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#31 - Part 1

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>19190812 Peak obstetricians’ body warns women at risk after abortion pill access expanded - Anthony Albanese’s expansion of abortion pill access puts women at risk of complications, or even death, an obstetrician body says, raising alarm over the government not properly considering the unintended consequences of the policy.

>>19199832 Doctors’ plea for answers on transgender treatment in Australia - The specialist youth and adolescent arm of the nation’s peak psychiatry college is pushing for national guidelines on the care of young people with gender distress and gender dysphoria as doctors around the country say they feel muzzled and fearful of expressing professional views on gender medicine.

>>19199925 Video: Daniel Andrews reveals Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games will not go ahead - Australia’s Commonwealth Games chief has slammed Victoria’s decision to pull out of the event, questioning the sums used to justify the call. Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday morning confirmed the event would not go ahead in Victoria in 2026 and blamed a higher-than-forecast cost for the sudden cancellation.

>>19204858 Video: Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang’s sex book for kids sold at Big W sparks debate - Disgruntled parents have raised concerns about a “graphic” sex book targeted at children as young as eight being sold at Big W. Dr Melissa Kang and Yumi Stynes’ book, Welcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and figuring it out, released in May, is billed as a “frank, age-appropriate introductory guide to sex and sexuality for teens of all genders”. “Why is Big W selling this GRAPHIC SEX GUIDE FOR KIDS in Aus which includes how-tos for anal/oral sex, masturbation & heavily pushes gender ideology?” Rachael Wong, chief executive of Women’s Forum Australia, wrote on Twitter, sharing the video.

>>19205022 USS Canberra strengthens ties with US, littorally - They’re derided by many as ­“Little Crappy Ships”, but a senior US Navy officer says the Littoral Combat Ship USS Canberra will play an important role in the ­contested Indo-Pacific. The US Navy vessel cruised into Sydney Harbour on Tuesday ahead of its official commissioning on Saturday. The vessel, designed by Australian-owned Austal USA, will be the second US ship to be named in honour of the original HMAS Canberra, sunk by the Japanese in 1942.

>>19205027 Video: USS Canberra arrives in Sydney to be commissioned for the US Navy - Today saw a historic moment in Australia's military alliance with the US, as an American warship arrived in Sydney to be commissioned into the US Navy. The USS Canberra will be named in honour of a piece of our own military history. - 7NEWS Australia

>>19205037 USS Canberra arrives in Sydney to be commissioned - USS Canberra has arrived in Sydney ahead of the first ever commissioning of a US navy ship in an allied country, making it a historic moment for Australia’s military alliance. - Sky News Australia

>>19205053 USS Canberra arrives in Sydney - Australia welcomed the USS Canberra to Sydney Harbour, with HMAS Canberra guiding the Independence-variant littoral combat ship to berth alongside Fleet Base East ahead of the formal commissioning on 22 July. - Defence Australia

>>19211309 ADF captain's choice to wear female army uniform overhauls gender diverse policy - When Captain Jesse Noble realised they were gender diverse, it "was kind of like getting hit in the face with a truck". "I really associate with both genders," Captain Noble said. Captain Noble told their boss the female dress standards provided a greater range of gender expression in terms of who they were as a person. Captain Noble's boss gave immediate interim approval to wear the female uniform, and the request was then escalated up the chain of command. In April, the forces command issued a new directive stipulating that gender-fluid, non-binary and intersex people could choose the uniform, grooming, physical standards and accommodation that best aligned with their gender identity.

>>19211365 Welcome to Sex guide for kids rockets to No. 1 after Big W removes it from the shelves - A sex education guide for children has shot to No. 1 on the Amazon online sales charts after being pulled from the shelves at Big W and Target. Welcome to Sex by the former “Dolly Doctor” Melissa Kang and ABC presenter Yumi Stynes contains frank descriptions of sex, alongside cartoon drawings. It has been the subject of a boycott movement by some parents who say the sex tips it offers are far too graphic for children.

#31 - Part 2

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>19211387 'No, your kids shouldn't send nudes even with their faces removed. Here's why' - A cyber safety expert has condemned a controversial book written for children as young as eight, describing it as “dangerous” and “complete misinformation”. The book, Welcome to Sex: Your no-silly-questions guide to sexuality, pleasure and figuring it out by Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang, has sparked debate around sex education for children, with many parents furious. One section of the book discusses sending nude pictures and sexting, which Dr Kang likens to love letters that were once sent before phones, ignoring the innocence of those letters, which were generally written by adults, compared to the explicit pictures and videos that can be sent today and shared to the world instantly. Cyber safety expert with 27 years in law enforcement, Susan McLean, said she was concerned about the peddling of misinformation on such an important topic. “These people haven’t a clue about the reality of the digital world,” she stresses. “They are encouraging behaviour which is likely to cause a young person to be arrested and charged and that is not ok.”

>>19220977 Victorian MP sent ‘hit list’ letter threatening critics of Cambodian leader Hun Sen - Police in Australia are investigating a threatening letter received by a Victorian state MP which warned that he and other critics of Cambodian strongman Hun Sen in Australia would be targeted by an assassination team. The letter was sent to the Melbourne office of Labor’s Meng Heang Tak before Sunday’s election in Cambodia, and said his name appeared on a hit list, along with other vocal opponents of the government in Phnom Penh.

>>19221187 ‘Taking a leaf out of Trumpism’: Yumi Stynes on the ‘misguided’ backlash to sex book - A new Australian sex education book has topped Amazon’s bestseller list and some local bookshops are running out of copies, after a conservative backlash led to it being pulled from the shelves of major retailer Big W. Welcome to Sex, written by Yumi Stynes and Dr Melissa Kang, the longest-serving expert behind Dolly Doctor, reached the top of the Amazon charts on Thursday, two months after its release on May 17. Stynes said she was surprised by the backlash. “We really have a lot of credentials,” she said. “We’ve got an army of professors, who fact-checked and contributed to the book. So for people to try and shame us or make us feel like we haven’t done the work, it’s just really misguided. It does make me think that they’re taking a leaf out of the book of Trumpism and fearmongering there.”

>>19226413 USS Canberra Commissions in Rare Overseas Ceremony - Leaders of the U.S. Navy joined their Australian counterparts on a windy winter day at the ancestral home of the Royal Australian Navy to welcome USS Canberra (LCS-30) to the American fleet. Moored at the RAN naval base HMAS Kuttabul in the middle of Sydney harbor, Littoral Combat Ship Canberra (LCS-30), was commissioned in a rare overseas ceremony on Saturday. The LCS’ commissioning was a “celebration” and demonstration of the alliance between Australia and the United States, Australia Governor-General David Hurley said at the ceremony.

>>19226422 Video: USS Canberra officially launched into duty in Australia making history - A US warship has been officially launched into duty in Australia making history. The new USS Canberra will be based on this side of the Pacific but the all-American celebration was overshadowed by a stoush over submarines. - 7NEWS Australia

>>19226423 Video: US Navy warship USS Canberra commissioned in Sydney - Combat ship USS Canberra has been officially commissioned in Sydney on Saturday, making it the first-ever commissioning of a US Navy ship in an allied country. Australian and American dignitaries have reflected on the significance of the event. - Sky News Australia

>>19226427 Video: USS Canberra (LCS 30) Commissioning on 22 July, 2023. - USS Canberra (LCS 30) has arrived at the Royal Australian Navy’s Fleet Base East in Sydney for a one-of-a-kind commissioning later this week. The United States Navy’s 16th Independence Class littoral combat ship arrived on 18 July ahead of its commissioning on 22 July, before returning to its homeport of San Diego. Canberra is the first US Navy warship to be commissioned in an allied country and the second US Navy ship to bear the namesake of Canberra. The ship, launched in June 2021, was named Canberra after the Australian cruiser HMAS Canberra which was sunk following the Battle of Savo Island against Japanese forces on 9 August 1942. - Defense Now

#31 - Part 3

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>19226500 ‘Don’t wait until one of us dies in a pool of blood’: MPs on hit list for criticising Cambodian leader - A former Victorian Labor MP named on a “death list” of Australian critics of Cambodian strongman Hun Sen says the Albanese government is still allowing the dictator’s enforcers to enter Australia despite promises to crack down on foreign interference by the regime. Former Clarinda MP Hong Lim was among several community leaders targeted in an anonymous letter sent to his successor in the seat, Labor MP Meng Heang Tak, who was also warned he would be killed if he did not stop his criticism of Hun Sen.

>>19231951 Australia to buy 20 C-130 Hercules aircraft from the US for $6.6 billion - Australia said Monday it will buy 20 new C-130 Hercules from the United States in a 9.8 billion Australian dollar ($6.6 billion) deal that will increase by two-thirds the size of the Australian air force’s fleet of its second-largest heavy transport aircraft. The announcement follows the U.S. Congress' approval last year of a larger sale of 24 of the Lockheed Martin-manufactured propeller-driven aircraft.

>>19232078 Donald J. Trump ReTruth: @KickDreaming - "NOTHING CAN STOP WHAT IS COMING. NOTHING." - https://truthsocial.com/@KickDreaming/posts/110767012220636077

>>19232078 Q Post #4944 - Are you ready to finish what we started? 'Nothing can stop what is coming' is not just a catch-phrase. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4944 - https://qalerts.pub/?q=nothing+can+stop - https://qalerts.pub/?q=NCSWIC

>>19237718 Transgender swimmers to compete in world-first test event later in 2023 - International swimming bosses are preparing to take the plunge and push ahead with a world-first event for elite transgender competitors. The details of where and when the test event will take place remain top secret, at least for now, because World Aquatics, the global governing body for the swimming, knows just how politically divisive the issue is. However, highly-placed sources have told this masthead that the sport’s leaders have made the decision to proceed with a test event later in 2023.

>>19243683 Facebook owner Meta ordered to pay $20m fine to Australian government - Two subsidiaries of Facebook parent company Meta have been ordered to pay the federal government $20m in penalties for contraventions of Australian consumer law, over claims the subsidiaries secretly collected and aggregated users’ personal data for Facebook’s commercial benefit.

>>19250307 Julia Gillard’s ex Tim Mathieson to plead guilty to sexual assault - Julia Gillard’s former partner, Tim Mathieson, will plead guilty to sexually touching a woman without her consent. The 66-year-old hairdresser, who became the first Australian man to be nicknamed the nation’s “first bloke” when Ms Gillard ousted Kevin Rudd as Labor leader in 2010, is expected to admit to sucking a woman’s nipple without her consent in an incident that took place in Brunswick on March 13 last year.

>>19250396 Controversial blockbuster Sound of Freedom heads to Australian cinemas - "The controversial American hit film Sound of Freedom, about a Homeland Security agent who quits his job to take on child traffickers, is headed for Australian cinemas. The unheralded thriller has stormed to stunning box office success in the US - taking more than $US130 million ($191 million) in three weeks - after being released by self-described faith-based distributor Angel Studios. While it tells a non-partisan story, the film has been championed by both mainstream conservatives and far-right figures including Steve Bannon and My Pillow proprietor Mike Lindell as well as followers of the QAnon movement." - Garry Maddox - smh.com.au

>>19256981 ‘Hugely significant’: Australia to manufacture and export missiles to US - Australia is set to begin manufacturing its own missiles within two years under an ambitious plan that will allow the country to supply guided weapons to the United States and possibly export them to other nations. The push to accelerate the creation of a local missile manufacturing industry in co-operation with the US will be one of the centrepiece announcements at the Australia-United States Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations.

#31 - Part 4

Australian Politics and Society - Part 4

>>19257385 Video: QAnon-link film gets local release - "Sound of Freedom, a micro-budget independent film with links to QAnon that became an unlikely box office hit in America, will be released in Australia in August. The film, made on a budget of $US14.5 million ($21.6 million), has taken in an astonishing $US130 million ($191 million) at the box office since its opening on July 4th. Sound of Freedom stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former federal agent who founded the anti-trafficking organisation Operation Underground Railroad. It follows his mission through Colombia to save a girl from child traffickers. During the Trump presidency, Ballard co-chaired a council established to guide federal anti-trafficking policymaking." - Geordie Gray - theaustralian.com.au

>>19257385 Q Post #3635 - Sometimes a good 'movie' can provide a lot of truth and/or background. 'Official Secrets.' Relevant today? Enjoy the show! - Q - https://qanon.pub/#3635

>>19262419 Secret space deal agreed to in AUSMIN talks as US green lights missile production in Australia - The US and Australia will embark on a secret new space partnership amid Chinese technological leaps that threaten US supremacy in the key military domain. The initiative, which is likely to include the development of offensive space-based capabilities, was agreed at AUSMIN talks in Brisbane, where the US also vowed to help Australia to produce advanced new missile systems within three years. US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with their Australian counterparts Richard Marles and Penny Wong on Saturday, declaring “enhanced space cooperation” a new priority for the nations’ “unbreakable alliance”.

>>19267311 Anti-fascist protesters rally outside neo-Nazi weightlifting event - Police stopped anti-fascism protesters from clashing with a group of neo-Nazis holding a “white powerlifting competition” at a boxing gym in Melbourne’s west on Saturday. Dozens of anti-fascism protesters marched to the Legacy Boxing Gym in Sunshine West, walking down Industrial Drive just before 3pm chanting “unite, unite, unite to fight the right”, before calling on the white supremacists to face them in the street. The neo-Nazi group waved at the protesters and performed Sieg Heil salutes from behind a fence, but did not leave the gym - previously linked to far-right groups – while demonstrators were outside.

>>19272527 US military analysts to embed in Australia's defence department to monitor regional threats in wake of AUSMIN talks - American military analysts will soon be sent to work at the Defence Intelligence Organisation (DIO) in Canberra as both allies intensify joint efforts to scrutinise the moves of states like China, Russia and North Korea in the region. The US and Australia announced that they would establish a "Combined Intelligence Centre --- Australia" within the DIO by next year, saying the new entity would "enhance long-standing intelligence cooperation".

>>19272789 New dates revealed for Donald Trump Jr’s Australian tour after visa fracas - Donald Trump Jnr will hit Australian shores in September, with the political firebrand to touch down following a visa fracas which led to his string of shows being postponed. New dates for the son of former US President Donald Trump have been released including shows in Brisbane (September 25), Melbourne (September 26) and Sydney (September 27). Guests are set to include former British politician Nigel Farage and conservative South Australian Liberal Senator Alex Antic. It comes after a visa stoush delayed Trump Jnr’s initial Australian tour dates set down for July.

>>19290208 Joe Hockey’s ‘Trump whisperer’ predicts the Don’s likely return - The former deputy chief of staff to Donald Trump says “there’s a very big chance” he will be re-elected US president next year, but that Australia and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese have nothing to fear. Emma Doyle, who worked for Mr Trump between 2018 and 2020, now works for Australia’s former ambassador to the US Joe Hockey and his advisory Bondi Partners, where she is privately dubbed “the Trump whisperer”. Ms Doyle said the key to surviving under the former president was “not going to work every day afraid of being fired. If you get fired, you get fired.” “I was always very direct, never threw people under the bus and would say: ‘we’ve looked at this six different ways and here are two options’.”

#31 - Part 5

Australian Politics and Society - Part 5

>>19297988 United States Air Force 'mission planning' and operations centre to be built in Darwin - A new US Air Force "mission planning" and operations centre will be built in Darwin, as part of $630 million in American spending across the top end over the next two to three years. The "Squadron Operations Facility" in Darwin will add to its growing array of military assets in the north, raising fears Australia may be locked into any future military conflict between China and the US.

>>19303272 Alexander Downer Tweet: Had a drink with friends yesterday where I met Papadopoulos in 2016. They’ve put up this plaque!! - https://twitter.com/AlexanderDowner/status/1687518177016631298

>>19314910 Don’t ban paying cyber ransoms, ex-US spy chief warns Australia - A former US National Security Agency director says Australia should not impose a blanket ban on paying cyber ransoms but instead adopt a risk-based approach that considers a set of key criteria. Retired Admiral Michael Rogers, who headed the NSA and led United States Cyber Command from 2014 to 2018 under presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump, also called for a shift in thinking on cyberattacks. “This is what I used to tell the two presidents, ‘Sir, if the metric you’re going to use is anytime we have a significant penetration that is a failure, then you are going to be incredibly frustrated’,” Mr Rogers told The Australian Financial Review.

>>19314910 Q Post #585 - TRUST Adm R. He played the game to remain in control. Q - https://qanon.pub/#585

>>19320818 The US and Sweden have put a bounty on the head of alleged AN0M gangster Maximilian Rivkin - A $7.6m bounty has been placed on the head of a fugitive Swedish gangster who targeted Australia’s drug market and is a key lieutenant of Australia’s most wanted man, Hakan Ayik. News of the reward offered for the arrest of Maximilian Rivkin comes as another of the 17 men indicted over the encrypted app AN0M, Seyyed Hossein Hosseini, is extradited to the US, taking to five the number of international alleged gangsters now facing the US justice system on racketeering charges. The app, which was pushed by the likes of Australian drug kingpin Hakan Ayik, was marketed as a secure way to avoid law enforcement, but was in fact a Trojan horse app being run and monitored by the FBI and Australian Federal Police. While 17 people were indicted over running the criminal enterprise behind the app, more than 1300 people were charged globally with a number of crimes as a result of the sting.

>>19321039 Video: Fireball that lit up Melbourne night sky was most likely debris from Russian rocket - A large flaming object that lit up Melbourne’s sky overnight is thought to be debris from a Russian rocket used to send a satellite into space. Victorians captured videos showing a bright fireball travelling across the night sky late on Monday, close to midnight. Social media posts indicate it was seen from Melbourne’s CBD as well as outer suburbs such as Sunbury and Mornington. Residents in regional Victoria and South Australia also reported seeing the flashes of light. The Australian Space Agency said that the flashes of light were likely the remnants of a Russian Soyuz-2 rocket re-entering Earth’s atmosphere.

>>19326780 Trump’s potential return to White House up to American people, says Kevin Rudd - The Australian ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, says it is up to the American people whether Donald Trump returns to the White House - an outcome he previously said would “fray” support for the US alliance in Australia. The former Australian prime minister said on Wednesday that US politics was “a complex beast” and he was focused on keeping on good terms with both sides of the aisle, including former Trump officials. Prior to his appointment as ambassador, which took effect earlier this year, Rudd called Trump “the most destructive president in history”. Rudd told Guardian Australia before the 2020 election that if Trump were re-elected, “the overall fabric of domestic political support in this country and among other American allies around the world will begin to more fundamentally fray”.

>>19326786 Kevin Rudd Tweet (27 Feb 2022): Donald Trump is a traitor to the West. Murdoch was Trump’s biggest backer. And Murdoch’s Fox Television backs Putin too. What rancid treachery. - https://archive.ph/gbMyl

#31 - Part 6

Australian Politics and Society - Part 6

>>19333536 Elon Musk lashes the ABC over its decision to abandon his social media platform X - Billionaire businessman Elon Musk has lashed out at the ABC over its decision to abandon his platform and accused the public broadcaster of favouring “censorship-friendly social media”. Musk purchased X (formerly Twitter) in 2022 and has made many changes to the platform, including rebranding it, sacking thousands of staff and introducing charges for verification, but its overhaul has not been welcomed by the public broadcaster. The reasons behind the ABC’s decision to stop using the platform included blaming toxic interactions, costs and lack of trust but it was met with annoyance by Musk who took to social media to scold the taxpayer-funded organisation. Hours after the decision was announced by the ABC, Musk responded on X to a post about the ABC’s move by writing, “Well of course they prefer censorship-friendly social media. The Australian public does not”. Mr Musk did not specifically name any social media platforms in his post.

>>19333564 Kevin Rudd in ‘traitor Donald Trump’ U-turn - Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, says he could work with a re-elected Donald Trump - who he attacked last year as a “traitor” - if the “good burghers” of the United States put the Republican frontrunner back in the White House. Dr Rudd, who is in Canberra for the unveiling of his prime ministerial portrait on Thursday, said he had worked “comfortably and seamlessly” with congressional Republicans and with former members of the Trump administration since his arrival in Washington in March. “Our job as the Australian Embassy in Washington is to work with both sides of the aisle,” Dr Rudd said. “What the good burghers of the United States choose to do in their own electoral process is a matter for them.”

>>19333564 Kevin Rudd Tweet (27 Feb 2022): Donald Trump is a traitor to the West. Murdoch was Trump’s biggest backer. And Murdoch’s Fox Television backs Putin too. What rancid treachery. - https://archive.ph/gbMyl

>>19333643 Former NSA director and commander of US Cyber Command says America can learn ‘a lot’ about cybersecurity from Australia - The former head of America’s National Security Agency has declared there are “a lot of things” the United States can learn about cybersecurity from Australia. Former NSA Director and Commander of the United States Cyber Command, Mike Rogers, said that while there are “significant challenges” with respect to cyber security in Australia, the country also has “a lot of good things going for it.” The former Admiral, who lead the NSA and the US cyber command from 2014 until 2018, cited the fact that Australian governments from both sides of politics had been “very aggressive” and “very focused on cyber security.” The former NSA director also credited Australia with prohibiting Chinese company Huawei from being involved in the country’s 5G network “well in advance” of both the US and the United Kingdom.

>>19340466 ALP conference to be a Paul Keating-free zone - Former prime ministers Paul Keating, Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard will not attend the first in-person ALP national conference since 2018, as senior Labor figures scramble to avoid messy fights over AUKUS, economic and social policy, Palestine, trade and fossil fuels. More than 2,000 party delegates and members, union officials, MPs and observers will meet over three days at the Brisbane Convention Centre next week at the first national conference held in Queensland since the 1970s.

>>19367972 Rudd, Newsom get cosy on climate - Under the five-metre-high ceilings of the Leland Stanford Mansion in Sacramento, Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, showed just what a former prime minister has to do to become mates with the potential next president of the United States. Californian governor Gavin Newsom, who many believe is planning a presidential run soon with a growing fund-raising base and an increasingly vulnerable Joe Biden at the helm, was courted on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST) by Rudd along with, as the ambassador put it, “a bunch of visiting Australian corporate buccaneers”. Newsom, 55, who has been governor since 2019 and a politician for 20 years, is widely regarded as the next best option for the Democrats after Biden. A favourite hate figure of the Republican right for his progressive views, he governs a state that, with GDP of about $US3.6 trillion ($5.5 trillion), is the fifth biggest in the world, behind Germany and ahead of India. He and Rudd met to announce a memorandum of understanding for five years of co-operation on clean energy, transportation and technology, green finance and investment, and research and development.

#31 - Part 7

Australian Politics and Society - Part 7

>>19367975 Kevin Rudd says he will never apologise for his 2007 climate change warning - Kevin Rudd has revived his declaration that climate change is the greatest moral challenge of our time, saying he would never apologise for the warning he issued in 2007 even though it doomed his prime ministership when he abandoned his signature carbon pricing scheme. The US ambassador, who unveiled a climate pact between Australia and California with Governor Gavin Newsom on Wednesday, said he was “ridiculed” for his comments at the time. “I make no apology for saying it then and I make no apology for repeating it now, because it is,” Dr Rudd said.

>>19367987 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Proud to join @CAGovernor @GavinNewsom in Sacramento today for the signing of a new landmark climate MoU between Australia and California. This MoU will enhance cooperation in areas including clean transportation, energy, climate-friendly business and R&D.

>>19367987 Q Post #2782 - [Example CA] - https://calmatters.org/articles/commentary/gavin-newsoms-keeping-it-all-in-the-family/amp/? - What ‘family’ runs CA? They are all connected. Wealth-Power-Influence - [RIGGED] - The More You Know.... - Q - https://qanon.pub/#2782 - https://qalerts.pub/?q=newsom - https://qalerts.pub/?q=california

>>19368006 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet - https://twitter.com/USEmbAustralia/status/1691583564310306947 - (Durham boat - Go Matildas)

>>19368006 Q Post #3800 - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Durham_boat - Anons found the subtle hint dropped in the beginning. Think Durham start. Think 'Q' start. You have more than you know. Q - https://qanon.pub/#3800

>>19397621 Family Court judge rules father’s gender non-conformity ‘confused’ his children - A Family Court judge has determined that a father’s refusal to conform with traditional gender norms left his three children “confused” and encouraged them to “question their gender identity” after they all began identifying as non-binary, ruling the two youngest children will not be permitted to see their ­father for an extended period. The matter regarded the breakdown of a 20-year relationship between a mother and a ­father, who identifies as male but occasionally wears gender non-conforming clothes, including a dress to his middle child’s first day of school. Justice Kylie Beckhouse earlier this month ruled the two youngest children, known pseudonymously as Riley, 8, and Taylor, 13, will not be allowed to see their father for the next four months, after which period they will spend time with him on Sundays. The eldest child, Jamie, 16, who is taking puberty blockers and wishes to undergo a mastectomy once he completes his HSC, will live with both parents in accordance with his wishes.

>>19404456 AN0M accused Edwin Kumar asks FBI to give him names and messages from encrypted app - An Australian man accused of providing encrypted AN0M devices to people who used them to organise drug trafficking is asking prosecutors to give him details of every message sent on every phone he is accused of providing. The case against Edwin Harmendra Kumar, being heard in the US, has revealed fascinating details of the inner workings of Operation Ironside, the police sting of the century, built around the encrypted app AN0M. Mr Kumar, who was extradited from Sydney to the US earlier this year to face racketeering (RICO) charges, is seeking details of all users and all messages sent via the devices prosecutors say he provided or serviced. He is also seeking any reports of drug transactions allegedly involving him directly, or any end-user who allegedly used a device he had distributed or serviced.

>>19417641 Australia-California: A climate partnership made in la-la land - "Last week, Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd and California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a memorandum of understanding in Sacramento on climate change. It should have been called a memorandum of waffle, as both governments jointly promised to do precisely nothing. After ploughing through 1600 words of waffle, the reader learns the MOU “does not create any legally binding rights or obligations and creates no legally recognisable or enforceable rights or remedies, legal or equitable, in any forum whatsoever”. Whatever agreements California and Australia make won’t make a scrap of difference to the global climate, given the near entirety of additional increases in carbon dioxide emissions now arise in India and China." - Adam Creighton - theaustralian.com.au

#31 - Part 8

Australian Politics and Society - Part 8

>>19427525 ‘I did nothing wrong’: Donald Trump arrested over Georgia 2020 election charges - "Donald Trump has become the first former US president to have his mugshot taken as he turned himself in to face criminal charges at a Georgia jail plagued by violence, squalor and overcrowding. In yet another extraordinary day in US presidential history, the 77-year-old Republican’s private plane touched down in Atlanta shortly after 7pm on Thursday (local time), where Trump surrendered over allegations that he was part of an alleged “criminal enterprise” designed to subvert the 2020 election results in that state. The charges, which Trump denies, represent the fourth criminal case that he has faced in about five months." - Farrah Tomazin - theage.com.au

>>19427567 Video: Donald Trump’s mugshot a big gamble for the Democrats - "Democrats have taken a big gamble in forcing Donald Trump to turn up at Fulton County Jail for finger printing and a mugshot, following the former president’s fourth indictment this year. Never before in US history has a former president been treated like this, let alone one who is in effect the de facto opposition leader, and the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president for 2024. Whatever the outcome of the four indictments in court rooms across America over the next few years, the Georgia mugshot will become the visual embodiment of Trump’s status as a martyr for Republicans, at the same time as it’s the symbol of his criminality for Democrats." - Adam Creighton - theaustralian.com.au

>>19440283 Three dead in NT US military aircraft crash that involved 23 marines - Military aviation investigators will travel to a remote Northern Territory island after a US military aircraft crashed on Sunday killing three US Marines and seriously injuring at least five. They were among 23 marines on the tilt-rotor MV-22B Osprey when it crashed on Melville Island about 9.30am while participating in a multinational exercise with Australian, Filipino, Indonesian and East Timorese forces. Five of the injured were medically evacuated to Darwin Hospital including one in a critical condition who underwent surgery soon after arriving. The other survivors were triaged at the crash scene and awaiting transport to Darwin late on Sunday by CareFlight helicopter and fixed wing aircraft.

>>19440314 Three US Marines killed in aircraft crash in Australia during training exercise - (CNN) Three US Marines have been killed and several others seriously wounded after an Osprey aircraft crashed during military exercises in Australia. Of the 23 Marines on board the MV-22B Osprey aircraft, three died while five others have been transferred to Royal Darwin Hospital in a serious condition, the Marine Rotational Force - Darwin said in a statement on Sunday. The incident on Melville Island in Australia took place at 9:30 a.m. local time. “The Marines aboard the aircraft were flying in support of Exercise Predators Run. Recovery efforts are ongoing,” the statement read, adding “the cause of the incident is under investigation.”

>>19440325 Video: Three US Marines killed in military aircraft crash near Darwin - Three US Marines are dead after an American military aircraft crashed during an exercise drill in the Tiwi Islands, off the coast of Darwin. - 9 News Australia

#31 - Part 9

Australian Politics and Society - Part 9

>>19446105 ADF Academy cadets claim they were pressured to remove uniforms for Wear It Purple Day - Defence insists Wear It Purple Day (WIPD) activities are voluntary for personnel after cadets claimed they were warned not to dress in military uniform during the annual LGBTIQ+ event because it would be considered a "protest". Students at the Australian Defence Force Academy (ADFA) have complained they felt pressured to wear purple clothing on Friday in a move the federal opposition has condemned as "coercive" and "overtly political" for the armed forces. For several years the Defence Department has encouraged members to take part in WIPD, but ADFA recruits said a directive was given last week outlining that regular uniforms would be prohibited this year.

>>19446144 Aussie troops will keep flying on ‘Widowmaker’ after crash - Australian troops will continue to fly on US Osprey aircraft as long as they are certified to operate, despite the weekend crash that killed three Marines on Melville Island near Darwin, Defence Minister Richard Marles said. Rescuers on Monday continued efforts to recover the bodies and investigate the cause of the accident that thrust the safety record of the tilt-rotor aircraft sharply into focus. The V-22 Osprey, a joint design of aviation companies Boeing and Bell, has the unwanted nickname of the “Widowmaker” for the number of fatal accidents the type has been involved in. Since 1991, the aircraft has been involved in 10 fatal crashes, claiming 54 lives. The crashes took place in testing, exercises and during combat operations.

