/qresearch/ -  Q Research

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Australia’s ‘Dr Jihad’ to face mass ISIS trial as Iraq demands action

MOHAMMAD ALFARES - 2 September 2026

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Australians accused of fighting for ISIS are among thousands of captured jihadists being moved towards mass trials in Iraq, as Baghdad calls on countries including Australia to “assume responsibility” for the fate of their nationals.

The demand puts fresh pressure on the Albanese government, which has ruled out repatriating Australians detained over their links to the terror group and maintained it will not take ­responsibility.

Among those facing trial is Perth-born paediatrician Tareq Kamleh, the infamous ISIS fighter dubbed “Dr Jihad” who was presumed dead for almost a decade before The Australian revealed he was alive and imprisoned in Baghdad’s notorious Karkh Central Prison, adjacent to the international airport.

On Wednesday, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council said the “international nature” of the cases meant countries whose nat­ionals were among detainees would need to work with Iraqi authorities as the cases moved into the trial phase.

The highest court in Baghdad called for “continued judicial co-operation” with the countries concerned and for the inter­national community to “assume its responsibility” for completing the procedures.

Iraq did not spell out what individual countries would be required to do, but the call opens the door for renewed engagement over the Australians, whose cases have until now been handled by Iraqi authorities.

The move follows the completion of mammoth investi­gations into all 5704 ISIS suspects transferred from northeastern Syria, with Iraq preparing to refer them to courts in batches.

It comes a month after The Australian exclusively revealed how Dr Jihad, the former Australian playboy turned ISIS propagandist, was alive and eager to come home.

Kamleh disappeared in Syria in 2015 and became one of the most recognisable Australian faces of the Islamic State propaganda machine. He survived the collapse of the terror group’s caliphate and was captured by US-backed Kurdish forces at Baghouz in 2019.

His fate has been shrouded in secrecy since his transfer to Iraq, where he was held in a high-­security prison as Iraqi authorities investigated his role in ISIS.

Iraqi investigators from the First Karkh Investigation Court found Kamleh had worked within ISIS’s so-called health department, used his medical qualifi­cations to provide treatment to wounded fighters and moved between medical facilities operated by the terrorist group.

Iraqi investigators said digital evidence and technical analysis showed Kamleh had worked in several ISIS medical facilities and provided first aid and treatment to wounded members during ­battles against security forces.

Now, Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council has declared the investigation phase complete, paving the way for Kamleh and the other Australians to be referred to trial.

The trials will involve detainees from 67 nationalities, including 19 EU nationalities, 16 Arab nationalities and 32 other foreign nationalities.

There are 474 Iraqis and 3497 Syrians among the defendants, with other foreign nationals making up the remainder.

Another of the group may be Yusuf Zahab, now in his early 20s, who was taken to Syria at age 12.

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The investigation began in February and involved months of interrogation, evidence gathering, forensic examination and intelligence analysis.

Iraqi investigators said they had identified dangerous ISIS members who held leadership, security, religious, military, media and other positions within the terror group, including “first-tier leaders”.

The council also revealed the vast range of roles performed by ISIS members, extending beyond combat to financial, logistical, administrative, medical, technical and media operations.

Six men were identified as having roles connected to the enslavement of Yazidi women, including their detention, trans­portation, sale and supervision.

Melbourne man Mohammed Ahmed, husband of Kawsar Abbas and father of Zeinab Ahmed, is likely one of those six.

The Supreme Judicial Council stressed that the sheer scale of the case would not result in anyone being judged collectively.

“The defendants will be referred to the competent courts in batches, and each case will be examined and adjudicated based on the evidence and facts specific to the defendant,” it said.

The announcement also revealed that hundreds of detainees would not face trial after investigators failed to establish sufficient evidence against them.

A Finnish national and American detainee have been handed over to their respective governments; seven Iraqi detainees have also been freed.

A further 457 Syrians are being processed for release and return to Syria after it was determined there was insufficient evidence to justify judicial proceedings against them.

For those facing prosecution, Iraq has prepared a courtroom capable of conducting hearings by video link.

The Iraqi judiciary said each person had been appointed a lawyer and received medical care, while the International Committee of the Red Cross was able to visit and facilitate communication with families. Diplomatic and consular missions from “several nations” had also been permitted to visit their nationals.

The Albanese government did not respond when approached on Wednesday.

Iraq has previously indicated that the repatriation or surrender of foreign nationals could be considered on a case-by-case basis through official judicial and diplomatic channels.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australias-dr-jihad-to-face-mass-isis-trial-as-iraq-demands-action/news-story/531b27c97431922bc39b9b0254c5148f

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‘No-shows’

The summit has had a spate of no-shows, with the leaders of Fiji, Samoa, Vanuatu and Kiribati all absent, and Solomon Islands Prime Minister Matthew Wale forced to fly home to deal with a motion of no confidence in his leadership.

Mr Lin linked the withdrawals to Chinese coercion, saying Beijing was “having substantive influence over certain countries”, and had divided the region with its recent nuclear-capable missile test near Tuvalu.

Asked about PNG’s move to close its de facto embassy, he said China had “threatened PNG to make this zero-sum decision”. He said Port Moresby was yet to discuss the move with Taiwan “so our mission remains in the country even though there is some opposite voices”.

Taiwan has attended PIF summits since 1993 as a “development partner”, only missing last year when Solomon Islands’ previous pro-China government banned all third-party engagement.

Beijing’s Special Envoy for ­Pacific Island Countries Qian Bo said of Mr Lin’s attendance after the opening ceremony on ­Monday night: “Taiwan is not a dialogue partner for the forum, so we have serious concern. There will always be consequences. This is objected by all, so this should not have happened. We think it’s very inappropriate to do so.”

Mr Albanese bristled at the statement. “The Pacific Islands Forum determines what happens here, not any other country,” he said.

The Trump administration’s representative at the meeting, Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau, refused to enter the rhetorical stoush while pledging $US60m for a new strategically located deep water port in the Cook Islands, in partnership with New Zealand.

“This project underscores the United States’ strong commitment to our partners in the Pacific and builds on the Critical Minerals Framework the United States and the Cook Islands agreed to earlier this year,” Mr Landau said.

On Wednesday, PIF member states will unveil their climate change demands ahead of the Australian-sponsored pre-COP meetings in Fiji and Tuvalu, with a bid to hold temperature rises to 1.5C and secure more funding to protect their countries from sea level rises and storms.

Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen told delegates: “We are determined to use COP31 to progress the agenda to make it easier for countries to access the climate finance they need.

“Small island developing states and LDCs (least developed countries) should not have to navigate lengthy approval processes, high transaction costs and unpredictable funding arrangements to access the support they need.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/pacific-summit-fractures-as-key-australian-ally-demands-taiwan-be-banned/news-story/8029877d001246b9d2b52fc47ae4d926

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDnrecd8-j0

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>>24936613

UK’s defence minister loud and clear on AUKUS as a China deterrent

Unlike Australia, neither the UK nor the US see the need for diplomatic language when it comes to the trilateral nuclear submarine pact’s importance to countering Chinese and Russian aggression.

Andrew Tillett - Sep 2, 2026

London | As AUKUS prepares to celebrate its fifth birthday, a high-powered reception in Britain’s Houses of Parliament on Tuesday night (Wednesday AEST) illuminated how Australia continues to tiptoe around China when justifying the purchase of nuclear-powered submarines.

As lights gleamed off the Thames, Australian High Commissioner Jay Weatherill spoke in general terms about how the three AUKUS partners – Australia, the US and UK – shared an interest in security in both the Indo-Pacific and Euro-Atlantic regions.

“Economic shocks, supply chain disruptions, threat to critical infrastructure, coercion at sea, challenges to freedom of navigation don’t stop at regional boundaries,” Weatherill said.

By contrast, Britain’s newish Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, and the US ambassador to the UK, Warren Stephens, were both blunt in calling out the threat to Western security interests, naming China, Russia and Iran, and being prepared to mount a muscular defence.

“We should be under no illusion that there are many who do not want this partnership to succeed. It’s not a secret,” Stephens said.

“You just have to read their public statements. Russia, China, and Iran have all protested its existence. That says we’re onto something good there. But they know the economic and security benefits AUKUS will deliver, and we must not give them what they want by delaying or diverging from our course of action.”

Streeting, who became minister just six weeks ago, added: “AUKUS says to our adversaries is that if you attack one of us, you are challenging a coalition that is willing to stand together to defend the values we cherish and to fight alongside one another.

“Every day, disruptive actors show us that they have both the will and the means to exploit political vulnerabilities, to threaten and undermine UK security and the security of our allies.

“We need look no further than Russia’s recent activity in the North Atlantic, but the significance of AUKUS is global. In time, it will deliver a greater number of more capable allied [submarines], which can be deployed everywhere from the Euro-Atlantic to the Mediterranean to the Indo-Pacific.

“That’s why our adversaries, as Warren said, hate AUKUS so much. It confounds and confuses their thinking. It erodes their confidence, and so they seek to undermine it at every opportunity, and that, as the ambassador said, is a good thing because it proves we must be doing something right.”

Wetherill, as a diplomat, has to be circumspect. But while the US and UK offer a clear-eyed assessment, expect more platitudes this week when Defence Minister Richard Marles visits his US counterpart Pete Hegseth in Washington before heading to London for his first face-to-face meeting with Streeting.

The more benign tone from Australia on AUKUS reflects how the government continues to pick its moments to push back against China.

Speaking from Palua on Monday, Anthony Albanese gave a little slap to Beijing’s objections over Taiwan by insisting it would be Pacific Island Forum members who decided what would happen at the annual talks, not other countries.

Australia will also protest when Chinese military forces overstep or come too close to allied patrols in the region, and join global condemnation of Beijing-led cybersecurity incidents.

But at a time when the geopolitical walls feel like they are closing in, the government seems to value stabilisation with Beijing over the need to make the clear case for spending up to $366 billion on AUKUS and increasing the defence budget more generally.

Instead, it seems Labor often frames AUKUS as a job creation program for Adelaide and Perth, delivering blue-collar jobs and economic growth to mollify unions and local communities.

It is telling that US Studies Centre polling released this week found only 23 per cent agreed that Canberra had properly explained the rationale for AUKUS, a four percentage point drop over 12 months.

This is dismal, especially when we are told AUKUS will be the nation’s biggest-ever endeavour. After five years of AUKUS, what progress has been made continues to be undermined by uncertainty.

