outgoing President Tsai Ing-Wen, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister, and a number of senior government, ­security and defence officials. The group will be led by the deputy chair of parliament’s powerful joint committee on ­intelligence and security, Andrew Wallace, alongside Labor’s Shayne Neumann, and will also ­include Liberal senator Dave Sharma, Liberal MP Angie Bell and Labor’s Julian Hill.

>>20676429 Japan, U.S., Australia, Philippines to hold drill in South China Sea - Japan, the United States, Australia and the Philippines are set to hold a joint naval exercise on Sunday off the Southeast Asian country's Palawan Island in the South China Sea, multiple government sources said Tuesday, amid China's continuing aggressive actions. It would be the first full-scale exercise involving the four countries aimed at enhancing interoperability among their forces, the sources said. The exercise will include anti-submarine warfare training, communication drills and sailing ships in formation. Sunday's planned drill would occur against the backdrop of China's assertiveness in the resource-rich South China Sea. The latest incident happened on March 23 when the Chinese Coast Guard fired a water cannon at a Philippine vessel on a mission to the Manila-controlled Second Thomas Shoal.

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80104e No.20886213

#35 - Part 72

Australia / China Tensions - Part 7

>>20676473 Top Gun pilot Daniel Duggan to face extradition hearing in May - A former US marine pilot will have one last chance to prove he shouldn’t be extradited to the US over allegations he illegally trained Chinese pilots - but he’s run out of funds to pay for a lawyer. Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October 2022 following a request from the US to extradite him for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. American authorities allege the 55-year-old breached money laundering and arms export control laws while teaching foreign pilots at a flying academy in South Africa more than 12 years ago. On Thursday, he looked anxious as he beamed into court from maximum security prison wearing black rimmed glasses and a green prison-issued jumper. He then became visibly upset as Magistrate Daniel Reiss denied his application for an extension to prepare for a hearing to determine his eligibility for extradition to the US. The magistrate found he had been given “a reasonable amount of time” and a “reasonable opportunity” to prepare for the crucial hearing.

>>20695591 Australian-Taiwan partnership good for regional peace: Visiting lawmakers - A visiting Australian parliamentary delegation said in Taipei Monday that building stronger ties with Taiwan, including on security cooperation, is beneficial to peace, security and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific. "We face a military buildup in this region," Shayne Neumann, a member of the Australian ruling Labor Party, told President Tsai Ing-wen during their meeting at the Presidential Office. The chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense and Trade in Australia's House of Representatives said his country is working with friends and allies "to preserve the regional balance here and preserve the status quo for Taiwan" "We're against any unilateral actions; maintaining the status quo is comprehensively superior to the alternative," he told Tsai.

>>20700815 Quad mire: ALP warned on China by former Japanese envoy - Former Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami says Anthony Albanese has allowed “the Quad” security dialogue to languish as he repairs ties with Beijing, and has revealed Labor sought to ­silence his criticisms of China when he was Tokyo’s top diplomat in Canberra. Writing in The Australian, Mr Yamagami laments Australia’s reluctance now to speak out against Beijing, accusing the ­government of staging photo ­opportunities with Chinese ­officials “while guns are being pointed at your head”. He says the weakening of the Quad - the key Indo-Pacific power grouping that includes Australia, the US, Japan and India - has undermined co-ordination by member nations on the common threat posed by China.

>>20700829 Distracted Quad leaders must refocus on bullies in Beijing - '"The world’s eyes, a few short years ago, were focused on Australia, when it stood tall under tremendous diplomatic pressure and economic coercion by the Middle Kingdom. It is no exaggeration to say Australia gained a prominent international status through its resilience and principled approach. That is the Australia I admired and respected. The emphasis on “stabilising” relations with China is fine, but stabilisation should not mean staging photo opportunities or smiling and shaking hands with China’s Foreign Minister, Wang Yi, while guns are being pointed at your head - as they are in the South China Sea. Australia’s role is vital. When America’s most intimate Indo-Pacific ally (Australia) and its important Indo-Pacific ally (Japan) speak from a common position, the Americans are inclined to listen. I am now a private citizen but, as a long-time servant of the Japanese state and a recent ambassador to Australia, I feel compelled to plead that this common position be adopted and pressed energetically upon Washington - and Delhi."'' - Shingo Yamagami, Japan’s ambassador plenipotentiary to Australia from 2021-23 - theaustralian.com.au

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80104e No.20886215

#35 - Part 73

Australia / China Tensions - Part 8

>>20705313 Australia to join stepped-up patrols in South China Sea: US - More joint patrols can be expected in the South China Sea after drills by the United States, Australia, the Philippines and Japan last weekend, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST), ahead of US summits this week with the Japanese and Philippine leaders. Warships from the four nations staged the exercises on Sunday following stepped-up Chinese pressure on the Philippines in the disputed strategic waterway. US President Joe Biden hosts Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Washington on Wednesday (Thursday AEST) and the two and Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos will meet the next day for talks that will include ways to push back against China. “On the naval patrols, we just saw trilateral plus Australia, a new form of quadrilateral joint naval patrols last week, so you can expect to see more of that in the future,” Mr Sullivan told a regular White House briefing while previewing the summits.

>>20710541 Australian politicians say the era of ‘invisible’ trips to Taiwan is over, shrugging off China warnings - Politicians from both the government and opposition say it is in the “national interest” to end the era of Australia’s “invisible” trips to Taiwan, signalling that Beijing should expect open visits to become routine as Canberra tries to help Taipei retain its limited diplomatic space. In a demonstration of the widening support for Taiwan in Canberra, the five members of a bipartisan federal parliamentary delegation visiting Taipei this week said that they will not be the last - however much China’s government might complain. “We are here. And we’ll have another one in the future, next year,” Liberal MP Angie Bell told The Australian in an interview in Taipei.

>>20710546 China Premier Li Qiang set to visit Australia in June, live lobster import ban expected to be lifted - Chinese Premier Li Qiang is scheduled to visit Australia in June, a move set to consolidate improving economic relations between Beijing and Canberra following last month’s trip by Foreign Minister Wang Yi, according to two sources with knowledge of the issue. Li’s trip is planned for the third week of June, one of the sources said, and it would represent his first visit to Australia since he was sworn in as premier in March 2023. “It is also expected that the unofficial ban on Australian live lobsters will be lifted as a signal of resuming a normal and friendly trade relationship for both sides,” the source said, with the curbs having been in place for more than three years.

