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https://www.fullchan.net/?c8dcd7c08ebf53bf#HFR6zJtkHcYykk95xnbat35AhH7smVsZQshdmikCeXbQ

Penny Wong prepares new sanctions against Israel but no trade ban

Matthew Knott - September 8, 2026

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The Albanese government is preparing to impose a new sanctions package against Israel, but has rejected internal calls to join the United Kingdom by banning commercial activity with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham was poised on Tuesday to announce wide-ranging economic restrictions, including a trade ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

The moves represent a significant toughening of British policy towards Israel, which has threatened unspecified retaliation.

Former Labor cabinet minister Ed Husic urged Australia to join the UK, but Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Australia was “not, at this time, pursuing a blanket-style import ban” on goods produced in the settlements.

“We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and Israelis,” Wong said in a speech to the Senate.

The government has told Australian businesses not to bid for construction tenders for illegal settlement developments, she said.

“I can announce Australia is pursuing further targeted measures in coordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence,” Wong said in her speech.

Wong accused the Netanyahu government of “extinguishing the possibility of a two-state solution” by allowing the rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank and failing to take sufficient action against extremist settlers.

“Australia continues to call on Israel to take urgent steps to address the situation on the ground, including to stop settlers destroying properties, displacing families, beating, torturing, sexually assaulting, and killing Palestinians,” she said.

Wong also condemned Hamas, the listed terror group that controls Gaza, for “ongoing acts of terror that undermine a two-state solution” and said it must play no role in a future Palestinian state.

Relations between Australia and Israel have soured dramatically since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, as Australia began regularly voting against Israel at the United Nations and recognised Palestinian statehood.

Wong is considering how to respond to Israel’s decision not to press charges against the soldiers who killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in a 2024 drone strike after meeting with Frankcom’s family last week.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy on Tuesday calling for an independent investigation into Frankcom’s death and for the government to expel Israeli ambassador Hillel Newman.

“Israel is open to discussions on the legal aspects,” Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman told ABC radio last month when asked whether options remain available for those seeking accountability for Frankcom’s killing.

“We can share information with legal teams of Australia, and the aspect of reparations can be checked definitely.”

The government imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on Israeli individuals and entities in June in response to escalating settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, following previous sanctions on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition.

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Husic, a critic of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, hailed the imminent British announcement as a “seismic movement by one of our close allies, and it reflects the fact that I think there’s realisation dawning - statements won’t cut it, concrete action is needed”.

Husic unsuccessfully tried to pass a resolution at Labor’s national conference in July calling for trade sanctions connected to “illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories” and other measures to condemn Israel.

“I can be silenced at conference, but you can’t stop world opinion, and I know that countries are deeply concerned about what’s going on,” Husic said.

“I just don’t think we can be left dragging the chain on something as big as this.”

Husic said he believed purchases of agricultural products, such as wine, were the main form of Australian economic activity with the settlements.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network President Nasser Mashni welcomed the prospect of more sanctions on Israel but said “without a trade ban and an end to material complicity, Australia remains on the wrong side of the law and of history”.

“After years in which Australia confined itself to expressions of concern, moving to impose real costs is essential,” he said.

AustraliaIsrael & Jewish Affairs executive director Colin Rubenstein said Wong had been one-sided for blaming Israel, rather than Palestinian leaders, for the lack of progress on a two-state solution.

“Sanctioning Israel will only be counterproductive, in encouraging further Palestinian intransigence, and will further draw Australia away from our traditional bi-partisan and beneficial relationship with Israel,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said last week: “We need to look at our wider economic relationship with the occupied territories, as we are doing, and at the different tools we have.

“We do not want British companies financing, constructing or advertising new settlements.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “Israel will act” against any new British sanctions, without elaborating.

Greens foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said: “The world is moving and the Albanese government is standing still.

“The UK government has rightfully realised they need to reset the relationship with Israel, they cannot just keep ignoring international law.”

Israel occupied the West Bank after winning a 1967 war with Jordan, and the population of Israeli settlers there has expanded dramatically in recent years.

The International Court of Justice said in a 2024 advisory opinion that Israel should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and end its “illegal” occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/penny-wong-prepares-new-sanctions-against-israel-but-no-trade-ban-20260908-p60vi3.html

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Israeli ambassador warns broad sanctions on settlements would be a ‘deep mistake’

ELIZABETH PIKE - September 09, 2026

Israel’s ambassador to Australia has cautioned the Albanese government against following Britain in introducing sanctions against Israeli settlements in the West Bank, saying it would be a “deep mistake”.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said Australia was not “at this time” looking to pursue the UK’s blanket-style export ban on Israeli settlements, but she did announce plans for a new tranche of sanctions to deter ­illegal settlements and settler ­violence.

In a statement to the Senate, Senator Wong said the ­Israeli government’s actions in the West Bank were “extinguishing the possibility of a two-state solution”.

The comments came as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham prepared to announce a tougher stance on Israel as part of a “comprehensive reset” of the UK’s Middle East policy.

The reset has put the Albanese government under pressure to review its relationship with Israel as protesters rallied outside the country’s embassy in Canberra on Tuesday to call for tougher sanctions against Jerusalem and the expulsion of its ambassador, Hillel Newman, over the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom.

Labor has also faced internal pressure to strengthen its stance against Israel, weeks after Senator Wong conceded it was a “difficult time” for the relationship.

Dr Newman told The Australian before Senator Wong’s announcement that any decision to sanction Israel would be “mistaken” and the settlement issue had been “blown out of proportion”. He cautioned against following the UK with its plans to sanction goods produced in ­West Bank settlements as the territory was “disputed”.

“It would be a deep mistake to take steps in such a direction,” Dr Newman said, adding that anti-Israel protesters had been “brainwashed”.

In a separate response, the ­Israeli embassy said Jewish-Israelis who established settlements in Israeli-controlled areas such as the West Bank were not violating international law.

The International Court of Justice has deemed settlement ­activities in the West Bank unlawful and Donald Trump previously vowed he would not allow Israel to annex the region, which is recognised as an occupied Palestinian territory.

The Albanese government has also maintained a “firm and consistent” position that Israeli settlements are illegal under international law and a “significant obstacle to peace”.

Labor backbencher Ed Husic pressured the government to follow the UK’s sanctions. The party shut down Mr Husic’s motion to debate a tougher stance on Israel at the ALP national conference in July. “We have to wait for the detail of what the UK government announces, but it appears that they are aligning themselves with the ICJ advisory opinion of mid-2024 that said you shouldn’t be having economic and trade relationships with groups that sustain the illegal occupation of those territories, and I think this is what I wanted to move at conference,” Mr Husic said.

“You can silence me at conference, but you can’t silence world opinion that understands that we cannot maintain the trade with those illegal settlements.

“We are going to need to take that type of action, and the reason is because the Netanyahu government will not listen to statements anymore. They’ll ride them out. It’s only sustained, concrete ­action that can force a change.”

Mr Husic suggested Labor could no longer ignore the concerns of its members and the wider Australian public about ­Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza, pointing to UK Labor’s decision to bolster its stance on ­Israel in response to shifting public opinion.

“It’s a seismic shift by the UK. I think it reflects their understanding, too, about what their public wants to see. European Union capitals have been mulling as well about taking similar action, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the EU takes collective action … in coming weeks,” he said.

The Prime Minister earlier sidestepped questions about Australia taking a similar step. He said he had made the government’s position clear on the Middle East on a “number of occasions”.

“We support a two-state solution in the Middle East,” he said.

Senator Wong later clarified, in her statement to the Senate, that Australia would be “pursuing further targeted measures in co-ordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence”.

“Australia is not, at this time, pursuing a blanket-style import ban. We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and for Israelis,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/israeli-ambassador-warns-broad-sanctions-on-settlements-would-be-a-deep-mistake/news-story/ffb76c9c4c357c6d964e3647abdd2916

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Ben Carroll and Labor accused of shielding past scandals as IBAC reform legislation blocks reopened probes

ANTHONY GALLOWAY - September 07, 2026

Victorian Premier Ben Carroll has been accused of shielding Labor from scrutiny over past corruption scandals by stopping beefed-up powers for the state’s anti-corruption watchdog from being fully retrospective.

On Tuesday the Carroll government will introduce legislation to expand the powers of the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission, broadening the definition of corrupt conduct and giving the watchdog new “follow the dollar” powers to pursue public money into private entities.

But the expanded powers will not be fully retrospective, with IBAC expressly prevented from reopening complaints it had already dismissed or referred to another body, or investigations it had completed, before the laws begin.

Opposition legal affairs spokesman James Newbury seized on the carve-out, arguing it would prevent IBAC from using its expanded powers to revisit allegations of corruption and criminal infiltration on Victoria’s Big Build construction sites.

Former premier Jacinta Allan referred allegations involving the CFMEU and major construction projects to IBAC but the watchdog subsequently said the alleged conduct involving private companies and individuals fell outside its jurisdiction.

The Big Build scandal, involving allegations of criminal infiltration and corruption involving the CFMEU and private companies on taxpayer-funded construction projects, will be examined by a royal commission announced by Mr Carroll last month.

“Ben Carroll and Labor are shamefully trying to keep covered up the worst corruption scandal in our state’s history,” Mr Newbury said.

“Despite the chief anti-corruption agency calling for expanded powers for years, Labor is adding watered-down powers but tying IBAC’s hands behind its back. Labor has confirmed their proposed new powers won’t let IBAC revisit old corruption allegations it has dismissed, referred elsewhere, or finished investigating.

“Every Victorian deserves to know the extent of the corruption on the Big Build. IBAC must not be blocked from that work. What a shameful con from an end-of-days government.”

Special Minister of State Ingrid Stitt said “the Liberals are lying”.

“The royal commission will be able to investigate any allegations of crime, corruption and serious misconduct on Big Build projects,” she said. “We’re fast-tracking the new laws so IBAC has the follow-the-money powers it needs to uncover corruption this year, not in 2027.”

Under the IBAC reforms, the watchdog’s reach would extend to “associated entities” providing services or performing functions on behalf of the state, public bodies or public officers, capturing contractors, subcontractors, agents, concession holders, joint ventures and third-party contractors.

The change is designed to strengthen IBAC’s ability to “follow the money” beyond government and into private entities involved in delivering publicly funded projects.

The definition of corrupt conduct also would be substantially widened, allowing IBAC to investigate conduct that could amount to any offence or a “serious disciplinary matter”, rather than requiring it to meet the existing threshold of a specified “relevant offence”.

Serious disciplinary matters would include serious misconduct, conduct capable of resulting in dismissal or a significant employment or contractual sanction, and serious breaches of codes of conduct applying to MPs, councillors, ministers and parliamentary secretaries.

The legislation also would make clear that conduct could be considered corrupt even where an intended benefit was never ultimately obtained.

The reforms would have some retrospective application, allowing IBAC to use its expanded powers for existing or unfinished investigations and for historical conduct that had not previously been the subject of a dismissed, referred or completed matter.

However, the transitional provisions explicitly state that nothing in the reforms permits IBAC to reopen a complaint it had already dismissed or referred elsewhere, or an investigation it had already completed.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/ben-carroll-and-labor-accused-of-shielding-past-scandals-as-ibac-reform-legislation-blocks-reopened-probes/news-story/eac92ee2dcd0e14cd4801f40eea04f5e

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Zeinab Ahmad: Alleged ISIS bride facing slavery charges refused bail in Victoria’s Supreme Court

LIAM BEATTY - September 09, 2026

The uncle of a woman accused of keeping a Yazidi teenager as a slave in ISIS-controlled territory has reacted with frustration after her bid to be released was refused.