>>19446165 Video: Moments after US Osprey crash that killed three marines heard on air traffic control audio - Air traffic control audio has the moment authorities declared an emergency after the crash of a US military Osprey aircraft that killed three marines. Twenty-three personnel were onboard the Osprey, with 20 of the crew evacuated to Darwin. In the audio, an American voice can be heard making the first mention of a serious incident unfolding on the Tiwi Islands, to Darwin's north. "We are just a declaring an emergency, we have Dumptruck 11 flight single MV-22 in the vicinity of Melville Island." Approximately six minutes later, air traffic control asks for further information: "Contact 33, search and rescue is requesting … if there is fire." "There is a significant fire in the vicinity of the crash site. Looks like it is not spreading, but there is a significant fire," comes a response.

>>19452903 Cardboard drones from Australia used in attack on Russian airfield - Australian-made cardboard drones have been reportedly used to help bomb a Russian airfield as the Ukrainian military steps up its attacks on Russian territory. Ukraine claimed it struck five Russian fighter jets on the weekend in a kamikaze drone attack on the Kursk airfield in Russia, approximately 170 kilometres from the Ukrainian-Russian border. A prominent Telegram channel run by a former Russian fighter pilot, known as Fighterbomber, said that the drones used in the attack included the distinctive lightweight drones made by Australian engineering company SYPAQ in Melbourne.

>>19452993 UPDATE: MARINE ROTATIONAL FORCE - DARWIN MV-22B OSPREY TILTROTOR AIRCRAFT CRASH - Marine Rotational Force - Darwin can confirm the names of those killed in the U.S. Marine Corps MV-22B Osprey crash on Melville Island, north of Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, on 27 August 2023 at approximately 9:30 a.m. The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Deceased are: U.S. Marine Corps Corporal Spencer R. Collart, male, 21, MV-22B Osprey crew chief for VMM-363 (REIN), Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, originally from Arlington, VA. U.S. Marine Corps Captain Eleanor V. LeBeau, female, 29, MV-22B Osprey pilot for VMM-363 (REIN), Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, originally from Belleville, IL. U.S. Marine Corps Major Tobin J. Lewis, male, 37, the executive officer of VMM-363 (REIN), Marine Rotational Force - Darwin, originally from Jefferson, CO.

#31 - Part 10

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 - Part 1

>>19204909 Video: Talisman Sabre Facebook Post - 19 July 2023 - 3 days to go! 3 days left until the start of #TalismanSabre2023!

>>19204923 Chinese intelligence expected to monitor Australia’s Talisman Sabre military exercises - The Australian defence force expects that Chinese intelligence will seek to monitor Talisman Sabre, a military training exercise involving 30,000 personnel from 13 countries including the US and Pacific neighbours. The director of the exercise, Brigadier Damian Hill, said he expected Chinese intelligence to seek to monitor the event again this year. “Even though they’re not invited, they still turn up,” he said. “But they haven’t asked to be invited either.”

>>19204951 Japan to fire advanced ship-killing missile on Australia's shores - Japanese forces will fire their most advanced anti-ship missile into Australian waters for the first time, ahead of large-scale multinational military exercises that begin later this week. Japan's Self Defense Force (JSDF) is preparing to conduct a live fire demonstration of its Type 12 Surface-to-Ship missile (SSM) at a weapons range in Jervis Bay, south of Sydney.

>>19204962 American tank on way to Talisman Sabre in big central Queensland car crash - A US military tank, believed to be on the way to the Talisman Sabre military training exercise, has been caught in a fiery multi-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway in central Queensland. Six people were taken to the Rockhampton and Gladstone hospitals, three with suspected spinal injuries. Queensland Police confirmed the forensic crash unit was investigating after the accident at Bajool, south of Rockhampton, involving seven vehicles.

>>19205012 Video: Multiple people injured in Bruce Highway crash involving US military tank - A United States military tank, multiple caravans and a B-double truck have been involved in a seven-vehicle crash on the Bruce Highway south of Rockhampton, injuring several people. Police said vehicles in the crash included a semi-trailer carrying a US military tank, a flat bed truck carrying two caravans, a B-double truck, three cars and a four-wheel drive towing a caravan.

>>19211171 Alice Springs alcohol restrictions to continue for at least two years after drops in NT crime rates - The Northern Territory will extend alcohol restrictions in Alice Springs for at least two years after incidents of domestic violence and assault plummeted by more than a third. The move follows an outcry from locals who had demanded for months that grog bans be implemented.

>>19211252 Bruce Highway reopens after multi-vehicle crash involving US tank - Both lanes of the Bruce Highway are now open, as investigators piece together the chain of events that led to a fiery multi-vehicle crash involving a US military tank in central Queensland. The seven-vehicle crash happened near Bajool, south of Rockhampton. It involved multiple caravans, a B-double truck and a semi-trailer carrying a US army tank en route to a military exercise. Capricornia District Police Inspector Ben Carroll said police were still piecing together the cause of the crash, but initial investigations suggest a passenger vehicle failed to stop for an escort vehicle accompanying the semi-trailer carrying the tank, causing a domino effect.

>>19211276 Video: Talisman Sabre military exercise brings foreign troops to Australia for war games - Thousands of troops from 13 countries have descended on Queensland for the Talisman Sabre war games, the largest to date. The biennial military exercise involving Australia and the United States has expanded over the past decade to include military partners and observers from many more countries in the Indo-Pacific region. Tent cities have been set up to accommodate an influx of 30,000 troops across the state's north, which has become a hive of activity with armoured vehicles, warships and aircraft.

>>19211280 Boxers and boots on the ground: tightening military ties with Germany - Visiting Australia to mark the inaugural involvement of German troops in Australia’s premier war games, Lieutenant-General Alfons Mais indicated his country’s armed forces, known as the Bundeswehr, planned to deepen ties with Indo-Pacific militaries as democracies unite to stand up for the international rules-based order. “We are here to strengthen relationships with partners. Not only the Australian Defence Force, but the US and France are participating, so partners we know already. It’s a signal to show the relevance of the region and where we can contribute.”

#31 - Part 11

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 - Part 2

>>19221161 Japan's top general inspects anti-ship missile ahead of historic Australian launch - Japan's top military officer is in Australia inspecting his country's most advanced anti-ship weapon as part of his country's largest ever participation in joint military exercises. Japan's Self Defence Force (JSDF) was scheduled to carry out a live test of its Type 12 Surface-to-Ship missile (SSM) for just the second time outside of Japan at the Beecroft Weapons Range on the New South Wales south coast. But the Australian Defence Force has delayed the exercise due to unfavourable sea conditions, and plans to resume the launch over the next few days.

>>19221167 Video: Chinese 'spy ships' expected to sit off Darwin and Central Queensland during Talisman Sabre military exercises - Officials are preparing for two Chinese "spy ships" to arrive off Australia's coast next week to monitor the multinational Talisman Sabre military exercises opening in Sydney this morning. Since 2017, China's Navy has deployed at least one Auxiliary General Intelligence (AGI) vessel to snoop on each of the biennial training drills involving the United States, as well as other partner nations. Defence and security sources told the ABC they were expecting a pair of People's Liberation Army-Navy (PLAN) vessels to head towards Australia over the next few days.

>>19226439 Talisman Sabre 2023: Firepower demonstrations 1,000 miles apart signal start of massive exercise in Australia - Dozens of mortar shells and rockets screamed across the Australian bush into a mountainside over the weekend, one of two live-fire demonstrations that kicked off the largest-ever Talisman Sabre exercise. Now in its 10th year, the biennial Talisman Sabre is expected bring more than 30,000 personnel, nearly double the number of troops deployed in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, with additional participants from the United Kingdom, Canada, Indonesia, Fiji, Tonga and Papua New Guinea. The exercise provides an opportunity for the individual nations to practice teamwork and communication in the event of “whatever crisis may exist in our region in the future,” Lt. Gen. Greg Bilton, the Australian Defence Force chief of joint operations, said Friday during the exercise’s opening ceremony in Garden Island, Australia.

>>19226439 Talisman Sabre - MAGIC SWORD - https://qalerts.pub/?q=Operation+Specialists - https://qalerts.pub/?q=magic

>>19226465 Talisman Sabre: Chinese spy ships moving into position to monitor war game exercise - Live demonstrations of the latest military firepower are on display as part of the largest ever US and Australia-led war gaming exercise, Talisman Sabre. Chinese spy ships are moving into position to monitor the exercise for the next fortnight. - Sky News Australia

>>19231969 First image emerges of RAAF's encounter with Chinese spy ship during Talisman Sabre - An aerial photograph showing an RAAF P-8 Poseidon plane flying over a Chinese surveillance ship as it headed towards Australia last week has been obtained by the ABC. The image of the Dongdiao Class Auxiliary General Intelligence (AGI) vessel was taken from on board another Australian military aircraft over international waters in the Coral Sea.

>>19237744 ‘Olympics of war games’: This year’s Talisman Sabre is most ambitious ever, official says - This year’s Talisman Sabre is the “biggest and most ambitious” version of the multinational exercise ever and Australia’s largest military undertaking in more than a century, according to U.S. and Australian military officials. The exercise, with 30,000 troops from 13 countries, kicked off with a ceremony Friday but swung into gear with two live-fire drills the following day at sites 1,000 miles apart. Talisman Sabre, led by the U.S. and hosted by Australia along its eastern coast, is scheduled to conclude Aug. 4.

>>19243607 Video: Submarine spotted off Queensland coast one of several navy vessels headed to massive war games - A submarine has been spotted cruising off the coast of Queensland, much to the surprise and delight of locals. Doug Bazley, 63, of Caloundra on the Sunshine Coast, said he had been on Golden Beach for about two hours Friday afternoon when he noticed some unusual “spray and mist” in front of a container ship heading through the spitfire channel about 3.45pm. The keen photographer said he grabbed his binoculars and soon spied the surfaced Royal Australian Navy Collins Class submarine about 5km off coast, complete with a person standing on top and at the front of the sub.

#31 - Part 12

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 - Part 3

>>19243643 Midge Point community marvels as Operation Talisman Sabre unfolds in their backyard - The shores of a secluded beach in the Whitsundays set the scene for a large scale military attack between American, Japanese and German forces. Three impressive landing craft air cushioned boats were deployed to Midge Point beach, where marine troops then worked to secure the area. The Midge Point community were able to watch the mock operation, carried out on July 26 as part of a three-day rehearsal under Talisman Sabre 23. Resident Robyn Crawford said “awesome” was the only word to describe what she had just seen.

>>19243661 Talisman Sabre 2023 a risky geopolitical game - "While "Exercise Talisman Sabre" may appear as an impressive military practice, its unintended consequences must not be understated. The aggressive posturing and heightened military readiness exhibited during drills can inadvertently increase uncertainty and anxiety among regional actors, leading to misconceptions, miscalculations, and misunderstandings. Besides, this hostile drill risks perpetuating a cycle of strategic mistrust, insecurity and confrontation in the region. Also, this US-backed drill provokes other regional powers especially China for countermeasures as Beijing may perceive it as a threat to its national interests and security." - Emilia Fernandez, security and political analyst with a focus on South Asian geopolitics, and PhD researcher at the University of Lucerne, Switzerland - chinadaily.com.cn

>>19250260 Talisman Sabre 23 Field Exercise Sets Benchmark for Combined Military Training in Indo-Pacific - "You're currently standing in what we call the Field of Dreams," said Australian Army Col. Ben McLennan, commander of the Australian Defense Force's Combat Training Centre, as he welcomed reporters to the Townsville Field Training Area. The training area is the epicenter of the 10-day field training exercise taking place during Talisman Sabre 23. "This activity that's occurring here is just the richest, most immersive and most realistic, no-consequence training environment that we can possibly create," he said. "We're calling it the Olympics of war games because it's the biggest, most ambitious Talisman Sabre ever."

>>19250270 Video: NZ soldiers perform Haka Tu in warning to mock enemy in Australian war games - A contingent of New Zealand soldiers have declared their readiness to head into battle on Australian soil by performing a traditional war challenge to intimidate their enemy. In a video released Wednesday, the soldiers performed the Haka Tu in front of counterparts from Australia, the US, Fiji and France in the Queensland bush to mark the start Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023.

>>19257074 United States, German and Japanese Military Forces Conduct Joint Amphibious Assault during Talisman Sabre 23 - Sailors from USS New Orleans transported the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, German Army, and Japanese Self-Defense Forces service members ashore via a landing craft, air cushion operation as part of Talisman Sabre 23 at Midge Point, Australia on July 25, 2023. Amphibious operations provide a combined-joint force commander the capability to rapidly project power ashore in support of crisis response at the desired time and location. “The exercise here is important because of all the joint forces - we integrate and we do all our training together,” said Sgt. Jorge Bravo, a U.S. Marine with the 31st MEU. “They have their own way of doing things, we have our own way of doing things, and we find the common ground in the middle - and we were better because of it.”

>>19262114 Video: Four feared dead after military chopper crashes near Hamilton Island - Four Australian Defence Force members are missing, feared dead, after a helicopter crash during the Talisman Sabre military exercise in Queensland. A search and rescue mission involving Australian and US Defence Force personnel is underway off Hamilton Island for the crew of the MRH-90 helicopter, which went down about 10.30pm on Friday. Emerging from Australia-United States Ministerial Consultation (AUSMIN) talks in Brisbane on Saturday, Defence Minister Richard Marles said the meeting was conducted with “heavy hearts”.

“The families of the four aircrew have been notified of this incident and our hopes and our thoughts are very much with the aircrew and their families,” he said. “Our hopes are very much with the efforts of the search and rescue crews as they go about their work right now.”

#31 - Part 13

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 - Part 4

>>19262158 Video: Crashed military helicopter has history of safety issues - The military helicopter involved in a horror crash off the coast of Queensland, leaving four feared dead, has a problematic history with nearly a dozen recorded safety incidents linked to MRH-90 Taipan helicopters. The helicopter ditched into the water about 10.30pm on Friday off the coast of Hamilton Island while on a two-helicopter mission as part of the Talisman Sabre joint exercise with America. It is the second incident this year, following a crash in Jervis Bay in March during a counterterrorism military training exercise.

>>19262255 Video: Talisman Sabre helicopter crash: Hopes fade for missing air crew - Four Australian Army aviators are feared dead after a horror chopper crash over the Whitsundays in what looms as the nation’s worst peacetime military disaster since 2005. Wreckage was recovered from the waters off Hamilton Island on Saturday, more than 12 hours after the chopper went down in the middle of major international war game exercises. In what Australia’s Defence chief described as “a terrible moment”, the MRH-90 Taipan ditched into the sea just before 11pm on Friday during Exercise Talisman Sabre. It is feared the incident could become one of Australia’s worst peacetime military disasters since two Black Hawk helicopters collided near Townsville in 1996, killing 18 personnel, and the 2005 Nias Island Sea King crash which killed nine personnel.

>>19262307 US pledge to stand by Aussies after Talisman Sabre crash tragedy - Top military officials from Australia and the United States have declared their unwavering commitment to Exercise Talisman Sabre as they expressed sorrow for four personnel still missing after a catastrophic crash during war-games in north Queensland. The disastrous ditching of an MRH90 Taipan during night-time exercise off Lindeman Island loomed large over high-level talks between Australian and American defence and foreign affairs officials in Brisbane. The annual AUSMIN talks delivered significant progress in deepening Australian and US military ties and cementing itself in an increasingly contested Pacific, but the timing was inextricably linked to what is set to be the nation’s worst peacetime disaster in at least two decades.

>>19262368 Talisman Sabre Facebook Post: 28 July 2023 - Statement issued by Defence - Defence can confirm an Australian Army MRH-90 Taipan helicopter has impacted waters near Lindeman Island, off the Queensland coast. The aircraft was participating in a night-time training activity as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 when it was reported missing late Friday night, 28 July 2023. Four crew were on board the aircraft at the time of the incident and are currently missing. Military and civilian search and rescue aircraft and watercraft are currently conducting search and rescue operations at the incident site. At this time Defence’s priority is supporting our ADF members and their families. Families of affected personnel have been notified. Families seeking information and support can call the Defence Member and Family Helpline at 1800 624 608.

>>19267202 Investigation launched into military helicopter crash, four feared dead - The federal government has launched an investigation into the cause of a helicopter crash that authorities fear has led to the death of four missing Defence Force personnel, making it Australia’s worst peacetime military accident in almost 20 years. Australia and the United States’ most senior defence and foreign policy officials expressed their dismay over the horror accident, which has revived longstanding concerns about the technical problems that have plagued the MRH-90 Taipan, the aircraft involved in the crash.

>>19267242 Police officer’s son among four feared dead in crash near Hamilton Island - The four men feared dead after a Defence helicopter went down in waters off the Whitsunday Islands have been identified. Captain Daniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock, and Corporal Alexander Naggs were named by the Chief of Army, Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, as the four involved in the crash. The crew were members of the Australian Army Aviation’s 6th Aviation Regiment based at the Holsworthy Army barracks in Sydney. Lieutenant General Stuart said the men’s names had been released with permission from their families.

#31 - Part 14

Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 - Part 5

>>19267266 Four missing defence aviators identified, search-and-rescue mission continues near Hamilton Island after Taipan helicopter crash - Four Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel who were on board a Taipan helicopter that crashed into waters near Hamilton Island have been identified. Captain Danniel Lyon, Lieutenant Maxwell Nugent, Warrant Officer Class Two Joseph Laycock and Corporal Alexander Naggs were on board the MRH90 helicopter that ditched into the ocean during a training exercise as part of Exercise Talisman Sabre on Friday night. All were members of the 6th Aviation Regiment. Lieutenant General Simon Stuart, the Chief of the Australian Army, said the families of the men were being supported by the ADF and had consented to the names of the missing men being released.

>>19272518 Video: ‘No hope’ of finding ADF servicemen alive: Richard Marles - There is no longer any hope of finding alive the four men aboard the MRH-90 Taipan helicopter when it crashed into the ocean off Queensland’s Whitsunday Islands on Friday night, with the government shifting the search and rescue mission to a recovery operation. Defence Minister Richard Marles said “the loss of these four men is as significant and meaningful as the loss of anyone who has worn our nation’s uniform. If it is as we imagine it to be, they died on Friday night making a difference.”

>>19290021 Human remains found after army helicopter crash - Human remains and parts of a cockpit have been found in the area where four army aircrew members died when their helicopter crashed last week off the Queensland coast. Lieutenant-General Greg Bilton told reporters the search-and-recovery mission had identified a “further debris field” in the sea near Hamilton Island that was consistent with a catastrophic, high-impact crash. “Sadly, I can confirm human remains have also been observed in this location by [a] remote underwater vehicle,” he said. “Due to the nature of the debris field, positive identification of the remains is unlikely to occur until we recover more of the wreckage.”

>>19297773 Defence Australia Tweet: Video: #TalismanSabre2023 is now officially closed. - #TS23 is the largest Australia-US bilaterally planned, multilaterally conducted exercise. This year is the largest iteration of the exercise, with 13 nations and more than 30,000 personnel participating. #YourADF

>>19297823 Talisman Sabre Tweet: Thank you to all of the personnel who have participated in the exercise, and to the local communities for their support. #TalismanSabre2023 has officially come to a close.

>>19297823 Talisman Sabre - MAGIC SWORD - https://qalerts.pub/?q=Operation+Specialists - https://qalerts.pub/?q=magic

#31 - Part 15

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 1

>>19250326 Anthony Fauci on Australia’s COVID response, AI and the next pandemic - The man who became the face of the coronavirus response in the United States says Australia’s willingness to accept science and resist conspiracy theories will help the country stave off future pandemics, but is concerned growing animosity and threats towards scientists will stifle the next generation of experts inspired by the events of the past three years. In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Dr Anthony Fauci also said the responsible use of artificial intelligence would help scientists anticipate future variants of COVID-19 and predict other problem diseases before they reach pandemic level.

>>19252375 New Zealand government funds project to discredit anyone who questions safety of vaccines - It’s not only the UK government that’s refusing to acknowledge excess deaths since the mass covid injection campaign began, the New Zealand government is doing the same. Is it because they are afraid to admit that those who are raising awareness about the unsafety of the vaccines might be right?

>>19257187 Anthony Fauci has hailed Australia’s success in virtually eradicating HIV in inner Sydney - Top US medical advisor Anthony Fauci says Australia has demonstrated “proof of concept” that HIV can be eradicated, with the pockets of inner Sydney with large gay populations that have effectively stamped out the virus providing a powerful incentive to the world. “It shows it can be done,” Dr Fauci told The Australian. “I think Australia as a nation and Sydney as a city should be congratulated on doing that, because once you prove a concept, it becomes an incentive.”

>>19262682 Covid cover-up: how the science was silenced - America’s top infectious diseases adviser, Anthony Fauci, delib­erately decided to downplay ­suspicions from scientists that Covid-19 came from a laboratory to protect his reputation and deflect from the risky coronavirus research his agency had funded, according to his boss, one of the most senior US health officials during the pandemic. In an exclusive interview, Robert Kadlec - former assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the US Department of Health – told The Weekend Australian that he, Dr Fauci and National Institutes of Health director Francis Collins privately discussed how to “turn down the temperature” on accusations against China in the early days of the pandemic while they were trying to encourage Beijing to co-operate and share a sample of the virus. - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19262728 Who made Covid? US spy agencies have a name - US intelligence agencies are understood to be examining the possibility that Chinese military scientist Zhou Yusen’s research to develop a coronavirus vaccine led to the creation of Covid-19, and the first cluster of the pandemic. The decorated Chinese scientist died about May 2020 in circumstances that Five Eyes intelligence agencies have long suspected was at the hands of the People’s Liberation Army. The Weekend Australian can reveal that the FBI has, on at least two occasions since mid-last year, spoken with a close relative of Zhou who is now residing in the US. The individual is understood to be a crucial new witness. - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19262914 ‘Turn the temperature down’: how the Covid cover-up began - A ‘nightmare’ of circumstantial evidence showed the virus could have been genetically engineered. But instead of disclosing their lab-leak suspicions Anthony Fauci and his peers pivoted to distract attention from contentious research funded by the US. There are several indicators that senior Chinese Communist Party officials know precisely how Covid-19 arose to ­become the most infectious virus in a century, shutting down major world economies and killing millions of people. Now, as the misinformation perpetuated by scientists is ­exposed and intelligence efforts persist, the rest of the world inches closer to the truth, too. - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19272598 Australian professor Eddie Holmes privately discussed signs Covid-19 could have been engineered - A leading Australian virologist privately discussed signs Covid-19 may have been genetically engineered, writing “the furin cleavage site is an issue” and “it’s the epidemiology that I find most worrying” before publicly insisting a laboratory leak was a conspiracy theory. Evolutionary biologist Eddie Holmes has come under international scrutiny for his role in co-authoring a journal paper that claimed scientific analysis showed the virus was natural.

#31 - Part 16

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 2

>>19278192 Edward Holmes claims ‘bad memory’ for not declaring writing a paper with a Wuhan scientist - Leading Australian virologist Edward Holmes said a “bad memory” was behind the reason he didn’t disclose he was listed on a paper submitted to medical journals alongside a Wuhan Institute of Virology scientist. Professor Holmes was co-author of a paper titled the Proximal Origins of SARS-CoV-2 that claimed Covid-19 was a natural virus and “improbable” it was a laboratory construct. But when authorising that paper, he did not disclose his work on a previous paper with a Wuhan scientist. He said he forgot his name was listed on a January 2018 paper about bat coronaviruses with a Wuhan Institute of Virology researcher, Jie Cui, a former postdoctoral student of his.

>>19278196 US academics ‘may be prosecuted’ over Covid-19 lab leak: top scientist - A leading US scientist expects academics who played down the idea Covid-19 leaked from a Chinese laboratory, despite their private doubts, will face criminal prosecution for fraud and has praised journalist Sharri Markson for her dogged investigation of the so-called “lab leak theory”. Richard Ebright, a molecular biologist and professor at Rutgers University, told The Australian the “preponderance of evidence” available supported the notion the new virus emerged from research-related activities at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, before rapidly spreading throughout the world in early 2020.

>>19280809 FOI Response Proves Australian Government Is Actively Censoring Citizens Posts About Covid Vaccine Injuries On Social Media - Yesterday, a response was received to a Freedom of Information Act (“FOI”) request which includes evidence that the Australian Department of Health and Aged Care (“DHAC”) were colluding with Facebook to censor posts about covid vaccine injuries. The FOI response is heavily redacted but the evidence is clear. - https://www.truth11.com/untitled-1190/

>>19434487 Biden’s probe censored Covid ‘smoking gun’ - "US President Joe Biden’s 90-day probe into the origins of Covid-19 censored the input of intelligence agency scientists who concluded the virus was most likely genetically engineered. Mr Biden ordered the Intelligence Community in May 2021 to give him an assessment into how the pandemic began after revelations, first published by The Australian, that researchers at the Wuhan Institute of Virology had been hospitalised with Covid-like symptoms in November 2019 in the suspected first cluster of the pandemic. When the report was published it concluded that most intelligence agencies assessed the virus, even if it had leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology, was natural rather than manipulated in a laboratory The Australian can reveal that this was not the assessments made by the four groups within the intelligence agencies that actually engaged in scientific analysis, who concurred that there was either a highly likely or reasonable chance the virus was genetically engineered." - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19434533 Decade-old Wuhan clue that proved Covid’s origin - "Buried away inside one of the US intelligence agencies’ secret laboratories, a group of eminent scientists examined the structure of Covid-19 in order to determine its origin. At the same time, another group of scientists, these ones happy to shape public opinion via social media, were fashioning a very different narrative, determined to turn the world’s gaze from the experimental lab in the middle of the ground-zero city -- Wuhan. While Anthony Fauci and his like-minded scientific foot-soldiers were quickly latching on to and publicly endorsing a theory that the virus had a natural origin, keenly dismissing any talk of a lab leak as a conspiracy, these other, far less conspicuous scientists were quietly reaching a conclusion that was poles apart. The scientists who wrote what is regarded as the seminal research on the natural origin theory - the Proximal Origins paper - have ­received global recognition, some amassing hundreds of thousands of social media followers. But the scientists at the ­Defence ­Intelligence Agency’s National Centre for Medical Intelligence (NCMI) remain unknown and their endeavours to uncover the origins of Covid-19 have gone publicly unrecognised. Worse, there have even been attempts, at the highest levels of the US government to censor them and keep their discoveries secret. Stripped of scientific complexity, these highly experienced ­researchers conclude that Covid-19 was almost certainly the result of experiments in a lab, and was not of natural origin as the world has been led to believe. They made a discovery that was ­described internally as a smoking gun." - Sharri Markson - theaustralian.com.au

#31 - Part 17

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 1

>>19243381 Key Assange supporter says Wikileaks founder could cut deal to secure freedom - One of federal parliament’s leading supporters of Julian Assange says the WikiLeaks founder could cut a deal with prosecutors and plead guilty to “whatever nonsense” necessary to secure his release from prison. Labor MP Julian Hill, the member for Bruce, tried unsuccessfully to visit Assange in Belmarsh prison, where he has been held since 2019, during a private trip to Europe recently. “The reality is that Australia cannot force the United States to [release Assange], and if they refuse, then no Australian should judge Mr Assange if he chooses to just cut a deal and end this matter,” said Hill.

>>19243388 OPINION: If Albanese’s such a buddy of Biden’s, why is Assange still in jail? - "Julian Assange is in his fourth year in Britain’s Belmarsh prison. If the current appeal fails, he will be shackled and driven off in a prison van and flown across the Atlantic on a CIA aircraft for a long trial. He faces likely life imprisonment in a federal jail, perhaps in Oklahoma. I don’t believe the president can shake his head and say, “nope”, given all we have gifted - the potent symbolism of B52s, nuclear subs and bases on the east and west coast. It would look like we have sunk into the role of US territory, as much a dependency as Guam or Puerto Rico. If Assange walks out the gates of Belmarsh into the arms of his wife and children it will show we are worth a crumb or two off the table of the imperium. If it’s a van to the airport, then making ourselves a more likely target has conferred no standing at all. We are a client state, almost officially." - Bob Carr, former foreign affairs minister of Australia and longest-serving premier of NSW - theage.com.au

>>19257022 Assange supporters call for release ahead of US talks - Julian Assange supporters are urging Australia's senior ministers to push for the WikiLeaks founder's release from prison when they meet officials from the United States. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined his defence and foreign affairs ministers at meetings with the US secretary of state and defence secretary in Brisbane on Friday. Further meetings will take place over the weekend. The brother for Mr Assange, Gabriel Shipton, said the talks were one of the last face-to-face meetings between the ministers before the 51-year-old faced extradition from England to the US. "Julian is inches away from extradition to the USA," Mr Shipton said in a statement. "The meeting between the secretary of state and the prime minister could be the last chance to put a stop to Julian's nightmare."

>>19262537 Julian Assange case has 'dragged on for too long', Australia's Wong says - Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong said on Saturday the long-running case of imprisoned Wikileaks founder Julian Assange had gone on too long and needs to be completed. Speaking alongside Defence Minister Richard Marles, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, Wong said representations had been made on behalf of Assange in public and private but there were limits on what could be done until his legal proceedings concluded.

#31 - Part 18

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 2

>>19262570 Assange ‘endangered lives’: Top official urges Australia to understand US concerns - The United States’ top foreign policy official has urged Australians to understand American concerns about Julian Assange’s publishing of leaked classified information, saying the WikiLeaks founder is alleged to have endangered lives and put US national security at risk. In the sharpest and most detailed remarks from a Biden administration official about the matter, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Assange had been involved in one of the largest breaches of classified information in American history and had been charged with serious criminal conduct in the US.

>>19278210 Julian Assange supporters in Australian parliament urge US to get him out of maximum security prison - Julian Assange’s supporters in the Australian parliament have implored the US government to “get him the hell out of a maximum security prison” regardless of diplomatic friction over the WikiLeaks founder’s eventual fate. The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, has pushed back at the Australian government’s complaints that the pursuit of Assange had dragged on too long, with the top diplomat declaring that the WikiLeaks founder is alleged to have “risked very serious harm to our national security”.

>>19326761 Assange pursuit 'gone on for too long', Kevin Rudd says - Kevin Rudd says the United States' pursuit of Julian Assange has "gone on for too long" and he will continue to express Australia's concerns. During a visit to Australia as part of high level talks, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Mr Assange was accused of "very serious criminal conduct" . Asked how he was continuing to press Australia's position to the US as ambassador, Mr Rudd said his responsibility to engage on behalf of all Australians included Mr Assange. "As for Secretary Blinken's statements recently, that's to be anticipated from the administration, reflecting their concerns about the history of the case," he told reporters in Canberra on Wednesday. "We in Australia have our own concerns that we continue to reflect and my job as Australia's leading diplomat in the US is to engage effectively, which usually means silently with the US administration, in order to maximise our prospects.