Streeting acknowledged this scepticism on Tuesday night.

“Let’s prove all the commentators and armchair admirals wrong, and show all the naysayers that our three great countries can still achieve great things and achieve greater things still working together,” he said.

https://www.afr.com/world/europe/uk-s-new-defence-minister-loud-and-clear-on-aukus-as-a-china-deterrent-20260902-p60tlo

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Prince Andrew named in US Congress as having ‘committed sex crimes’

JOSIE ENSOR - 2 September 2026

A member of Congress has alleged in a speech on the floor of the US House that Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor “committed sex crimes in the US”.

Thomas Massie, a Republican representative from Kentucky, named more than a dozen people he alleged were Jeffrey Epstein’s “co-conspirators” or associates.

“We want perpetrators of these crimes to be investigated and prosecuted,” Massie said, naming 14 people including Mountbatten-Windsor, Jes Staley, the former Barclays chief executive, David Copperfield, the magician, and Thomas Pritzker, the former executive chairman of Hyatt Hotels Corporation - before adding, “and Prince Andrew, who committed sex crimes in the US”. All deny any wrongdoing.

Massie delivered the minute-long speech in the House as he led an effort to pass legislation to have three million more files related to Epstein released by the Trump administration.

The Department of Justice (DoJ) was forced to release a tranche of documents related to its investigation into Epstein after Massie helped pass the Epstein Transparency Act last year.

“Perhaps hearing these names will shame the Department of Justice into delivering justice,” said Massie, who lost his bid for re-election in May.

Massie has begun collecting signatures for a petition to force a vote on a second Epstein Files Transparency Act, which he said would give “state (Attorneys-General) access to Epstein files required to prosecute perpetrators under state law, and makes it easier for survivors to sue to get their files”.

The Speech or Debate Clause in America’s constitution gives members of Congress protection for statements made as part of legislative proceedings, allowing Massie to name people he accuses of being Epstein co-conspirators without facing defamation lawsuits.

It was not immediately clear what alleged crimes Massie was referring to in relation to Mountbatten-Windsor and his office did not respond to a request for comment from The Times.

Mountbatten-Windsor has never been charged with a crime in the United States. He has, however, been accused in US court of sexually abusing Virginia Giuffre when she was 17. The former duke denied the allegations, and the civil case was settled without an admission of liability.

Giuffre alleged in a federal lawsuit that Mountbatten-Windsor abused her in 2001 and 2002, including encounters in New York and at Epstein’s Manhattan townhouse, as well as in London.

In a statement to The Times, Giuffre’s family said they “commended” Massie’s speech on the House floor. “Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor should be investigated for his sexual crimes committed on US soil, not only against our sister Virginia Roberts Giuffre, but also against others of whom we are aware,” said her brothers, Sky Roberts and Daniel Wilson, and her sisters-in-law Amanda and Lanette.

“Many of the crimes committed by Jeffrey Epstein and his collaborators remain in the three million-plus documents that are being illegally held by the DoJ, in spite of the passage of the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law. It is time for them to be made public.”

The former Duke of York was arrested by Thames Valley police on allegations of misconduct in a public office after allegations that he shared sensitive information with Epstein during his time as the UK’s trade envoy.

The Times reported that police officers are planning to come to the US to speak to the Roberts family.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/the-times/prince-andrew-named-in-us-congress-as-having-committed-sex-crimes/news-story/114e13cd1e1e044151da4030b9bbe4ca

>>24974505

Royal commission holds secret round table with creatives on arts sector antisemitism

ELIZABETH PIKE - 3 September 2026

Prominent Jewish creatives have provided private testimony to Virginia Bell’s royal commission team about how antisemitism has infiltrated the arts, in the latest of a series of secret round ­tables hosted to strengthen the evidence base of her final report.

Publisher Morry Schwartz and entertainment lawyer ­Michael Napthali were among the senior figures at the closed-door meeting in Sydney on Wednesday, with members pushing for better balance at writers’ festivals and offering ways to temper the politicisation of arts events.

Bell Shakespeare chair Philip Crutchfield KC, who wrote a powerful submission to the inquiry, was also invited but could not attend the meeting with the commission’s community ­engagement team due to court matters.

Sources said the decision to hold a private roundtable with board members and senior figures in the industry was designed to help develop solutions that would work for the sector while granting the attendees a level of protection.

The revelation that formal discussions with key parties were being done in private comes after the royal commission drew criticism for being too shallow in its examination of antisemitism in its public hearings.

Roundtables have also been held on antisemitism in universities and regional communities. A two-day event was held in the NSW Northern Rivers with Jewish communities in mid-August.

On Wednesday, arts roundtable members shared examples of their experiences in the arts and discussed ways to tackle the scourge of antisemitism that has pervaded the sector since October 7, 2023, according to sources with knowledge of the meeting.

It also discussed the need for better education and ways the country could reclaim civil discourse, amid concerns Jewish voices have been silenced and ostracised in the sector.

Ms Bell previously heard ­during the public hearings from Jewish creatives who were ­cancelled, doxxed and faced ­exclusion from their peers as the arts sector became the frontline for anti-Jewish hatred in ­Australia.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin said the round ­tables were designed to help inform Ms Bell’s final recommendations, to be handed down on December 18 shortly after the one-year anniversary of the Bondi Beach terror attack.

“We know from the oral ­evidence and written submissions that suspicion or outright hatred of Jews has become entrenched in certain sectors of our society,” Mr Ryvchin told The Australian.

“We know also that the price of speaking up has often been death threats, boycotts and loss of income.

“These roundtables offer the opportunity for those who intimately understand what is happening to be heard and for the commissioner to identify themes and common experiences of Jewish Australians in particular industries and institutions to inform her recommendations.

“This will be an important contribution to the vast body of evidence before the commission and supplements the sworn evidence, written submissions and documents produced.”

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A statement from the commission confirmed the latest roundtable was held with representatives of the arts and creative ­industries. The commission has not ­advertised the events and according to its website, the only roundtable it has held since its establishment was to discuss the terms of reference for the inquiry at its outset.

It is understood the delay is largely due to the commission’s back-to-back hearing blocks

“The royal commission is using a range of mechanisms to inform its work consistent with its terms of reference, including written submissions, hearings, information obtained through notices, research and community engagements, including roundtables,” the statement read.

“Community engagement activities, including roundtables, are an important way to hear a range of experiences, views and suggestions in an informal setting.

“The commission has held a number of roundtables since its commencement and conducted more than 150 community engagements across Australia.”

The engagements add to the tranche of evidence Ms Bell has collected from more than 20,000 submissions, hundreds of public testimonies and meetings with security experts.

Meetings were also held with the Community Security Groups that have helped guard Jewish institutions and events as part of the engagements.

Jewish and non-Jewish representatives were invited to the latest roundtable, which comes two years after Anthony Albanese’s hand-picked antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal delivered her landmark report to the government. In the report, Ms Segal recommended greater protection for Jewish creatives and antisemitism training at peak bodies in the arts sector.

It is understood Ms Bell’s recommendations will be different in light of the Bondi Beach terror attack that occurred almost six months after Ms Segal’s report.

Ms Bell withstood pressure from former Labor MPs, some of the Bondi victims’ families and senior Jewish figures to extend the 12-month time frame of the royal commission. However, Ms Bell did request a four-day extension to ensure her final report was not a “distraction” from the anniversary of the terror attack.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/royal-commission-holds-secret-round-table-with-creatives-on-arts-sector-antisemitism/news-story/ef356700ffd755d5581454a7a2e075ff

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This year’s PIF summit was marked by deep divisions over the presence of Taiwan, with Beijing’s Special Envoy for Pacific Island Countries Qian Bo warning of unspecified “consequences”.

PNG’s Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko said the attendance of Taiwan Foreign Minister Lin Chia-Lung was a distraction and the self-governed island should be banned from the regional bloc’s meetings.

Mr Whipps disagreed, defending Taiwan’s role as a PIF “development partner”.

“The bottom line is Taiwan is a partner and so is China. I think what we are doing here in Palau is respecting that they are partners and all invited to come to PIF,“ he said.

PIF leaders were expected to urge the world to recommit to limiting global temperatures to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, ahead of a pre-COP summit in Fiji next month and side trip to Tuvalu.

The Australian-organised events ahead of November’s COP31 climate conference in Turkey have attracted little interest from world leaders.

Before departing Palau, Mr Albanese opened a new Australian-funded solar farm and battery plant, worth $31m.

Asked how he reconciled Australia’s fossil fuel wealth with the region’s call for a shift to 100 per cent renewables, Mr Albanese said the nation’s energy mix was changing.

“We had in the December quarter over 50 per cent of our energy coming from renewables,” he said.

“It’s the lowest-cost form of new energy, in spite of some of the rhetoric.”

Mr Wale, who only became Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister three months ago, is expected to face a vote of no-confidence next week.

Three of his ministers have already resigned and more could follow, in a challenge analysts and New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters said was likely the result of Chinese interference.

Mr Wale was pushing a new bilateral security deal with Australia and had championed a region-wide deal sidelining China, which has been kicked off to future talks.

If he loses, the country is expected to revert to being one of Beijing’s closest regional partners.

Associate Professor Anna Powles, from New Zealand’s Massey University, said: “This year’s PIF summit has demonstrated the acute challenge Pacific states face in balancing national interests and obligations with regional commitments and geopolitical jockeying.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/unfair-push-to-condemn-chinas-missile-test-in-pacific-misfires/news-story/8708ffbffbcd206c5c9e4aa64e398ce1

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

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Confidence on AUKUS

The defence minister also reiterated his confidence that Australia will be delivered its first Virginia-class submarine as planned.

Under the AUKUS agreement, Australia will buy three second-hand Virginia-class submarines from the US in the 2030s, with the first to be delivered in 2032.

But the then-US president will have the final sign-off on whether the sale goes ahead, considering the US's own needs at the time.

Mr Marles was asked about his confidence that a future US administration will honour the deal, and argued other elements of AUKUS, like Australia's investment in submarine maintenance facilities in Western Australia. He said this is an important offering for the US that can keep its submarines active in critical parts of the world for longer.

"The establishment of Submarine Rotation Force — West, as well as the establishment of the Henderson Defence Precinct, offers the opportunity for US Navy submarines to undergo maintenance much closer to their critical area of operation, which creates sea days for the United States Navy," he said.

"And that's ultimately why this is such an important agreement from the United States point of view. That's why they're walking down this path."