Zeinab Ahmad, 31, sought bail in the Victorian Supreme Court as she plans to fight slavery charges laid upon her return from a displaced persons camp in Syria.

Ms Ahmad was arrested alongside her mother Kawsar Ahmad, 54, and charged with slavery offences after arriving at Melbourne Airport on May 7.

Both women have pleaded not guilty to all charges.

The pair are accused of possessing a Yazidi teenager, of an ethnic minority from northern Iraq, as a slave between about June 2017 and November 2018 in areas of Syria then controlled by Islamic State.

In support of her bail application, the court was told Ms Ahmad had renounced violent extremist ideology.

She argued it could take years for her to face trial on the complex charges and there would be a negative impact on her own mental health and the wellbeing of her seven-year-old daughter if she was to remain behind bars.

Ms Ahmad also argued there were psychological and deradicalisation programs she could participate in if freed.

Prosecutors opposed her bail and argued Ms Ahmad posed an unacceptable risk to the community, including the risk of radicalising others or committing a terrorist attack.

The court was told consultant forensic psychiatrist Rajan Darjee had assessed Ms Ahmad and come to the view it was “entirely plausible” she no longer held radical views, having “broken free” from the cult-like influence of the terror group.

But handing down his decision on bail on Wednesday morning, Justice James Elliot found she had not met the strict bail test of showing there was exceptional circumstances justifying her release.

He also said the prosecution had made out she posed a low, but real, risk to the community.

Justice Elliot said Ms Ahmad had made posts supportive of ISIS in the past and while she had denounced the terror group publicly now, it could be motivated by her “self-interest” in being released into the Australian community.

Present in court, Ms Ahmad’s uncle Abraham Abbas was seen shaking his head as the decision was read.

Leaving the courtroom, he exclaimed that the decision was unfair and Ms Ahmad was a victim and continuing to be victimised.

The alleged victim of the slavery charges, who cannot be named, told police she was captured by Islamic State aged 15, then sold and traded among ISIS fighters as a sabaya - a sex slave - before being freed by Kurdish forces in 2019.

It’s alleged Mohammed Ahmad, Ms Ahmad’s father and Kawsar Ahmad’s husband, bought the then-teenager for about $US10,000 in June 2017.

Mr Ahmad, who remains in detention in Iraq and has not been charged with any offence, allegedly told the girl: “I bought you for the purpose of raping and at the same time, serving the home.”

The AFP alleges Ms Ahmad shared a bedroom with the girl and “treated her badly” but did not physically hurt her, and that she was in control of the house when her parents weren't home.

It is alleged the woman, who lives overseas, suffered repeated physical and sexual abuse before she was sold to another ISIS fighter in about November 2018.

Police allege Ms Ahmad travelled with her first husband Dawod Elmir and members of her family to Syria in 2015 to join Islamic State.

It’s also alleged she worked for Islamic State’s women’s orphans’ department, earning $US48 a month.

Her first husband was killed in 2016 and she was married twice more. She now wants a divorce from an Egyptian ISIS member and “does not want anything to do with him”, the court was told.

Ms Ahmad, and members of her family, surrender to Kurdish forces in 2019 and detained at the Al Roj internally displaced persons camp until their release this year.

Kawsar Ahmad was released on bail in June this year.

Both women will return to court in October.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/zeinab-ahmad-alleged-isis-bride-facing-slavery-charges-refused-bail-in-victorias-supreme-court/news-story/bbfd79e554a805be8eeb8d9c23d30d92

Sydney businessman Alexander Csergo sentenced to time behind bars for reckless foreign interference

Jamie McKinnell - 10 September 2026

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Sydney businessman Alexander Csergo has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison for reckless foreign interference, but will be eligible for parole as early as next month due to the time he has already spent in custody.

The long-running case about reports Csergo compiled for two suspected Chinese spies while he was working in Shanghai represents the first time an Australian has been sentenced for the charge.

A District Court jury found the 58-year-old guilty in March, after hearing weeks of evidence about Csergo's communication and meetings with two people he knew as "Ken" and "Evelyn" between 2021 and 2023, when he returned to Sydney.

Csergo prepared reports, upon request and in return for payment, about topics including lithium mining, the change in the German government, defence, the Quad alliance and AUKUS.

The prosecution told jurors he believed they worked for a Chinese intelligence agency, the Ministry of State Security (MSS), and was reckless as to whether his conduct would support foreign intelligence activities.

But Csergo's lawyers argued he handed over worthless information from open-source material along with fictitious interviews, and there was no evidence he ever revealed any national security secrets.

Judge Craig Smith found that the offending effectively took place between May or June 2022 and December 2022.

He said Csergo's subjective awareness of his situation shifted around May 2022, when he was asked to prepare a defence report that was "materially different" from his previous work.

In WeChat messages to Csergo, specific topics of interest were identified, including "China spy", "anything about China in ASIO", and strategy, targets, tactics, methods and technology.

Csergo warned Ken that they needed to be "careful" and said, "we don't want to find ourselves being questioned by any governments".

He also said that one of his contacts had "strongly warned" him against what Ken had requested.

'Degree of sophistication' in offending

The judge found beyond reasonable doubt that Csergo was relevantly reckless from May or June 2022 and part of his conduct was deceptive, satisfying all four elements of the charge.

He said there was "clearly a persistence in his conduct" as he "extensively researched, downloaded and prepared materials", and that there was a level of deception to the conduct.

Judge Smith said he did not consider Csergo's conduct to have been "overly sophisticated in the criminal sense", but there was a "degree of sophistication".

He handed Csergo a backdated sentence of three years and six months, with a non-parole period of one year and ten months.

"The substantial effect of the sentence … is you would be eligible for consideration for release to parole on 24 October 2026," the judge told Csergo, who appeared on a video link in the Downing Centre.

He took into account that Csergo had spent more than 600 days in custody prior to sentence, including a period between when he was arrested and then granted bail, and when he was taken into custody shortly after the jury's verdict.

The judge accepted that Csergo had no criminal history and was a person of good character.

He said the evidence showed he was an intelligent, highly motivated and loyal person with strong support from his mother, brother and friends.

It demonstrated that he was "otherwise a decent man" who had committed a serious offence, the judge found.

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Attempted contact with ex-prime minister

The judge also found that the nature of Csergo's time in custody was a "significant matter" and said the evidence showed he had suffered a particularly hard and isolating time in prison which exacerbated mental health issues.

He said existing mental health issues, including heightened anxiety during COVID lockdowns, created a "degree of vulnerability" in Csergo when he was initially contacted on LinkedIn by someone seeking part-time consultancy services.

The court heard that at one point, Csergo attempted to contact former prime minister Kevin Rudd through an online contact form, but never interviewed Dr Rudd.

When he returned to Australia, Csergo had with him a so-called "shopping list" of subjects Ken and Evelyn were interested in, which the Crown had highlighted as being important to the prosecution case.

But the judge did not accept that the businessman intended to act upon the list.

"There is no evidence he did anything in relation to the shopping list, although there is evidence of his continuing communication with Ken while he was in Australia."

'I want him at home'

Outside court, Csergo's brother, Steve Csergo, said the judge was working within the legislation in place.

But he was worried that the case may set a precedent for others.

"My concern is for the future of all Australians and our freedoms," he said.

"And what's going to be next? My concern is, will you be arrested for doing a report from open-source information from the state library next?"

Csergo's mother, Cathy Csergo, welcomed the judge's assessment that he was a decent man.

"Of course he is. He was a good boy from the start," she said.

"All his life, he's been working. Even going to the university, he was still working to pay the fees off himself."

She said she was relieved that he may be out of custody in six weeks on parole.

"I feel very relieved, because I'm alone in the house. I have a lot of problems in the house," she said.

"I hope my son comes home, even after six weeks … still I want him at home."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-10/sydney-alexander-csergo-sentenced-to-jail-foreign-interference/107138410

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

https://qresear.ch/?q=Alexander+Csergo

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Demands that Senator Hanson remove the video targeting Mr Hastie spread across parliament as the sitting week came to a close, with Angus Taylor ­declaring the matter had become a question of “morality” for One Nation.

“Andrew Hastie served this country with distinction as a member of the Special Forces of the SAS,” the Opposition Leader said. “He served this country with distinction. I think it’s wrong. And I have every right to say that I think it’s wrong for that video to be up.”

Senator Hanson has so far refused to take down the video or remove it from the top of her X account, arguing she never personally called Mr Hastie a traitor and that he was “making a mountain out of a molehill”.

Independent MP and veteran Andrew Wilkie joined the condemnation from the crossbench of Senator Hanson, who he said had demonstrated “she won’t hesitate to attack veterans and exploit them for political gain”.

“Senator Pauline Hanson should immediately take down the slanderous video attacking Andrew Hastie,” Mr Wilkie said, following Senator Lambie’s comments earlier on Thursday.

While Senator Hanson has been widely criticised across parliament, she and Senator Lambie have a long-held rivalry that goes back to 2015 when the One ­Nation leader suggested Senator Lambie voted against drug testing for welfare recipients because her son was a meth addict.

In the face of outcry over the Please Explain cartoon, Senator Hanson sought to defend her ­record on veterans by moving a motion in the upper house to amend laws passed by Labor in 2024 that lowered the threshold for what could be considered a war crime.

The government defended its change to the definition of “hors de combat”, arguing the bill was designed to bring Australia in line with international law, but has since come under fire for making the reforms retrospective.

While it’s not the first time One Nation has sought to amend the law and roll back its retrospectivity, The Australian understands the decision to move the amendment again was made in direct response to the attacks on Senator Hanson this week.

Despite senior Liberal figures on Thursday criticising Senator Hanson’s attack on Mr Hastie, the Coalition voted with One Nation for the amendment, which failed in the face of opposition from Labor and the Greens. Senator Lambie abstained from the vote, citing a desire for greater ­detail on the amendment and need for a broader inquiry before any new legislation was passed.

However, Senator Lambie and Senator Hanson joined ­Coalition and Greens senators in passing a bill through the upper house to scrap Labor’s $5000 cap on allied health services for veterans.

While the government’s ­majority in the House of Representatives means it can ultimately vote down the legislation, it faces intensifying pressure from the left and right over the policy.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/rsl-accuses-pauline-hanson-of-extremely-offensive-attack-on-andrew-hastie/news-story/c69e6976437730fd06d06a5d4d50bfa2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5UjqXMQL4Y

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Hastie accepts apology from Joyce over ‘traitor’ cartoon as Hanson doubles down and tells critics to ‘chill’

A split emerges in One Nation over the video, with Barnaby Joyce offering an apology as Pauline Hanson continues to refuse to take it down

Krishani Dhanji - 11 Sep 2026

Andrew Hastie has accepted an apology from his former colleague Barnaby Joyce over a One Nation cartoon video labelling the former SAS captain a traitor but reiterated that he believed Pauline Hanson was a “lying coward”.

The apology has revealed a split between Joyce and his leader, as Hanson instead appeared to double down on the controversial animation on social media, thanking Hastie for drawing attention to the video posted more than one month ago and saying critics should “take a chill pill”.

Hastie had called on Hanson and One Nation to take ownership of the cartoon or remove it from social media, after the One Nation leader said she personally had not called the Liberal frontbencher a traitor.

The One Nation video posted to social media in late July depicts Hastie as a pitiful and paranoid opposition leader manipulated by Anthony Albanese into taking on One Nation.

It also refers to him being a traitor after he gave evidence against the Victoria Cross-winner Ben Roberts-Smith in his failed defamation trial.

Joyce quickly distanced himself from the video on Wednesday, saying he was not aware of it. He later told the press he had reached out to Hastie.

On Friday Hastie told Guardian Australia he accepted Joyce’s explanation.

“Barnaby Joyce has reached out to me and explained that he didn’t know about the cartoon that called me a traitor eight times,” Hastie said. “I accept his explanation.