>>19355431 ‘There’s a way to resolve it’: United States ambassador Caroline Kennedy flags Assange plea deal - United States ambassador Caroline Kennedy has flagged a potential plea deal between Julian Assange and US authorities that could end America’s pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder and allow him to return to Australia. As hopes fade among Assange’s supporters that the Biden administration will abandon its extradition request, a David Hicks-style plea bargain has emerged as the most likely way for Assange to avoid a drawn-out criminal trial on espionage charges and a possible lengthy jail term in a maximum security US prison.

#31 - Part 19

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 1

>>19194509 Brittany Higgins, Bruce Lehrmann parliament CCTV footage handed to court - Critical CCTV footage of Bruce Lehrmann and Brittany Higgins in parliament house on the night of her alleged rape has been handed over to court after Sue Chrysanthou SC, acting for Lisa Wilkinson in the defamation proceedings, demanded to know why it wasn’t produced earlier.

>>19204809 ‘Recklessly indifferent to truth’: Linda Reynolds blasts DPP Shane Drumgold over Brittany Higgins case - Former Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has launched a blistering attack on ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold, accusing him of making “baseless and unsubstantiated allegations” that she was motivated by political forces to suppress Brittany Higgins’ rape complaint.

>>19211199 ‘Prefer to silence victims’: Brittany Higgins blasts Linda Reynolds - Brittany Higgins has blasted former defence minister Linda Reynolds for suggesting it should be illegal for anyone who believes a crime has been committed to fail to report it to police, saying “instead of solving the problem, there are people who would prefer to just silence victims”.

>>19257140 Who will take the fall for the Lehrmann controversy? - "There is really only one issue to look for next week when Walter Sofronoff gives the government of the ACT the report of his inquiry into the disastrous Brittany Higgins rape trial. Will anyone take the fall for the now abandoned rape prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann? Will blame be divided among the individuals who were targeted by the ACT government in the terms of reference it drew up for Sofronoff’s inquiry? Or will Sofronoff take a broader approach, one that would enable him to consider the impact of legal structures that have been put in place by the government itself?" - Chris Merritt vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>19262626 Sofronoff findings on DPP Shane Drumgold to be kept secret for weeks - In a shock move, the ACT government will keep secret the findings of the Sofronoff inquiry into the prosecution for rape of Bruce Lehrmann for at least a month as it ponders how to deal with what are expected to be serious adverse findings against chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold. It had been anticipated that when inquiry head Walter Sof­ronoff KC delivered his much-anticipated report on Monday, it would be released immediately but the government will now consider the report “through a proper cabinet” process that ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said would take three to four weeks, with the Legislative Assembly “updated” at the end of August.

>>19278214 ’No excuse’ for report on Lehrmann rape case to be secret - "The ACT government has decreed that the findings of inquiry chair Walter Sofronoff KC will be kept secret for at least another month. There is no excuse for such a delay; not that Chief Minister Andrew Barr has bothered to offer one. Barr says he “currently intends” to table some or all of the report at the end of August, at which time he “may” provide an interim response, pending a final response that “may take several months”." - Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au

>>19278237 Revenge of Bruce Lehrmann: ACT DPP on trial - Bruce Lehrmann will lodge a multimillion-dollar claim for compensation against the ACT Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions as the territory government examines what are expected to be serious adverse findings against chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold. Mr Lehrmann’s explosive claim of malfeasance by the ODPP emerged on the same day the ACT government received the Sofronoff report into misconduct in the prosecution case against the former Liberal staffer.

>>19284047 ACT DPP Shane Drumgold ‘at risk of charges’ if he misled court - If ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold is found to have knowingly made false statements to the Supreme Court to prevent defence lawyers obtaining police documents, he may face an investi­gation for attempting to pervert the course of justice. A number of senior lawyers have told The Australian that if Mr Drumgold is found by the Sofronoff inquiry to have deliberately misled ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum during the course of Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial last year, it could lead to criminal ­charges against him.

#31 - Part 20

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 2

>>19284078 Former judge Walter Sofronoff KC finds police were right to charge Bruce Lehrmann but lashed DPP’s conduct - A landmark inquiry into the trial of Bruce Lehrmann has found the prosecution was properly brought but made damning findings about the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold. Sources who have been briefed on the contents of the report have told news.com.au that Walter Sofronoff KC, a former Supreme Court judge in Queensland, finds that police acted lawfully when they charged Mr Lehrmann. It also finds that the decision of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute based on the evidence available was correct. - Samantha Maiden - news.com.au

>>19289705 Video: Sofronoff report reveals Shane Drumgold lied during Bruce Lehrmann rape case - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold knowingly lied to the Supreme Court, engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct, “preyed on a junior lawyer’s inexperience”, ­betrayed that junior lawyer who trusted him, and treated criminal litigation as “a poker game in which a prosecutor can hide the cards,” the Sofronoff Inquiry has found. In findings that are certain to end Mr Drumgold’s career as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions and may lead to criminal prosecution against him for perverting the course of justice, inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC ruled that every one of the allegations made by Mr Drumgold that sparked the inquiry was baseless. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au

>>19289796 Sofronoff inquiry: ACT DPP Shane Drumgold ‘threw his newest junior under the bus’ - Spare a thought for Shane Drumgold’s hidden victims - the trusting junior staff who unwittingly did the chief prosecutor’s dirty work only to be thrown under the bus as his web of lies unravelled. Drumgold’s betrayal of his loyal team ranged from directing an inexperienced young lawyer to swear a false affidavit to blaming an office administrator for wrongly releasing a document under Freedom of Information laws when he ordered her to do it. Inquiry chief Walter Sofronoff KC was clearly infuriated by Drumgold’s willingness to abuse the trust of innocent members of his team, labelling it “shameful” and an abuse of his authority. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au

>>19289813 Lisa Wilkinson, Shane Drumgold and the Logies speech lie - TV host Lisa Wilkinson’s now-infamous Logies speech has come back to bite ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold, after he was caught lying about it to a Supreme Court judge. Mr Drumgold said he warned the star - who first aired Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations on Ten’s The Project in 2021 - about the danger of prejudicing Bruce Lehrmann’s upcoming rape trial before she gave the speech accepting a Logie award for her reporting. Wilkinson rejected that, saying Mr Drumgold “did not at any time” give her the warning he claimed. Mr Drumgold presented a note of the conference to Chief Justice McCallum as if it had been written contemporaneously by a junior lawyer present at the meeting. It hadn’t. That part of the note that was critical to the Chief Justice was effectively written by Mr Drumgold days later after Wilkinson gave her speech - and after it became clear the upcoming trial was in jeopardy because of it. Mr Sofronoff found that Mr Drumgold “knowingly lied to the Chief Justice”. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au

>>19289859 Shane Drumgold’s time as DPP is surely at an end - Shane Drumgold is without a doubt the biggest loser in Walter Sofronoff’s report on what went wrong during the Brittany Higgins rape trial. But he might not be alone. The next biggest loser might turn out to be the ACT government - which was already on notice that the contents of this report would determine whether it would be hit with a damages bill worth millions of dollars.

>>19289887 Linda Reynolds sues Brittany Higgins for defamation over Instagram post - Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has made good on her threat to sue Brittany Higgins for defamation for a social media post accusing her of harassment, issuing a writ against her former staffer in the West Australian Supreme Court. According to the writ, Reynolds is suing Higgins for aggravated damages over an Instagram story on July 4 and a Twitter post on July 20, both of which she claimed were defamatory of her. The former defence minister is also claiming the posts constituted a breach of a deed of settlement and release the pair signed back in March 2021, which contained a non-disparagement clause.

#31 - Part 21

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 3

>>19308125 DPP Shane Drumgold resigns in wake of misconduct findings - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold has resigned in the wake of the damning findings of the Sofronoff Inquiry and is expected to retire. On Sunday ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury confirmed that he had spoken to Mr Drumgold last Thursday and “in light of the commentary in the report” the pair had “agreed that his position as Director of Public Prosecutions was no longer tenable”.

>>19314741 ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold hits back against inquiry after resignation - ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold has accused the head of the inquiry into the Bruce Lehrmann rape case of denying him procedural fairness, and has disputed many of the probe’s findings after resigning from his high-profile role last week. In a written statement on Sunday, Drumgold denied acting dishonestly or underhandedly after inquiry chair Walter Sofronoff, KC, found he had lied to the Supreme Court in the lead-up to the trial, and said the inquiry had missed the opportunity to focus on systemic issues in the justice system instead of focusing largely on him. “Although I accept my conduct was less than perfect, my decisions were all made in good faith, under intense and sometimes crippling pressure, conducted within increasingly unmanageable workloads,” Drumgold said.

>>19314830 Drumgold and Sofronoff face investigation in Lehrmann inquiry fallout - ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, SC, and Walter Sofronoff, KC, the former judge who led the high-profile inquiry into authorities’ handling of the Lehrmann trial, face investigations that could lead to them both having charges brought against them. In their interim response to the inquiry’s 839-page report on the “case like no other”, ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr and Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury foreshadowed further investigations into Drumgold, who was heavily criticised in the findings, and Sofronoff, who leaked them to select journalists.

>>19320737 ‘Fair go for Shane Drumgold’ case springs a giant leak - "Shane Drumgold has claimed that the leak of the Sofronoff Report denied him procedural fairness. The same notion has been echoed by other people who appear more concerned about a leak to a newspaper than the substance of a report that found that the chief prosecutor was guilty of serious misconduct in office. Drumgold, along with sections of the media, and the ACT Labor government, can excite themselves all they wish about leaks to a newspaper. The Australian did not breach an embargo and will not reveal the source of the leak. It’s curious that those who have spent years defending Julian Assange for leaking stories that may have undermined national security are now hot and bothered about a leaked report that found a DPP who wields enormous state power against citizens behaved improperly. A case of politics or sore losers? Maybe both." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>19326680 Police careers destroyed by ACT DPP Shane Drumgold’s false claims - Many senior and junior police involved in the investigation of Brittany Higgins’s rape claims have lost their jobs or gone on long-term sick leave and will never return to policing in the wake of baseless accusations against them by ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold. Thirteen Australian Federal Police officers involved in the investigation of the claims, including Detective Superintendent Scott Moller, have told The Australian of catastrophic damage to their lives and careers from the inquiry he demanded.

>>19326705 'Absolutely awful to me': Brittany Higgins hits out at police in response to damning Sofronoff Inquiry findings - Brittany Higgins has blasted investigators in the Bruce Lehrmann rape case in a statement published on her boyfriend’s social media after she deleted her own Twitter account. While inquiry chair Walter Sofronoff KC was scathing of the conduct of former ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold which was described as “grossly unethical” – he praised police for performing their duties in “absolute good faith”. However, Ms Higgins slammed investigating officers and accused them of being “absolutely awful to me”. In reference to a police executive summary outlining discrepancies in her story - which was found to have been withheld from Mr Lehrmann’s defence team by Mr Drumgold - Ms Higgins said officers tried to “discredit” her. “They wrongly handed over my most private thoughts taken over years in counselling sessions at the Rape Crisis Centre to defence,” Ms Higgins said via her boyfriend David Sharaz’s Twitter account.

#31 - Part 22

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 4

>>19326721 Linda Reynolds blasts ‘social crusader’ ACT DPP Shane Drumgold - Former defence minister Linda Reynolds has criticised outgoing ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold for his treatment of her in the witness box during the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann, and for comments he made as he resigned from the position, saying when she first read them, she “thought it was a joke”. “If there was ever any doubt of the need for the Sofronoff inquiry, the DPP’s own statement justified it,” Senator Reynolds told The Australian. “It was clearly the voice of a social crusader, not a DPP, and it was clear to me that it was in his mind, the ends justified the means.”

>>19326748 ACT government weighs charges against Shane Drumgold after Sofronoff report - The ACT government has endorsed findings that its chief prosecutor, Shane ­Drumgold, acted grossly unethically, but the capital’s Labor-Greens administration will not investigate other cases he led and has not decided whether to charge him. On Monday afternoon, the Barr government released the full ­report of the Sofronoff inquiry, announcing it supported its 10 recommendations but saying it did not consider it necessary to look at any of the 18 cases Mr Drumgold conducted or participated in since his appointment as Director of Public Prosecutions in 2019.

>>19333459 Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against David Sharaz gets trial date - Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz will front court in a defamation case levelled against him by West Australian Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds in a three-week trial provisionally set for May 2024. Reynolds is demanding the former press gallery journalist pay damages, as well as aggravated damages, over five social media posts, and has requested an injunction preventing the material from surfacing in future. The case has already been beset by delays, with the court having to issue special orders in July just to serve Sharaz with defamation papers, after Reynolds’ lawyers spent six months trying to track him down.

>>19417664 Senator Linda Reynolds’ defamation case against Brittany Higgins’ fiance to ‘end in tears financially’, court told - The lawyer for the fiance of former political staffer Brittany Higgins has told the WA Supreme Court a defamation case against his client will “end in tears financially,” with legal costs potentially reaching millions of dollars. In a hearing lasting nearly three hours, Mr Sharaz’s lawyer Jason MacLaurin argued the matter would “end in tears financially” for both parties, no matter the outcome, with legal bills amassing to “hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars,” which would leave the parties “financially uncomfortable.” Senator Reynolds’ lawyer Martin Bennett retorted such matters usually end in tears one way or the other. The matter is set to go to trial in May, with lawyers for both Senator Reynolds and Mr Sharaz meeting before Supreme Court Justice Marcus Solomon to discuss a security for costs application.

>>19446083 Brittany Higgins, Bruce Lehrmann to take stand in defamation trial - A Federal Court judge has revealed both Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann will take the stand during the defamation matters between Mr Lehrmann and two media organisations, as the court debates the admissibility of expert evidence stating false sexual assault complaints as “rare”. Both former Liberal staffers at the centre of an alleged rape in Parliament House will give verbal evidence during the defamation cases of Mr Lehrmann and Network Ten and journalist Lisa Wilkinson, and a separate matter between Mr Lehrmann and the ABC. The matters are expected to be heard together across four weeks in November.

>>19446088 Ten wants to use expert evidence on Brittany Higgins’ level of intoxication - Network Ten is seeking to rely on expert evidence in Bruce Lehrmann’s defamation case about sexual assault victims’ typical behaviour and Brittany Higgins’ level of intoxication on the night she alleges she was raped by Lehrmann in Parliament House. The Federal Court trial against the broadcaster is slated to start in Sydney on November 22. Barrister Tim Senior, acting for Ten, told the court at a preliminary hearing on Monday that the network would call 28 witnesses, including Higgins and journalist Lisa Wilkinson. Senior said Ten also wanted to tender two expert reports, on “the reactions and responses of victims of sexual assault … and how things like memory may be affected”, and a toxicology expert’s opinion about Higgins’ level of intoxication on the night in question.

#31 - Part 23

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 5

>>19452895 Shane Drumgold takes legal action against Sofronoff Inquiry - Former ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold is taking legal action against the Sofronoff Inquiry, following its finding that he engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct in the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann. Mr Drumgold, who resigned from his position as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions following the damning report, has listed a case in the ACT Supreme Court for 14 September. The nature of the legal action is not yet known but Mr Drumgold is likely to be seeking to challenge the board of inquiry findings. Mr Drumgold conceded he made mistakes in his prosecution of Mr Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins but rejected the key findings of the inquiry that he had lied to the Supreme Court and engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct.

>>19452897 Lehrmann prosecutor seeks to quash damning findings from Sofronoff inquiry - Former ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold has launched legal action to overturn damning findings about his conduct made by the board of inquiry into the high-profile Bruce Lehrmann trial, and to stop the territory government from taking any action against him based on the report. In judicial review proceedings filed in the ACT Supreme Court on Friday last week, Drumgold is seeking to quash the report by former judge Walter Sofronoff, KC, who controversially leaked it to select media outlets before its official release. Drumgold argues the leak failed to comply with section 17 of the Inquiries Act, denied him natural justice and gave rise to a reasonable apprehension of bias on the part of Sofronoff.

>>19464960 Sofronoff demands ACT Chief Minister retract “unethical” claims - Inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC has demanded ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr retract suggestions he had breached his duties and acted unethically in releasing his report into the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann. Lawyers acting for Sofronoff Inquiry chairman have written to Mr Barr rejecting criticism made by the chief minister at a press conference earlier this month, following publication of Mr Sofronoff’s damning findings against ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold. In a veiled threat to take legal action, Mr Sofronoff’s lawyers say they are writing to give Mr Barr “an opportunity to correct the harm he has caused to Mr Sofronoff’s professional reputation.”

#31 - Part 24

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 1

>>19188991 Powerful Senate committee signs off on transfer of nuclear submarines to Australia - The AUKUS security pact has passed a critical hurdle after a powerful Senate committee signed off on the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to the navy and granted Australia a rare 20-year exemption from tough US defence technology export controls.

>>19204894 Blinken, Austin to visit Brisbane for AUSMIN talks - United States Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit Brisbane next week for the annual dialogue with their Australian counterparts Richard Marles and Penny Wong, at the same time the ALP membership continues to agitate against AUKUS.

>>19211235 Australia to gain priority access to US military equipment under Washington proposal - Australian requests for US military equipment would be handled faster than almost all applications “other than from Taiwan and Ukraine” under a proposal before the US Senate. The Australian government has long viewed the complex web of US export controls as a potential barrier to the AUKUS security partnership. But US senators are pushing to ease export control bottlenecks, as well as demanding regular reports on how measures under the AUKUS deal are “strengthening the United States strategic position in Asia”.

>>19220996 US Republicans hold subs plan to ransom in bid to boost domestic submarine production - US Senate Republicans are threatening to block the transfer of Virginia-class submarines to Australia under the AUKUS pact unless Joe Biden boosts funding for domestic submarine production. The move is being led by the ranking Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, Senator Roger Wicker, who ruled out language this week to authorise the nuclear submarine transfer in the latest version of the nation’s annual defence policy bill. Senator Wicker told Politico that the Biden administration needed to “be sure we have enough submarines for our own security needs before we endorse that pillar of the (AUKUS) agreement”.

>>19231877 AUKUS: Republican Senator John Wicker expects congressional approval by end of year - Republican senator John Wicker, who last week held up critical US legislation that would enable the transfer of nuclear powered submarines to Australia, said he expected the impasse to be resolved by the end of the year, enough time to facilitate the landmark AUKUS security pact.

>>19231918 Doug Cameron warns Anthony Albanese of contest over nuke subs, Palestine at conference - Left-wing former senator Doug Cameron has warned Anthony Albanese he faces a contest at the ALP national conference over nuclear submarines and Palestine. Federal Labor MPs are working to head off disunity on AUKUS and Left-wing demands for a timeline on recognising Palestine, in line with the Prime Minister’s directions this month to Labor’s national policymaking committee.

>>19250231 United States says 'door is open' for New Zealand to join AUKUS as Blinken, Macron continue Pacific tour - The United States says "the door is open" for New Zealand to join AUKUS, as geopolitical competition reaches fever pitch in the Pacific, with three of the world's most influential leaders continuing lightning tours of the region. "As we further develop AUKUS, the door is open to engagement," Mr Blinken said. "As we continue to work on the second pillar, the door is very much open for NZ and other partners to engage as they see appropriate going forward. NZ is a deeply trusted partner, a Five Eyes member, we've long worked together on the most important national security issues."

>>19256860 AUKUS: Republicans demand doubling of submarine production before backing pact - A group of Republican congressmen including Senate leader Mitch McConnell have demanded a more than 100 per cent increase in US submarine production as a condition for supporting the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia as part of the AUKUS security pact. As annual AUSMIN discussions kick off in Brisbane between the foreign and defence ministers of Australia and the US, 23 Republicans in congress have asked the White House to “immediately” provide a plan, including a request for extra money, to lift production of Virginia class submarines from 1.2 to “a minimum of 2.5” per year.

#31 - Part 25

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 2

>>19256893 ‘A risk we should not take’: Republican resistance mounts to nuclear submarine plan - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared he remains confident Australia will secure Virginia-class submarines from the United States, even as almost half of all Republican senators came out against the current plan on the grounds it would dangerously weaken the US Navy as it competes with China. Twenty-three Republican senators, including Republican Senate leader Mitch McConnell, wrote to President Joe Biden on Thursday (Australian time) saying they did not support the proposal to provide nuclear-powered submarines to Australia unless the US doubled its own domestic production capacity.

>>19256945 NZ Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta slams door shut on AUKUS - A split has appeared in New Zealand’s leadership over AUKUS, as the country’s Foreign Minister ruled out joining the pact, only a day after Prime Minister Chris Hipkinsheld the door open to negotiations. Hours after fronting the media with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who said the door was “very much open” for NZ to engage with AUKUS “as a trusted partner,” Nanaia Mahuta appeared to slam that door shut. “I’ll be really clear, we’re not contemplating joining AUKUS,” Ms Mahuta told reporters.

>>19297296 Indigenous voice to parliament: Claims of ‘no say’ on AUKUS nuclear subs torpedoed by referendum adviser - A member of Anthony Albanese’s referendum advisory group says the AUKUS nuclear submarine project has the potential to impact Indigenous communities, signalling she backs the voice to parliament advising government on the key pillar of Australia’s defence policy. Artist Sally Scales said Aboriginal communities should be consulted on aspects of the nuclear subs deal, including where they will be docked. “I don’t care about the nuts and the bolts of the submarines. But what do I care about? Where’s that nuclear waste going to go for (those) submarines?” Ms Scales told an event at the Australian National University on Wednesday night. “If we’re going to build new ports for these submarines, where are those ports going to be? How (are) those Aboriginal communities going to be consulted and worked with?”

>>19297859 Video: US nuclear submarine visits Western Australia as allies increase defence preparedness - A U.S. Navy nuclear submarine arrived in Western Australia on Friday as allies Canberra and Washington deepen defence ties and prepare to transfer nuclear submarine capability to Australia. The U.S. Navy Virginia-class submarine arrived at HMAS Stirling for a scheduled port visit as part of a patrol of the Indo-Pacific, officials said.

>>19297936 Video: US military shows off nuclear capable submarine in Western Australia - The United States military is flexing its nuclear fleet of submarines in Western Australia. The arrival of the USS North Carolina is the first visit since a landmark defence deal was signed earlier this year. Australia is buying eight of the nuclear-powered Virginia class submarines in a deal costing $368 billion. Australia's Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd was on Garden Island touring the 110-metre vessel which can go three months underwater. WA will permanently house nuclear subs from next decade.

>>19308139 Labor faces growing grassroots party revolt over AUKUS pact - The Albanese government is facing a rank-and-file party revolt over the AUKUS defence pact, with about 40 local branches opposing it outright or calling for a review, and activists determined to have it debated at the party’s national conference despite attempts to dampen dissent. Federal electorate councils covering the Labor seats of Sydney, held by Tanya Plibersek, Parramatta and Boothby, plus the seat of Mayo held by independent MP Rebekha Sharkie, have also passed resolutions opposing the trilateral AUKUS defence pact to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

>>19333477 Australia, US urged to ramp up AUKUS as PM invited to White House - Australia and the United States are being urged to turbocharge the AUKUS pact by jointly producing long-range missiles and using Australia as a testing ground for hypersonic weapons as Anthony Albanese prepares to make his first prime ministerial visit to the US capital. Albanese will be feted at a rare state dinner in Washington, DC, in late October at the invitation of US President Joe Biden, just days before he has been tipped to make an as-yet-unconfirmed visit to Beijing. Republican congressman Mike Gallagher, considered a rising star of American politics, used a speech in Canberra on Thursday night to say the AUKUS pact had the potential to “bring this region from the brink of war” if the three member nations expanded their ambitions and put their nations on a preventative “war footing”.

#31 - Part 26

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 3

>>19340296 AUKUS alarm after nuclear dump in South Australia is axed - The government has abandoned a decade-long process to establish a low-level radioactive waste dump near Kimba in South Australia, declaring it will not challenge a court ruling in favour of Indigenous people who argued that their voice was ignored in the site’s selection. The Coalition suggested Australians should prepare for a surge of such outcomes under the proposed voice to parliament, and of ramifications for the AUKUS ­nuclear-powered submarine deal that requires Australia to establish a high-level nuclear waste dump.

>>19340337 AUKUS partnership the 'beating heart of free world' - A leading United States congressman has described the AUKUS security pact as the "beating heart of the free world". Chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, Republican Mike Gallagher, called for greater cooperation under the AUKUS agreement as a deterrent. "My view is that the US-Australia alliance, and perhaps AUKUS more broadly, is the beating heart of the free world," he told ABC Radio. >"We have to make AUKUS a success, this is a no-fail endeavour. It will have a dramatic impact on our ability to deter a future war."

>>19346018 Caroline Kennedy says alliance won’t sink if Trump elected - US ambassador Caroline Kennedy says Australia will be able to count on America as a reliable ally in a crisis even if Donald Trump returns to the White House, adding she is hopeful Congress will this year pass laws to allow the transfer of America’s most sensitive military technology to Australia. Congress is currently debating legislation to allow the sale of up to three nuclear-powered submarines to Australia, as proposed by the AUKUS agreement, and to grant its ally a broad exemption to tough defence export controls.

>>19355518 Labor members eager for showdown on AUKUS at the party’s national conference - Richard Marles will attempt to allay simmering concerns over AUKUS among Labor Party members and trade unions with a special briefing, as a showdown over the nuclear defence pact at national conference is certain. The briefing by the Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister is open to all party members and affiliated trade unions to be conducted via Zoom as local Labor branches and federal electorate councils continue to express opposition to the trilateral nuclear submarine pact.

>>19355541 Two Americans Australia can count on - "The single purpose of the nuclear submarine AUKUS agreement between the US, UK and Australia, and its military technology sharing, is, by building deterrence, to prevent war with China. As with the Second World War, our security rests on US leadership. Through the Australian American Leadership Dialogue just held in Canberra, I’ve just interviewed two of the most important Americans in Asian security. Kurt Campbell, Indo-Pacific Coordinator in Joe Biden’s National Security Council, is Biden’s Asia tsar, having been assistant secretary for East Asia in Barack Obama’s first administration. Australia’s best friend in Washington, he’s a big personality, creative, sober, effective at the heart of power now for decades. Hawaii-based Marine Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, an intellectual and a soldier, is the deputy commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific. So, given the threat environment, do the US and its allies have effective deterrence today?" - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19361940 Albanese doubles down on AUKUS as union boss criticises ‘silence’ on internal debate - Anthony Albanese will crash through internal Labor opposition to the AUKUS agreement and declare the nuclear pact a central part of his government’s agenda, as an influential union chief criticised the party’s reluctance to debate the submarine deal. United Firefighters Union boss Peter Marshall, who is running for a spot on Labor’s powerful national executive, said the party’s factional system had stifled debate on totemic issues, arguing a political culture that discouraged debate was counterproductive. “Whether you are for or against [AUKUS], previously there would have been significant debate about the rights and wrongs, whereas there has been complete silence,” he said. “People are frightened… Debate makes good policy.”

#31 - Part 27

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 4

>>19374503 Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility Welcomes First Contingent of AUKUS Personnel - Personnel from participating nations reported to Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility (PHNSY&IMF) in support of the Australia, United Kingdom, and United States (AUKUS) security partnership’s Pillar One initiative Aug. 14, 2023. The Pillar One initiative is delivering a conventionally armed nuclear powered attack submarine (SSN) capability to Australia. The uniformed and civilian submarine maintenance subject matter experts from Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States comprise the Advance Verification Team (AVT) that, over the coming weeks, will work directly with shipyard personnel to gain a full understanding of the maintenance and industrial skills required to establish Submarine Rotational Force-West (SRF-W) in Australia as early as 2027.

>>19382314 Labor conference: ALP armed for keeping China at arm’s length - Senior Labor ministers have warned that China will have 21 nuclear submarines and 200 major warships in the water by 2030, sparking an urgent need to deliver AUKUS submarines and defence technologies to ­prevent war in the Indo-Pacific. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on Friday urged union and party delegates to back the “progressive” AUKUS defence pact, to help “prevent war” and protect Australians amid Beijing’s aggressive military build-up and rising US-China tensions. “Strength deters war,” Mr Conroy said. In an extraordinary slap down of anti-AUKUS elements inside the Australian Labor Party, the Left-faction powerbroker delivered a scathing attack on those who supported a “Robert Menzies ­appeasement” strategy. Mr Conroy’s claim that anti-AUKUS delegates were appeasers sparked an angry backlash from Left-faction union leaders and colleagues, including federal Labor MP Josh Wilson who ­labelled the minister’s claim as “absurd”.

>>19382343 Chinese aggression has driven the ALP towards a nuclear compulsion on AUKUS - "The Labor Party has turned on the hinge of history. In an identity renovation, Labor has become the party of nuclear propulsion - with China the key to this dramatic transformation. China is remaking the Labor Party today via its strategic assertion, just as Japan’s war re-made Labor in the 1940s. Nuclear propulsion has been sold to the party as a new Labor value, as the path to peace through deterrence, the vital contributor to self-reliance, industrial revitalisation and regional stability. Sections of the rank-and-file who cannot stomach these messages have succumbed before Albanese government dictum." - Paul Kelly - theaustralian.com.au

>>19392379 China’s warning on AUKUS - China has warned against being made the target of the AUKUS agreement as union leaders vow to apply heavy scrutiny over the government’s jobs pledge for the construction of nuclear submarines. After senior ministers warned at Labor’s national conference the AUKUS deal was needed to prevent war with China and limit its regional influence, a Chinese embassy spokesman said bilateral or multilateral defence agreements should be “conducive to world peace and stability and not target any third party or harm others’ interests”. With Labor’s support for AUKUS cemented in its policy platform last week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Sunday said a nuclear submarine fleet would act as a balance to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

>>19452872 Teachers in boycott of nuclear submarine project - Pacifist teachers are boycotting a Defence Department “brainwashing’’ program that asks children to design nuclear-powered submarines. The Australian Education Union federal executive will meet this week to consider a national boycott of the science project, which requires high school students to design a nuclear-powered propulsion system for a submarine. The union is furious that the Albanese government is spending $368bn on AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines at a time when most public schools are receiving less money than they were supposed to under the Gonski needs-based funding deal.