>>20715815 Solomon Islands election watched by US, China amid Pacific influence contest - A national election in the Solomon Islands, the first since Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare signed a security pact with Beijing, will be watched next week for its potential to jolt the U.S.-China rivalry in the South Pacific. The United States and Australia are concerned about China's naval ambitions in Pacific countries, as tensions rise over Taiwan. Opposition parties said they would scrap the China security pact or hold a national referendum on it, and reduce China's influence by accepting more infrastructure support from U.S. allies.

>>20741559 Defence funding strategy: Long-range billions to counteract China - Labor will boost Defence spending by $50bn over the next decade and claw back $72bn from dumped weapons programs to pay for new submarines, ships, missiles and drones, as the government seeks to deter an increasingly aggressive China. The swath of cuts includes a ­decision not to proceed with an extra squadron of F-35 joint strike fighters, saving $3bn, and the cancellation of two large support vessels for the navy that would have cost $4.1bn. Defence will get $330bn worth of new weapons systems over 10 years, including long-range missiles, air and maritime drones, and enhanced air ­defences, to deny potential adversaries the ability to attack the Australian mainland or deployed Australian forces.

>>20741567 China’s aggressive behaviour underpins beefed-up defence stance - Australia’s strategic outlook is getting worse, with China increasingly using coercion – including dangerous confrontations with rival warships and planes – to alter the strategic power balance in the region, according to the new ­National Defence Strategy. The highly critical assessment of China’s assertive military posture in the region underpins the government’s justification in its new strategy for a major increase in defence spending and long-term expansion in the navy and in long-range strike capability. The assessment comes despite the recent tentative stabilisation of relations between the two countries, with China having removed most of the $20bn in trade sanctions it imposed during the previous government.

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80104e No.20886216

#35 - Part 74

Australia / China Tensions - Part 9

>>20741574 Beijing tells Canberra to ‘stop buzzing about China’ in first response to Australia’s National Defence Strategy - Beijing has told Australia to “stop buzzing about China” and blamed America and its allies for creating what Canberra has called the most challenging and complex strategic environment the country has faced since World War II. In its first comments on Australia’s just released National Defence Strategy, the Chinese government was entirely dismissive of Canberra’s criticism of Beijing’s behaviour in the region. “China is committed to peaceful development and a national defence policy that is defensive in nature,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian. “We stay committed to the peace and stability of the Asia-Pacific region and the wider world, and pose no threat to any country,” he said.

>>20741576 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on April 17, 2024 - '"We hope Australia will correctly view China’s development and strategic intentions, abandon the Cold-War mentality, do more things to keep the region peaceful and stable, and stop buzzing about China." - fmprc.gov.cn

>>20785423 Chinese-backed hackers Volt Typhoon are targeting Australia’s critical infrastructure - A Chinese state-sponsored hacking group called Volt Typhoon is targeting Australia’s critical infrastructure and may have already accessed some systems, after infiltrating essential services in the US. Confirmation by The Weekend Australian that the group is active in Australia has triggered fresh calls from cyber security ­experts for the Albanese government to be transparent about the risks to business and the community, while critical infrastructure entities have been told to “harden their systems”. Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess referenced the attacks in his latest threat assessment, saying one nation state was conducting “multiple attempts to scan critical infrastructure”. Government sources confirmed that the aggressor was China and that its hacking group called Volt Typhoon - which has successfully compromised American companies in telecommunications, energy, water and other critical sectors – was the culprit.

>>20785526 China’s cyber traps already inside the castle wall - "The landmines for a future war have likely already been laid inside our borders. The cyber battalions of the People’s Republic of China have compromised parts of our critical infrastructure and are hunting for weaknesses in all of it. The bombs may never be detonated but the intention is clear, and hostile. If Australia does find itself in conflict with China the first sign may be when the lights go out and the dams empty. Volt Typhon uses malware to exploit vulnerabilities in thousands of home and business routers in the target country to build an interconnected zombie battalion called a botnet. The computational muscle is then harnessed to punch a hole in the defences of a company’s public-facing computer system. Our security agencies are doing their job but have become cautious, muted by a government desperate to remarry an unrepentant, abusive partner. In a triumph of optimism over experience it believes this bad relationship is best managed by hiding the bruises. The mantra for managing Beijing is “co-operate where we can, disagree where we must”. But if you aren’t going to violently disagree when virtual bombs are planted on home soil, then when are you going to do it?" - theaustralian.com.au - Chris Uhlmann

>>20785616 Scott Morrison prayed with former US vice-president Mike Pence over China’s military build-up - Scott Morrison has blasted Chinese leader Xi Jinping for deceiving Australia about his militaristic ambitions and says he once prayed with US vice-president Mike Pence about combating China in the region. In his strongest comments yet about China’s attempts to coerce and bully Australia during his prime ministership, Mr Morrison said the country would have “lived in fear” if his government had not stood up to Beijing. Mr Morrison, a committed Christian, reveals that at the 2018 APEC leaders’ summit in the Papua New Guinea capital Port Moresby, the then prime minister asked to be alone in a room with Mr Pence, a fellow Christian and Donald Trump’s vice-president so that the two men could pray for solutions to “the increasing assertiveness of China in our region”. “I was aware of Mike’s faith and asked for us to pray together over the things we had discussed, which included the increasing ­assertiveness of China in our ­region,” Mr Morrison writes in his new book, Plans for Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony of God’s Faithfulness.

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80104e No.20886217

#35 - Part 75

Australia / China Tensions - Part 10

>>20798679 Solomon Islands opposition parties combine in race to form government - The two major opposition parties in the Solomon Islands struck a coalition deal on Saturday as they vie with former Prime Minister Manesseh Sogavare's party to form a government after an election delivered no clear winner. Last week's election was the first since Sogavare struck a security pact with China in 2022, inviting Chinese police into the Pacific Islands archipelago and drawing the nation closer to Beijing. The election is being watched by China, the U.S. and neighbouring Australia because of the potential impact on regional security.

>>20798689 Solomon Islands: Unexpected defeat for Sogavare - The Solomon Islands election of 17 April was widely anticipated to result in a sweeping victory for Manasseh Sogavare’s government. Sogavare, who has been prime minister on four separate occasions, is only the second head of government in his country’s history to serve a full term. He fended off an opposition no-confidence challenge in late 2021, extended his parliamentary term for seven months to 2024, and presided over a diplomatic switch from recognising Taiwan to links with China in 2019. A subsequent security deal with Beijing in April 2022 and the deployment of Chinese police to the capital, Honiara, led Australian media reporters to warn of an emerging Chinese-assisted authoritarian regime. Yet what transpired on 17 April was an emphatic defeat for the ruling party.