“I called him a lying coward because I thought he was protecting Pauline Hanson. I now know that she is the only lying coward.”

Hastie has accused Hanson of being “weak” and having a “glass jaw” and said the video not only insults him but all veterans, including others who gave evidence at the defamation trial.

Hanson has refused to apologise or pull down the video and has taken aim at critics including Jacqui Lambie, who backed Hastie and called the One Nation leader an “angry little woman”.

She posted a photo of Lambie on X and wrote: “I think everyone needs to take a chill pill.” The video remained pinned to the top of her X account on Friday.

Joyce would not weigh into whether the video should be taken down, telling News24 on Thursday night it was “beyond my pay grade”.

“I’m not responsible for putting the cartoons up and I’m not responsible for taking them down,” he MP said. “So, you know, it’s an odd discussion for me.

“If I believe a person’s hurt and I listen to it and I think, no, that’s fair enough, you’re not a traitor, therefore if you feel hurt by that because you think it’s too close to the bone, even though it’s a cartoon, I’m not making excuses because it’s a cartoon, but it wasn’t actually said by anybody in One Nation to him then nonetheless, it should be apologised for, so I apologise.”

But the One Nation senator Sean Bell said it was a “shame” Hastie had decided to make the issue about himself.

“I don’t think the party has anything to apologise for,” he told News24. “I think people should go and watch the cartoon, because I think, in it, there’s a lot of very insightful things, because it’s not just about Mr Hastie, it’s about the Liberal party as a whole. It’s about the Labor party and some of the tricks they use.

“Mr Hastie’s has been looking to have a fight and a conflict with One Nation for a long, long time.”

Senior Liberals, Lambie, the RSL and the Greens have all criticised the video, and pushed for it to be taken down.

On Friday the defence minister and deputy prime minister, Richard Marles, said the use of the word traitor was “tasteless”.

“Andrew Hastie is definitely not a traitor,” he told ABC radio. “I know him well and I’ve said this publicly. I very much honour the service that Andrew Hastie has given to our country, wearing our nation’s uniform. I think to use that word in respect of a veteran is extremely tasteless.

“No one should be using that word in respect of any veteran and in respect of Andrew.”

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2026/sep/11/andrew-hastie-accepts-joyce-apology-traitor-cartoon-hanson-tells-critics-chill-ntwnfb

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Neo-Nazis pledge to campaign to make Hanson prime minister

Paul Sakkal - September 11, 2026

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Australia’s neo-Nazi movement has declared it will back One Nation’s path to government if the High Court overturns a ban on its new political party.

Labor and the Coalition called on Hanson to immediately reject the support, months after she admitted her party was being “infiltrated by extremists” and after she also met with Restore Britain leader Rupert Lowe, whose far-right party has links to banned neo-Nazi groups.

The normally quiet High Court in Canberra has been packed this week as the National Socialist Network, an openly neo-Nazi group, has fought to overturn laws passed after the Bondi massacre that outlawed neo-Nazi and Islamist groups.

Thomas Sewell – a notorious neo-Nazi who has called for a “race war” – and a team of lawyers are arguing the federal ban on NSN’s successor, the White Australia Party, should be struck down because the Commonwealth was acting outside its power and was breaching the implied freedom of political communication and the separation of powers.

A court decision to strike down the laws would be a serious defeat for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s post-Bondi crackdown on hate groups and, according to Sewell, it would “assist the creation of a Pauline Hanson prime ministership”.

“Our purpose would be to support One Nation in forming government,” Sewell said outside the High Court on Thursday in a video posted on social media.

“I believe that a factor in why the Labor government has decided to pass this legislation was not only because of the hysteria of the Israeli lobby, but also because they know that we can assist One Nation in forming government.

“If this legislation is not overturned by the High Court, it could mean the difference between Pauline Hanson winning the election or not.”

He acknowledged that the White Australia Party would only be able to secure modest representation at the next election. But he said the ethno-nationalists would use any Senate positions to exert pressure on Hanson to remain true rather than drift to the centre.

It is highly unlikely that a neo-Nazi outfit would secure any positions in parliament. However, the group and its supporters generate momentum online for hardline positions on migration and race.

Sewell and a slew of far-right influencers have fuelled criticism of Hanson on X and Instagram lately as One Nation flipped its migration policy from advocating from net negative migration to 130,000-plus.

Liberal MP Garth Hamilton said Hanson had admitted to being infiltrated by extremists in this masthead in June and now “has the chance to prevent a formalised arrangement”.

“She must kill this off in the strongest terms,” he said.

Labor MP Josh Burns said Hanson “needs to immediately condemn this and rule out any association with neo-Nazis or hate groups”.

“If she fails to do so, she will send a very loud signal about how dangerous One Nation is for the Australian Jewish community,” Burns said.

(continued)

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Hanson’s office declined to comment on Sewell’s remarks. On September 1, Hanson hit back at Attorney-General Michelle Rowland after the Labor MP contentiously suggested Hanson’s association with radicals was fuelling violent threats.

Hanson said: “Millions of Australians support One Nation. They are not extremists. They are not dangerous. And ministers should not use language that encourages others to treat them as if they are.”

Embattled One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts last month said he was opposed to racism and bigotry but he said the proposed White Australia Party “should have a right to exist”.

“If there’s free speech and freedom of association, you have to have those things. If they start breaking laws and hurting people, then you penalise them in the law,” he said.

Roberts wrote an article on Substack last week condemning Nazis and calling them out for trying to co-opt One Nation’s mainstream popularity.

“It’s well known the neo-Nazi movement makes a point of infiltrating mainstream politics. They don’t hide this. They feed off the media attention that follows. Every handshake, photo, and interview is seen as a victory toward normalisation,” he said.

“Neo-Nazis [Nationalists] are predators, ruining young men’s lives, and stealing any hope they might have to build successful careers and stable families.

“To those young people, I say this: you are on a path that could damage the only chance Australia has to rescue itself. The Left, media, and shamefully the Coalition are using the presence of a neo-Nazi movement in this country as a political tool.”

Legal experts say White Australia has a serious chance of defeating the Commonwealth.

Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey told the ABC this week that the key question about the laws was: “How consistent is it with our democratic system as imposed and required to operate by our constitution?”

Twomey said the federal changes may have been rushed through parliament without proper checks.

As Hanson continues her ascendancy in the polls and taps into widespread concern about migration and ethnic diversity, her tolerance for hardline views is being closely scrutinised.

This masthead reported last month that an online influencer known as Ausmaxx, whose associates have attended neo-Nazi training camps, was a member of One Nation. One Nation said weeks later his membership had lapsed, but the influencer contradicted the party. His far-right associates suggested on a social media stream that it had stronger connections to One Nation than was publicly known.

“You don’t even know the connections in One Nation that we have,” Hugo Lennon, a wealthy associate of National Socialist Network members, said last month. Lennon has been in Canberra to support the court case.

In this week’s court case, Justice Robert Beech-Jones asked the Commonwealth’s lawyer, Brendan Lim, if the White Australia group represented the “modern manifestation” of Hitler’s Nazis, to which he replied: “Yes.”

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

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/neo-nazis-pledge-to-campaign-to-make-hanson-prime-minister-20260911-p60wlr.html

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Former 2GB employee promised Alan Jones 'loyalty' after indecent assault allegations became public

Isobel Roe and Ethan Rix - 8 September 2026

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The trial of veteran broadcaster Alan Jones has heard a former colleague promised him "loyalty" and that he would "refute any lies" made by "lefties" after media stories emerged about Mr Jones's alleged offending.

A former 2GB colleague of Mr Jones is giving evidence in the NSW Local Court about allegations that Mr Jones kissed and touched a younger male colleague on multiple occasions at work and in the lift of his Circular Quay apartment in 2008.

Other witnesses have told the trial this former employee was at a Christmas lunch in 2008, saw Mr Jones rest his hand on the complainant's lap under the table and then later made a joke about him "copping a feel".

Mr Jones has been charged with indecently assaulting Complainant C at that lunch, one of 22 charges he has pleaded not guilty to.

But the witness, who the ABC will not name to protect the complainant's identity, has been accused by the crown of giving evidence to "assist" Mr Jones after denying any memory of attending the lunch.

Text messages revealed in court

Under cross-examination by the crown, the witness has been shown text messages he sent Mr Jones in 2023, when Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) journalist Kate McClymont contacted him about reports of a 2GB staff member touching another staff member.

The witness agreed he forwarded Ms McClymont's enquiry to Mr Jones, and told him, "if you need me to refute any lies I of course will".

In the text exchange, the court heard the witness called Ms McClymont a "c*nt", a "low breed" and "pure evil".

Mr Jones replied: "I am sick of all this. [Ray] Hadley inspired."

The witness agreed while he initially had no intention of returning Ms McClymont's enquiry, he then spoke with Mr Jones, who he recalls wanting him to talk to the journalist and tell her "the truth".

Crown prosecutor Georgina Wright SC put to the witness that he was trying to ingratiate himself with the defendant by sending offensive message about Ms McClymont.

"No, that's how I felt about her."

"You regard loyalty to [Mr Jones] as the upmost importance to your relationship with him, don't you?" Ms Wright asked.

The witness said he regarded loyalty as important in all of his friendships.

Witness accused of 'assisting' Jones

When Ms McClymont's first story about Mr Jones was published in 2023, the witness texted Mr Jones to say the allegations against the broadcaster were being made by "sick people" and that "everyone who loves you is right behind you".

Asked who he was calling "sick", the witness told the court he meant the "lefties that hate Mr Jones … there's a string of them".

Under repeated questioning about what he saw at the staff lunch, the witness denied memory of the event, or having ever seen Mr Jones behave inappropriately towards any staff member.

While another lunch guest said this witness did see the alleged assault, witness Jason Morrison also told the court he did not see it.

He also denied ever hearing any jokes about Mr Jones giving romantic attention to a younger colleague or having made a joke about the complainant "copping a feel".

"I suggest you are sticking … to not recalling anything at all to assist the defendant in this trial, aren't you?" Ms Wright asked.

"Your lack of recollection is not genuine, is it?"

"It is genuine. It was 18 years ago," the witness replied.

(continued)

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'Loyalty and love'

The witness was later questioned about a series of texts he had sent Mr Jones between 2022 and 2023, including one where he said, "The greatest influence and brilliant mind and love of my life has always been you AJ xxx" and "You're the one who gave me purpose".

The court heard he also sent other messages to Mr Jones, including one which said: "Loyalty and love goes back more than 20 years … you'll always have that from me" and "my happiest times were with you."

"The admiration is absolutely there," the witness said.

"You sent those messages because you have a specific loyalty to Mr Jones, don't you?" Ms Wright asked.

"I have a specific loyalty to everyone who is close to me," the witness replied.

Ms Wright accused the witness of "significantly" understating his admiration for Mr Jones in his initial statement to police.

The witness said police did not ask him in detail about his "admiration" for Mr Jones when he was interviewed.

Complainant told friend about alleged 'odd' behaviour

Late on Tuesday, a friend of Complainant C was called to testify about "countless" occasions when he said the complainant had mentioned that Mr Jones "put his hand in his lap", tried to kiss him in the lift and would walk around his home "in just a robe and nothing else".

"He would ask me at the time what I would think about it [and] I would say it's quite odd," the friend said.

"[He said] what am I supposed to do? [He would talk] about how influential he [Mr Jones] was."

The court heard the complainant sent a group message to his friends a day before his allegations were made public in the 2023 SMH article saying, "Lads, there will be a big story in the paper about Alan Jones … and the f***ed up things he did to me".

The man said he did not recall receiving the message but said he was aware that the accusations mentioned in the article were related to his friend.