#31 - Part 28

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

>>19220746 Why Ben Roberts-Smith defamation ruling has a long way to play out - "In order to make sense of the Ben Roberts-Smith case, one important point needs to be kept in mind: this was not a war crimes trial or a murder trial - at least not officially. Allegations of murder and war crimes were at the heart of the argument. But the reality is that this was merely an expensive, complex private dispute. It is important to be clear about the difference between civil and criminal justice. Even if the different standards of proof are put to one side, the judge’s finding that the murders took place was made on the available evidence - which falls short of the evidence that would have been available to a criminal court. It must therefore be less reliable than a finding by a criminal court." - Chris Merritt, vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>19231979 War Memorial installs plaques noting ‘gravity’ of Ben Roberts-Smith defamation case - The Australian War Memorial has installed plaques next to displays honouring disgraced former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith that say the museum is considering what further content should be added to the exhibits after a landmark defamation case found he was a murderer and war criminal. The plaques read: “The memorial assists in remembering, interpreting and understanding Australia’s experience of war and its enduring impact. This includes the causes, conduct and consequences of war. The memorial acknowledges the gravity of the decision in the Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG defamation case and its broader impact on all involved in the Australian community. This is the outcome of a civil legal case, and one step in a longer process. Collection items relating to Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG, including his uniform, equipment, medals and associated artworks, are on display in the memorial’s galleries. We are considering carefully the additional content and context to be included in these displays. The memorial acknowledges Afghanistan veterans and their families, who may be affected at this time.”

>>19231995 War Memorial ‘acknowledges gravity’ of Ben Robert-Smith murder finding - The Australian War Memorial has quietly added a notice to its displays honouring Ben ­Roberts-Smith “acknowledging the gravity” of the finding in his failed defamation case that he murdered unarmed detainees in Afghanistan. The AWM has previously stated it would leave displays featuring Mr Roberts-Smith in place, despite calls for the collections to be removed from display or contextualised with information about defamation court findings. Greens senator David Shoebridge has called for these items to be removed from display immediately, while former principal AWM historian Peter Stanley has suggested “we might pause before effacing him from our national war museum”. “Removing his portrait and uniform might satisfy a modish desire to obliterate the memory of his actions but by “cancelling” him, we would lose the chance to tell the truth; to explain how the trial’s evidence contradicts the heroic story that the memorial, among others, cultivated,” Professor Stanley said.

#31 - Part 29

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

>>19297998 Defence blocks FOI on war crimes letters between the US and Australia - Defence has refused to release documents setting out US warnings that alleged war crimes by Australian troops in Afghanistan threatened to derail special forces co-operation between the allies. The department rejected a Freedom of Information request on the matter by Greens senator David Shoebridge, who blasted the “wall of silence” over the fallout from the Brereton war crimes report on Australia-US military ties. Defence said there were six separate items of correspondence on the matter but refused to release them on the grounds they could undermine Australia’s relations with the US.

>>19417651 Ben Roberts-Smith will fight his defamation loss at a ten-day hearing - War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith says a judge was mistaken in finding that he was involved in four murders of unarmed prisoners following a landmark defamation loss to three newspapers. In the notice of appeal, Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers said he “appeals from the whole of the judgment”. His representatives argue that Justice Besanko “erred in his findings” Mr Roberts-Smith was involved in the four murders of unarmed prisoners. Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers claim the judge “erred by impermissibly construing the evidence” of Person 41, who witnessed the execution of Ali Jan and should not have been regarded as a reliable witness. “The primary judge added to and cherry picked the evidence of a witness whose evidence he otherwise found to be reliable without adequately explaining the basis for doing so,” the appeal states. They also claim the judge denied procedural fairness, as he did not ask for the “rookie soldier”, known as Person 4, to give evidence about what happened at the compound and placed too great a weight on the evidence of Afghan villagers.

>>19427909 Police, war crimes investigators seek access to documents in Roberts-Smith case - The Australian Federal Police and war crimes investigators are seeking access to restricted documents from Ben Roberts-Smith’s failed defamation case amid dozens of active investigations into allegations that Australian soldiers broke the rules of engagement in Afghanistan. Federal Court Justice Anthony Besanko revealed in a judgment on Friday that the Commonwealth had applied for changes to national security orders to allow the AFP and the Office of the Special Investigator to seek access to sensitive court documents. This would include transcripts of parts of the trial heard behind closed doors and documents tendered during those hearings. The OSI is the agency investigating war crimes allegations against Australian soldiers in Afghanistan.

#31 - Part 30

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 1

>>19194398 Women, regional voters lead rebellion on Indigenous voice to parliament: Newspoll - The referendum for an Indigenous voice to parliament has suffered a collapse in support among women voters and in the regions as the referendum heads toward defeat, with just 41 per cent of voters now saying they will vote yes.

>>19194411 Thomas Mayo and Kate Chaney get plaudits in Perth, but WA regions rail against the voice - Out in the WA farming and mining electorate of O’Connor, Liberal MP Rick Wilson sees baked-in opposition. In the last week of June, Wilson ran a survey of his own email database. Though it lacked any of the rigour of a poll, Wilson’s survey concluded 80.1 per cent of the 1487 respondents intended to vote No at the voice referendum later this year.

>>19194426 Thomas Mayo says Indigenous voice to parliament will be ‘difficult to ignore’ - Prominent Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo says an Indigenous voice to parliament will be “difficult to ignore” as he hits out at “disappointing” personal attacks that he says have been hurtful. He would keep talking to Australians telling them the voice would be modest, meaningful, uniting and something that would be celebrated forever.

>>19194442 Thomas Mayo - Voice to Parliament will close gaps and address glaring issue at nation's heart - "How can we say we are the greatest country of all when we are the only like nation with no constitutional recognition of our original habitants. Far from great - Indigenous Australians are proportionately the most incarcerated people on the planet. We are the worst in the world in terms of Indigenous health, education and employment outcomes. At the referendum, we are responding to a simple and modest proposition: should our constitution include recognition of the First Peoples of Australia by granting them the fairness of a say." - Thomas Mayo - canberratimes.com.au

>>19194448 Anthony Albanese confident ‘focus’ will lead to Yes vote for Indigenous voice to parliament referendum - Anthony Albanese has declared the referendum for the Indigenous voice to parliament will be supported by a majority of the people and a majority of the states on the back of a short, five or six week campaign which will be the chance to turn around the negative polling.

>>19194465 Details aside, the vibe won’t win voice referendum - Yes case advocates may have misunderstood the lessons of the 2017 same-sex marriage plebiscite and last year’s federal election that brought a Labor left faction prime minister to power. Voice advocates see both as signs Australia has moved left.

>>19194492 Tony Abbott accuses companies supporting The Voice of ‘shareholder abuse’ - Former prime minister Tony Abbott has accused “woke companies” of “shareholder abuse” by publicly supporting the referendum. The former politician added there was “absolutely no doubt that the new left establishment is massively behind this Voice for all sorts of reasons.”

>>19194500 Indigenous group demands $2.5m for WA tree planting events - More tree planting events in WA were cancelled due to claims by peak environmental body, the South East Regional Centre for Urban Landcare, that Perth-based Whadjuk Aboriginal Corporation is withholding approvals until $2.5m in compensation is received.

>>19199716 Speaking out: opposing camps state their reasons for and against an Indigenous voice to parliament - Australians will be told the ­Indigenous voice to parliament is a “leap into the unknown” when they receive the official No pamphlet in the mail, while the Yes ­brochure promises constitutional recognition with concrete results, as Anthony Albanese concedes the Yes case needs to be made stronger.

>>19199725 Greg Craven ‘beside myself with rage’ after Indigenous voice to parliament No pamphlet quotes him - Conservative constitutional lawyer and prominent Yes campaigner Greg Craven says he’s “beside myself with rage” after one of his quotes criticising the government’s preferred model for an Indigenous voice to parliament was used in the official No pamphlet.

>>19199734 Indigenous people thriving without voice: Mundine - No campaign leader Warren Mundine says the world "wouldn't give a bugger" if the Indigenous voice was shot down at the referendum, arguing Australia is already taking great steps to improve the lives of Aboriginal people.

>>19199738 No campaign 'outdated, missed opportunity': Leeser - Liberal backbencher Julian Leeser has criticised Peter Dutton's arguments against the voice, claiming the No campaign is outdated and could lead to a "missed opportunity" for Australians.

#31 - Part 31

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 2

>>19199762 National Australia Bank in firing line for hosting videos with Yes backer Thomas Mayo - The Coalition has hit out at NAB for hosting pro-voice videos with Thomas Mayo on its website, in which the prominent Yes campaigner declares the advisory body “must be respected and its advice acted upon”.

>>19204775 Anthony Albanese: government will reject Indigenous voice advice if it disagrees - Anthony Albanese has declared an Indigenous voice to parliament is not about treaty or compensating Aboriginal people and says his government will absolutely reject its advice -- including if it suggests changing Australia Day – if Labor disagrees.

>>19204786 Video: Anthony Albanese reveals deepening Indigenous voice to parliament frustration during clash with 2GB Radio host Ben Fordham - Anthony Albanese has publicly revealed what is clearly a deepening personal frustration over where the voice referendum is heading. In an interview with 2GB radio host Ben Fordham Wednesday morning the Prime Minister allowed himself to become audibly vexed and abrasive by the questioning.

>>19211137 Indigenous voice to parliament: Anthony Albanese undermined on treaty claim - Supporters of an Indigenous voice have said the body must be established so it can negotiate treaty, undermining Anthony Albanese’s declaration that the referendum is “not about a treaty”. UNSW Law School professor Gabrielle Appleby and senior Uluru Dialogue member Eddie Synot wrote in March: “Voice precedes treaty because fair, modern treaty negotiations require first the establishment of a representative Indigenous body to negotiate the rules of the game with the state. It can’t be left to the state alone, and the state must have a group of people with whom to negotiate.”

>>19211159 ‘Failure is not an option’: Dreyfus optimistic Voice referendum will overcome opposition - Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says he is confident most Australians will support the Indigenous Voice to parliament once they are engaged with the issue, declaring change is long overdue and “failure is not an option”. When asked who would be to blame if the referendum failed, Dreyfus replied: “It’s not going to fail. Failure is not an option for me.”

>>19211168 ‘I’m living on optimism’: Pearson finds hope for Voice in a Sydney Westfield - For Noel Pearson, a visit to the Liberal heartland of Hornsby on Thursday to campaign for the Indigenous Voice to parliament became a whistlestop foodie tour as friendly shopkeepers pushed samples of olives, seafood, doughnuts and coffee on the First Nations leader. Pearson said the opposition to the Voice came from the far right and the far left, and that should comfort mainstream Australians. “The Voice is right down the middle, it’s a sensible balance,” Pearson said.

>>19217202 Big W pulls Indigenous voice to parliament plugs from in-store messages - Big W has pulled public address announcements about the Uluru Statement from the Heart and the Indigenous voice to parliament from all its stores, citing feedback from customers and staff. The retail chain, owned by Woolworths Group, had been broadcasting an acknowledgment of country in Big W stores for more than a year and will revert to those, The Australian has confirmed.

>>19217224 Yes supporters of the Indigenous voice to parliament have raised some of the best reasons to vote No - "If the Yes pamphlet was being sincere it would tell people the truth: neither symbolic recognition nor a great big new bureaucracy, as outlined in the Calma/Langton report, are capable of solving the problems facing many Aboriginal people. Only economic participation can do this: kids in school, adults in jobs, people able to create businesses and own their own homes. That isn’t achieved with a magic wand. It’s achievable only through hard graft and political courage." - Nyunggai Warren Mundine, Indigenous Forum director at the Centre for Independent Studies - theaustralian.com.au

>>19217244 Australian Jewish Association says Indigenous voice to parliament advocacy goes against values - A conservative pro-Israel community organisation that opposes an Indigenous voice to parliament has hit out at representative bodies for actively campaigning on the referendum, saying the ­Albanese government’s proposal was “contrary to Jewish values and community interests”. Many major Jewish organisations have backed the voice, ­saying it resonates with them ­because they understand what it’s like to be voiceless.

#31 - Part 32

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 3

>>19220640 Pro-voice Liberal Andrew Bragg calls for referendum delay to 2024 to ‘save the concept’ - One of the few Liberal MPs who support the Indigenous voice to parliament has appealed to the government to delay the referendum to next year. Andrew Bragg, who is campaigning for a yes vote, said not enough “middle ground” had been established and he feared that lack of consensus had doomed the referendum to failure. It was time to recalibrate to “save the concept”, he said, before running a referendum in mid-2024.

>>19222693 Indigenous voice to parliament’s No pamphlet casts light where Yes prefers shadows - "As we count down towards the most significant referendum since Federation, the picture that has emerged in the Yes and No pamphlets is both telling and saddening. As we enter the home straight, the decision taken by the Yes camp in the pamphlet to describe a proposed new institution of state as a committee suggests a new desperation. It is obfuscation at best and outright deception at worst. The No side has avoided overreach and calmly stated what is by now self-evident: the voice is risky, unknown, divisive and permanent." - Louise Clegg, barrister - theaustralian.com.au

>>19222723 Making the case for No to Indigenous voice to parliament, straight from horse’s mouth - "The only thing Yes activists hate more than No campaigners misquoting them is No campaigners quoting them accurately. Nobody makes mincemeat of the Yes case arguments anywhere near as effectively as the Yes advocates. The Yes case is most powerfully condemned out of the mouths of its own supporters." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>19222755 NSW slip into No camp puts Voice on track for defeat - The Indigenous Voice to parliament is headed towards a referendum defeat, with most NSW voters supporting the No campaign for the first time and just 31 per cent of Australians expecting the Yes vote to succeed. The Resolve Political Monitor survey shows support for the Voice in NSW slipped to 49 per cent over June and July, from 53 per cent in May-June, while it softened from 56 per cent to 52 per cent in Victoria.

>>19222789 OPINION: Faltering Yes campaign like watching a slow-motion car crash - "Time is running out for the Yes group to turn around its faltering campaign to enshrine a Voice to parliament in the Constitution. If the government is not yet asking itself hard questions about an exit plan, it needs to start planning an escape route now. From a high of 64 per cent public support in September last year, the trend has been all one way, sinking to 48 per cent support in this latest survey. For the first time, this survey shows more people expect the referendum will be defeated than think it will succeed. For the first time, four states would vote No if the national vote were held tomorrow." - James Massola, National Affairs Editor - theage.com.au

>>19222811 Video: PM issues plea to Labor to support Voice to Parliament - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has issued an urgent plea to the Labor faithful to get behind the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, as the latest opinion poll indicates it's heading towards defeat. - 9 News Australia

>>19231753 Video: Tony Abbott blasts PM’s voice ‘not about a treaty’ line - Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has slammed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for claiming the voice was “not about a treaty” with Indigenous Australians, as a video resurfaced of the Prime Minister wearing a “Voice, Treaty, Truth” T-shirt at at a Midnight Oil concert. “Quite apart from anything the Prime Minister chose to wear at a concert, I go back to that initial statement he made as Prime Minister. The new government is committed to the Uluru statement from the Heart in full - in other words, voice, treaty, truth in full,” Mr Abbott said.

>>19231792 Tony Abbott unleashes on the Voice, Anthony Albanese - Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has unleashed on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, describing it as a “power grab by activists”. In a scathing critique of the Yes campaign, Mr Abbott told 2GB’s Ben Fordham this morning that he did not want to see Australia “divided by ancestry or race”. “I don’t want to see Indigenous separatism reinforced in our constitution.” He claimed if the Voice passed it would lead to “massive demands for compensation or reparations and even more restrictions on what people can do with their land”.

#31 - Part 33

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 4

>>19231811 Indigenous voice to parliament supporters say Anthony Albanese shouldn’t delay referendum - Voice co-architect and senior Australian of the Year Tom Calma says the referendum must be held this year and a delay will not change the will of the people, as Anthony Albanese is told to “go the course” by Yes advocates. Liberal for Yes co-convener Sean Gordon also rejected the suggestion the referendum be pulled because of a fear of failure or that the country may look bad in the eyes of the rest of the world, warning Australia shouldn’t shy away from a proposal put forward by Indigenous people.

>>19231841 Indigenous voice to parliament late-year poll ‘to harmonise voice’ - Conservative Yes campaigner Greg Craven says it would be sensible for Anthony Albanese to push the referendum as far as he can to mid-November or early December in the hope voice ­advocates can claw back support and the millions of dollars in ­donations can have the greatest impact.

>>19231869 Jacinta Price pans Indigenous ‘experts’ in Melbourne - Northern Territory senator and prominent No campaigner Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has taken aim at Victoria and sporting codes over their support for the Voice to parliament. “You only have to look at who’s running the show here in Victoria and the level of activism that takes place,” she said. “Victoria is one of those places where everything is about ideology and not common sense.” Ms Price also took aim at the major sporting codes and clubs. “I’m really disappointed there are clubs who have come out and said they support it,” she said. “They can’t describe to an Indigenous person in a remote community how it’s going to improve their lives. Why should they be telling Australians how to suck eggs?”

>>19237663 ‘Who knew’: Anthony Albanese responds to furore over picture of him in Midnight Oil T-shirt - Anthony Albanese has laughed off claims he misled Australians when he said the Voice to parliament was not about a treaty after a picture of him wearing a “Voice, Treaty, Truth” T-shirt resurfaced. “Who knew someone would wear a Midnight Oil T-shirt at a Midnight Oil concert? I did see that and have a laugh. Frankly, it shows the desperation of people,” the Labor leader chuckled.

>>19237674 Video: No campaign stands by Gary Johns amid controversy - The No campaign against an Indigenous voice to parliament is standing by Gary Johns, former Labor minister in the Keating government, despite growing calls for him to resign or be sacked over a series of comments and proposals that include blood tests for Aboriginal welfare recipients and a public holiday celebrating intermarriage between black and white Australians.

>>19243329 Indigenous voice to parliament ‘will let us make real deals’, says Noel Pearson - Indigenous leader Noel Pearson says the voice will conduct negotiations with the government of the day and make “real deals” to improve the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, raising fresh questions from the No campaign.

>>19250147 Chris Hipkins signals support for Indigenous voice to parliament through NZ example - New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has held up his country as one that has successfully embraced reconciliation with its Indigenous people, in a strong signal of trans-Tasman support for the voice referendum.

>>19256826 Farmers’ revolt threatens to stifle the Indigenous voice to parliament - The nation’s peak agricultural lobby says West Australian farmers are “paralysed with fear” and uncertain “what they can do on their own land” because of new Aboriginal cultural heritage laws that loom as a key threat to the voice referendum and Labor’s political dominance in the state. The National Farmers Federation has sounded an alarm over Anthony Albanese’s plan to legislate a stand-alone national framework for Indigenous cultural heritage protections, saying the rollout of separate federal rules could “intensify the confusion in WA with overlapping federal laws”.

#31 - Part 34

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 5

>>19262483 Reject race-based ‘poison’, privilege the Indigenous voice to parliament will deliver - "The voice referendum deserves to be defeated on the ethics of conviction and consequences. I write as a proud Australian of Indian heritage. I pay my respects to the Aboriginal communities that have lived here since Dreamtime; but also to the pioneers who established modern Australia as a stable and prosperous democracy, and to the visionary leaders who strove tirelessly to create a society that grants equal citizenship to everyone in a vibrant multicultural country. The voice speaks not to all Australians’ better angels but to some white Australians’ guilt complex. Permanently codifying racial grievance into the Constitution will guarantee it is weaponised and monetised sometime in the future by activists making increasingly radical demands and stoking resentment and backlash. If approved, the voice will not mark the end of a successful process of reconciliation but the beginning of fresh claims for co-sovereignty, treaty and reparations, using the Constitution’s authority as the enabling mechanism." - Ramesh Thakur, emeritus professor at ANU’s Crawford School of Public Policy and former UN assistant secretary-general - theaustralian.com.au

>>19267275 Key voice architect Megan Davis criticises media for coverage of the voice referendum - Key voice to parliament architects have accused the media of “driving sentiment” towards a no vote while conceding their own messaging needs to be positive. Numerous polls in recent months have shown declining support for a yes vote at the upcoming referendum and advocates Megan Davis and Noel Pearson are among those to criticise the mainstream media’s coverage of the debate. Professor Davis, the Balnaves chair in constitutional law at the University of NSW, lambasted the media last week and said she had seen significant support for a yes vote while visiting communities across the country, which was at odds to negative media coverage showing falling support. “We are having deep conversations with Aussies and we are not picking up, nor is Yes23, the kind of sentiment that we are seeing in the media, where they are driving the sentiment … downwards, to no,” she told ABC presenter Phillip Adams on his Late Night Live program last week.

>>19267283 Without the Indigenous voice to parliament, a treaty is vulnerable - "The calls for reform over the past century reveal advocacy for a voice within the democratic framework of the state as a pragmatic way of First Nations adapting to the legal and political environment imposed on them. There is also advocacy for a framework for a treaty that would enable communities to practise self-determination. This two-tier approach is common in countries with significant Indigenous populations to ensure every possible mechanism can be adopted to influence the state and to leverage public power to drive change in communities." - Megan Davis, co-author of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, and George Williams, constitutional expert - theaustralian.com.au

>>19267290 One third of voters undecided or open to change: Voice poll - A nationwide polling exercise of more than 14,000 people undertaken by federal Labor shows almost a third of voters are either undecided or can be swayed towards voting Yes for the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, leading the government to conclude the referendum is not lost yet. The Australian Financial Review has learned that earlier this month, over a period of two weeks, Labor surveyed 14,300 voters in what was the most comprehensive polling exercise the party has undertaken outside last year’s federal election campaign. The polling, which drilled down into voter intention and attitudes across all demographics, found on a superficial basis there was 48 per cent support for the Yes vote, 47 per cent for the No vote, and 5 per cent were undecided.

>>19272561 ‘Furphy’: Noel Pearson dismisses calls to delay voice poll - Prominent Indigenous leader Noel Pearson has dismissed calls to delay the date of the constitutional referendum on the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament as he urged voters to rise above allegiances to the major political parties when they cast their vote in the looming poll. Liberal MP Andrew Bragg, who backs the voice, has called for the vote to be delayed to allow the Yes side to recalibrate and build bipartisan support for the referendum after polling revealed ­declining support amid voter confusion.

#31 - Part 35

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 6

>>19283925 Labor’s national platform reveals treaty to be pursued this term of government - Labor has vowed to take steps towards a treaty with Indigenous Australians in this term of parliament in the latest draft of its national platform, as Anthony Albanese refuses to link a Makarrata commission and agreement-making with the referendum. The Prime Minister and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney are facing increased pressure from the Coalition to explain if they still support a treaty and the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full - after Mr Albanese declared on 2GB last month the voice was not about treaty – with senior Liberals questioning Ms Burney’s ability to remain minister.

>>19283990 Indigenous voice to parliament: Why Anthony Albanese can no longer say he supports a treaty - "Why can’t Anthony Albanese provide a simple answer to the question - “do you support a treaty?” The reason is the politics of the voice referendum have forced the Prime Minister into concealing the extent of Labor’s agenda on treaty and truth-telling. This is not a tenable long-term position. With support for the voice trending down, Albanese does not want his constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament to become entwined in the public mind with a complex process of agreement making between governments and Indigenous Australians over the legacy of European settlement." - Joe Kelly - theaustralian.com.au

>>19284007 Inflexible Linda Burney doing more harm than good to Indigenous voice to parliament - "Anthony Albanese and the Labor government are trying desperately to separate the troubled proposal for an Indigenous voice to parliament from the even more controversial and politically damaging ideas of a treaty and truth-telling to rescue the referendum. It is a dismal failure because, as Indigenous Australians Minister and the government face of the campaign, Linda Burney is incapable of the task. Her parliamentary responses to perfectly reasonable requests for information about either the voice or, more recently, Labor’s own $5.8m Makarrata commission - which she announced - to oversee treaty and truth-telling, is embarrassing." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19289915 Indigenous voice to parliament Yes side insists treaties decades away - The Yes campaign has insisted treaties take decades to finalise as it seeks to distance the process from the voice referendum and Anthony Albanese rules out the commonwealth pursuing agreements with Indigenous Australians in this term of parliament. The Prime Minister said states were leading treaty negotiations but left open the possibility of the federal government playing a role, while refusing to say if he personally supported a treaty.

>>19297168 Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton trade barbs over an Indigenous voice to parliament - Peter Dutton has broadened the No campaign’s attack against ­Anthony Albanese and the Indigenous voice to parliament, attempting to link the Prime Minister’s competency and management of the referendum to ­delivering government services and cost-of-living relief. After a week in which the ­Coalition continued to pressure the government over voice and treaty, Mr Albanese accused opponents of the advisory body of “confected outrage” and undermining Indigenous Australians to gain political advantage.

>>19297215 Albanese is now presiding over repeated tactical failures on the voice - "Labor has a well-publicised commitment to delivering the Uluru statement in full. This involves treaty and truth telling, with the voice being the first priority. There is nothing new in this. But the government’s apparent lack of a strategy to deal with inevitable attempts to link the voice to treaty is bewildering. As one senior Labor source said Thursday, as the Coalition continued to entrap the government into talking about the voice: “If the voice isn’t close to dead after this week, it’s got to be on life support.”" - Simon Benson - theaustralian.com.au

>>19297296 Indigenous voice to parliament: Claims of ‘no say’ on AUKUS nuclear subs torpedoed by referendum adviser - A member of Anthony Albanese’s referendum advisory group says the AUKUS nuclear submarine project has the potential to impact Indigenous communities, signalling she backs the voice to parliament advising government on the key pillar of Australia’s defence policy. Artist Sally Scales said Aboriginal communities should be consulted on aspects of the nuclear subs deal, including where they will be docked. “I don’t care about the nuts and the bolts of the submarines. But what do I care about? Where’s that nuclear waste going to go for (those) submarines?” Ms Scales told an event at the Australian National University on Wednesday night.

#31 - Part 36

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 7

>>19297392 Anthony Albanese at top voice: no retreat on Indigenous referendum - Anthony Albanese has promised there will be no retreat on the referendum, declaring a constitutionally enshrined voice would bring a “new day” of unity to the nation and act as a “vehicle for progress” in tackling Indigenous advantage. In his strongest and most ­impassioned defence of the voice, to be delivered at the Garma festival in northeast Arnhem Land on Saturday, the Prime Minister will invoke the spirit and vision of the late Yolngu elder Yunupingu to promote the “coming-together of two worlds”. In a draft of his speech obtained by The Weekend Australian, Mr Albanese says voting Yes is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for real, overdue and much-needed change” and promises there would be “no delaying or ­deferring this referendum”.

>>19297569 An Indigenous voice to parliament - like Garma - is two cultures embracing for the betterment of both - "Friends, more than 17 million of our fellow Australians are enrolled to vote in this referendum. The highest number of voters in our nation’s history, including a record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voters. In this decisive moment, each of us holds an equal responsibility. And each of us has an equal opportunity. Yes, we can make history together. More importantly, we can shape the future together. We can vote Yes, in a spirit of unity. We can vote Yes, with optimism and hope - not just for success at this referendum but for our greater success as a nation. We can bring our country together. We can bring our two worlds together. With our hearts and with our heads. This year, on referendum day, the power to reach for a better Australia is in our hands. Let’s seize it together. Let’s vote Yes for recognition, let’s vote Yes for a voice and let’s vote yes for the better future that both will deliver, for all of us." - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - theaustralian.com.au

>>19302884 Voice campaign stepping up a gear, Noel Pearson signals at Garma Festival - Cape York leader Noel Pearson has signalled the voice campaign is moving into another gear, saying: “We’re going to love them on the beaches in this campaign.” Mr Pearson was speaking at the Garma festival in northeast Arnhem Land when he told the non-Indigenous people in the audience they were crucial to the result of the voice referendum to be held later this year. He described it as the most important vote in the nation’s history and our “last best chance” to complete the constitution.

>>19302959 Indigenous voice to parliament our chance to lift Indigenous lives above lies and insults - "When Anthony Albanese announced his commitment to the Uluru Statement from the Heart and outlined a draft question at the Garma Festival in July last year, we could not have predicted the viciousness of the opposition to what had been refined into a just, practical and constitutionally sound proposition. It is alarming yet unsurprising that politicians and some aspirants have been prepared to set up Indigenous people and their advocates for abuse and vilification for nothing more than transactional electoral motivations. Millions of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people are hoping we are all better than that; so many lives and our future rely on it. If the Opposition Leader were at the Garma Festival this weekend, listening, he would grasp why First Peoples respectfully ask him and all Australians to recognise us in the Constitution through a practical advisory body." - Marcia Langton, Redmond Barry Distinguished Professor at the University of Melbourne - theaustralian.com.au

>>19303021 Cook government to scrap Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act after months of controversy - The West Australian government will scrap its controversial Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Laws within days, the ABC understands. Premier Roger Cook and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Tony Buti will make an announcement early next week. It follows months of harsh criticism of the laws and the government in the lead up to their implementation on July 1 and in the weeks following. The criticism has been led by WA's opposition parties - the Nationals and Liberals - along with farmers groups including WAFarmers and the Pastoralists and Graziers Association. The new legislation came into force to 'modernise' the existing process, which saw major problems exposed in the wake of the destruction of Juukan Gorge. The laws require some WA landowners to check for the presence of cultural heritage before conducting any activities that may compromise such sites.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 8

>>19303148 Video: Yes campaign relieved as WA set to scrap controversial heritage laws - An obstacle appears to have been cleared from the path of the Yes campaign with the Western Australian government expected to scrap controversial Aboriginal heritage laws that had become a flashpoint in the Voice referendum. Reports of the move to ditch the laws were welcomed by the Yes campaign and Voice advocates at the Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land yesterday, after the federal Coalition sought to link the two issues and suggested the WA measures were a precursor to broader national changes that could infringe on property owners’ rights.

>>19308103 'Not focused on hypotheticals': PM not considering other forms of Indigenous recognition if Voice fails - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has warned no other forms of Indigenous recognition will be on the table if the Voice referendum fails. He told ABC's Insiders program, filmed at Garma Festival in north-east Arnhem Land, he will not back down from constitutional recognition in the form of a Voice to Parliament because that was the specific request First Nations people made in the Uluru Statement. "This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity," he said.

>>19308109 Labor in no-man’s land, not wanting to promote a treaty while also unable to say it won’t happen - "Anthony Albanese has launched a media blitz to reboot the failing campaign for a voice to parliament, warning there will be no second chance for constitutional recognition of indigenous Australians if the referendum fails. Amid the glow of an uplifting Garma festival of indigenous Australians, and against the idyllic backdrop of Arnhem Land, the Prime Minister is using his “spear of strength” to simultaneously promote the indigenous voice to parliament, warn there will be no watered-down versions of recognition, and to distance himself and the commonwealth from the Uluru Statement commitment to a treaty." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19308112 Video: ‘Complete lie’: Jacinta Price rejects claims No campaign using fake images of Indigenous people - No campaigner Warren Mundine and Country-Liberal senator Jacinta Price have knocked back “racist” allegations they have used AI-generated images of Aboriginal people to encourage people to oppose the Indigenous voice. Former NAIDOC co-chair and journalist John Paul Janke on Sunday told ABC Insiders that voice opposers had created the AI-generated images “to try to look like it is an Indigenous person supporting the No campaign”. “Online, the No campaign have multiple social media pages. Some of them are now using AI with a Blak Indigenous character to try to look like it is an Indigenous person supporting the No campaign,” he said, speaking from the Garma festival.

