/qresearch/ -  Q Research

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Former NSA chief Mike Rogers believes Donald Trump will question AUKUS but ultimately support it

CAMERON STEWART - November 14, 2024

Australia should expect Donald Trump to question the AUKUS submarine pact but he is likely to eventually back it when he sees its value to the US, according to the former head of America’s largest intelligence agency.

Admiral Mike Rogers, who headed the National Security Agency during Mr Trump’s first term and who worked closely with the then president, says Australia must prepare to make the case about key aspects of its alliance with the US to the transactional new president. This includes the AUKUS plan to buy Virginia-class submarines from the US, a plan that has received pushback from some Republicans who will now control both the Senate and the house.

“I do believe the new president is going to ask the following question: Tell me what value AUKUS generates for the US,” Admiral Rogers told The Australian in an exclusive interview in Adelaide.

“I think there’s a good case to be made: Hey, look, we’re seeing jobs, we’re seeing capital, flow into the US … it sends a broader message to the entire region about the commitment of Australia, the US and Great Britain to the Indo-­Pacific and it clearly signals to China we intend to be strong players,” he said.

“Those are all positives but I do expect he will not come in with a view of ‘Well, of course, it’s the thing to do. It’s what my predecessor wanted.’ That’s not the way, in my experience, he normally works. But I do believe that ultimately he will accept it, in part because I think he can make a pretty compelling case that is ­generating value for the US.”

Admiral Rogers said Australia would also need to make its case to the incoming president about why it should be exempted from his new plan to impose 10 per cent on all imports into the US, just as Australia did to avoid Mr Trump’s steel and aluminium tariffs in 2018.

“He has shown in the past a willingness on a case-by-case basis, if there can be a compelling argument – but the compelling argument often has to include, how would this benefit the US?’

Admiral Rogers said believed Mr Trump would begin his second term with greater confidence about what was possible to achieve because he had a better understanding of how the system worked. He said Mr Trump’s appointments so far in his new administration were people he knew personally and people who he knew backed the mandate for change that he won from the electorate.

“(They are) reflective of his ideology and his view, president Trump’s view of the world,” said Admiral Rogers, who is in Adelaide to speak at the Sohn Hearts & Minds Conference on Friday.

“He’s less interested in what’s your pedigree, what’s your CV? That doesn’t seem to be the biggest factor. If you look at his appointments, his view to me is ‘Look, I’ve just been given a mandate to make significant changes and so I’m going to start off in a way that will enable me to make changes within the structure much quicker, much more efficiently’.”

As a former head of the NSA, Admiral Rogers concedes Mr Trump is sceptical about aspects of the US intelligence community, which he calls a part of the “deep state”.

“He truly believes there are elements working in the government, who are actively opposed to (his) vision, who are trying to defeat his initiatives. And he starts this term with a view of ‘I’m going to make sure there’s people in place who understand my ideology or my viewpoint, who are committed to executing that viewpoint’.”

Admiral Rogers said in his previous dealings with the then president, he never felt any pressure from Mr Trump to tailor intelligence assessments in any way and he said the agencies were able to make their own assessments in the correct manner. “That’s the way our system works,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/us-politics/former-nsa-chief-mike-rogers-believes-donald-trump-will-question-aukus-but-ultimately-support-it/news-story/cde241472084b1d4116ef2e37f51e27c

https://qresear.ch/?q=michael+rogers

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>Why is ADM R so important?

>Who wanted him fired?

>Why?

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>Why is this relevant?

Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones charged over indecent assault allegations

STEPHEN RICE - 18 November 2024

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Veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has been charged for indecent assault and touching offences spanning more than two decades.

NSW Police charged the former 2GB radio host with 24 offences against eight victims, after arresting him at his luxury Circular Quay apartment around 7.45am on Monday morning.

Jones has been granted conditional bail, and will appear in the Downing Centre local court on December 18.

The charges included 11 counts of aggravated indecent assault (victim under authority of offender), nine counts of assault with act of indecency, two counts of sexually touching another person without consent and two counts of common assault.

Assistant commissioner in charge of state crimes Michael Fitzgerald revealed in a press conference the youngest of Jones’ alleged victims was 17 years old.

“I wish to commend the victims and their bravery in coming forward,” he said. “They fully are aware, as are the investigators, that the hard work is just beginning, and they have given their statements fully aware that they will go before the courts.”

Fitzgerald said police believe more people will come forward with allegations against Jones.

“The strike force will continue, and (officers are) currently talking to people and will continue to talk to people,” he said.

Police granted Jones bail under the strict conditions that he surrender his passport and not enter any airport. He is required to remain living in Sydney, and is not allowed to contact any complainant or witness in relation to the ongoing police investigation.

He is also not permitted to disclose the identities of alleged victims to the media or any third party, except for his lawyers.

Fitzgerald said police will allege Jones knew some of the alleged victims personally and some professionally.

“We’ll also allege that some of the victims when the alleged offence took place, was the first time that they ever met the accused,” he said.

Jones was “calm” when approached by police at his home on Monday morning, and quickly sought legal advice.

Lawyers for Jones left the police station just moments before police announced he had been charged.

High profile solicitors Chris Murphy and Bryan Wrench departed Day Street police station just before 3pm.

As he walked down the street, Mr Murphy, known for his bulldog-like approach to defending his clients, threatened to have a television journalist charged for apparently “striking” him.

“I told you before, if you strike me again I’ll have you charged, get back,” he said.

Mr Wrench arrived at Jones’ harbourside apartment at about 9am after the radio icon had been taken into custody.

Jones was led into a waiting police car just after 11am, and arrived ten minutes later at Day Street police station in central Sydney.

Police also executed a search warrant at the apartment as a number of detective arrived with large plastic containers.

Mr Jones was the subject of a series of stories in Nine Newspapers alleging that he preyed on young men during his career.

In March this year, the NSW State Crime Command’s Child Abuse Squad established Strike Force Bonnefin to investigate alleged indecent assaults and sexual touching incidents between 2001 and 2019.

The first accuser, a man called Brad Webster who did not want his real name to be used, was 20 when he started working for the radio host at 2GB.

Mr Webster alleges Jones touched his genitals as he drove him home from 2GB Studios, which he says was one of his job requirements.

Lawyers representing Jones say he denies all accusations, telling the Sydney Morning Herald that: “Our client denies ever having indecently assaulted the persons referred to in your letter, and your suggestion that he has is scandalous, grossly offensive and seriously defamatory of him.”

Jones again reiterated his denial in a five-minute video released in March.

“I’m not going to dwell here on the allegations made about me other than I refute them entirely and the inferences associated with them,” Jones said. “But the get-Jones campaign is nothing new in my life.”

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At a press conference in Wollongong, NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said the efforts of the strike force would remain ongoing following Jones’s arrest.

“This is a result of a very long, thorough, protracted investigation. The investigators will have more to say about that at a media conference this morning, but let me say I did visit the Strike Force some weeks and months ago to look at the work that they have been doing,” Ms Webb said.

“It is very complex and protracted, and I know that those officers have been working tirelessly to lead to today’s operation.”

She urged anyone who believes they had been a victim of Jones to come forward.

“There’s no such thing as a matter that’s too old to be investigated,” Ms Webb said.

“What I’d say to victims is that there is no better time to come forward than now, and you will be listened to, and we will take your matter seriously.”

NSW Premier Chris Minns, appearing alongside Ms Webb and Police Minister Yasmin Catley, said it was inappropriate for him to comment.

“I can understand the interest in the topic, but it’s just not appropriate for me to comment on it,” he said. “This is a major investigation. The police are obviously involved, and we need to be in a position to let them do that job. So I’m not going to offer a running commentary on it.” Fellow 2GB anchor Ray Hadley briefly commented on Jones’s arrest prior to his show this morning, saying he “had been aware of things happening behind the scenes for some time.”

“After working with Alan Jones for over three decades my relationship with him soured five years ago over allegations which have been aired in the Sydney Morning Herald previously,” Hadley said.

Despite this, Hadley said he is unable to provide more information due to his “need…to be circumspect.”

“I want to ensure that justice is served here and that commentators such as myself do not interfere with the process.”

However, Hadley said that, “At some time in the future those reasons why I’m not commenting on it today will become patently obvious to everyone. Patently obvious, (but) in the meantime I will say no more.”

Hadley said he had been “quoted before” in the media regarding his relationship with Jones, and what was said is “still valid”.

Hadley said that his relationship with Mr Jones was already “strained over other matters” but the pair ceased contact after Hadley spoke with Mr Webster, stating “from the day I spoke to Bradley our relationship was severed”.

Later in the show, Hadley confronted “narks” who speculated he was leaving 2GB due in part to the allegations against Mr Jones.

“This has had nothing to do with my decision, nothing whatsoever to do with my decision, it’s completely devoid of the decision I’d taken,” Hadley said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/alan-jones-arrested-over-indecent-assault-allegations/news-story/e74c1739bb23b28d3ff2545c7bb2c943

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/alan-jones-breaks-his-silence/video/8f67485edb6dc726ec9fbad8a74feaa9

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At Jones’ next school, The King’s School in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta, a student alleged Jones put his hand down his athletic shorts.

During his 35 years as the most successful and feared broadcaster of his generation, Jones is also alleged to have indecently assaulted young men.

One former 2GB employee has alleged he was repeatedly indecently assaulted by Jones.

Brad Webster (not his real name) told the Herald and The Age last year: “If I went to the police, Jones could be charged. What he did to me was a criminal offence. He cannot die without people knowing what he’s done.”

Jones was 65 when Webster was hired at age 20 to do menial jobs including driving the radio star from the station’s Pyrmont studios to his apartment in the Circular Quay building, dubbed The Toaster.

“During those 10 minutes, it would be wandering hands and then it just gradually became him grabbing my dick … you’re driving, you’re absolutely trapped … he’d go the grope, he’d rub my penis,” Webster said.

Jones is also alleged to have kissed him in the lift and exposed himself in the apartment.

Like many others, Webster knew he would be destroyed if he complained.

“Jones was more powerful than the prime minister,” said Webster. “He could pick up the phone to John Howard and demand for things to be done.”

One former radio producer, who asked not to be named due to fear of reprisals, said that, while he didn’t see Jones touching anyone’s genitals, “I did see inappropriate behaviour and I saw it on a number of occasions.”

The producer said Jones’ petting and pawing of young men was “uninvited”, “predatory”, “brazen” and “absolutely confronting”.

Jones, he said, “would be all over them – he wouldn’t take his hands off them”.

He said the young men, including staff, waiters and singers on Jones’ show, “would be very embarrassed and very uncomfortable”.

Several men from the arts community have alleged that Jones assaulted them at his apartment overlooking the Sydney Opera House.

One, a musician, said he didn’t say anything to anyone because Jones was immensely powerful and no one wanted to risk getting the broadcaster offside. “You get on the wrong side and he’ll ruin you,” he said.

In 2008, a young waiter who was 22 at the time said he was working at a Kiama restaurant when an inebriated Jones grabbed and fondled his penis without consent.

The late tech entrepreneur Alex Hartman, who died in 2019, told four journalists Jones indecently assaulted him as a teenager. “I was his prey … I know I am not the only one, and this will come out somehow.” Hartman also claimed that Jones “forces himself on young men and uses his power in a predatory way”.

In January 2017, a then-schoolboy told the Herald and The Age he was invited to spend a weekend at Jones’ Fitzroy Falls property in the NSW Southern Highlands. The broadcaster had taken an interest in the boy’s family following numerous difficulties, including the death of the boy’s sister.

The boy later gave a statement to police in which he alleged that he and Jones, who was 75 at the time, watched a movie before Jones passionately kissed him on the lips and placed his left hand on the boy’s buttocks. After pushing Jones away, he told the police that he went to the bathroom “with my loofah and soap and began scrubbing my mouth, inside and out, as much as I could”.

He later told his mother that someone with “power and money” had done “something to him which he shouldn’t have”.

Jones denied the allegations raised by the Herald and The Age in December 2023 and threatened to sue. He is yet to commence legal action.

In March, he released a video in which he claimed medical ailments had kept him from appearing on the conservative ADH (Australian Digital Holdings) TV, which broadcasts to a small audience via social media platforms.

“The get-Jones campaign is nothing new in my life,” Jones said in the video.

Although Jones announced in the video that he had “every intention of returning to broadcasting”, he has not been on air since the Herald and The Age raised the allegations last year.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/alan-jones-arrested-over-allegations-he-indecently-assaulted-young-men-20241118-p5krdu.html

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

>>22008499

How Alan Jones rose to power grilling the most powerful

Kate McClymont - November 18, 2024

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Over 35 years, Alan Jones established his position as Australia’s most influential radio host, quizzing eight prime ministers and 11 NSW premiers and dominating Sydney’s airwaves with 226 consecutive rating wins.

