/qresearch/ -  Q Research

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>>24877751

Ben Carroll to unveil royal commission into CFMEU and organised crime

ANTHONY GALLOWAY - 18 August 2026

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll will unveil the terms of reference for a royal commission into corruption on taxpayer-funded worksites within days, as Opposition Leader Jess Wilson accuses him of dragging his feet on his signature integrity measure.

The Australian understands the royal commission was discussed at a cabinet meeting on Monday, with its terms of reference – which Mr Carroll has promised will be “exhaustive” – expected this week.

The government is also advancing plans to establish a special prosecutor to work in parallel with the royal commission’s investigation of the construction sector, as well as reforms to the state’s anti-­corruption agency that would give it “follow-the-dollar” powers and broaden the definition of corruption.

The royal commission will scrutinise CFMEU corruption and the infiltration of organised crime on Victoria’s multibillion-dollar Big Build projects under Mr Carroll’s predecessors, Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan.

Mr Carroll on Monday morning said he did “not discuss what is going to cabinet”, but signalled the terms of reference were imminent. “We are working very hard on this and I will have more to say very soon,” he said.

Since taking over the premiership three weeks ago, Mr Carroll has reversed Ms Allan’s opposition to a royal commission and promised that reforms to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission will be in place prior to the Nov­ember 28 poll.

The signing of letters patent by the state’s Governor this week would put the royal commission on track to begin work – and likely hold its first hearings – before the election.

While establishing the commission does not require legislation, sources said significant preparatory work had been completed on the creation of a special prosecutor, who would investigate potential criminal offences in parallel with the inquiry.

The prosecutor will provide a separate avenue for pursuing criminal conduct uncovered during the commission’s work, amid concerns about ensuring evidence of alleged wrongdoing can be investigated without compromising either process.

Ms Wilson accused Mr Carroll of moving too slowly, saying almost three weeks had passed since he pledged to establish the inquiry after becoming Premier.

“It’s nearly three weeks since Ben Carroll became the Premier of Victoria, and he said his first job was to call a royal commission into the largest corruption scandal in this state’s history,” she said.

“Fifteen billion dollars of taxpayer money has been siphoned off government worksites into the pockets of criminals, organised crime and underworld figures in this state under Labor’s watch. And still three weeks later, we are yet to see the Premier establish a royal commission. Victorians deserve so much better, they deserve a real royal commission.”

Mr Carroll cleared another barnacle on Monday with the announcement that the government had secured a pay deal with teachers to end a long-running dispute.

Australian Education Union members on Monday voted to accept the latest offer, calling off a third statewide strike on Wednesday, which the government says will ensure education staff are the best paid in the country.

After 79 per cent of members voted for the offer, teachers, principals and support staff will receive a pay increase of 28.3 per cent over four years.

It came after the government upped its offer with a $2000 bonus when the agreement starts. The deal will now cost $5.4bn over four years, $400,000 more than what this year’s budget allocated for.

Mr Carroll said the deal ensured Victorian teachers had the best pay and conditions in the nation. “I am a new Premier and we going in a new direction,” he said. “And I can’t be more clear – education under my premiership will be the single most important public investment we will make.

“We were delivering $5bn over the four years in delivering the best pay and conditions for our teachers, that has naturally gone up a little bit more. But it is still with a five in front of it … It is between $5bn and $5.5bn.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/ben-carroll-to-unveil-royal-commission-into-cfmeu-and-organised-crime/news-story/f8c11411b70c6124c8e33122090d8526

>>24877867

Ben Roberts-Smith slams government for ‘letting down’ a new generation of veterans

War crime murder accused Ben Roberts-Smith has criticised successive governments for failing Afghanistan veterans in a speech at a Queensland Vietnam Veterans Day service.

Rebecca Nicol - August 18, 2026

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Embattled Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith has used a Vietnam Veterans Day address to take a swipe at the federal government, claiming Australia is repeating historical mistakes by abandoning its modern veterans.

Speaking to a supportive crowd of about 500 people in Hervey Bay - just months after his arrest on five counts of war crime murder - the former SAS corporal drew direct parallels between the historic mistreatment of Vietnam veterans and the government’s current handling of Afghanistan War personnel.

Despite facing allegations that he took part in the execution of unarmed detainees between 2009 and 2012, Mr Roberts-Smith was greeted with rousing applause, lined up for photos with attendees, and vowed to “keep fighting” to clear his name ahead of his next court appearance on September 1.

Mr Roberts-Smith said in his address successive governments and bureaucrats were letting down those who fought in Afghanistan, repeating the mistakes of the past treatment of Vietnam veterans.

“Too many were met with silence, misunderstanding or indifference,” he said.

Australians had since “corrected” this and showed overwhelming support for Vietnam Veterans, but “recent successive governments and bureaucrats” have not learnt this lesson in regard to veterans who fought in the Afghanistan War, which Australia was involved in from 2001 to 2021.

“There is now another generation of veterans that have been and continue to be let down by the very officials that sent them to war,” he said to a round of applause.

“Today though we recognise an important truth, whatever our views of war, we must never lose sight of those who are asked to fight it.”

Speaking after the service Mr Roberts-Smith said he understood what Vietnam veterans went through when they came home “now more than ever”.

“I’d like to think some of the MPs that are in government at the moment are going to make an effort to ensure that we are treated the right way so we don’t have another problem like we did after Vietnam,” he said.

Some politicians such as like Phillip Thompson, also an ex-soldier, had been the “driving force” in working with the Department of Veterans’ Affairs and Department of the Army to fight against funding cuts.

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Mr Roberts-Smith has always maintained his innocence, and despite the disturbing nature of the charges against him, Tuesday’s crowd showed strong support, with many veterans, the families of veterans, and other members of the public queueing for a photo with him.

Hervey Bay RSL Memorial Club president Ray Eustace said the guest appearance had been kept quiet for fear of unwanted attention.

“I think it’s a disgrace he’s now been charged with all this,” Mr Eustace said.

Women from the Partners of Veterans Association spoke about their steadfast support for Mr Roberts-Smith after getting a photo with him.

Members of the group described his speech as very “apt” and said the way he was being treated was how their husbands were treated when they returned home from the Vietnam War.

Mr Roberts-Smith attended the event with his partner, PR and marketing executive Sarah Matulin, who said it was honour to be at the event and that “everyone was being super supportive”.

Mr Roberts-Smith told media the day “was totally about Vietnam Veterans day” and that he did not want to talk about his “situation”.

However, he did say he was “extremely grateful” for the support he had from “all corners of Australia”.

“I will keep fighting until this situation is resolved and my name is cleared,” he said.

Mr Roberts-Smith is due back in court on September 1, to continue fighting allegations he took part in the killing of five unarmed men while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

https://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/fraser-coast/ben-robertssmith-slams-government-for-letting-down-a-new-generation-of-veterans/news-story/680d5a53806ab8e190b19a342a8b7320

>>24719141 (pb)

Elon Musk’s SpaceX rocket towed to Christmas Island

PAUL GARVEY - 18 August 2026

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Christmas Island locals have become accustomed to seeing unexpected maritime arrivals over the years, but nothing quite like this.

On Tuesday morning, Elon Musk’s latest SpaceX rocket was slowly towed into one of the island’s protected bays after being retrieved as part of a complex salvage operation.

The rocket, named Ship 40, had been floating in the Indian Ocean since late July after it performed a better-than-expected splashdown after a test flight and did not sink as anticipated.

Mr Musk announced on X on July 29 that a ship had been sent to recover the rocket, and since then keen-eyed space nerds have been following the mission’s progress.

The sight of the spaceship crawling towards Christmas Island has swiftly become the talk of the small island community.

David Watchorn, the owner of a local dive store and the chair of the Christmas Island Tourism Association, took his boat out to get a closer look at the rocket and snapped images of the spacecraft bobbing in the sheltered waters about a kilometre from shore.

“It’s been pretty exciting, everyone’s headed down to the cliff edge to take photos,” he said.

Ship 40 is a prototype of the reusable rockets SpaceX is pioneering, and which would dramatically lower launch costs. It was not originally expected to be recovered, but the rocket outperformed expectations as it re-entered the atmosphere and made its splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Earlier this month, SpaceX said its team was still working to recover the starship from the ocean.

“They’ve been overcoming challenging conditions and increasingly rough seas as they attempt to guide the 52m-long spacecraft to port,” it said on X.

With the rocket now safely at Christmas Island, a 500m exclusion zone has been set up around it and the support vessels.

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Just how long the rocket will stay at Christmas Island, where it will head to next, and how it will get there is unclear at this stage.

The recovery vessels had been towing the rocket at a speed of just one knot. Sailing at that speed all the way back to the US would take more than a year.

Interestingly, Christmas Island was once flagged as the site for a Russian-backed commercial space­port. But that plan was abandoned in 2002 amid sovereignty and national security concerns.

Australia’s richest woman Gina Rinehart, meanwhile, has invested more than $1.4bn in SpaceX and has previously raised the prospect of the company using remote islands on the Great Barrier Reef as launch sites for its rockets.

Mr Watchorn is hopeful the rocket’s arrival will help boost the international profile of Christmas Island and give the remote island a small place in the history of space travel. “It’s definitely a different kind of arrival, it’s a great one and probably puts us on a world stage,” he said.

“This rocket will be in a museum in 100 years time and everyone will look at it – this is the test flight of something quite revolutionary”.

He said that if Mr Musk – the world’s richest man with an estimated net worth of $US895bn ($1.26 trillion) – wanted to come and see his rocket, Christmas Island had plenty of natural wonders on offer to help make the trip worthwhile for him.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/elon-musks-spacex-rocket-towed-to-christmas-island/news-story/94c59d5bb40f8288311f08f719fd0a93

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2082186802912207064

https://x.com/SpaceX/status/2085786988225925349

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>>24917042

Andrew Hastie ready for One Nation’s ‘dirty and nasty’ Canning campaign

JOSEPH OLBRYCHT-PALMER - 19 August 2026

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie has branded One Nation’s efforts to unseat him “dirty and nasty” as the populist minor party gears up to contest every race at the next federal election.

One Nation earlier this month launched a branch in Mr Hastie’s West Australian seat of Canning.

It is the first non-Labor electorate One Nation has targeted in the state.

But the bid has taken a particularly personal twist, with leader Pauline Hanson criticising Mr Hastie, a special forces veteran, for deciding to testify in a war-crimes case against Victorian Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith.

She has praised Mr Roberts-Smith, who denies all allegations against him, as a “war hero” who has her “respect” and admiration.

Mr Hastie on Wednesday vowed to “hold my seat”.

“I love pressure … I wouldn’t be in this job if I didn’t. I also love a fight,” he told ABC’s RN.

“Will it be a tough fight? Absolutely. Is it dirty and nasty? Yes it is.”

Mr Hastie has accused Senator Hanson and her chief of staff James Ashby of running “a relentless campaign of personal attacks against me online”.

The ensuing flood of threats against him prompted Home Affairs to beef up security at his home and electorate office.

Mr Hastie said despite “some pretty strong messages sent to me, to my staff”, he would not be deterred.

“I believe that I am the best representative for Canning,” he said.

“I love my community. I live there and I’ve got plenty of work to do in the parliament.”

One Nation’s move on Canning is part of making good on Senator Hanson’s pledge to open branches in every federal electorate ahead of the 2028 national vote.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/andrew-hastie-ready-for-one-nations-dirty-and-nasty-canning-campaign/news-story/e096b61b8a901179ac2a3ccccdcfa6b1

Australia, Thailand pledge action amid Southeast Asia crime boom

Anthony Albanese and his Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul have pledged to take action against transnational criminals armed with new technologies.

Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer - August 19, 2026

Australia and Thailand have pledged to do more to tackle “the evolving threat of transnational crime”, as cyber bandits and human traffickers alike use new technologies to evade law enforcement and consolidate their activities.

Rates of scams, drug trading and people trafficking are exploding in the age of artificial intelligence and crypto currencies, with a UN report last month warning of a criminal boom in Southeast Asia.

That boom has been shaped by criminal groups armed with powerful digital tools and “operating across multiple illicit markets at once”, according to the UN’s regional crime envoy Delphine Schantz.

“Their operating model looks like corporate franchising: Imagine specialised departments for laundering money, trafficking people, smuggling migrants, and harvesting data all plugged into the same, service-based interconnected network,” she said.

Emerging from talks on Wednesday, Anthony Albanese and his Thai counterpart Anutin Charnvirakul “expressed grave concern over the growing sophistication and proliferation of online scam operations, including the use of emerging technologies to facilitate cybercrime, financial fraud, money laundering and trafficking in persons, undermining governance, economic resilience and regional security”.

“They agreed to strengthen co-operation among Australian and Thai law enforcement, customs, immigration and financial intelligence agencies to disrupt the criminal networks, financial flows and supply chains that enable cyber-enabled fraud and the trafficking of illicit commodities, including narcotics and illicit tobacco,” a joint statement said.

Thailand is a transit hub for criminals smuggling their goods due to its geography and relative openness.

The country’s north forms part of the infamous Golden Triangle, where Thailand, Myanmar and Laos meet, making it a major corridor for synthetic drugs.

Cyber gangs from abroad, including China, have also set up shop in the region, luring job seekers from across the world with fake high-paying job ads and then holding them captive in heavily fortified compounds, according to UN findings.

Victims are forced under threat of violence to carry out so-called “pig butchering” scams targeting Westerners, including Australians.

The Chinese term refers to scammers who build trust with victims over months, often through romantic relationships.

Scammers then get victims to invest big sums into fake cryptocurrency platforms – much like fattening a pig before slaughter.

In their statement, the prime ministers acknowledged the work already under way, including the Australian Federal Police’s efforts with the Royal Thai Police to “combat illicit drug trafficking”.

They hailed the jointly led Taskforce Storm “as an important mechanism for disrupting transnational criminal networks and intercepting illicit narcotics across the Mekong subregion, preventing the use of countries in the region as transit points for drug trafficking and protecting communities in Thailand, Australia and the wider region from the harms associated with illicit narcotics”.