>>19314716 ’Nothing to fear from Makaratta’, Anthony Albanese says after Garma boost for voice referendum - Anthony Albanese says there is nothing to fear from the second stage of the Uluru Statement from the Heart - a proposed Makarrata commission often referred to as treaty for short - because any agreement making would be mutual, not imposed. After weeks of trying to separate the voice referendum from a Makaratta Commission, the Prime Minister said no Australian could deny the “struggle” of Indigenous Australians and that the commission would bring people together.

>>19320661 Video: WA Premier Roger Cook announces repeal of Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Laws - WA Premier Roger Cook has confirmed his government will scrap its controversial Aboriginal cultural heritage legislation. The laws have been in effect for only five weeks, and had been designed to avoid a repeat of Rio Tinto's destruction of 46,000-year-old culturally significant caves at Juukan Gorge in 2020. But Mr Cook now says those laws went too far, were too complicated and placed unnecessary burdens on property owners. "I understand that the legislation has unintentionally caused stress, confusion and division in the community and for that I am sorry," he told a press conference this morning.

>>19320682 WA backtrack on heritage laws is a reminder the Indigenous voice to parliament can’t be scrapped - "The “forever” nature of Anthony Albanese’s constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament has been put up in lights by the West Australian retreat over introduction of Indigenous cultural heritage laws. This is the obvious point: there can be no backdown over a voice to parliament that has been cemented into the Constitution. If the voice proves unpopular, something goes wrong with the advisory body or there are unintended consequences, the entity cannot be scrapped. While bad governments can be voted out and bad laws can be repealed, the voice is permanent." - Joe Kelly - theaustralian.com.au

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 9

>>19320706 Indigenous voice to parliament No camp fears rush of the late engagers - Senior No campaigners have warned of complacency, fears that 20 to 30 per cent of voters will remain undecided on the voice until polls open and a “cooling” in fundraising and volunteer support, according to a leaked memo sent to Australians for Unity board members. The No campaign, which leads Yes23 in internal and public polling, holds serious concerns it will be outspent and outnumbered in the weeks leading up to the expected October 14 referendum asking Australians to enshrine a voice advisory body in the Constitution.

>>19326823 Indigenous voice to parliament: AI No group denies relationship with Warren Mundine and Jacinta Price - The man behind a No campaign group that has drawn criticism for using AI generated videos has denied having a formal or informal relationship with Warren Mundine or Country-Liberal senator Jacinta Price. The ABC was forced to issue a statement of clarification after former NAIDOC co-chair and journalist John Paul Janke said voice opponents were using AI to make it appear “like it is an ­Indigenous person supporting the No campaign”. Phillip Mobbs, who is running Constitutional Equality, said AI was a cost-effective way to create campaign videos that reflected multicultural Australia. “What you’ll observe is the avatar is clearly not Indigenous but (it) does reflect the multicultural society we live in,” he said. Mr Mobbs, whose background is in education, said he had no relationship with Senator Price, Mr Mundine or No campaign group Advance Australia.

>>19326866 Video: Indigenous voice to parliament referendum ‘the best chance to shape treaty’, says Thomas Mayo - Prominent Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo says Indigenous Australians who signed the Uluru Statement from the Heart ­wanted to pursue a voice first “so that we could have the best possible say on the Makarrata commission” to oversee agreement-making and truth-telling. Mr Mayo made the direct link between the voice and treaty as fellow leading Yes supporters - including Megan Davis and Tom Calma - backed Anthony Albanese in warning this referendum would be Australians’ only chance to pass constitutional recognition in a generation.

>>19327086 Video: Senator says Uluru Statement ‘confirmed’ as 26 pages by NIAA, after Albo blasts claim as ‘QAnon’ conspiracy - Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Uluru Statement from the Heart has been “confirmed” as being 26 pages long by the agency that produced the documents under freedom of information, as she called on Anthony Albanese to “come clean” after the Prime Minister derided the claim as a “QAnon” style conspiracy theory on Tuesday. Mr Albanese used Question Time on Tuesday to blast the claims as a “QAnon” style conspiracy theory. “That is a conspiracy in search of a theory, Mr Speaker,” the PM said. “It is something that has been out there, like a whole lot of the QAnon theories, we have all sorts of conspiracy stuff out there, but this is a ripper. That is the Uluru Statement from the Heart on an A4 bit of paper. That is it. But what we have here is the conspiracy theories colliding with each other. They’re struggling to get their scares straight. I mean, what role did Marcia Langton play in the faking of the moon landing, Mr Speaker? What was the role of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in that?” He stressed it was “absolutely nonsense”.

>>19333302 Indigenous voice to parliament: Anthony Albanese strikes back on length of Uluru Statement - Anthony Albanese has attempted to slap down Coalition accusations the Uluru Statement from the Heart is more than one page as “absolute conspiracy and nonsense”, amid claims the Indigenous Australians agency has faced political pressure to fall into line with the government. The No campaign is intensifying debate over whether the Uluru statement is one or more pages as the Coalition points to previous comments from Megan Davis - an architect of the statement - that it was actually about 18 to 20 pages. The Coalition is claiming the government is wrong to say the Uluru Statement is one page, arguing the document is 26 pages and includes statements about invasion, treaty and genocide.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 10

>>19333412 Uluru smear job reeks of desperation from No camp - "The Uluru Statement from the Heart is one page. It’s very simple. The unceasing attempts from the No campaign to take draft documents from conference rooms seven years ago and transcriptions of butchers paper seven years ago to manufacture a controversy over the Uluru Statement is farcical. It reeks of desperation. Who would knowingly and willingly mislead the Australian people? Not us. The Referendum Council report and website contains the official documents and they’ve been live online since 2017. It shows the one-page Uluru Statement from the Heart." - Megan Davis - theaustralian.com.au

>>19333451 First Peoples’ Assembly members issue warning on ‘No’ vote push - A rift in the Victorian First Peoples’ Assembly over its support for a national Indigenous Voice to parliament has sparked warnings that looming treaty negotiations with the state government will suffer from any disunity. The push from a minority faction to reverse the assembly’s formal endorsement of the Voice will be discussed at a meeting of the board on Thursday, but nine members of the representative body say the attempt is doomed to fail.

>>19333508 Anthony Albanese’s trip to the US firms up October 14 as Indigenous voice to parliament referendum date - Anthony Albanese’s late October visit to the United States has left little doubt October 14 is the preferred date for the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, according to constitutional law expert George Williams. The Prime Minister now has three likely overseas trips in late October and early to mid-November, making that period too crowded for a referendum. He is expected to be in Australia between September 11 (after the G20 on September 9-10) and his visit to the White House on October 23, which would allow a short four to five-week campaign. During that time there is just one parliamentary sitting week from September 11-14 and then four weeks of a break, which would give the Yes campaign clear air to prosecute its case.

>>19340214 Video: Noel Pearson warns of high cost if No vote on Indigenous voice to parliament succeeds - Cape York leader Noel Pearson has issued a subtle message for the “progressive No” campaign against the Indigenous voice to parliament, hinting that a failed referendum would be a big loss for them too. Mr Pearson was speaking at a voice forum in the Torres Strait this week when he indirectly addressed any voter who believes Australia should hold out for something more substantial than an advisory body with no power of veto. A video and audio recording of the forum shows Mr Pearson using hand gestures to indicate the voice was at head height while other, more ambitious proposals were high up in the air. If the voice failed at head height, he indicated, a sky-high proposal would not succeed. Still gesturing with his hands, Mr Pearson argued that a failed referendum would leave Indigenous Australians asking for less not more. “And if they say no to that (the voice), you think they’re going to say yes to that (more ambitious proposal)?’” he said. Mr Pearson lowered his hand to waist height as he told the forum: “If they say no (to the voice), next time you will be talking about whether they will say yes to this (less ambitious proposal)”.

>>19340240 Tony Abbott loud in rejection of Indigenous voice to parliament - Former prime minister Tony Abbott has invoked the spirit of US civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr and late Labor legend Bob Hawke in an attack on an Indigenous voice to parliament. Speaking at an Institute of Public Affairs event in Perth on Wednesday night, Mr Abbott said a successful referendum on the voice would “entrench victimhood in our constitution forever”. “Citing … the wonderful words of Bob Hawke back on Australia Day in 1988, ‘we are a country with no hierarchy of descent. We are a country with no privilege of origin’. “Citing the immortal words of Martin Luther King from an earlier generation, ‘I want to live in a country where my four children are judged not by the colour of their skin, but by the content of their character’. “My absolute desire is that we can go forward as one equal people and that’s why I’ll be voting no. Because I absolutely reject any suggestion that there is something fundamentally wrong with this great country, Australia.”

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 11

>>19340258 Peter Dutton says his government would ‘fight’ for constitutional recognition - Peter Dutton has committed the Coalition to “fighting for” constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians, as he dismissed Anthony Albanese’s threat of Australia losing a once-in-a-generation chance for recognition as “arrogant and dismissive”. In response to the Prime Minister’s warning that a No vote in the voice referendum would mean constitutional recognition would not come around again, the Opposition Leader committed a Dutton-led government to constitutional recognition.

>>19340296 AUKUS alarm after nuclear dump in South Australia is axed - The government has abandoned a decade-long process to establish a low-level radioactive waste dump near Kimba in South Australia, declaring it will not challenge a court ruling in favour of Indigenous people who argued that their voice was ignored in the site’s selection. The Coalition suggested Australians should prepare for a surge of such outcomes under the proposed voice to parliament, and of ramifications for the AUKUS ­nuclear-powered submarine deal that requires Australia to establish a high-level nuclear waste dump.

>>19349726 Jacinta Price says ‘Australians don’t need to be welcomed to their own country’ - Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman, Jacinta Price, has called for an end to welcome to country acknowledgments before every sporting event and public gathering because the practice is “wrong” and dividing the nation. The attack comes after former prime minister Tony Abbott last week conceded he was “getting a little bit sick” of welcome to country, arguing the nation “belongs to all of us, not just to some of us.” Senator Price, a Warlpiri-Celtic woman who grew up in Alice Springs and the leading campaign spokeswoman against Anthony Albanese’s constitutionally enshrined voice to parliament, said “Australians don’t need to be welcomed to their own country”. “There is no problem with acknowledging our history, but rolling out these performances before every sporting event or public gathering is definitely divisive,” Senator Price told The Australian.

>>19349755 The heart of the matter: All Australians are created equal, and they should be treated in the same manner - "Cancel culture’s war on free thinking and free speech must be brought to an end. In order for future generations to benefit from common sense we must arm ourselves with the weapon of truth and stand unified with pride in our shared Australian values and national identity. I can understand the widespread willingness to recognise Australia’s Indigenous heritage. But most of that “recognition” is virtue-signalling. I believe one of our great strengths as a country is that, as Australians, we all play by the same rules and every Australian is entitled to equal dignity and respect, regardless of our background and upbringing, and regardless of how many generations our forebears have been here. Australia is a great country and our way of life is the envy of the world. I am proud to be Australian." - Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Country Liberal Party senator for the NT - theaustralian.com.au

>>19349772 ‘Real concern’: David Littleproud at odds with Peter Dutton over alternative to Voice referendum - The Coalition is split on what they would take to the next election should the Voice to parliament referendum fail. While neither the Liberals or the Nationals support a Voice to parliament, both support constitutionally enshrined recognition of Indigenous Australians. While Mr Dutton has pledged to legislate local and regional voices, a fracture has emerged over what the Coalition would take to voters at the next election should the referendum fail. Speaking on ABC’s Insiders on Sunday, Nationals leader David Littleproud said he had concerns over “regional models”. Mr Littleproud said regional bodies would struggle to property represent massive land masses that were made up of “hundreds of diverse communities”. He instead signalled his support for local Indigenous bodies, saying empowering local elders would deliver better outcomes for First Nations people.

>>19355508 Qantas takes support for the voice to parliament to the skies with ‘yes23’ livery - Qantas will not rule out further measures to drum up support for the voice to parliament after painting three of its aircraft with the “Yes23” campaign logo. The Qantas Boeing 737, Jetstar A320 and QantasLink Dash 8 were unveiled at a major event in Sydney on Monday attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, the voice architect Noel Pearson, former AFL star Adam Goodes and Qantas’ entire senior leadership team. Outgoing chief executive Alan Joyce said they were backing the campaign because they believed “a formal voice to government would help close the gap for First Nations people in important areas like health, education and employment”.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 12

>>19361889 Prime Minister accuses No campaign of spreading AI misinformation - Anthony Albanese has accused the No campaign of spreading AI-generated misinformation ahead of the voice referendum, escalating his attack on media commentators opposed to his proposed constitutional change, including Peta Credlin and ­Andrew Bolt. On WSFM radio with Amanda Keller and Brendan Jones, the Prime Minister said it was ­“pretty scary frankly, some of the No campaign and stuff that’s going into people’s Facebook posts which is designed to spread misinformation”. “Some of it is AI-generated, some of it generated, of course, by people like the commentators that you have said.”

>>19361898 No campaigner’s comments on Stan Grant, Lidia Thorpe labelled ‘disgusting’, ‘grotesque’ - Remarks from a key figure in the Voice No campaign about Indigenous journalist Stan Grant and independent senator Lidia Thorpe have been condemned and labelled disgusting and grotesque. Australian Jewish Association head David Adler, who sits on the advisory board of top No outfit Advance with former prime minister Tony Abbott, insists he was not trying to insult the prominent Indigenous pair when he questioned Thorpe’s Aboriginal heritage and repeatedly suggested Grant had artificially darkened his skin.

>>19361927 No campaign dumps campaigners over racist remarks, distances itself from Adler - No campaign leader Nyunggai Warren Mundine has revealed he pushed two people out of his referendum campaign over allegedly racist comments, as he distanced himself from under-fire No figure David Adler. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said on Tuesday that Opposition Leader Peter Dutton should disassociate himself from Adler after this masthead reported he repeatedly questioned senator Lidia Thorpe’s Aboriginal heritage and suggested Indigenous journalist Stan Grant artificially darkened his skin. Mundine said Adler’s comments were “bizarre” and, without referring directly to Adler, said questioning an Indigenous person’s cultural heritage constituted a “disgusting … racist attack”.

>>19367921 Video: ‘Why would I?’: Anthony Albanese ‘hasn’t read’ additional 25 pages of Uluru Statement material - Anthony Albanese says he hasn’t read the additional 25 pages attached to the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which talk of “reparations” to Indigenous Australians under a future treaty, despite the “divisive” material being seized upon by opponents of the Voice referendum in recent weeks. Speaking to 3AW host Neil Mitchell in an hour-long interview on Monday, the Prime Minister accused the No campaign and Opposition leader Peter Dutton of playing dirty and “saying things that they know are not true”. “Peter Dutton knows full well that a Voice will not have a say in where the submarines from AUKUS will go, they know the Uluru Statement from the Heart is one page, not hundreds of pages,” Mr Albanese said. “But what are the other 25 pages? I’ve read them, what are they?” Mitchell said. “What they are is a record of meetings … they’re records of the big lead-up that happened, in the lead-up to, ironically … the Uluru Statement from the Heart,” the PM said. “Do you agree with most of what is said in those 25 pages?” Mitchell said. “I haven’t read it,” Mr Albanese said. “You haven’t read it?” Mitchell said. “There’s 120 pages - why would I?” the PM said.

>>19367937 Albanese rules out legislating the voice if No campaign prevails - Anthony Albanese has ruled out legislating a voice to parliament if the referendum is defeated this year, pledging that he will honour a No vote and the decision of the Australian people. In his most definitive comments to date on the issue, the Prime Minister said that simply legislating a voice, rather than enshrining the advisory body in the Constitution, also was not the outcome Indigenous leaders had asked of the Australian people. “The Australian people - we are giving them a say,” he told an extended podcast with 3AW’s Neil Mitchell. “The idea that the Australian people vote ‘no’ and I say, ‘well, that’s OK, thanks very much for participating in the referendum, we are going to do it anyway’. No. I won’t do that.”

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 13

>>19367951 Lidia Thorpe addresses ‘hard truths’ about rights and sovereignty of Indigenous people - An upcoming referendum on the Voice to parliament is “window dressing” and should be called off, senator Lidia Thorpe says. The independent senator and face of the Blak Sovereign Movement outlined her criticism of the proposal in her first address to the National Press Club. Senator Thorpe slammed the Uluru Statement from the Heart for promoting the Voice, which she called a “romanticised spiritual notion” of Indigenous sovereignty. “When we talk about sovereignty, we are talking about much more than just the romanticised spiritual notion talked about in the Uluru Statement. We are talking about real political sovereign power,” she said. “I know that might make people feel uncomfortable. But, too bad. That's why the government is scared to acknowledge it. “We are talking about sovereign rights. Rights to our home lands. Our rights to nurture our lands, water, sea, country, and sky, as we have for millennia.”

>>19382262 Anthony Albanese presses go to super-charge Indigenous voice to parliament campaign - Anthony Albanese, senior cabinet ministers and state premiers are preparing a nationwide blitz of battleground states and electorates, as the ALP and union campaign machines swing behind the Yes23 grassroots movement ahead of the voice referendum. The Prime Minister and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney on Saturday will use speeches on the final day of the ALP national conference in Brisbane to springboard Labor’s Yes campaign ahead of an expected October 14 referendum.

>>19382273 Warren Mundine to launch ‘vision’ at Conservative Political Action Conference - Indigenous entrepreneur Warren Mundine says it is time for Australian conservatives to rejoin discussions they once led on equality and rights. He flagged the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney as the forum to set out the movement’s commitments to Closing the Gap and economic prosperity for Indigenous Australians. Mr Mundine and Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, the Coalition’s spokeswoman on Indigenous affairs, will speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney on Saturday. They are expected to reiterate their arguments against the Indigenous voice to parliament, as fellow speakers, including Tony Abbott and Pauline Hanson, are predicted to do.

>>19387384 Albanese declares Voice an opportunity to make Australia greater - The prime minister has rallied Labor members to campaign “like you’ve never campaigned before” for the Voice, to flip opinion polls showing the referendum in peril, at the party’s national conference in Brisbane. Anthony Albanese said the Voice to parliament referendum was a tough undertaking for his first-term government, but Labor was committed to taking on issues “not because they’re convenient, but out of conviction”. A Yes vote, Albanese argued, would “resound across our continent” and make “Australia, the greatest country on earth, just that little bit greater”.

>>19387439 Inside the conservative forum rallying troops against the Voice - Coalition firebrand senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was treated to a rock star’s welcome as she strode onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney and rallied the crowd to do everything they could to oppose the Voice to parliament referendum. The Voice was a central theme of this year’s CPAC Australia event on Saturday, as the who’s who of the No campaign rubbed shoulders with hundreds of conservative voters who paid up to $600 to attend the two-day conference. For those chasing the VIP experience and access to the after party, it was $7000. Wearing a “Vote No” T-shirt, Price told attendees that while the polling was trending in the direction of a referendum defeat, they should not get complacent.

>>19387527 Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price lashes the prime minister over the Voice - Indigenous Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has lashed the prime minister, telling a conservative conference Anthony Albanese is “so concerned with his own popularity he’s willing to tear apart the country”. The prominent No Campaigner has been vocal about how she doesn’t believe the Constitution should be amended to recognise Indigenous Australians as the nation’s First Peoples and enshrine a permanent, independent Aboriginal and Torres Strait advisory body, or “Voice”, to parliament and the executive government. Senator Price walked onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Saturday at The Star Convention Centre in Sydney to a roaring applause and standing ovation.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 14

>>19397646 Penny Wong and Noel Pearson hit the churches and the temples to preach for the voice - After a weekend of preaching to the converted at Labor’s national conference, the ALP and the Yes campaign are hitting the temples and the churches to convert undecided voters to the voice. Foreign Minister Penny Wong and voice co-architect Noel Pearson were invited to a Sikh temple in Adelaide’s Allenby Gardens on Sunday to speak to worshippers about constitutional change that would guarantee an Indigenous advisory body and, proponents argue, close the gap where previous attempts have failed. At the revered langar - the community kitchen of the temple - they served food to the worshippers, following the ancient Sikh tradition of feeding anyone who is hungry and in need.

>>19404413 Anthony Albanese could announce the Indigenous voice to parliament poll date next week - Anthony Albanese is preparing to announce the date for the voice referendum as early as next week, with the Prime Minister saying parliament “will still be in total control of its destiny” if the advisory body is enshrined in the Constitution. Mr Albanese will head to Perth on Monday for a meeting of his cabinet ministers, who he wants to consult before kick starting the ­official campaign, and will attend a breakfast event on Tuesday. Government sources confirmed the date won’t be revealed while he’s in Perth but said it was possible Australians could learn when they’ll head to the polls once Mr Albanese returned from Western Australia, with October 14 the most likely date. September 11 is the last possible day an October 14 poll can be ­announced. Mr Albanese will travel to Indonesia, The Philippines and India between September 6-10.

>>19417286 Voice referendum date to be announced in South Australia next Wednesday - The date for the Voice to Parliament referendum will be announced at an event in Adelaide on Wednesday next week, the Prime Minister's Office has confirmed, as the battle to win voters in key states ramps up. Anthony Albanese has previously said the vote will happen in October or November, with some speculation it will be held on October 14 due to travel commitments Mr Albanese has made in the coming months.

>>19417576 Video: ‘Tick will be accepted, cross will not’: AEC boss slammed for confusing Voice referendum rule - The head of the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) has sparked confusion after suggesting that ticks will be counted as Yes votes but crosses will not be counted as Nos in the Voice referendum. Opposition leader Peter Dutton now says he will write to the AEC over what he called the “completely outrageous” situation. On referendum day, widely expected to be October 14, Australians will be asked to write either “yes” or “no” in English on the ballot paper to the question, “A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice. Do you approve this proposed alteration?” But appearing on Sky News on Wednesday, Australian Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers was asked by host Tom Connell whether vote counters would accept other types of marks inside the box. Mr Rogers said it was a “great question” and again urged people to “make sure you write on that box ‘yes’ or ‘no’ in English”. “Now there are some savings provisions, but I need to be very clear with people -- when we look at that, it is likely that a tick will be accepted as a formal vote for yes, but a cross will not be accepted as a formal vote,” he said.

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Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 15

>>19417591 Dutton cross about AEC tick ruling on Voice referendum - Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for a re-think by the Australian Electoral Commission after it said a tick could be counted as a Yes vote in the Voice to parliament referendum, but a cross would not count as a No vote. In an interview on Sky News on Wednesday, Electoral Commissioner Tom Rogers stressed that Australians should write either Yes or No on the referendum ballot paper in English. However, he then added: “There are some ‘savings provisions’, but I need to be very clear with people: when we look at that, it is likely that a tick will be accepted as a formal vote of ‘Yes’, but a cross will not be accepted as a formal vote.” A spokesman for the AEC said the rules for referendums had been the same for a long time and the “savings provisions” - that is, the ability to count a vote where the instructions have not been followed but the voter’s intention is clear – had been in place for 30 years. Dutton seized on Rogers’ “outrageous” comments in an interview with radio station 2GB, claiming the ruling would give the Yes campaign a clear advantage. “If a tick counts for Yes, then a cross should count for No - it’s as clear as that … I just think Australians want a fair vote, they want to be informed, they want to have the detail before them,” Dutton said.

>>19417606 An Indigenous voice will help fight against endemic disease - "Later this year Australians will get the chance to vote to change our Constitution to recognise the place of First Nations Australians. It’s a chance to unify the country. As Health Minister, I can’t think of an area of policy where that voice will be more important and more valuable than in health. With the best of intentions and substantial investment from both sides of the parliament, the current approach simply isn’t working. Listening to an Indigenous voice to parliament will give us a better insight into how better to spend the hundreds of millions of dollars of taxpayer money that goes into First Nations health -- getting better outcomes and better value for money. Politicians don’t know best – we need to listen to communities to hear their solutions and ensure funding is getting to where it needs to go, ultimately to ensure better outcomes and longer lives." - Mark Butler, federal Health and Aged Care Minister - theaustralian.com.au

>>19417616 The No campaign against an Indigenous voice to parliament concedes a six-week campaign will be challenging - The No campaign has hit out at Anthony Albanese for overseeing a six-week referendum campaign on an Indigenous voice to parliament, labelling it “an absolute slap in the face” to Australians struggling with cost-of-living pressures. A No campaign spokesman told The Australian their strategy would not change once the referendum campaign officially began, which was to communicate to battleground state voters it was a “terrible idea to divide the country with this proposal”. Opponents to the voice are targeting South Australia, Tasmania, Western Australia and Queensland as the No camp only needs a majority in three states to defeat the referendum. “The campaign is a challenge and six weeks is a long time,” the No campaign spokesman said. “It’s obvious to us that the PM has chosen a six-week campaign as it suits both the Yes campaign and the government to spend the $100m we think they have set aside for advertising during the referendum. It is an absolute slap in the face to every Australian that while they are worried about rent and the cost of petrol, the PM will be using their money on this campaign.”

>>19427643 AEC ticks off Peter Dutton over ‘factually incorrect’ complaint - The Australian Electoral Commission has rebuked Peter Dutton for making a “factually incorrect” complaint after the federal opposition leader complained that a tick on a Voice referendum ballot paper counting as a vote but a cross not counting would advantage the Yes camp. On Thursday, Dutton called on the AEC to rethink counting ticks as a Yes vote but not counting crosses as a No vote on a referendum ballot paper - even though doing this has been standard practice for the commission in referendums for 30 years under so-called ‘savings provisions’.

#31 - Part 45

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 16

>>19427688 ABC management and Leigh Sales intervene in debate on Uluru Statement and argue it's a ‘one-page document’ - ABC management and top journalist Leigh Sales have instructed staff at the public broadcaster that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is a “one-page document” and given them tactics to quash any arguments contrary to this. The intervention from Sales and ABC management comes days after the broadcaster’s Media Watch program criticised attempts to label an editorial from Sky News host Peta Credlin arguing that the Uluru Statement was 26 pages long as “false information” on Facebook.

>>19427747 Edict over Uluru statement a step too far, says ABC host Tom Switzer - ABC Radio National presenter Tom Switzer says it’s “highly ­inappropriate” that the public broadcaster issued an edict to staff on what to say in a debate disputing that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is longer than a one-page document. On Friday, The Australian ­revealed that ABC management and top journalist Leigh Sales told staff that the Uluru statement was a single-page document. Sales ­offered numerous tactics on ­addressing any arguments in ­opposition to this. Switzer, who hosts the ­Between the Lines program on Radio ­National, said the ABC and individual staff members should not be arbiters on what is right and wrong in debate. “Why should the ABC or any media outlet issue edicts to staff on highly contentious issues where opinion among even ABC staffers varies?” he said.

>>19434584 WA Nationals backflip on voice, join federal party’s No push - The West Australian Nationals have fallen in line with the federal party on the Indigenous voice to parliament, backflipping on earlier support for the proposal. WA Nationals leader Shane Love, who is also the WA opposition leader, had confirmed his support as recently as April for the proposal to amend the constitution with words guaranteeing the existence of an advisory body with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members. However, the WA Nationals have come under pressure to revise their position on the voice after a campaign by the state Pastoral and Graziers Association to frame unpopular state Aboriginal cultural heritage laws as a sign of things to come if the voice referendum succeeded. New WA premier Roger Cook dumped the laws this month, describing them as too onerous for landowners.

>>19446073 Indigenous voice to parliament: Yes23 campaign must target 1.7m ‘soft’ voters - Yes23 must win over at least 38 per cent of the nation’s 4.6 million undecided voters to claim victory in the October referendum, according to confidential research targeting young people, women, multicultural communities and soft voters in four battleground states. The 31-page Yes23 Persuasive Conversations document, obtained by The Australian, includes new strategies designed to reverse polling trends indicating the pro-voice campaign is on track to lose the referendum, which is expected to be called for October 14. Campaign volunteers have been told to name a “villain” when convincing at least 1.7 million undecided voters to join the Yes cause, including invoking mining billionaires who “care more about profit than protecting our country”.

>>19446079 Voice No vote will damage Australia’s standing: Bishop - Former foreign minister Julie Bishop says Australia’s international reputation will be damaged if the country votes No in the looming Voice to parliament referendum. Ms Bishop joined Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Perth on Monday for a street walk organised to build support for the Yes campaign in Western Australia, considered safe territory for the No side. Ms Bishop, who served as foreign minister under Liberal leaders Tony Abbott and Malcolm Turnbull, echoed comments from Labor figures including Anthony Albanese that if voters rejected the Voice it risked sending a negative message about Australia’s “openness and empathy”.

>>19452806 Anthony Albanese won’t be campaigning for an Indigenous voice to parliament each day - Anthony Albanese won’t campaign daily for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament, but instead appear at major referendum events in between running the country, declaring the proposal was “about just giving a bit of respect” to Indigenous people. The Prime Minister attempted to play down the reach of the Voice by comparing it to business groups and stakeholders that provide advice to government.

#31 - Part 46

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 17

>>19452823 Linda Burney is sincere, but not suitable to be face of the Yes campaign for the Indigenous voice to parliament - "Linda Burney is a suitable, sincere and genuine face for the Indigenous voice to parliament but she is not up to being the voice for the Yes campaign for the constitutional referendum. Whether this failure is through inability to perform publicly in parliament, press conferences and public meetings is a result of a “mini stroke”, a heart operation or medication is immaterial. It has been clear for months Burney has been unable to answer simple questions about the voice to parliament, even in sympathetic interviews, that she has Ministerial colleagues on hand at public meetings to help her sell the voice and in parliament her inability to handle basic requests for information is embarrassing to all." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

>>19452845 Video: Meta ends partnership with RMIT FactLab amid voice referendum bias claims - Tech giant Meta has suspended its partnership with RMIT’s fact checking program “effective immediately” after receiving complaints about bias and unfairness relating to the upcoming voice to parliament referendum. Meta executives have distanced themselves from RMIT’s FactLab after it recently came under fire for slapping a “false information” label on Sky News Australia host Peta Credlin’s reports posted on Facebook that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is not a single-page document but is 26 pages long. The FactLab’s failure to have a current certification by the International Fact-Checking Network was also blamed for Meta’s decision to cut ties with FactLab.