He regularly courted controversy, clashed with politicians and wielded great power. On Monday Jones was arrested over allegations that he indecently assaulted, groped or inappropriately touched multiple young men.

After a nine-month investigation by Strike Force Bonnefin, detectives swooped to arrest Jones at his Circular Quay home.

The strike force was formed following a lengthy investigation by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, which revealed in December that the 83-year-old had used his position of power over an almost 60-year period to allegedly prey on a number of young men.

Who is Alan Jones?

Alan Belford Jones was born in Oakey, Queensland, in 1941 and was schooled in Toowoomba. He graduated from Queensland and Oxford Universities with majors in English and French language, literature, politics and education. He became a teacher, working in the Queensland public school system before he joined Brisbane Grammar in 1963 as English and French master. He worked at the prestigious school for six years and helped coach the student rugby union team. From 1970 to 1975, Jones was an English teacher and rugby coach at The King’s School, Parramatta.

Jones also had political ambitions. In the mid-1970s, he joined the Country Party (now the Nationals), worked as speechwriter and adviser for its then-leader Doug Anthony, and stood for preselection for the federal seat of Eden-Monaro. He lost.

In 1978, he stood as the Liberal Party candidate in a byelection for the NSW seat of Earlwood. He lost again. The next year, he stood for Liberal preselection for the federal seat of North Sydney but lost a third time. In 1979, he joined Malcolm Fraser’s staff as the prime minister’s speechwriter until 1981.

As a rugby union coach, Jones led Manly to victory in Sydney’s Shute Shield in 1983. He was appointed coach of Australia in 1984. Under Jones, the Wallabies won 86 out of 102 matches over four years, including Australia’s first Bledisloe Cup win in 39 years in 1986. He had a less-successful stint coaching the Balmain Tigers from 1991 to 1993.

His broadcasting career began in 1985 when he was made mornings presenter at 2UE by then kingmaker John Brennan, who had met Jones at a Wallabies function the year before. Jones turned a poorly rating breakfast show into the most listened-to program in Australia.

He left 2UE in 2002 and ratings plummeted. His new employer, 2GB, soon became Sydney’s most popular AM station.

Clashes and controversy

In May 2020, Jones announced his retirement from 2GB on doctor’s advice. Behind the scenes, Jones was being forced out on commercial grounds as advertisers had boycotted his program. Nine Entertainment, 2GB’s new owner (and the owner of the Herald and The Age) was alarmed at the estimated $20 million advertising loss following an angry tirade by Jones about then-New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern. Jones told his audience in August 2019 that then-prime minister Scott Morrison should “shove a sock down her throat” and he hoped Morrison “gets tough here with a few backhanders”.

For many, it brought back Jones’ extraordinary 2012 attack on Julia Gillard in which he called for Australia’s first female prime minister to be put in a “chaff bag” and dumped at sea, also claiming that her father had “died of shame”.

There has been much criticism over the years. In 2014, Jones was forced to apologise to NSW chief scientist Mary O’Kane for suggesting the mining industry might have influenced a report she produced on coal seam gas; he was criticised in 2018 for dropping the N-word when describing senator Mathias Cormann; and later for his aggressive treatment of Opera House chief executive Louise Herron over her opposition to projecting the barrier draw for The Everest horse race onto the iconic sails.

Jones’ employers were also hit with a defamation payout of nearly $3.75 million over his wrongful claims the Wagner family in Queensland was responsible for the deaths of a dozen people in the 2011 Grantham floods.

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But way back in 1988 his career was almost derailed following his arrest in a public toilet in London’s Soho district, a well-known gay beat. The charges of “outraging public decency” and “committing an indecent act” were subsequently dropped.

In 1999 and again in 2004, he was swept up in the cash-for-comment inquiry. In 2000, an Australian Broadcasting Authority inquiry heard Jones and fellow Sydney broadcaster John Laws had accepted hidden sponsorships to promote clients on air. Regulations were changed to make personal sponsorships more transparent.

Political clout

Eight prime ministers and 11 NSW premiers served during Jones’ media career – he grilled them all.

He wielded his influence and was a passionate supporter of former Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott and an unrelenting critic of his successor Malcolm Turnbull.

“He played a big role in Turnbull going down,” said one source who saw Jones’ campaign against Turnbull close up.

Former federal Labor leader Bill Shorten got short shrift during the 2019 federal election, earning a battering over the party’s policies on energy, electric cars and negative gearing.

In NSW, his clashes with premiers were frequent, with Mike Baird in 2015 enduring particularly searing treatment over the banning of the greyhound industry (a decision that Baird eventually overturned).

Former Labor premier Bob Carr says he kept going on Jones’ show because “so many people listened to him”.

On Jones’ final 2GB show in 2020, Abbott and the former federal Labor leader-turned-NSW upper house MP Mark Latham walked into his Southern Highlands home studio with champagne to celebrate. Prime minister Scott Morrison did one final interview. NSW deputy premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro phoned in saying he was the “friend of the farmer and tradie”. NSW police commissioner Mick Fuller thanked him for his support of the police.

Beyond radio

Jones joined Sky News Australia in 2013 as co-host of a program with Graham Richardson, then hosted Jones & Co in 2016 before finally helming his own nightly show in July 2020 after leaving 2GB.

In early November 2021, Jones’ contract was not renewed by Sky News. The next month he signed with the James Packer-backed Australian Digital Holdings TV, which broadcasts to a small audience via social media platforms. He last appeared on ADH TV in November last year.

Health concerns

In 2008, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer and made a full recovery after surgery.

Jones spent much of the early part of 2022 on the operating table for “unconscionable” nerve pain, and again in November. He has not been broadcasting since the Herald and The Age revealed allegations of indecent assault in December last year, which he denies. Jones left Australia in the period between the allegations being aired and Christmas, but reportedly returned in February. In a five-minute video given to News Corp mastheads in early March, the then 82-year-old said he had planned to resume hosting duties on ADH TV in mid-February but could not due to a recent health diagnosis.

“I have every intention of returning to broadcasting eventually. It is what I do. My work is my life. I could have retired but as I’ve often said if you stop you drop. However, I won’t be returning just now because of my latest medical assessments.”

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/politics/nsw/how-alan-jones-rose-to-power-grilling-the-most-powerful-20241118-p5kre8.html

>>21922359

>>21994024

Donald Trump, tariffs to top Anthony Albanese’s G20 talks with Xi Jinping

GEOFF CHAMBERS - 18 November 2024

Chinese President Xi Jinping will hold a third bilateral meeting with Anthony Albanese at the start of the G20 summit, with the leaders expected to discuss the aftermath of Donald Trump’s election victory, tariff war fears and strengthening the China-Australia trade relationship.

Just over 12-months after Mr Xi hosted the Prime Minister in Beijing for their second meeting, the pair will sit down in Rio de Janeiro at a time of heightened anxiety for China over the scale of Mr Trump’s threatened 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports.

Mr Albanese, who is not seeking a meeting with Mr Trump following the G20 summit, will not hold formal talks with outgoing US President Joe Biden, who on Monday (AEDT) became the first American leader to travel to the Amazon.

Amid concerns Australian products could be slugged with tariffs of up to 20 per cent, Mr Albanese has pledged to seek a positive outcome for local goods with a Trump administration, while not interfering between the US and China.

After meeting with Mr Xi, Mr Albanese will hold talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who last week committed his Labour government to a 2035 target cutting emissions by 81 per cent. The meetings will run from late Monday (AEDT) into Tuesday. Mr Albanese will join G20 host and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday (AEDT) at the launch of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty.

Following the APEC meeting in Peru and G20 summit in Brazil, Mr Albanese is planning to return to Canberra by Thursday and attend this week’s final parliamentary sitting day.

Next week is the final parliamentary sitting week before the Christmas break and election year.

Ahead of the two-day G20 leaders’ summit, the Prime Minister and fiancee Jodie Haydon attended Sunday mass at the Catedral Metropolitana de Sao do Rio de Janeiro, a massive Catholic Church in the heart of the beachside city with 64m high stained glass windows.

After arriving early in Rio de Janeiro following the APEC summit in Lima, Mr Albanese had no public engagements on Sunday, as he prepared for a series of key bilateral meetings.

In May, The Australian revealed Mr Albanese had begun attending mass at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra after re-engaging with his faith following the passing of his mother and his rise as opposition leader and Prime Minister.

The Labor leader reportedly no longer refers to himself as a nominal Catholic but as a “flawed Catholic” who occasionally attends mass.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/donald-trump-tariffs-to-top-anthony-albaneses-g20-talks-with-xi-jinping/news-story/e32621385b08859fd0ec8c00dc8613b4

>>21922359

>>21994024

>>22008527

Xi Jinping moves to lock-in Anthony Albanese on trade at G20

GEOFF CHAMBERS - 19 November 2024

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Xi Jinping has urged Anthony Albanese to join him in transforming the China-Australia relationship into a more mature, stable and fruitful partnership that will project “stability and certainty to the region and the wider world” in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.

The Chinese President – who has assembled the Communist Party’s highest-ranking officials in South America to launch a charm offensive of world leaders at the APEC and G20 summits – told the Prime Minister that their discussions in Beijing last year had been “very productive over the past year and more”.

Mr Xi and Mr Albanese met at the Chinese president’s Rio de Janeiro hotel, where the Communist leader is receiving world leaders offsite from the G20 summit. Mr Albanese was brought in to meet Mr Xi immediately after British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

The third bilateral meeting between Mr Xi and Mr Albanese ran for about 30 minutes before the leaders headed in their motorcades to the G20 opening session. Mr Xi’s diplomatic full court press comes amid fears in Beijing of a US-China trade war after Mr Trump pledged to impose 60 per cent tariffs on all Chinese products.

Marking the 10th anniversary almost to the date since he addressed the federal parliament in 2014, Mr Xi told Mr Albanese “we have maintained close communications at all levels, actively promoting the implementations of our common understandings, and made positive progress”.

“Ten years ago today, I was on a state visit in Australia. And on this very day, during which our two sides agreed to establish a comprehensive strategic partnership. And over the past decade, we have made some progress in China-Australia relations and also witnessed some twists and turns. That trajectory has many inspirations to offer,” Mr Xi said.

“Now, our relations have realised a turnaround and continues to grow, bringing tangible benefits to our two peoples. So, this is the result of our collective hard work in the same direction, and should be maintained with great care.

“I wish to work with you, Mr Prime Minister, to make our comprehensive strategic partnership more mature, stable and fruitful and eject more stability and certainty to the region and the wider world.”

Mr Xi was flanked at the meeting by his most senior ranking officials, including influential Foreign Affairs Minister Wang Yi, powerful Communist Party official Cai Qi, Finance Minister Lan Fo’an, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao, People’s Bank of China governor Pan Gongsheng and National Development and Reform Commission chair Zheng Shanjie. Mr Albanese was joined by foreign policy adviser Kathy Klugman and senior Prime Minister & Cabinet first assistant secretary Pablo Kang.

In opening remarks before the meeting, Mr Albanese thanked Mr Xi for his “tremendous hospitality when I visited Beijing last year”.

“Since then, there has been further encouraging progress in the stabilisation of our relationship. We’ve resumed a range of dialogues. And the tempo of bilateral visits is increasing.

“Trade is flowing more freely to the benefit of both countries and to people and businesses on both sides. We continue to explore opportunities for practical co-operation in areas of shared interest, including on our energy transition and climate change,” Mr Albanese said.

“Our whole region will benefit from the prosperity that can flow from peace, security and stability in our region. That is why our direct discussions to build deeper understanding on the issues that matter to us are so important.”

Mr Albanese said the rise of China had underpinned the fastest growing region in the world’s history and helped lift the “living standards of hundreds of millions of people through increased economic activity”.

Shortly after the meeting concluded, Beijing mouthpiece China Daily published multiple positive pieces and revealed Mr Xi told the Prime Minister that China and Australia must “strengthen coordination and cooperation, and oppose protectionism”.

Mr Xi is understood to have focused on momentum in the Australia-China relationship and the need to expand ties and investment. The Chinese President’s language was distinctly different compared to their meeting in Beijing 12-months ago.

During last year’s meeting, Mr Xi declared that China and Australia are “embarking on the right path of improvement”. At the G20 meeting, Mr Xi told Mr Albanese that we’ve “realised a turnaround”.

Mr Xi, according to the China Daily, told Mr Albanese “there is no fundamental conflict of interests between China and Australia”.

(continued)

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“Noting that both China and Australia are supporters and defenders of economic globalisation and free trade, he urged the two sides to promote the sharing of opportunities and benefits among various countries via opening up, so as to realize common development,” the article said.