The leaders also “reaffirmed their commitment to countering trafficking in persons in all its forms”.

https://www.news.com.au/world/asia/australia-thailand-pledge-action-amid-southeast-asia-crime-boom/news-story/83f34939b5b94dfbc27b5da7085e3e2a

https://www.pm.gov.au/media/joint-statement-transnational-crime-between-australia-and-thailand

>>24951157

‘The world as it is’: Anthony Albanese’s Thai deal shows the quiet cost of regional stability

AMANDA HODGE - 19 August 2026

When it comes to foreign policy, the Albanese government speaks often of the need to deal with the world as it is, not as it would like it to be.

So it was on Wednesday that Anthony Albanese stood alongside visiting Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to hail new agreements between Australia and Thailand to combat the scourge of Southeast Asian scam centres and other transnational crimes, and deepen trade and defence ties between “our two great democracies”.

“Through close partnership, the Australian Federal Police and Royal Thai Police already work side by side to intercept narcotics, dismantle scam syndicates and bolster regional responses to transnational crime.

“Today we undertook to expand on decades of work between our two countries by committing our law enforcement agencies to strengthen operational co-­operation to disrupt increasingly sophisticated global criminal networks,” Mr Albanese said at a joint press conference where he also lauded commitments to hold bilateral defence ministerial meetings every two years and bolster our free-trade agreement.

The Prime Minister also made a point of thanking Mr Anutin for offering to sell Australia more jet fuel, “which is particularly welcome at this difficult time”.

Australia is right to take a pragmatic approach to its regional bilateral relationships and find common ground where it can with a strategic partner as interested in diversifying its trade, investment and security options as Canberra is at a time of global volatility.

More regional police and intelligence co-operation is desperately needed to combat both scourges, and Australian Federal Police and intelligence agencies are well placed to provide technical assistance where it is needed.

Online scams cost Australians more than $2.18bn last year, while wastewater assessments by the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission show annual methamphetamine consumption has almost doubled in the past decade.

The fact that Thailand – part of the notorious Golden Triangle long-renowned as a global centre of narcotics trade – has long worked both sides of the fence on transnational crime is no secret.

Just as it is an important and valuable hub of regional policing co-operation on transnational crime, it is also a hub for some criminal syndicates, as well as a handy transit point for proceeds of crime and human trafficking into massive scam compounds operating just over its borders in Myanmar and Cambodia.

Chinese citizenship fraud by criminal syndicates is “rampant”, while detailed evidence of Thai military and police involvement in online casino and scam centres in eastern Myanmar – presented in parliament, no less – has gone largely ignored, says ANU regional transnational crime expert Greg Raymond.

That Thailand is also not a “great democracy” should be clear to anyone with a passing interest in its almost-century-old pattern of military coups and deeply flawed elections, or its more recent role as a “central hub for transnational repression in Southeast Asia”, as Freedom House wrote in its latest assessment of the Southeast Asian kingdom.

A fortnight ago, Mr Anutin rolled out the red carpet in Bangkok for the region’s most odious dictator, Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s military coup maker who triggered a deadly civil war in February 2021 and five years later anointed himself President after sham elections.

Did Mr Albanese raise with Mr Anutin the region’s most deadly war or Thailand’s drift away from ASEAN consensus to sideline the Myanmar regime until it ends hostilities?

Who knows? He certainly didn’t mention it.

What we do know is the two discussed a “shared concern on the Middle East and its ongoing impact, and agreed to co-ordinate closely to ensure supply chains remain open, secure and resilient”.

Pragmatic co-operation at such a difficult moment is good diplomacy, as is the Albanese government’s laser focus on building stronger trade, investment and security ties with our Southeast Asian nations that, in the best of circumstances, are a strategic buffer for Australia against China.

Whitewashing the true nature of its political systems is not.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/the-world-as-it-is-anthony-albaneses-thai-deal-shows-the-quiet-cost-of-regional-stability/news-story/619709801e28455b5cc72d688537af0f

>>24943430

Antisemitism royal commission witness questions Israel's right to exist, whether it is a 'legitimate state'

Phoebe Pin - 20 August 2026

A witness at the royal commission on antisemitism has questioned the legitimacy of Israel's existence, following a tense exchange over her interpretation of Zionism as a violent extremist belief.

Rita Jabri Markwell is a Sydney-based solicitor, researcher and policy adviser to the Australian Muslim Advocacy Network and on Thursday gave evidence at the Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion about a framework she helped develop to identify and address all forms of hate speech.

The dehumanisation framework was initially developed to assist with legal proceedings, with Ms Markwell saying the model could also help institutions manage complaints.

Under the model, speech directed at governments, militaries and political ideologies would be protected, but dehumanising speech targeting people based on characteristics such as race, religion or ethnicity would breach the framework.

Following a lengthy and at times emotive cross-examination about the framework, Commissioner Virginia Bell AC SC asked Ms Markwell if she would "accept that there is a legitimacy to the existence of the state of Israel" at the time of the United Nations General Assembly's recognition of the state of Israel in 1948.

"I don't think I have a view particularly on the time of that declaration, but I know that if you were to ask me now whether I think that the state has legitimacy I, as a human rights lawyer, I don't think that any state that relies unlawful occupation and apartheid and genocide could be said to be a legitimate state," Ms Markwell said in response.

"I think that there really needs to be, and this is just a political opinion, but I think there needs to be serious thought as to how we fulfil every human's human rights in that region."

In September 2025, a Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory by the UN Human Rights Council found that genocide was occurring in Gaza.

The allegation of genocide is rejected by Israel

It followed a tense cross-examination by counsel representing various Jewish organisations Nicholas Bender SC, who took Ms Markwell to a Substack post she made about her interpretation of Zionism.

Zionism as defined by the anti-defamation league is a movement for self-determination and statehood for the Jewish people in their ancestral homeland of Israel.

But critics argue that it has contributed to the displacement and denial of rights for Palestinians.

Mr Bender put to Ms Markwell that her Substack post reflected a view she held that Zionism was a form of violent extremism.

"Yes, I do agree. There is a basis for that which is based in research," Ms Markwell said in response.

"The reason I believe that is because there is dehumanisation of outgroups which runs through Zionism which by my work with the University of Queensland … that is a defining attribute of violent extremist movements, that they tend to rely on dehumanisation which is a form of psychological violence."

Mr Bender at times spoke over Ms Markwell, putting to her that her interpretation of Zionism would mean she thought all Zionists were violent extremists.

Ms Markwell rejected his suggestion.

She was also taken to an article by university student and previous commission witness, Mia Kline, who claimed she had been kicked out of her university accommodation because she was a Zionist.

The commission heard that in her article Ms Kline said she supported a two-state solution, believed in peace and harmony, supported the rights of Palestinians and was often critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israel Defense Forces.

Mr Bender asked Ms Markwell for her response to Ms Kline's article.

"When I read her piece, I was quite moved that she was speaking about values to do with peace and coexistence and dignity … these are all values I also align with," Ms Markwell said.

"But at the same time she was talking about Zionism … and I found that quite difficult because when I consider zionism as the Jewish nationalist ideology …. Which lead to the creation of the state of Israel in Palestine in very violent circumstances … all of that doesn't seem to be consistent with the positive values she was talking about.

"I am genuinely interested in how you reconcile the values you speak about with being Zionist because … I haven't yet heard a Zionist explain to me how do they incorporate Palestinian human dignity and human rights into their ideological framework."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-20/bondi-royal-commission-antisemitism-rita-jabri-markwell-/107059294

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Greens senator Mehreen Faruqi said she was “appalled” by the ambassador’s comments, arguing he should have been expelled from the country.

“There is no doubt that this is a war crime,” she said of the strike on the convoy as she called for the International Criminal Court to investigate Frankcom’s killing.

The outcome was one of five IDF reports issued on Wednesday into separate incidents. In one case, which made global headlines, five-year-old Palestinian girl Hind Rajab died in January 2024 after pleading to be rescued from an attack that had killed her aunt, uncle and three cousins.

The IDF ruled there should be a criminal investigation by the military police into the death of Rajab, her family members, as well as paramedics who sought to come to her aid.

World Central Kitchen, Frankcom’s employer, condemned the outcome and called for an independent inquiry on the grounds that the Israeli military could not credibly investigate its own conduct.

“There has never been any excuse or justification for the attacks, and there is nothing in this account that does so. The decision is inconsistent with the full truth and deeply offensive,” the aid organisation said in a statement.

Frankcom, 43, and six colleagues died on April 1, 2024 when the vehicle they were travelling in was fired upon while delivering aid in Gaza.

The IDF said its officers had “mistakenly believed that the vehicles contained Hamas military operatives and therefore struck the vehicles”.

It claimed that attempts were made to contact representatives of the food charity during “the approximately half-hour period in which the convoy vehicles were tracked on the understanding that they contained Hamas operatives”, but those attempts were unsuccessful.

The Israeli military said the presence of armed security travelling with the convoy “was not co-ordinated with IDF authorities” and the vehicles had deviated from the route arranged in advance, while several people were also mistakenly identified as armed persons.

Colin Rubenstein, executive director of the Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council, said the Israeli inquiry had reached the same conclusion as the 2024 independent review by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, which found the IDF “had not deliberately or knowingly targeted WCK personnel”.

“Regrettably, errors are an inevitable part of warfare, particularly in the complexity of urban warfare against a terror group like Hamas, and the WCK error was a particularly tragic example,” Rubenstein said.

Two Israeli officers were dismissed from their positions and three senior officers were formally reprimanded, according to the Israeli military.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/middle-east/no-criminal-probe-over-israeli-strike-that-killed-australian-zomi-frankcom-20260819-p60pw0.html

https://www.timesofisrael.com/idf-closes-gaza-probe-of-world-central-kitchen-deaths-inquiry-into-killing-of-hind-rajab-ongoing/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72R9R79l8qo

https://qresear.ch/?q=Zomi+Frankcom

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>>24926485

Pauline Hanson escalates bid for Bondi terror video

GEOFF CHAMBERS and ELIZABETH PIKE - 19 August 2026

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has escalated her fight with the Australian Federal Police to access a “secret video” of the father-and-son Bondi Beach gunmen, after appealing an AFP decision to block her Freedom of Information application seeking footage of the alleged Islamic extremists.

Senator Hanson told The Australian that the Albanese government “must release the video now and be upfront about the threat of radical Islamic extremism”, amid warnings from national security agencies that another terror attack is “probable”.

An FOI application lodged by One Nation with the AFP seeking access to the alleged ISIS-inspired video manifesto recorded before the Bondi attack was ultimately blocked on the basis it could spread violent extremism and prejudice the case of the surviving alleged terrorist.

Senator Hanson has now taken her fight for access the video to the Information Commissioner, arguing it is in the public interest for the footage to be released, or alternatively, that a redacted transcript or summary be provided.

The One Nation leader, one of the first politicians to visit the Bondi memorial site following the December 14 terrorist attack that left 15 Jewish-Australians and bystanders dead, said “Labor hasn’t been upfront with Australians about the Bondi attack”.

“Labor is trying to hide the truth because they don’t want to offend western Sydney electorates. For almost two days after the attack, the Prime Minister refused to call it what it was: Islamic terrorism. Instead, he scapegoated law-abiding firearms owners.”

The Albanese government cannot compel the AFP to release evidence due to the separation of powers. The Australian also understands the AFP is constrained in what can provide to the public as the Bondi investigation is a joint counter-terrorism operation involving multiple agencies.

Senator Hanson said access should be given to the video because “detailed descriptions of the video and other material have already been released by the court and reported on by the media … there’s no reason to keep the actual video secret”.

“We have now appealed the decision to the Information Commissioner, but that process could take years,” she said.

“Whether it is who we allow into Australia, how we deal with extremists already here, the return of the ISIS brides, or what Australians are told after a terrorist attack, national security starts with telling the truth. Australians should not have to wait years to learn the truth.

“The Albanese government must release the video now and be upfront about the threat of radical Islamic terrorism.”

In its response to Senator Hanson’s March 17 application, the AFP confirmed that searches for relevant documents were undertaken by Counter Terrorism and included but were not limited to “a search of the AFP’s investigation management solution, the AFP email system Outlook, official AFP diaries and electronic directories”.

“The AFP acquired the documents as part of their investigation into the Bondi attack with the expectation that the material would not be further disseminated,” the AFP response read.

“Disclosure of the relevant documents would jeopardise the safety and protection of the Australian community by inviting violent extremism to spread, thereby causing significant and enduring damage to national security.”

The AFP added there was “no limitation” to what parties could do with the video or its contents, citing concerns the evidence would become “uncontrolled”.

Court documents released in December allege police found a video on Naveed Akram’s phone of a manifesto the father and son filmed in October, two months before the Bondi Beach terror attack.

According to court documents, the video shows Mr Akram and his father sitting in front of an ISIS flag behind four long-arm firearms “with visible rounds attached to the frames”.

Police allege Mr Akram recites a passage from the Koran in Arabic before the pair make a number of statements, in English, about their motivations for the Bondi terror attack.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/pauline-hanson-escalates-bid-for-bondi-terror-video/news-story/d7b0b621d9b43593df10cbb985c0b676

https://x.com/PaulineHansonOz/status/2090186707241218417

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In July, The Age obtained a secret briefing to Allan that outlined many of the issues exposed in the Building Bad series but which was written almost a year beforehand in June 2023.

The document was addressed to Allan but does not bear her signature, and was signed off by four high-ranking infrastructure and transport public servants. An official source confirmed at the time that Allan had been briefed on the report’s contents, but the former premier said she had no knowledge of it.

One of the impacts the royal commission will explore will be waste, misdirected funds and inflated costs, providing an avenue to consider the estimate by integrity expert Geoffrey Watson that CFMEU misconduct may have added $15 billion to the cost of the Big Build.

Contractors and agencies will be examined to determine whether they properly responded to corruption risks.

Lawful industrial action and action under health and safety laws are not within the scope of the inquiry.

Carroll did not say whether hearings would begin before the election, leaving that at the discretion of the commission.

Kourakis served as South Australia’s chief justice from 2012 until his retirement from the bench earlier this year. He was previously the state’s solicitor-general from 2003 to 2008.