The trial continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-08/alan-jones-sydney-indecent-assault-trial-colleague-promise-loyal/107128560

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9/11 25th Anniversary: ASIO reveals 16 serious terrorism threats have been foiled since Bondi attack

Tilli Andrew - September 11, 2026

Australian authorities have thwarted 16 serious terrorism threats in the nine months since the Bondi attack.

They include an antisemitic plot, threats to kill Muslims, and a racial violence advocate allegedly found with weapons and ammunition.

ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess revealed the figures on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, paying tribute to the ten Australians killed in 2001.

Burgess warned that people are being radicalised faster than ever.

“In the 9 months since Bondi, ASIO and law enforcement have disrupted 16 of these cases – 16 cases where a terrorist threat was considered serious but not necessarily imminent,” he said.

“The alleged cases include a planned antisemitic attack, threats to kill Muslims and an advocate of racist violence allegedly found in possession of weapons and ammunition.”

Burgess said the threat had changed drastically following the September 11 attacks.

“Twenty-five years later, transnational terrorism has re-emerged as a significant, malignant security concern.

“Al-Qa’ida, ISIS and their affiliates are exploiting permissive spaces in the real world and online to grow their capabilities…these groups still see Western interests as legitimate targets.”

Instead of large, complex operations, authorities are increasingly dealing with individuals and small groups using basic weapons and simple tactics – making them harder to spot before violence occurs.

Among the cases investigated by ASIO was an individual allegedly inspired by extreme right-wing ideology who allegedly threw a homemade bomb into an Indigenous rally.

Authorities have also investigated alleged attacks targeting defence manufacturers by people inspired by extreme left-wing ideologies.

In another case, an individual allegedly blended ideological beliefs with extreme Christianity and wanted to blow up a school.

The growing concern is that many people are now radicalising in isolation, through online networks and encrypted chat rooms.

Some are also piecing together a mix of extremist beliefs that do not fit neatly into one ideology.

The nation’s terrorism threat level remains at PROBABLE, but Burgess warned the label may understate the danger Australians face.

“The next level on the scale is EXPECTED, which applies when we have intelligence about a specific attack. We do not,” he said.

“But we do know the environment is degrading and acts of politically motivated violence are becoming more likely than PROBABLE suggests.”

Iran remains another concern. ASIO has accused the regime of orchestrating at least two arson attacks on buildings associated with Jewish Australians in late 2024.

“I am deeply concerned by the regime’s apparent willingness to conduct or inspire future acts of arson, vandalism or even assassinations on Australian soil,” Burgess said.

Despite the warnings, Burgess said Australians should not feel unsafe in their daily lives.

“We cannot stop every terrorist, just as we cannot catch every spy. But we will continue to work around the clock to keep Australians safe.”

https://thenightly.com.au/australia/asio-reveals-16-disrupted-terror-threats-since-bondi-shootings-as-mike-burgess-warns-of-terrorism-concern-c-22854164

https://www.asio.gov.au/resources/speeches-and-statements/director-general-security-911-25th-anniversary

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Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

10 September 2026

Never Forget

U.S. Marines with Marine Rotational Force - Darwin 26 participated in a 9/11 memorial ceremony at the Shrine of Remembrance while in Melbourne for a showcase with the Australian Defence Force at an NFL game.

(U.S. Marine Corps photos by Cpl. Caleb Goodwin)

#Marines #USMC #MRFD #ADF

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/1489568859872259

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9923897/mrf-d-marines-attend-9-11-memorial-service-melbourne

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Militaries unite to mark the 25 years since 9/11 at historic NFL clash at the MCG

airforce.gov.au - 11 Sep 26

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is proud to join our United States counterparts to flyover the first-ever regular season National Football League (NFL) game in Australia. In a powerful display of unity and skill, the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes will fly with the U.S Marine Corps (USMC) Ospreys, in a mixed formation above the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) for this historic event.

The match will be conducted on the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. In a further reflection of the strong Australia-United States relationship, ADF ceremonial support at the NFL match will include a Flag Party, alongside a USMC Color Guard.

Aircraft transit to and from the MCG will be via Port Phillip Bay on both days. The flyover will include Pilatus PC-21 aircraft from the Royal Australian Air Force Roulettes and MV-22B Ospreys from the U.S Marine Corps.

The MV-22B Osprey is the Marine Corps’ medium-lift capable, tiltrotor, short take-off and landing aircraft. As such, it has the speed and range of a turboprop airplane and the manoeuvrability of a helicopter.

https://www.airforce.gov.au/news-events/flying-activities-events/2026-09-11/militaries-unite-mark-25-years-since-911-historic-nfl-clash-mcg

http://images.defence.gov.au/S20262833

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>>25032435

Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post

11 September 2026

U.S. Marines and Sailors with Marine Rotational Force - Darwin 26 participated in a showcase at the first National Football League game played in Australia in Melbourne, Sept. 11, 2026. Marines and Sailors unfurled an American flag on the field while a color guard presented the colors during the national anthem before the game began, and MV22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft with Marine Medium Tiltrotor Squadron (VMM) 268 (Reinforced) flew overhead. The showcase was held to memorialize the 25th year since the events of Sept. 11, 2001.

#Marines #USMC #MRFD #Australia #ADF #NFL

https://www.facebook.com/MRFDarwin/posts/1490377279791417

https://www.dvidshub.net/image/9926668/mrf-d-marines-and-sailors-participate-showcase-nfl-game-melbourne

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Hastie: Australia is losing the AI ‘arms race’, risks becoming supplicant nation

Matthew Knott and Paul Sakkal - September 14, 2026

One of the world’s leading artificial intelligence companies has revealed it wants to train its models in Australia as Coalition frontbencher Andrew Hastie warns the nation will lose its sovereignty unless it makes a deal with the United States on the cutting-edge technology.

Hastie called for Australia to harness the AUKUS defence pact to ensure it does not lose out in the AI arms race as fears continue to mount about the economic and social risks of the AI boom.

Anthropic chief executive officer Dario Amodei called for AI firms to slow the development of the powerful technology in a dramatic intervention over the weekend, drawing support from fellow tech leaders Elon Musk and Sam Altman but pushback from US President Donald Trump.

“Without a sovereign AI frontier model here in Australia, we are going to be a supplicant state, not a sovereign state,” Hastie told a conference run by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Monday.

“People think it’s making memes on ChatGPT. We’re talking about the global order being changed and Australia falling behind.”

Hastie said there were two AI “arms races” under way in the world right now: a geopolitical struggle between the US and China, and one between the five American “hyperscalers” (companies with massive cloud computing and storage capacities).

“Australia is not in the race,” he lamented.

“We need to work on a way to get a hyperscaler Down Under, or multiple hyperscalers to invest in sovereign capability, the same way Ford and General Motors did 100 years ago.”

Defence Minister Richard Marles travelled to San Francisco last month in a bid to attract major US AI companies and training infrastructure to Australia.

Hastie argued that working with the US was “the pathway to sovereign AI” as he suggested this should be done through AUKUS, a pact more commonly associated with nuclear-powered submarines.

Hastie said former prime minister Kevin Rudd was “exactly right” last week when he called for a new era of government intervention in key industries such as AI, biotechnology and high-end manufacturing.

OpenAI vice president for global policy Ann O’Leary told the NSW conference the tech giant was “very eager to have a bigger and broader relationship” with Australia, including through training its models.

“We are very interested in what this might look like in Australia,” O’Leary said, saying the company was in “deep” conversations with the Albanese government about tech policy.

She said the recent revelation that one of the company’s artificial intelligence models broke out of its testing environment and hacked another company was a “wake-up call for the entire industry”.

Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton talked up the potential for Australia to generate a new era of prosperity by building as big a proportion of the world’s data centres in Australia and parlaying that into expertise and sovereign industry.

He dismissed warnings from top AI executives that the sector needed to slow down, arguing the billionaires had “extremely strong financial incentives” to keep going.

“I’m not in favour of leaving it to the companies and I’m not in favour of leaving it to the superpowers,” he said at the same conference.

“I take that at face value, but I don’t think we should care very much about what individual executives say or what individual executives claim they want to happen. I think we should care about what is actually happening,” he said.

Charlton noted that AI safety was on the agenda for this month’s meeting between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping, calling it “an incredibly consequential conversation”.

Trump forcefully rejected calls for an AI slowdown ahead of his September 24 meeting with Xi, declaring: “Look, we’re leading China in AI…and, frankly, I want to keep it that way because whoever wins AI wins.

“We can put up guardrails, we can do this and that, but I think you have a lot of negative forces that are bringing it up that shouldn’t be bringing it up, and they’re bringing up things that won’t happen.”

Democratic senator Chris Coons called for Trump to put AI at the top of the agenda for his Xi meeting, comparing the need for co-operation on the technology to the nuclear arms negotiations that defined Cold War diplomacy.

ASPI executive director Justin Bassi argued that any promises from Xi on AI should be treated with scepticism given he famously promised Barack Obama not to militarise the South China Sea before doing so.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/hastie-australia-is-losing-the-ai-arms-race-risks-becoming-supplicant-nation-20260914-p60x6u.html

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UK delays final order for new AUKUS nuclear submarine fleet until 2028

JACQUELIN MAGNAY - 14 September 2026

Britain has delayed committing to a firm order of AUKUS submarines until 2028 as the country’s economic woes continue to haunt the Labour government.

Under previous prime minister Keir Starmer up to 12 of the nuclear-powered submarines, designed in conjunction with Australia and the US in the AUKUS pact, were to be commissioned.

However, the British government rowed back on a commitment to decide on the exact number of submarines as part of its defence investment plan, which was delayed and finally published in June.

Now it has been reported that the Andy Burnham government will delay making a decision for at least two years about how many submarines it will order.

Mr Burnham is grappling with an October budget expected to hammer the middle classes with a raft of new taxes while keeping ballooning welfare payments largely intact.

British newspaper The Telegraph said the government had deferred its deadline for committing to buying the subs until 2028. It quoted a letter from Defence Secretary Wes Streeting to his opposition counterpart, James Cartlidge.

“The DIP (Defence Investment Plan) clearly sets out our intention to buy up to 12 SSN-A submarines, but a decision on exact hull numbers does not need to be taken at this stage,’’ Mr Streeting wrote. “The program is currently midway through its design phase and we anticipate that the number of submarines will be confirmed before the end of this phase in 2028.”

The Telegraph said Mr Streeting added that the government had created the capacity to deliver a submarine every 18 months from the “mid-2030s” and delaying the decision over the number built would not affect when the submarines entered service.

The AUKUS submarines are meant to replace the Royal Navy’s seven Astute-class submarines, with the first one beginning construction next year at Barrow-in-Furness and joining the fleet in the late 2030s.

Mr Cartlidge said the delay in confirming the extent of the submarine program was “a shambles” and the Burnham government was “not serious”.

He said: “The threats are rising and the world is becoming more dangerous, but Labour need three years simply to decide how many submarines they are planning to buy – let alone to start building any. This is not serious.”

The British Prime Minister has told Westminster he will not cut welfare to pay for increased defence spending.

“Supporting national security must not come at the expense of social security,” Mr Burnham said, refusing to commit to spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence by 2030.

Earlier this month Mr Streeting met Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles in London, reassuring Australia that the agreement to deliver nuclear-powered attack submarines to Australia was a “hugely important” part of the bilateral relationship.

Mr Marles said AUKUS was “going really well” and stressed “a sense across the three countries that this groundbreaking agreement and project (are) happening at a pace and we’re actually delivering it”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/uk-delays-final-order-for-new-aukus-nuclear-submarine-fleet-until-2028/news-story/f60509abcc1e58e5297847657dfdb82e

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Athlete 'uncomfortable' with on-air praise

Earlier, Complainant M told the trial he was first interviewed by Mr Jones over the phone and later met the radio host in-person for the first time at a sporting venue in the 2000s.