“Noting that the two sides should be firm in expanding the pattern of mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation, Xi said China is willing to import more quality Australian products, encourage Chinese companies to invest and do business in Australia, and hope that Australia will provide a fair, transparent and non-discriminatory business environment for Chinese companies.”

The China Daily articles also revealed what Mr Albanese said in the meeting.

“Albanese said, the Australia-China relationship has made encouraging progress in various areas, including trade, bringing tangible benefits to the two peoples. The Australian side stays committed to the one-China policy, opposes “decoupling”, advocates promoting economic globalization, and hopes to strengthen cooperation with China in such areas as energy transition and climate change.

“Noting that China’s development has made important contributions to the long-term stability and growth of the Asia-Pacific region, Albanese said that Australia appreciates China’s important role in APEC and other multilateral mechanisms, supports China’s role as the host of APEC in 2026, and stands ready to strengthen multilateral communication with China to promote regional peace, stability, prosperity and development.”

In a readout released by the Prime Minister’s Office four hours after the meeting, a spokeswoman said the leaders met for a “stocktake of progress in stabilising relations between Australia and China, including through restoring trade and increasing engagement between our ministers and officials”.

Under existing annual leaders’ meeting arrangements, Mr Xi invited Mr Albanese to visit China next year.

“Leaders agreed on the importance of dialogue, bilaterally and across the Indo-Pacific region. PM Albanese set out Australia’s views on issues affecting regional and international peace, stability and prosperity.”

“They discussed opportunities for practical co-operation in areas of shared interest, including on energy transition and climate change. The PM raised a range of bilateral points, including consular matters as well as people to people links.”

Australian lobsters banned under China’s trade retaliation against the Morrison government are expected to be back on sale in China by year’s end coinciding with the Chinese Lunar New Year. Almost all of the trade bans, excluding a handful of beef producers, have been lifted by Beijing.

Mr Albanese, who was sat between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the G20 summit, spoke with Joe Biden, Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi shortly after arriving following the Xi meeting.

While the thawing in the China-Australia relationship under the Albanese government has seen trade flows and high-level diplomatic exchanges resume, Mr Albanese is under pressure to not overstep the mark in overbalancing either the US or Chinese relationships.

The unpredictable style of Mr Trump – who has threatened to slap 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports and tariffs of up to 20 per cent on all other imports – has plunged Mr Albanese and Mr Xi into uncertainty ahead of the Republican leader’s second inauguration on January 20.

Mr Albanese and senior government ministers have celebrated China’s lifting of bans on almost $20bn worth of Australian products, after the trade sanctions were imposed indiscriminately and in breach of World Trade Organisation rules as political payback against the former Morrison Coalition government.

In a predictable move last week, Beijing’s China Daily mouthpiece published a gushing editorial praising Mr Albanese’s “strategic autonomy” amid “unprecedented geopolitical complexity and uncertainty”.

The editorial, released amid growing concerns Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, would struggle to function in his role under a Trump administration, suggested leaders of other US allies should follow Mr Albanese’s lead in balancing relations with China and a second Trump administration.

US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy used a speech on Monday to declare America’s commitment to the Pacific, AUKUS and Quad partnership won’t change in a second Trump presidency.

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“The United States is a Pacific nation and what happens in this region is of vital national security, economic security, energy security to us,” the outgoing ambassador told the National Press Club in Canberra. “As we have seen with the Quad, as we have seen with critical minerals, and as we have seen … with AUKUS, across the board, the United States has made commitments over many decades and those are not going to change, and our national interest is not going to change.”

In the dying months of his presidency, Joe Biden on Monday (AEDT) made a significant announcement to approve the use of US-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine in strikes inside Russia.

Mr Biden’s decision on the eve of the G20 summit in Brazil, green-lighting the longstanding request from Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky, has been interpreted as a late-term power play to wedge Mr Trump ahead of his January inauguration.

Mr Trump, who has an open channel to Russian President Vladimir Putin and claims he will end the Ukraine war, is expected to dramatically cut overseas US military commitments under his America First 2.0 agenda.

Mr Biden, who turns 82 on Wednesday, is also moving to amplify his climate change agenda at the G20 summit after becoming on Monday the first US president to visit the Amazon. He used the trip to warn that his successor would try, and likely fail, to stop the global rush towards clean energy.

The US, backed by allies including Australia and Britain, will use the G20 summit to rally support in condemning Russia over the invasion of Ukraine and use of North Korean troops, and seek a consensus to de-escalate conflict in the Middle East. In response, China and Russia are expected to lead their G20 allies in blocking or watering down resolutions across a range of issues including Ukraine, the Middle East and climate change.

Ahead of a series of G20 meetings, including with the British Prime Minister, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mr Albanese kept a low profile on Sunday, attending mass at a local cathedral with fiancee Jodie Haydon.

In his first speech to G20 leaders on Tuesday (AEDT), Mr Albanese will push them to back stronger action on Ukraine and the Middle East, and condemn “the illegal and immoral actions of Russia”.

In a speech linking the conflicts to surging global inflation and energy prices, Mr Albanese will use the first G20 session on the “fight against hunger and poverty” to say food security and global hunger are directly connected with international conflicts.

After joining a failed push at the APEC summit in Peru to condemn Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and support calls for de-escalation in Gaza, Mr Albanese will team up with G20 Western powers demanding stronger action from world leaders.

Mr Albanese will say “while peace alone does not guarantee prosperity – conflict always brings poverty”.

“When we are grappling with the big geopolitical and global economic challenges facing our nations we must never lose sight of their impact on our citizens and their daily lives,” he will say.

“Because the hard truth is that in times of global turmoil, it is always those who have the least who are hurt the most. We see that in the shocking loss of innocent life in the Middle East.

“We see it in the ongoing toll that Russia’s invasion is taking on the brave people of Ukraine.”

Mr Albanese will say the G20 presents an opportunity for the international community to “call for a de-escalation of the violence in the Middle East”, and call on world leaders to “condemn the illegal and immoral actions of Russia and indeed North Korea, which is now committing troops to the invasion of a sovereign nation, while its own people starve”.

“Just as we all know that there is a direct connection between these conflicts and a worldwide surge in inflation and energy prices, we should be very clear about the link between international conflict and global hunger,” he will say.

“Because there can be no food security without national and regional security. And while peace alone does not guarantee prosperity, conflict always brings poverty.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/xi-jinping-moves-to-lockin-anthony-albanese-on-trade-at-g20/news-story/3e9c04650c1bf2c48d857368982e4efa

https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202411/18/WS673b5bd4a310f1265a1ce278.html

Penny Wong ‘gravely concerned’ as Australian Gordon Ng sentenced to seven years in Hong Kong pro-democracy crackdown

WILL GLASGOW - 19 November 2024

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Australian Gordon Ng has been sentenced to more than seven years as part of the biggest crackdown on Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement since Beijing imposed a national security law on the former British colony in 2020.

Ng was one of 47 democracy campaigners - dubbed the “Hong Kong 47” - who were charged with conspiring to commit subversion for their involvement in an attempt to win a majority in the city’s local elections.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the Australian government was “gravely concerned” by the sentence, which was delivered in Hong Kong hours after Chinese President Xi Jinping told Anthony Albanese to take “great care” of relations with Beijing.

“Australia has expressed our strong objections to the Chinese and Hong Kong authorities on the continuing broad application of national security legislation, including in application to Australian citizens,” Senator Wong said in a statement issued shortly after the sentencing on Tuesday.

“We call for China to cease suppression of freedoms of expression, assembly, media and civil society, consistent with the Human Rights Committee and Special Procedure recommendations, including the repeal of the National Security Law in Hong Kong,” she said.

“This is a deeply difficult time for Mr Ng, his family and supporters. Our thoughts are with them following the sentencing,” the Foreign Minister added.

“The Australian government has advocated at senior levels in support of Mr Ng’s best interests and welfare and has sought consular access to Mr Ng. We will continue to do so,” she said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the sentence was “appalling and unacceptable”.

“The Albanese government has the Coalition’s strong bipartisan support to emphatically pursue Australia’s rejection of the persecution and detention of Gordon Ng and other pro-democracy advocates in Hong Kong,” Senator Birmingham said.

“The draconian national security laws imposed by the Chinese government have stifled freedoms for which Hong Kong was renowned, and the Coalition again urges the restoration of those rights which had previously been guaranteed by the Basic Law and Sino-British Declaration,” he said.

“The crackdown on these freedoms in Hong Kong reverberates around the world, including in Australia through the bounty the Chinese government still holds over two other Australian residents. That action must be dropped – against them and other defenders of democracy around the world.”

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Ng was among five people singled out as organisers of the informal election primary that led to the subversion charges. He and pro-democracy politicians Au Nok-hin, Andrew Chui and Ben Chung received sentences of up to seven years three months.

Benny Tai, identified as the plan’s “mastermind”, received a 10-year sentence.

Forty-seven people were initially charged after they were arrested in January 2021, making this case the largest by number of defendants. Two were acquitted in May.

Leticia Wong, a former district councillor for a since-disbanded pro-democracy party who attended the sentencing, told AFP that she found the terms were “encouraging people to plead guilty and testify against their peers”.

“For those who refused to be tamed, punishment is obviously heavier,” Wong said.

The aim of the election primary, which took place in July 2020, was to pick a cross-party shortlist of pro-democracy candidates to increase their electoral prospects.

If a majority was achieved, the plan was to force the government to meet the 2019 protesters’ demands – including universal suffrage – by threatening to veto the Hong Kong city budget.

The three senior judges handpicked by the government to try security cases said the group would have caused a “constitutional crisis”.

On Wednesday, media tycoon Jimmy Lai – publisher of Apple Daily, a masthead loathed in Beijing – will testify in court in Hong Hong in his collusion trial. He has been in prison for almost four years and has pleaded not guilty.

Last year Hong Kong police put a $HK1m ($191,800) bounty on Melbourne-based Australian lawyer Kevin Yam and Ted Hui, a former Hong Kong politician who now lives in Adelaide, in another precedent-breaking application of the Beijing-authored National Security Law.

Posters of Yam and Hui remain plastered on walls of Hong Kong International Airport.

Ten foreign judges have retired from Hong Kong’s appeals bench since the national security law was introduced.

In June, Canadian judge Beverley McLachlin and British judges Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption quit the court, citing “the political situation” in the city.

Four of the six remaining foreign judges on the appeals bench are Australian: Robert French, Patrick Keane, James Allsop and William Gummow.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/penny-wong-gravely-concerned-as-australian-gordon-ng-sentenced-to-seven-years-in-jail-by-hong-kong-court/news-story/d81b34cd0c4b1d48cd1238ac80b1ad3d

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/australian-man-gordon-ng-sentenced-in-hong-kong-to-more-than-7-years-jail-20241119-p5krup.html

https://qresear.ch/?q=+Gordon+Ng

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Ambassador Kevin Rudd declares ‘we’re ready’ for a second Trump presidency

CAMERON STEWART - 20 November 2024

Kevin Rudd has declared Australia ‘is ready’ to work closely with Donald Trump and his new administration to bolster an alliance which has never been more important or relevant.

Australia’s ambassador in Washington said that in a world of ‘many challenges’ Australia welcomed an active and engaged United States in the Indo Pacific and was ready to deepen that regional engagement under the new president.

In his first detailed public comments since Mr Trump’s election, Mr Rudd portrayed Australia as an ally that was willing to actively pursue closer ties with the new US administration and to be seen to be proactively contributing to the broader alliance.

“We live in a world of many challenges, and we are clear that the region we want, the interests we have and the values we share require and call for our two nations to work together, and that is what we’ll continue to do with President Trump and his incoming administration,’ Mr Rudd told the United States Studies Centre’s International Strategic Forum in Sydney via video from Washington.

Mr Rudd, who has been forging contacts with senior Republicans across the US over the past year said his embassy was well prepared to engage positively with the incoming administration.

“Here at the embassy, we’ve been working hard through the course of the last year to ensure that we were well prepared for this moment, and the bottom line is we’re ready,’ he said. “The team here at the Embassy and the government of Australia are ready to work closely with the new Trump administration to continue to realise the benefits of what is a very strong economic and security partnership.’

Both sides of politics have strongly backed Mr Rudd’s ongoing tenure as ambassador, dismissing claims by critics that Mr Rudd’s previous critical comments about Mr Trump before he became the ambassador should disqualify him from continuing in the role.

Mr Rudd’s message to the famously transactional new president was that Australia would enhance the value of an already strong alliance through the development of the AUKUS submarine deal, which he described as ‘a great venture.’