>>20798708 Pro-China Solomons leader Sogavare steps down after ‘awful’ election result - The most pro-China leader in the Pacific, Manasseh Sogavare, has conceded his prime ministership is over after suffering a bruising voter backlash in this month’s Solomon Islands elections, a development that will come as a major relief to Australian officials. Sogavare has been the dominant figure in Solomon Islands politics over more than two decades, holding the prime ministership on four separate occasions since 2000. Sogavare has often had an antagonistic relationship with Australia, alarming Australian officials when he switched diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to China in 2019 and again in 2022 when he agreed to a secretive security pact with Beijing. Sogavare announced he was standing aside from the prime ministerial leadership contest on Monday to allow Foreign Minister Jeremiah Manele to run for the position on behalf of a coalition led by his Ownership, Unity and Responsibility (OUR) Party.

>>20798716 Manasseh Sogavare exits Solomon Islands’ PM race - Solomons Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare has called time on his five-year rule of the ­Pacific nation after losing his ­majority in parliament, in a move which may reset the Solomons’ pro-China direction. Mr Sogavare on Monday conceded he would not have the numbers in a hung parliament to stay on and will instead leave his Foreign Minister, Jeremiah Manele, to attempt to put together a coalition to keep his Ownership, Unity and Responsibility Party in power. Voters had rejected a Sogavare re-election platform anchored by a “look north” strategy that would deepen security and ­economic ties with China despite Australia’s heightened efforts to strengthen ties with the Pacific nation. The Prime Minister, who is on his fourth separate stint in the Solomons’ top job, on Monday said it was time for new leadership and blamed local media for the backlash he suffered from voters.

>>20798733 Manasseh Sogavare was China's man in the Pacific. Will his exit as prime minister reverberate across the region? - After switching the country's diplomatic relations from Taiwan to China in 2019, Mr Sogavare led Solomon Islands in an entirely new direction. He signed a security pact with the country and was seen as China's man in the Pacific, openly embracing the Chinese Communist Party's governing style - even going as far as saying it felt like "home" when visiting China. He consistently amplified combative stoushes with Western democracies, such as Australia and the United States - whether they were real or not - and last week even made unsubstantiated claims of influence by the US in the Solomon Islands election. Heading into this month's national election, for many Solomon Islanders, it seems, all this was an unnecessary distraction. They were dealing with other issues: the terrible roads, high rates of unemployment, a health system on its knees, access to education and the constant dark clouds of corruption. Mr Sogavare's party lost more than half of its 37 seats at the April 17 election. And last night he resigned. With Mr Sogavare now gone, what does it mean for Solomon Islands and the region?

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80104e No.20886218

#35 - Part 76

Australia / China Tensions - Part 11

>>20808099 Solomon Islands chooses China-friendly ex-diplomat Jeremiah Manele as new prime minister - Solomon Islands lawmakers have elected as their new prime minister Jeremiah Manele, a former foreign minister who has pledged to continue the Pacific country’s policy of embracing China. Manele said outside parliament on Thursday “the people have spoken” and called for calm. “I humbly stand before you, as your elected prime minister. We must respect and uphold the democratic process,” Manele said. The previous PM, Manasseh Sogavare, withdrew from the contest this week and backed Manele after failing to secure a majority in last month’s election. Manele was foreign minister in 2019 when Sogavare’s government turned its back on Taiwan and established diplomatic relations with Beijing.

>>20808144 Bob Carr accuses Winston Peters of defamation after NZ deputy PM calls him a ‘Chinese puppet’ - Australia’s former foreign minister and New South Wales premier, Bob Carr, says he intends to sue New Zealand’s deputy prime minister, Winston Peters, for allegations made about Carr’s closeness to China as debate about Aukus ramps up. Peters called Carr “nothing more than a Chinese puppet” on the national broadcaster RNZ on Thursday morning. Carr shared his criticisms of the pact on a visit to Wellington in April, calling it “bullshit” and saying he admired New Zealand foreign policy as it wasn’t as “gullible to the Americans” as Australia’s. “What on earth does he think he’s doing walking into our country and telling us what to do?” Peters told RNZ. “We would no more do that in Australia than he should do here. That’s the kind of arrogance we don’t like.” In statement to the Post, Carr said these comments were “entirely defamatory” and he would be taking legal action.

>>20813748 Allies unite as Beijing pushes the boundaries in South China Sea - Australia will ramp up participation in joint naval exercises with the US, Japan and The Philippines under a co-ordinated security plan to deter increasingly aggressive Chinese incursions into Filipino waters. Defence Minister Richard Marles travelled to Hawaii to flesh out the strategy with counterparts on Friday. He said afterwards that Australia was “utterly committed to asserting freedom of navigation”. The commitment will place Australian sailors on the frontline of maritime tensions in the South China Sea amid repeated clashes between Chinese and Filipino vessels. On Tuesday, China’s Coast Guard damaged two Filipino vessels en route to the Scarborough Shoal, prompting the 20th diplomatic protest by Manila against such conduct this year. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin blasted China over the ­“irresponsible behaviour” of its ships, saying the action breached international law.

>>20813816 Bob Carr sues NZ Deputy PM Winston Peters over ‘Chinese puppet’ insult - New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters has appeared to dig in over comments about Bob Carr, for which the former Labor foreign minister is suing him. Mr Carr’s lawyers have written to Mr Peters, who is also NZ Foreign Minister, confirming their intention to sue for defamation after Mr Peters called Mr Carr a “Chinese puppet,” on NZ radio. But on Friday morning, just half an hour before he was due to address the NZ China Council, Mr Peters went back on the attack, lashing out at an “irrelevant, ill-informed shill from some other country.” Without naming his target, Mr Peters wrote on X: “We should never be accepting of any irrelevant ill-informed shill from some other country to walk into New Zealand and try to tell us what to do.

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80104e No.20886220

#35 - Part 77

Australia / China Tensions - Part 12

>>20827002 Video: ‘Unsafe and unprofessional’: Australian Navy helicopter in near miss with Chinese fighter jet - 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.

>>20831574 Video: Australian PM Albanese says China military air incident unacceptable - 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.