AI links

Earlier this week Mr Marles met with a number of the world's leading tech companies, including Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft and Google while visiting San Francisco.

The federal government has been pushing to build stronger links with top AI companies in the hope of attracting US investment into Australian-based data centres.

Treasury estimates suggest the construction of data centres in Australia to be worth about $150 billion by 2030.

But the government has flagged its desire to see more than just a financial return for hosting data centres, including guaranteed and affordable access to computing power for Australian businesses.

Mr Marles said securing more investment into AI in Australia is both an economic and national security priority, but there are also sensitive questions around community support.

"The whole point of what we've done in terms of articulating AI standards is to make sure that we are doing this in the right way in Australia, that we get the planning right so that the data centres are placed in appropriate places," he said.

"That they come with power, so that the power infrastructure that is created to power these data centres actually makes a contribution to our overall power grid rather than taking from it.

"In terms of the investment that these companies are looking at making, to be honest that's a welcome message from their perspective. Without a social license this doesn't get done."

He argues building relationships with companies developing frontier AI models is also critical for the Australian Defence Force, given the role AI is expected to play on future battlefields.

"When we look at all of the major platforms that we are operating today, going forward AI will have a part in respect of them," he said.

"And that's why this is such an important sovereignty question; it really matters that we have access to this technology."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-03/federal-politics-us-military-presence-in-australia-set-to-grow/107111352

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfee32nYyq4

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>>25002391

Australia’s massive data centres to be built away from homes as Trump attacks AI critics

Paul Sakkal - September 3, 2026

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Top artificial intelligence players have told Australia they’ll build large data centres far away from homes to avoid the type of public backlash imperilling the rollout in the US.

Reeling from moratoriums in multiple US states, including Texas, AI firms gave early assurances of building in remote areas to Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles and junior tech minister Andrew Charlton during talks on Australia’s $150 billion AI boom in San Francisco.

Sources briefed on this week’s talks said billionaire execs were also comfortable with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s requirement to add renewables to the grid to offset data centres’ vast energy needs. Queensland, which owns coal plants, may use fossil fuels if cheaper than renewables after Labor softened its stance.

“This is probably the most transformational economic development of our lifetimes,” Treasurer Jim Chalmers said on Wednesday, two days after releasing analysis showing AI data centres could add to inflation.

“I’m confident that we can maximise the economic upside and minimise the risks, but it will take work.”

The in-principle agreement on Labor’s new AI standards has cleared the path to land a $21 billion deal that would make Australia the second home for Anthropic to train models. Other firms involved in meetings with Marles and Charlton this week, including Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI, are also keen to make big investments.

The outcome also demonstrates the newfound leverage Australian officials feel they possess over Big Tech. The companies are competing for supremacy in artificial general intelligence and scrambling to build enough data centres to keep up with demand for their models. The firms are also trying to justify their eye-watering valuations, which have sparked concerns about a financial bubble.

The ongoing war in Iran has cruelled investment in the Middle East. In the US, President Donald Trump claimed this week that opposing data centres would make America “backwards and poor”, arguing that tech and strategic rival China “could not be happier with this anti-data centre movement”.

Former Trump acolyte Marjorie Taylor Greene and populist left leader Bernie Sanders have both campaigned against data centre construction. Before midterm elections in which AI will be a hot topic, Sanders hit back at Trump, saying 75 per cent of Americans oppose data centres and want “a decent future for themselves, their kids and their communities”.

Developments in the Middle East and the US have turned Australia into a more attractive destination. Australian data centres have been controversial, including over noise pollution. But the AI firms have indicated to Marles and Charlton that they know larger data centres of the future must be built in remote areas.

Marles said before the US trip that the AI boom represented the biggest hinge point in Australia’s self-reliance since World War II as AI models became pivotal in running services such as telecommunications, banking and even national security.

Australia still needs to figure out how to allow AI firms to access copyrighted Australian material to train models. The compensation model for creatives is a sticking point in the deal with Anthropic. Charlton’s blitz will continue on Wednesday in the US when he meets Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick after meeting with Trump’s chief adviser on science and technology, Michael Kratsios.

Marles, the defence minister, said it was critical that Australia worked more closely with the US as it battled with China for tech supremacy and the Asian powerhouse sought to disseminate cheaper AI models to draw smaller nations into its orbit.

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A Treasury department briefing on AI, released by Chalmers on Monday, said $150 billion could be spent on data centres in Australia by 2030. There are 162 data centres already in Australia, with another 130, including some worth tens of billions of dollars, at the planning stage.

One downside is that the build-out could take resources away from home building and push up interest rates. There are also questions about the extent to which Australia’s GDP will be boosted by data centre investment given the investment is reliant on imports.

But the upside is that AI could be a fix to Australia’s sagging productivity rate. Treasury said its own forecast of productivity in Australia of 1.2 per cent over at least the next decade is predicated on the emergence of AI.

Labor is weighing options on how to translate Australia’s comparative advantage in hosting data centres, predicated on abundant land, into higher-value AI propositions. One idea is to force big firms to reserve Australian data centres’ computing power for Australian researchers, known as “compute for access”.

“Building AI data centres here isn’t enough. We need to put conditions on that investment that guarantee our access to the best American tech while also letting us bootstrap our own local AI industry into the higher value areas like developing models and applications,” said David Wroe, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute’s head of AI.

“We don’t exactly know where the technology is going other than it’s improving very, very fast and will be utterly transformative. But wherever it goes, local expertise will be decisive.”

The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry warned politicians against restricting data centre construction on Wednesday, saying the country “needs a data centre plan, not a data centre panic”.

The Greens want a moratorium in Australia, but this masthead reported last month that the Coalition offered to work with Labor to avoid a political stoush that would add to public anxiety.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-s-massive-data-centres-to-be-built-away-from-homes-as-trump-attacks-ai-critics-20260902-p60tse.html

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>>24998902

Ray Hadley tells court Alan Jones targeted him over breakfast radio show

BIMINI PLESSER - 3 September 2026

Retired radio star Ray Hadley claims he was targeted by Alan Jones after his then-colleague dubbed him disloyal for going after his coveted breakfast timeslot, in his final pieces of evidence before Jones’ indecent assault trial.

In his third and final day in the witness box, Hadley discussed his “complicated” 35-year relationship with Jones, who stands accused of kissing and touching the penis and buttocks of six com­plainants between 2003 and 2020.

Although he said he probably harboured animosity towards Jones, Hadley refuted the defence’s claim he was trying to “destroy” Jones by colluding with Complainant C, one of the six alleged victims in the case.

Hadley claimed Jones was set on bringing him down well before C’s allegations were published by the Sydney Morning Herald in December 2019.

“I’d been targeted by Mr Jones when he found out that I’d signed a contract to take his position, even though I never took his position,” Hadley said.

“He was targeting me because he thought I was disloyal.”

Hadley told the court his former rival had asked 2GB staff to “dig up dirt” on him after he signed a “secret contract” to take over Jones’ breakfast show in December 2018.

“Anything they could to white ant me, white ant my program, just generally make life more difficult for me,” he said.

The court heard the former radio rivals had a “very complicated” relationship.

“We were both under tremendous pressure constantly to deliver and, as a result, it was a tumultuous relationship, sometimes warm and friendly and sometimes hostile,” Hadley said.

Asked why he sent Jones friendly texts, including things like “love, Hadley” and “35 years is a long time old mate” in 2019 and 2020, Hadley said it was “common courtesy” because Jones had sent a kind message first.

“Our relationship was very complicated. We went from being very close to very distant. He was gracious. I returned it,” he said.

Hadley said much of his success as a broadcaster was due to Jones and he was “appreciative of what he did for me”.

In saying that, he added that they also had “stand-up brawls” and Jones had said in the past “he’d never work with me again”.

In her re-examination, prosecutor Georgina Wright SC took Hadley to a text read aloud in court on Wednesday, in which he told C that Jones “needs to be destroyed”.

Asked to clarify why he said that, Hadley said the rest of the message read “for what he did to you”.

“It was in reference to the proceedings we’re here about at the moment,” he said.

“I said I’d stick by him (C) and I’d support him in every way, no matter what course of action he decided to take, and that’s why I’m here today.”

In the last part of her cross-examination of Hadley, Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir SC, suggested he had given untrue evidence about the conversation he had with Complainant C in October 2019, when the young man first alleged Jones had assaulted him.

Hadley said he rejected that entirely.

Ms Bashir also probed him on his contact with columnist Peter FitzSimons around that time.

Hadley agreed that in addition to the phone call he facilitated between FitzSimons and C, he had two further calls with the journalist in October 2019.

“I think he was pressing me on the identity of (C)’ at the time. I wouldn’t tell them (the Sydney Morning Herald),” he said.

Hadley also confirmed he had several other conversations with C in October 2019, but said that was because the man was “in a fragile state”.

On his way out of court, Hadley spoke briefly to the media but said he couldn’t answer any questions for fear of jeopardising the trial.

Hadley made his first appearance as a witness in Jones’s trial on Tuesday, when he was questioned about alle­gations Jones repeatedly kissed and touched Complainant C.

The alleged victim, who worked at 2GB, is one of six complainants who have accused Jones of assault.

Jones has pleaded not guilty to all 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching levelled against him.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/ray-hadley-tells-court-alan-jones-targeted-him-over-breakfast-radio-show/news-story/8d641403afc1b4af50e68e719738f726

>>25004589

Something is wrong.

qalerts.pub is down.

General says the thread is locked and the catalogue is not updating.

Once you see it, you can never unsee it.

Same as the Cabal.

So you either do something about it or ignore it.

Those that do something are very tired.

>>24947387

>>24954732

>>24954763

>>24967675

>>24998862

CFMEU delegate charged as police seize steroids, drugs in dawn raids

Shelby Brooks and Eleanor Campbell - September 4, 2026

Illicit drugs, steroids, weapons and cash have been seized during an early morning raid as part of a wider investigation into alleged drug trafficking on Victorian construction sites.

Three properties in Mulgrave, Heathmont and Fitzroy were raided by Taskforce Hawk investigators early on Thursday.

Police allege a 35-year-old CFMEU delegate was one of three people importing drugs and steroids through the mail and trafficking them on construction sites across Melbourne.

In footage released by police, the Mulgrave man was shown being escorted by police from a property on a suburban street in Melbourne’s south-east.

A 32-year-old Fitzroy man and a 27-year-old Fitzroy woman were also arrested.