In a move similar to that of Queensland’s Fitzgerald Inquiry, Carroll will also create a special prosecutor in September to work alongside the inquiry. Royal commissions can make adverse findings but don’t have the power to lay charges, which the prosecutor will be empowered to do through special legislation.

Kourakis will advise on whom to appoint to the role, and they will be provided with funding and resources to work with both the commission and law enforcement agencies.

Carroll said the prosecutor wouldn’t wait for the final report to act and bring people or organisations to account even as the commissioner continued their inquisitorial process.

The government will also introduce legislation next month giving new powers to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission to pursue taxpayer funds to subcontractors and labour hire firms, known as follow-the-dollar powers.

The definition of corrupt conduct will also be expanded so IBAC can pursue so-called “grey corruption” after calls from successive commissioners. Under the narrow definition of corrupt conduct that has restricted IBAC’s reach since its establishment in 2012, it can currently investigate only behaviour that constitutes a serious criminal offence.

Carroll denied establishing the royal commission was driven by self-interest with the state election looming and voters concerned about corruption in the Big Build.

“This is about the future of our state and valuing taxpayer dollars,” he said.

“I will let others judge about this exercise, but I can tell you very clearly, and I can tell all every single Victorian, this is about them.

“This is about doing what is right for Victoria and Victoria’s future, and that is what’s driven me every single moment of this process.”

(continued)

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Carroll said the inquiry would be a legacy for his government and bring about lasting change.

When asked whether his predecessor had turned a blind eye to corruption in the sector, the premier said the government needed to be “curious, and not incurious” about what had occurred.

“Everyone’s been reading the papers. Every single Victorian has been having conversations. Integrity is non-negotiable,” he said.

Allan refused to set up the inquiry despite pressure from integrity advocates, the opposition and her own MPs after two years of reporting by The Age, The Australian Financial Review and 60 Minutes on organised crime and corruption in Victoria’s Big Build.

Known as Building Bad, that investigation has uncovered serious allegations of organised criminal infiltration of taxpayer-funded construction projects, violence and drug use on worksites, payments to so-called “fixers” such as underworld figure Mick Gatto, and concerns the government presided over a culture where builders were encouraged to give in to demands from the increasingly lawless CFMEU.

As recently as Thursday, this masthead revealed that the former national vice president of the Mongols outlaw bikie gang is being investigated by police over allegations he offered inducements to officials still serving in the CFMEU in return for their support of his business.

Before Labor’s leadership change, Opposition Leader Jess Wilson had promised the Coalition would order its own royal commission if it were to claim power in November. She released her proposed terms of reference earlier this month, setting the stage for a political fight over Carroll’s commission.

Shadow attorney-general James Newbury on Thursday labelled the inquiry a “cover-up commission” and said an inquiry set up by the Coalition, rather than Labor, was the only way to understand the final cost to taxpayers.

But his chief criticisms were that it should guarantee that Allan or Andrews provide evidence and that the CFMEU is the only union named in the document.

It will be up to Kourakis to decide whether to call the former premiers and investigate other unions, but the terms of reference do not limit his ability to do so.

Former CFMEU secretary John Setka dismissed the royal commission as a witch hunt and questioned what it would achieve.

“I’m surprised the Liberals didn’t write the terms of reference,” he told The Age.

“It is just going to be another witch hunt – a circus, a lawyer’s picnic and lobster back on the menu.”

CFMEU administrator Michael Crosby said they would fully co-operate with the commission, but that misconduct was not confined to one organisation.

“If this royal commission is serious about uncovering the truth, it must follow the evidence wherever it leads,” he said.

“That means examining the conduct of developers, head contractors, subcontractors, labour hire operators and anyone else who has profited from unlawful or unethical behaviour.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/victoria/carroll-to-lock-in-royal-commission-into-construction-sector-20260820-p60pxp.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sr1X95KA03k

>>24954732

Former SA chief judge to lead royal commission into CFMEU corruption

ANTHONY GALLOWAY and DAMON JOHNSTON - 20 August 2026

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Daniel Andrews, Jacinta Allan and dozens of former ministers and senior bureaucrats face being hauled before the royal commission into Victoria’s construction sector after Premier Ben Carroll declared “nothing and no one is off limits”.

Mr Carroll on Thursday appointed former South Australia chief justice Chris Kourakis AC as royal commissioner and empowered him to investigate not only the CFMEU and organised crime but the actions of the Victorian government, construction giants, subcontractors, labour-hire firms and suppliers.

The commission has been directed to determine whether Victoria’s executive government and infrastructure delivery agencies “adequately adhered to their roles and responsibilities” in overseeing major construction projects, which Mr Carroll said opened the door for Mr Andrews, Ms Allan, current and former ministers and himself to be called before the inquiry.

“There was grift, there was thuggery, there was misogyny and there was violence on taxpayer-funded construction sites,” Mr Carroll said.

“I have zero tolerance for that. We are giving this royal commission the broadest, most extensive, wide-ranging powers. Full transparency – nothing is off limits.”

The royal commission’s establishment comes after Mr Carroll’s predecessor, Ms Allan, repeatedly refused to call an inquiry despite mounting evidence of corruption and criminality. Ms Allan’s rejection of a royal commission was a significant factor in her losing the support of the partyroom last month, leading to her resignation after Mr Carroll challenged her for the leadership.

Asked whether Ms Allan had turned a blind eye to the scandal considering she was the minister responsible for public transport projects for a lot of the period in question, the new Premier said the government needed to be “curious, and not incurious” about what occurred.

“Everyone’s been reading the papers. Every single Victorian has been having conversations. Integrity is non-negotiable,” he said.

Mr Carroll also denied establishing the royal commission was driven by self-interest three months out from the November 28 election.

“This is about the future of our state and valuing taxpayer dollars,” he said.

“I will let others judge about this exercise, but I can tell you very clearly, and I can tell every single Victorian, this is about them.”

The commission will examine whether corruption and misconduct inflated the cost of Victoria’s infrastructure program through waste and misdirected funds, which corruption expert Geoffrey Watson has previously estimated cost Victorian taxpayers $15bn.

It has also been explicitly empowered to consider ways the state can recoup taxpayers’ money where funds were misappropriated or received as a result of corruption, criminal conduct or serious misconduct.

The Letters Patent sent on Thursday to state Governor Margaret Gardner acknowledged allegations that organised crime figures, outlaw motorcycle gangs and underworld figures infiltrated major construction projects, including through associations with the CFMEU, alongside allegations of blackmail, bribery, intimidation, violence, nepotism and manipulation of contracting and industrial processes.

Industrial mediator and underworld figure Mick Gatto, who has been the subject of public scrutiny and debate over his business interests in the construction sector, told The Australian he had nothing to hide and will happily appear before the royal commission.

“I am very happy to appear to exonerate myself,” he said. “Hopefully it’s run fairly.”

The commission will also investigate subcontracting, labour hire, procurement, supply chains and even third-party mediation arrangements, as well as whether changes to government policy, legislation or industry practices helped create conditions in which misconduct flourished.

(continued)

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The Carroll government will establish an Office of Special Prosecutor – which will have its own powers to approve prosecutions – to work in parallel with the royal commission.

But the terms also draw two boundaries that the state opposition immediately seized on.

Specifically excluded are “lawful, legitimate and appropriate” actions taken under industrial relations laws and regulations, as well as lawful and legitimate actions under occupational health and safety laws.

That means the commission is not being established as a broader inquiry into the CFMEU’s legitimate industrial activities, enterprise bargaining or the exercise of lawful workplace safety powers.

Mr Carroll said the carve-outs would not be an impediment to the royal commission uncovering the misuse of industrial relations and OHS laws.

“Not at all. If you go to these terms of reference, you go through the causes, the preconditions, the role of the executive, the contextual changes and the impacts – these are the broadest, most comprehensive terms of reference available to any commissioner,” he said.

“If exploitation occurred, if there was any misrepresentation of any laws or workplace safety – that will have the brightest spotlight shown on it through this royal commission.”

Opposition legal affairs spokesman James Newbury labelled the inquiry Mr Carroll’s “Cover-up Commission”, criticising the Premier for not explicitly confirming corruption had occurred.

“Every Victorian knows that corruption has been occurring on the Big Build, he would not apologise for the corruption that has been occurring in this state,” Mr Newbury said.

“And just like Jacinta Allan, he wouldn’t commit to finding out how much money has been corrupted or that Victorians would see that money clawed back through consequences that Victorians expect to see.”

The inquiry extends across all major public and civil infrastructure projects commissioned by Victoria, rather than being confined to particular Big Build projects, and specifically encompasses agencies including the Suburban Rail Loop Authority, Victorian Infrastructure Delivery Authority, Victorian School Building Authority and Development Victoria.

Justice Kourakis can also recommend measures addressing corruption and misconduct on major private sector construction projects.

The $50m inquiry can hold public and private hearings, compel witnesses and documents, and make immediate referrals to Victoria Police, IBAC and other authorities, including in consultation with the newly proposed Special Prosecutor. It can also deliver interim recommendations requiring urgent changes to contracts, oversight or legislation on projects still under construction.

Justice Kourakis must deliver his final report by August 20 next year, although the deadline can be extended with the agreement of the premier.

He served as a judge of the Supreme Court of South Australia from 2008 and as chief justice from 2012 to February this year, having been appointed to these roles by Labor state governments in South Australia.

CFMEU administrator Michael Crosby said the union would “fully co-operate” with the royal commission.

“Significant public attention has been focused on the CFMEU, yet anyone who knows this industry understands that misconduct is not confined to one organisation,” he said.

“If this royal commission is serious about uncovering the truth, it must follow the evidence wherever it leads.

“That means examining the conduct of developers, head contractors, subcontractors, labour-hire operators and anyone else who has profited from unlawful or unethical behaviour.”

Justice Kourakis said the matters to be examined by the royal commission were “very important to all Victorians” and he was “deeply conscious” of the responsibility with which he has been entrusted.

“The royal commission will undertake its work independently and rigorously. We will follow the evidence and ensure our processes are fair, thorough, and transparent,” he said.

The Carroll government will also introduce legislation parliament next month giving new powers to the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, giving it “follow-the-dollar” powers and an expanded definition of corruption.

Under the current definition of corruption, which is the most narrow in the country, IBAC can go after only conduct that constitutes a serious criminal offence.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/former-sa-chief-judge-to-lead-royal-commission-into-cfmeu-corruption/news-story/ae7edc25e417357691c522d40a19731d

>>24898191

Man denies being encouraged to make Alan Jones complaint to benefit radio rival, court hears

Isobel Roe - 20 August 2026

Alan Jones's defence lawyers have accused one of the veteran broadcaster's alleged assault victims of confiding in two men who "hated" Mr Jones as part of a workplace "beef" at commercial radio station 2GB.

Complainant C, a former colleague of Mr Jones, is giving evidence in his criminal trial in the NSW Local Court, having accused the former high-profile talkback host of kissing and touching him.

There are eight charges of indecent assault connected to Complainant C, who has alleged Mr Jones touched his crotch while driving and kissed him multiple times in his apartment lift, and in a work lift.

Mr Jones has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges of indecent assault and sexual touching in relation to six men.

In the defence case opening remarks, Gabrielle Bashir SC suggested Complainant C in particular had been encouraged to make a complaint by 2GB host Ray Hadley, to "destroy" his radio rival Mr Jones.

The court has previously heard Complainant C told Mr Hadley in 2019 he'd been assaulted by Mr Jones, and then spoke on the phone that day to author Peter FitzSimons, who at the time was allegedly "researching" a story about Mr Jones.

Complainant C said he never told Mr FitzSimons who he was, and refused to go on the record, but has admitted he was happy for the author to use his allegations for "background".

Lawyer suggests complaint was prearranged

The court heard on Thursday that suggestions from Mr Jones's defence team that Mr Hadley, who presented the morning show, "coveted" Mr Jones's breakfast slot in 2019, and was disappointed when he did not get it.

Ms Bashir put to Complainant C that he was aware both Mr Hadley and Mr FitzSimons did not like Mr Jones, and suggested they prearranged a complaint.

"You understood Ray Hadley was in a position to benefit from publication of such allegations against Alan Jones?" Ms Bashir asked.

"I don't agree with that," Complainant C replied.

Complainant C responded that Mr Jones had re-signed his contract to continue the breakfast program just months earlier, so he did not consider the talkback host's job was at risk.

Ms Bashir said while Complainant C did not give permission for Mr FitzSimons to publish his allegations, he knew his employer might find out.

"You understood that those allegations … in Peter FitzSimons's hands, whether he knew who you were or not, could be shared with others at Nine?" she asked.

"I can't agree with that, I don't agree with that," the witness replied.

Media company Nine owns 2GB.

The court heard Mr Jones sent C a text in December 2019, describing Mr Hadley's perceived attempt to unseat him in the breakfast role as "profound treachery".

Complainant C said he understood there was "a beef between Alan, Ray and management," but he did not think the pair were "rivals".

The court also heard Complainant C told prosecutors Mr FitzSimons "hated" Mr Jones, and Mr Hadley "did not like" him.

'Groomed to write in that manner'

The complainant was also asked against about text messages he sent Mr Jones.

One message, sent around the time of Mr Jones' retirement from radio, said "your kindness to me has never wavered".

"You could have just said congratulations to Alan," Mr Bashir put to Complainant C.

"I was groomed to write in that manner," Complainant C responded.

When Ms Bashir challenged the witness on the term grooming, suggesting that was something that happened to "young children", Complainant C defended himself.

"I was a young man," he told the court.

"He was 40-45 years older than me and I was a junior staffer."

Under re-examination by the Crown, Complainant C was asked why he never told his managers at work what Mr Jones had allegedly done to him.

The complainant said it was because he was embarrassed, and he did not feel he would be protected by his manager, who he described as being "extremely loyal" to Mr Jones.

Complainant C has now finished giving evidence, and the trial is expected to begin hearing from his colleagues from Friday.