>>20831586 ‘Stop provocations’: China fires back at Australia over Yellow Sea flare incident - 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. “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.”

>>20836899 ‘Stop shifting blame’: Australia, China trade barbs over helicopter incident - 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”.

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80104e No.20886221

#35 - Part 78

Australia / China Tensions - Part 13

>>20836959 China changes story on military confrontation, accuses Australia of spying - 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.

>>20836962 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on May 7, 2024 - "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."

>>20836962 Australia should stop all dangerous provocations: Defense Spokesperson - "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." 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." - China Military Online - eng.mod.gov.cn

>>20836971 Chinese military takes legal, professional and safe operations to warn against provocations by Australian helicopter: FM - "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. 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." - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

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80104e No.20886223

#35 - Part 79

Australia / China Tensions - Part 14

>>20836979 Here’s the proof that China holds Australia in contempt - "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. 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." - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au

>>20836991 PM’s rinse-and-repeat response to China jet incident will do little to deter aggression - "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”. 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. 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." - Matthew Knott - theage.com.au

>>20841256 ‘Legitimate, peaceful’: Anthony Albanese hits back at China spy claims - 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. “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.

>>20841263 Video: Defence chief rejects China's spying accusation after helicopter's near miss in confrontation - 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. 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. "In the circumstances that occurred we were not satisfied, and very reasonably not satisfied with regard to both safety and professionalism."

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80104e No.20886225

#35 - Part 80

Australia / China Tensions - Part 15

>>20841268 Beijing’s bullying needs to be called out, loud and clear - "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." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au

>>20841340 Video: SNEAK PEEK: Daniel Duggan - Hero or traitor? - Hero or traitor? SUNDAY on #60Mins, why an Australian citizen, a former Top Gun fighter pilot, is wanted by the United States government. - 60 Minutes Australia

>>20859919 Former spy for China's secret police reveals operations targeting dissidents in Australia and overseas - The inner workings of China's notorious secret police unit and how it hunts down dissidents living overseas - including in Australia - have been exposed by a former spy in a Four Corners investigation, raising tough questions about Australia's national security. It is the first time anyone from the secret police - one of the most feared and powerful arms of China's intelligence apparatus - has ever spoken publicly. The investigation also found the existence of an espionage operation on Australian soil only last year and the secret return of an Australian resident to China in 2019. The spy - who goes by the name Eric - worked as an undercover agent for a unit within China's federal police and security agency, the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) between 2008 and early 2023. The unit is called the Political Security Protection Bureau, or the 1st Bureau. It is one of the Chinese Communist Party's (CCP) key tools of repression, operating across the globe to surveil, kidnap and silence critics of the party, particularly President Xi Jinping. "It is the darkest department of the Chinese government," Eric said. "When dealing with people who oppose the CCP, they can behave as if these people are not protected by the law. They can do whatever they want to them."

>>20859967 Video: Daniel Duggan - Why is a former fighter pilot wanted by the US government? - To his family, Daniel Duggan is a hero, but in the eyes of the US Government, he's a traitor. "One man against the US, it's disgraceful," Daniel's wife Saffrine told 60 Minutes. For 19 months, the former US Marine fighter pilot turned proud Australian citizen has been sitting in maximum security jail, accused of sharing top secret military information with China. But that's nothing compared to the 65 years he could be locked up for, if the Americans get a hold of him and prove the father-of-six sold them out. "It's a death sentence for my husband," Saffrine said. "We will never see him again and my kids will never grow up with a father."

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80104e No.20886227

#35 - Part 81

Australia / China Tensions - Part 16

>>20864771 Video: Unmasking the man who’s been spying for China | Four Corners - For the first time ever, a former spy for China’s notorious secret police - one of the most powerful arms of the country’s intelligence apparatus - goes public, exposing the covert and illegal operations he was ordered to carry out on foreign soil and the dissidents he was tasked with tracking, including in Australia, Canada, India, Cambodia and Thailand. In a major investigation reported by the ABC’s Echo Hui, the spy - who goes by the name Eric - comes out of the shadows at great danger to himself, revealing his face to expose how China has used its global network over the last two decades to surveil, silence and kidnap those its government and president Xi Jinping deems enemies of the state. The spy divulges his double life and the secrets he’s been guarding. He reveals the inner workings of the secret police, including the companies they use as cover, who his targets were, and the tactics he used to hunt them down. It raises tough questions about China’s global reach and Australia’s national security.

>>20864786 AFP must explain deal allowing Chinese ‘secret police’ to conduct operations in Australia, Coalition says - The Australian federal police must explain why it renewed a cooperation deal with China’s ministry of public security (MPS) after “gravely concerning” reports about the agency’s activities on Australian soil, the Coalition has said. The opposition has identified at least seven active agreements relating to AFP cooperation with Chinese agencies, three of which were extended only last month. The agreements are in the spotlight after an ABC Four Corners investigation found that Chinese police had been permitted to enter Australia in 2019 - when the Coalition was still in power - to question a 59-year-old Chinese-born Australian resident. Four Corners reported that the MPS officers had approval to visit Australia under an agreement with the AFP, but then “breached protocol and returned to China with the woman”. The Coalition’s home affairs spokesperson, James Paterson, said the AFP must now “justify why they recently re-signed a bilateral law enforcement cooperation treaty with the MPS now we know for sure they [the MPS] cannot be trusted”. “The revelations that the Australian Federal Police allowed the Ministry of Public Security to apparently operate with impunity on Australian soil is gravely concerning,” Paterson told Guardian Australia on Tuesday. “No one should be surprised the MPS did not adhere to their end of the deal. You cannot trust the secret police of an authoritarian state, particularly one which is the primary source of foreign interference and espionage in our country.”