Steroids and peptides, drug paraphernalia, a large amount of cash, cocaine, MDMA and cannabis, electronic devices, a Taser, two extendable batons and pepper spray were among the items seized by police.

The two men were charged with trafficking anabolic steroids and drug and weapon possession.

They are both due to appear at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in January.

The 27-year-old woman was released with an intent to summons.

A spokesperson for the CFMEU said the delegate had been suspended from his duties with the union.

The arrests follow separate raids on Wednesday at the home of former sacked CFMEU boss John Perkovic, as part of a wider investigation into suspected corruption and money laundering.

In August, five CFMEU officials were arrested during a police raid on the union’s Victorian headquarters over drug trafficking and corruption allegations.

A royal commission into the state’s construction sector will be led by former South Australian chief justice Chris Kourakis.

Former union leader John Setka also appeared in court on Thursday following his arrest in November.

The sacked CFMEU leader is accused of breaching court orders and using a carriage service to menace, harass and offend the embattled union’s government-appointed administrator.

A landmark review into CFMEU corruption on Big Build projects alleged some large government-controlled construction sites were converted by bikie gangs into “drug distribution centres”.

The report by anti-corruption lawyer Geoffrey Watson, SC, published in February, described how rival gangs fought for control over the $530 million Hurstbridge Rail Line Upgrade because of its lucrative value as a drug-dealing hub, as well as an employer for taxpayer-funded jobs.

“Approximately 1000 workers were on the Hurstbridge site – 540 on day shift, approximately the same on the night shift. That many workers, placed into a confined area, made Hurstbridge a desirable place from which to distribute drugs,” Watson said in his report.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cfmeu-delegate-charged-as-police-seize-steroids-drugs-in-dawn-raids-20260904-p60ucu.html

>>24951155

>>24987975

‘He’s wrong’: Pauline Hanson says Andrew Hastie won’t be spared by orange tsunami in Federal Election

Joe Spagnolo - 6 September 2026

Pauline Hanson says Andrew Hastie will not be spared in her plan to turn WA orange at the next federal Election - warning him she is coming for his seat.

In the after wash of a shock One Nation win in the Labor heartland of Secret Harbour, Senator Hanson said she expected the Party to begin preselecting candidates in WA for the 2028 poll in the early part of next year – Mr Hastie’s seat of Canning in her sights.

“He (Andrew Hastie) is now concerned about losing his seat – and of course, what happened in Secret Harbour is a clear indication of where people are casting their vote, in part of his seat,” Senator Hanson said.

“Andrew needs to put his head down and work for his electorate.

“If he thinks he’s going to be saved, and that I won’t run a candidate in his seat, he’s wrong.”

Senator Hanson said One Nation would run candidates in all of WA’s 16 federal seats, saying it was clear West Australians wanted an option to voting either Labor or Liberal.

“Andrew Hastie has taken it personally because I’m standing a candidate in his seat,” Senator Hanson said.

“He feels insulted by that, as if I shouldn’t run a candidate in Canning.

“But he has to realise that I’m an individual political party and a lot of voters are looking to One Nation now who don’t want to vote for the Liberals, or Labor.”

In WA, Anthony Albanese’s Labor Party holds 11 out of 16 seats – with the Liberals holding four and Teal MP Kate Chaney holding Curtin.

Under Basil Zempilas, the WA Liberals preferenced One Nation in Secret Harbour – a decision that ultimately delivered One Nation its first seat in the Legislative Assembly of the WA Parliament.

Senator Hanson praised Mr Zempilas for preferencing her candidate Luke Herdegen, saying the Secret Harbour by-election was a template for how the federal Liberals should fight the next federal poll.

“What I liked about Zempilas is that he actually did work with One Nation in that seat,” Senator Hanson said.

“He could see the writing on the wall, having no chance of winning the seat.

“So, he worked with us (One Nation) to oust Labor.

“That’s what the Libs have to wake up to.

“They have to work with us, if they want to change government.”

But the idea of working with One Nation at the 2028 poll is not likely to sit well with Mr Hastie, who just a few weeks ago in a television interview with the ABC, bagged Mr Zempilas’ Secret Harbour campaign.

“This is a state election contested on state issues, and I don’t accept this idea that a win for One Nation is a win for the Liberal Party,” Mr Hastie told the ABC.

Senator Hanson said One Nation had plenty of money to splash in WA next federal election.

She has previously told The Nightly that One Nation would be specifically targeting the Labor seats of Hasluck and Pearce at the federal Election, with Bullwinkel also in her sights.

At a One Nation function in WA in June, a venue in Midland just around the corner from Labor member for Hasluck, Tania Lawrence was chosen for the event.

“We have raised $5 million in the Fire the Liar campaign,” Senator Hanson said.

“Our word was to get rid of Labor, and that’s what the money will be used for.”

https://thenightly.com.au/politics/hes-wrong-pauline-hanson-says-andrew-hastie-wont-be-spared-by-orange-tsunami-in-federal-election–c-22830467

>>24841260

>>24881172

>>24891941

Social media giants face more than $100 million in fines as Albanese government pressures platforms to enforce under-16 ban

Shane Wright - September 6, 2026

Social media companies could be slugged with fines of more than $100 million if they fail to do more to keep under-16s off their sites under an Albanese government bill set to go before the Senate on Tuesday.

The fines are part of a push to give more power to eSafety Commission chief Julie Inman Grant to target sites such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok for not lifting efforts to abide by Australia’s ban on young people accessing social media.

It forms a key part of a broader assault on social media platforms with draft laws that would force companies to take action that would prevent the platforming and sharing of harmful content, including illegal pornography, on their sites.

At the start of July, the government introduced to parliament an urgent bill it said would boost the eSafety Commission’s information gathering powers. That bill was sent to a Senate committee that, despite misgivings by non-government members, ticked off its approval.

That bill, which includes fines of $109.2 million for breaching new laws to prevent under-16s from accessing social media sites, will go to the Senate on Tuesday.

The government has come under fire over the large number of young people still on social media sites, despite its mandating of age verification.

But Communications Minister Anika Wells said more than five million under-16s accounts had been removed. She urged the upper house to back the bill as quickly as possible.

“Australian kids and parents needed these laws eight weeks ago, but the Coalition and Greens teamed up to send our four-page bill to an eight-week inquiry,” she said.

“The Coalition and the Greens ignored the pleas of parents who want social media companies held to account for harming Australian kids.

“We have to put politics to the side and pass this bill this week, so the eSafety Commissioner can hold social media companies accountable.”

The large fines at the heart of the under-16 ban will form part of the so-called “digital duty of care” reforms that the government is expected to release for public comment later this week.

The proposed legislation has the potential to split the Coalition between those who want to protect free speech and those who believe some social media outlets are deliberately causing harm among young people.

Liberal leader Angus Taylor on Sunday said while he had not seen the draft laws, he was worried about an “attempt by government to censor social media”.

He was more focused on the laws going to the Senate this week, noting the continued use by under-16s of social media.

“It’s not working. So then going off and starting off on some other thing, which risks being censorship of the internet, enormous ministerial discretion around censorship on the internet … If that’s what’s being proposed, we’re sceptical,” he told News24.

Opposition communications spokeswoman Sarah Henderson expressed deep reservations about the proposal and how it would give more powers to the government to regulate Australians’ freedom of expression.

“While we will consider the government’s exposure draft, the proposal for new ministerial powers to make regulations governing categories of online harms without parliamentary oversight is a serious threat to free speech,” she said.

“While tougher action is required to combat serious online harms and empower Australians to take greater control over what they see online, the digital duty of care, as currently proposed, appears to be a dangerous step in the wrong direction.

But opposition home affairs spokesman Jonathan Duniam said there might be merit in users not being force-fed an algorithm for their social media.

“Provided the detail stacks up and it doesn’t unnecessarily impede on people’s rights and freedoms, empowering individuals to make a choice about what they consume is absolutely where we should be at,” he told the ABC’s Insiders program.

“Empowering parents to do the same for those that are in their custody, their kids, should absolutely be something we consider.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/government-closes-in-on-100m-social-media-fines-20260906-p60uv0.html

>>24844255

>>24844324

>>24894810

‘Hurt, humiliated’: 500 kids sue over Queensland gender care ban

STEPHEN RICE - 7 September 2026

1/2

Up to 500 Queensland children barred from accessing puberty blockers are seeking to overturn the ban – and claim $50,000 each in compensation – in an unprecedented class action that challenges the power of elected governments to stop gender-affirming medical treatment for minors.

The legal case, brought on behalf of a 12-year-old child, who was four years old when first admitted as a patient of the Queensland Children’s Gender Clinic, seeks to overturn a ministerial direction banning minors from receiving puberty blockers and hormone therapy at public health services if they hadn’t already started receiving that treatment.

The children, represented by the Queensland LGBTI Legal Service, are also demanding an apology from the government and compensation for each applicant of $50,000 for “hurt, humiliation, embarrassment and distress” caused by the directions.

In submissions to the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal seen by The Australian, lawyers from the LGBTI Legal Service argue that the treatment is “not experimental and it is supported by major medical bodies” and that it was delivered in Queensland “in accordance with national and international guidelines”.

Other jurisdictions have banned puberty blockers for people under 18, including the UK in 2024, after the Cass Review found there was not enough evidence about the long-term effects to know whether they were safe or beneficial.

The release of a national review into the effect of puberty blockers on Australian children and teenagers has been delayed until the end of the year, despite claims by federal Health Minister Mark Butler more than a year ago that he had “expedited” the process because of the “urgency for clear advice”.

The National Health and Medical Research Council was due to deliver its interim report – first announced in January 2025 – by the middle of this year but a spokesperson for the council said it now expected to finalise and publish the advice in November.

The delay means hundreds of children outside Queensland continue to be prescribed puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones at public health services following a de-facto national guideline from the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, despite the Cass ­Review finding it lacked rigour.

As at June 2024 there were 491 patients waiting to receive treatment at the Queensland Children’s Gender Clinic, ­although the number is understood to have grown in the six months before the ban.

The class action is an opt-out model, meaning every child who meets the class definition is automatically included unless they choose to opt out. It is understood few, if any, have chosen to do so.

If each applicant received the full amount, which is considered unlikely, the Queensland government would have to pay out about $25m.