The trial continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-20/nsw-alan-jones-court-trial-complainant-c-ray-hadley/107053532

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>>24526195 (pb)

>>24700236 (pb)

>>24841260

Roblox commits to privacy overhaul after eSafety discovers adults can contact children via gaming platform

Regulator says verifiable safety measures are ‘critical’ to the online service’s viability

Josh Taylor - 20 Aug 2026

Roblox has committed to making changes to its online gaming platform after Australia’s eSafety commissioner discovered adults were still able to see child accounts and send connection requests without parental consent.

The company has provided a legal agreement to the online safety regulator after testing earlier this year also revealed children and adults could view and respond to one another’s posts on forums outside game environments without parental consent.

Additionally, the regulator found children’s connections and profiles – including account names and interests – were visible to anyone on Roblox.

In December last year, Roblox rolled out changes to its service to limit the ability for children to speak to adults on the platform after reports of children being groomed both for child abuse and extremism, as well as being exposed to inappropriate or violent content.

Under the changes, accounts for users under 16 were private by default and included tools to prevent adult users from contacting under-16s without parental consent.

Direct chat was also switched off by default until the user had gone through age estimation.

Parental controls could disable chat for 13- to 15-year-old users, and voice chat was not allowed for the same age group – bringing up the restriction applied to users aged 12 and under.

The eSafety commissioner had raised concerns Roblox may not be compliant with codes and standards under the Online Safety Act, alleging the platform failed to have sufficient measures in place to prevent contact between adults and children.

A Roblox spokesperson said there had been “constructive dialogue with eSafety” and the company had delivered on its safety commitments to eSafety in the past year while continuing to work towards keeping children safe online.

In its announcement on Thursday, eSafety said Roblox had committed to making changes to prevent adults from contacting unknown children without parental consent, and strengthening account settings of children so they are private by default.

Roblox also committed to engaging a third-party auditor to assess its safety measures, including a check of its age-estimation technology.

The company will have three months to make the changes. The eSafety commissioner has warned Roblox the regulator may apply to the federal court for an order to comply if the undertaking is breached.

About 1.7 million Australian children use Roblox, the eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, said in a statement, and the pressure on the company was about ensuring Roblox is a safe place.

“We have been engaging with Roblox for some time at senior levels about our concerns and the company has responded, making a number of improvements to its service,” she said.

“Their executives clearly understand that verifiable safety measures are critical to their long-term viability and success.”

The third-party auditing would ensure Roblox cannot “mark their own homework”, Inman Grant said.

Roblox was excluded from Australia’s under-16s social media ban last year, as platforms that have the dominant purpose of gaming are not covered. Inman Grant, however, did not rule out including the platform if it was later determined its social features were its dominant purpose.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/aug/20/roblox-esafety-commissioner-children-adults-ntwnfb

>>24936543

>>24961427

Prominent Japanese reveal harsh verdicts about Anthony Albanese’s melon remarks despite Tokyo’s diplomatic silence

A Japanese senator says joke about Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi was ‘disrespectful,’ as prominent figures reveal a far harsher private verdict.

YONI BASHAN - August 21, 2026

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Anthony Albanese’s joke about a melon gifted to him by Japan’s Prime Minister may have been dismissed by Canberra as a storm over little more than an awkward gag. Yet among prominent Japanese figures who have actually watched the footage from the Bush Deep podcast, the judgment has been considerably harsher.

Inside her parliamentary office in Tokyo, Mitsuko Ishii, a member of Japan’s House of Councillors and a friend of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, described Mr Albanese as “a rather vulgar man” and spoke of her disappointment at his behaviour.

Across town, Shiori Yamao, a former MP and prosecutor, was equally unsparing in her assessment of what she’d seen.

Both concluded the Prime Minister had crossed a line.

“I think the Australian Prime Minister made a mistake,” Ms Ishii said, describing Mr Albanese’s remarks and gestures as “disrespectful”, “inappropriate”, and an episode that exposed a double standard in the treatment of a female leader.

“My reaction was, ‘Oh my God’,” she said.

“If a male prime minister gave a gift to a male prime minister of Australia, they wouldn’t make such a joke.”

Few Japanese people appear to have seen the footage of Mr Albanese with comedian Nikki Osborne on the podcast, and fewer still know of the controversy it has provoked in Australia.

Official reaction from Japan has been muted, and there is little sign of a broader Japanese backlash. But the response from those who have watched it complicates the government’s effort to dismiss the episode as a manufactured controversy.

Ms Yamao, who retired from the Diet in 2021 after years of advocating for women in Japanese politics, said her first instinct on seeing the clip was that it must have been fabricated.

“I thought it was AI,” she said.

Having satisfied herself that the footage was genuine, Ms Yamao said the exchange clearly carried a “sexual intention” to viewers, regardless of what Mr Albanese himself intended.

The Prime Minister has denied any such intent.

Mr Albanese conceded on national television on Thursday night that his appearance on Bush Deep – which also included selecting Kylie Minogue as his choice of three well-known women he would like to “shag” and revealing details of his sex life with new wife Jodie Haydon – was “an error” and that, if he had his time again, he “wouldn’t have done that podcast”.

But the melons saga took a new twist on Friday with revelations the Prime Minister’s comments were allegedly referenced by Sydney Swans players while they were receiving lap dances during a l party with exotic dancers that has sparked a police investigation.

“He should apologise for the lack of consideration which leads to the misunderstanding,” Ms Yamao said. “The Japanese people will accept that kind of apology very frankly, and it will make the relationship between the two countries very mature.”

Such a gesture, she argued, would carry no political cost for Ms Takaichi, but Mr Albanese’s failure to offer one might yet cost him. Asked if the Japanese leader had been damaged by the incident, Ms Yamao was clear the answer was no.

“It doesn’t hurt Takaichi’s value,” she said. “But it hurts his value as a politician, as a leader.”

Whatever the private judgment of figures like Ms Ishii and Ms Yamao, or that of Shingo Yamagami, who served as Japan’s ambassador to Australia until 2023 and wrote of the matter in The Australian earlier this month, Tokyo has shown no appetite for turning the episode into a diplomatic dispute.

Japan is one of Australia’s closest strategic partners in Asia, with deep defence and security ties, and a critical export market for Australian energy, beef and metals. Australia, in turn, depends on Japanese cars, trucks and heavy machinery to keep its mining and agricultural sectors running.

Last week, Japan’s current ambassador to Australia, Kazuhiro Suzuki, moved to close the matter down, saying he had been informed by the Australian government that Mr Albanese “did not make the comments in the way that has been reported”.

Preservation of the relationship remained a top-order priority despite any concerns surrounding Mr Albanese’s political judgment, according to Tomohiko Satake, a professor of international politics at Aoyama Gakuin University and a specialist in Australia-Japan ­relations.

(continued)

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“It would be a mistake to turn what is essentially a question about political judgment, gender and public conduct into a diplomatic issue between Japan and Australia,” Professor Satake said. “The strategic foundations of the Japan-Australia relationship are far too deep, and the shared security challenges facing the two countries far too significant.”

Ms Yamao agreed the relationship came first, but was adamant that official restraint should not be mistaken for indifference. “It’s a problem, but we are deliberately not showing that feeling, because Australia is so important for us – that’s what we want to make him (Mr Albanese) know.”

Ms Ishii drew a similar distinction between personal offence and diplomatic pragmatism.

“Personally, I despise the remark, but the establishment in Japan isn’t treating it as seriously as that.” Nor could she say with any certainty how Ms Takaichi herself felt about the matter.

“I’m a good friend of hers, and she might be offended – and she might choose not to comment and let it go,” she said.

As for why the reaction in Japan has been so muted, explanations range from a simple lack of media coverage to a society long accustomed to the problem exposed by Mr Albanese’s podcast appearance. At Sophia University, 21-year-old Natsuko Nagashima watched the footage for the first time and grimaced at what she saw. But she was blunt about its significance to a country pre­occupied with more pressing domestic issues.

“Japanese people don’t take this as news,” she said. Her friend, 20-year-old Yusuke Teruya, was more startled. “Unbelievable,” he repeated several times. “It doesn’t change my image of Australia but I’m shocked. It’s not appropriate what he did to Takaichi. Maybe it’s better that he apologises.”

At Shibuya’s famed Hachiko statue, political science student Kohki Ari, aged 22, was one of the few interviewees already familiar with the controversy. The saga, he said, had lowered his opinion of Mr Albanese, largely because of how easily his words could be misunderstood. “Because it can be interpreted in the wrong way, in a way that people could see as inappropriate,” he said.

Japanese politics is itself no stranger to allegations of harassment. Its parliament and media remain heavily male-dominated, and the government itself has identified harassment as an obstacle to increasing female participation in political life.

A recent Cabinet Office study found that more than half of ­female local politicians surveyed said they, or people around them, had experienced it.

Mami Yoshinaga, a journalist and former head of the All Japanese Newspapers Labour Union who has co-written a guidebook on gender-related expression, said this context is why the country’s restraint should not be mistaken for a verdict that Mr Albanese did nothing wrong. Nor does she think the reaction in Australia has been excessive.

“No matter how he’s trying to defend himself, it’s not acceptable,” Ms Yoshinaga said. “The fact (Australians) are making a fuss about it, making a big deal about it, shows your society is healthy. If more Japanese people become aware of this sexual harassment issue, Japanese society will no longer remain silent.”

The premium melon itself occupies a revered place in Japanese gift-giving culture – far from the punchline it became in Australia – the product of an almost obsessive agricultural pursuit, according to Yosuke Suzuki of the Shizuoka Crown Melon agricultural co-operative. Each melon takes around 100 days to grow, with farmers permitting only a single fruit to mature on each plant. Before shipment, every melon is inspected for taste, shape and the fine web-like pattern etched across its skin.

Strict Australian import rules have limited shipments since the import market opened in February, but the product is available in high-end Japanese restaurants, where inquiries increased shortly after Ms Takaichi presented the gift to Mr Albanese.

Familiar with the footage of Mr Albanese, Mr Suzuki was reluctant to weigh in on the politics of it all. He said only that he remained unsure “about the meaning” of what Mr Albanese had intended by his remarks. What mattered more to him was that Australians understand what the gift represented in the first place.

“I’d like him (Mr Albanese) to know the value of the Crown Melon,” he said. “It’s very special for Japanese people and the culture. I just want him to know our Prime Minister showed him the highest respect. That’s why she ­selected it.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/prominent-japanese-reveal-harsh-verdicts-about-anthony-albaneses-melon-despite-tokyos-diplomatic-silence/news-story/f9bd633aba7a769fca710c32a588c265

>>24936725

Government crackdown forces universities to vet all foreign research collaborations

NATASHA BITA - August 20, 2026

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Universities will be forced to “manage risks’’ to national security after the Albanese government caved in to Coalition demands to screen individual ­academic’s foreign research ­collaborations.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong introduced a last-gasp amendment to Australia’s Foreign Relations Amendment Bill on Thursday – a day after rejecting opposition proposals to tighten the legislation.

Research projects involving individual academics will now be covered by the government’s crackdown on foreign interference.

All Australian universities will be required, for the first time, to identify research projects conducted by researchers they employ or engage who are working with researchers “employed or engaged by foreign entities’’.

Universities must have policies and procedures to assess whether the research projects “adversely affect, or are likely to adversely affect, Australia’s nat­ional interest … or be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy’’.

The universities must manage any risks they identify.

“The Australian university must take reasonable steps to implement the policies and procedures,’’ the amendment states.

The legislation, passed by the Senate and House of Representatives on Thursday, gives Senator Wong stronger powers to intervene in risky research collab­orations.

Universities will be required to list foreign research or financial deals with foreign countries, on the government’s Foreign Arrangements Register.

The Foreign Minister will be able to impose conditions on or veto any deals deemed to be a ­security risk.

Arrangements with Australia’s Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partners of the US, UK, New Zealand and Canada are exempt.

Senator Wong said universities must be “risk-aware’’ when dealing with foreign countries.

“I don’t think we’re saying that we’re not going to engage with the world,’’ she said on Thursday.

“What we have to have is risk-aware engagement and that’s the approach … we’re engaging with universities on.’’

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Ted O’Brien welcomed the government’s amendment but said “the job is not yet done’’.

“It is good to see researcher-level collaborations now be brought into the scheme and I welcome the government’s recognition of the need to take this issue seriously,’’ he said. “The government should finish the job and close the loophole properly.

“While researcher-level collaborations fall within the foreign arrangements scheme, they can still take place without the government being notified.

“Recent cases involving Australian researchers collaborating with Iranian counterparts on drone-related technology and Chinese counterparts on sensitive dual-use technologies show why this matters.’’

(continued)

>>24961450

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The government did an about-face after the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, which inquired into the legislation, on Wednesday said researcher-to-researcher engagement was a “material risk’’ to national security.

The Labor-led committee said “it is imperative universities and academics need to exercise greater care preventing partnerships contrary to the national interest to avoid the need for further regulation that could cause unintended consequences’’.

Senator Wong said the Government “recognises concerns regarding researcher-to-researcher collaboration and will require universities to have appropriate policies and processes in place to identify, monitor and manage associated risks”.

“For the first time, universities will be legally required to assess whether research projects could adversely affect the national interest or be inconsistent with Australia’s foreign policy,’’ she said.

“The Albanese Government has been consistently clear that universities must play their role in managing risks and this reform will help ensure they do so.

“Australia is strongly committed to international education and research cooperation that is consistent with our foreign policy.

“These reforms will help keep Australia open to the world while appropriately managing risk and protecting our national interest.’’

Last week, Senator Wong pulled the plug on the Australian National University’s Joint Science College with Shandong ­University, which is associated with China’s nuclear weapons ­research.

She also torpedoed the University of Queensland’s taxpayer-funded research with the Chinese Academy of Sciences, involving pain relief using the toxin of a ­native stinging tree.

The Australian Research Council approved the $711,419 grant – which it has now suspended.

In its grant application, UQ researchers said they had “made a recent groundbreaking discovery” involving a new class of compounds in the venom of the giant Australian stinging tree.

“These venom-derived compounds alter how sodium channels operate in a completely new way, and we seek to understand this mechanism at the molecular level,’’ they stated.

“(The research) will provide new directions in development of new generations of pharmaceutical and agricultural agents.’’