>>20868896 Aaron staged a protest in Australia, then Chinese police paid his parents a visit - Aaron, an international student studying in Sydney, knows all too well that the industrial-scale surveillance deployed by the Chinese government on its citizens doesn’t stop at the border. In March, ahead of Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi’s visit to Australia, Aaron received a flurry of missed calls from his parents in China. When he answered, their voices were strange and unusually monotonous. “It was like they were reading a script. They told me not to attend any protests or organise any protest, and don’t use Twitter from Monday to Friday,” said Aaron, a University of Sydney student who prefers to be known only by his Western pseudonym. He suspects that a Chinese police officer was standing over his parents while they gave him the instructions. His experience reflects the price paid by many CCP critics who, in exercising their democratic rights in Australia, cannot escape the long arm of the Chinese government - particularly on university campuses. A 2021 Human Rights Watch report compiled one of the most comprehensive accounts to date of CCP influence stifling free speech on Australian campuses. It found that Chinese students would often self-censor comments critical of the Chinese government for fear they would be reported to authorities or harassed by their pro-Beijing peers. Universities, in collaboration with Australia’s security agencies, have since beefed up foreign interference guidelines aimed at countering CCP influence on campuses, and have adopted free speech charters - though some have been more proactive than others in tackling on-campus intimidation. The surveillance of Chinese international students in Australia is part of the broader picture of what Amnesty International has called “transnational repression”.

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80104e No.20886229

#35 - Part 82

Australia / China Tensions - Part 17

>>20868933 Beijing warns MPs’ Taiwan trip threatens Australia-China ties - Beijing has blasted Australia over an upcoming parliamentary ­delegation to Taiwan, saying the bipartisan trip violates Australia’s “One China” policy. The five member delegation departs for Taipei on Saturday to attend next week’s inauguration of Taiwan’s president-elect Lai Ching-te. Labor’s Raff Ciccone and Luke Gosling will be joined on the four-day visit by the Coalition’s David Fawcett, Claire Chandler and Scott Buchholz. The Chinese embassy in Canberra issued a statement on Wednesday warning Australia that Taiwan was “an inalienable part of China’s territory”, and urging the Albanese government not to deviate from its recognition of the People’s Republic of China as the country’s sole legal government. “The visit to Taiwan by the Australian parliamentarians and their attendance of the president-elect’s inauguration violates the One China principle, blatantly emboldens and supports the ­Taiwan independence separatist ­activities,” the embassy said. “We hope that relevant members of the Australian parliament will adhere to the fact that Taiwan is a province of China and respect the sentiments of the 1.4 billion Chinese people.”

>>20878221 WA iron resources ties key to Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s trip - Plans are firming for Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s trip to Australia next month, with the country’s No.2 leader expected to stop in Canberra and Perth and make a site visit to a West Australian resources project. Officials in both countries are negotiating the final details of the mid-June visit, which is set to go ahead despite Chinese fury over an upcoming trip by to Taiwan by a delegation of Australian MPs, and an Australian protest over a Chinese jet’s unsafe encounter with a navy helicopter. Anthony Albanese is expected to meet Mr Li for bilateral talks in Canberra around June 16, before Mr Li heads to Perth for meetings with business leaders and Premier Roger Cook.

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80104e No.20886230

#35 - Part 83

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

>>20550432 Cult leader William ‘Little Pebble’ Kamm and wife arrested over historical child grooming charges - A young girl was allegedly told by notorious cult leader William “Little Pebble” Kamm that she had been “selected” by God to procreate with him, during what police say was a decade of grooming. Kamm, 73, and his wife Sandra Costellia, 58, were arrested by NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad on Monday six months after the now adult woman came forward to claim she had been groomed by the couple ever since she was six years old. A convicted pedophile, Kamm is best known for being the leader of a cult-style religious group called the “Order of St Charbel”, who claims the Virgin Mary visits his home on the NSW south coast every day.

>>20575610 Video: How two of Australia’s most vile pedophiles used childcare centre - The crimes of two of Australia’s most vile pedophiles who abused dozens of young victims in country NSW will learn their fates next month, as details of their heinous acts - including exploiting children through their access to a childcare facility - can be revealed for the first time. The two men, who cannot be named due to a court order, faced Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court on Friday and are facing the prospect of being sentenced to decades in prison. Their heinous crimes reverberated through the idyllic small country town where they lived after a major police investigation unmasked them as key players in a national pedophile ring. They were arrested as part of Operation Arkstone, the country’s biggest ever law enforcement crackdown on online child abuse material networks. Their crimes can be revealed for the first time after a court released documents, as the two men prepare to be sentenced by Judge Sarah Hopkins next month.

>>20612936 Loud Fence ribbons set to be removed from prominent Ballarat cathedral fence - Thousands of colourful ribbons tied to the fence of a regional Victorian cathedral as a show of support for survivors of child sexual abuse are set to be removed. The Diocese of Ballarat says it will remove ribbons tied outside St Patrick's Cathedral on Saturday morning, for the ageing wrought-iron fence to be painted. It is unclear at this stage whether the ribbons will be returned to the fence or how they may be stored into the future. Bishop Paul Bird's office says the parish will continue to consult with survivors of sexual abuse and Loud Fence organisers to decide the best outcome. The Loud Fence movement began in Ballarat in 2015 during the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Childhood Sexual Abuse. It has since spread worldwide.

>>20622417 Meta’s encryption to ‘conceal the worst crimes’ against kids - Child abuse investigators are bracing for expanded encryption on Facebook and Messenger to have crushing impacts that may be disguised by a rise in meaningless tips that lead nowhere. Tech giant Meta revealed in December it had begun a global rollout of default end-to-end encryption for messages and calls across its Facebook and Messenger platforms, but would not detail progress in individual countries. While privacy advocates welcomed the move, crime-fighting agencies and charities said it would have a devastating effect on the ability to detect and prevent child abuse.

>>20660654 Tasmanian man jailed for AI child abuse material - A Tasmanian man has been sentenced to two years in jail for uploading and downloading AI-generated child abuse material. The 48-year-old was charged with possessing hundreds of files of child abuse material as part of a Tasmania Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (TAS-JACET) investigation. Included among the files was a significant amount of AI-generated content. The Gravelly Beach man was subsequently arrested and charged, pleading guilty to possessing and accessing child abuse material on March 26, 2024. The Australian Federal Police said it is believed to be the first conviction in Tasmania’s history relating to child exploitation material generated by AI. AFP Detective Sergeant Aaron Hardcastle said the investigation had been significant as it marked the first time police had located and seized AI-generated child abuse material in Tasmania. “Child abuse material, is still child abuse material, no matter what form it takes,” Det. Sgt Hardcastle said.