The Queensland ban on stage one puberty blockers and stage two hormone therapies for under-18s, introduced in January 2025, was overturned by the Supreme Court in October last year but within hours, Health Minister Tim Nicholls reintroduced it with a ministerial direction.

The now 12-year-old original applicant in the case was being treated for gender dysphoria but was pre-pubescent at the time of the ban and had not started treatment.

The child’s lawyers argued in QCAT that the government had discriminated against this group of children, compared with adults without the same constraints and children who did not have gender dysphoria but were being treated for other conditions such as precocious puberty.

University of Queensland emeritus professor of law Patrick Parkinson, a family law and child-protection expert, said it was “a strange claim” that the government was not entitled to decide for whom it could provide publicly funded services.

“Nothing stops any of these children getting that treatment from private doctors and specialists,” Professor Parkinson said.

He noted that QCAT had not yet made a decision on the substance of the claim, only that it could proceed as a class action.

“Is it discrimination for the government to decide for valid reasons that a treatment is not either safe or effective for its purpose and therefore should not be used?” Professor Parkinson said.

“The answer is unequivocally, of course it’s got that power to ­decide. It’s not discriminating against a child when you say: the proposed treatment hasn’t been proven to be of benefit sufficiently, the results are poor, it’s not effective and may not be safe.

“It would be bizarre to say that the government can’t make that decision.”

(continued)

>>25014414

2/2

The Queensland government, represented by heavy-hitting silk Christopher Murdoch KC, told QCAT that the ban was to protect the health of children and adolescents “while appropriate investigations are conducted into the ­evidence base for stage one and stage two treatment for gender dysphoria”.

Mr Murdoch argued that courts did not have the power to order the government to withdraw a ministerial direction.

In June, QCAT senior member Samantha Traves ruled that the tribunal could “nevertheless determine that conduct undertaken pursuant to the direction was ­discriminatory or otherwise ­unlawful”.

“In any event, I do not accept the (government’s) submissions that the tribunal does not have the power to make orders which, in effect, seek to reverse the practical effect of discriminatory conduct, were that found to be the case,” Ms Traves said.

“Such an order could, for example, require the minister to take all steps within his power to reinstate access to hormone-therapy treatment for the members of the class within a specified time, leaving it to the minister to determine by what lawful means that outcome is achieved.”

Ms Traves ordered that Mr Nicholls be required to join the proceeding.

The government opposed the case being dealt with as a class action because it would include children who had never sought treatment.

However, Ms Traves found that all minors diagnosed with gender dysphoria who had not commenced treatment prior to the ban “may complain that because of their relevant attributes of gender identity, sex, age and impairment” the direction prevented them from being prescribed treatment.

“True it is, they may or may not have elected to seek treatment, but that is a different issue,” Ms Traves said.

It is highly unusual for QCAT to accept a class action (also known as a representative ­complaint) but Ms Traves said she did not consider the lack of precedent or experience in the tribunal in running such a case as “an insurmountable obstacle”.

Queensland LGBTI Legal ­Service president Ren Shike said: “This case matters to LGBTI Queenslanders well beyond the families directly involved. When a whole group of people can be cut off from healthcare by a stroke of a pen, it shakes confidence in the system for everyone. This case demands accountability for these decisions.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/hurt-humiliated-500-kids-sue-over-queensland-gender-care-ban/news-story/191ec1fb5574cc1dde5b529ff7c610e0

>>24877867

Ben Roberts-Smith war crimes trial: Investigators suppress names of 723 people listed in evidence

The decision by the Office of the Special Investigator suggests it plans a no-compromise approach to securing the conviction of the Victoria Cross awardee and seeking a life sentence.

Aaron Patrick - 8 September 2026

1/2

Investigators into Ben Roberts-Smith have hidden the identities of 723 people named in the evidence against him with pseudonyms, likely stretching from military officers to Afghan villagers, suggesting they intend to take a no-compromise approach to securing the conviction of the Victoria Cross awardee and seeking a life sentence.

A Local Court in Sydney heard on Tuesday prosecutors provided Mr Roberts-Smith’s legal team with what they said was a “substantial proportion” of the non-classified version of the evidence against him the day before today’s hearing, comprising about 4000 documents and 234 witness statements.

Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyer, Karen Espiner, complained to Judge Susan Horan about the use of numbered pseudonyms by the Office of the Special Investigator, a decision that will make it harder for her team to prepare a defence against five charges of the war crime of murder. She asked the judge to order the government agency to disclose which of the names have to be kept secret under the National Security Information Act.

“Their names are redacted in every document,” Ms Espiner said. “I am concerned that the vast number of additional pseudonyms has been applied for no reason.”

Of the 723 anonymous people listed in the evidence, 149 are from Mr Roberts-Smith’s unsuccessful defamation case against Nine newspapers and three journalists, 95 have “protected identity status” covering SAS soldiers, commandos and other members of the special forces, and another 11 cannot be identified because of legal suppression orders.

That potentially leaves 468 people who could be identified to Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers without breaching national security, according to Ms Espiner’s submissions in court. They could include expert witnesses, police officers, lawyers, journalists and dead Afghans.

The wholesale use of pseudonyms is a significant development that suggests the Office of the Special Investigator is determined to shield the identities of people involved in the case, even in a minor way, even though there are no rules prohibiting publication of the names of ex-SAS soldiers unless they could return to service.

Pseudonyms were used in Mr Roberts-Smith’s defamation lawsuit, a system that protected the names of men who provided the media with information or were accused of executing prisoners themselves.

Judge Horan refused Ms Espiner’s request, stating that she was “reluctant” to issue mandatory instructions to the government on a busy day for the court and both sides could seek another hearing if they failed to sort out the problem.

“I don’t want to do anything inadvertent to compromise sensitive material or identities,” she said.

Prosecution barrister Chelsea Brain suggested that a compromise could be reached between prosecutors, investigators and the defence lawyers.

“The prosecution is aware there is an issue of the extent of redactions that have been applied to the brief,” she said. “We have been in communication with Ms Espiner about the issue as have the Investigator.

“I just don’t know how long it is going to take to iron out. I suggest the parties attempt to iron it out between themselves and if that can’t be done we can we return.”

The complete evidence, a confidential document known as the sensitive brief of evidence, will not be available to Mr Roberts-Smith and his lawyers until the middle of November, Ms Brain told the court.

(continued)

>>25017334

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The Office of the Special Investigator has been investigating the former SAS corporal and other veterans of the Afghanistan War for five-and-a-half years at a cost of around $300 million.

Despite the long history of the case, which was first investigated in 2016 by NSW judge Paul Brereton, there have been considerable delays assembling the evidence, in part because there are no bodies and investigators do not have access to what they say were the crime scenes.

After Mr Roberts-Smith was arrested in front of his teenage daughters at Sydney Airport on April 7, a prosecutor told a judge he should not grant the veteran bail and promised the evidence would be “substantially served” by July.

In June, Ms Brain said the evidence would “be substantially complete and ready to serve by the 1st of September”.

The charges cannot leave the Local Court until the defence has access to all the evidence. When that happens, and prosecutors confirm they intend to continue, Mr Roberts-Smith will be required to enter a plea. The case will shift to the New South Wales Supreme Court for a trial if he pleads not guilty or sentencing, if he pleads guilty.

After being arrested he said “he always acted within his values, training, and the rules of engagement” during the war.

Prosecutors allege the war hero executed one prisoner himself and ordered other soldiers under his command to execute four others. Four other SAS veterans have been granted immunity from prosecution for murder to testify against him. Their identities are protected by court orders.

The case is scheduled to return to court in October. Mr Roberts-Smith did not attend today’s hearing.

https://thenightly.com.au/australia/ben-roberts-smith-war-crimes-trial-investigators-suppress-names-of-723-people-listed-in-evidence-c-22838469

>>24877867

>>24951155

>>24987975

>>25011092

Hastie comes at One Nation for ‘picking a fight with the wrong veteran’

Brittany Busch and James Massola - September 8, 2026

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Liberal leadership aspirant Andrew Hastie has defended testifying in accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation action against this masthead, branding One Nation and his critics who had never served their country “cowards”.

The former SAS captain has re-engaged with the populist minor party as he sits in the box seat to take on the home affairs portfolio for the Coalition, and after One Nation seized a safe Labor seat that sits in Hastie’s federal electorate in a state byelection last month.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson is a staunch defender of Roberts-Smith, who is now facing war crimes charges for allegedly murdering unarmed civilians and prisoners in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.

An online campaign supporting Roberts-Smith following the criminal charges has put Hastie in its sights, forcing him to upgrade his personal security. He has accused One Nation of fomenting online hate and trolling.

Hastie told the Federal Court in 2022 that it was a “fairly well-established rumour” that Roberts-Smith had kicked a person under the control of Australian troops off a cliff in Afghanistan, and had a reputation as a bully among the ranks.

The MP for Canning, in Western Australia, said in a newsletter to his supporters on Tuesday that the minor party had “picked a fight with the wrong veteran” after labelling him a traitor for testifying in the Roberts-Smith case.

“I’m calling time on cowards who have never served a day in the Australian Defence Force attacking my service record, my integrity, and my loyalty to Australia,” he said, adding he was subpoenaed and legally required to testify.

“One Nation are working to unseat me because they don’t believe in the rule of law, nor do they believe in holding Australian soldiers to high standards of battlefield conduct.”

Hastie said he had testified alongside more than 20 other combat veterans and SAS witnesses.

“For that, I’ve been called a rat, a traitor, a dog c*nt, and many other things,” he said.

Hastie has developed a reputation for taking the fight to One Nation, though last month signalled for the first time he could lose at the next election and said he hoped to receive the minor party’s preferences.

He is considered Opposition Leader Angus Taylor’s main rival after he was pressured to step aside before Taylor took the leadership from Sussan Ley this year.

(continued)

>>25017364

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Speculation over who would succeed Jonno Duniam as opposition home affairs spokesman has increased after the senator on Sunday brought forward his exit date to within the “next month or two”, but several of Hastie’s colleagues have questioned whether he wants the high-profile role.

Six Liberal MPs contacted by this masthead, who asked not to be named so they could detail internal discussions, all suggested Hastie was the best fit for home affairs, but sounded a note of caution over whether it might happen.

“I think they [Taylor’s supporters], they’re trying to get him [Hastie] back on the field and firing on all cylinders, they’re trying to entice him back,” one MP said.

A second MP said Hastie was “the logical choice, particularly given the role has been bulked up. It’s just a question of whether he wants it. I don’t think Gus has turned his mind to it yet; he was hoping Jonno would stay until the end of year”.