Senator Wong on Thursday said both the UQ and ANU projects had been terminated “on the basis of advice, and I don’t propose to go through the nature of most of that advice for obvious reasons.’’

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare used his own veto powers to reject 13 ARC grants in May, on national security grounds.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/government-crackdown-forces-universities-to-vet-all-foreign-research-collaborations/news-story/5809b7080988cc47d0b8af674e81dfd3

>>24954708

Israel's ambassador to 'check' possibility of paying reparations to Zomi Frankcom's family

Jack McKay - 21 August 2026

Israel's ambassador to Australia has suggested reparations could be available for the family of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

This week the Israel Defense Forces cleared soldiers of criminal liability for their involvement in the April 2024 strike in Gaza that killed Ms Frankcom and six of her World Central Kitchen colleagues.

The move has outraged the Australian government, which slammed the findings and demanded an apology for Ms Frankcom's family.

Ambassador Hillel Newman, who has defiantly defended the IDF probe, was hauled into a meeting with Foreign Minister Penny Wong at Parliament House on Thursday.

On Friday Mr Newman again declined to apologise but expressed sorrow for the family and left the door open to reparations.

"Reparations is an issue that we can check and will be checked by Israel. It's not my decision here in Australia," Mr Newman told Radio National.

"We need a specific request and then it's investigated according to the rules of reparations in such cases.

"The issue of sorrow and grief of the family has been expressed personally and generally, very categorically."

On Thursday Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said further investigation of the killings was "one of the options" that should be considered, but would not reveal the Australian government's next moves.

"We will press the Israeli government," he told the ABC's 7.30.

"The direction, we have said today, we'll discuss with Ms Frankcom's family.

"They deserve to be consulted on these issues, and we'll do that and then we'll make an announcement in coming days."

Mr Newman said Israel was open to possible legal avenues for further investigation.

In 2024 Senator Wong appointed Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin to investigate Israel's response to the strikes.

His report found that the killings were a result of serious failures to follow IDF procedures and errors in decision-making. The report was in line with the IDF's finding that the incident was a "grave mistake".

The report also called for reparations and an apology from the Israeli government.

Israel did not grant Air Chief Marshal Binskin access to the audio from the drone attack in question.

On Thursday Mr Albanese said there needed to be a "far more transparent and clear explanation" from the Israeli government about what had occurred and called for the audio to be released.

"That's consistent with transparency, which is something we have called for from day one," he said.

Mr Newman said he was not privy to intelligence regarding the recording and would not commit to its release.

"I don't think that Australia shares all its intelligence aspects with other nations, even if they're friendly and they're like-minded," he said.

"That is a question which is up to security agencies."

Mr Newman also said Israel was considering inviting Air Chief Marshal Binskin back to the country for further talks.

The Frankcom family has expressed deep disappointment over the decision to clear the soldiers involved in the strike.

They also said it was an insult to Ms Frankcom's memory for the findings to be announced on World Humanitarian Day.

The prime minister also expressed frustration with the timing of the report's release.

"It's certainly not good enough that, on World Humanitarian Day, of all days, they release this so-called report that essentially says, 'Yes, we're responsible, but nothing to see here,'" Mr Albanese said.

Mr Newman said he and the Israeli government had been under pressure to release the findings.

"It could be that the timing was not good," he said.

The IDF investigation found that there were "serious failures" in the strike, but they did not raise "reasonable suspicion of criminal misconduct".

The findings released by Israel on Wednesday also looked into four other high-profile civilian deaths in Gaza.

Israel has opened criminal investigations into two of the cases, including the killing of five-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2025.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-21/israel-reparations-zomi-frankcom-gaza-idf-strike-death/107065204

>>24943430

Former ASIO agent says Australians 'deserve to know' what led to Bondi attack

Tom Lowrey - 17 August 2026

A former ASIO agent who claims to have warned security agencies about the Bondi gunmen years before last December's terror attack says Australians "deserve to know" what led to the shooting.

The former agent, known as Marcus, is seeking to return to Australia to give evidence to the Bondi royal commission in person.

His first visa application was rejected; however, he recently lodged a new one.

In a statement provided to the ABC, Marcus said he wants to provide whatever insights he can to understand how the shooting came to take place.

"The victims of the Bondi terror attack and their families, and all Australians, deserve to know what led to those tragic events. I want to help," he said.

The former agent spent years infiltrating Islamic extremist groups in western Sydney, working as a paid source for domestic spy agency ASIO.

His cover was eventually blown, and he fell out with ASIO, which has since described him as a "disgruntled and unreliable source" - characterisations Marcus rejects.

Marcus has previously told the ABC's Four Corners about his interactions with the Bondi gunmen, Sajid and Naveed Akram.

He claims he warned ASIO about the Akrams years before the attack.

"When information about the perpetrators was first released, I felt sick - because I knew Sajid and Naveed Akram personally," he said in the statement.

"Through my prior work, I had become close to Naveed and grown concerned about the apparent radicalisation of both Sajid and Naveed.

"I had raised concerns about their radicalisation."

Marcus is currently living in an undisclosed location abroad, and has said he fears for his safety.

'Security concerns' behind desire to return

Marcus has argued he needs to return to Australia to give evidence to the royal commission and police in person.

The royal commission and New South Wales police have both expressed an interest in speaking with Marcus, and a letter from the royal commission was provided with his first visa application.

In the statement provided to the ABC, Marcus said he needed to give that evidence onshore.

"Due to the sensitivity of the information I hold, security concerns, the need for legal protections and other factors, I have come to the view - informed by expert legal advice - that I need to come to Australia to engage with the royal commission in person," he said.

His first visa application was denied because immigration authorities were not satisfied he genuinely intended to leave Australia.

Marcus has previously sought assistance from Australia for protection and resettlement.

Government sources have pointed to the royal commission not formally calling Marcus as a witness; however, the ABC has seen correspondence from the royal commission expressing its interest in hearing from him.

Those sources also suggested to the ABC that Marcus' evidence could be given remotely, and still be heard securely.

Several whistleblower advocacy groups have aired their support for Marcus's bid to return to Australia, including the Information Rights Project, the Free Speech Union and PEN International.

The Australia Palestine Advocacy Network has also supported his bid to return.

Gabriel Shipton from the Information Rights Project says travelling to Australia is the safest option for Marcus.

"He's in hiding in a foreign country because of the work that he did for the Australian government, because of the undercover work that he did," he said.

"There are a lot of risks around him travelling to a place where he might give video evidence, risks to his life."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-17/former-asio-agent-statement-to-attend-royal-commission/107044130

>>24943430

>>24961472

Ex-ASIO agent can give evidence to Bondi royal commission in open hearings, minister confirms

Tom Lowrey - 21 August 2026

A former ASIO agent who wants to give evidence to the Bondi royal commission can do so in open hearings, the Home Affairs minister says, meaning he does not need a visa to travel to Australia.

It is the first time Tony Burke has publicly addressed the man's intent to testify after previously denying his Australian visa request.

The former agent, known as Marcus, wants to give evidence about what he knew of the Bondi gunmen in the years before last December's terror attack.

He spent years infiltrating Islamic extremist groups in western Sydney, working as a paid source for domestic spy agency ASIO before his cover was blown.

Marcus has repeatedly made a case to give evidence from within Australia, due both to the sensitivity of his evidence and the legal protections he gains from being on Australian soil.

The royal commission has previously held classified hearings to ensure it can take evidence on sensitive intelligence information.

Mr Burke told reporters this morning he had been advised any evidence Marcus gives can be heard in public and heard remotely.

"Mike Burgess, the director-general of ASIO, has advised and made clear to the royal commission that any evidence that would come from this particular individual is declassified," he said.

"He's happy for it to be given in a complete public forum. It could be given over the phone on (Microsoft) Teams. It could be given in any way that the individual wants."

The royal commission has previously reached out to Marcus, it stated it is "eager" to hear his evidence and work out the best means for that to take place.

He is currently living abroad and cannot reach an Australian embassy.

Separately, NSW Police has also reached out to the former agent seeking assistance with its own investigations into last December's shooting.

Marcus has expressed fears for his personal safety while living overseas. He has sought protection and resettlement in Australia in the past.

His first visa application was rejected on the grounds that immigration authorities did not believe he had a genuine intention to leave the country, and his second application remains pending.

Mr Burke said the applications have followed all the normal channels.

"The department has its normal processes in working out whether or not someone qualifies for a visa under the Migration Act, and there hasn't been interference with that process," he said.

"The department looks at the Migration Act, looks at the application, and makes their own decision."

Advocates maintain call for visa

Whistleblower advocates have continued to back Marcus' cause, arguing the safest place for the former agent to give evidence is on Australian soil.

Marcus has previously told the ABC's Four Corners about his interactions with the Bondi gunmen, Sajid and Naveed Akram.

He claims he warned ASIO about the Akrams years before the attack.

ASIO has described the former agent as disgruntled and unreliable, but Marcus has rejected the characterisations.

Gabriel Shipton, from the whistleblower advocacy group the Information Rights Project, said he is in danger abroad.

"The protections offered by the royal commission do not extend outside Australia," he said.

"Marcus continues to risk his safety and the safety of his family. He is willing to give evidence and again the government is not acknowledging the threats he is under from the associates of the Akrams."

The group has provided support to the former agent as he lives overseas.

Mr Shipton said he should be allowed to give his evidence within Australia.

"The government has left it up to Information Rights to keep one of its ex-employees safe after years of undercover service, and again the minister has shown they are not serious about hearing evidence that contradicts the facts given by the institution in his own ministry."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-21/ex-asio-agent-can-give-bondi-rc-evidence-in-open-hearing-burke/107064756

>>24943430

Forensic inquiry or ‘tokenistic’: Will royal commission deliver solutions to antisemitism crisis?

With four months left, the antisemitism royal commission’s strongest proponents are questioning if it has sufficiently used its extraordinary legal powers - or let them go to waste.

JAMES DOWLING - 17 August 2026

1/5

The survivors and bereaved of the Bondi massacre milled through the function room tucked inside the Bondi Pavilion and found their seats, before newly appointed royal commissioner Virginia Bell strode in to meet them.

The former High Court judge had called the private meeting on February 26 to explain why she couldn’t call evidence from the attendees as part of a royal commission they had advocated passionately for.

Two days earlier, she had given a stony-faced assurance at an introduction to the inquiry that she could confidently deconstruct the December 14 attack’s precursors without examining the day’s events.

She explained this again, in softer terms, to the survivors before her. Then she took questions.

“Do you have enough time?” one attendee asked.

“There’s never enough time,” she replied.

Now, six months later, a serious question remains: Will Bell’s final report deliver meaningful solutions to the antisemitism crisis, or simply underline the limits of the process?

A polite inquiry

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke, during the government’s push against the campaign for the Antisemitism and Social Cohesion Royal Commission, argued it would only risk retraumatising Jews and give yet another platform to violent bigots.

He need not have worried.

The probe has kept an exceptionally wide berth around the antisemites it is tasked with disarming, and attracted criticism in doing so for failing to properly get under the hood of the issue it is striving to resolve.

Public hearings commenced in February, and dozens of witnesses have testified during multi-week hearing blocks.

Behind the scenes, lawyers have worked to uncover evidence to help form the basis of the commissioner’s final report, including classified details of security and intelligence operations.

Though certain elements of the commission will remain confidential, public perception in an inquiry of this kind is arguably as vital as its private proceedings.

With four months left to prepare her final report, some of the commission’s most vocal cheerleaders are questioning why it refuses to flex the unmatched legal powers at its disposal.

Jewish community leaders, senior judicial figures and national security experts have observed gaps in its process: avoiding cross-examination of protest organisers, not calling as witnesses government ministers or key proponents for a royal commission, such as former treasurer Josh Frydenberg, and failing to apply forensic judgment against the perpetrators of antisemitism.

Many Jewish leaders The Australian contacted did not want to speak for fear of damaging public trust in an inquiry they spent so much energy advocating for. Others would talk only under the condition of anonymity.

Almost universally, they praised the commission’s first two weeks of hearings, which collected the testimony of dozens of Jewish Australians and gave a panoramic view of the antisemitism crisis.

Its social media hearings and examination of deradicalisation programs also emerged as bright spots over past months.

‘Bloodless’

Former Federal Court judge Ronald Sackville, who chaired the disability royal commission, said the wealth of testimony and written submissions – particularly regarding lived experiences of antisemitism – will make Bell’s commission an “extremely valuable resource” for the future.

“This has been cathartic for a grieving Jewish community and has brought home to many in the broader Australian community the gravity and pervasiveness of antisemitism in recent years. We will only know in the longer term whether the evidence has materially changed community attitudes, but it has the potential to do so,” Sackville said.

“It is important to stress that the royal commission has done some very important and very good work. It has attracted over 20,000 submissions. Many contain powerful personal accounts of antisemitism. Others are thoughtful and sometimes scholarly analyses of significant social and policy questions.”

(continued)

>>24961568

2/5

However, he criticised the commission’s avoidance of adverse findings and forensic examination.

“The Commissioner has said that the purpose of the royal commission is not to ‘shame’ anyone,” he said.

“For the commission to use its formidable powers of compulsion to investigate and make findings attributing responsibility to the perpetrators or enablers of antisemitism would not be merely to shame those responsible.

“The process would vindicate the experiences of the targets of vile antisemitism; pierce the veil of secrecy behind which many perpetrators operate; hold at least some of those perpetrators accountable for their despicable conduct, and; reveal to the wider Australian community the kind of people who were prepared to act in this hateful way.”

It’s hard, looking at the more than 200 witnesses called before the royal commission, to find anyone who didn’t want to be there. Once seated, the questions delivered to them come in mild tones.

Any early spark of pugnacity – such as when counsel assisting, Richard Lancaster, suggested to NSW police their resourcing of the December 14 Hanukkah event “was obviously too low” – failed to bear out in following hearings.

University of Sydney vice-chancellor Mark Scott was questioned whether members of proscribed hate group Hizb ut-Tahrir had hijacked a pro-Palestine student encampment under his nose. By the end of his testimony, the answer was no more clear than at the beginning.