“The fundamental value of Aukus for all three parties is that it makes all three countries stronger than we would have been without. It strengthens all three countries’ ability to deter threats, and it grows the defence industrial base and creates jobs in all three countries,’ he said.

In a clear message to the incoming president, he portrayed Aukus, and Australia’s commitment to invest more than $3 billion into the production cycle for US Virginia-class submarines, as an example of Australia’s willingness to be a proactive contributor to the alliance.

“Australia’s plans to purchase nuclear power submarines from the United States will represent a large-scale purchase from American industry. That’s a significant defence deal,’ he said. “And on top of that, we’re already investing into the US submarine industrial base to expand the capacity of their shipyards. Put these things together, and it represents a strong, positive message for America, one that shows Australia is a valuable and committed, Frank ally and partner.”

Mr Rudd made no mention of China but said that in a world of ‘many challenges’ that “Australia’s close relationship with the United States has never been more relevant or more important.” He paid tribute to America’s role in maintaining stability in the Indo Pacific by remaining actively engaged in the region, militarily, economically and diplomatically. He praised “The strong and enduring contribution of the United States to the stability and prosperity of the wider Indo Pacific region.’

“We know that regional balance is best maintained when we work together in ways that also enhance our combined capabilities. So we welcome the US deepening its engagement with Indo Pacific partners and allies, and will continue working together to promote peace and security,’ Mr Rudd said.

“The election of the president of the United States is an important moment for the world. It’s important for our region. It’s important for Australia.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/ambassador-kevin-rudd-declares-were-ready-for-a-second-trump-presidency/news-story/a1c926f2b46eb9f4538dfcb0668a0e8d

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/kevin-rudd-declares-were-prepared-for-a-second-trump-presidency-following-controversy/news-story/4bb49df85b4b0ba517948815fd68ae01

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Rudd operates as ‘foreign minister’ in DC: Top Biden adviser

Matthew Knott and Peter Hartcher - November 20, 2024

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US President Joe Biden’s top adviser on Asia has issued a ringing endorsement of Kevin Rudd, declaring the Australian ambassador operates like a foreign minister in Washington while Penny Wong focuses on matters closer to home.

Kurt Campbell, Biden’s deputy secretary of state, said Trump should sideline Republican Party hawks who want to overthrow the communist regime in Beijing because such a push would damage relations between the superpowers.

Campbell said the world was entering “an acute moment of strategic competition” as Trump returned to the White House, predicting that Chinese President Xi Jinping would feel nostalgic for the days of Biden’s more “rational” presidency.

Campbell’s remarks to a forum in Sydney came after Rudd insisted he and his fellow diplomats in Washington were ready to deal with the incoming Trump administration after a top adviser to the president-elect suggested Rudd’s days in the US capital were numbered.

Former Australian Defence Force chief Angus Houston called for Australia to dramatically lift its spending on defence to 3 per cent of gross domestic product, up from the current 2 per cent, at the same conference.

Trump will expect allies like Australia to do more heavy lifting on defence, said Houston, who led the government’s defence strategic review.

Campbell, who will depart the White House along with Biden in January, praised Wong as a “fine foreign minister”, but said she was often busy with her duties in Asia and the Pacific.

Giving Rudd “great credit” for advancing Australia’s interests in Washington, Campbell said that Australia’s US ambassador operates almost like a “foreign minister in his or her own realm here in Washington”, speaking via videolink at a forum organised by the University of Sydney’s United States Studies Centre.

In a striking remark, Campbell said that “no country is better at strategic capture than Australia”, adding: “Most Australians don’t realise how much agency Australia has in Washington.”

Campbell urged Trump to continue deepening ties with the Pacific, describing it as “the place where we can expect some strategic surprise”.

“China is relentless,” he said. “They want to build bases, they want to extend their power there.

“We’re going to have to do more, and we have to do more with Australia and New Zealand.”

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Alluding to a much-discussed Foreign Affairs essay by former Trump adviser Matt Pottinger and former Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, in which they argued American competition with China must be “won, not managed”, Campbell said: “We have to work with the China we’ve got.”

He said Beijing was “clearly worried” about Trump’s threats to impose 60 per cent tariffs on Chinese goods, given they would have an “upending” effect on the global economy.

In a video message to the same forum, Rudd said: “Here at the embassy, we’ve been working hard through the course of the last year to ensure that we were well prepared for this moment.

“And the bottom line is: we’re ready.

“The team here at the embassy and the government of Australia are ready to work closely with the new Trump administration to continue to realise the benefits of what is a very strong economic and security partnership.”

After Trump’s election victory, Rudd scrubbed critical comments about Trump from his online record, including posts in which he called him “the most destructive president in history” and a “traitor to the West”.

Senior Trump adviser Dan Scavino subsequently posted an image on X showing sand trickling through an hourglass in response to a post by Rudd, an apparent message that he would not remain long as ambassador.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared that Rudd will remain in place as Australia’s top diplomat in the US, and he has been backed by predecessors Joe Hockey, Arthur Sinodinos and Dennis Richardson, as well as former prime ministers Scott Morrison and Tony Abbott.

Rudd suggested that the AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine pact would survive a change in administration because it “strengthens all three countries’ ability to deter threats, and it grows the defence industrial base and creates jobs in all three countries”.

Sinodinos told the forum that Trump would expect Australia to spend more on defence even though the country is regarded as “a strong ally”.

“I don’t expect that necessarily offsets the pressure to do more,” he said.

“It’s in our interest to do more for our own sake and as a member of the alliance.”

Sinodinos said that Australia, the US and the United Kingdom should put Telsa founder and Trump ally Elon Musk in charge of AUKUS if that was what was required to secure the future of the pact.

“If Musk can deliver AUKUS, we should put Musk in charge of AUKUS, and I’m not joking, if new thinking is needed to get this done,” Sinodinos said.

In a farewell speech at the National Press Club this week, departing US ambassador Caroline Kennedy made a full-throated defence of the AUKUS pact, describing it as an “existential investment in Australia’s sovereignty and way of life”.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/we-re-ready-kevin-rudd-declares-he-will-work-well-with-donald-trump-20241120-p5ks48.html

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Donald Trump must not turn his back on Australia while China rises: Kurt Campbell

CAMERON STEWART - 20 November 2024

US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell has urged the incoming Trump administration not to turn its back on Australia and the Indo Pacific, warning that China is “relentless” in its bid to build military bases and extend its power in the region.

In a strongly worded warning to the Albanese Government, Mr Campbell also urged it to be proactive in trying to persuade Donald Trump that ongoing engagement with allies like Australia was a better strategic choice than a more isolationist America.

“This is a time right now to be innovative, to be optimistic, to work, to make the argument about why common purpose is in our best interests, and why the United States should not withdraw from the world, from partnerships to work more closely than ever with Indo Pacific partners. Nowhere is that more important than Australia,” Mr Campbell told a United States Studies Centre International Strategic Forum in Sydney via video from Washington.

“The hope will be that the next administration will resist the temptation to go inward and to put its interests uniquely first, and to recognise that we are stronger working with allies and partners,” said Mr Campbell who will leave the job when Mr Trump becomes president on January 20.

Mr Campbell said America’s ongoing engagement in the Indo-Pacific had never been more important given China’s increasingly hegemonic behaviour in the region.

“I think it’s the place where we can expect some strategic surprise. China is relentless. They want to build bases. They want to extend their power there. We’re going to have to do more, and we have to do more with Australia and New Zealand,” Mr Campbell said.

He said that while much had been achieved so far in the AUKUS nuclear submarine pact, the “hard yards lie ahead.”

“I would very much like to see AUKUS continue to thrive. There are a few voices that have raised questions about AUKUS (in the US), but I think most of that, frankly, is contrarian,’ he said.

But he said he was an optimist because there was “deep bipartisan support for engagement” in the Indo-Pacific within the Republican Party which will control both houses of Congress.

“I’m confident that these powerful, purposeful senators and leaders in the House (who) have made a career of advocating for American engagement in the Indo-Pacific, my hope is their arguments, their persuasiveness and their perspective will have a big impact on how the (Trump) administration adjudicates its way forward,” he said.

Mr Campbell said he was concerned that proposed budget cuts to the State Department would limit America’s ability to increase or even maintain its current diplomatic focus on the Indo Pacific and he hoped that incoming secretary of state Marco Rubio would seek to rectify this recognising it is a “moment of acute strategic competition in the region.”

In order to better support Australia and the common strategic goals of the two countries, Mr Campbell said there needed to be “more diplomatic engagements, more US aid, more peace corps” because “all those things are going to be important.”

Mr Campbell said the US and Australia needed to deal with the “China we have” rather than the China we might want.

He believed it was wrong for some opinion-makers in the US to take extreme or unrealistic positions on China, for example to talk about the desire to ultimately topple the Chinese Communist Party.

He said such views make the ability to find “common purpose” with China more difficult.

“I think ultimately we have to deal with the China that we have and construct a diplomacy accordingly,” he said.

Mr Campbell, who sat in on the meeting between Joe Biden and Chinese president Xi Jinping in Peru last week, believes China is worried about the threat of large tariffs which Mr Trump has promised to levy against Chinese imports.

“Clearly the Chinese are worried about the possibility of massive sanctions, which could have a real effect, not just on the global economy, but their economy,” Mr Campbell said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/donald-trump-must-not-turn-his-back-on-australia-while-china-rises-kurt-campbell/news-story/5feb21f4e563419a2227816540daf3e3

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Labor won’t make Kamala Harris’ mistakes against Trump, ALP boss says

James Massola - November 20, 2024

Labor’s national secretary has vowed the party will not repeat the mistakes of Kamala Harris’ US election campaign and will instead focus on the economy in his first closed-door briefing to MPs since the failed Indigenous Voice referendum.

Paul Erickson gave the private speech to the federal caucus in Canberra on Tuesday morning, outlining the lessons the ALP had learned this year when incumbent governments in the United States, United Kingdom, India and France were either booted out of office or had their majorities slashed.

Erickson, who heads the party’s organisational wing, gave a scathing assessment of Harris’ presidential campaign, according to three MPs who were present but spoke on condition of anonymity.

“You have to have a policy offering that is about the future, and we think that in the US, for example, Kamala Harris just campaigned against Trump – ‘Vote for me as I’m not him’ – and didn’t put forward enough of an alternative plan for the next four years,” one source recalled Erickson saying. “That’s not a mistake we will make.”

One of the key lessons from the global swing away from incumbents was that the economy mattered most to voters and, Erickson argued, “Labor is placed well to campaign on its economic record.”

“If you look at unsuccessful campaigns around the world, they haven’t focused enough on the economy,” Erickson said.

Another lesson, he said, was that “ordinary people and their voices can be just as powerful as a message from a political party”.

Harris’ campaign made extensive use of celebrity endorsements, including rappers Cardi B and Eminem.

US voters approved of Trump’s economic record in his first term, Erickson said, “particularly on the pre-COVID economy, and that is not the case when people think back to the Morrison government or [Opposition Leader Peter] Dutton’s record as a minister”.

He said Labor needed to argue that its economic and industrial relations policies had contributed to wage rises and that the cost-of-living relief it had delivered would be at risk under a Coalition government.

Australians have consistently rated the Coalition as better economic managers in the Resolve Political Monitor conducted for this masthead over the last year, despite Labor running budget surpluses.

Erickson spoke for about 45 minutes and received about 15 questions from MPs on Labor’s strategy ahead of the federal election, due by May 2025.

They included queries about the party’s preparedness for an online and social media campaign, whether Labor could retain its blue-collar base when those voters deserted Democrats in the US, policy areas, including housing, and whether a negative campaign against Dutton would work.

Erickson said Labor’s attacks on Dutton in two byelections held earlier in this term of parliament had worked as people remembered his record as health minister.

He argued Labor could hang on to its blue-collar base by pointing out that its economic, workplace and cost-of-living policies would benefit them, while it would seek to deliver its message to young men through podcasts and other non-traditional media.

Erickson declined to comment.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-won-t-make-kamala-harris-mistakes-against-trump-alp-boss-says-20241119-p5krzo.html

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Chris Bowen’s UK-US nuclear energy pact COP out leaves AUKUS partners surprised

DENNIS SHANAHAN - 19 November 2024

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The Albanese government has been forced to defend “outlawing” nuclear energy and faced accusations of being an “international embarrassment” after rejecting an invitation from its AUKUS security pact partners to join a global move to speed up the spread of civilian ­nuclear ­energy.

At the COP29 climate change talks in Baku, Energy Minister Chris Bowen rebuffed an appeal from the UK and the US to sign the nuclear agreement, aimed at decarbonising industry from March next year.

The rejection was despite a British government statement that Australia was expected to join along with more than 30 other ­nations.