A third MP suggested Hastie was the logical choice, but “I’m not sure that he wants it”.

Hastie declined to comment.

Hastie held the home affairs position under former Liberal leader Sussan Ley but quit after four months, claiming he had been shut out from a meaningful role in developing immigration policy. He has previously indicated he wanted to broaden his credentials with an economics portfolio.

Duniam’s exit and the likely elevation of Hastie means Taylor will have to promote someone to fill Hastie’s industry and sovereign capability post in shadow cabinet.

Five members of the outer ministry – Tony Pasin, Aaron Violi, Angie Bell, James McGrath and Matt O’Sullivan – all have a claim to the final spot in shadow cabinet, while allies of assistant shadow minister Garth Hamilton are lobbying on his behalf because of his willingness to take on One Nation.

Taylor, according to allies, would prefer to wait until after parliament rises at the end of the year to unveil his revamped frontbench, and intends to keep the changes to a minimum to avoid making new enemies.

But the earlier-than-expected exit of Duniam, who had said he would leave by the end of the year, has brought the timeline forward.

The changes to Taylor’s frontbench come after shadow finance minister Claire Chandler recently began maternity leave, creating a vacancy that will be filled by deputy leader Jane Hume.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/hastie-comes-at-one-nation-for-picking-a-fight-with-the-wrong-veteran-20260908-p60vcw.html

https://www.facebook.com/hastieandrew/posts/1631357398344405

>>24611309 (pb)

>>24618462 (pb)

>>24676940 (pb)

>>24688255 (pb)

Packed courtroom for Neo-Nazi group White Australia's appeal against hate speech laws

Jade Toomey - 8 September 2026

There was barely a seat spare in the gallery of the High Court of Australia's largest courtroom this morning, when one of the country's highest-profile neo-Nazi groups began making its case against new federal hate speech laws.

Members of White Australia and legal teams, 12 members strong, had quickly filled Courtroom One, spilling observers into the upstairs mezzanine and other spare courtrooms where, prepared for the overflow, a video feed of the proceedings was playing.

Even though it determines the country's most important legal decisions, it is unusual for the High Court to be so popular.

But the constitutional case it is hearing will have significant legal and political consequences.

Laws introduced by the federal government in January, in the wake of the Bondi Beach attack, are being challenged by White Australia and its leader, convicted criminal Thomas Sewell, as constitutionally invalid.

The group, also known as the National Socialist Network, had been attempting to form a political party to run in federal elections when it was effectively outlawed in May by the federal government, which used the new laws to declare the party a prohibited hate group.

White Australia and Sewell argue the laws burden the implied freedom of political communication, breach the separation of powers, and were not validly made within the Commonwealth's range of powers.

But even before the hearings got underway, the High Court forecourt was busy.

Sewell was pacing quietly near a water fountain, where a group of men dressed in suits - many bearing reflective sunglasses in bright colours - were waiting for the court doors to open.

Other supporters arrived with a dedicated camera operator to film content in front of the High Court's tall glass facade.

A visible police presence accompanied them - while there are often a couple of officers on patrol when the High Court sits, it is unusual to see so many.

And of course there were cameras, as press gallery journalists ventured down from Capital Hill to cover the case.

New laws give government too much power, group says

Several legal experts believe there is a significant prospect the federal government's ban on White Australia may be overturned by the High Court.

The group, represented by barristers Peter King and Shahed Sharify argued the total ban was like using a "sledgehammer on a nut."

Even if the group's beliefs were "unpopular or controversial", they did not justify political overreach, Mr King said, adding that its members may be "awful but lawful."

Their submissions relied on the historical legal precedent set by the federal government's failed attempt to ban the Australian Communist Party in the 1950s.

The plaintiffs also criticised the hate speech laws for lacking "tailoring" - guardrails that it argued should curtail the government's wide-ranging power to ban a group.

The laws, White Australia said, offer banned groups no reviews, no hearings, no written submissions, no sliding scale of punishment, no carve-outs for fair comment, no retrospective time limit, and no ability to subpoena the minister for their reasons behind their decision to prohibit.

"It goes too far," Mr Sharify said.

White Australia rooted in violence, Commonwealth counters

The Commonwealth, led by barrister Brendan Lim, said the laws served a legitimate purpose of protecting the Australian community from organisations that engaged in seriously harmful conduct and posed a threat to Commonwealth security.

It argued White Australia's claim to be a "political party" was a cynical attempt to attract legal protection for prohibited speech.

"[The group] is a neo-Nazi organisation that has engaged in violent conduct and violent rhetoric calculated to inspire violent conduct," the Commonwealth submitted.

The High Court will also hear from interveners, including the Free Speech Union and state attorneys-general, before White Australia is afforded a chance to respond.

The hearings will continue into Wednesday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-08/white-australia-opens-arguments-appeal-against-hate-speech-laws/107129404

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>>24951155

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>>25017364

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie doubles down on One Nation fight; Pauline Hanson calls him a ‘wanker’

The senior Liberal MP accused One Nation of calling him a ‘traitor’, a charged denied by party leader Pauline Hanson, who has now called him ‘a wanker’.

Aaron Patrick - 08 SEP 2026

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Senior Liberal MP Andrew Hastie distributed copies of his confidential military records to supporters on Tuesday to help rebut what he said were slanderous attacks from One Nation on his military record and integrity.

The trigger for the emotional message, made in a mass email to supporters, was a Sunday newspaper article quoting One Nation leader Pauline Hanson stating that her party intended to take Mr Hastie’s Federal WA seat of Canning.

“I won’t take any more slander from One Nation,” Mr Hastie said. “Not after they called me a traitor to my own country.”

While One Nation has ridiculed the SAS veteran for being sensitive to criticism, Senator Hanson said she had never accused Mr Hastie of betraying his country.

“I’ve never called him a traitor,” she told The Nightly. “I will call him a wanker.”

Mr Hastie sent his email out around 7.30am Perth time just as a court hearing was about to began in Sydney for an update on the war crimes charges against his former SAS colleague, Ben Roberts-Smith.

Deserted by supporters

The tension between Mr Hastie and One Nation stems from his decision to testify against Mr Roberts-Smith in a defamation lawsuit in 2022. A recent survey found 69 per cent of One Nation voters admire the Victoria Cross awardee, a higher figure than for One Nation MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce.

In Tuesday’s message Mr Hastie said he gave evidence against Mr Roberts-Smith because he was issued with a subpoena and believed in the rule of law.

“For that, I’ve been called a rat, a traitor, a dog c*nt, and many other things,” he said in the email. “People I trusted have walked away from me or failed to defend me.

“One Nation doesn’t own ANZAC, it belongs to all Australians.

“Nor does One Nation get to redefine the profession of arms, and the standards that govern our battlefield conduct.

“One Nation are working to unseat me because they don’t believe in the rule of law, nor do they believe in holding Australian soldiers to high standards of battlefield conduct.

“Now I’m calling time on cowards who have never served a day in the Australian Defence Force attacking my service record, my integrity, and my loyalty to Australia.”

(continued)

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Indonesian ‘bot farms’

While Mr Hastie was among the witnesses required to appear in court for the case, which Mr Roberts-Smith lost, he was open about his close relationship with the journalists who first reported on the war crimes allegations against Mr Roberts-Smith made by other members of the elite regiment.

In late April Mr Roberts-Smith’s partner, Sarah Matulin, wrote “you’re a traitor” on an Anzac Day post by Mr Hastie. She later deleted the comment, which Mr Roberts-Smith said through a lawyer was a mistake to write.

Senator Hanson has repeatedly offered support for Mr Roberts-Smith. “He’s gone and done the job he was trained to do,” she said after his arrest. “As far as I am concerned, Ben Roberts-Smith is a war hero to me.”

Last week, after One Nation won a by-election in a State seat partially within Canning, she told the Sunday Times: “If he thinks he’s going to be saved, and that I won’t run a candidate in his seat, he’s wrong.”

Mr Hastie, the shadow industry minister, has received a high level of criticism on social media for his stance on Mr Roberts-Smith, who has been charged with five counts of the war crime of murder. He has described receiving a torrent of abusive emails, said he has been targeted by Indonesian “bot farms”, and has been provided extra security protection for his family and his electorate office in the suburb of Mandurah about 70km south of Perth.

Military records

An SAS captain for five years, Mr Hastie took the unusual step of making public 19 pages of his performance reviews from the regiment marked “OFFICIAL: Sensitive”.

The reports praise his communication skills, judgment and ethical standards.

“He is well regarded for being a balanced and thoughtful officer who carefully forms his own views without being clouded by emotion or ‘group think’”, an assessment dated October 23, 2012, says.

Three days earlier he was part of an operation to Syahchow in southern Afghanistan where Mr Roberts-Smith allegedly killed one prisoner and ordered a fellow SAS soldier to kill another prisoner, according to federal prosecutors.

Mr Hastie, who has said he may be a witness in Mr Roberts-Smith’s murder trial, testified in the defamation case that he did not see anyone executed. He said the other soldier allegedly involved looked “nervous or anxious” after the incident and Mr Roberts-Smith, who was then a corporal, said: “Just a couple more dead c*nts.”

One of the performance reviews states that Mr Hastie failed the SAS’s close quarters battle course in 2011, which requires soldiers to storm buildings and aircraft to rescue hostages. He was given command of an SAS platoon, known as a troop, in 2012 and received positive reviews from his superiors.

In one of his last performance reviews before he left the army, Mr Hastie was ranked fourth out of five captains in his company, which is known as a squadron in the SAS, and recommended for a promotion to major.

Instead, he chose to become a politician, representing a seat south of Perth, and considered running for leader of the Liberal Party at the start of this year.

The performance reviews were previously shared with News24 commentator Andrew Bolt. Mr Hastie did not respond when approached through his office to discuss his message.

https://thenightly.com.au/politics/australia/liberal-pm-andrew-hastie-doubles-down-on-one-nation-fight-pauline-hanson-calls-him-a-wanker-c-22840080

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One Nation accused of politicising Ben Roberts-Smith case

Mr Hastie has been the target of One Nation criticism over his decision to testify in the defamation case brought by Mr Roberts-Smith, a former SAS soldier and Victoria Cross recipient who is now fighting war crimes charges.

Mr Roberts-Smith lost his case against the Nine papers in 2023 after the Federal Court found, on the civil standard of the balance of probabilities, that allegations he was involved in unlawful killings in Afghanistan were substantially true.