Arguably the most heated exchange of the commission came this month when lawyers for a Palestinian group – not the commission’s own counsel – laid into Jewish community leader David Ossip about Israeli military timelines after October 7.

“It’s been bloodless,” one community figure said. “No one’s really been pinned to the mast.

“There’s a reason (Ossip’s) cross-examination gave rise to so much consternation and has been such a flashpoint in this. Because the only time throughout the process you can point to one very rigorous case of cross-examination, it was him.”

Frog in a pot

Ben Elton, Chief Rabbi of Sydney’s Great Synagogue, said the commission’s focus on lived experiences was appropriate.

“I thought it was tremendously powerful. It was even powerful for people like me who had experienced some of these incidents ourselves and knew of many,” he told The Australian.

“Had this royal commission been set up before Bondi, I think we would all have realised just how terrible the situation had already become. It’s a classic case of the boiled frog; because it went from abuse online, abuse in the streets, to aggressive demonstrations, violence against property, intimidation of people, scaring children on the way to school as they saw graffiti.

“We in the Jewish community found a way to live with it, to endure it. We got too capable of coping, and even we lost sight of just how terrible and just how serious it was.”

It gave Elton surety that Bell understood the full scale of the issue.

“The royal commission has brought that to light with absolutely no ambiguity whatsoever. I’m very comforted that the Commissioner has heard this evidence and read this evidence for herself,” he said. “It’s been a very impressive cross-section of witnesses.

“She’s seen, in some cases, antisemitism happening in real time as witnesses who appeared in early blocks were then subject to online abuse.”

Time pressures

Sackville said the requirement for the commission to report within a year had a flow-on effect that a two-year inquiry would have avoided.

“Because of the time pressures, the royal commission has faced a choice in relation to its investigation of the nature and sources of antisemitism. The choice essentially was between covering a limited number of topics in depth or addressing a wide range of issues, not all of which could be analysed in detail,” he said. “Broadly speaking, it has chosen the latter course especially in the latter stages of hearings.

(continued)

>>24961573

3/5

“It is always possible for a royal commission to seek an extension of time to complete its work and in the early stages Commissioner Bell did not definitively rule out that option. It would seem to be too late for such a request to be made at this stage, at least for the purpose of holding more hearings or conducting further investigations into matters within the terms of reference.

“It is possible that an extension could be sought in order to allow more time to prepare what will undoubtedly be a lengthy and wide-ranging report but that, too, now seems unlikely.”

There was a significant gap between the commission’s establishment and its first hearing in May.

As revealed by The Australian, Bell decided soon after her official appointment that the three weeks of work done by spy master Dennis Richardson for a probe into security and intelligence services wasn’t up to the standard of a royal commission. Instead, the commission re-examined Richardson’s past interviewees.

The former ASIO chief made an early departure from the commission two months later.

Some observers place the blame higher upstream, with former federal police commissioner Mick Keelty, a vocal advocate for the commission’s establishment, saying any gaps in the commission’s analysis of antisemitic conduct had been baked in by government.

“Having run a number of inquiries where people were compelled to give evidence, you’re only as good as your terms of reference allow,” he said.

“What we’re seeing now is a reflection of the haphazard way the government put the thing together.

“When the tide turned and they were forced to do the royal commission, they were forced down a path of doing terms of reference that would somehow avoid looking forensically at why what went wrong and why it went wrong.”

‘Shame and division’

The royal commission has appeared at times dovish, despite the scale of misconduct it has alluded to.

In years past, the Wood royal commission tore through the ranks of NSW police, and the institutional child sex abuse royal commission’s cross-examination of Australia’s worst pedophile priest, Gerald Ridsdale, proved powerful inquiries can dive into societal rot and expunge it from within.

The commission has instead taken an additive – and rather pragmatic – approach by focusing on complaint systems, anti-racism training programs, bureaucratic conduct, and mechanisms for enforcement in the institutions it has scrutinised: law enforcement, social media, broadcasters, universities.

It collates lived experiences of Jewish Australians, de-identifies the individuals at fault, and then asks what tweaks will keep institutions running smoother in future.

“It is not the commission’s purpose to shame or to sow further division in our society, much less to try and resolve the rights and wrongs of particular disputes,” Bell said at the beginning of the hearing block on social media, SBS and the ABC.

“When we come to consider the public broadcasters, it is not part of the commission’s function to resolve individual complaints of antisemitic conduct in the workplace or generally to investigate claims of biased reporting in particular instances. The commission’s focus is on the adequacy of the broadcasters’ complaint-handling mechanisms.”

It’s an approach that keeps her from running down rabbit holes, but can feel hollow in practice.

One barrister and former civic leader said the tactic had not “conveyed the strength of what this royal commission is meant to do”.

The half-day hearing into the ABC examined just two case studies: a false and poorly retracted claim that 14,000 babies could die from starvation in Gaza within 48 hours, and an incorrect claim that Israel had bombed the Al-Ahli Arab Hospital.

Both case studies had been thoroughly traversed before by the ABC Ombudsman. She used the examples to testify that the broadcaster’s system of self-scrutiny had worked as intended, and an overhaul was not necessary.

The commission’s stable of witnesses has a wealth of credentials, but lacks public recognition. A conga line of middle-tier executives appeared on behalf of the world’s largest tech companies – and rather than past and present chairs Ita Buttrose and Kim Williams taking the hot seat for the ABC, the commission called editorial director Gavin Fang.

“It’s a royal commission that’s sitting off-Broadway,” one observer said.

The relative obscurity of those in the witness box made the omissions stand out. The clearest question left is whether the Prime Minister will be summonsed to the commission’s Clarence Street headquarters before it closes curtains in two weeks.

(continued)

>>24961577

4/5

Evidence abandoned

The commission has also abandoned lines of inquiry behind the scenes.

Community activist Menachem Vorchheimer approached the commission in March with a record of alleged law enforcement failures in protest policing.

The Australian has seen correspondence from the commission’s solicitors and a notice to produce signed by Bell requesting Vorchheimer share the evidence behind his claims – a trove of documents received under Freedom of Information laws.

The notice requested FOIs covering police resourcing for the Victorian specialised antisemitism taskforce called Operation Park, along with policing of two protests and policy discussions between officers and the state government about hateful conduct at protests.

Solicitors began drafting a witness statement for Vorchheimer so he could share his evidence in a public hearing – until they had a change of heart. Vorchheimer told Bell in a letter that he was frustrated his evidence would not reach the public.

“The broader concern is not whether I appeared before the commission. It is whether the commission’s evidentiary record reflects the full range of relevant evidence concerning the institutional, policing and legal issues that fall within its terms of reference,” he said.

“The issue is … not whether my evidence was relevant. The commission itself answered that question. It exercised its compulsory powers to obtain my documents.”

Speaking to The Australian, Vorchheimer questioned whether the commission was “so focused on this notion of social cohesion” that it had avoided going after groups promoting antisemitism and therefore missed “the elephant in the room”.

“In circumstances where it doesn’t get to the root issues, did we waste our money and take people on a journey in order for them to be disappointed?” he asked.

For some of those same bereaved family members of the Bondi victims to whom Bell promised results, the mood has darkened,

Jenny Roytur’s uncle, Boris Tetleroyd, was one of the 15 victims of the Bondi massacre and she was among the most vocal advocates for a royal commission. Frustrated with how it has “under-utilised” its powers, she now says it “looks like a pacifier”.

“It’s tokenistic to shut us up,” she said. “Bondi happened, people gave their insincere condolences, gave us this royal commission to pacify us, and moved on.”

October 9, 2023

Anthony Albanese gave Bell a nerve-racking 339 days to find a solution to the most vexed social issue of his political career. It is not a time frame that lends itself to forensic investigation.

But even then, over four months of hearings, some issues were ventilated more than others.

At 3.30pm on October 9, 2023, demonstrators began milling around Sydney Town Hall and affixed a Palestinian flag on to the building. Five and a half hours later, photographic records show those protesters burning Israeli flags under the sails of the Opera House.

Earlier this month, the commission held a one-day hearing block into this.

Cutting out the lunch break, it ran for five hours – less time than the protest itself – and found the time for an early mark, letting its lawyers out 30 minutes ahead of schedule.

Can such a brief hearing adequately assess the broader consequences of the rally, given the hundreds of similar demonstrations since held across the nation?

(continued)

>>24961586

5/5

“Some important topics have been addressed by the royal commission, but not in any depth. An obvious example is the rather unfortunate one-day hearing on the October 9 Opera House protest, an event which so traumatised much of the mainstream Jewish community,” Sackville said.

“A more detailed examination, among other things, might have identified who were responsible for the chants and other hateful conduct; what truly motivated the organisers to call on October 7 for the protest to take place; whether the organisers were aware of what was likely to happen when the marchers proceeded to the Opera House with the blue and white colours displayed on the sails, and; what the organisers meant by describing the protest as supporting ‘free Palestine’.”

After the protest hearing, Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief Alex Ryvchin accused Bell of allowing protest groups with the legal representation at the commission to co-opt her inquiry. The next morning, she excoriated him in all but name to make clear activists “did not hijack this royal commission”.

It sent a message to Jewish leaders: criticism of the inquiry wouldn’t go unanswered – and raised fears it could even jeopardise their legal dialogue with counsel behind the scenes.

December 14, 2025

The December 14 attack was the defining catalyst for the commission, offering devastating proof of threats Australian Jews had long been warning of.

Though omitted from hearings by necessity, it will inevitably be scrutinised through Naveed Akram’s criminal trial and a coronial inquest.

Without it, however, the commission has been accused of engaging in legal theatre. As public hearings draw to a close, even some early supporters are disillusioned.

The royal commission brought with it great hope for vindication, validation and, most importantly, change.

Jewish Australians were promised a wide-ranging probe which would properly investigate vile hatred simmering in the community for years before 15 people were shot dead in the beachside massacre.

With Akram’s matter still not set down for trial, it could be months before the community receives any closure.

The commission’s task was always going to be Herculean. It is up against short time frames and a government hostile to its very establishment. Still, the community remains optimistic that meaningful recommendations will address the root issues and pave the way for an Australia where they feel safe.

To be otherwise is to accept the unthinkable: that the Australia we once knew prior to October 7 no longer exists.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/forensic-inquiry-or-tokenistic-will-royal-commission-deliver-solutions-to-antisemitism-crisis/news-story/5357c7e0fded9e1489eccc1d780343a0

>>24894888

>>24917062

>>24940312

‘Absolute no’: Judge rejects year-long trial delay for Bankstown nurses

BIMINI PLESSER - 21 August 2026

The criminal trial for two nurses who allegedly threatened to kill Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital has been rescheduled, with the hearing set to run six weeks later and twice as long as it was supposed to.

Former nurses Sarah Abu Lebdeh and Ahmad Rashad Nadir made global headlines last year after Israeli influencer Max Ilinsky recorded them allegedly threatening violence against Israeli patients at Bankstown Hospital, in Sydney’s west.

More than 18 months after they were stood down from their jobs at NSW Health, Mr Nadir and Ms Abu Lebdeh were finally due to face a five-day trial, starting August 31.

But the last-minute introduction of expert testimony on the Israel-Palestine conflict forced a judge to vacate the trial.

On August 5, the prosecution revealed it would call Middle East analyst Rodger Shanahan to give evidence. The defence argued it had insufficient time to analyse or challenge Dr Shanahan’s expert opinion.

NSW District Court judge Paul Conlon vacated the planned trial last week, accepting the defence’s submissions that the late introduction of new evidence left them at an “unacceptable forensic disadvantage”.

On Friday morning, solicitors Zemarai Khatiz and Rayan Kadadi appeared before Parramatta District Court to set a new trial date.

Ms Kadadi, representing Ms Abu Lebdeh, suggested the earliest available dates when the prosecution, defence, and all expert and international witnesses were available was December next year.

Judge Siobhan Herbert immediately rejected the submission, saying, “That is a total and absolute no.”

“I can give you a trial date in October this year. I am not listing any trial in December next year,” she said.

Judge Herbert asked the solicitors to leave the courtroom and return once they’d settled on a realistic new hearing date.

Ms Kadadi and Mr Khatiz returned a while later, telling Judge Herbert a trial beginning October 12 was suitable, but five days was not enough time to cover all the evidence.

They said the hearing would now need to run for seven to 10 days to accommodate all expert witness testimony and cross-examination.

With both the Crown and defence procuring expert witnesses and preparing cross-examinations, the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict could become a focus of the nurses’ case when it finally goes to trial.

Judge Herbert accepted the new timeline, setting a longer trial for October and a case management hearing for September.

The former Bankstown Hospital nurses have both pleaded not guilty to using a carriage ­service to menace, harass or offend, and Ms Abu Lebdeh has pleaded not guilty to an ­additional charge of threatening violence to a group.

They have been stood down from their jobs by NSW Health and issued a two-year ban from working with NDIS participants.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/absolute-no-judge-rejects-yearlong-trial-delay-for-bankstown-nurses/news-story/bdf9f126d033ae3c47b6ed1f25ccb887

>>24961748

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Growing US presence in Australia's north

US investment at RAAF Curtin would continue a steady flow of US dollars into Australia's northern defence bases.

Major construction works are either underway or have recently been completed at RAAF Darwin and RAAF Tindal, like new parking aprons and facilities capable of hosting long-range bombers.

Darwin also hosts an annual training rotation of thousands of US Marines, an initiative launched under former US President Barack Obama, who described the region's sea lanes as "critical to all our economies".

But despite the significant investment in infrastructure, the region does not host a permanent US presence and there is sensitivity around describing anything as a "base".

Colonel George Flynn, the Commanding Office of Marine Rotational Force Darwin, said the presence of Marines in Darwin was open to any country to interpret how they choose - including China.

"Anyone can take from it what they will. Any country has the right to do that," Colonel Flynn said.

"We just are here demonstrating that we have strong teammates in the Australian Defence Force, and we're getting ready and better every day as we work together."

The chief of the Royal Australian Air Force, Air Marshal Stephen Chappell, said the American investment served as a very real deterrent to any potential adversaries.