He told the court he felt "uncomfortable" with how "glowing" Mr Jones was of him on-air.

"Usually, very, very positive, always incredibly overwhelming in some ways complementary, the introduction of myself," the complainant said.

"Made me a tad bit awkward or uncomfortable with how glowing it was."

The complainant told the court he visited Mr Jones at his Circular Quay apartment years later where the pair had lunch together.

"He greeted me with open arms, as to indicate to me to give him a hug," he said.

During the lunch, Complainant M said he was being "polite" when he described the tableware as "beautiful", which Mr Jones then sent to his home with a note weeks later.

The complainant said on subsequent occasions visiting Mr Jones's apartment, the veteran broadcaster would greet him by saying, "champion, beautiful man, give me a hug" and would also kiss the athlete on the cheek.

He said Mr Jones then started to send flowers and a note to his home every week, which the complainant said lasted for several years.

The court heard Mr Jones would often say goodbye to the athlete, both in-person and over the phone, by telling him, "if someone hasn't told you, let me be the first person to tell you, you're special".

"At first, it was flattering and then I got a little bit uncomfortable about it 'cause it's something not even my parents say to me … I just find it a little unusual for something to be said to someone," the complainant said.

'Did not want to be kissed by him in that way'

The complainant told the court he continued to keep in contact with Mr Jones in the years following the 2015 alleged incident.

He said several years later, he visited the Circular Quay apartment one last time where he alleged Mr Jones sexually touched him as he was about to leave.

"The defendant had begun kissing me from my cheek, the kisses were getting closer to my mouth at the same time as kissing me he was saying things like 'I love you so much, you don't know how much I love you'," the complainant said.

"As I could feel his genitalia against [my leg], I pushed him away saying 'okay mate' in a tone to say get away from me, that was my intent.

"He moved backwards … he stopped kissing me, he looked towards me as I left the apartment."

The complainant said the kiss began at the "middle part of his cheek" and that Mr Jones continued to "move slowly" to the side of his lip.

The athlete said he pushed Mr Jones away when the broadcaster's lips touched the side of his mouth.

"He moved backwards … he stopped kissing me, he looked towards me as I left the apartment."

When asked if the complainant had consented to the incident or did anything to invite the behaviour from Mr Jones, he replied, "no way whatsoever" and said "I know I did not want to be kissed by him in that way".

The athlete told the court he later confided in several people about the incident at Mr Jones's apartment, including his mother, and told them he pushed the radio host away.

He said when he spoke to one person about the interaction, the person said it "didn't surprise" them.

The complainant said on one occasion, his agent told him he was "in some financial difficulty" he did not know about.

He said he was at Mr Jones' Fitzroy Falls property at the time, and he and Mr Jones "had a discussion around where my finances were at the time."

"I cried … about the state they were in," he said.

"The defendant said that he would help … reassured me."

Complainant M will return to the witness box on Tuesday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-14/nsw-alan-jones-trial-prominent-athlete-complainant-m-evidence/107149938

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UcHaXHAlU2I

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High Court rejects Sall Grover appeal on gender case

STEPHEN RICE - September 10, 2026

The High Court has refused ­Giggle for Girls app founder Sall Grover special leave to appeal the case brought against her by transwoman Roxanne Tickle, meaning that without new legislation, Australian law is now set in stone: men can become women, and sex is not purely biological.

Ms Grover had been seeking to overturn a finding by the Federal Court that she directly discriminated against Ms Tickle on the basis of her “gender identity” when she barred the transwoman from the female-only networking Giggle app. However, the High Court announced on Thursday that it was refusing special leave to appeal, with costs awarded against Ms Grover. The court had been expected to accept the case, which raised fundamental questions about the legal rights of women and transgender people.

In a two-sentence explanation of its decision, the High Court said: “There is no reason to doubt the Full Court’s construction of s. 7D (1) and (2) of the Sex Discrimination Act 1984 (Cth). Any appeal dependent on the demonstration of error in the Full Court’s construction of those provisions has insufficient prospects of success to warrant a grant of special leave to appeal.” Ms Grover told The Australian she was “absolutely devastated” by the decision.

“We now have confirmation that the High Court is captured by an ideology, as is the Federal Court, and so we need politicians to fix this. We have a government that won’t, but we have rising ­opposition to this kind of ideology being imposed upon people.

“Everybody is now at the mercy of Australian Human Rights Commission complaints if you don’t go along with this – no one is safe because if you are deemed to have discriminated against a man who claims to be a woman, you have no legal ­recourse.”

Ms Grover said she had no intention of ending her fight.

“The law is wrong and the Australian courts have humiliated themselves while the US has fixing this politically and in the courts, and while the UK has fixed this in the courts, Australia – which could have been a world leader in bringing reality back – has doubled down and gone in the complete opposite direction.”

Ms Grover said she was looking at other options around the world for running her business, “but for women in Australia who are relying on single-sex services or the school girls who can’t use bathrooms, who have these giant men in their sports teams – are they all supposed to leave?” The Federal Court ruling in May found that under the Sex Discrimination Act, “gender identity” broadly includes a person’s gender-related appearance and outward social markers, not just their internal sense of self.

During the proceedings, Ms Grover argued sex is a purely biological, binary concept fixed at birth, and asserted that her app was a lawful “special measure” designed to achieve substantive equality between men and women.

The Full Court rejected this, ruling that taking a special measure to promote equality for one protected group does not provide a legal shield to expressly disadvantage another marginalised group. In her application for special leave, Ms Grover’s lawyers had argued Ms Tickle was not a woman within the meaning of s.7D of the Sex Discrimination Act. They argued Ms Grover’s exclusion of biological men, even if they identified as women, was therefore a “special measure” permitted under the act. They said the act used “men” and “women” exclusively to denote a person’s biological sex – that is, necessarily, their sex at birth, being one of only two binary possibilities.

The words, they argued, reflect a concept that is different from that of “gender identity”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/high-court-rejects-sall-grover-appeal-on-gender-case/news-story/fc254fb5b97c1cff3e03376986a6828f

https://x.com/salltweets/status/2097974887285760247

https://x.com/salltweets/status/2097950088605893051

https://www.hcourt.gov.au/cases-and-judgments/judgments/special-leave-dispositions/giggle-girls-pty-ltd-acn-632-152-017-anor-v-tickle

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Aussie who lost landmark 'what is a woman?' battle to transgender woman to leave Australia: 'I will never forgive the government'

MAISY RAE and KYLIE STEVENS - 11 September 2026

The woman who led the fight in Australia's landmark 'what is a woman' sex discrimination case has vowed to leave the country after the nation's highest court rejected her appeal this week.

Giggle for Girls app founder Sall Grover had attempted to overturn a finding that she had discriminated against transgender woman Roxanne Tickle when she banned her from the female-only networking app in 2021.

Ms Grover's appeal was dismissed by the Federal Court in May, which also doubled the damages awarded to Ms Tickle to $20,000. The court also ordered Ms Grover to pay Ms Tickle's legal costs of up to $100,000.

She challenged the verdict in the High Court of Australia, which on Thursday rejected her bid for special leave to appeal and awarded costs to Ms Tickle.

Ms Grover, who conceded there were no more legal avenues available for her to pursue, said she was now planning to leave Australia and set up the business overseas.

'I want to leave Australia because I will never forgive the government and I have no respect for the judiciary,' Ms Grover told the Daily Mail on Friday.

'I won't live under an authoritarian nonsense ideology.

'But I am lucky that I have the potential to leave. The girls in school with boys in their bathrooms and sports competitions, the women in prison with male rapists, and every Australian woman who has had her sex-based rights abolished can't leave.

'I will fight with every Australian woman until our rights are restored.'

Ms Grover's comments came just hours after the High Court found in favour of Ms Tickle, who was born male but identifies as female and has undergone gender-affirming surgery and hormone treatment.

In the High Court's two-sentence explanation, the court stated there was 'no reason to doubt the Full Court's construction' and that any appeal had 'insufficient prospects of success', a statement Ms Grover said 'makes no sense.'

She also claimed the court's decision essentially told Australians that they must 'adhere to transgender ideology' or be punished.

'They have basically said that there is no issue with the law. But that is not true,' she said.

'Women still exist and we require legal protections. Currently, we don't have them. The high court is fine with that.

'The only option left is for politicians to do their jobs and put women's sex based rights back into law.'

During the drawn-out case, lawyers for the Giggle for Girls app argued that it was exempt from discrimination law because it sought to achieve substantial equality between men and women.

Its intention was to create a 'safe space' for women, Ms Grover's lawyers said.

'This case is the 'what is a woman?' case, and one must be able to speak about it fearlessly and frankly,' Ms Grover's legal team said.

But this was challenged by lawyers for the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, who argued that 'invidious discrimination' could be permitted under the guise of a special measure.

Under the Sex Discrimination Act, it is illegal to discriminate against someone because of their gender identity, sexual orientation or intersex status.

While she now knows this particular fight may be over, Ms Grover said she is confident that the law will change someday.

'Reality always wins. Sometimes you just have to fight for it. I have no doubt that, eventually with a lot of hard work, the law will be changed,' she said.

'Men who claim to be women have won the battles but they won't win the law. At the end of the day, in reality, in men who claim to be women remain men… no ridiculous court decision will change that reality.'

Equality Australia hailed Thursday's decision as a major win.

'For decades, Australian laws have recognised that a person's legal sex is not limited to the sex they were assigned at birth. Any other interpretation would deny the reality and existence of trans people,' Equality Australia legal director Heather Corkhill said.

While Ms Tickle is yet to speak publicly about the latest court action, she told the media in May that she hoped the Federal Court outcome would 'assist trans and gender diverse people and their loved ones to heal.'

'I now look forward to getting on with the rest of my life in the community we all know and love. One that embraces freedom and equality for all women,' she said.

The Daily Mail has contacted Ms Tickle for comment.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16122303/sall-grover-giggle-girls.html

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‘Appalling’: Jacinta Price leads backlash against Pauline Hanson’s ‘primitive race’ comments

GREG BROWN and ELIZABETH PIKE - 15 September 2026

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Liberal frontbencher Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has taken on Pauline Hanson over her “appalling” comments calling Indigenous Australians “the most primitive race on Earth”, saying all decent Australians would condemn the One Nation leader.

The Australian revealed on Monday that Senator Hanson made the comments during an interview with the JJ Podcast last year, in which she criticised the amount of focus on Indigenous history in the school curriculum.

The revelations came as Senator Hanson failed to front the media on Monday over the release of her net negative migration plan, put out a day after Anthony Albanese condemned the One Nation leader for personally attacking his late mother in a January podcast.

In the JJ Podcast, released last September, Senator Hanson claimed Indigenous Australians were not worthy of focus in the school curriculum, arguing they have not contributed much to the country and “never invented the wheel”.

“A teacher from Western Australia wrote to me and said, ‘the whole curriculum has changed. We’re not teaching Australian history about civil rights, about what’s happened in the past’,” she said. “We’re actually all leaning towards this … teaching about Aboriginal culture and language. For what?

“And I’ll say it on your program, what the hell have they done in this country? You know, supposedly 60,000 years, they’d never invented the wheel. There was nothing there. What are we actually holding up? A few, you know, rock paintings. Sorry, they’re the most primitive race on Earth.”

Senator Nampijinpa Price, who became the face of opposition to the Indigenous voice to parliament, said she agreed with Senator Hanson on some issues.

But the No campaign leader said Senator Hanson had taken the Indigenous history debate into “appalling territory.”