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80104e No.20886231

#35 - Part 84

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

>>20660667 Paedophile ex-teacher who runs Scots B&B 'should be put on sex offenders' register' - A convicted paedophile who runs a Scottish B&B should be placed on the sex offenders’ register, insists one of his victims. Gary Bloom, 69, was a primary school teacher in Australia in 1985 when he sexually assaulted 10-year-old Stewart Carter. Bloom later emigrated to Scotland but after he returned to Australia for a family visit in 2021, he was arrested. Despite being found guilty to three separate charges of indecent assault, he walked free and was able to return to Scotland. Stewart, now 49, said: "The fact that Bloom has been allowed to lawfully return to Scotland means it would be sensible for him to be placed on the sex offenders’ register. "That would be an ideal. I can't see why he should escape those obligations by simply being in another country. He's a convicted child sex offender who has unfettered access to children who stay at the B&B."

>>20681437 Paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale facing scores of new historic child abuse charges - Police have laid new charges against notorious paedophile priest Gerald Ridsdale, alleging further cases of historic sexual assaults against boys in central and south-west Victoria. Ridsdale, 89, has been in prison since 1994 for the abuse of more than 70 children in Victoria and was sentenced for the eighth time last year. Victoria Police said the Sexual Crimes Squad brought a further 62 charges against him following an investigation into a number of alleged historical sexual assaults. The new charges of sexual penetration of a person aged between 10 and 16 and indecent assault relate to alleged incidents involving six male victims in Inglewood and Mortlake between 1973 and 1981. Police charged Ridsdale with 24 sexual offences in March 2022 as part of the same investigation, which related to two male victims in Mortlake in 1981 and 1982.

>>20686765 Bestiality references allegedly made during presentation at Renmark High School - The South Australian Department for Education is investigating a presentation delivered to year 9 girls in a regional high school that allegedly referenced bestiality as being accepted by the LGBTQIA+ community. Female students said teachers at Renmark High School told them to leave their lessons and attend a presentation in a separate classroom. Students who attended the presentation on March 22 say two staff from the Headspace centre in the neighbouring town of Berri introduced a "third-party" presenter who facilitated an hour-long presentation focused on relationships. Parents said they were not notified about the presentation, nor was it consented to. Students say they were then given an explanation of the initialism LGBTQIA+, with each word and its meaning displayed on the screen. "There was a slide for what the 'plus' means, and they just started randomly saying words that no-one knew, like bestiality," Fourteen-year-old Emelia Wundenberg said. The students said bestiality was then explained in detail and the presenter seemed to imply it was something practised by people who identified as LGBTQIA+. "They said [the queer community] just accepts all of it, even though … isn't it illegal?" Emelia said.

>>20686801 Cult leader granted bail on child grooming charges - Despite police claiming they have phone recordings of an alleged child abuse victim describing sexual acts she was forced to perform, her accused groomer has been granted bail. Self-professed prophet William Kamm has been charged along with his wife Sandra Susan Mathison with the sexual abuse of the child since she was six years old. While police say the 73-year-old never met his victim, they claim he phoned her, wrote her letters and sent presents intending to groom the girl to become a "queen" in his church. Magistrate Scott Nash granted Kamm bail under strict conditions which require him to wear electronic monitoring and reside at a supervised correctional complex in Sydney's eastern suburbs. He acknowledged that while the case against the 73-year-old was not weak, the delays in reaching a trial plus the onerous conditions Kamm already had to follow under an extended supervision order warranted his release. That order was imposed after Kamm was released on parole, being convicted of the child abuse of two separate complainants.

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80104e No.20886233

#35 - Part 85

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

>>20686820 Pope seeks immunity in Australian court over notorious paedophile priest - Pope Francis is claiming legal immunity as a head of state to fight a damages claim brought by two Aboriginal men over the Vatican’s failure to protect them from the priest who sexually abused them as children. Documents filed in the Victorian Supreme Court last month by lawyers representing the Pope flag the church’s intention to rely on the Vatican’s unique status in international law to stop the pontiff from being drawn into a civil lawsuit involving one of Australia’s most notorious paedophile priests. The case centres on the abuse of two Aboriginal boys by Michael Glennon, a serial child rapist who despite being convicted and jailed for the indecent assault of a girl in 1978, remained an ordained priest for the next 20 years. At the time of Glennon’s death, he was in jail for crimes against 15 children. The plaintiffs are seeking to hold Melbourne Archbishop Peter Comensoli and Pope Francis vicariously responsible for the alleged failings of their predecessors which enabled Glennon to keep accessing and abusing children for years after senior figures in the church, both here and in Rome, knew he was a paedophile. Renowned human rights lawyer Geoffrey Robertson KC said the case raised questions about the Vatican’s century-old claim to statehood and technical legal defences it has previously employed to escape accountability for crimes against children committed by its priests. Speaking to this masthead from London, he said the case was likely to gain international attention. “If it does reach the stage of answering the vexed question of whether the Vatican is in practice a state, it could have considerable consequences,” Robertson said.

>>20695618 Sextortion pushed a NSW teen to suicide, cops traced culprits to Nigeria - A teenager’s suicide has been revealed as a sextortion plot, run by a global crime gang that hounded the NSW schoolboy to death over just $500. The Sydney Morning Herald can reveal cybercrime detectives traced the plotters to a sprawling Nigerian slum in the latest fatal case of a “hidden pandemic” targeting children across the world. AFP Commander Helen Schneider said the arrests showed how law enforcement agencies needed to work together to combat “borderless crime” like that carried out by online fraud syndicates. “The sextortion of children is a borderless crime, as these arrests show,” Schneider said. “The partnerships between law enforcement here in Australia and around the world are vital as we work together to protect children online.”

>>20715831 AFL great Carl Ditterich charged over alleged historical indecent assault of underage girl - Australian Football Hall of Famer Carl Ditterich has been charged with a string of child sex offences for allegedly assaulting a girl who was under his care in 1985. Detectives charged the 78-year-old with three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency last Friday following an investigation into the alleged historical incident. The alleged incident occurred five years after Ditterich retired from the league in 1980, following a near 20-year career which later earned the ruckman an induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 2004. Police allege that in August 1985, Ditterich forced a girl under the age of 16 to touch his penis. They also allege he molested the young girl, groped her breast and masturbated in front of her. The alleged victim was under Ditterich’s supervision at the time, police stated in the charge sheet.

>>20715849 Former St Kilda and Melbourne star Carl Ditterich charged with sexual offences - Footy legend Carl Ditterich has been charged with historic child sex offences. The 78-year-old former St Kilda and Melbourne Football Club player is facing multiple charges, including three counts of indecent assault and one count of gross indecency in the presence of a child under the age of 16. It is alleged Mr Ditterich assaulted the child in Heatherton in Melbourne’s southeast in August 1985. At this time, Mr Ditterich - known during his playing days as the ‘Blonde Bombshell’ - had recently finished his professional sporting career and was aged in his early 40s. Mr Ditterich, from Echuca, has hired renowned criminal defence lawyer Tony Hargreaves to represent him.