"We are interchangeable, not just interoperable but interchangeable with our US forces," he said.

"That interchangeability is incredibly important and again an important deterrent signal."

Asked if that deterrent message was aimed at China, Air Marshal Chappell said it was more about showcasing Australia's alliance.

"We're sending a message to the world - it's agnostic of any particular party - that we have a very close alliance."

Defence's 'strategic autumn'

In recent weeks, the skies of northern Australia have lit up each night with fighter jets and other aircraft from around the world, gathered for Exercise Pitch Black.

It's a massive air force exercise, testing pilots and air crews through complex war games often conducted in the dead of night.

Nations represented this year include the US, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Spain and France.

For some of those attending, the vast open skies of northern Australia are a drawcard and an opportunity they don't often get in congested airspace at home.

But Air Marshal Chappell said the exercises were also designed to send a message.

"It's a chance to again build those relationships, practice and learn from each other and ensure we are tactically ready to go," he said.

"And ultimately that itself is a message and a signal of deterrence."

Air Marshal Chappell spoke about his approach to leading the RAAF at a time of heightened tension in the Indo-Pacific, describing it as a "strategic autumn".

"Strategic autumn is a simple way of describing the time in history we are in right now. It's great power competition. We're seeing that playing out on the news every single day," he said.

"We're seeing conflicts in the world, we're seeing pressure on the rules-based global order that has been put in place 80-odd years ago to try and stop our species from doing what it did to itself twice in the first half of the last century.

"Our role now is to ensure that we are prepared and autumn is a time of preparation. If we think about the seasons, it's time to chop the firewood, prepare for the long dark winter ahead."

(continued)

>>24961758

3/3

Building air and missile defence

Defence's long-term strategic plans have frequently identified building capability in northern Australia as an immediate priority.

Air Marshal Chappell said developing northern bases allowed Australia to better project its air power towards the north.

"That allows us to defend Australia, but it also allows us to defend those critical lines of communication, seaborne and air," he said.

"And it also allows us to project force to stop others … that might wish to coerce … or even attack Australia."

One area that has been identified as needing urgent investment is air and missile defence.

Up to $30 billion was earmarked in this year's Integrated Investment Plan - Defence's spending road map - to be spent on air and missile defence over the next decade

Retired brigadier Ian Langford, a professor at UNSW and executive director of Security and Defence Plus, said Australia was playing catch-up.

"Capacity and depth is an issue. Australia has a very modest (air and missile defence) capability, which is not keeping up with the scale of the threat," Professor Langford said.

"With the advent of ballistic, hypersonic and long-range systems in countries like North Korea and China, we have limited ballistic missile defence systems without relying on the Americans."

Defence analysts have pointed to the devastating role cheap and plentiful drones have played in conflicts in both Ukraine and the Middle East as highlighting the vulnerability of bases like RAAF Darwin and Tindal, along with other sensitive sites like HMAS Stirling in WA - which will be the home of Australia's future nuclear-powered submarines.

Air Marshall Chappell said while there were clearly lessons from conflicts like Ukraine, Australia's geography - particularly its vast landmass, and place in the world - was worth bearing in mind.

"The ranges and distances in the Ukraine conflict are different to the Middle East and they're different again to here in the Indo-Pacific," he said.

"So we've got to understand that what works really, really well in one theatre may have an application in another, but may not be as predominant as it is in the first theatre."

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) recently test-fired a possible new medium-range ground-based air defence system, and has said it intends to make decisions this year.

Professor Langford says that given the growing US presence at bases like RAAF Tindal, America may be willing to contribute to investment in systems like Patriot surface-to-air missile defence systems.

They have been test-fired in Australia before, but have never been adopted by the ADF.

"Some of the joint security interests between us and the US, I think, provide an opportunity for American investment," he said.

"The Patriot is very expensive. It's very effective and battle proven, but it won't answer every variable when it comes to the threat that we now face.

"As we see, particularly in the Middle East, using a $1.3 million missile to shoot down a $100,000 drone is not necessarily the most effective or affordable way to manage this counter-drone threat."

Mr Marles says that to understand US interest in Australia's north, it helps to shift perspective.

He pointed to a map published in the 2023 Defence Strategic Review that shifted the axis on which Australia was viewed, to put its proximity to South-East Asia, and north to China, in a different view.

"What you then see ahead of us is a huge proportion of the world's population, in India, China and South-East Asia, large countries," he said.

"That gives you a sense of how we are connected to the world and the significance of this theatre to the way the globe operates.

"That explains Australia's geographic significance, and it therefore explains why America has an interest here."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-19/could-united-states-use-bare-northern-based-for-defence-assets/107017430

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_v_Cl12hc0

>>24877867

Former defence chief Angus Campbell quietly sets aside top military honour

BEN PACKHAM - August 20, 2026

Former Defence chief Angus Campbell has quietly set aside his highest military honour following his appointment as ambassador to the European Union and NATO, amid simmering anger among veterans over his handling of war crimes allegations against Australian soldiers.

Documents released under Freedom of Information laws ­reveal General Campbell asked the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to drop all reference to his Distinguished Service Cross from its website, in a highly unusual move for a former military commander.

He asked at the same time to retain a reference to his Order of Australia gong, and for him to be known by his diplomatic title, “His Excellency”, rather than as General Campbell.

“(The head of mission) just popped into my office and requested we change the title of this webpage from ‘General (Rtd) Angus John Campbell AO, DSC’ to ‘HE Angus Campbell AO’,” an embassy public affairs manager in Brussels said in a December 1, 2025, email.

The move follows criticism of his response to the Brereton war crimes report, with many veterans arguing he should have ­relinquished the medal to demonstrate the accountability of commanders for the actions of their subordinates.

While General Campbell no longer publicises his command medal, official government records show he has not formally surrendered it.

A DFAT spokesman said the instruction was “an acknowledgment that the use of post-nominals is very uncommon in Europe”.

“The ambassador has simplified his public profile to only include (his) appointment in the national Order of Australia,” the spokesman said.

A former senior military leader said the move “reeks of concealment of avoidance”.

“It suggests there is some sort of underlying guilt, or doubt, or remorse”.

The source, who requested anonymity due to ongoing sensitivities over the fallout from the November 2020 Brereton report, added: “Either be loud and proud about your award, or hand it in.”

Independent senator Jacqui Lambie, a longtime veterans’ advocate, said while General Campbell had distanced himself from the award, “nothing has changed”.

“Campbell has had more than enough time to put his DSC in the post and send it back to the minister, which is what he should have done in 2023 when he asked his subordinate officers to return theirs,” she said.

“He will be remembered as the chief that threw his Diggers under the bus.”

General Campbell held onto the DSC while drumming a handful of enlisted personnel out of the army over their conduct in Afghanistan, and stripping command medals from up to nine ­officers for failing to prevent war crimes on their watch. He also attempted to remove meritorious unit citations from all Australian special forces personnel who served in the nearly 20-year conflict, but the move was overruled by then-prime minister Scott Morrison.

Two former special forces soldiers - Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith and ex-sergeant Oliver Schulz - have since been charged with war-crimes murder offences but are yet to face trial.

War crimes investigator Major-General Paul Brereton found there was “credible information” that 25 SAS personnel unlawfully killed 39 ­Afghan civilians and prisoners, blaming a clique of non-commissioned officers for enabling and covering up the crimes. He said special forces commanders bore a “moral command responsibility and accountability for what happened under their command and control”.

But he said accountability did not extend to higher commanders, including those who held the role of “Joint Task Force 633” commander - the role held by General Campbell in 2011.

General Brereton identified at least one unsubstantiated war crime allegation in 2011, while details of several other incidents that year were completely redacted from his report.

It was reported in 2023 that General Campbell tried to hand in his DSC but the offer was declined because Mr Morrison directed him not to. He said that year that he felt unable to appoint anyone to review his own command decisions because that prospect “suffers from the reality that they are all under my command”. “I did consider whether I might refer myself to some of my predecessors. But quite frankly, with the level of emotion - and unintentional and also intentional disinformation about this issue - I quite frankly didn’t want to give them that pain,” he said.

General Campbell was appointed as Australia’s ambassador to Belgium, Luxembourg, the EU and NATO by Anthony Albanese in January 2025, six months after his six-year tenure as CDF came to an end.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/former-defence-chief-angus-campbell-quietly-sets-aside-top-military-honour/news-story/6b5ba80833db8f1c51d0028c35373ce9

>>24831694

OPINION: While Australia avoids the ‘C’ word, New Zealand is unafraid to speak up

Peter Hartcher - August 18, 2026

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New Zealand’s spy agency has dared utter in its formal annual threat report the word that Australia’s does not. The C-word: China.

In its annual statement of security threats published on Thursday, the New Zealand Security Intelligence Service (NZSIS) said plainly: “There are several states that conduct espionage against New Zealand, but the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is the only country we have detected doing it at scale.”

And it gave details. In one instructive case study, the agency explained how a Chinese company called Purple Mountain Observatory attempted to install a satellite ground station on New Zealand soil. Without telling anyone.

“They worked with a local company that was likely unaware of the equipment’s capability to collect intelligence of military value and would have no idea who was receiving the data.”

Yes, you might ask, but what does a Chinese company have to do with government espionage? The NZSIS reminds readers that China’s system does not allow for its companies to stand apart. The NZ report names China 11 times.

Australia’s equivalent, ASIO chief Mike Burgess, delivers an annual threat assessment. Scour it as you will. You will not find China mentioned this year. Same as last year. And the year before.

Burgess has named China as a threat on other occasions in recent years. But Australian intelligence prefers the safety of speaking as part of a group, signing on to collective statements by the Five Eyes group of intelligence partners. Or staying mum.

So what? “We believe the public conversation matters,” says a NZ expert on Chinese interference and espionage, Anne-Marie Brady of Canterbury University. “An informed public is a resilient public.” By telling the people what’s going on, she says, “New Zealand is trying to disrupt Chinese espionage and interference.”

The NZ report arms citizens by giving them very detailed information on how the People’s Republic of China uses LinkedIn and other recruitment services to hook unwitting jobseekers into handing over secrets, for instance.

Australian expert Alex Joske, head of intelligence practice at John Garnaut’s China consultancy and the author of Spies and Lies, says that “the NZ government is doing a public service with its forthright statements about PRC espionage.

“Clear and direct security advice is immensely helpful for raising public awareness and helping universities, companies and local governments make better decisions in the face of growing PRC covert influence and intelligence activity.”

How is this relevant to Australia? “Whatever China is doing in NZ, you can be sure they are doing in Australia,” says an Australian intelligence expert who prefers anonymity.

“Australia and NZ are both handled by the same division in the Ministry of State Security, so in some cases it will be the same people operating against the two of us.”

Besides, NZ’s spy agency explains that the country’s geography in the Pacific, and as a gateway to the Antarctic, make NZ “not only geopolitically relevant, but also attractive to threat actors”. These factors apply equally to Australia.

Few in Australia grasp this reality. Beijing is not only interested in displacing the US, taking control of Taiwan and asserting hegemony over Asia.

Its ambition is global domination, including control of the Pacific and Antarctica and, incidentally, all of Australia’s environs. China has built science stations with military uses on Australian-claimed territory in the Antarctic, for example, without a peep from Canberra.

(continued)

>>24961942

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NZ is not the exception in naming China as its most potent and hostile opponent. In fact, Australia is the outlier. Among the Five Eyes countries, Australia is the only one that fails to mention China in its annual update as a threat to its national interests.

The Canadian Security Intelligence Service’s latest report puts China at the top of the list of “perpetrators of foreign interference and espionage against Canada”. It discusses Beijing’s activities, including attempts to recruit former Canadian air force pilots to train the People’s Liberation Army Air Force.

Britain’s annual threat update by MI5 chief Sir Ken McCallum cites Beijing’s attempts to “lure UK academic experts”, its efforts at covert interference in British politics and its intimidation of opponents, “as we saw when the Hong Kong Police issued bounties against more than a dozen pro-democracy activists here in the UK”.

The US Intelligence Community annual threat assessment makes dozens of references to China. These include Beijing’s missile and nuclear weapons programs, its Arctic ambitions and its race to overtake the US in AI and quantum computing, and it names China as “the most active and persistent cyber threat to US government, private sector and critical infrastructure networks”.

You can be certain that Australia’s reticence, unique among the Five Eyes, is counted as a win in Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party and its leader, Xi Jinping, are supersensitive to criticism. Lacking legitimacy, it cannot abide the least slight. Not at home and not abroad.

Remember the 14 demands that China’s embassy in Canberra handed to a reporter in November 2020 at the same time as it was imposing $20 billion in punitive trade sanctions on Australia? Of the 14, five were demands that Australia muzzle criticism of the party or China. These included an insistence that Australian members of parliament and media cease “unfriendly” comments about the party. The 14 have never been withdrawn.

The Australian government is cautious in making any reproach of Beijing. Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles can be forthright occasionally. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly chided Beijing a few times, but only in pretty extreme circumstances, such as China’s recent test firing of a nuclear-capable ballistic missile into the Pacific. Even the tiniest Pacific islands spoke up on that occasion.

And there are always voices in Australia making Beijing’s case. Former prime minister Paul Keating is the Chinese Communist Party’s chief apologist in Australia. On Monday, we learnt that he’s been coaching Albanese in how to deal with Xi Jinping.

According to James Curran’s new book, Grand Ambition, Keating tells Albanese that Australia is at a “fork in the road”. He wants Albanese to choose the road to Beijing, naturally. We’d all be free to use the C-word then. But only to lavish praise.

The last word goes to New Zealand’s Anne-Marie Brady: “We are not afraid.”

https://www.theage.com.au/world/asia/while-australia-avoids-the-c-word-nz-is-unafraid-to-speak-up-20260817-p60p4b.html

https://www.nzsis.govt.nz/news/nzsis-releases-2026-security-threat-environment-report

>>24831694

>>24877824

China and Australia bust tobacco syndicate as government pushes back on excise calls

Tom Lowrey - 20 August 2026

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Australian and Chinese authorities have worked together to crack an international syndicate shipping illegal tobacco into Australia.