“All decent Australians, I’m sure, would condemn such comments and would rightfully be shocked that they came from the leader of a political party.

“Some of the issues raised by Pauline Hanson are serious debates, many of which I have been very vocal about, but yet again, Senator Hanson has dragged the conversation into appalling territory.

“Senator Hanson’s statement asking, “What the hell have they done in this country?”, is a demonstration of wilful ignorance on her part and reveals her complete failure to understand Australia’s First Peoples.”

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Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy said Senator Hanson’s slurs against ­Indigenous Australians were” totally outrageous and completely racist”, calling for her to apologise to her First Nations constituents in Queensland.

“We all know Senator Hanson has form speaking against minority groups, speaking against workers, speaking against parents who take their children to childcare, speaking against people who are living and people who are not living,” Senator McCarthy said on Monday.

“She has no respect whatsoever, I certainly feel for First ­Nations people in regards to the comments made by Senator ­Hanson. It’s totally outrageous, completely racist, but also divides our country in a way we don’t want to see.”

Opposition Indigenous affairs spokesman Julian Leeser said Senator Hanson’s belittling of Indigenous Australians amounted to an attack on Australia’s character.

“We have an Indigenous heritage, a British foundation and a multicultural character,” Mr Leeser said.

“That is the summary that ­(Indigenous leader) Noel Pearson and (former Liberal prime ­minister) Tony Abbott gave us more than a decade ago, and it beautifully sums up what Australia is all about.

“We should be proud of all three parts of our history. It is the mix of all three that not only makes us unique, but also the best country in the world.

“Belittling Indigenous culture attacks part of what makes Australia great in the first place.”

Greens leader Larissa Waters issued a scathing rebuke of the One Nation leader for her string of remarks about First Nations peoples, veterans, public housing residents and NDIS participants.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/pauline-hanson-under-fire-for-labelling-indigenous-australians-most-primitive-race/news-story/f88a6d7bac0ab5e8b66b1b03c8b1816f

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Calls for Hanson to apologise to PM

Senator Hanson was also asked if she regretted saying it was "not on" for Anthony Albanese's mother Maryanne, who suffered from severe rheumatoid arthritis, to have spent much of her life in housing commission.

"I don't think my comments were derogatory towards his mother at all. I was referring to house commission at that time. So if he's taken offence to it, well, I'm sorry for that," she said.

The criticism of Mr Albanese's late mother, who died in 2002, prompted calls from several politicians for Senator Hanson to apologise to the prime minister.

Mr Albanese has been open about his upbringing in public housing in Sydney's inner west, with repeated references that Senator Hanson labelled "pathetic" on a podcast with Karl Stefanovic earlier this year.

"I actually grew up in a street where we had housing commission houses there. It was a helping hand to those people, but they had jobs. And they worked," she told Stefanovic.

"Housing commission houses should not be there for people to live in them for 30, 40 [years] — and he said his mother lived in the same one she was born in for 65 years."

In a fierce defence of his mother on Sunday morning, Mr Albanese said he was "stunned" by the attack, recalling a woman of "great character".

"If Pauline Hanson wants to criticise me, then that's fine, but my mother was way out of Pauline Hanson's league, way out of it," he said.

Hanson's apology 'gaslighting'

Senior government minister Madeleine King has questioned whether Senator Hanson's apology was "genuine".

"Sorry if I caused offence is not really an apology," she told the ABC.

"She says outrageous things about Indigenous Australians, disgusting things, and then walks back into this building and says she didn't say it at all. Now, that is gaslighting.

"What she said about the prime minister's much-beloved mother is beyond the pale, and a pseudo apology is just pathetic on her behalf."

Liberal MP Andrew Bragg welcomed the retraction but said it was not unusual for One Nation to attack sections of the Australian community.

"It was a silly thing to do, but it's all part of the business model, where you tee off on minority interests; it's the business model One Nation has had for years," he said.

"There are no winners from that sort of attack."

Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie was pleased to see Senator Hanson apologise for language he "unequivocally" repudiates.

"I just can't see how you justify that comment, which is why I'm glad she's apologised for it," he told the ABC.

"I believe that every single person, human being, has innate worth and dignity."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-15/pauline-hanson-apology-to-indigenous-australians/107155120

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7FDlecr3AI

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OpenAI’s ultimatum: dilute creatives’ rights or we won’t discuss renewables

NOAH YIM - 15 September 2026

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OpenAI has issued an ultimatum in a bid to strong-arm Anthony Albanese into breaking his promise to protect creative industries, declaring it will not even consider investing in domestic AI training or renewable energy if the government refuses to water down copyright laws.

Amid a grassroots backlash to the spread of data centres and warnings that AI is developing fast enough to endanger humanity, Assistant Technology Minister Andrew Charlton told The Australian that the AI and data centre revolution would rival the mining boom’s economic output from 2003 to 2013, but provide more long-lasting benefits through productivity gains.

There was $8.7bn of investment in data centres in the March quarter, accounting for 17 per cent of all private sector spending. Treasury predicts AI will add $116bn to GDP over the next decade, an estimate Dr Charlton regards as “cautious”.

“Australia has secured decades of economic advancement by embracing new sources of growth … The mining boom flowed mainly through two states and a few sectors. AI flows through every business in the country,” Dr Charlton said.

But despite pledges from the Prime Minister that the government will force AI data centres to be “net generators, not net users” of energy, the maker of ChatGPT has rejected any prospect of discussions over renewables unless Labor backs down from its commitment to creatives.

In an exclusive interview with The Australian in Canberra, OpenAI’s senior vice president, Ann O’Leary, suggested that if the Albanese government did retreat on copyright, Australia would be the first country outside the US to host artificial intelligence model training for the AI giant.

“No other place in the world has done (AI training) this yet, and so the question is: is Australia going to be the first? And that’s really a copyright question more than a renewable energy question,” Ms O’Leary said.

“Our company isn’t ready to have that conversation if we can’t get through the gating problem of the copyright barriers.”

Ms O’Leary said countries such as Australia and Canada were good targets – after negotiations with the UK stalled over copyright – because they were US allies.

“When we look at the geopolitical dynamic and we think of countries who really want to see a diversification of where training may occur, there’s a lot of interest in making sure that happens in an allied country,” she said.

She said OpenAI was “kind of blocked” from pushing into the UK with training data centres because its government refused to water down its copyright laws, and the company’s approach to negotiations had not changed.

“I don’t think that we have necessarily changed and part of what I think we’re grappling with is we are still training primarily in the United States because of the legal framework, but we do think that there’s an opportunity,” she said.

“We’ve been welcomed by your Prime Minister and others who are open to this conversation. So we’re walking through the door that’s been opened.”

The Prime Minister and Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen have been wrestling with the states over planned national standards that would have data centres rely on renewable power, in a bid to avoid community backlash in the US and elsewhere.

Ms O’Leary, formerly chief of staff to Democratic presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom and adviser to Hillary Clinton, said her company would not be able to build any AI training centres without a loosening of copyright, powered by renewables or otherwise.

“We will not be able to build a … training centre here if the copyright law is as it exists,” she said. “And so the lack of detail (on renewables) isn’t because we wouldn’t be serious about it, but the options that we’ve seen from the government so far, frankly, wouldn’t allow us to train here.”

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AI training is the computing required to build the models instead of merely running and serving them up to users.

Training compute is the cutting edge of computing capacity that has AI labs racing to secure the latest and greatest Nvidia chips to get an edge over their competitors.

The Biden White House sought to restrict the export of these chips to China to give US companies a leg-up.

Speaking before OpenAI made its ultimatum, Dr Charlton warned that achieving long-term dividends from the boom would require a more active role for government than what was needed when China’s rapid growth massively increased the prices of Australia’s natural resources.

“That opportunity is before us again, and we must capture the benefits of the AI investment boom while acting with sophistication to minimise the risks,” Dr Charlton said.

“AI is not just another technology. It is becoming a factor of production in its own right, amplifying the value of labour and capital and reshaping how economies create prosperity.”

While the economic output would rival the mining boom, Dr Charlton said the benefits of AI would “stretch further than mining”.

He said that, unlike the mining boom, the AI boom would compound.

“The mining boom was a one-off level shift that peaked and receded,” he said.

“AI productivity gains compound: at a point a year, AI exceeds the mining boom’s entire effect inside a decade and keeps going. With nine in ten businesses yet to adopt, the reorganisation of Australian business has barely begun.”

Dr Charlton said Australia needed to develop more local AI capability to take advantage of the boom.

“The mining boom came with an income engine attached: we owned the ore, the world paid us for it, and the money flowed in,” he said.

“The AI boom, so far, runs the other way: the chips are imported, the models are foreign-owned, and the equipment bill helped deliver our first goods deficit since 2017.

“Mining generated prosperity – but AI only pays the countries that adopt fastest, adopt deepest, and own a piece of the stack. The boom is guaranteed; the dividend is not.”

Anthropic general counsel Jeff Bleich said copyright was one of the critical issues that “need to be worked out” before the AI juggernaut could build data centres in Australia.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/openais-ultimatum-dilute-creatives-rights-or-we-wont-discuss-renewables/news-story/c1569f7e661bbdff205daef38f677ff5

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When I became Commissioner in October 2025, I set five new priorities: Defending Australia’s domestic security and our region (this includes safeguarding the nation from terrorism, protecting our designated airports and sites of significance plus ramping up our role in the security requirements for the AUKUS submarines); Protecting vulnerable communities (such as targeting predators, manipulators and those who radicalise our kids); Future-proofing the AFP workforce; Investing in science and technology-led capability and supercharging global operations.

Supercharging global operations is how the AFP is working with international partners to target offshore offenders, and where possible, bring them to justice, including those who traffic poison to our country.

Where some countries will not extradite their own citizens, the AFP is providing intelligence and evidence to those countries to prosecute their citizens in their own countries. They are doing this because generally a crook in one country is an offender in another.

There are several examples of our success, and recently we have seen this happen in Iraq, with the conviction of Kaz Hamad.

It also means we focus on stopping crime in source countries. Preventing illicit drugs from leaving another country is faster, cheaper and safer. I will have more to say about this soon.

Over many years as a police officer, I have heard too many times that the war on drugs never worked.

But the issue is that this is a battle where we can never raise the white flag.

Our first line of defence must always be to educate the community about the harms of illicit substances and to warn them not to take them.

If we work together to reduce demand, support people before harm escalates and refuse to normalise illicit drug use, we can make our families safer, debilitate organised crime and protect our communities.

I am up for the conversation we need to have, but it requires all of society to take part and understand what is at stake.

https://thenightly.com.au/opinion/krissy-barrett-australian-federal-police-commissioner-on-the-impact-of-organised-crime-and-illicit-drugs-c-22868566

https://www.afp.gov.au/news-centre/media-release/renewed-conversation-about-impacts-organised-crime-and-illicit-drugs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMUWnI0njxc

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Opinion: US marines and Aussie Diggers are joining up to deter Beijing

As China expands its reach in the Pacific, the American-Australian alliance is moving from mateship to modernisation of our joint forces’ capacity.

Paul Gillikin, US Marine - Sep 15, 2026

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“It is not to be wondered, or scoffed at, that we have a friendship with you, for we know that you have the same principles. Our unwritten alliance with the United States is a spiritual one” - Robert Menzies, July 4, 1941

As a United States marine, it is hard to step foot on Australian soil without remembering the relationship between our two nations, and the Diggers alongside whom I have served throughout my decades-long military career in deployments across the globe.

The story of US-Australian “mateship” reaches back before Australian federation, when Australians served in Union forces during the American Civil War. Among them was Australian-born sailor Thomas Jenkins, who received the Medal of Honour, our nation’s highest military honour, for his actions aboard USS Cincinnati during the Vicksburg campaign.