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80104e No.20886235

#35 - Part 86

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

>>20726720 60 Minutes Special Investigation -The Mackeys’ non-verbal daughter was trying to tell them something. A hidden camera revealed the abuse- When Lee-Anne Mackey began screaming in pain, her mother and father did what any parent would - they began asking questions. Rob and Lorraine Mackey’s daughter, however, has a profound disability and is extremely vulnerable. The 53-year-old Melbourne woman has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair and is non-verbal. Lee-Anne uses her eyes to communicate, gazing at pictures on what is known as an e-tran board to convey her thoughts. Left for “yes”, right for “no”. She complained of rough treatment at the Scope-run residential house where she had lived independently with other clients for more than two decades. The Mackeys kept complaining to Scope, which initially dismissed the mistreatment after it ordered an investigation into the complaint in 2019. It was then that the Mackeys took matters into their own hands. They decided to place a covert camera in their daughter’s room despite not knowing if it was illegal. What the camera captured horrified them. It revealed multiple incidents of bullying, vile behaviour and physical abuse. The videos reveal that the complaints made by Lee-Anne, who is not cognitively impaired, only worsened the behaviour of her carers, Lisa Wilson, Monika Paniczko and Anastasia Moutsos. Police Detective Senior Constable Travis Kinghorn, who investigated the case, urged people to report abuse in the disability sector. “There’s no excuse for this type of behaviour,” he said.

>>20726780 60 Minutes Investigation Preview -Secret videos show sickening abuse of woman by her carers- A 60 Minutes investigation has obtained footage of vile treatment meted out at a Scope residential home to client Lee-Anne Mackey, who has cerebral palsy, uses a wheelchair, is non-verbal and has osteoporosis. Lee-Anne, who is not cognitively impaired, complained to her parents, Rob and Lorraine Mackey, of rough treatment by Scope staff in early 2019 by communicating with her eyes. The Mackeys' complaints to Scope only worsened the behaviour of her carers, Lisa Wilson, Monika Paniczko and Anastasia Moutsos. The mistreatment of Lee-Anne, now 53, was initially dismissed by Scope after they ordered an investigation into the complaint in 2019. In frustration, Lee-Anne's father, Rob, decided to install a hidden camera in his daughter's room, despite not knowing if it was illegal. The footage, captured over 18 months, revealed Wilson - then aged 25 - sticking her finger and then a cylinder into Lee-Anne's mouth for her own amusement and yelling, "aw, she hasn't got a gag reflex." Minister for the NDIS, Bill Shorten, who was provided the footage by 60 Minutes to view, said the actions of her carers were "dehumanising" and made him "angry". He said Scope, a large not-for-profit provider of disability services in Victoria and New South Wales, would be watched. "I thought it was just evil," Shorten said. "I don't want to believe that there are people who will treat other people in the manner in which I saw in that video. These people acting with such callous indifference to Lee-Anne, it's just shocking. It's cruel. It's a betrayal of Lee-Anne and it's actually a betrayal of the good people who work in disability. It was shocking."

>>20751690 Video: Inside the police unit unmasking child predators - "It's like putting together a puzzle. A horrible, sickening puzzle. One where some of the key pieces are missing. And the finished product isn't a picture you'd ever want to see. "We can be looking at child abuse material six, seven, eight hours a day, day in and day out." It's a remarkable statement about a standard day in the office, delivered in a remarkably matter-of-fact fashion by acting detective sergeant Kate Laidler. She leads the Australian Federal Police's Victim Identification Team, based in the nation's capital. Sitting behind computer screens, they scour hundreds of thousands, sometimes millions, of photos and videos, trying to find any tiny clue that could help save a vulnerable child suffering at the hands of depraved predators." - Matthew Doran - abc.net.au

>>20751727 Child sex abuse cops alarmed by Meta move - Global law enforcement chiefs have gathered in Brisbane and strategised on how to fight a recalcitrant Meta’s decision to expand encryption at the expense of protecting children. The Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of 15 agencies including the Australian Federal Police, workshopped how to respond to the tech giant’s encryption plans and its expected severe impacts on child abuse investigations. Vital reports of children being abused will plummet following Meta’s global rollout of default end-to-end encryption on Facebook and Messenger, investigators have warned.

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80104e No.20886236

#35 - Part 87

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

>>20751795 Former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders faces two new indecent assault charges - The former Bishop of Broome Christopher Saunders is facing two new indecent assault charges after his home in Western Australia's north was raided on Wednesday morning. The 74-year-old is already facing 26 charges, including two counts of sexual penetration without consent, three counts of indecent dealing with a child and 14 counts of unlawful and indecent assault. WA Police confirmed on Wednesday a 74-year-old Broome man is facing two charges of indecent and unlawful assault. While police have not named the man, the ABC has confirmed he is the former Broome Bishop. It will be alleged Bishop Saunders sexually assaulted a man who was 21 or 22 years old in 2016.

>>20751933 60 Minutes Full Episode: Couldn't Care Less -Secret videos show sickening abuse of woman by her carers- Hours and hours of secret video recordings reveal the terrible scandal of how a woman was abused by the carers who should have been looking after her. It’s not a proud boast, but this is without doubt some of the cruellest, most horrific vision ever seen on Australian television. It’s part of a major investigation by Tara Brown focusing on shocking accusations that disability support workers were mistreating a vulnerable person they were employed to look after. However, instead of caring for the woman, their attitude and actions screamed that they couldn’t care less. As Brown reveals, the workers smugly assumed that because the victim was unable to speak, their abuse would go undetected. But they were proved wrong when, in an extraordinary act of love, the woman’s elderly parents took the law into their own hands and used a hidden camera to expose the terrible truth.