More than 60 people have been arrested in China over their involvement with the syndicate, which the Australian Border Force (ABF) found had shipped more than 90 containers carrying tobacco to Australia between January and May this year.

The ABF revealed more than 60 million cigarettes were seized, along with 60 kilograms of loose-leaf tobacco, worth over $92 million. The tobacco's value is measured on taxes evaded.

Chinese authorities traced the tobacco as likely manufactured and moved through South-East Asia, where it would be hidden among legitimate cargo bound for Australia.

It was shipped out of Shanghai among loads of goods like printers and lamps, and largely arrived into port in Sydney.

Border Force officers said they were notified of 112 containers possibly carrying illegal tobacco by Chinese authorities, of which 91 were found containing illicit tobacco.

Australia has seen an extraordinary surge in the consumption of illegal tobacco in recent years.

It is estimated 80 per cent of tobacco and other nicotine products consumed in Australia are now illicit, rising from 12 per cent in 2017, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

That has led to a political push from figures like NSW Premier Chris Minns and One Nation to cut the tobacco excise, currently about $30 for a 20-cigarette packet.

But the federal government has maintained that cutting the tobacco excise is unlikely to stop the criminal trade and has instead stepped up enforcement efforts.

ABF Assistant Commissioner Penelope Spies labelled Operation Trailblazer one of the most significant illicit tobacco disruptions, highlighting the importance of working alongside the Anti-Smuggling Bureau of General Administration of China Customs.

"This outcome demonstrates the value of working beyond Australia's borders to stop illicit tobacco before it reaches Australian communities," she said.

Labor frontbencher Julian Hill said the sharing of intelligence was critical to these major criminal disruptions, praising both teams.

"Disrupting the illegal tobacco trade is happening pre-border with international partners, at the border with record seizures, and post border by closing illegal shops," he said.

"The best container of illegal tobacco is one that never makes it across the border, and intelligence from foreign partners is critical to fighting these transnational serious and organised criminals."

(continued)

>>24964848

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Government calls push for excise cut '100 per cent wrong'

Australia has the world's most expensive legal cigarettes due in large part to successive hikes in the tobacco excise, hitting $1.55 per cigarette this month.

But as the excise has climbed, the illicit market has rapidly grown and government revenue has plunged.

The May budget forecast an $8 billion shortfall in revenue over five years.

Economist Chris Richardson estimated that if the black market had not grown the way it had since 2019, the government would be bringing in around $15 billion in additional tax revenue each year.

He said it had become a market worth billions for organised crime.

"Organised crime doesn't get all of that $15 billion, but estimates are $6 or $7 billion a year through dumb government policies," he said.

One Nation has proposed cutting the tobacco excise by 75 per cent and freezing price indexation for at least three years, bringing the price closer to the cost of illicit cigarettes.

On Tuesday, NSW Premier Chris Minns yesterday backed One Nation's push to slash the tobacco excise in an effort to undermine the black market for cigarettes.

"I just think we need a rethink on this. The excise is not working," he said.

"It's driving underground black market cigarettes and it's really a source of funding and opportunity for organised crime in New South Wales." he said.

Responding to his comments, Social Services Minister Tanya Plibersek said she completely disagreed.

"I think Chris Minns is a great premier who is absolutely 100 per cent wrong on this issue," she said.

"I think the states and territories should do a better job of policing the sale of illegal tobacco."

The Illicit Tobacco and E-Cigarette commissioner has previously advised economists that a drop in excise would not significantly disrupt the criminal trade.

Assistant Minister for Customs Julian Hill said One Nation and the Coalition were in a "ridiculous" race to slash the excise.

"By the time parliament goes back they will be paying people to smoke, it's frankly ridiculous and it's not how we do public policy," Mr Hill told ABC Radio National.

"If you wiped out excise completely the illegal cigarettes would still be cheaper and the states and territories would still have to close the shops."

Mr Hill said the Commonwealth had paid $98 million over the past financial year to support the states and territories to crack down on illicit tobacco, and now was not the time to "back down".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-20/china-and-australia-work-together-on-tobacco-syndicate/107056140

https://www.abf.gov.au/newsroom-subsite/Pages/Over-60-arrests,-$92-million-worth-of-tobacco,-as-international-smuggling-ring-dismantled.aspx

>>24964848

China, Australia bust transnational tobacco-smuggling network, seizing over 90 million cigarettes

Global Times - Aug 20, 2026

Chinese and Australian law-enforcement agencies have dismantled a transnational tobacco-smuggling network and seized more than 90 million cigarettes in a coordinated operation, China's anti-smuggling bureau announced on Thursday in a WeChat post.

Since the beginning of this year, the Zhanjiang Customs in South China's Guangdong Province, under the unified deployment of the anti-smuggling bureau of China's General Administration of Customs (GAC), has launched a special campaign targeting tobacco smuggling and the production and sale of counterfeit products. Law-enforcement agencies have busted nine illegal cigarette-smuggling groups and shut down nine storage sites, seizing more than 32 million smuggled cigarettes and over 1,100 boxes of e-cigarettes.

Further investigations uncovered a smuggling network in which criminal groups allegedly attempted to conceal counterfeit tobacco products manufactured overseas in legitimate shipments, transport them through China and ultimately smuggle them into Australia, said the post.

To target the entire criminal chain, the GAC anti-smuggling bureau shared relevant information with Australian side through the China-Australia customs enforcement cooperation mechanism. The two sides subsequently launched synchronized enforcement operations. Australian authorities seized 60 million smuggled cigarettes and 60 kilograms of tobacco leaves, according to the release.

Australian border enforcement authorities spoke highly of the joint operation, saying it demonstrated the importance of stronger international customs enforcement cooperation and information sharing, and expressed appreciation for China's support.

An official with the GAC anti-smuggling bureau said the operation had disrupted tobacco-smuggling routes entering and transiting China and dealt a major blow to transnational tobacco-smuggling crimes. Chinese customs authorities said they would continue to strengthen international law-enforcement cooperation and joint efforts against cross-border smuggling to safeguard a sound and orderly international trading environment.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202608/1368615.shtml

>>24964853

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'Here to tell the truth'

The witness accepted that during an audio-recorded interview with Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) journalist Kate McClymont, he was asked if he "never saw him [Alan Jones] put his hand below the table?", to which he replied "not on any of those occasions, no".

"[You have] taken this out of context in a way, and I've explained that [answer to Ms McClymont] … was in relation to other people," the witness said under questioning.

The trial heard the witness did not tell Ms McClymont that he saw Mr Jones's hand under the table with Complainant C in Sydney's lower north shore, because he instead spoke to the SMH journalist to corroborate alleged instances where Mr Jones made drivers feel "uncomfortable" while they were travelling with him.

"I was talking about other drivers, not [Complainant C]," the witness said.

Mr Burke suggested there was also no evidence the witness mentioned the incident involving Complainant C when he was initially contacted by police in 2024.

Defence said the witness only detailed what he allegedly saw when he gave his official statement months later, after an officer informed him that he had been identified as a witness to the alleged restaurant assault.

"Well, you weren't there, I was," the witness said.

"I believe that I had [told police during the initial contact]."

Mr Burke suggested if the alleged restaurant assault had occurred, the witness would have made sure he mentioned it to Ms McClymont during his interview, which he gave as an undisclosed source.

"I wasn't going to make an allegation of a crime … to a journalist about Alan," the witness said.

"It wasn't deliberately misleading her."

The trial heard Ms McClymont would be called to give evidence.

Mr Burke then accused the witness of reconstructing his version of events over time.

"No, I'm here to tell the truth," the witness replied.

The trial, before Local Court Judge Glenn Walsh, continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08-21/nsw-alan-jones-trial-complainant-distraught-by-hand-under-table/107062550

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS4KqX_GbmU

>>24964872

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Ms Grover said she had felt “really nervous” about her personal safety at a similar rally in Brisbane in July, which had also been counter-protested by trans activists.

“We have been inundated with abuse, and it has been escalating,” she said. “We are living in a post-Charlie Kirk (assassinated US political figure) world, and it makes me super nervous. I have to remember I am first and foremost my child’s mother,” said Ms Grover, who is a single parent to a four-year-old daughter.

She said supporters of rallies like Sunday’s were “mostly a bunch of middle-aged women, some younger, some older, and some men who come along in support of us”.

“We don’t send threats. We don’t try to intimidate these guys, we’re not opposed to counter-protest. Counter-protest is part of living in society. What I am against is incitement, and that in order to hold these rallies to defend our rights, we need police protection from trans activists.”

Ms Grover said she had been forced to take defamation action against trans activist groups including Socialist Alternative-linked Pride in Protest, Rainbow Cumberland, Trans Action Network, Macquarie University Queer Collective and UNSW Queer Collective after she claimed they circulated flyers describing her as a “racist transphobe”.

The claim of racism appears to relate to an unfounded allegation that facial recognition technology used by Ms Grover’s female-only app, Giggle for Girls, to delineate between biological women and men, also discriminated on the basis of race.

“I’m not a transphobe or a racist,” Ms Grover. “It particularly upset me, because I have different races in my own family.

“I felt I had no option but to take legal action.”

Ms Smith said she would still speak on Sunday. “I am still going ahead,” she said. “This is no judgment on Sall. She is a single mum with a four-year-old, so I 100 per cent respect her position, but from my point of view, I won’t be intimidated, I won’t back down.

“I don’t want a bullet in my head, and I want women to have the freedom to speak about these issues.”

Other speakers at Sunday’s rally include the Lesbian Action Group, breastfeeding advocate Jasmine Sussex, Feminist Legal Clinic principal Anna Kerr, psychologist Dianna Kenny and philosopher Clive Hamilton.

None of the trans activists groups responded to a request for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/womens-rights-advocate-sall-grover-pulls-out-of-rally-after-alleged-death-threats/news-story/f2412bcb1beaf319ab4f678479e6284e

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blTSwa7iTxU

US predator Kyle Spitze who groomed Aussie girl handed record 77-year sentence over sadistic ‘764’ cult

A US predator who groomed an Australian teenager into carving his name into her body has received an unprecedented jail sentence for nihilistic violent extremism in the United States.

Julie Cross - August 20, 2026

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Exclusive: A notorious member of a sadistic online terror cult – who groomed an Australian girl into carving his name into her body and livestreaming explicit content from her bedroom – has been jailed for 77 years.

Kyle Spitze, 27, from Tennessee, US, was one of the original members of the predator group 764 and offshoot HarmNation, committed to bringing about the downfall of society through terrorism, specifically by targeting children and other vulnerable people and extorting them to engage in criminal sexual conduct, self-harm, and mass casualty events.

At his sentencing on Wednesday, Spitze was given the longest federal prison sentence ever imposed on a nihilistic violent extremist in the US.

The evil predator had previously pleaded guilty to the production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), abetting the distribution of animal crushing videos, and possessing and accessing with the intent to view CSAM, operated under the online moniker ‘Criminal’.

While his charges related to US victims, the FBI also found images of the Australian girl, who we are not naming, on Spitze’s phone. She was asked to give an impact statement as part of the court proceedings.

The Australian victim previously told this masthead how Spitze had groomed and blackmailed her into filming explicit material of herself from her NSW bedroom, while her unsuspecting family was in the house.

The girl, who was 16 when the abuse began, was also connected to other members of the extremist network and only told her mum what was happening when they tried to persuade her to kill the family cat.

Last year the Australian Federal Police issued an alert over multiple online networks targeting kids.

The Australian victim’s mother said these predators were pure evil and her daughter, who was left suicidal, was “covered with scars that are visible, and those inside her that are not”.

“She was made to mutilate her body and encouraged to starve herself, leading to a diagnosis of anorexia,” her mum said.

The FBI started looking into tips that HarmNation members were distributing child sexual abuse material in December 2023.

Spitze was identified as one of those members and found to have hosted a social media channel where he uploaded images and videos of nude minor girls who had self-mutilated with cuts and gashes, with variations of Spitze’s “Crim” or “Criminal” monikers written in blood on themselves or carved into their bodies.

The channel also hosted images of animal mutilation, with a variation of “Crim” written in the images.

(continued)

>>24964906

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Following the conclusion of the Spitze case, Attorney-General Todd Blanche said these “types of crimes are the worst of the worst: preying on vulnerable children in the name of a violent and twisted ideology.”

FBI Director Kash Patel said Spitze’s long sentencing sent a strong message that “this FBI and our Department of Justice partners will relentlessly hold accountable any individual who preys on children”.

“As we’ve made clear from the beginning: this FBI is laser focused on identifying, locating, and arresting any participants in Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE) networks – and we have dedicated personnel across all 50 states working on these high priority investigations,” Mr Patel said.

Assistant Attorney-General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said Spitze’s sentence of 77 years, sent a strong message that civil society will not tolerate such depravity.

“The National Security Division will work tirelessly with our law-enforcement partners to identify and prosecute these predators and keep our children safe from this new form of terrorism,” Mr Eisenberg said.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/us-predator-kyle-spitze-who-groomed-aussie-girl-handed-record-77year-sentence-over-sadistic-cult/news-story/f401bd7975a9eab9aeb8ae92ac765c6b

—

764 Extremist Group Member Sentenced to 77 Years in Prison for Production of Child Sexual Abuse Material and Distribution of Animal Crushing Videos

Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs - August 19, 2026

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/764-extremist-group-member-sentenced-77-years-prison-production-child-sexual-abuse-material

‘764’ Extremist Group Member Sentenced For Production Of Child Pornography And Distribution Of Animal Crushing Videos

U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Tennessee - August 19, 2026

https://www.justice.gov/usao-edtn/pr/764-extremist-group-member-sentenced-production-child-pornography-and-distribution

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Aussie teen girl to speak at sentencing for sadistic cult ringleader Kyle Spitze

Julie Cross - May 10, 2025

https://archive.vn/k6zeL#23016865

How gun-toting Texas mum Becca Spinks takes down online cult 764

Julie Cross - May 10, 2025

https://archive.vn/k6zeL#23016875

The 764 Network: The Strange Case of Kyle Spitze

Becca Spinks - Jul 19, 2024

https://x.com/bx_on_x/status/1814158500458569768