UK Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said his country was “reversing a legacy of no nuclear being delivered and moving forward with its advanced nuclear-reactor program”.

“Nuclear will play a vital role in our clean energy future. That is why we are working closely with our allies to unleash the potential of cutting-edge nuclear technology,” Mr Miliband said.

Later he altered his ministerial statement and dropped all reference to Australia when it became a political issue.

Peter Dutton said Australia had become an “international ­embarrassment” under Anthony Albanese’s energy policy, after the government refused to sign the Generation IV International Forum nuclear agreement with its closest allies.

Minerals Council of Australia chief executive Tania Constable said the refusal to renew membership of a key international nuclear-technology development forum was “a missed opportunity that ­undermines the strength of these critical partnerships”.

Mr Bowen’s rejection of the US-UK invitation occurred as Richard Marles, as Acting Prime Minister, and Jim Chalmers launched a Parliamentary attack on the Coalition’s nuclear plans describing them as risky and delivering “the most expensive form of energy in the world”.

The Opposition Leader, who is still yet to release the ­Coalition’s nuclear-energy costings, urged South Australian Labor Premier, Peter Malinauskas and “the adults” within the Labor Party to “stand up … and try and provide some direction for a directionless Prime Minister”.

“We know the US and the UK expected Australia to sign up to the nuclear agreement,” Mr Dutton said. “We know that at COP28 there were 31 countries that signed up to a tripling of energy derived from zero-emissions nuclear technology. Australia is starting to ­become an international embarrassment under Chris Bowen and Mr Albanese.

“The government has a train-wreck problem here when it comes to their energy policy and we now have Chris Bowen internationally embarrassing us with our international partners and our closest allies in the United States and the United Kingdom – both of them left-of-centre governments.”

Mr Dutton used Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s comment that emissions targets can’t be achieved without nuclear technology, to declare Australia “can’t achieve the outcomes that we want for our economy or for the environment without nuclear power”.

When Mr Dutton asked Mr Marles in parliament whether Australia would sign up to the nuclear agreement with Australia’s allies, the Acting Prime Minister said: “I can confirm that the Australian government will not be signing that agreement. For Australia, pursuing a path of nuclear energy would represent pursuing the single most expensive electricity option on the planet.”

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In the Azerbaijan capital , after rejecting the nuclear invitation, Mr Bowen said Australia was “accelerating our transformation to lock in our place as an indispensable part of the global net-zero economy to help other countries to decarbonise”.

He said the government’s approach to climate change “makes economic sense at every level from the household budget to the nation’s economy”.

Ms Constable said the refusal to talk about nuclear energy was evidence of “outdated thinking” and a continued priority “of politics over progress”. “Worse still, the government argues nuclear energy would take too long, while now actively ensuring Australia is excluded from an international forum designed to speed up development and innovation,” Ms Constable said. “This guarantees we will fall even further behind the rest of the world.”

The UK and the US had expected Australia to sign the agreement as well as “willing parties” including Canada, France, Japan, South Korea, South Africa, China and Switzerland. But, through the statement from his office, Mr Bowen rejected the UK invitation. “Australia is not signing this agreement as we do not have a nuclear-energy industry,” it said. “Nuclear power is outlawed in Australia. We will continue to work closely with our international partners to reach net zero.

“Our international partners understand that Australia’s abundance of renewable energy resources makes nuclear power, including nuclear power through small modular reactors, not a viable option for inclusion in our energy mix for decarbonisation efforts.”

Mr Bowen also argued that Australia’s longer hours of sunshine compared with the UK meant that Australia had solar-power advantages and nuclear energy was not viable for Australia.

“Put simply, London has only 1633 hours of sunshine in an average year. By comparison, Australia’s least sunny capital city is Melbourne with 2362, while our sunniest capital city is Perth has 3229,” Mr Bowen’s statement said.

“We will remain as observers to this agreement to continue to support our scientists in other nuclear research fields,” the statement said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australia-expected-to-join-ukus-nuclear-energy-pact/news-story/db9446ae1e543eed022fe813f711a9e4

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Jimmy Lai tells HK court he was in the business of ‘delivering freedom’ as Canberra unites to condemn Beijing

WILL GLASGOW - 20 November 2024

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Pro-democracy news publisher Jimmy Lai has told a Hong Kong court he was in the business of “delivering freedom” as he spoke for the first time in a foreign collusion case that has been condemned across Australia’s political spectrum.

Speaking in court on Wednesday, the most high profile figure in Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement said he started his media business after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre.

“I thought it was a good opportunity for somebody like me, a businessman who has made some money, to participate in delivering information which I think is freedom,” Lai, 76, told the court.

“To participate in delivering freedom was a very good idea for me at that time … the more information you have, the more you are in the know and the more you are free.”

Sounding weary as he swore an oath on the bible, Lai’s voice grew stronger as he gave testimony.

He said the newspaper he founded, Apple Daily, became popular because it shared the core values of Hong Kong people, such as “rule of law, freedom, pursuit of democracy, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom of assembly.”

Lai is accused under the national security law Beijing imposed on Hong Kong in 2020 of colluding with foreign forces, a charge that could carry a sentence of up to life in prison. He has pleaded not guilty.

The highly politicised trial in a territory once known for its respected legal system has drawn condemnation from liberal democracies around the world and across the full spectrum of Australian politics.

In an unusual demonstration of cross party solidarity, Labor, Coalition and Greens senators joined to condemn Beijing for its persecution of Lai and called for his “immediate and unconditional” release.

“I know that many Australians who have visited and grown to admire and love Hong Kong over the years … for its vibrancy, its energy and its entrepreneurialism and, most particularly, its liberal institutions and freedoms, are distressed by the path that Hong Kong is taking,” said Liberal senator Dave Sharma.

Labor senator Deborah O’Neill, who joined Senator Sharma to propose the “matter of public importance”, said the Hong Kong media mogul had been charged for acts many “would simply refer to as journalism”.

“As a fellow Catholic, I note he is being denied the sacrament of Holy Communion,” the Labor senator added.

Greens senator Jordon Steele-John, a frequent critic of Australian foreign policy, told the Chinese government “the world is watching”.

“Jimmy Lai has been held in maximum solitary confinement in a security prison in Hong Kong for almost four years. This is inhumane,” the Greens senator said.

“He is being tried on trumped-up charges arising from his peaceful promotion of democracy, his journalism and his human rights advocacy. His trial, like so many in Hong Kong since the passage of the authoritarian national security law, lacked procedural and judicial fairness, with hand-picked judges and evidence obtained via torture,” he said.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts joined the Greens senator in criticising Beijing, as did Coalition senators Claire Chandler and David Fawcett, and Labor senator Tony Sheldon.

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Lai’s trial is being held a day after the sentencing of the “Hong Kong 47”, a group of pro-democracy politicians, activists and concerned citizens.

Among them was Australian Gordon Ng, who was sentenced to more than seven years in prison for running a Facebook page that encouraged people to vote in a primary process being run by opposition parties in Hong Kong.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong criticised the sentencing, which was delivered hours after Xi Jinping met with Anthony Albanese at the G20.

Beijing dismissed that as a “smear” on China that sought to “undermine” Hong Kong’s rule of law.

“The Central Government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR in safeguarding national security and punishing all acts that undermine national security in accordance with the law, and firmly opposes the interference of certain Western countries in China’s internal affairs,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian late on Tuesday.

Ten foreign judges have retired from Hong Kong’s appeals bench since the National Security Law was introduced.

In June, Canadian judge Beverley McLachlin and British judges Lawrence Collins and Jonathan Sumption quit the court, citing “the political situation” in the city.

Four of the six remaining foreign judges on the appeals bench are Australian: Robert French, Patrick Keane, James Allsop and William Gummow.

Senator Sharma, who previously served as an Australian diplomat, called for those four to “urgently reconsider their roles”.

Speaking in the Senate, he urged the four Australian judges to “reflect on how their continued service on this court confers a legitimacy on Hong Kong’s respect for the rule of law which is, clearly, unwarranted.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/canberra-unites-in-condemnation-of-beijing-as-jimmy-lai-takes-the-stand-in-hong-kong-court/news-story/1c418f918d5e543b8d9e159550b1822b

—

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lin Jian’s Regular Press Conference on November 19, 2024

AFP: Hong Kong’s High Court today sentenced 45 people to jail over subversion, which has quickly drawn international condemnation, including from the United States and Australia. What is the Foreign Ministry’s comment on the sentencing as well as the international reaction?

Lin Jian: Hong Kong is a society under the rule of law. To abide by the law and bring lawbreakers to justice is a basic principle. No one should be allowed to use “democracy” as a pretext to engage in unlawful activities and escape justice. Certain Western countries while forgetting the fact that they uphold their own national security through relevant judicial procedures, have made unwarranted criticisms over the fair enforcement of the national security law by Hong Kong’s court. This severely violates and tramples on the spirit of the rule of law. The Central Government firmly supports the Hong Kong SAR in safeguarding national security and punishing all acts that undermine national security in accordance with the law, and firmly opposes the interference of certain Western countries in China’s internal affairs and their attempt to smear and undermine Hong Kong’s rule of law by using relevant case.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xw/fyrbt/lxjzh/202411/t20241119_11529299.html

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>>21947984

SpaceX launches classified Optus satellite for ADF

BEN PACKHAM - 19 November 2024

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Elon Musk’s SpaceX has launched a secret communications satellite for the Australian Defence Force, weeks after the Albanese government cancelled a $7bn military space program.

SpaceX sent the Optus satellite into orbit on one of its Falcon 9 rockets on Tuesday (AEDT), cutting its video feed of the launch “at the customer’s request” before the payload was deployed.

US space industry media sites said the “secretive military communications satellite” was headed into geostationary orbit some 36,000km above earth – the same orbit Defence Minister Richard Marles recently warned was now vulnerable to anti-satellite weapons.

“SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket at sunset with a payload that has been shrouded in secrecy to the point of not disclosing any specifics of the mission, and not using its original name,” Spaceflight Now reported.

The satellite was launched under an opaque $405m contract between Defence and Optus signed in 2022.

A Defence spokeswoman said the satellite was “an important element of Defence’s assured access to space-enabled communications” and would “complement our future multi-orbit satellite capabilities”.

The launch caught Australian space experts by surprise. Flinders University space expert Joel Lisk said: “It’s all very secretive, which is interesting. National security satellites are inevitably clouded in some degree of confidentiality.”

Dr Lisk said the value of the Optus contract was not big enough to suggest the launch was a replacement for the planned military-grade satellite program cancelled this month.

Defence analyst Bec Shrimpton said she believed it was related to an existing military satellite service provided to the ADF.

“Yes it is highly secretive; yes it’s no doubt classified,” Ms Shrimpton said. “That will be because it is supporting a military capability.”

(continued)

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>>22008537

Former celebrity chef Pete Evans to publish cookbook with RFK Jr

Nick Ralston - November 20, 2024

Former celebrity chef turned conspiracy theorist Pete Evans has teamed up with anti-vaxxer and Donald Trump’s pick for US health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, to produce a new cookbook for children.

In the book, titled Healthy Food for Healthy Kids, Evans has created 120 paleo- and keto-friendly meals for children that will be published by Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defence, one of the largest US anti-vaccine groups.

“So pleased and thankful that Robert Kennedy Jr set this up for me with his Children’s Health Defence team,” Evans posted on Telegram, the Daily Mail reported, before the post was removed.

“Stay tuned for more.”

The book, which is available for pre-order, will be released in January 2025. In 2015, another children’s paleo cookbook co-authored by Evans was dumped by publisher Pan Macmillan after dietitians and doctors widely criticised it. The book, Bubba Yum Yum: The Paleo Way, recommended feeding infants a DIY baby formula made from bone broth.

Evans’ latest cookbook came after he met Kennedy in January 2020 just before the outbreak of COVID-19 when he was invited to Kennedy’s home in Los Angeles to film an interview with him. The two became known during the pandemic for regularly posting debunked conspiracy theories about COVID-19.

That was the same year that Evans was dumped from his $800,000 a year gig as co-host of Sevens’ My Kitchen Rules, and that he was fined $25,000 by the Therapeutic Goods Administration for selling a device called a “BioCharger”. The device, which critics mocked as a “glorified lava lamp”, claimed it could help with the “Wuhan coronavirus”. The TGA said this claim had no apparent foundation.

Kennedy, who ran for president as a Democrat, and then as an independent before endorsing Trump was selected last week as the president-elect’s choice as health and human services secretary. His nomination has alarmed people concerned about his record of spreading unfounded vaccine fears. He has long advanced the debunked idea that vaccines cause autism.

“I always have thought it would be so great if he and Trump teamed up, and now it has happened,” Evans posted on his Instagram days after Kennedy endorsed the then-Republican nominee.