>>19458899 Video: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament referendum set for October 14 - Australians will decide the fate of a constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament on October 14. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese officially set the date during a visit to Adelaide, sending the nation to the polls for the first referendum in more than two decades. "For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, this has been a marathon," he said. "For all of us, it is now a sprint and across the finish line is a more unified, more reconciled Australia, with greater opportunities for all." The proposed Voice would have the power to advise the parliament and federal government on matters that affect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It will need both a majority of the national vote and a majority the states - a so-called double majority - supporting the referendum for the Voice to be enshrined in the constitution.

>>19458930 Anthony Albanese’s Indigenous voice to parliament referendum announcement in full - "My fellow Australians, For many years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have advocated for Constitutional Recognition through a voice. Our Government - along with every single State and Territory Government - has committed to it. Legal experts have endorsed it. People on all sides of the parliament have backed it. Faith groups and sporting codes and local councils and businesses and unions have embraced it. An army of volunteers from every part of this great nation are throwing all their energy behind it. Now, my fellow Australians, you can vote for it."' - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - theaustralian.com.au

>>19458950 Yes23 targets Liberal seats, backed by unions - The Yes23 campaign will direct its army of volunteers into 18 Liberal-held marginal seats and traditionally conservative electorates, under a national strategy to win support from millions of soft voters ahead of the October 14 referendum. The Australian can reveal prominent moderate Liberal MPs and party luminaries will lead the push for undecided conservative voters in Western Australia, Tasmania, South Australia, NSW and Victoria to vote Yes for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice advisory body. Malcolm Turnbull and former federal Liberal Party deputy leader Julie Bishop this week joined the Yes23 campaign in Perth and Sydney, and will continue supporting the push into Liberal Party heartland.

#31 - Part 47

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 18

>>19458972 OPINION: Why my government didn’t back the Voice, but I’m now voting yes - "I will be voting Yes in the referendum on the Voice. Constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians is long overdue and has been a bipartisan policy objective for many years. It’s time to get this done. Six years ago, after long consultations, Indigenous Australians resolved that they wanted constitutional recognition to take the form of an entrenched Indigenous advisory council to be called the Voice. Since then, this particular amendment has been the singular focus of the constitutional recognition movement. If this is the form of recognition most Indigenous Australians want, the rest of us need a good reason to say No. Back in 2017, when this idea was new and lacked detail, my government did not support it. We had two major concerns. First, we believed it had no chance of success in a referendum. The history of constitutional reform in Australia is a dismal one, and to date any proposal faced with concerted opposition has failed. Our other major concern was that the Voice would create an institution in the Constitution, the qualification for which was something other than Australian citizenship. For me, as a republican prime minister, this was particularly important. I believe our head of state should be one of us: an Australian citizen, not whichever English aristocrat happens to be the king or queen of the United Kingdom. I have wrestled long and hard with this issue of constitutional principle, and I have concluded that while the Voice amendment is not entirely consistent with my egalitarian, republican values, nonetheless we are better off supporting it." - Malcolm Turnbull, prime minister of Australia from 2015-2018 - theage.com.au

>>19458993 OPINION: Let’s make a difference, and make history too - "I hope October 14, 2023, is a day my grandchildren will learn about at school. The day that Australia said Yes to constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and Yes to a voice. The day that Australians from all walks of life and all backgrounds and faiths and traditions came together and voted to celebrate our 65,000 years of history. More importantly, I hope all Australians can look back on ­October 14 and say this was the day the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians started to close. I hope we can look back and say that on that Saturday in spring when Australians voted for a voice to parliament, our country found a way forward on issues where for too long we’ve been going backwards. That’s the beauty of this idea, a proposal Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have been working on for more than a decade. It’s not just about celebrating our history - it’s about getting better results in the future." - Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Assistant Minister for Indigenous Australians - theaustralian.com.au

>>19459026 OPINION: The Constitution is too important to change because of the vibe - "Especially on something as sensitive as the recognition of Indigenous people in the Constitution, it’s a big mistake to sponsor a referendum proposal that might fail. Had the prime minister confined his proposed change, formally announced on Wednesday, to an overdue recognition of Australia’s Indigenous heritage, it would almost certainly have been carried by acclamation, as the 1967 referendum was. Sadly for the people who could be shattered by the result, what the PM is actually proposing is the biggest change to our Constitution we’ve ever been asked to make. The failure of the current referendum shouldn’t be the disaster for reconciliation that many people understandably fear. It could actually be a golden opportunity to end the separatism that’s at the heart of Aboriginal disadvantage and allow Australians to go forward together as one equal people with an Indigenous heritage, a British foundation and an immigrant character. Indeed, acknowledging that in the Constitution, in preference to this divisive Voice, would be something in which we could all take pride." - Tony Abbott, former Liberal prime minister of Australia - theage.com.au

#31 - Part 48

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 19

>>19459035 OPINION: This isn’t a unifying Voice for Australia, it’s the prime minister’s Voice for division - "I was asked recently what question I think Australians should have front of mind when they head to the ballot box on October 14. My answer is a simple one: do you want Australians to be divided in our Constitution? The prime minister is about to fire the starter’s gun on the most divisive referendum in our nation’s history. And make no mistake, it is divisive through and through. It’s dividing experts, it’s dividing politicians, it’s dividing Australians. It rests on the premise that the Voice could effectively represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, but it’s even dividing our communities. I am fighting for a No vote because I already asked myself that simple question, do I want Australians to be divided in our Constitution? No. I want to be one together, not two divided." - Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Country Liberal Party senator for the Northern Territory and former deputy mayor of Alice Springs - theage.com.au

>>19464934 OPINION: Your Constitution was designed to erase us. Your token Voice does not empower us - "The referendum date has been announced, and official campaigning has begun. This will be a difficult time for my people. Many of our activists, elders and allies have been yelled at and called racist for not accepting Yes campaign propaganda. The weeks ahead will cause more pain for the many First Peoples and allies who don’t want this referendum. As sovereign people, we do not want to be in your Constitution. Your Constitution was designed to erase our existence and for us to be recognised in it with a token Voice does not empower us, it is another step in the process of assimilation. If the Yes vote wins, we are guaranteed more of the same: First Nations voices calling for control over our lives and Country, and governments twisting, bullying and ignoring them as they continue to kill us and benefit from our land. If the No vote wins, we will start afresh: a clean slate to work together to explore and own the Truth of this country. Those fighting for real change will be emboldened."

>>19464924 PM asks Australians to vote Yes for a simple ’idea’ - Anthony Albanese has asked ­Australians to vote Yes for a ­simple and straightforward “idea” ­enshrining an Indigenous voice advisory body in the Constitution, firing the starting gun on a six-week election-style campaign and a multimillion-dollar advertising blitz. The Prime Minister declared that “when Yes wins, all Australians will win” after announcing an October 14 referendum date at the Yes23 campaign launch in Adelaide. In his pitch for support among faith-based, multicultural, suburban and regional communities, Mr Albanese said the government’s constitutional amendment was “simple, clear, straightforward … unambiguous”. Under pressure from the No campaign over the lack of detail around the voice advisory body’s function and design, Mr Albanese did not repeat his argument that the constitutional change was modest.

>>19471483 Kim Beazley wants Australians to vote Yes for an Indigenous voice to parliament to show respect - Kim Beazley remembers Indigenous boys and girls forcibly separated from their parents coming to the family home in Perth for a meal in 1950s and 60s, and shaping his belief in the ­dignity, opportunities and rights that should be afforded to the First Australians. His father, Kim Beazley Sr, had been an early advocate for land rights, for removing racially discriminatory provisions in the Constitution, and as education minister in the Whitlam government allowed for Indigenous children to be taught in their own language at school. “We always had kids coming out to spend a bit of time with us,” Mr Beazley told The Weekend Australian. “What those kids were actually experiencing, who had been through our house, it shocked me absolutely, and did very much affect my response to the Stolen Generation.”

#31 - Part 49

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 20

>>19474105 One side of Indigenous voice to parliament debate is being given extra privileges: this is not democracy - "Section 128 of our Constitution sets out a unique and innovative process for amending a Westminster-style constitution in part because it is the only instance in our nation’s founding document where direct democracy is employed. It puts a question to amend our highest law above the parliament and entirely in the hands of the people. Yet as we hurtle towards a referendum that would entrench a new advisory arm of government for Indigenous people in our Constitution, our founders may well be rolling in their graves about the ways in which the parliament and the government are undermining the process, and in doing so undermining the primacy of people. In short, we have powerful corporations that do not have a vote under section 128 being given carte blanche to influence the result, a misleading question on the ballot paper and the government working to suppress political speech about the nature of the proposal. For the maintenance of social harmony our founders would have assumed parliament would ensure a fair process, but we the people are being treated to anything but." - Louise Clegg, Sydney barrister - theaustralian.com.au

>>19481563 Dutton promises another vote if Indigenous Voice fails - Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has promised to hold a referendum on constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians if the Voice is defeated at the ballot box next month, and he wins power at the next election. Setting out some of his alternatives to a Voice that is written into the Constitution, the opposition leader said he supported “regional voices” and the recognition of First Australians. Asked what he would do if the October referendum was defeated and the Coalition won the next election, Dutton said he was willing to negotiate the creation of local and regional consultation groups in response to a report to the government by Indigenous leaders Tom Calma and Marcia Langton last year. Dutton said the Coalition would go to the next election with a policy to hold a referendum to recognise Indigenous people in the Constitution, but without a Voice specified in the Constitution.

>>19481586 Video: John Farnham backs Voice, permits his anthem to front Yes campaign ad - Australian music legend John Farnham has thrown his support behind the Yes campaign, and permitted his iconic anthem You’re the Voice to be used in a television ad that will encourage voters to see the Voice referendum as a profound moment in the nation’s history. It is one of the few occasions Farnham has allowed his 1986 hit to be used in a commercial, having agreed to license it for an undisclosed sum to Yes campaign outfit Uluru Dialogue. He hoped allowing the song to support a Yes vote would help make the case for the constitutional change. “This song changed my life. I can only hope that now it might help, in some small way, to change the lives of our First Nations peoples for the better,” Farnham said in a statement.

>>19481597 Peter Dutton’s sassy dig after John Farnham lends his voice in new campaign ad for Yes vote - Peter Dutton has taken a sassy dig at the Yes campaign after Aussie music legend John Farnham gave permission for his iconic anthem to be used in support of the Voice referendum. Farnham's hit, You’re the Voice, will be featured in the History is Calling campaign that will air on TV and the internet across the country in the lead up to the October 14 referendum. It marks the first time the former Australian of the Year and ARIA Hall of Famer has given permission for the classic song to be used in a commercial. But Mr Dutton dryly noted the song’s lyric could backfire on the Yes camp. “In a sense, it’s the appropriate theme song for the Yes campaign, because remember that the key line in the lyrics there is, you know, ‘you’re the voice, try to understand it’,” he told Sky News on Sunday. “I honestly don’t think most Australians understand it. And they want to be informed.”

#31 - Part 50

Australia / China Tensions- Part 1

>>19194520 Solomon Islands PM accuses Australia of pulling budget support, foreign interference - The prime minister of Solomon Islands, Manasseh Sogavare says China has agreed to provide funding to prop up the country's troubled budget, and also accused Australia and development partners of suddenly withdrawing financial support worth millions of dollars.

>>19199781 Democracy activists welcome here say Aussie MPs, as new figures show few Hongkongers seek visas - People fleeing Chinese oppression in Hong Kong should consider Australia as a destination, the leaders of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China say, as new figures show barely a handful of protection visas are granted to Hongkongers by Australia each year.

>>19204881 ‘My son is innocent’: mother of imprisoned Australian businessman denies he’s a Chinese spy - Australian businessman Alexander Csergo brought home a “shopping list” given to him by two Chinese intelligence officials as evidence of China’s overt and ultimately unsuccessful efforts to cultivate him as a source, his lawyers say. Csergo’s elderly mother, Cathy Csergo said public allegations that her son was involved in espionage were devastating to her family and that his isolation was cruel and unjustified.

>>19210696 Video: How China's foreign minister going MIA could affect diplomacy with Australia - China's Foreign Minister Qin Gang has disappeared from public view after his last public appearance about three weeks ago. Experts say it is the first time a senior minister in the Chinese government has been out of the public eye for more than 20 days without explanation. His disappearance has led to much speculation in China and in the Chinese diaspora around the world about possible changes in the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

>>19220783 China’s spy threat to our solar energy grid - Australia’s fast-growing solar energy grid is being dominated by Chinese firms with links to the Chinese Communist Party, raising fears of the potential for Beijing to sabotage, surveil or disrupt solar energy supplies. New research shows Chinese companies dominate 58 per cent of the Australian inverter market, making the devices, which are internet-connected and can be remotely controlled, potentially vulnerable to any Chinese attempt to target the solar electricity grid.

>>19226522 Battle to save Aussie dad from ‘justice’ in America - Lawyers for an Australian father locked up in prison for nine months over claims he trained Chinese military pilots will front a Sydney Court this week to apply for a temporary stay of proceedings. Dan Duggan has been in solitary confinement awaiting extradition to the US based on 11-year-old allegations he trained Chinese military pilots in South Africa from 2010 to 2012. The allegations, which Mr Duggan strenuously denies, are detailed in a US indictment filed in 2017, at the same time that US foreign policy towards China took a dramatic turn.

>>19226545 Australian ‘Top Gun’ accused of training Chinese is backed by US marine - A former high-ranking member of the United States military has thrown his support behind Daniel Duggan, an Australian citizen and former marine who is being held in maximum security over accusations he trained Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago. Duggan, 54, who lives near Orange in regional NSW with his wife and six children, has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would request his extradition. He denies any wrongdoing. In a letter written last week, retired marine colonel Ben Hancock said he had known Duggan for 25 years, including serving in the same squadron for two years, working closely on a six-month ship deployment, and being deployed in Kuwait. He described Duggan as a “loyal patriot” and team player who served the US honourably and could be counted on in difficult circumstances.

>>19237694 ‘I think he is gone’: The strange disappearance of China’s foreign minister Qin Gang - Beijing’s official line had been that Qin Gang has been unwell. The explanation held for a couple of weeks, but few experts now believe that one of China’s top foreign affairs officials has been bedridden for a month without an update on his condition. Illness has also been used previously as an excuse by the Chinese government for officials who have fallen suddenly out of favour and disappeared.

>>19237763 Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan fights ‘political extradition’ to United States - Former top gun pilot Daniel Duggan’s lawyers say there is a political character to the charges against their client and will present expert evidence on deteriorating relations between the United States and China. Lawyers for the 54-year-old Australian citizen are fighting his extradition to the United States to face charges over the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots.

#31 - Part 51

Australia / China Tensions- Part 2

>>19237802 Ex-US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots fights extradition to the US - Former Marine Daniel Duggan once flew Harrier jets for the United States, taking off and landing on Navy carriers during international missions as part of Marine Attack Squadron 214, based in Yuma, Arizona. That was over 20 years ago, but his activity since leaving the service is now the subject of a US indictment that alleges he used his specialist skills to teach Chinese pilots how to land planes on aircraft carriers, claims he denies.

>>19237815 Jailed pilot will rely on novel defence never used in Australia - One of Australia’s top barristers will seek to expand the legal definition of a political offence during a challenge to the extradition of Daniel Duggan, an Australian man accused of training Chinese military pilots overseas. Barrister Bret Walker SC said a political offence does not have a precise definition, with the Extradition Act defining it as an offence of a political character because of the circumstances in which it is committed, “or otherwise”. He said no case law exists setting out the interpretation of those two words, “or otherwise”. “This will be it,” Walker said. “There’s been no case of this kind argued or decided before.”

>>19237833 Daniel Duggan: flight school where former US marine taught says syllabus ‘totally unclassified’ - The flight school where former marine Daniel Duggan allegedly helped train Chinese fighter pilots insists all of his teaching was legal, in line with international standards and “totally unclassified”. The Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) says it has strict protocols and a code of conduct to ensure no information is shared that might be legally or operationally sensitive – or security classified.

>>19237861 Wife of ex-Top Gun pilot slams ‘terrible injustice’ in extradition fight - A former US marine pilot will remain in limbo for at least another four months as he fights against an extradition order which has been called a “terrible injustice”. Daniel Edmund Duggan has been in custody since October last year after the US indicated it would seek his extradition for charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering. On Tuesday, his wife Saffrine Duggan stood outside Sydney Downing Centre Court with the couple’s six children amid a crowd of protesters holding signs demanding Mr Duggan’s release.

>>19237876 Court date set for jailed ex-pilot Daniel Duggan to fight US extradition over claims he trained Chinese pilots - The wife of former US marine pilot Daniel Duggan says the impact of his ongoing incarceration on their family is "horrendous". The 54-year-old denies allegations he helped train Chinese military pilots more than a decade ago, which relate to his work at the Test Flying Academy of South Africa. An extradition hearing was set for November 24, however Mr Duggan's legal team says the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) is investigating the role ASIO played in the lead-up to his arrest, which could impact the case.

>>19237884 Video: Pilot Daniel Duggan in Australia, accused of training Chinese military pilots - The wife of a former U.S top gun has choked back tears as her husband fights extradition from Australia to America, accused of training Chinese military pilots. Daniel Duggan has been locked up since late last year. His family and supporters today demanded his immediate release. - 7NEWS Australia

>>19237894 Video: Family of former US pilot protests outside Sydney court - Family and friends of detained former American marine Daniel Duggan have held a peaceful protest outside a Sydney court, as the father fights extradition to the United States. - 9 News Australia

>>19237929 'Top Gun' pilot speaks from his Australian prison cell as he fights extradition to the US for allegedly training Chinese pilots - Daniel Duggan, 54, says "Hello". The Australian citizen and former US Marine pilot is calling from his maximum-security cell in New South Wales. It's the first time he's spoken publicly. Talking to 7.30 comes with risk. His words could be used as evidence against him. He's been in isolation for nine months. "It's not that I want to speak out or decided to speak out, but I feel that I've had a very unfair ability to defend myself," he told 7.30.

#31 - Part 52

Australia / China Tensions- Part 3

>>19237940 Video: Former US Marine pilot proclaims innocence from Australian prison cell | 7.30 - For nine months, Australian citizen Daniel Duggan has been locked up in a maximum security prison while he fights extradition to the United States. The US Department of Justice wants to prosecute the former marine Major, for allegedly training Chinese fighter pilots more than a decade ago. Tonight, Duggan speaks publicly for the first time. Angelique Donnellan has this exclusive report. - ABC News In-depth

>>19243436 Video: Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang removed from office - Chinese leader Xi Jinping removed his handpicked foreign minister after less than seven months on the job, a surprise move that leaves more questions than answers around China’s black-box political system. Qin Gang’s removal comes after his mysterious absence from the public stage over the past month, a disappearance that has sparked speculation about his fate and cast a global spotlight on the Communist Party’s opaque governance of the world’s second-largest economy.

>>19243465 Video: Chinese minister replaced amid claim of affair with TV host - China’s foreign minister has been abruptly replaced following weeks of speculation about his disappearance from public view and speculation that he has been sacked for an affair with a newsreader. A hastily summoned gathering of the National People’s Congress standing committee announced on Tuesday that Qin Gang had been removed from his post. He has been replaced by his predecessor, Wang Yi, after a month in which he made no public appearances.

>>19243492 Chinese Foreign Ministry scrubs missing minister from its records - China’s Foreign Ministry has removed all mention of Qin Gang from its online records, purging the former foreign minister’s name and his meetings with world leaders. It follows President Xi Jinping’s decision to sack Qin from his role on Tuesday night after rumours ranging from illness to an extramarital affair with a high-profile TV presenter, to a power struggle at the top of the Chinese Communist Party, dogged the rising former ambassador to the United States.

>>19243524 Top legislature appoints officials, reviews law - China's top legislature voted to appoint Wang Yi as foreign minister and Pan Gongsheng as central bank governor, as it convened a session on Tuesday. Qin Gang was removed from the post of foreign minister he concurrently held; Yi Gang was removed from the post of governor of the People's Bank of China, according to a decision adopted at the fourth session of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People's Congress (NPC). - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>19243535 China's top legislature adopts a decision of removing Qin Gang as foreign minister, appoints Wang Yi as foreign minister - China's top legislature convened a session on Tuesday to review a draft criminal law amendment and a decision on official appointment and removal. Qin Gang has been removed of his position as Foreign Minister. Wang Yi was appointed as the Chinese Foreign Minister. Tuesday's decision has not touched on Qin's title of State Councilor. - Chen Qingqing - globaltimes.cn

>>19250156 ‘Don’t wait’ to go to Beijing, Julie Bishop tells Anthony Albanese - Julie Bishop says China’s ­reappointment of Wang Yi as Foreign Minister ­“augurs well” for Australia’s relationship with Beijing, and has urged Anthony Albanese to travel to Beijing as soon as possible to accelerate the thaw in bilateral ties.

>>19250241 US coercion will ultimately lead to strong opposition from people of Australia, Pacific Island Countries - "The US and its allies have long been engaged in political manipulation in the region, with the purported aim to impose its own political and economic will on the PICs. More often than not, US aid programs are camouflaged instruments of political influence to shape and reshape the local political landscape. In contrast, China's relationship with countries in the South Pacific region has always been based on the principle of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual benefit. China's assistance to the countries has significantly improved the local infrastructure, speeded up the economic development and elevated the people's livelihood with tangible fruitful outcomes and enduring benefits." - Chen Hong - globaltimes.cn

>>19257040 Darwin port review ‘holds back’ China ties - Uncertainty over the future of the Chinese-owned Port of Darwin has emerged as a barrier to the restoration of relations with Beijing, which says tensions over the “blue bridge” between the countries could slow the relaxation of trade sanctions on Australian exports. As Anthony Albanese weighs an invitation to visit Beijing before the end of the year, a senior Chinese government official urged the “quick conclusion” of a review of the port’s Chinese ownership, saying the issue was undermining the stabilisation of bilateral ties.

#31 - Part 53

Australia / China Tensions- Part 4

>>19267329 Adelaide top gun Keith Hartley provided training for Chinese airmen, search warrant claims - An Adelaide-based former jet fighter pilot is accused of conducting training for military exercises that were “directed, funded or supervised’’ by China’s People’s Liberation Army. Former RAF top gun Keith Andrew Hartley, 74, is suspected of providing “training involving the use of arms or practising military exercises” to PLA pilots between June 2018 and January 2022. The allegations emerged after Mr Hartley lost a Federal Court bid to have the Australian Federal Police search warrant used to search his home in November voided. He has not been charged with any offence. The raid related to his role as chief operating officer of controversial South African company Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA). He is the second Australian-based former military fighter pilot being investigated for his involvement in the alleged training of Chinese fighter pilots, with former US Marine pilot Dan Duggan incarcerated while he fights an extradition request by the US government.

>>19272537 US to further military footprint in Australia to suppress China; Washington 'source of tension' in Asia-Pacific - Chinese analysts on Sunday warned of a more volatile and unstable Asia-Pacific region where the US would provoke a regional arms race with more large-scale military drills and more strategic weapons deployments, after the latest move between the US and Australia that reached an agreement to expand the US military footprint on the southern continent to contain China's development. - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>19272546 Being an offensive bridgehead not in Australia's national interests: Global Times editorial - By serving as the frontline base for Washington's aggression toward China, Australia is essentially tying itself with explosives and placing the lit fuse in the hands of Washington politicians known for their adventurous and provocative thinking toward China. If Australia provides a stronghold or arms for deterring or attacking China, it will undoubtedly face resolute retaliation from China. This is not alarmist talk but military common sense; Australia must not harbor any illusions. - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>19272640 Australian businessman ‘in survival mode’ when he placated Chinese intelligence with open-source information, documents claim - Alexander Csergo, a Sydney businessman, has been charged with one count of reckless foreign interference, with police alleging he provided reports to his handlers whom he knew were part of China’s vast state intelligence apparatus. But, as Csergo told police in an interview detailed in the police statement of facts tendered to a New South Wales court, he says he felt essentially trapped in China - most acutely during the height of Shanghai’s highly restrictive Covid lockdowns – and that he needed to placate his handlers or risk being detained in the country.

>>19272701 Spies may have known for a decade that top gun Daniel Duggan was training China pilots - Australia’s intelligence watchdog is investigating whether Western spy agencies knew for more than a decade that former top gun Daniel ­Edmund Duggan was training ­Chinese pilots through a controversial South African flying academy. The Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security is examining what interactions Australia’s intelligence services had with Mr Duggan, following a complaint from his defence team that the domestic spy agency ASIO may have been involved in “luring’’ him back to Australia in order to enable his arrest.

>>19278203 China lodges complaint over foreign interference inquiry, WeChat criticism - Liberal senator James Paterson has accused the Chinese embassy of complaining to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade about a Senate inquiry into foreign interference on social media probing the influence of WeChat. The Australian can reveal an official from DFAT’s China external and co-ordination branch emailed Senator Paterson’s committee secretariat seeking clarification about the parliament’s powers to compel foreign actors to front public hearings. The official questioned if it was accurate to say Chinese social media giant WeChat’s refusal to appear at the senate hearing “demonstrated contempt”.

#31 - Part 54

Australia / China Tensions- Part 5

>>19298066 China's overseas police 'contact point' joins the cloud and remains operational in Australia - China has been using cloud-based technology to implement a police service in Australia, the ABC can reveal. China has set up dozens of police outreach centres in various cities across the world - which Beijing calls "contact points" - linked to the security departments of Chinese cities. Beijing has maintained these are staffed by volunteers and are designed to help Chinese citizens abroad with administrative tasks such as renewing national identification cards, passports and drivers licences, but human rights experts are concerned the contact points could be used to intimidate Chinese dissidents living overseas.

>>19340415 Video: Exercise Malabar joint naval drills begin off Sydney coast - Warships from India, Japan and the United States have met in Sydney Harbour as Australia hosts the annual "Exercise Malabar" military drills for the first time. The quad security partners deny their high-end warfare training is solely directed at China, but insist the activity is about promoting security in the region. Defence correspondent Andrew Greene was onboard HMAS Brisbane as she made her way into Sydney. - ABC News (Australia)

>>19340656 From dining with top officials to a Chinese-born Labor poster child: How Beijing is slowly changing the face of Western Australian politics - "The question of just how close the Chinese state is to the WA Labor government, and in particular to former premier Mark McGowan, has arisen repeatedly in recent years. His government’s appointment of Dr Edward Zhang to a 15-member multicultural council in February 2021 raised eyebrows, given Zhang - while not personally linked to the Chinese Communist Party - is a founding member and honorary chairman of the WA branch of the Australian Council for the Promotion of Peaceful Reunification of China (ACPPRC). This group is tied to Beijing’s United Front Work Department, an integral part of the state apparatus tasked with recruiting people at home and abroad to push the interests of the Communist Party. Then there’s WA Labor backbencher Pierre Yang, who founded the Australian Chinese Labor Association (ACLA) in 2015. Yang's preselection for the 2017 election has raised questions too since he had practically no experience in union activism, which is considered essential to get ahead in the ALP. Just how much is Beijing shaping politics in the WA ALP, and, by extension, in the rest of the state?" - Dr Rocco Loiacono - legal academic, writer and translator - skynews.com.au

>>19340781 Australian Cheng Lei's first message from Chinese prison describes harsh conditions - Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who was arrested and jailed in China three years ago, has released her first public statement describing the harsh conditions of her imprisonment and how much she misses Australia. "I miss the sun. In my cell, the sunlight shines through the window, but I can stand in it for only 10 hours a year," she writes from an undisclosed facility in Beijing. "This is a love letter to 25 million people and 7 million square kilometres of land, land abundant in nature, beauty and space. It is not the same in here, I haven't seen a tree in three years."

>>19340831 China visit not conditional on Cheng Lei’s release, says Albanese - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says his planned visit to China this year is not conditional on the release of detained Australian journalist Cheng Lei, who has written an emotional letter on her three years in jail. Mr Albanese called for the mother of two, detained in China on national security charges, to be released. However, the prime minister would not call off his visit if this did not happen and said dialogue should not be transactional but was instead constructive to sort out disagreements with other countries.

>>19349795 China won’t take the US military’s calls. A top general claims that makes war more likely - China’s military is becoming dangerously arrogant and is fuelling the risk of war with the United States by refusing offers to communicate with commanders in the Indo-Pacific, one of America’s most senior military officials has warned. Lieutenant General Stephen Sklenka, deputy commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said he feared that China would seek to establish a military base in Solomon Islands or another Pacific nation as it sought to dominate the region. Sklenka added that he saw value in Republican congressman Mike Gallagher’s idea of positioning US hypersonic missiles in Australia and other key locations across the Pacific as a way to deter China from launching an invasion of the self-governing island of Taiwan.

#31 - Part 55

Australia / China Tensions- Part 6

>>19361989 Defence calls for Australian drone program to replace risky Chinese-made technology - The Defence Department is looking to turbocharge an Australia-made drone program as it turns its back permanently on high-risk Chinese-made DJI drones. Defence has put out a request for information and responses from Australian industry and research institutes “in relation to development of sovereign uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) and trusted autonomy capabilities.’’ The request relates to small, unarmed drones to be used for training, photography and survey work. The call comes three months after Defence decided to get rid of the more than 800 drones - known as UAS in Defence jargon - and other pieces of tech it owned that had been manufactured by DJI, the world’s largest drone company. The grounding of the drones came after the company was black-listed by the Pentagon amid concerns over its links to the Chinese military, and further concerns that its internet-connected drones posed an un­acceptable security risk. The company, formally known as Da Jiang Innovations, is headquartered in Shenzen, China, meaning its data must be provided to Chinese intelligence agencies upon request. Its technology has also been used to surveil the oppressed Uighur population in Xinjiang.

>>19362026 US sailors ‘sold secrets to China’ - Two US navy sailors have been charged with selling military secrets to China, with one accused of capturing photographs of military hardware during an international warfare exercise involving Australia. Wei Jinchao 22, also known as Patrick Wei, is alleged to have captured and sent details of the world’s biggest international maritime wargames exercise - the Rim of the Pacific Exercise - involving Australia, the US, France, Canada and 22 other countries. Mr Wei and another sailor, Zhao Wenheng, are China-born US citizens accused of sending sensitive military information to Chinese intelligence officers for cash, according to grand jury indictments from June 2022 and 2023 unsealed this month in the Southern and Central District of California district courts. Both have pleaded not guilty.