In subsequent generations, Australians and Americans have fought alongside one another in every major conflict of the 20th century and beyond, from World War I through to the global war on terror.

Today, as our two nations confront a rapidly changing security environment in the Pacific - with China as our shared pacing threat - that history matters more than ever.

Beijing’s military modernisation, expanding maritime reach and coercive activity throughout the region have made deterrence by denial an increasingly important organising principle for our two nations.

This vision is evident in both the US and Australian 2026 national defence strategies, which understand that deterring conflict in the Pacific will require forces capable not simply of deploying into the region, but of remaining effective in a contested environment.

In the Pacific, denial is shaped by geography, where vast distances, dispersed forces and long supply lines give a peer adversary opportunities to disrupt command and control, movement and logistics.

A Stimson Centre report estimates that an aircraft carrier or fast-attack submarine needs about a week to cross the Pacific, while moving troops, equipment and supplies by sea can take 15 to 30 days; a timeline that would inevitably increase under fire.

The US Marine Corps has spent much of the past decade adapting to this reality. Force design modernisation and expeditionary advanced base operations reflect an effort to build smaller, more distributed forces capable of sensing, shooting, moving, surviving and sustaining within a contested maritime theatre.

Australia is also modernising for this environment. Its 2026 integrated investment program directs investment towards the capabilities, northern infrastructure, logistics and industrial capacity needed to support Australia’s strategy of denial and a more self-reliant force. The two efforts are not identical, nor should they be, but they are increasingly focused on the same challenges.

Australia’s northern bases, ports, training areas, infrastructure and industrial capacity provide important strategic depth. Deployments such as Marine Rotational Force - Darwin and exercises including Talisman Sabre and Southern Jackaroo give Australian and US forces repeated opportunities to train together under increasingly demanding conditions.

But training together is not the same thing as being able to fight and sustain one another in a crisis.

For decades, allied militaries have rightly emphasised interoperability: ensuring that forces can communicate, co-ordinate and operate alongside each other. That remains essential. But a conflict in the Pacific would place greater demands on sustainment, logistics and the defence industrial base.

The next step in the relationship should therefore be interchangeability.

Interchangeability preserves distinct national forces and sovereign control over military capabilities while enabling each nation to use the other’s logistics, sustainment networks, equipment and support infrastructure when operational circumstances demand it.

As retired Australian major general Mick Ryan recently told me, interchangeability is “really simple stuff that you need to think about in the design phase for any capability”. Whether it involves food, drones, weapon systems or digital command-and-control systems, these decisions reduce “internal friction” between allies and ensure they “generate friction for the enemy”.

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In practical terms, interchangeability may mean compatible ammunition and components, access to one another’s maintenance networks, shared or complementary stockpiles, approved medical support, compatible data systems and the technical data required to 3D print parts and maintenance procedures for implementation.

Those arrangements cannot be improvised once a crisis begins. They require industry, policymakers and military leaders to align requirements, industrial investment, foreign disclosure, testing and sustainment planning before then. A capability may be technologically impressive and still contribute little to combined combat power if an ally cannot maintain it, resupply it or produce critical components at scale.

Retired Australian air vice marshal Andrew Dowse recently told me: “I like the idea about one country taking the development lead and the other getting the advantage of that synergy. I think that needs to be complemented by a mutual support arrangement.”

The question is whether two allies merely arrive on the same battlefield or possess the ability to keep each other effective once they are there. Australians and Americans already possess the trust that comes from generations of shared service.

The next phase of the alliance requires industry, policymakers and military leaders to build mateship into the capabilities, supply chains, repair networks and industrial systems that allow Australian and American forces to sustain one another under fire.

Ultimately, that is what mateship under pressure now requires: building our collective capacity, long before the moment comes when we may be called upon to fight - standing shoulder to shoulder, as always.

Colonel Paul Gillikin, an infantry and special operations officer in the United States Marine Corps, is the program manager for Combat Support Systems at Portfolio Acquisition Executive Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia.

https://www.afr.com/policy/foreign-affairs/us-marines-and-aussie-diggers-are-joining-up-to-deter-beijing-20260913-p60wum

https://perthusasia.edu.au/events/roundtable-discussion-australia-us-defence-cooperation-from-interoperability-to-interchangeability-with-colonel-paul-gillikin-portfolio-manager-at-portfolio-acquisition-executive-marine-corps/

‘We dropped the ball’: Former spy boss calls for debate on radical Islam

Matthew Knott - September 15, 2026

Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson has called for an open discussion about the role of extremist Islamists in promoting antisemitism as he warns against political correctness shutting down important national security debates.

Richardson, who abruptly quit his role as a special adviser to the antisemitism royal commission in March, said the nation had failed to respond with appropriate vigour as attacks on Jewish Australians soared following the October 7 massacre and war in Gaza.

“I tend to agree with those who argue that, following 7 October, we dropped the ball and failed to draw a line,” Richardson said in a speech to the Lowy Institute on Tuesday night.

“I am not implying a straight-line connection to the Bondi terrorist attack, as the ingredients that gave rise to that terrible incident are more complex.

“I do believe, however, that a more forceful and consistent response to the blatant antisemitism we saw in the immediate aftermath of 7 October may well have set a different tone and drawn a clearer line between the acceptable and the unacceptable.”

The veteran public servant, who led the Department of Defence and Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, said the sources of antisemitism “must be addressed in a sensible and mature way, including open discussion about extremist Islamists, without Australian Muslims as a whole feeling targeted”.

“Mainstream Muslim leaders should have a central role in any such discussion,” he said.

“Pretending the issue is not there simply leads to conspiracy theories and plays into the hands of other extremists at the other end of the spectrum.”

Liberal frontbencher Julian Leeser has questioned why Bell did not call controversial Muslim clerics such as Wissam Haddad and Sheikh Ibrahim Dadoun to give public evidence at the commission.

Some commentators also accused Bell of failing to sufficiently examine the role of radical Islam in the royal commission’s interim report and expressed concerns the issue would be glossed over in the final report.

Richardson contrasted the saturation media coverage given to prominent footballer Israel Folau when he made homophobic comments on social media to the muted response in 2023 when Haddad posted inflammatory comments about Jewish people.

While Folau was “almost run out of town” in 2019, Richardson said Haddad’s comments had “received barely any media attention at all” when they were posted.

A Federal Court judge last year found Haddad’s comments to be “fundamentally racist and antisemitic, and devastatingly offensive and insulting”.

Richardson said there would be a “stain on Australia’s social cohesion and multicultural tradition” as long as Jewish Australians needed special security in order to worship, attend school and play sport.

“The royal commission led by Virginia Bell has already done an enormous public service by putting the spotlight onto the experiences of Jewish Australians because of the antisemitism which has taken root in sections of the community,” he said.

“But I still do not understand why it took a royal commission to bring into the public consciousness the fact that some Australian kids have to experience their schooling, sporting and religious life behind the sort of security you would expect to find in a strife-torn country.

“This is not something which, as a society, we should be prepared to accept.”

Richardson said media outlets had not provided enough initial coverage of attacks on politicians’ offices over the war in Gaza because of misguided fears it would promote social division.

He also said much of “the media focus on the 9 October demonstration at the Opera House was on the precise words used by the mob, instead of on the appalling purpose and nature of the demonstration per se”.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese appointed Richardson to conduct an inquiry into potential security failures following the December 14 terror attack in Bondi.

His probe was then rolled into the royal commission after Albanese bowed to pressure to hold a wide-ranging inquiry, but Richardson and Bell had insurmountable differences about how the royal commission should work.

Richardson said he felt he was being treated as a “highly paid researcher” and expressed concern the royal commission would not include substantive recommendations about intelligence and policing in its interim report.

“I reached a view that, rightly or wrongly, my voice was not going to carry much weight at all,” he told this masthead this year.

Bell will hand down her final report on December 18, just four days after the first anniversary of the worst terror attack in the nation’s history.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/we-dropped-the-ball-former-spy-boss-calls-for-debate-on-radical-islam-20260914-p60x33.html

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AI giant Anthropic signs agreement for $32b Queensland data centre

Alex Brewster and Grace Nakamura - 16 September 2026

AI giant Anthropic has signed its first deal in Australia to use a $32 billion data centre hub on Queensland's Western Downs.

The facility will be built near Dalby by Singaporean developer Zerra DC, subject to council approval, and is expected to create thousands of ongoing jobs.

The Western Downs Digital Park is set to be the largest facility of its kind in the country, with a power draw comparable to 1.5 million average Australian households.

Anthropic aims to start using the centre in 2027, despite the development application only being filed with the local council last month.

The ABC understands Anthropic would use the site to power its artificial intelligence program Claude to answer user questions, rather than for training AI models.

The multi-billion-dollar investment is almost five times greater than the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games infrastructure budget.

Premier David Crisafulli said it was a direct result of his recent trade mission to the US.

"This is a major win that will deliver more jobs, put more energy into Queensland's grid and drive down power prices for Queenslanders," he said.

"My meeting with Anthropic during the trade mission was to outline why Queensland was the place to invest, with energy security, locations to invest and a streamlined approvals process to get it right."

Mr Crisafulli has promised data centre investment will drive down energy costs for consumers, and companies must add energy to the local grid.

The government said the digital park would not require any new transmission infrastructure, and would use minimal water during operation.

The Western Downs hub's water usage will be broadly comparable with a conventional office building of the same size.

The plot earmarked for the park is about 725 hectares, with the facility expected to take four to six years to build.

Anthropic's lease is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval.

The Queensland government and the Commonwealth recently locked horns over rules for new data centre development.

The federal Labor government had wanted all new data centres to be anchored by new renewable energy projects.

But the state LNP administration successfully argued Queensland go its own way and use a range of energy sources including coal and gas.

"To have secured Anthropic's first major investment in Australia is an endorsement for our state's open for business approach, and the commonsense decision endorsed by the prime minister and national cabinet to allow Queensland's unique position in owning its power generation and transmission assets," Mr Crisafulli said.

"This allows our state to be at the forefront of locking in data sovereignty and adding energy generation for lower power prices for Queenslanders and employment opportunities."

Locals 'cannot be sacrificed'

Federal Maranoa MP David Littleproud welcomed the project but said it must deliver "genuine, lasting benefits" for the local community.

"Power reliability and cost for existing homes, farmers and businesses cannot be sacrificed to get this project across the line," Mr Littleproud said in a statement.

Save Our Darling Downs spokesperson and farmer Liza Balmain said the community had been "asking for the brakes to be put on" the data centre project.

"We are deeply concerned about the proposed energy consumption of this particular data centre … and the fact that it could be running on gas-fired power generation," she said.

Ms Balmain also expressed concerns about the effect of increased coal seam gas production on the region's aquifers.

"Unfortunately an announcement like this will likely lead to the accelerator being put on."

Western Downs Mayor Andrew Smith said the deal was "interesting" and that talk of "around 1,000 jobs" would bring opportunities to the region.

Cr Smith said the data centre was not yet a "done deal" with the application still before the council's planning team.

Anthropic will be required to invest in local communities and hire an engagement manager to ensure residents' and councils' concerns are heard.

It is understood that Anthropic would cover the full cost of connecting to the grid, including any network updates required.

The AI giant has been contacted for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-09-16/queensland-data-centre-anthropic-dalby/107160640

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US subs in Australia could be armed with nukes, says key Republican after visit

Michael Koziol - September 16, 2026

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Washington: US submarines that rotate through Western Australia under the AUKUS pact could be carrying nuclear weapons and Australia should welcome that, according to a key Republican who chairs the Friends of Australia caucus in the US Congress.

Michael McCaul, a former chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee and a China hawk, said having submarines armed with nuclear weapons was vital to deter Beijing from aggression towards Taiwan, which he regarded as a real and active threat.