“I have little doubt that the 2028 president will be Robert Kennedy Jnr.”

Kennedy, the son of Democratic icon Robert Kennedy, has run the Children’s Health Defence since 2018. The organisation says its mission is “ending childhood health epidemics by eliminating toxic exposure”.

The group’s social media accounts were removed from Facebook and Instagram in 2022 for spreading medical misinformation. In an email to its followers, the group said the accounts were taken down for 30 days and accused the apps of censorship.

In 2021, the Centre for Countering Digital Hate named the Children’s Health Defence as one of the “Disinformation Dozen”, the top 12 superspreaders of misinformation about COVID-19 on the internet.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/north-america/former-celebrity-chef-pete-evans-to-publish-cookbook-with-rfk-jr-20241120-p5ks80.html

https://qresear.ch/?q=Pete+Evans

yeet the aliens

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>>22022574

>>21761808

Video shows hooded figures walking to scene of anti-Israel attack in Sydney

STEPHEN RICE and LIAM MENDES - 21 November 2024

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Video of two hooded figures walking towards the scene of an anti-Israel arson and vandalism attack has been obtained by The Australian, as a police strike force ramps up its hunt for the perpetrators of the hate crime in a prominent Jewish area of Sydney’s eastern suburbs.

The footage captures the pair walking in the darkness at 12.22am in Trelawney St, Woollahra, just minutes before a car was torched in nearby Wellington St and nine others vandalised with anti-Israel graffiti.

One of the figures in the footage appears to be carrying a bag or jerry can as the pair walk towards the intersection of Fullerton St, where an apartment building was graffitied with the words “f.ck Israel’.

Police and fire crews arrived at Wellington St shortly before 1am after receiving multiple reports of a car on fire. Fire crews were able to extinguish the blaze, but the car was destroyed.

At a press conference on Thursday police said two hooded men wearing dark clothing and face masks were captured on CCTV fleeing the scene, but did not release any footage.

The Prime Minister said the attack was “disturbing” and “deeply troubling”, as police described the vandalism as “a hate crime”.

“There is no place for anti-Semitism in Australia,” Anthony Albanese said.

“Conflict overseas cannot be made a platform for prejudice at home. I have trust in our law enforcement agencies to deal with this.”

A large number of cars in surrounding streets had been spray-painted with the words “f..k Israel,” causing an estimated $70,000 of damage.

It is understood no one was injured in the attack.

The door of a unit complex in Ocean Street was also graffitied as was the Matt Moran-owned restaurant Chiswick. The celebrated restaurateur arrived at the premises on Thursday morning, grim-faced, to inspect the damage.

Mr Moran told The Australian: “It’s incredibly disappointing to see this amount of vandalism – there’s no place for it in our community. We are cooperating with the relevant authorities in their investigation.”

The restaurant had been cleaned and would open as normal, he said.

Some cars were also tagged with the words “PKK is coming”, possibly a reference to the Kurdish separatist group fighting for autonomy from Turkey. The group is designated as a terrorist organisation in Australia.

The Turkish Embassy is located in Ocean St, Woollahra, close to the scene of the arson attack.

The Federation of Democratic Kurdish Society of Australia released a statement condemning “this senseless and violent act of anti-Semitism”.

“The Kurdish nation has a historical bond with the Jewish nation and we support our Jewish community during this difficult moment,” the federation said.

“We are strong and resilient communities that say out loud Australia is no place for anti-Semitism and no place for extremes and those who want to divide us.”

Police have requested anyone with information or dash cam footage to come forward and have set up Strike Force Mylor to track down those responsible, declaring “hate crime will not be tolerated”.

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Forensic teams have cordoned off several crime scenes. Police said “a number of exhibits” had been left at the scene by the offenders.

NSW Premier Chris Minns said “the antisemitic attack in Woollahra last night was absolutely deplorable. It is unacceptable, un-Australian, and it will not be tolerated.”

Local resident Elliott Spira, a member of the Jewish community who woke to find cars vandalised on his doorstep, said he was “sad and disappointed but not surprised” by the attack.

“I feel less and less safe since the October 7 attacks – there’s a lot of resentment and anger, a lot of hatred has come out of the woodwork, “ Mr Spira said.

“As a father, it’s pretty horrible, a lot of parents are worried about the future their kids will grow up in and this is just pouring kerosene on that fire for me.

“I’m glad my son doesn’t understand what’s going on – he’s too young to ask questions, but it’s a pretty horrible reality.

“There hasn’t been a strong message from the Labor government. Anthony Albanese and Penny Wong, they’ve really emboldened and haven’t taken a strong enough position against this type of behaviour, that you can do this sort of thing and get away with it.

“My wife and I have a lot of concern for our young ones, wanting to make sure they’re afforded the same opportunities we are, so if you think about how much the average Australian worries about cost of living and so on, imagine waking up and finding this outside your building. It’s a big middle finger right at you, and not a great feeling. I’m worried about what it will be like for my boy growing up.”

Another resident Yaacov Hellman, also a member of the Jewish community, said he had woken early to the sound of police sirens.

“It’s supposed to be a safe and inclusive area and I just hope the police can figure out who’s done this and bring them to justice.

“It’s a really nice community area and this just flies in the face of that. It shows that there are people out there who are going to step out of the boundaries to try to get their message across and it’s going to end up having the opposite effect.”

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Anti-Defamation Commission chair Dvir Abramovich called for a national plan to combat the rising scourge of anti-Semitism.

“This morning, I woke to devastating news that shakes me to my core,” Dr Abramovich told The Australian. “This was no random act of destruction – this was a chilling, premeditated hate crime, targeting a proud and vibrant Jewish community.

“Make no mistake: this is not just an attack on property. This is an attack on people. An attack on families. An attack on our democracy, our values, and everything Australia stands for.

“History has taught us that silence emboldens hate. All elected leaders must condemn this evil. The Jewish community stands united, strong, and unshaken. We have faced hatred before, and each time we have emerged stronger. This time will be no different.”

The NSW Jewish Board of Deputies said it was closely liaising with the authorities.

“This is the latest escalation in a campaign of intimidation and harassment targeted at the Jewish community”, said president David Ossip.

“There cannot be any tolerance for criminal behaviour like this, which undermines social cohesion and is antithetical to the Australian values we all hold dear.

“The Jewish community will not be intimidated by such acts of criminality and anti-Semitism.”

The Israeli embassy in Australia said “words are no longer enough” and called for urgent action in the wake of the attack.

“We stand with the Jewish community and call for immediate measures to protect and uphold the rights and safety of all citizens,” the embassy said in a statement.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/car-set-ablaze-others-vandalised-in-antiisrael-attack-in-sydney/news-story/5fdc368f7c3c549b0abdec8e670762b2

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>>21947943

>>21947984

Government introduces social media age ban Bill to parliament

The billionaire owner of X Elon Musk has called out the Albanese government’s new social media to stop young teenagers accessing social media.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer - November 21, 2024

Billionaire Elon Musk has taken to his own social media platform X to slam the Albanese government’s Bill to ban social media for kids under 16.

If passed, social media companies could be slapped with fines of up to $50m if they fail to do enough to verify a user’s age on their platforms.

The world-first legislation, introduced into parliament on Thursday, would also create a legal definition of social media.

But Mr Musk, who has been named by President-elect Donald Trump to head a new department of government efficiency, has weighed in saying it “seems like a backdoor way to control access to the internet by all Australians”.

The Bill will likely get a warm welcome in parliament.

There has been broad bipartisan support for restricting minors’ access to social media for some time, with states and territories mulling their own bans.

Though, the Bill is not without critics.

Independent MP Zoe Daniel warned on Thursday morning that it could unintentionally make platforms “less safe”.

“My biggest concern about it really is that it doesn’t substantively change what the platforms need to be doing on their platforms, and there may be an unintended consequence that the platforms actually become less safe,” she told the ABC.

“If you were to create a system where the platforms have to take responsibility, mitigate risk and be transparent about how they’re doing that and what tools they’re using, then that sort of provides, potentially, an environment where everyone can be in a safe space.

“What we’re doing is saying, ‘Well, we’re going to lock everyone under 16 out, and then everyone else can do whatever they want in there’.

“And also, we know that some people under 16 will get in. I don’t think that that’s really a good pathway to go down.”

Meanwhile, Snapchat is expected to be captured in the definition of social media under Australian law.

Snapchat lets users exchange photos, videos and messages rather than offering a posting board-type feature, such as Facebook, Instagram or X

There was some uncertainty around whether Snapchat could escape the proposed ban by arguing it was a messaging service and not a social media platform.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has likened the ban to age restrictions on alcohol, acknowledging people can get around it but arguing that it sets a standard.

The laws would come into force 12 months after passing.

The eSafety commissioner would be responsible for enforcing the legislation.

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/government-to-introduce-social-media-ban-bill-to-parliament/news-story/5b39a10ea927f39db0d3138672848887

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1859479797329535168

>>21947890

>>21947943

>>21947984

>>22030122

List of apps to be banned for teens

A full list of apps that teens will be banned from under new laws has been released.

Samantha Maiden - November 21, 2024

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Teenagers will be banned from using Tiktok, Snapchat, Instagram, X and Reddit until the age of 16 in Australia under new laws to be rushed through Parliament but will still be able to use message services including WhatsApp.

Communications Minister Michelle Rowland confirmed on Thursday that the new laws will come into force in late 2025.

But they will not be ‘grandfathered’ which means that a 13 year old who currently has a TikTok or Instagram account will theoretically be forced to delete the app until they are older when the new laws come into effect.

The Snapchat ban, first revealed by news.com.au, is set to cause uproar among younger Australians who are heavy users of the site amid questions of how difficult it will be to stop children finding a way around the ban.

But kids will also still be able to use YouTube and Google classroom under the landmark changes designed to limit the harm that social media is causing teenagers.

The new laws will require social media platforms to take reasonable steps to prevent under 16s from having accounts.

The law places the onus on social media platforms – not parents or young people – to take reasonable steps to ensure these protections are in place.

“We know social media is doing social harm,’’ Mr Albanese said in a statement.

“We want Australian children to have a childhood, and we want parents to know the Government is in their corner

“This is a landmark reform. We know some kids will find workarounds, but we’re sending a message to social media companies to clean up their act.”

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland said the government was acting on its commitment to keep children safe online

The Bill and the associated rules will ensure young Australians have continued access to messaging and online gaming, as well as access to services which are health and education related, like Headspace, Kids Helpline, and Google Classroom, and YouTube.

“We need to create a strong incentive for compliance and increasing the maximum penalties for online safety breaches to up to $49.5 million brings our penalty framework into line with other laws,’’ she said.

Snapchat faces the cut

Snapchat will be included in world-first reforms in Australia to restrict teenagers’ social media use after a backlash over fears the messaging service could find a loophole to escape the big changes.

News.com.au has confirmed exclusively that the new legislation, to be unveiled on Thursday, is designed to capture Snapchat.

Snapchat lets users exchange photos, videos and messages and leaves younger teenagers being subjected to a constant stream of messages and updates 24-7.

Concerns it would not be included exploded last week after Communications Minister Michelle Rowland said Snapchat could fall within the definition of a ‘messaging service’ and therefore be exempt from the age limit.

“Snapchat under the Online Safety Act, depending on how it’s defined, could fall within that definition (of a messaging service) … We are very prepared to go through having a process of criteria and seeing how this fits against it.”

Shadow Communications Minister David Coleman insisted that Snapchat must not be exempted from the laws.

“For many Australian families, Snapchat has had a devastating impact on their children,” Mr Coleman said.

“The idea of having social media age limits without those limits applying to Snapchat is outrageous. It is extraordinary that the Minister is saying that Snapchat could be exempted from the laws.

“The Minister must rule out exemptions for Snapchat today.”

(continued)

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Queensland Catholic Secondary Principals Association director Dan McMahon had also warned that Snapchat should not be allowed to skirt the ban.

“I’ve gotta say I’m a bit gobsmacked by that, I find that extraordinary,” Mr McMahon told ACA on Thursday.

“Of all the social media platforms that I deal with … Snapchat is one of the most common ones.

“Not everyone on Snapchat is an online bully, but in my experience every online bully uses Snapchat.

“It’s just such a great tool to weaponise harm.”

Minister for Communications Michelle Rowland MP will introduce the Albanese Labor Government’s new social media reforms to parliament on Thursday.

“The Albanese Government is introducing world leading legislation to establish 16 as the minimum age for access to social media,” she told news.com.au.

“This reform is about protecting young people and letting parents know we’ve got their backs.

“Social media has a social responsibility for the safety and mental health of young Australians.