>>19382314 Labor conference: ALP armed for keeping China at arm’s length - Senior Labor ministers have warned that China will have 21 nuclear submarines and 200 major warships in the water by 2030, sparking an urgent need to deliver AUKUS submarines and defence technologies to ­prevent war in the Indo-Pacific. Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy on Friday urged union and party delegates to back the “progressive” AUKUS defence pact, to help “prevent war” and protect Australians amid Beijing’s aggressive military build-up and rising US-China tensions. “Strength deters war,” Mr Conroy said. In an extraordinary slap down of anti-AUKUS elements inside the Australian Labor Party, the Left-faction powerbroker delivered a scathing attack on those who supported a “Robert Menzies ­appeasement” strategy. Mr Conroy’s claim that anti-AUKUS delegates were appeasers sparked an angry backlash from Left-faction union leaders and colleagues, including federal Labor MP Josh Wilson who ­labelled the minister’s claim as “absurd”.

>>19382343 Chinese aggression has driven the ALP towards a nuclear compulsion on AUKUS - "The Labor Party has turned on the hinge of history. In an identity renovation, Labor has become the party of nuclear propulsion - with China the key to this dramatic transformation. China is remaking the Labor Party today via its strategic assertion, just as Japan’s war re-made Labor in the 1940s. Nuclear propulsion has been sold to the party as a new Labor value, as the path to peace through deterrence, the vital contributor to self-reliance, industrial revitalisation and regional stability. Sections of the rank-and-file who cannot stomach these messages have succumbed before Albanese government dictum." - Paul Kelly - theaustralian.com.au

>>19392379 China’s warning on AUKUS - China has warned against being made the target of the AUKUS agreement as union leaders vow to apply heavy scrutiny over the government’s jobs pledge for the construction of nuclear submarines. After senior ministers warned at Labor’s national conference the AUKUS deal was needed to prevent war with China and limit its regional influence, a Chinese embassy spokesman said bilateral or multilateral defence agreements should be “conducive to world peace and stability and not target any third party or harm others’ interests”. With Labor’s support for AUKUS cemented in its policy platform last week, Foreign Minister Penny Wong on Sunday said a nuclear submarine fleet would act as a balance to China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

#31 - Part 56

Australia / China Tensions - Part 7

>>19397639 Australia to spend $1.3bn on high-tech missiles - The former deputy prime minister has warned of China’s ability to target Australia from the mainland after the government announced it will spend $1.7bn on long-range strike missiles. Barnaby Joyce flagged concerns after the defence minister finalised a major weapons deal with the US on Monday. “China has certainly got missiles that can hit Australia, make no mistake,” Mr Joyce told Sunrise. Under the new deal, Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, making it only one of three nations to own the high-tech weaponry. “As we enter what many are calling the missile age, these will be vital tools for the Australian Defence Force to do its job of defending Australians,” Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said. “We are buying these weapons now to deliver capability quickly -- but we are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities.” Tomahawk missiles have a strike range of 1500km, and a ship-launched version will be deployed on the Royal Australian Navy’s Hobart-class destroyers.

>>19417267 Video: Plea for Australian help to quell brutal PNG fighting as Canberra and China struggle for influence - The governor of a remote Papua New Guinea province racked by tribal fighting has appealed for Australian help as the nation struggles to contain surging violence that has seen dead people dragged by four wheel-drives and a flood of automatic weapons into the country’s Highlands. The Australian can reveal that multiple tribal conflicts have claimed the lives of an estimated 150 people this year, including two dozen lives in the past fortnight alone, and left thousands homeless.

>>19417281 Anthony Albanese restricted but ready to help troubled PNG and pro-Australia ally James Marape - Escalating tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea’s Highlands is a rolling human rights tragedy that the country’s government has been unable to contain. It is also a difficult issue for federal Labor, which has remained ­silent on the fighting, despite an estimated 150 deaths this year. Anthony Albanese has forged a strong personal relationship with PNG counterpart James Marape, who is standing firmly with Australia on the need to keep China at arm’s length. Marape is happy for his country to reap the economic benefits from China, but - unlike Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands - has rebuffed Chinese efforts to forge closer security ties.

>>19417627 James Marape mobilises elite squad to deal with PNG violence - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has vowed to mobilise a new joint force of heavily armed police and soldiers to stamp out tribal warfare in the country’s remote Enga Province, condemning the surging violence as “domestic terrorism”. The pledge came as Australia’s Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy vowed Australian support for PNG’s response, saying the Albanese government was “deeply committed” to the nations’ policing and security partnership. Mr Marape declared on Wednesday he would not seek outside police support to deal with Enga’s ongoing tribal wars, despite calls by the province’s governor for Australian boots on the ground.

>>19446096 Australian fears he’ll die in Chinese prison after doctors find huge kidney cyst - Detained Australian Yang Hengjun says he is increasingly fearful he will be denied medical treatment and die in a Chinese prison after medical authorities told him they had discovered a huge, 10-centimetre cyst on his kidney. Ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later this year, Yang’s supporters are urging the federal government to demand the academic be given medical parole or access to Australian-supervised medical care outside his Beijing detention centre. “If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won’t know the truth,” Yang said in a message conveyed through his supporters. “That is frustrating. If something happens to me, who can speak for me?”

#31 - Part 57

Australia / China Tensions - Part 8

>>19459049 Foreign Minister Penny Wong has appeared on TV wearing a microphone from high-risk Chinese tech company DJI - Foreign Minister Penny Wong used a microphone manufactured by controversial Chinese tech company DJI for a TV interview broadcast from inside Australia’s Embassy in Vietnam. Senator Wong used an audio microphone which clearly displayed the DJI logo despite DFAT several months ago publicly stating it was getting rid of its DJI-manufactured equipment. The company is facing a shadow-ban by the Australian Government after it was formally black-listed by the Pentagon and faced other restrictions slapped on it by the US Government late last year as a result of its close links to the Chinese state. There are also concerns that any data obtained by its internet-enabled devices would be handed over to the Chinese Communist Party’s intelligence agencies upon request, as required of Chinese-headquartered companies under the 2017 national security laws.

>>19464974 Opposition, human rights groups slam Penny Wong over China inaction - The Coalition has accused Labor of inaction over China’s human rights abuses, questioning why the government has failed to introduce the sanctions and travel bans adopted by other jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, United States and European Union. The criticisms were echoed by Human Rights Watch, which queried what message Australia was sending by not joining other comparable countries in taking action. The opposition’s foreign affairs spokesman, Simon Birmingham, launched the attack on the anniversary of the finding made by the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, who said China’s forced detention and treatment of Uyghurs “may constitute international crimes, in particular crimes against humanity”.

>>19464986 Xi Jinping set to skip G20 summit, dashing Albanese’s meeting hopes - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s hopes of meeting Xi Jinping on the sidelines of next week’s G20 summit appear to have been dashed, with the Chinese President expected to deliver host India a diplomatic snub by skipping the high-powered event. Albanese had hoped to use what would be his second meeting with Xi to further thaw relations with China and lay the groundwork for a visit to Beijing by the end of the year. The revelation that Xi is expected to skip the G20 in New Delhi came as former foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop prepares to travel to China next week on a sensitive back-channel diplomatic mission.

>>19476767 Video: Sydney councillors filmed with escorts ‘for blackmail’, says corruption watchdog - The NSW anti-corruption watchdog has found a Sydney property developer secretly filmed two councillors with sex workers on a “boys’ weekend” trip to China so he could blackmail them into voting for his projects. The Independent Commission Against Corruption found that the two men who were filmed, Vince Bada­lati and Philip Sansom, and councillor Constantine Hindi accepted perks from developers in exchange for favourable treatment on property developments. ICAC found Mr Badalati and Mr Hindi accepted $170,000 each from developer Ching Wah (Philip) Uy as a reward for having used their positions to help him and the proponents of two proposed developments in Hurstville. The commission found Mr Bada­lati and Mr Hindi engaged in serious corrupt conduct by travelling to China in April 2016 when they knew their positions with the then Hurstville City Council (later Georges River Council) would be misused to endorse and promote the property developments.

#31 - Part 58

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

>>19194528 Gymnastics Australia backs away from pledge to assist survivors of childhood sexual abuse - Three years after publicly pledging its commitment to the National Redress Scheme that could offer apologies and compensation to gymnasts who suffered childhood sexual abuse, Gymnastics Australia has declared itself financially incapable of assisting abuse survivors.

>>19199855 Pedophile priest David Edwin Rapson sentenced for further child abuse - A former Catholic priest serving jail time for sexually abusing students in Victoria has been given a "minimum" additional prison sentence for historical crimes against schoolboys at Hobart's Dominic College in the 1980s.

>>19237725 Accountant defends paedophile asset shed ‘plan of action’, tells court unaware of victim compensation claim - An accountant has confirmed he enacted a plan to divest a paedophile’s multimillion-dollar asset portfolio to family and friends ahead of his sentencing, but denied orchestrating the scheme. The Federal Court on Tuesday heard Launceston accountant Ken Davey developed “a plan of action” by which assets of child abuser John Wayne Millwood were sold to family and friends and the proceeds then gifted to them. Millwood later declared bankruptcy and has far avoiding paying a cent of $5.3m in civil compensation awarded to his victim, whom he repeatedly abused over five years in the 1980s. Mr Davey, a partner with Findex Group, told the court it was “pretty obvious” Millwood wanted to urgently dispose of assets before December 7, 2016, when he was due to be sentenced and when solicitors foreshadowed a compensation application.

>>19237732 Disgraced businessman and child abuser John Wayne Millwood to give evidence in bankruptcy case - Disgraced Launceston arts patron and child sexual abuser John Wayne Millwood will finally be grilled on the witness stand after divesting his multimillion-dollar portfolio and declaring himself bankrupt. Millwood, 77, was convicted of child sexual abuse crimes in 2016 and jailed after he pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a boy in the 1980s. In December 2021, he was ordered to pay what was believed to be an Australian record-breaking amount of $5.3 million to his victim, following a civil trial in which Millwood did not appear once. But the victim, known only by a court pseudonym of ZAB, still hasn’t received a cent.

>>19243408 ‘I was expecting to die’: Convicted paedophile John Millwood defends multimillion-dollar asset shed - Convicted paedophile John Wayne Millwood has vehemently denied under oath that he shed millions of dollars in assets to block a pending damages claim from his victim - claiming instead he believed he would die behind bars. The disgraced former Launceston arts patron and businessman, and former manager of Launceston Pathology, gave evidence about his bankrupt estate in the Federal Court of Australia

>>19243709 TikTok tells senate inquiry how it’s tackling online child exploitation material - TikTok kicks 190,000 users off its platform a day for lying about being older than 13 years old, a senate inquiry has been told. The inquiry is examining how Australia’s law enforcement agencies tackle child exploitation, including online trends for explicit material and access to child abuse material. It’s also considering the role technology providers have in assisting law enforcement agencies to combat child exploitation. TikTok director of public policy Ella Woods-Joyce confirmed the online platform closed 17 million accounts in the last financial quarter of 2022. It’s the equivalent of 190,000 users per day being banned. Those cancelled accounts were determined by TikTok’s 40,000 trust and safety professionals who found they were being operated by a person under the age of 13, which is against TikTok’s eligibility policy to use the platform. With more than 8.5 million Australian users coming to the online video platform per month, Ms Woods-Joyce said online child safety was TikTok’s “top priority”.

#31 - Part 59

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

>>19250288 Jury acquits Kevin Spacey of all nine sexual offence charges in London trial - A London jury acquitted Kevin Spacey on sexual assault charges on Wednesday after a four-week trial in which the actor said he was a “big flirt” who had consensual flings with men and whose only misstep was touching a man’s groin while making a “clumsy pass.” Three men accused the Oscar winner of aggressively grabbing their crotches. A fourth, an aspiring actor seeking mentorship, said he awoke to the actor performing oral sex on him after going to Spacey’s London apartment for a beer and either falling asleep or passing out. All the men said the contact was unwanted but Spacey testified that the young actor and another man had willingly participated in consensual acts. He said a third man’s allegation that he grabbed his privates like a striking “cobra” backstage at a theatre was “pure fantasy.” Defence lawyer Patrick Gibbs said three of the men were liars and incidents had been “reimagined with a sinister spin.” He accused most of them of hopping on a “bandwagon” of complaints in the hope of striking it rich.

>>19250288 Q Post #4590 - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kevin-spacey-accuser-dies-by-suicide-day-after-actor-posts-kill-them-with-kindness-video - "This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019." At what point does it become painfully obvious? - Q - https://qanon.pub/#4590

>>19250307 Julia Gillard’s ex Tim Mathieson to plead guilty to sexual assault - Julia Gillard’s former partner, Tim Mathieson, will plead guilty to sexually touching a woman without her consent. The 66-year-old hairdresser, who became the first Australian man to be nicknamed the nation’s “first bloke” when Ms Gillard ousted Kevin Rudd as Labor leader in 2010, is expected to admit to sucking a woman’s nipple without her consent in an incident that took place in Brunswick on March 13 last year.

>>19267294 Nations unite against Facebook over encryption plans ‘that endanger children’ - Britain’s home secretary has been building an international alliance to take on Facebook over its plans to introduce default end-to-end encryption for its messaging apps. Suella Braverman has warned Mark Zuckerberg, the boss of Meta, Facebook’s parent company, that “there will be no let-up” amid fears about the technology’s use by pedophiles and other criminals. End-to-end encryption stops anyone but the sender and recipient of a message seeing it, meaning the companies cannot police the content, making it an ideal tool for criminals. Meta will introduce it on Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct chats this year.

>>19278301 Video: Breakthrough that led police to alleged abuser of 91 girls at daycare centres - A trusted childcare worker was secretly able to prey on 91 young girls across 15 years, and was only exposed as one of the nation’s most heinous paedophiles when investigators traced bed sheets seen in a horrific video back to one of his centres, police allege. In a case some of Australia’s most senior officers have described as “unfathomable” and “beyond the realm of anyone’s imagination”, the 45-year-old Gold Coast man allegedly targeted vulnerable pre-pubescent girls in 10 childcare centres in Brisbane, one in Sydney and another overseas before his arrest in August last year.

>>19284103 Man charged with child sex offences known to be involved with photography at a childcare centre, ABC confirms - A former childcare worker charged with 1,623 child abuse offences worked at a centre associated with a tertiary education facility and was known to be involved in photography, the ABC has confirmed. The Gold Coast man, 45, has been charged with 136 counts of rape and 110 counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10. An investigation involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP) as well as Queensland and New South Wales police led to the arrest of the man, with offences allegedly committed in Brisbane, Sydney and overseas between 2007 and 2022. He has been in custody in Queensland since August 2022 when the AFP arrested and charged him with two counts of making child exploitation material and one count of using a carriage service for child abuse material.

#31 - Part 60

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

>>19284162 Video: Calls for Australia to introduce the death penalty for paedophiles after a Gold Coast childcare worker is accused of sexually abusing 91 children - There are growing calls for the death penalty to be discussed as a punishment for paedophiles after a childcare worker was charged with a litany of horrific child sex offences this week. The former Gold Coast childcare centre worker, 45, was charged with 1,623 offences against 91 young girls this week. Liberal National Party Senator Matt Canavan said it was time for discussion about punishments more serious than life imprisonment in such cases. 'Life imprisonment seems too soft a penalty for a crime this heinous,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Maybe we do need a debate about should there be a death penalty for these types of offences,' he added. 2GB host Ben Fordham also argued for capital punishment. 'We don't have the death penalty in Australia, but would anyone seriously argue against it in the case of this paedophile pig?' he said.

>>19289945 Australia’s alleged worst pedophile ‘first detected in police sting’ - One of the nation’s worst alleged pedophiles went deeper underground after a dark web child-sex ring was busted by Australian authorities almost a decade ago. The childcare worker, now charged with the rape and sexual abuse of 91 young girls in 10 centres in Queensland, one in NSW and one overseas, allegedly shared images and videos on the dark web with members of a site called The Love Zone in 2013 and 2014. The Queensland Police Service’s internationally renowned Task Force Argos investigators infiltrated and then secretly took over the global network of child-sex offenders in 2014 after the head administrator had been identified as South Australian public servant Shannon Grant McCoole, who sexually abused at least seven children in his care. Among images and videos of abuse scooped up in the operation were those shared by the 45-year-old Gold Coast-based childcare worker, who the Australian Federal Police this week announced had been charged with 1623 child abuse offences over the 15 years leading up to his arrest last August.

>>19289982 Sex offenders must be identified to protect children, Peter Dutton demands - A national register of child sex ­offenders will be considered by state and territory governments after police charged a childcare worker over the alleged serial rape of dozens of young girls. Federal Education Minister Jason Clare has ordered a review of “working with children’’ checks to close a loophole that may let paedophiles move interstate to work with children undetected. And Peter Dutton is pushing for a national register of pedophiles to help schools and childcare centres identify predators.

>>19298140 Australia’s alleged worst pedophile reported to Queensland Police almost a year before arrest - One of the nation’s worst alleged pedophiles was reported to police almost a year before he was arrested for the alleged abuse of 91 girls after a colleague saw him kissing a girl at a daycare centre in Queensland. Yolanda Borucki, who managed a chain of daycare centres, says she alerted Queensland Police to the alleged kissing in October 2021 and said the alleged offender would take children outside with a mattress and blankets to play in a fort. Ms Borucki said another childcare worker saw the alleged offender, who cannot be identified, kissing a girl inside the fort and a complaint was sent to Queensland Police who cleared the man but did not check his home or devices.

>>19303385 'Hell on earth': State and church enabled child sex abuse, damning report finds - Hell on earth: a place where vulnerable children were subjected to depravity, sexual, physical and spiritual violence while the state looked away. That’s the description in a damning new report of the Marylands School and the associated Hebron Trust run in Otautahi Christchurch from the 1950s to the 1980s by the Brothers of St John of God. The report, titled Stolen Lives, Marked Souls, is part of the Abuse in Care Royal Commission of Inquiry and was tabled in Parliament on Wednesday. It details the horrors of the abuse suffered by many of the young boys in the care of the brothers, their desperation to be believed and helped, and the “shameful” failure of the state and the Catholic Church to act. The victims were as young as 5. “We are aware of no other circumstances or institution where the sexual abuse has been so extreme or has involved such a high proportion of perpetrators over the same extended period of time as that at Marylands School,” inquiry chairperson Coral Shaw said.

#31 - Part 61

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

>>19314867 The letter that helped seal the fate of dozens of children - In 1977, the then Sydney-based provincial of the Catholic brotherhood St John of God, Brother Brian O’Donnell, received an anonymous letter bearing disturbing news. The prior and one of the brothers at Marylands, the order’s school for students with intellectual disabilities in New Zealand, were sexually abusing a boy, the letter alleged. Pausing at that moment now, as O’Donnell’s eyes flicker across the words on the page, there is an opportunity for dozens of children to avoid their fate, for boys who will later die by suicide to become grandfathers, and countless unhappy lives to take a different trajectory. The junior brother mentioned in the letter was Bernard McGrath, who went on to become the most notorious perpetrator of child sexual abuse among religious orders in Australia and New Zealand and possibly the most prolific. When the letter arrived he had just been promoted by the prior, Rodger Moloney, whose role only emerged in detail in a report into abuse in care by a New Zealand royal commission last week. He was McGrath’s mentor. But O’Donnell was disinclined to believe the allegations. “I thought it was a trouble-causing letter,” he would tell Catholic Church Insurance Limited years later.

>>19320920 Video: AFP announced 19 men arrested, 13 children removed from harm in major online child abuse investigation - Police have removed 13 Australian children from harm and arrested 19 men during an investigation into a "technologically sophisticated" online child abuse network sparked by the murder of two FBI agents in the US. FBI Special Agents Daniel Alfin and Laura Schwartzenberger were shot dead by suspect David Lee Huber as they executed a search warrant on a related case in Florida in 2021. The Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation began its investigation in 2022 after the FBI shared intelligence about Australian members of a peer-to-peer network allegedly sharing child abuse material on the dark web. Two Australian offenders have been sentenced, with other men who were arrested remaining before the courts.

>>19320928 Catholic church seeks to stop family’s lawsuit over George Pell child abuse allegations - The Catholic church is seeking to challenge a legal ruling in Victoria that would allow the father of a choirboy to sue for damages over allegations of child sexual abuse by Cardinal George Pell. The father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, filed a claim against the Catholic archdiocese of Melbourne and Pell. He claims to have suffered nervous shock after learning of allegations that Pell sexually abused his now deceased son in the mid-1990s.

>>19341000 'After School Satan Club' meeting canceled by City of Chesapeake - "We're seeing new developments between the city of Chesapeake and a controversial after-school club. The Satanic Temple shared on social media that Thursday's meeting of the 'After School Satan Club' at Indian River Library had been canceled by the city. Club leaders believe this is unconstitutional. The city says their policies require groups to assure that events don't pose a threat to public health, safety or welfare. City leaders wouldn't say how this meeting violated those policies. They say they sent specific details to the Satan Club, but would not share those elsewhere. We've reached out to the Satan Club for comment and have not heard back." - Julia Varnier - wtkr.com

>>19341000 Q Post #4545 - Humanity is good, but, when we let our guard down we allow darkness to infiltrate and destroy. Like past battles fought, we now face our greatest battle at present, a battle to save our Republic, our way of life, and what we decide (each of us) now will decide our future. Will we be a free nation under God? Or will we cede our freedom, rights and liberty to the enemy? If America falls so does the world. If America falls darkness will soon follow. Only when we stand together, only when we are united, can we defeat this highly entrenched dark enemy. This is not about politics. This is about preserving our way of life and protecting the generations that follow. We are living in Biblical times. Children of light vs children of darkness. United against the Invisible Enemy of all humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4545

#31 - Part 62

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

>>19362008 Gerald Ridsdale jailed for another year for abusing 13-year-old boy as paedophile priest is told he will likely die in jail - A paedophile priest will 'probably die' behind bars after his prison sentence was extended for abusing another teenage boy. Gerald Ridsdale, 89, earlier this year admitted abusing his 72nd victim and another year was added to his 39-year jail sentence at Ballarat Magistrates Court in Victoria on Tuesday. Ridsdale, who has been in prison since 1994, abused children between 1961 and 1988 while he worked as a Roman Catholic priest in churches and schools across the state. He admitted indecently assaulting his latest victim, a 13-year-old boy, at a Catholic school in Horsham in 1987.

>>19362015 Jailed pedophile ex-priest Peter Andrew Hansen stripped of law credentials - A pedophile ex-priest and former Labor party official who preyed on young boys in Asian countries has been barred from practising law in Australia. Peter Andrew Hansen was jailed in June 2021 for at least 14 years on 31 charges of producing child pornography in Vietnam and the Philippines, distributing child exploitation material and engaging in sexual activity with nine boys. The chief clerk of the NSW Supreme Court applied in April to have Hansen struck off the law register and barred from practising due to his crimes. In a joint judgment handed down on Tuesday, Justices Fabian Gleeson, Jeremy Kirk and John Basten declared Hansen was not a fit and proper person to remain on the roll of Australian lawyers and ordered his name be removed.

>>19374396 Brian Houston not guilty of covering up pedo father’s abuse - Hillsong founder Brian Houston has called his late father a “serial pedophile” after being found not guilty of covering up the church leader’s abuse of a young boy in Sydney in the 1970s. Mr Houston, 69, stood trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court having pleaded not guilty to one count of concealing the serious indictable offence of another person and denied allegations that he failed to pass onto police details of his father’s Frank Houston’s crimes. Following a long-running hearing, Magistrate Gareth Christofi on Thursday found Mr Houston not guilty. Outside of court, Mr Houston said he wanted to “impress his sadness” to his father’s victim, Brett Sengstock, and all the victims of the late New Zealand and Australian church leader.

>>19374447 Video: Hillsong founder Brian Houston found not guilty of concealing his father's sexual abuse of a child - Hillsong founder Brian Houston has been found not guilty of concealing his father's sexual abuse of a child. The 69-year-old has previously told a Sydney court he was left "speechless" in 1999 when he first learned of Frank Houston's abuse of a seven-year-old boy decades earlier. But Brian Houston insisted he did not go to the police because he was respecting the wishes of the victim, Brett Sengstock, who by that time was aged in his 30s. He pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence. Magistrate Gareth Christofi on Thursday found Brian Houston not guilty, after concluding he had a "reasonable excuse" for not reporting the matter. In his judgement, Magistrate Christofi found Mr Houston knew or reasonably believed that Mr Sengstock did not want the matter reported to police.

#31 - Part 63

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

>>19374474 Catholic church uses death of paedophile priest in bid to stop survivor suing NSW diocese, court hears - The Catholic church is seeking to use using the death of a “prolific paedophile” priest to permanently prevent a dying Indigenous man from seeking justice for alleged abuse suffered on camping trips in rural New South Wales. Two survivors are suing the church’s Armidale diocese for the alleged abuse by notorious priest David Joseph Perrett during camping trips from an Aboriginal mission in the mid-1970s. Perrett died in 2020 while awaiting criminal trial for more than 100 offences relating to the abuse of almost 40 young children - including the two plaintiffs now suing the church - in areas spanning Armidale, Walcha, Guyra and the broader New England region from the 1960s to the mid-1990s. The church is now using Perrett’s death in a bid to shut down civil cases brought by the same survivors against the Armidale diocese. The church argues it cannot get a fair trial against the two survivors’ civil claims because Perrett and other deceased church officials cannot give evidence about whether the abuse occurred, whether there was negligence by the church or whether the camping trips were conducted as part of Perrett’s role with the church, potentially making it vicariously liable for his actions. The church is making the argument despite allegations it did nothing to investigate Perrett’s actions for decades after it learned he had been convicted and sentenced in 1996 for abusing children in north-west NSW.

>>19392401 Melbourne Buddhist monk Naotunne Vijitha Nayaka Thero faces court on child sex abuse charges - A senior Buddhist monk has faced a Melbourne court, charged with child sex offences dating back to the 1990s and early 2000s. The Venerable Naotunne Vijitha Nayaka Thero, who is the abbot of the Dhamma Sarana temple in Melbourne's south-east, is facing 13 charges including sexual penetration of a child under 16 and indecent act with a child under 16. Police charged Mr Vijitha earlier this week, saying three complainants had come forward. The incidents allegedly took place between 1996 and 2004, and police allege Mr Vijitha came into contact with the complainants through his role at the Keysborough temple.

>>19392419 AFP arrest man for allegedly creating child exploitation game in Victoria - A 31-year-old man has been charged over allegedly creating and operating an online child exploitation game used by Australian and international paid subscribers. The Geelong man was arrested after his home was raided by police on August 2. Police will allege the 31-year-old man was the creator and operator of the game, which was allegedly accessed by a number of people across Australia and internationally. Police allege those users had paid subscriptions to the game and their identities are currently being investigated. The joint investigation was launched in May after information about an online child exploitation game was uncovered by the Australian Border Force and provided to police. The platform is allegedly entirely comprised of animated child exploitation images, which is an offence in Australia.

>>19404497 How Taskforce Argos and the AFP tracked down the Gold Coast man accused of 1,623 child abuse offences - Earlier this month, the AFP, Queensland police and New South Wales police revealed they had charged a 45-year-old Gold Coast man with 1,623 child abuse offences. After the accused man's arrest in 2022, the AFP launched Operation Tenterfield, and reviewed almost 4,000 images and videos of abuse material allegedly found in his home under a search warrant. The operation is linked back to the work of Queensland Police Services's specialist child sexual abuse team, Taskforce Argos, which rescued children and brought down a dark web forum called The Love Zone. The anonymous TOR network first came to the attention of Taskforce Argos about a decade ago, after the arrest of a Queensland man who had VIP status on the dark web forum - as they followed leads from a Canadian operation called Project Spade. The abuse material was shared with the International Child Sexual Exploitation database, a global database where specialist victim identification teams work to identify and rescue children. The Argos team would eventually identify the forum's administrator as Families South Australia paedophile Shannon McCoole and after his arrest in 2014, Argos assumed his role in the forum. The former childcare worker currently facing 1,600 charges allegedly shared abuse material on the dark web. Agencies examined the images, but they contained few distinguishable clues for investigators to follow, the AFP said. But in August 2022 the AFP traced bedsheets in the abuse material back to a Brisbane childcare centre, leading to the accused man's arrest.

#31 - Part 64

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

>>19417287 NSW court rules Catholic church can’t get a fair trial in civil case over paedophile priest - The Catholic church has successfully used the death of a known paedophile priest to permanently halt a civil claim by two Indigenous survivors, one of whom is dying of cancer. The New South Wales supreme court ruled on Wednesday that the church could no longer receive a fair trial due to the death of assistant priest David Joseph Perrett, which, along with the deaths of other key witnesses, caused the church serious prejudice in attempting to mount a defence. The church won the case despite allegations it had more than three decades to investigate Perrett’s past, but did nothing. The church had been aware since 1995 Perrett abused children, after he pleaded guilty to offences against three boys in north-west NSW. Perrett later confessed to a senior church official that he was a paedophile; by the time of his death in 2020, Perrett was awaiting criminal trial on more than 100 charges relating to almost 40 young children in areas spanning Armidale, Walcha, Guyra and the broader New England region from the 1960s to the mid-1990s.

>>19417697 Malka Leifer jailed for 15 years over sexual abuse of students at ultra-Orthodox Jewish school - Former school principal Malka Leifer has been jailed for 15 years over the sexual abuse of two former students. The 56-year-old must serve at least 11-and-a-half years before she is eligible for parole. The court will consider her already having served 2069 days of that sentence, due to pre-sentence detention in Australia and Israel. Leifer was convicted in April of 18 offences against sisters Elly Sapper and Dassi Erlich between 2003 and 2007. The abuse occurred when the pair were pupils of Adass Israel School in Elsternwick, part of a small enclave of ultra-conservative Jewish families in Melbourne’s inner south-east. Outside court, Ms Sapper said the sentence was a “momentous day”. “We feel overwhelmed and grateful that the legal system has recognised and validated the extreme impact of abuse by female perpetrators. Malka Leifer has finally been held accountable. “Today’s ruling of 15 years recognises the harm and pain that Malka Leifer caused each one of us to suffer over so many years. Trauma from sexual abuse is a lifelong sentence. “While no amount of years will ever be sufficient, we are so relieved that Malka Leifer is now in prison … and cannot prey on anyone else.”