He has since been charged with five counts of the war crime of murder over the alleged killings of five Afghan men between 2009 and 2012, which he has denied.

Senator Hanson has repeatedly vocalised her support for Mr Roberts-Smith, vowing not to "abandon" him.

Her party has also campaigned with posters declaring "One Nation stands with him".

Mr Hastie has accused One Nation of politicising the case.

"I stand with a lot of Australians who believe in the rule of law, who believe that Australian soldiers should be held to high standards of battlefield conduct," he said.

"Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce have never, ever served a day in our uniform overseas on operations.

"They don't get to define Anzac Day or Anzac or the values that underpin our defence force."

One Nation 'picked a fight with the wrong veteran'

Earlier this week, Mr Hastie vowed to make the fight for his seat a "costly exercise" in time, money and political capital for One Nation, declaring the party would at best achieve a "Pyrrhic victory".

The shadow industry minister's seat of Canning covers a large part of the state electorate of Secret Harbour, which One Nation won in a by-election last month.

Senator Hanson has made no secret of her desire to win Mr Hastie's seat at the next election, prompting a WA paper to splash "I'm Canning for you next" on its front page over the weekend.

Speaking on Wednesday, Mr Hastie said he was going to fight "exceptionally hard" to hold onto Canning against both One Nation and Labor at the next election in 2028.

"I'm not worried about losing my seat; I'm worried about being called a traitor after serving my country," he said.

Mr Hastie said One Nation had "picked a fight with the wrong veteran".

"They thought I'd just lie down and cop it; guess what, you've unlocked an achievement, and I'm going to fight all the way," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-09/andrew-hastie-demands-one-nation-delete-traitor-cartoon-on-x/107134606

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/andrew-hastie-coy-on-leadership-ambition-but-slams-lying-cowards-one-nation/news-story/50ed1b0cf961a8aaa2aa6800ed9caad9

https://x.com/PaulineHansonOz/status/2080417437003223447

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y8XTOe64RDs

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Investigator Geoffrey Watson SC’s “Rotting from the Top” report into the Victorian CFMEU under controversial boss John Setka named Top Up Labour as a company with “strong links” to Mr Setka and another controversial former Victorian union official, John Perkovic.

The report said Top Up generated a turnover in excess of $70m and quoted unnamed industry experts who described “a labour hire EBA as a licence to print money”.

Mr Watson alleged Top Up was one of the “largest and most profitable of the few labour hire companies with a CFMEU EBA (in Victoria)”.

“Perkovic has routinely supported Top Up to win lucrative contracts by directing contractors to get their labour hire from Top Up,” he wrote in his report, tabled in the Queensland inquiry earlier this year.

In Queensland, the CFMEU has been in administration since 2024, when many officials, including state secretary Michael Ravbar and assistant state secretary Jade Ingham, were ousted.

It comes weeks after police launched a separate operation on the CFMEU headquarters in Melbourne over secret commissions allegedly offered to union officials, and allegations of drug trafficking and fraud.

CFMEU commission of inquiry senior counsel assisting Patrick Wheelahan KC on Wed­nesday said Queensland police detectives seconded to the inquiry had worked closely with Victorian Police on the joint investigation.

“The commission was established to investigate allegations of misconduct in Queensland’s construction industry, including the relationships between unions, employers, contractors and other industry participants,” Mr Wheel­ahan said.

“Where information obtained through that work raises potential criminal conduct, the commission works closely with the appropriate law enforcement agencies.

“Today’s operation demonstrates that information provided to the commission can be investigated and, where appropriate, acted upon by police.”

In March, Mr Wheelahan said the commission was duty-bound to stop alleged Victorian corruption flowing north. “The money pot is clearly now going to be in Queensland in the build-up to the (2032) Olympics,” he said.

In Queensland, the Liberal National Party government recently decided to extend the commission of inquiry for an extra 18 months to the end of next year, increasing the budget of the taxpayer-funded probe to $95m.

The inquiry will hold more hearings next month.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/police-raid-cfmeu-headquarters-over-brisbane-2032-olympic-corruption-claims/news-story/35cfa1b9febc605bbc0bec6e9800b948

https://www.cfmeuinquiry.qld.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/897476/gw-13-watson-report-victoria-redacted.pdf

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QVRDEvnGhU

>>25017386

White Australia party is ‘modern manifestation’ of Nazi movement and should be banned, commonwealth tells high court

The former National Socialist Network is challenging ban in high court, arguing law breaches implied freedom of political communication

Sarah Basford Canales - 9 Sep 2026

The White Australia party is a “modern manifestation” of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi movement and would motivate hate crimes against sections of the country, the high court has heard.

The White Australia party, formerly known as the National Socialist Network (NSN), was designated as an illegal hate group in May after the Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) passed on its recommendation to the home affairs minister, Tony Burke.

It is challenging the ban at the high court over two days this week, with its lawyers arguing the law breaches the implied freedom of political communication and that handing the decision to Burke breaches the separation of powers.

It also argues the commonwealth does not have the power to ban political parties, citing a major cold war-era high court ruling in 1951, which overturned a ban on the Communist party of Australia.

The commonwealth’s lawyer, Brendan Lim, told the court on Wednesday that the group sought to create a political party after anti-hate laws passed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack threatened to disband it.

The hate group listing means that supporting, funding, training, recruiting and joining the group constitutes a criminal offence with a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.

Lim said the group sought “protection” under the guise of creating a political party but remained the same group with the same goals.

The barrister cited a series of examples, including inflammatory rhetoric to encourage communal violence, an alleged physically violent attack by some of its members on Camp Sovereignty in 2025, and past criminal convictions of its leader, Thomas Sewell.

Justice Robert Beech-Jones asked whether the commonwealth believed the group were the “modern manifestation” of Hitler’s Nazi movement. Lim responded: “Yes.”

“There are few legitimate reasons, outside of history books and museum, that warrant the use of Nazi symbols,” Lim said.

Citing a briefing from ASIO and public speeches by its director general, Mike Burgess, Lim said the prohibited hate group listing was necessary because the group were security conscious and its operations savvy enough to work within the limits of the law.

“The existence of the group itself is the source of harm,” Lim said.

Lim said stochastic terrorism – the use of media and public discourse to demonise sections of the community – could lead lone wolves or fringe members to commit racially motivated hate crimes.

Lim said the anti-hate laws go “no further than necessary” to remove that harm.

Beech-Jones asked whether the party represented a greater threat to Australia’s nationhood than that of the Communist party in 1950 when prime minister Robert Menzies first banned the party. The ban was overturned the following year as constitutionally invalid.

Lim said the current context was different but both parties represented “great threats” to the country.

Lawyers for the party argued on Tuesday that a total ban on the party was akin to using a “sledgehammer on a nut”.

Barrister Shahed Sharify argued the law’s breach of implied freedom of political communication was “authoritarian in nature” and suggested it could be used to outlaw any political party where its members had threatened or engaged in a hate crime with the assistance of the organisation.

Sharify said the banning of hate groups was determined by a politician, based on an opinion with no judicial fairness to appeal that decision.

Sharify said the law’s purposes would be better served by handing that decision to a judge rather than a “busy minister who flicks through a brief and decides in two hours”.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/09/white-australia-party-modern-manifestation-adolf-hitler-nazi-movement-commonwealth-high-court-ntwnfb

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Even after denials from Hanson and Barnaby Joyce that they had not personally called Hastie a traitor, there was no stopping the fight now it was started.

“I would say that Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce are lying cowards, and I’ll say it again, so there’s no ambiguity,” Hastie told News24.

“They are lying cowards … when you start calling me a traitor to my own country, then we have a big, big problem.”

As the story grew, so did the sense Hanson and Joyce had been caught off guard.

Joyce told The Australian he had never called his former Coalition colleague a traitor, going as far to say he had “never said a bad word about him”.

“There has now come to my attention a satirical cartoon that made the claim. I had not seen it nor was I aware of it,” Joyce said.

Hanson’s own defence began to crack on Wednesday evening when she made her own News24 appearance that descended quickly into a fiery exchange between the host and One Nation leader.

Reiterating her defence that she had never personally called Hastie a traitor, Hanson invoked the fact he had been branded as such by his own supporters after voting for Labor’s hate group laws.

Pressed on whether she “owned the words” in her video, Hanson exploded.

“It’s a satirical cartoon for Christ’s sake. Barnaby Joyce was classified as a beetroot. He’s now part of the party. Did he jump up and down about it?” she said.

“This is just completely a storm in teacup.”

But the storm is just getting started.

And for Hastie, who is convinced beating back One Nation is the first step to persuading voters the Liberals are up for taking on Anthony Albanese, it is unlikely to be confined to a teacup.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/how-ben-robertssmith-and-a-cartoon-led-to-andrew-hasties-biggest-strike-on-pauline-hanson/news-story/a2d7d7d86b8bc42bde233f26ab22f330

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZ4gZInAHlw

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Labor frontbencher Madeleine King also leapt to Hastie’s defence, commending him for standing up to Hanson.

“I think how Pauline Hanson has treated Andrew Hastie is appalling – one of the more appalling things I have seen in my whole career,” she told News24.

RSL Australia said what began as a political dispute had gone too far.

“When a person’s military service is used as the punchline, when the word ‘traitor’ is thrown at someone who has worn the uniform and deployed on operations, that stops being politics and starts being an attack on every veteran’s service,” the nation’s largest ex-service organisation said in a statement on social media.

Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and opposition defence spokesman James Paterson both came to their colleague’s defence.

“Andrew Hastie served this country with distinction as a member of the special forces of the SAS … I think [the cartoon is] wrong,” Taylor said.

Paterson said that if One Nation did not take down the cartoon, “it’s not just an attack on Andrew Hastie, it’s an attack on every veteran and every serving member of the ADF”.

Hastie said Hanson’s argument that she had never called him a traitor was “BS”.

“She posted it and pinned it on her X account, and she authorised it,” he said. “So to play dumb is just ridiculous.”

Hastie said Hanson was not fit to be prime minister, and that the minor party leader’s angry appearance on News24 (formerly Sky News) on Wednesday was evidence she was not leadership material.

“She showed herself to be brittle. She’s happy to make cartoons that are highly defamatory of other people, and then as soon as she gets a bit of pushback she goes to water,” Hastie said.