“The legislation places the onus on social media platforms, not parents or children, to ensure protections are in place.

“Ultimately, this is about supporting a safer and healthier online environment for young Australians.”

But concerns remain over the effectiveness of social media bans for teenagers with predictions many will find a way to dodge the new rules.

The legislation will introduce tough new penalties of up to $50 million dollars for companies that systematically breach this legislation as well as violations of enforceable industry codes and standards.

It will also require regulated entities to take reasonable steps to prevent young people under the age of 16 from having an account.

The Minister will be empowered to exclude specific classes of services from the definition, including messaging services, online games, and services that primarily function to support the health and education of users

It will also contain robust privacy provisions, including requiring platforms to ringfence and destroy any information collected.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese first flagged the bans in September insisting the goal was to “get our kids off their devices and on to the footy fields or the netball courts to get them interacting with real people having real experiences.”

“And we know that social media is doing social harm,” he said.

“We want to make sure we get it right, but we want to make sure as well that we act which is why we have said we will introduce legislation before the end of this year.

Mr Albanese said that social media companies needed to show some social responsibility.

“We need to act as a society. When my son was young this was an issue more than a decade ago,” he said.

“If it was easy it would have been done around the world. But just because something is hard doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try.

“We want to work with parents to work with companies, to work with state and territory governments to make sure that we act in this area.”

The Prime Minister declared in September that “enough is enough” as it was announced the government would bring in age limits for social media accounts for kids to protect against the damage caused by social media giants including Snapchat, Instagram and Facebook.

“We know that technology moves fast. No Government is going to be able to protect every child from every threat – but we have to do all we can,’’ the Prime Minister said.

“Parents are worried sick about this. We know they’re working without a map – no generation has faced this challenge before.”

https://www.news.com.au/technology/online/social/snapchat-will-be-included-in-worldfirst-australian-reforms-to-restrict-teenagers-social-media-use/news-story/2687d589a9657948ed20026e367f55f0

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>>21982238

‘Deeply offensive’: Israel furious as Australia denies ex-minister a visa

Natassia Chrysanthos and Michelle Griffin - November 22, 2024

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Israel has condemned Australia’s decision to deny a visa to former Israeli justice minister Ayelet Shaked on character grounds, warning in a statement on X that the decision was deeply offensive and would harm relations between the two countries.

The threat tests already-strained diplomatic ties as Australia seeks to tiptoe around the International Criminal Court’s decision to issue arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former defence chief Yoav Gallant, as well as a Hamas leader Ibrahim al-Masri, for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza conflict.

As the United States rejected the warrants, and Canada said it would abide by them, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Friday Australia respected the ICC’s independence but did not endorse or oppose its decision, or say what the government would do if any of the men set foot here.

“Australia respects the independence of the International Criminal Court and its important role in upholding international law,” Wong said in a statement posted to X on Friday morning.

“Australia is focused on working with countries that want peace to press for an urgently needed ceasefire … We have been clear that all parties to the conflict must comply with international humanitarian law. Civilians must be protected. Hostages must be released.”

But in a statement posted on X on Friday evening [AEDT], Oren Marmorstein, a spokesman for Israel’s Foreign Ministry, said “the Australian government’s decision to deny a visa to former Israeli minister Ayelet Shaked is unacceptable. The decision is deeply offensive and troubling, and will have a negative impact on Israel-Australia relations.”

Shaked was known as “the iron lady” during her tenure in right-wing parties in the Knesset, Israel’s parliament, for her implacable pursuit of Palestinians for state crimes and campaigns for Jewish expansion into the West Bank. She drew international condemnation in November last year when she called for the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis to be turned into a soccer field. “We need all 2 million to leave,” she told Israel’s Channel 13. “That is the solution for Gaza.”

Australia’s decision to block her visa was condemned by Australia’s Jewish community and made headlines across Israel, where Shaked criticised the decision as “shameful” and called the Australian government “anti-Israel and extreme pro-Palestinian”.

Colin Rubenstein, the executive director of conference organiser the Australia Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, called the visa rejection “a disgraceful act of hostility towards a democratic ally”.

Rawan Arraf from the Australian Centre for International Justice welcomed the government’s decision to cancel her visa based on concerns that her visit could vilify Australians and incite racial discord, and called on the Home Affairs Department to apply similar scrutiny to the views of other Israelis seeking to come to Australia.

(continued)

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The clash follows a decision by Australia last week to back a United Nations resolution recognising Palestinians’ “permanent sovereignty” over resources in the occupied Palestinian territories in Gaza and the West Bank in a significant shift from its previous stance, angering pro-Israel groups in Australia.

The relationship between the Albanese government and Israel is further challenged by the ICC’s decision to issue an arrest warrant for Netanyahu and his defence minister.

The Netherlands-based court does not have its own police force to carry out arrests and relies on its 124 member states – including Australia – to enforce its rulings.

While the Albanese government has not gone as far as Dutch and Italian leaders, who said they stood ready to arrest the Israeli prime minister if he visited their countries, the Coalition said its position aligned with that of the US, whose President Joe Biden said the “issuance of arrest warrants against Israeli leaders is outrageous”.

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley described the warrants as troubling.

“I know that Australians will be troubled today to see this targeting of a democratically elected leader who is trying to protect its country from terrorists,” she said.

On the other side of the parliament, Greens senator David Shoebridge said: “The world, including Australia, must ensure these arrest warrants are enforced”.

Science Minister Ed Husic, who has been critical of Israel and is one of the most senior Muslim MPs in parliament, pointed to Wong’s comments, saying Australia respected international law.

Pressed at a media conference in Canberra on whether Netanyahu should be arrested, Husic said: “I’m just going to let the law run its course.”

The Zionist Federation of Australia condemned the court’s warrants. “The ICC’s actions set a dangerous precedent for leaders of democracies protecting their citizens from terrorists and rogue states hellbent on their destruction,” it said.

The Australian Palestinian Advocacy Network described the court’s decision as a victory and said Australia could not shield war criminals.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/arrest-netanyahu-on-international-warrant-australia-won-t-say-20241122-p5ksr6.html

https://x.com/OrenMarmorstein/status/1859854163498451150

>>21761808

>>21982238

>>22041710

Australia has refused to condemn what Israeli calls an ‘anti-Semitic’ ICC ruling on Benjamin Netanyahu

CAMERON STEWART - 22 November 2024

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Australia is refusing to join the US and Israel in condemning the ­decision by the International Criminal Court to issue an arrest warrant for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as the ­Albanese government suggests it would follow the court’s rulings as “a point of principle”.

The court’s unprecedented move against the leader of a democratic state means the court’s 124 member nations, ­including Australia, are obliged to arrest the Israeli leader if he visits.

Labor frontbencher Ed Husic on Friday declared the ICC was “doing its job” and suggested that the nation should not waver from global law.

Hours later, a government spokeswoman refused to explicitly confirm whether ­Australia would comply with the warrant, declaring “it’s not appropriate to speculate on hypotheticals around individual cases”.

However, in a comment that suggested the government would uphold the warrant, the spokeswoman continued “as a point of principle, Australia acts in a manner consistent with our inter­national legal obligations”.

While US President Joe Biden denounced the ICC decision soon after it was released, Anthony Albanese declined to make a direct comment on Friday.

As Jewish leaders and supporters of Israel despair about the ICC and Labor’s position on the war in the Middle East, former foreign minister Alexander Downer said the government should now ­consider withdrawing from the international court.

“I had hoped it’d be a serious court,” said Mr Downer, who led Australia joining the ICC under the Howard government.

“We should make it clear that we wouldn’t arrest the Prime Minister of Israel.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong did not join the US and Israel in criticising the court’s findings and did not say whether Mr Netanyahu would be arrested if he visited Australia. In a short statement on Friday, Senator Wong said the government ­“respects the independence” of the ICC.

“We have been clear that all parties to the conflict must comply with international humanitarian law,” Senator Wong said.

“Australia respects the independence of the ICC and its ­important role in upholding international law. Australia is focused on working with countries that want peace to press for an urgently needed ceasefire.”

Mr Husic, who in August called for sanctions against Israeli officials including Mr Netanyahu, backed the court process. “We respect international law and obviously these bodies need to be allowed to conduct their work in accordance with law,” he said.

When asked if Mr Netanyahu should be arrested, the Industry and Science Minister said: “I’m just going to let the law run its course.”

Labor’s comments on the ICC came as Israel criticised Australia for denying a visa to former justice minister Ayelet Shaked on character grounds. The Jewish state’s Foreign Ministry called the decision “unacceptable”.

Ms Shaked, who was due to ­attend a security conference in Canberra next week, was told by the Department of Home ­Affairs late on Thursday that her application for a visitor visa had been refused because she could vilify Australians or incite discord.

“The decision is deeply offensive and troubling, and will have a negative impact on Israel-­Australia relations,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman said.

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The ICC accused Mr Netanyahu and former defence minister Yoav Gallant of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Gaza Strip, saying they “intentionally and knowingly deprived the civilian population in Gaza of ­objects indispensable to their ­survival, including food, water, and medicine and medical ­supplies, as well as fuel and ­electricity”.

The decision will further isolate Israel internationally and means Mr Netanyahu and Mr Gallant risk arrest if they visit many parts of the world, including all of Europe and the UK.

Israel accused the court of rewarding terrorism in its decision. Mr Netanyahu called the ICC’s allegations “absurd and false”, while Mr Gallant said it equated Israel with the terror group Hamas.

“No outrageous anti-Israel ­decision will prevent us – and will not prevent me – from continuing to defend our country in every way,” Mr Netanyahu said. “We will not succumb to pressure.”

Mr Biden said the ICC’s decision was “outrageous”.

“Let me be clear: whatever the ICC might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas,” the US President said.

“We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security.”

Jewish groups in Australia were also outraged by the ICC ­ruling. Executive Council of ­Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the move was “an attack on a democracy fighting a lawful and just war”.

“The ICC has a narrow ­mandate to pursue warlords and autocrats who can never be ­investigated or brought to justice in their own countries,” Mr Ryvchin said. “By pursuing the leaders of a democracy, the ICC is telling our politicians and our servicemen and women that they could be next.”

Zionist Federation of ­Australia president Jeremy Leibler, said: “This morally bankrupt decision by the ICC undermines justice by targeting the leaders of a democratic nation defending itself against terrorism.”

Australian Federation of Islamic Councils president Rateb Jneid said the ICC’s decision was a “bold step” toward “accountability” for “atrocities committed in Palestine”.

“It is imperative that all nations, including Australia, uphold the rule of law by recognising the ­jurisdiction of the ICC and ­ensuring the enforcement of these warrants,” Mr Jneid said.

Although the 124 members of the ICC are obliged to follow the court’s ruling and enforce arrest warrants, some member countries have refused to do so in the past.

University of Sydney Law School associate professor Emily Crawford said there had been ­examples of states party to the Rome Statute who had ­“ignored those warrants” – for instance when a leader of Sudan travelled to South Africa with such a warrant, South Africa didn’t say or do anything. “I think the same thing would happen here,” she said.

ANU college of law professor Donald Rothwell also pointed to Mongolia failing to execute an ICC warrant against Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit this year.

The ICC’s actions are the first against a leader of a democratic state. Previous actions have been against dictators including Mr Putin, Sudan’s Omar Hassan al-Bashir and Libya’s Muammar Gaddafi.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australia-has-refused-to-condemn-what-israeli-calls-an-antisemitic-icc-ruling-on-benjamin-netanyahu/news-story/5ef92cea53b7588aa921a211cd8818a3

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‘Museum of political disasters’: Truth bill dies as Greens join Coalition to block it

Paul Sakkal - November 22, 2024

Labor’s controversial bid to rid the internet of misinformation is dead after the Greens revealed they would vote it down, leaving the proposal to crack down on conspiracies with no supporters in the Senate.

The Greens’ position hands Labor a defeat on a key plank of its broader battle against big tech, which also includes an under-16 social media ban opposed by the Greens, Musk and platforms such as Meta.

The Coalition has waged a months-long campaign against Labor’s plan to give a regulator power to pressure social media giants to stamp out false posts, arguing that these laws would have been used to censor arguments against the Voice to parliament during last year’s failed referendum.

Communication Minister Michelle Rowland’s bill handed social media firms the power to determine what was true or false to avoid the perception that government bureaucrats would make those calls. Firms such as X and Meta would need to prove they were acting on complaints.

But in delegating the call on misinformation to corporations, Labor lost the support of the left-wing minor party, whose communications spokesman Sarah Hanson-Young said she would block Labor’s bill because it allowed social media firms to self-regulate.

“The Greens understand that mis- and disinformation is a growing danger to democracy, public discourse, health and safety both in Australia and around the world and needs to be tackled,” she said in a statement.