“They’re nuclear subs that have the potential to carry nuclear weapons. China has them as well,” he said of the US Virginia-class vessels due to rotate through HMAS Stirling.

“If you really want deterrence from President Xi, you want to demonstrate that you have this mutually assured destruction. It’s a principle that worked against the Soviets really well. It’s kind of an unveiled threat to have a nuclear sub going around without any weapons.”

The Australian government maintains that AUKUS adheres to the Treaty of Rarotonga, under which Australia commits not to acquire or station nuclear weapons. The submarines Australia is to buy and make under AUKUS will be nuclear-powered but conventionally armed.

However, it is not clear whether the American submarines would be “stationed” in Australia, given they are technically rotating through Australia for at least five years, potentially much longer.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said in July that Australia would not allow nuclear-armed subs to be “stationed” in Perth.

“I can guarantee you that everything that we do will be consistent with the Treaty of Rarotonga, which is a commitment for us not to have stationed nuclear-armed vessels in Australia,” he said at the time.

McCaul said Australians should welcome nuclear-armed submarines because of their deterrent effect but would not discuss the potential impact on nuclear non-proliferation.

“This gets into whether or not our subs are carrying the weapons right now,” he said. “I can’t answer that. It’s probably classified.”

McCaul made the comments to this masthead in Washington after returning from an official visit to Australia as part of a congressional delegation. While there, he met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Conroy, among others.

AUKUS, the $368 billion-plus defence pact with the US and United Kingdom, was announced five years ago this week, and has since been re-committed to by the governments of all three countries.

It marks the first time Australia will develop a nuclear industry – first to maintain and acquire US-made nuclear-powered submarines, then to build a new class of vessel with the UK.

That requires negotiating safeguards with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) – something that was highlighted in a new report by the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) on Monday.

“Before any nuclear fuel can be transferred to Australia … Australia needs to negotiate on its own with the IAEA,” said Charles Edel, the Australia chair at CSIS. “That has not been bedded down, it is something that Australia is working on. Chinese diplomats are working hard to muddy the waters.”

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McCaul also revealed the US delegation to Australia had pressed the government to hasten the termination of Chinese company Landbridge’s lease over the Port of Darwin.

“That was something that was brought up by, frankly, our side … it’s an issue,” McCaul said. “When we talk about critical minerals, I think it’s important that Australia own that port.”

The lease was granted by the Northern Territory government in 2015 and waved through by the Turnbull federal government. Before the last election, both major parties promised to end the lease, either by finding an approved private buyer or compulsory acquisition.

The US government has always disliked the deal, with then-president Barack Obama raising concerns about it with then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull at the time.

Much of the lithium exported from Australia for refining leaves from the Port of Darwin, and McCaul indicated this was of concern to the US, given the multibillion-dollar critical minerals deal between the two countries.

China will resist moves to terminate the lease. This year, Landbridge lodged a legal challenge with the World Bank’s International Centre for Settlement of Investor Disputes, accusing Australia of discrimination and breaching the China-Australia free trade agreement.

McCaul visited Taiwan in August and said he was increasingly worried about Chinese aggression against the island – which Beijing claims as part of China.

He said it was “absolutely critical” that Australia joined the US in any conflict with China over Taiwan, and had no doubt Australia would do so. “I don’t think it was even questioned. It’s just obvious,” he said.

Asked about concerns that an increasing US military presence in Australia – particularly US submarines rotating through HMAS Stirling near Perth – made the country a target, McCaul said: “Australia is a target.”

Defence spending was also discussed on the visit, McCaul said, making it clear that Washington still expected Australia to lift spending to at least 3.5 per cent of gross domestic product. That is despite President Donald Trump appearing nonplussed about the issue when Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited a year ago.

McCaul said he recommended that Australia prioritise additional expenditure on pillar two of AUKUS, which involves developing and fielding emerging technologies.

“We appreciate your increase in defence spending. We’d like to see more as a percentage of GDP … I don’t sense that we would expect Australia to be off the hook.”

Marles said following a recent meeting with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in Washington that the Albanese government was spending an extra $117 billion on defence over 10 years and had “a good story to tell”.

Federal Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said the government intended to continue good faith discussions with Landbridge about the Port of Darwin, despite the legal action.

“We … do not think it is in either party’s interest to carry the dispute out in the public domain,” she said.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/us-delegation-pressed-australia-to-end-port-of-darwin-lease-ramp-up-defence-spending-20260916-p60xox.html

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US puts heat on Canberra over Port of Darwin, defence spending

Jessica Gardner - Sep 16, 2026

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Washington | Visiting American politicians warned the Australian government that Chinese ownership of the Port of Darwin was a threat to critical minerals co-operation and lobbied Canberra to direct more defence spending to high-tech weaponry.

Republican Michael McCaul, a co-chairman of the Congressional Friends of Australia caucus, who led a visit by six lawmakers last week, said that the Australian government’s plan to increase defence spending was appreciated in Washington, but he wanted to see investment beyond the nuclear-powered submarines central to the AUKUS pact.

“If you look at the [Australian] defence budget, a lot of it’s for the submarines, which I get it, and they’re very expensive, but we also want to see an investment in pillar two, which is more AI, quantum, advanced weapon systems technologies,” he told reporters in the US capital on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).

He said defence spending was a way of “showing your priorities”.

McCaul, a Texan representative and former chairman of the powerful foreign affairs committee, said that “the whole premise” of AUKUS was to deter Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific. He considered Australia a “beachhead” for US efforts to maintain peace in the region.

He said that during meetings last week in Canberra with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Defence Minister Richard Marles, Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy, a member of the delegation asked about efforts to strip control of the Port of Darwin from the Chinese company Landbridge, which secured the asset in 2015 under a $506 million 99-year lease.

The visiting group was assured that the government was seeking a negotiated solution to terminate the agreement, as promised by both Labor and the Coalition during the 2025 election campaign.

The US had raised concerns about the lease as far back as the Obama administration, and the issue has become an irritant in Australia’s relationship with China, too. Landbridge launched legal action in May as it sought to retain control.

McCaul said the Chinese presence “creates a bit of a threat”, especially given Australian lithium is shipped through Darwin bound for processing plants in China.

“I think it’s important that Australia own that port for critical minerals,” McCaul said. “It’s an issue.”

US President Donald Trump and Albanese made a multibillion commitment to co-operate on efforts to break China’s stranglehold on supply last October.

McCaul also welcomed plans to ramp up US military presence on Australian soil, playing down concerns that this would make Australia a target in the same way Middle Eastern countries hosting US bases had become in the Iran war.

He said Australia was already a target, and increased US presence would not make it more so. “If there’s going to be a world war, it’s probably going to come out of the Indo-Pacific, and we don’t want to see that happen.”

McCaul said it was “absolutely critical” that Australia backed any US intervention to protect Taiwan in the event of a Chinese strike. It was “obvious” to him that Australia would step up, given the historic security alliance with the US, co-operation in major battles and membership of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing network.

His comments on defence spending show that although Trump did not chastise Albanese on the matter during their meeting last October, and demands from Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have cooled, foreign policy hawks in the Republican Party still believe White House expectations of allied burden-sharing mean Australia must do more.

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Albanese and Trump’s paths may cross next week when the two leaders are in New York for the United Nations General Assembly. The Australian prime minister is expected to use the trip to promote his government’s efforts to put guardrails around data centre development and the use of copyrighted material to train artificial intelligence models.

His pitch to global leaders for a co-ordination on AI frameworks, building on Australia’s world-first social media ban for children, comes as Trump has lambasted calls for regulation to slow the development of the transformative technology.

McCaul said his conversations with Albanese on AI centred on the technology’s promise, rather than the dangers it poses to humanity.

The Republican gave a speech to superannuation fund executives, promising the $4.5 trillion industry it could boost Australia’s economy and “make a lot of money” by investing in advanced defence technologies powered by AI and quantum computing under the AUKUS pillar two banner.

The visiting delegation also met with Australian defence manufacturers such as the ASX-listed DroneShield and Anduril – which is building a $1.7 billion fleet of underwater drones called Ghost Sharks – and Boeing, which is making Ghost Bat drones. The group then squeezed in a Melbourne stop for last week’s show-stopping NFL game.

McCaul’s Australian visit came after a visit to Taiwan in August, where he was shown real-time monitoring of Chinese vessels circling the island. The Chinese are “getting very aggressive”, he said, and its navy appears to be doing “a warm-up” for a blockade of the island.

https://www.afr.com/world/north-america/us-puts-heat-on-canberra-over-port-of-darwin-defence-spending-20260916-p60xov

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UK blasts China’s ‘false’ AUKUS claims at IAEA as nuclear submarine row escalates

BEN PACKHAM - 16 September 2026

The UK has blasted “false” claims by China that Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines will violate non-proliferation safeguards, accusing Beijing of trying to undermine the AUKUS pact’s legitimacy.

In a speech to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board on behalf of all three AUKUS nations, Britain’s IAEA Ambassador Sonia Farrey said Beijing’s objections were “politically motivated” and had “never enjoyed consensus”.

“We have just heard certain statements that are designed to sow doubt in your mind about whether or not this is legitimate,” she said at the IAEA in Vienna on Thursday, after a speech by China’s envoy.

“We have heard unsubstantiated claims about our activities that try to falsely imply a compliance issue where none exists. China has repeatedly used this board agenda item to promote a political narrative.”

Beijing’s IAEA Ambassador, Li Song, accused the AUKUS partners of “misleading the IAEA and fooling the international community” by portraying the transfer of tonnes of high-enriched uranium to Australia in submarine reactors as a “routine” safeguards issue.

He said if the transfer went ahead, the nuclear fuel “would be removed from IAEA physical inventory verification for decades”.

“The transfer of nuclear materials to a non-nuclear-weapon state for military purposes is without precedent in the history of the (Non-Proliferation Treaty) and the IAEA,” Mr Li said.

“Such a transfer clearly runs counter to the safeguards and non-proliferation obligations that Australia, the UK and the US should bear.”

The clash is the latest between the AUKUS partners and Beijing before the IAEA over the legality of the nuclear submarine enterprise, in which Australia will acquire three Virginia-class boats from the US in the 2030s, and build new AUKUS-class subs in Adelaide with US and UK support.

Australia is relying on Article 14 of the IAEA’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, which allows the use of nuclear material for naval propulsion within the safeguards framework. It has also explicitly told the IAEA it will not acquire nuclear weapons.

China has made AUKUS a recurring agenda item at IAEA meetings, previously describing it as a “textbook case of nuclear proliferation”.

Ms Farrey said Australia’s pursuit of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines was “fully consistent with the letter and spirit of the NPT and the global safeguards framework”.

“The NPT permits the transfer of nuclear material at any enrichment level provided the transfer is not for nuclear weapons and is carried out in a manner consistent with any relevant safeguards obligations,” she said.

“Australia’s program will be subject to a robust package of safeguards and verification measures, consistent with its longstanding non-proliferation obligations.”

The Centre for Strategic and International Studies warned in a paper marking the fifth anniversary of the AUKUS pact that navigating the safeguards issue would be the most “legally intricate challenge” that would confront the submarine enterprise.

“Beijing has decided keeping the safeguards question alive is worth the diplomatic capital, and AUKUS allies must ensure they do not treat the IAEA process as a formality,” the Washington-based think tank said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/uk-blasts-chinas-false-aukus-claims-at-iaea-as-nuclear-submarine-row-escalates/news-story/85e82befc56059aabe3c50c4d9fd4347

https://vienna.china-mission.gov.cn/eng/hyyfy/202609/t20260911_12020208.htm

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/uk-right-of-reply-on-behalf-of-aukus-partners-iaea-september-2026