>>20798867 Catholic college ordered to remove paedophile priest from honour roll - A Catholic college will remove disgraced former teacher Father Bill Edwards from its honour roll and hall of fame years after it became aware of shocking child abuse allegations against Edwards, and only when this masthead approached it for comment. The victim, who asked not to be identified because he is a victim of sexual abuse, sent a letter to Salesian College Chadstone principal Mark Ashmore almost two years ago, asking the Catholic college to stop eulogising Edwards, who died in 2010. “Your school website describes his ‘fifty years of incredible service’ and refers to him as ‘a great man’,” the letter from July 2022, seen by The Age, says. The letter also quotes the former head of the Salesians describing Edwards as “perhaps the Australian Salesian who most closely resembled [Salesians founder] Don Bosco himself”. It continues: “Actually, Edwards was a paedophile. I know that because he violently sexually assaulted me on a year 7 camp when I was a student at another Salesian school in the early 1990s.” The new Australia-Pacific provincial of the Salesians, Father Peter Hoang Kim Huy, made an order on Monday to “remove all references and recognitions to Fr Edwards across all Salesian schools”. “Any allegation of harm to a child is profoundly distressing, and while this has been a complex issue, it is deeply regrettable that this action was not taken sooner,” he said.

>>20803391 Video: ‘Beast Boy’: NSW Police charge one of state’s worst alleged bestiality offenders - Sexual gratification and financial advantage motivated a man labelled by police as one of the state’s worst alleged bestiality offenders, who was arrested in a raid on his remote Mid North Coast home this week. The sex crime squad’s child exploitation internet unit began targeting those creating and distributing child abuse material through the internet in February this year, coming across a man using the pseudonym Beast Boy online. Police allege the profile had a large online presence and used encrypted messaging apps to share and sell bestiality material. In their investigation, police uncovered videos showing the alleged sexual abuse of various animals including dogs, sheep, goats and chickens. One video featured a dead kangaroo. Detectives were able to identify the man allegedly behind the disturbing account as 38-year-old Colin Baker, with police swarming a rural property in Moorland, 30 kilometres north of Taree, at 7.30am on Tuesday. As the man was being arrested, accompanying RSPCA inspectors found a small dog on the property. Police say the Jack Russell cross named Locky was among the animals abused by the man for the purposes of creating online videos.

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80104e No.20886237

#35 - Part 88

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

>>20831652 Video: Operation Arkstone - Childcare worker, partner jailed for decades - ‘Most evil crimes imaginable’ - 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. 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.

>>20831682 Video - Operation Arkstone: child abuse material network kingpins sentenced - 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. 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.”

>>20855565 Six former inmates of Magill Youth Training Centre sue SA government over alleged sexual abuse in the former facility - A demolished SA youth detention centre once reported to the United Nations as “a living human rights abuse” was “a pedophile’s playground” where children were sexually abused on a nightly basis, former inmates claim. The Advertiser can reveal six men held, as children, in the Magill Training Centre have sent letters of demand to the state government, seeking compensation for repeated sexual assaults. Each of the men was remanded to the centre, which operated from 1869 to 2012, at different times and were unknown to one another - but each alleges near-identical abuse. They also accuse the same guards of perpetrating that abuse, claiming it began immediately upon their arrival and continued each night until they were released. The men further claim they were warned, by other and longer-serving detainees, not to complain “otherwise it will just get worse”.

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80104e No.20886371

File: 3197e40022693e4⋯.jpg (153.01 KB,1280x853,1280:853,OZ_Damper.jpg)

NEW OZ BREAD

Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>20886248

>>20886248

>>20886248

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80104e No.20886373

File: 13d9e6036825513⋯.jpg (6.46 MB,5332x3555,5332:3555,A_British_Astute_class_nuc….jpg)

Filling #35…..

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80104e No.20886375

File: 16086640a8c889a⋯.jpg (2.53 MB,4256x2832,266:177,A_Virginia_class_attack_su….jpg)

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80104e No.20886377

File: f8ef7e30cf0d98a⋯.jpg (1.75 MB,3600x2400,3:2,As_part_of_the_AUKUS_agree….jpg)

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80104e No.20886379

File: df53deee270af08⋯.jpg (2.1 MB,3600x2652,300:221,Australia_will_buy_up_to_f….jpg)

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80104e No.20886380

File: bd81f099638c057⋯.jpg (617.94 KB,1800x1265,360:253,Details_of_the_AUKUS_annou….jpg)

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80104e No.20886381

File: 9eeb3af459a838c⋯.jpg (89.67 KB,1280x720,16:9,HMS_Ambush_one_of_Britain_….jpg)

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80104e No.20886382

File: 0eebe09c231a377⋯.jpg (4.96 MB,3819x2477,3819:2477,Los_Angeles_class_submarin….jpg)

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80104e No.20886384

File: f5dd63975c7d9e4⋯.jpg (2.48 MB,4000x2667,4000:2667,More_than_700_US_personnel….jpg)

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80104e No.20886388

File: aa8371d3a686d4e⋯.jpg (242.33 KB,1200x720,5:3,Some_analysts_say_that_the….jpg)

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80104e No.20886390

File: 486702429ab5ce8⋯.jpg (906.56 KB,2048x1463,2048:1463,The_AUKUS_deal_is_expected….jpg)

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80104e No.20886392

File: e3bfa5250f68b6d⋯.jpg (196.93 KB,1500x1201,1500:1201,The_Australian_partnership….jpg)

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80104e No.20886393

File: d8812e200df6b6d⋯.jpg (2 MB,4256x2832,266:177,The_first_phase_of_AUKUS_w….jpg)

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80104e No.20886397

File: f71dd51bf7fcbf9⋯.jpg (5.11 MB,6000x3998,3000:1999,The_first_pillar_of_AUKUS_….jpg)

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80104e No.20886398

File: 03446ac87c3b4e5⋯.jpg (357.64 KB,2048x1152,16:9,The_US_is_deepening_its_en….jpg)

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80104e No.20886399

File: c36a9479dcfe2e8⋯.jpg (447.34 KB,2400x1230,80:41,The_significance_of_AUKUS_….jpg)

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80104e No.20886400

File: 7e67bb5ccb4a1f0⋯.jpg (573.41 KB,2048x1365,2048:1365,The_US_Navy_has_increased_….jpg)

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80104e No.20886402

File: 0cb42593ef16ad5⋯.jpg (243.57 KB,2031x1142,2031:1142,United_States_Submarine_US….jpg)

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80104e No.20886405

File: c6e480253733b6e⋯.jpg (4.76 MB,7360x4912,460:307,US_needs_to_step_up_assura….jpg)

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80104e No.20886408

File: 9f9b4417d1078b5⋯.jpg (3.16 MB,2800x2000,7:5,Chairman_of_the_Joint_Chie….jpg)

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