“However we are concerned this bill doesn’t actually do what it needs to do when it comes to stopping the deliberate mass distribution of false and harmful information.

“It gives media moguls like Murdoch an exemption and hands over responsibility to tech companies and billionaires like Elon Musk to determine what is true or false under ambiguous definitions.”

Her stance highlights the difficulty in finding consensus on the vexed question of misinformation that has dominated global debate as tech platforms have tested the limits of free speech. Algorithms at platforms such as Facebook and TikTok have fed sponsored or targeted posts to users, which security agencies warn has increased polarisation and radicalism.

While the Greens want a tougher law, Coalition communications spokesman David Coleman has portrayed the Labor plan as an Orwellian ministry of truth.

“This appalling legislation was a national embarrassment and a terrible reflection on the values of the Albanese government,” Coleman said.

“The looming defeat of the bill should end the era of Mr Albanese and his colleagues trying to tell Australians what they can and cannot say.”

“Australians are not afraid of robust political debate – in fact we welcome it. But Labor wanted to suppress that freedom and make government officials the arbiters of truth. The bill was an absolute disgrace and it now heads to the museum of political disasters.”

Not a single senator outside the Labor Party has said they would vote for the bill due to reach the Senate next week.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/museum-of-political-disasters-truth-bill-dies-as-greens-join-coalition-to-block-it-20241122-p5ksx0.html

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Greens torpedo misinformation bill as top Trump ally raises concerns

ADAM CREIGHTON and RHIANNON DOWN - 22 November 2024

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The Greens will oppose Labor’s legislation combatting online misinformation citing concerns that the bill doesn’t “actually do what it needs to do”, as one of the top Republicans in the US Congress accuses the Australian government of seeking to “censor speech worldwide”.

In a final blow to the legislation that would empower the media watchdog to fine social media giants for false and harmful content on their platforms, Greens communication spokeswoman Sarah Hanson-Young revealed on Friday the left-wing party would vote with the Coalition against the controversial legislation.

Senator Hanson-Young said while her party believed in the need to fight the spread of misinformation, the party had come to the position that the government needed to introduce “comprehensive reforms that tackle the business models and dangerous algorithms that fuel division and damage democracy”.

“The Greens understand that mis and disinformation is a growing danger to democracy, public discourse, health and safety both in Australia and around the world and needs to be tackled,” she said.

“However we are concerned this bill doesn’t actually do what it needs to do when it comes to stopping the deliberate mass distribution of false and harmful information.”

The announcement dashing Anthony Albanese’s hopes of passing the legislation comes as the bill makes waves in the US, with a senior Republican warning the outgoing Biden administration to press Australia that it risked impinging on Americans’ constitutional right to free speech.

In a detailed letter to the State Department, Jim Jordan, chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the House of Representatives, said the Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill, currently before parliament, could “pressure American companies to censor online speech outside of Australia, including in the United States”.

“We write to request more information about how the State Department intends to engage with the Australian government to address recent threats to free speech worldwide and their effect on American citizens,” the letter, addressed to Uzra Zeya, the Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, said.

“There are serious concerns about how Australian authorities can continue to press for censorship and suppression of online speech outside of Australia’s borders”.

The bill appears to be headed for defeat in the Senate as soon as next week, after enough crossbench senators, including Lidia Thorpe and David Van, expressed misgivings about aspects of the legislation.

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The three-page letter from a top Republican and well-known Donald Trump ally could point to an area of friction between the Albanese government and the incoming Republican administration which might take a dim view of a bill that would seek to fine American tech giants 5 per cent of their global revenue unless they censored claims and arguments the Canberra didn’t like.

“This proposed Australian legislation disproportionately targets American companies and will harm free speech worldwide, including in the United States — indeed, the legislation stipulates that it “extends to acts, omissions, matters and things outside Australia,” Mr Jordan added.

The letter, obtained by The Australian before it was sent on Thursday (Friday AEDT), took issue with how the bill’s “vague” definition of misinformation included claims that were “misleading or deceptive”, could “contribute to serious harm … to the Australian economy”, or those that questioned “the efficacy of preventive health measures in Australia”, such as lockdowns.

Incoming Vice president JD Vance in September said the US should look unfavourably on countries that sought to crack down on free speech, enshrined in the first amendment of the US constitution. “It would be insane that we would support a military alliance if that military alliance isn’t going to be that is not pro free speech,” he told YouTuber Shawn Ryan.

“American power comes with certain strings attached, one of those is respect free speech,” he added.

Mr Jordan in his letter, also addressed to Eileen Donahoe Special Envoy and Coordinator for Digital Freedom, said the Australian government had during 2021 pressured Twitter, now known as X, to censor a post by Martin Kulldorff after the Harvard professor of medicine argued lockdowns were “ineffective”.

Stanford professor John Ioannidis, among the most cited scientists in the world, told The Australian in 2023 he estimated lockdowns had killed people in net terms, after adjusting for the years of life remaining in those who were saved, owing to their impact on drug use and mental health, separate from the trillions of dollars in public debt they engendered.

Mr Jordan, who is also chairman of the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, asked “how the State Department intends to respond to (1) the Australian government’s recently proposed legislation to curb free speech worldwide and (2) the Australian government’s other recent attacks on free speech, including against speakers located in the United States”.

The government’s push to beef-up censorship powers reflects similar efforts in the European Union, where top truth tsar Thierry Breton recently sought to ban X if it broadcast an interview between Elon Musk and incoming president Donald Trump.

Accusations of misinformation and disinformation, which is misinformation that is knowingly disseminated to mislead, have exploded since the Covid-19 pandemic, when governments sought to shut down debate on the origin of Sar-Cov2 and measures to combat it.

In April Australia’s eSafety Commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, ordered X to remove globally videos of the Wakely terror stabbing or face daily fines of more than $700,000 before her request was ultimately overruled by Australian courts.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/republican-congressional-chair-jim-jordan-slams-australias-misinformation-bill/news-story/76ee21365adb98dbd704177e372ea176

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Japan hosts Five Eyes group meeting for first time

GABRIEL DOMINGUEZ - Nov 21, 2024

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Japan hosted a gathering of senior enlisted service members from the Five Eyes intelligence partnership Wednesday, the first time a nonmember state has done so, in a move that highlights the growing cooperation between Tokyo and its Western allies amid shared concerns about a rapidly deteriorating international security environment.

The meeting with members from the grouping – comprising the United States, Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand – took place as part of a broader conference held in Tokyo among senior enlisted personnel from across the Self-Defense Forces.

“We saw a great opportunity to invite the Five Eyes nations to this SDF gathering so that our enlisted leaders can broaden their understanding of the situation in other countries,” Air Self-Defense Force Chief Warrant Officer Osamu Kai, who represented Japan at the gathering, told the Japan Times, adding that another key goal was to promote Japan’s vision of a Free and Open Indo Pacific.

While this marked the first such meeting outside a Five Eyes country, it wasn’t the first time Japan has been involved in such gatherings. For instance, SDF personnel were invited to a similar conference of Canadian senior enlisted members last month.

While not the top decision makers, personnel at this level perform key duties, including providing critical advice to commanders.

“We recognize that the day conflict erupts, we're going to go together and we're going to need allies and partners,” said Canadian Armed Forces Chief Warrant Officer Robert McCann, pointing out that these gatherings “offer us a chance to not only sit together, compare notes, and realize we have the same challenges, but also to create interoperability with partner and like-minded nations.”

McCann said one aim is to improve information-sharing networks.

“These interactions make us better informed as they allow us to brief one another, brainstorm, and get different points of views as we all navigate through this region,” he said. “That makes us better armed forces because we can take that knowledge back and we can build upon it.”

This comes as Tokyo has long stated its interest in becoming the sixth member of the intelligence partnership.

Before leaving his post as Tokyo’s ambassador to Canberra last year, Shingo Yamagami told The West Australian newspaper that Tokyo already enjoyed high levels of cooperation with the other countries and that this had strengthened in the face of China’s growing military and cyber capabilities.

“We have a lot to offer to our friends in the Five Eyes because Japan has been standing on the frontline of strategic challenges facing this region over a number of centuries. By comparing notes between us, I think we can mutually benefit,” he was quoted as saying at the time.

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As tensions rise between China and the West, experts have said that Japan – seen as standing on the frontlines of regional strategic challenges – can offer the intelligence grouping the use of its information-gathering capabilities, particularly in the field of electronic surveillance, along with its insight on Asian geopolitics.

John Hemmings, a Japan expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said there are increasing calls for the United States and Japan to increase intelligence sharing to better prepare for the possibility of a regional conflict

“The rise of an assertive China in the Indo-Pacific provides a growing rationale for Tokyo’s accession to the group,” he wrote in a commentary last year.

Japan’s inclusion, he noted, would therefore be a “logical progression,” considering the already existing intelligence-sharing apparatus Tokyo has with Australia, France, Britain, and the U.S., and the ongoing negotiations it has with Canada on an information-sharing pact.

Moreover, Japan’s historical focus on China and North Korea, “only makes Japan’s bid stronger,” he added.

For Japan to formally join the Five Eyes though, Hemmings pointed out that Tokyo would have to adopt several Five Eyes standards, in terms of personnel clearance and vetting, information classification and information sharing.

It would also have to convince the other members that its domestic counter-intelligence measures and new legislation can sufficiently protect state secrets.

Tokyo has already made important strides in this direction, pledging to beef up its cyberdefenses while also introducing a bill into parliament that would craft a new “security clearance” system.

But experts say Japan still has some way to go before these measures are implemented or are of a similar standard to those of the Five Eyes nations.

The government is expected to postpone submission until next year of a bill that would introduce an “active cyberdefense” system allowing for preemptive actions against cyberattacks, after the Liberal Democratic Party-led bloc’s dismal Lower House election performance drained Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s political capital.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2024/11/21/japan/five-eyes-japan-meeting/

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Japan hosts Five Eyes intel meeting for 1st time; experts warn of Tokyo’s eagerness to become the ‘sixth eye’

Fan Anqi - Nov 20, 2024

The Five Eyes alliance hosted an intelligence group meeting in Japan on Wednesday, the first time that such a meeting has been held in a non-member country, a reflection of Tokyo's "critical position for gathering information on nearby China," Nikkei Asia reported.

Chinese experts warned of Japan's eagerness to join the alliance, but suggested that as the Five Eyes countries are all of Anglo-Saxon origin, Japan will seem "an outsider." The group is only using Japan's zeal to serve their own hegemonic purposes, analysts said.

The decision to hold the meeting in Japan reflects its "growing importance as an intelligence-collecting base in the Indo-Pacific region," Nikkei Asia reported.

The meeting with members from the grouping - comprising the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand - took place as part of a broader conference held in Tokyo among senior enlisted personnel from across Japan's Self-Defense Forces, the Japan Times reported on Wednesday.

While this marks the first such meeting outside a Five Eyes country, it is not the first time Japan has been involved in such gatherings. In October, Japan's Self-Defense Forces participated in a meeting in Canada for the first time by invitation, according to Nikkei Asia.

Japan has long sought to enhance its status by pursuing membership in the Five Eyes grouping. And to gain this position, Japan is striving to align itself more closely with the Five Eyes in various fields, including military, security, politics and culture, Zhou Yongsheng, a deputy director of the Japanese Studies Center at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

While the possibility of Japan becoming the "sixth eye" is increasing, potential membership will depend on negotiations among member states, as the Five Eyes is not merely an intelligence sharing group, it is rooted in shared ethnic heritage and cultural ties, as all members are of Anglo-Saxon origin, Zhou said.

In contrast, Japan does not share the same ethnic and cultural background with these countries, which will make it "an outsider" in this context, Zhou said.

By offering incentives to "award" Japan - in this case, choosing Tokyo to host the meeting - the Five Eyes alliance is creating a perception that Japan is "highly valued." In reality, the partnership serves the Five Eyes' hegemonic purposes by forming camp confrontation, Lü Chao, a research fellow on Northeast Asia studies at the Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

The meeting took place against the backdrop of a changing international landscape. At the just-concluded APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Lima, Peru and the G20 Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, China demonstrated an ever-more influential role in promoting peace and development across the globe through cooperation, as local officials hailed China's pivotal role in advancing inclusive, sustainable development across the Asia Pacific and globally.

"At such a time of change, establishing closer ties with or even joining Five Eyes is not in line with Japan's interests," Lü said, noting that the recently reelected Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been actively engaging with China.

Since the US implemented its so-called Indo-Pacific strategy, the Five Eyes alliance has strengthened intelligence and military interactions in the region, which have brought about great uncertainty. In this context, the latest move will cause further unrest among regional countries, Lü said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202411/1323484.shtml