Hastie said he would not be pursuing legal action because Hanson was backed by mining billionaire Gina Rinehart – a staunch defender of Roberts-Smith.

“Why would I walk into a fight that I can’t win financially? But yes, I’m going to impose costs politically,” he told Radio National.

Asked by this masthead how much he believed One Nation’s attacks on him were driven by Rinehart’s influence, Hastie said: “That’s a question for Pauline Hanson. Suffice to say, she enjoys a good time with Gina Rinehart.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/leave-our-veterans-alone-jacqui-lambie-backs-hastie-in-one-nation-stoush-20260910-p60w3f.html

https://www.facebook.com/RSLNational/posts/the-recent-comments-from-senator-hanson-towards-andrew-hastie-mp-go-beyond-polit/1509883764492575/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IX4LAVaeQRM

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>>24920146

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>>24936613

‘Malcolm Turnbull is wrong’: UK general hits back over AUKUS shipbuilding

Nicola Smith and Emma Rapaport - Sep 9, 2026

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One of the UK’s most senior AUKUS officials has fired back at Malcolm Turnbull’s criticism that British shipbuilding is in disarray, after the former prime minister stoked doubts that Britain would meet its promises on the nuclear-powered submarine pact, leaving Australian defences exposed.

“The UK shipbuilding industry is not in disarray. The UK shipbuilding industry is increasing its capacity to build,” said Major General Mark Totten, director of SSN capability at the UK’s Ministry of Defence.

“I’m very confident that Malcolm Turnbull is wrong … it is not in disarray, and it’s being invested in at scale,” Totten told The Australian Financial Review, pointing to a £64 billion ($120 billion) investment over the next four years in the “defence nuclear enterprise”, which includes new submarines.

Turnbull’s criticism, including a warning that AUKUS left Australia at risk of a period of “zero submarine capability”, appeared in a submission to a crowdsourced inquiry led by Midnight Oil frontman Peter Garrett into the viability of the timeline, budget and strategic purpose of the $368 billion program.

AUKUS, which was secretly negotiated by former prime minister Scott Morrison and first unveiled in September 2021, controversially overturned a deal with a French shipbuilder – signed under Turnbull in 2016 – to deliver 12 conventional diesel-electric submarines.

The first stage of the program’s so-called “Pillar 1” would see British and American nuclear submarines rotating through Perth from 2027 before the sale of US Navy Virginia-class attack submarines to Australia in the early 2030s. In the latter stage in the early 2040s, Australia will construct a new SSN-AUKUS fleet in Adelaide, using a British design.

Alongside operating as the primary platform designer, the UK will play a central role in the trilateral agreement with Australia and the US by providing Rolls-Royce sealed nuclear reactor units and training and maintenance assistance.

Totten joined a high-level British delegation to Australia this week to assess progress ahead of the program’s fifth anniversary on September 15. Part of the group’s mission was to offer reassurance the UK is up to the task of providing what Australia needs.

“We have been clear with Australia that we are on track to deliver our submarine in the late 2030s. The principal dependencies that Australia has on us, the production of the nuclear steam raising plant is going extremely well,” he said of the propulsion system that will power the submarines.

“We want to reassure the Australian system that our design process is progressing well,” said Totten.

“We’re being very careful to spend the right amount of time to design the right submarine that both our nations will use and make sure it can meet the future threat that we forecast.”

(continued)

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A report by the House of Commons defence committee in April warned of “shortcomings and failings” that threatened the delivery of AUKUS, urging greater political leadership and “significant and sustained funding to regenerate a depleted submarine industrial base”.

It said the UK’s commitment to increase nuclear submarine visits to Australia had “already placed severe pressure on an overstretched Royal Navy”.

But Totten said the UK was “committed” to the rotation of its submarines to Australia.

“Of course, we have a smaller submarine fleet than the US, so we have to manage our submarine deployments with care. But this is a high priority for the UK.”

A visit of the HMS Anson – the UK’s only attack-class submarine currently at sea – to deliver maintenance and industrial support in WA in February was interrupted when war broke out in the Gulf, prompting critics to question the UK’s capacity to maintain a presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Totten countered that the lesson to be learnt was the Anson’s “range of capabilities” and “flexibility” and “potency” of the platform, which showed why Australia wanted to invest.

The strength of UK, US and Australian co-operation on AUKUS had already had a deterrent effect in the region, he said.

The British visit overlaps with a US delegation led by former chair of the US House Foreign Affairs Committee and AUKUS champion Michael McCaul, who is expected to meet with Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles on Thursday.

“Australia is really the beachhead of the Indo-Pacific, and that’s why AUKUS is so important,” McCaul told a space defence investor event in Sydney on Tuesday.

“When people ask me what keeps President Xi up at night, I say AUKUS.”

McCaul said while Pillar 1 was “going really well,” he wanted to ensure progress under Pillar 2, which oversees co-operation on innovation, AI, quantum computing and advanced weapons systems.

“You have a lot of private capital and private equity that wants to invest but they also want to make sure the alliance is strong and there’s no uncertainty in the market.”

https://www.afr.com/politics/federal/malcolm-turnbull-is-wrong-says-top-uk-general-20260909-p60vmw

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>>24994685

‘Almost proudly’ anti-Alan Jones: Peter FitzSimons gives evidence in Sydney court

Michaela Whitbourn and Clare Sibthorpe - September 10, 2026

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Warning: Graphic content

Author and journalist Peter FitzSimons told a court he is “almost proudly” anti-Alan Jones as he gave evidence in the former 2GB heavyweight’s indecent assault and sexual touching trial in Sydney.

FitzSimons, a columnist at The Sydney Morning Herald, testified in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday that he had a phone call in 2019 with a then-unidentified man who is now a central complainant in Jones’ criminal trial.

He said the man, known as complainant “C” in the case, spoke to him anonymously and alleged that Jones had touched and kissed him without his consent. FitzSimons had been put in contact with the complainant by Jones’ then-2GB colleague Ray Hadley.

The court heard FitzSimons sent his contemporaneous notes of the call to the Herald’s chief investigative reporter, Kate McClymont, referring to the man as a “source”.

Jones’ barrister, Gabrielle Bashir, SC, put to him that he had published multiple articles that were critical of her client, and said: “You were at that time [2019], and you remain, publicly and unashamedly anti-Jones.”

“Almost proudly,” FitzSimons replied.

He told the court that in 2017 he wrote two articles referring in glowing terms to Jones’ skill as a rugby coach, but agreed he has also accused Jones of bullying, telling untruths, and pursuing agendas.

‘Call if you can. Double bingo’

The court heard that FitzSimons sent a text message to McClymont the day before speaking to the complainant, after a phone call with Hadley.

“Call if you can. Double bingo. See email please,” he wrote on October 15, 2019. “Source is obviously Ray Hadley. The [complainant is] calling me at 7.30[am].”

In the email, which was also sent to the Herald’s then-editor Lisa Davies, he sent notes of his call with Hadley but did not name him.

“Just put phone down after talking for 20 minutes to authoritative source,” he wrote.

Asked if Hadley wanted to be anonymous at this time, he told the court: “If I didn’t name Ray Hadley … I presume that to be the case.”

‘A Kate McClymont story’

Bashir put to FitzSimons that he was “not an independent investigator when it came to Mr Jones”.

“As at 15 October, 2019, you had a longstanding and publicly recorded dislike of Mr Jones, didn’t you?” she asked.

“My record on Mr Jones and my criticisms of Mr Jones [are] very public,” FitzSimons said. “From the first, I felt that it was a Kate McClymont story, it was not a ‘me’ story.”

He testified this was “clearly a potentially extremely important story” and McClymont is “an investigative journalist of great repute”.

It was “not a story I could possibly pursue on my own”, FitzSimons said. He was happy to help McClymont if required, and if the Herald decided “it was a credible-enough story to pursue”.

Within days of the call, however, he said Hadley told him the complainant was “spiralling”. FitzSimons said he told Hadley to tell him “we will not pursue” the matter.

FitzSimons told the court he had started looking into a potential story about Jones in about September 2019, after being contacted again by a different young man who had sent him a “very strong email” in 2017.

(continued)

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The Herald reporting

The court has heard that “C” spoke directly to McClymont years later, in late 2023. She reported on his allegations, among others, in a story that year.

FitzSimons said he did not recall any contact with the man after 2019 until McClymont’s article was published.

NSW Police set up Strike Force Bonnefin in response to McClymont’s reporting. Jones was arrested in November 2024.

Jones, 85, is standing trial on 20 counts of indecent assault and two counts of sexual touching without consent involving six male complainants over a 17-year period from 2003 to 2020. The former 2GB host denies any of the alleged physical acts occurred.

Of the 22 charges in the trial, eight indecent assault charges relate to “C”.

The call with ‘C’

FitzSimons said the man now known as “C” told him in their 2019 call that he was in his early 20s when he worked for Jones, and he was drawn into the broadcaster’s “inner orbit”.

He said the man alleged Jones had touched him in the car, and had first put his hand on his knee, then his groin, and would “stroke his penis, or hold his penis”.

“He made absolutely clear that he was revolted by what had happened,” FitzSimons said. “He was very tearful.” FitzSimons said the man told him he didn’t say no, but he had pushed Jones’ hand away.

He said the man also alleged Jones kissed him in the lift of the broadcaster’s apartment building, including on one occasion when his “hands were fully laden with heavy shopping bags”.

Jones had pushed him up against the wall, “grabbed him on the groin” and kissed him, he recalled the man said. FitzSimons said the complainant “used the word ‘romantically’” to describe the alleged kiss, and he recalled this because he felt it was “a surprising word to use”.

The complainant also alleged Jones touched him under the table at a restaurant.

“He said that … Mr Jones’ hand went onto his penis and he was gripping his penis,” FitzSimons said.

He said the man told him he saw “two people laughing at his discomfort”, and he believed the complainant said one of them was the then 2GB host Jason Morrison. Morrison has denied witnessing the alleged incident.

“C” has alleged the touching occurred at all times over his clothing.

FitzSimons agreed during his cross-examination that he wrote in 2018 that Jones was a “tumour on the body politic”. “I am very proud of that quote,” he said.

But he said he also likened Jones’ coaching to “the introduction of nuclear power into Australian rugby, where previously everything had been wind-driven”.

A new complainant is expected to give evidence in the trial on Monday.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/nsw/almost-proudly-anti-alan-jones-peter-fitzsimons-gives-evidence-in-sydney-court-20260910-p60w67.html