>>19417751 Video: A tear stains Leifer’s cheek as she is sentenced to 15 years for child sex abuse - A decades-long fight to bring justice to the victims of Malka Leifer has ended with the former principal of an ultra-Orthodox Jewish school in Melbourne sentenced to 15 years in prison for sexually abusing and raping two former students in her care. Leifer, 56, will be eligible for parole in June 2029 after County Court Judge Mark Gamble imposed a non-parole period of 11½ years. Leifer has already served more than 2000 days in pre-sentence detention in Australia and Israel. Gamble said on Thursday that Leifer was a predator who should feel guilty for sexually abusing the innocent sisters and that she used her position of influence over them to pursue her own sexual gratification. Leifer watched the sentencing via video link from Dame Phyllis Frost Centre. A tear stained Leifer’s right cheek as Gamble reached the end of his sentencing remarks. It was the first time she showed any strong emotion throughout the trial. Outside court sisters Elly Sapper, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer spoke about the “momentous day”, elated that the legal system had finally recognised the abuse Sapper and Erlich had suffered. “This fight was never just for us,” Erlich said. “Today really marks the end of this chapter of our lives and opens the chapter to us healing to any other survivors in this nightmare. You are never alone. We are all behind you.”

#31 - Part 65

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

>>19427786 Malka Leifer sentencing: No remorse as law catches up with a callous predator - As it dawned on Malka Leifer that she would spend another six years in an Australian jail, her head began to rock from side to side and a tear glistened on her cheek. But it looked more like hollow self-pity from the convicted sex ­offender than remorse for the repeated rape and abuse of two ­former students of the ultra-orthodox Jewish school where she was once the principal. As Judge Mark Gamble said on handing Leifer a 15-year sentence, the 56-year-old has never shown any regret for her abuse and still insists she is innocent of all 18 sexual assault charges against her. “I am not convinced Ms Leifer has in any way reformed,” he told Melbourne’s County Court. He said Leifer’s repeated assaults on the students between 2004 and 2008 while she was principal of Melbourne’s Adass Israel school was a case of “callous” and deliberate grooming of highly vulnerable young women who were “completely ignorant about sexual matters”. “This case is striking for just how vulnerable these victims were, and for the calculating way in which the offender, Ms Leifer, took callous advantage of those vulnerabilities in order to sexually abuse them for her own sexual gratification,” Judge Gamble said.

>>19427870 Elly Sapper, Dassi Erlich and Nicole Meyer speak after Malka Leifer's sentencing - Sequestered in a hotel room together on Thursday afternoon, Elly Sapper, Nicole Meyer and Dassi Erlich finally allowed the emotions of the day to sink in. Earlier, the three sisters had walked through the doors of the County Court in Melbourne's CBD, the eye of a media storm made up of dozens of camera people and reporters from every major news organisation in the country. Malka Leifer, their former school principal at Adass Israel School, had just been sentenced to 15 years in jail over 18 sexual offences against Ms Sapper and Ms Erlich. Leifer was cleared by jurors of charges relating to Ms Meyer in April. Hours after sentencing and media frenzy, Ms Sapper told ABC Melbourne radio that she was simply lying on the bed in her hotel room, "allowing the magnitude of the emotions" to come over her for the first time that day. "Hearing those words, 15 years, I breathed a huge sigh of relief," she said. Next to Ms Sapper was her sister Dassi, who experienced a sense of validation alongside relief. "While no sentence really can validate what we've been through, we do feel grateful for the sentence that Malka Leifer received today, we feel that it does in some part validate the abuse that we've been through," Ms Erlich said. It's a wait for validation that has lasted nearly two decades.

>>19427933 'You ruined me': Milton Orkopoulos victims reveal abuse trauma - A pedophile former NSW politician who destroyed the lives of the young boys he abused has been confronted with the torment his victims face daily as a result of his actions. In April, Milton Orkopoulos was found guilty on 26 charges of sexual offending against four underage boys and supplying them with drugs between 1993 and 2003. Some of the offences were committed during his stint as a state MP. "The life I wanted and deserved is so different to the life I got dealt because of what you did and the drugs you gave me," one survivor said in his victim impact statement.

>>19427976 Catholic Church loses bid to restrict family’s lawsuit against Pell and church - The Catholic Church has lost a bid to restrict the family members of victims of child abuse by clergy from bringing civil cases against the institution. The Court of Appeal on Friday rejected the church’s attempt to overturn a decision made by the Supreme Court in August last year that the father of a former choirboy who prosecutors had alleged was sexually abused by George Pell is entitled to sue the church. The decision paves the way for affected family members of other victims to sue the church over the impact of their abuse. The father alleged he had endured harm and suffering as a result of his son’s death, which he attributes to the actions of Pell.

#31 - Part 66

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

>>19434646 Video: How private investigators exposed Malka Leifer, infiltrating a small Israeli community to seal her extradition - Malka Leifer is smiling. Malka Leifer is buying a loaf of bread. Malka Leifer is waiting for the bus. Malka Leifer's charade is about to be exposed. Two hundred hours of undercover footage of the mother-of-eight going about her daily chores was the pivotal piece of evidence that led to her downfall. When the vision was captured in 2017, Leifer was facing child sex abuse charges dating back to her time as principal of the Adass Israel School in Melbourne. However, the Israeli courts had determined Leifer was so mentally incapacitated that she was unfit to be extradited to Australia. The pictures told a different story. The undercover sting was orchestrated by Israeli private investigator Tsafrir Tsahi and sex abuse victims advocate Shana Aaronson.

>>19452901 Former WA Nationals MP James Hayward guilty of child sex abuse - A West Australian MP has been found guilty of sexually abusing a young girl and has automatically been disqualified from ­parliament. A jury of six women and six men found James Hayward, 53, guilty of two counts of indecent dealing charges. He was acquitted of two other charges including the allegation he showed the child how to search for pornography online. Hayward did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody until his sentencing hearing in October. Hayward was an independent member of WA’s upper house after he was suspended from and then quit the Nationals WA in the wake of charges relating to indecently assaulting the girl between 2019 and 2021, when she was aged between six and eight. He had pleaded not guilty. After more than four hours of deliberations the jury handed down their verdicts as Hayward stood silently and members of his family, including his wife, sobbed.

>>19452902 Video: Jailed paedophile teacher given end-of-life permit with 17 years left on sentence in Adelaide - An Adelaide paedophile has been given permission to end his life after being jailed for sexually abusing his students while working as a music teacher, 9News can exclusively reveal. Malcolm Day, 81, is thought to be the first prisoner in the nation to be granted a voluntary assisted dying permit after having been diagnosed with a terminal illness, believed to be cancer. Day was sentenced to 20 years in prison last June and has 17 years left on his sentence. There is an 11-step process to access voluntary assisted dying in the state and 9News understands Day is towards the end of that process, meaning it could be finalised within the next few days. The director of pro-euthanasia group Exit International Philip Nitschke said use of the scheme by a prisoner was going to happen sooner or later. "By the sound of it, he satisfies all the conditions of the South Australian assisted dying legislation," Nitschke said.

>>19459101 Tasmania's child sex abuse commission of inquiry wraps up with final hearing in Hobart - The Tasmanian child sexual abuse commission of inquiry has referred more than 100 people to Tasmania Police and child protection since it began. The commission's president revealed the numbers at the final hearing in Hobart of the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings. The commission focused on the Launceston General Hospital, Ashley Youth Detention Centre, out of home care and public schools. "Although we believe that children are now safer in Tasmanian institutions than was the case in the past, more work needs to be done," commission president Marcia Neave said. Ms Neave said the commission had referred more than 100 people to police and child protection during the 29 months of the inquiry. She said it was also the commission's view that the Ashley Youth Detention Centre should be closed as a "matter of urgency", and improving the safety of children in youth detention and out of home care should be a priority. Ms Neave said the Tasmanian government's response to allegations and incidents of child sexual abuse since 2000 had too often been inadequate.

#31 - Part 67

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

>>19464965 Tim Mathieson: Julia Gillard’s former partner will plead guilty to sexual assault - Australia’s former ‘First Bloke’ will admit he sexually assaulted a woman in Melbourne last year, a court has been told. Raymond Timothy Mathieson, also known as Tim Mathieson, appeared before the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, August 31. The 66-year-old was dressed in a dark suit as he appeared via video link from his home. At a previous court hearing last month, his barrister Brad Penno said negotiations with police had resolved the case as two unnamed charges were withdrawn against his client. Mr Penno previously said his client had agreed to admit to intentional sexual touching without consent and requested the matter be adjourned to find out if prosecutors would accept diversion. Diversion allows low-level and first time offenders to avoid a criminal conviction by undertaking conditions that benefit the victim, the community and themselves. But in court, Mr Penno said diversion had been taken “off the table”, and requested the matter be adjourned until October for a one hour hearing. He confirmed Mr Mathieson would still plead guilty.

>>19474215 Malka Leifer conviction: ‘Good - but not good enough’ - “How do I move on in life without Malka Leifer being such a central role in it - especially after getting ‘not guilty’?” It’s the question Nicole Meyer continues to wrestle with, while she spoke candidly with The AJN from a Melbourne hotel room, four days after the sentencing of disgraced former Adass Israel School principal, Malka Leifer. Over the past 22 years - more than half of Meyer’s life - Leifer had been a constant; “as my teacher or principal, then, as my boss and colleague”. “And throughout it all, she was my abuser, attempting to escape justice.” County Court Judge Mark Gamble sentenced Leifer to 15 years imprisonment for 18 sexual offences - including six counts of rape - with a non-parole period of 11.5 years. The sentence takes into account time already spent in custody, meaning she could be released in 2029. But the indictments related only to acts committed against Meyer’s sisters, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper; when the jury handed down their verdict in April, they found Leifer not guilty of a further five charges of rape and sexual abuse relating to Meyer. It was a crushing blow for three sisters who have stood united through a protracted 12-year battle for justice, encompassing an international campaign to #BringLeiferBack, lengthy court delays, extradition orders, political corruption and terse diplomatic relations between Australia and Israel.

>>19474326 How AUSTRAC is saving kids from sexual abuse - In 2020, a trickle that became a stream of tiny financial transactions to fund child sexual abuse, eventually became a flood that destroyed some of Australia’s biggest business reputations. And it had the unintended, but enduringly good, impact of adding a valuable weapon to the armoury for the fight against child exploitation. At the heart of the flood was the detective work of the Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC), the federal government agency charged with monitoring the legality of money flowing in and out of the country. Its main target was Westpac. AUSTRAC swamped Westpac’s reputation with a civil court action, alleging negligence in discerning and reporting large-scale money laundering between 2012 and 2019. It accused the bank of breaching anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing laws on more than 23 million occasions, involving $11 billion in transactions. Westpac was duly ordered by the court to pay the highest civil penalty in Australian history: $1.3 billion. Some of Westpac’s failings involved suspicious transactions related to child exploitation in the Philippines, including two associated with child sex offenders.

#31 - Part 68

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 1

>>19211499 The QAnon-adjacent film that’s become a massive box office hit - "It’s the surprise hit in American cinemas, a thriller about rescuing sex-trafficked children, that has sparked debate about its links to QAnon conspiracies. On the way to breaking $US100 million any day now, Sound of Freedom has been championed by such far-right figures as Steve Bannon and My Pillow proprietor Mike Lindell. And now Donald Trump is hosting a screening at one of his golf clubs. The film has Jim Caviezel playing a real-life Homeland Security agent, Tim Ballard, who quits his government job for a mission to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. So far, there are no signs of an Australian cinema release." - Garry Maddox - smh.com.au

>>19211499 Q Post #3635: Sometimes a good 'movie' can provide a lot of truth and/or background. 'Official Secrets.' Relevant today? Enjoy the show! Q - https://qanon.pub/#3635

>>19250396 Controversial blockbuster Sound of Freedom heads to Australian cinemas - "The controversial American hit film Sound of Freedom, about a Homeland Security agent who quits his job to take on child traffickers, is headed for Australian cinemas. The unheralded thriller has stormed to stunning box office success in the US - taking more than $US130 million ($191 million) in three weeks - after being released by self-described faith-based distributor Angel Studios. While it tells a non-partisan story, the film has been championed by both mainstream conservatives and far-right figures including Steve Bannon and My Pillow proprietor Mike Lindell as well as followers of the QAnon movement." - Garry Maddox - smh.com.au

>>19257272 US conservative hit Sound of Freedom to be shown in Australian cinemas - "The “QAnon adjacent” film Sound of Freedom will be shown in several Australian cinemas in August, with the Mel Gibson co-owned chain Dendy among those saying it would screen the movie, citing “overwhelming demand”. Sound of Freedom is based on the true story of Tim Ballard, a former homeland security department agent who tried to rescue children from sex traffickers in Colombia. Ballard is played by Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus Christ in Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ. The film does not directly reference QAnon, a baseless conspiracy theory that asserts Democrats are a cabal of Satan worshippers who traffic children for sex. However, Caviezel has pushed claims of the conspiracy theory in the past, and when promoting the film on Steve Bannon’s podcast, dropped the QAnon line “there is a big storm coming”." - Josh Taylor - theguardian.com

>>19257385 Video: QAnon-link film gets local release - "Sound of Freedom, a micro-budget independent film with links to QAnon that became an unlikely box office hit in America, will be released in Australia in August. The film, made on a budget of $US14.5 million ($21.6 million), has taken in an astonishing $US130 million ($191 million) at the box office since its opening on July 4th. Sound of Freedom stars Jim Caviezel as Tim Ballard, a former federal agent who founded the anti-trafficking organisation Operation Underground Railroad. It follows his mission through Colombia to save a girl from child traffickers. During the Trump presidency, Ballard co-chaired a council established to guide federal anti-trafficking policymaking." - Geordie Gray - theaustralian.com.au

>>19257385 Q Post #3635 - Sometimes a good 'movie' can provide a lot of truth and/or background. 'Official Secrets.' Relevant today? Enjoy the show! - Q - https://qanon.pub/#3635

#31 - Part 69

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 2

>>19321154 Donald Trump remains an existential threat to the survival of US democracy - "Donald Trump’s orchestrated efforts to subvert the will of the voters and attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 US presidential election, to effectively instigate a coup d’état, is the most serious and egregious charge that can be made against anyone who believes in democracy, freedom and the rule of law. The prospect, though, of Trump being re-elected as president challenges the survival of this system. Trump has also shattered the norms and conventions of US politics; namely, the principle of the peaceful transfer of power embodied by George Washington, who retired after two terms. No previous US president, however upset at their defeat, sowed disinformation and discord like Trump. Trump remains a disgusting, disgraceful, dangerous individual. He is the first US president to be charged with a criminal offence. Trump’s indictment for attempting to overturn the presidential election of 2020 will be one of the great trials of our time. It is imperative, for the survival of US democracy, that he is found guilty of these crimes and does not return to power." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

>>19327086 Video: Senator says Uluru Statement ‘confirmed’ as 26 pages by NIAA, after Albo blasts claim as ‘QAnon’ conspiracy - Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Uluru Statement from the Heart has been “confirmed” as being 26 pages long by the agency that produced the documents under freedom of information, as she called on Anthony Albanese to “come clean” after the Prime Minister derided the claim as a “QAnon” style conspiracy theory on Tuesday. Mr Albanese used Question Time on Tuesday to blast the claims as a “QAnon” style conspiracy theory. “That is a conspiracy in search of a theory, Mr Speaker,” the PM said. “It is something that has been out there, like a whole lot of the QAnon theories, we have all sorts of conspiracy stuff out there, but this is a ripper. That is the Uluru Statement from the Heart on an A4 bit of paper. That is it. But what we have here is the conspiracy theories colliding with each other. They’re struggling to get their scares straight. I mean, what role did Marcia Langton play in the faking of the moon landing, Mr Speaker? What was the role of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in that?” He stressed it was “absolutely nonsense”.

>>19333351 Why PM’s backtrack on the Uluru Statement from the Heart won’t wash - "This week in parliament, Anthony Albanese doubled down on his claim that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is just a simple one-page statement -- almost an Australian version, he’s said, of the Gettysburg Address. He’s doing this because he needs the Uluru Statement to be a benign, uplifting document in order to get his voice referendum passed by voters, and because he needs to deny that the voice is just the first step in “Voice, Treaty, Truth” - a lengthy and complex process that will lead to multi-­billion dollar reparations payments (on top of the near $40bn a year that’s currently spent on Indigenous Australians) and the rewriting of our history as a story of shame. He’s so keen to bluff people out of referencing the full statement that he denounced the claim that it’s actually a 26-page document as a “conspiracy” worthy of QAnon." - Peta Credlin - theaustralian.com.au

>>19387408 A tale of two conferences: a choice between hope and despair - "CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp, a wealthy political adviser and lobbyist, will appear at the Australian conference this weekend alongside Matthew Whitaker, who served briefly as acting attorney-general to Trump, despite nine legal challenges to his appointment. Australians love to think of themselves as larrikins who thumb their noses at suits and sophisticates. But not the CPAC Australia mob. Among the current and former Coalition MPs scrambling to share a stage with the grizzled men of the Grand Old Party are Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie, Keith Pitt, Alex Antic, Ted O’Brien and Bronwyn Bishop. And, of course, Mundine and Price. This pair love to present themselves as champions of “average” Australians, squaring off against the “elites” of Canberra. But it’s hard to imagine a more elite look in politics than sharing a stage in a ballroom at The Star with two Trump loyalists. That’s the No campaign. Full of doublespeak and hyperbole, happy to trade in misinformation and outright lies, and to demonise their opponents when called out. Just like Donald Trump." Marcus Stewart, Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation and a member of the Uluru Dialogue - theaustralian.com.au

#31 - Part 70

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 3

>>19417293 Liberal Party branch to host QAnon believers’ favourite movie - "The NSW Liberals continue to behave like an outfit with their fingers squarely on the pulse. Next week, the party’s Willoughby state electorate conference will hatch a bold new plan to win back teal voters by holding a movie night at the Hayden Orpheum in Cremorne. Forget Barbie, Oppenheimer or any such woke nonsense. The branch members will be watching Sound of Freedom, a brawny Christian action thriller about child sex trafficking, which nudges and winks at unhinged QAnon conspiracy theories just enough to become a sleeper box office hit among the American right. Former president Donald Trump even hosted a screening at his private club in New Jersey." - Kishor Napier-Raman and Liam Mannix - smh.com.au

>>19417298 Former agent who inspired QAnon-linked thriller says critics have agendas - "Tim Ballard has had it with being linked to QAnon conspiracies. The former US Department of Homeland Security agent, who estimates he has gone on “several dozen” missions to rescue sex-trafficked children since founding Operation Underground Railroad a decade ago, has become the public face of the surprise American box office hit Sound of Freedom. Ballard is played by Jim Caviezel from The Passion of the Christ in a dark low-budget thriller that has taken a stunning $US178 million - more than the latest Indiana Jones and Mission: Impossible movies – since faith-based distributor Angel Studios released it on Independence Day. While it dramatises a mission to rescue sex-trafficked children in Colombia without taking sides politically, the movie has been championed by the far right in America’s fractious culture wars. Its supporters have included Steve Bannon, MyPillow proprietor Mike Lindell, QAnon followers online, Mel Gibson, who is one of the executive producers, and former president Donald Trump, who held a private screening at his Bedminster golf club a month ago. That leaves Ballard facing awkward questions, ahead of the movie’s opening in Australian cinemas this week, like whether he believes in the QAnon conspiracy that liberal elites run paedophilia rings. “That gets into some conspiracy theories that I’m not a part of, even though I’ve been accused of being a part of this QAnon movement,” Ballard says on a patchy Zoom call after a premiere in Buenos Aires. “I’ve disavowed it so many times. But I will say that the sex addiction that brings the demand for child sex is everywhere. “It’s on every level of every economic order, every type of person. Professionals, educators, law enforcement and politicians. Jeffrey Epstein is an example. So I don’t think it’s more prominent in elite circles. I think it’s really just everywhere.”" - Garry Maddox - theage.com.au

>>19452924 US, world should fear new Donald Trump presidency - "The mugshot of the disgraced Donald Trump after being arrested at Georgia’s Fulton County jail for attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election is one of the most iconic photos of our time. Not surprisingly, Trump has already monetised it, offering it for sale on shirts, cups and stickers, and earning $US7.1m ($11m) in 24 hours. A concerted and co-ordinated effort to undermine and sabotage an election is one of the gravest crimes anybody can commit in a democracy. If Trump had succeeded, the US would have slid towards an autocracy. There can be no gainsaying this. It is absurd to blame Democrats for Trump’s indictments given that those most damning of Trump are his former Republican staff and officials. The 2024 election will be about the survival of US democracy. Trump is likely to win the Republican nomination for president but he is not certain to defeat Joe Biden. If Trump loses again, he will incite further unrest and violence. But if Trump wins, he will, as flagged, move to terminate democracy. The US, and the world, will pay a heavy price if Trump regains the presidency." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

Fearless Aussies put lives on Ukraine frontline

LIAM MENDES - SEPTEMBER 6, 2023

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Josh Norman* is in daily pain from a shoulder injury he sustained during his time in the Australian Army.

Fellow former soldier Damien Solomon* was medically discharged after losing much of the hearing in his right ear.

Yet both men are on their way to the frontline in Ukraine, determined to help in the fight against Russia, despite the fear they could be punished by Australian authorities for choosing to make what they believe is the only ethical decision.

“I’d like to think that if Australia were invaded we’d have a lot of foreigners come over and help us, guys just like us just like us from a different country,” Mr Norman told The Australian, before travelling to serve in a Ukrainian unit with other foreigners.

Mr Solomon said Australians had a vested interest in discouraging regional superpowers, such as China, from territorial ambitions.

“If Russia were to be allowed to get away with (the invasion), it would signal to other players more relevant to Australia that that kind of behaviour is okay. And that could lead to more problems for us domestically.”

The medically-discharged veterans are fearful of speaking publicly – not because of potential repercussions from Russia – but for fear of being government repercussion upon their return.

About an hour from the Russian border, sitting in what used to be a primary school classroom in Ukraine’s east after being the target of a missile, the duo explained how they believe in the country’s cause and that Ukrainians should “be able to live their lives”.

Seeing the classroom full of pink school desks and chairs, and young children still living among destroyed dwellings across the country, reminds Mr Norman of his young nephew safely back in Australia.

“Seeing those kids around makes me want to fight,” the east coast resident said. “If Australia was invaded, other people would be trying to help my nephew out, which I truly believe. I really believe in the cause.”

After spending many months in Ukraine, the pair have been struck by the war’s impact on the most vulnerable in Ukrainian society. Every day there are rocket attacks, aerial bombings, explosions. Air raid sirens ring out across the country.

“I think people aren’t really that aware of what’s actually happening and how wrong it is … but the people that are really suffering, a lot of women, a lot of children, a lot of the vulnerable people, the elderly,” Mr Norman said. “They should be able to just get on with their life, they shouldn’t have to be fighting against an invading army to try and protect their families and get their land back, it’s just the right thing to do.”

The shoulder injury has left Mr Norman with debilitating daily pain despite having a ketamine infusion, multiple surgeries, ongoing physiotherapy and stretching, and a cocktail of pain medication – which he will be on for the rest of his life.

Even with the medication, he is often in serious pain. And that’s when he’s not wearing his body armour. “I stocked up on enough medication to last me until next year,” he said. “If I was to run out of that, or if I was to lose that medication, it would be very much a mental game, I would be in a lot of pain. But it’s a decision I’m happy with that I made. I know the risks, I know how it is, and I’m still happy to be here.”

(continued)

AUKUS deal not moving through US Congress as smoothly as hoped, senator warns

Brad Ryan and Jade Macmillan - 7 September 2023

Congress is at risk of "doing Beijing's work" if it fails to pass legislation necessary to the AUKUS deal, the US Senate's foreign relations chairman has warned.

Two years since the deal to supply Australia with American submarines was announced, senior members of congress are urging their colleagues not to hold up laws to authorise their delivery.

Bob Menendez, the chairman of the US Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, told a hearing in Washington that congress's implementation of the deal had "not gone as smoothly as some of us would have hoped".

But he said China's recent behaviour towards Australia meant "time is of the essence" in the trilateral agreement between Australia, the US and the UK.

"They [China] are aggressively trying to influence Australian politics and civil society, buying critical infrastructure like port facilities in Darwin, making political donations, even hacking Australian parliament and major political parties," Senator Menendez said.

"This is a critical moment."

But some Republicans have been raising concerns about elements of the deal, arguing Canberra's $3 billion investment is not enough to ensure the US can supply Australia with submarines while also meeting its own military needs.

Republican Senator Roger Wicker, who blocked a plan to fast-track congressional approval for part of the deal in July, told Politico at the time: "It makes sense to be sure we have enough submarines for our own security needs before we endorse that pillar of the [AUKUS] agreement."

Senator Menendez, a Democrat, today said congress "needs to play its part if the agreement is going to work".

"If we fail to move forward with full congressional support of AUKUS, including the nuclear-powered submarines, we are doing Beijing's job for them," he said.

Bipartisan support despite Republicans' reservations

Under the deal, Australia will buy at least three Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines from the US before eventually producing its own.

But congress needs to pass legislation to authorise the deal.

A group of 25 Republicans wrote to President Joe Biden in July, warning the plan to supply Australia with submarines would "unacceptably weaken" the American fleet unless funding for US production was increased.

Senator Bill Hagerty, one of the letter's signatories, told today's hearing AUKUS had strong bipartisan support despite those reservations.

"I can't think of a single member of congress, whether they'd be Republican or Democrat, that doesn't support AUKUS and, at least, the objectives of AUKUS," he said.

"I think the question before the president and congress right now is how to implement AUKUS quickly."

Sub supply shortage

A sticking point for the group of Republicans is a current shortage of attack submarines in the US fleet.

Military leaders say the Navy requires 66 attack subs, but currently only has 49, with about a third of those out of action due to maintenance.

Senator Hagerty and others have been pushing for a plan for the US to build 2.5 Virginia-class submarines a year – about double the current rate of production.

"The [Biden] administration still hasn't put forward a credible long-term plan to ensure that our navy meet its requirements to have 66 attack subs in a reasonable timeframe," he said.

"Ladies and gentlemen, that's a problem."

Assistant Secretary of Defense Mara Karlin conceded the US's defence industrial base was "not as strong as anyone would like it to be".

"With congress's leadership and support, the administration has been able to put in billions of dollars – indeed, approximately $4 billion in the latest president's budget – for both production and maintenance of submarines," she said.

"And so there's a lot of really hard work to help increase those numbers."

Greg Brown, a senior analyst at the Washington office of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said he believed there was broad backing for AUKUS, despite differing views over how it should be implemented.

"I think there's still lots of room for optimism, and nobody should get too concerned yet," he said.

"But just realise that the process in the United States is very complex and very murky."

The first Virginia-class submarines are due to be delivered to Australia sometime in the 2030s.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-07/aukus-senate-commitee-hearing-washington-submarines/102824604

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6hGaIrAzoQ

>>19499282

>>19499282

Zelensky’s frontline Aussie raining hell on Russia

Ethan McNamara, the first Australian frontline warrior to speak openly of his fight for Ukraine, is part of a wave of defence personnel using their training in what they see as a just war.

LIAM MENDES - September 8, 2023

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Just over a week ago, Ethan McNamara was running through a field in a desperate attempt to avoid Russian artillery fire.

It’s become a common occurrence for the 24-year-old from Brisbane, who in late September last year travelled to Ukraine to join the fight on the frontline.

Now he is a member of the Ukrainian military; second-in-command of a drone reconnaissance and attack unit, part of GUR – a secretive Ukrainian military intelligence service combat unit.

Before this, McNamara had never worked with drones, which he says have completely changed the structure of modern warfare.

The former Australian Army soldier is the first Australian to speak in-depth without the cloak of anonymity about his experience on the frontline in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He’s one of about 100 Australians and other foreigners – often former military personnel, some with zero prior combat experience – moved by Ukraine’s plight to go there to help.

He met The Weekend Australian on the outskirts of Slovyansk, about 50km from the frontline, candidly discussing being on the receiving end of artillery rounds, as well as talking about people he has killed.

The city is on edge after 16 civilians, including a child, were killed by a Russian air strike in the town of Kostyantynivka, less than 50km away, on Thursday.

“From being able to … see men that you’ve killed, and then being on the other end of that and hearing those rounds coming to you, is, you know, it’s all fun and games until it’s reversed, and you know someone is actively trying to kill you,” McNamara said. “It’s fun until it’s not.”

He recalls close calls he’s had.

“There’s been times where we’ve been running through tree lines and open fields, and you hear (artillery) coming in, you got a few seconds of that last whistle before the explosion, and all you think is ‘I need to get down’,” he said.

“You drop on to your face and then you’re like, ‘I need to get up’ and this stuff’s heavy on my back right now, and you just keep ­pushing forward, up down, up down.

“A lot of people say, ‘I think of my family, I think of my loved ones, I think I’m going to die’,” he said.

“No, for me it was just, I hate getting up and down from the ground because this is heavy.

“Everyone takes it differently, I suppose. Some I know won’t even flinch, they’ll just laugh at the sound.

“Insane dudes, insane dudes.”

McNamara’s role can range from conducting reconnaissance, to “dropping bombs on people” and calling in mortar strikes from his comrades.

He is often based in trenches or homes previously occupied by families, launching either a small consumer drone, modified to carry explosive, or a larger drone, which is sent 500m into the air and with its attached camera can see up to 20km away.

“Our job allows us to cause a much bigger casualty rate on the Russian side. Instead of getting to shoot at one or two people in a trench, we’ll take out groups of five to eight, we’ll take out vehicles, we’ll take out their mortars.

“The strategic level of our team is a lot bigger than just the day-to-day trench life, which is the reason why I came here and the whole reason I’ve stayed with this team, because I’m able to come here and have a much bigger effect than just picking up a gun and running across the field.”

(continued)

>>19518233

>Before this, McNamara had never worked with drones, which he says have completely changed the structure of modern warfare.

>>19529127

>>19534980

WATCH: Marcia Langton labels No voters ‘racist, stupid’ in exclusive footage

Sky News Australia

Sep 12, 2023

Sky News host Sharri Markson has obtained exclusive footage of prominent Voice campaigner Marcia Langton accusing Australians voting No in the referendum of “base racism” or “sheer stupidity”.

The professor’s controversial comments were made during a forum hosted by Edith Cowan University after being asked why so many Australians were undecided on the referendum.

“Every time the No cases raise their arguments, if you start pulling it apart you get down to base racism - I’m sorry to say that’s where it lands - or sheer stupidity,” Professor Langton said.

“If you look at any reputable fact-checker, every one of them says the No case is substantially false. They are lying to you.”

Ms Markson obtained the footage after the professor’s comments were splashed on the front page of the Bunbury Herald on Tuesday.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmi2wiib-uE