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US pledge that Julian Assange could serve any jail sentence in Australia is ‘grossly misleading’, partner says

In the event Assange is convicted, any transfer would need to be approved by the Australian government

Ben Doherty - 10 Jul 2021

US government undertakings that Julian Assange could serve any prison sentence in Australia were “grossly misleading”, his fiance has said, and “a formula to keep Julian in prison effectively for the rest of his life”.

The US government is attempting to extradite Assange from the UK and put him on trial in the US for allegedly violating the Espionage Act by publishing classified information through WikiLeaks. He faces up to 175 years in prison if convicted.

But the US government lost its extradition application in January, when judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled Assange could not be extradited because of concerns over his mental health and risk of suicide in a US prison.

On Wednesday, the UK high court allowed the US government to appeal that decision, on limited grounds.

Stella Moris said the US undertakings were “not worth the paper they are written on” because Assange already held the right to apply to serve any sentence in Australia.

“What is crucial to understand is that prisoner transfers are eligible only after all appeals have been exhausted. For the case to reach the US supreme court [it] could easily take a decade, even two. What the US is proposing is a formula to keep Julian in prison effectively for the rest of his life.

“Julian would remain in a US prison under atrocious, solitary confinement conditions that the magistrate’s court said would end his life,” Moris said in a subsequent statement.

A spokesperson for the Australian attorney general’s department confirmed Assange, as an Australian citizen, would have the right to apply to serve his sentence in Australia if convicted and sentenced to prison in the US, but that no transfer could be agreed before legal avenues were exhausted.

“International prisoner transfers to Australia are initiated by an application from a prisoner after the prisoner has been convicted and sentenced,” the spokesperson said.

“If the Australian government received an application for the transfer of a prisoner from the US, it would consider the application at that time in accordance with Australia’s legal framework.”

In the event that Assange was convicted and applied to come to Australia, his transfer would need the consent of the Australian government, and of the state or territory government where he would be imprisoned.

Any transfer would also need the consent of the US government. In a suite of “assurances” provided to the UK high court, the US government said it “hereby agrees to consent to the transfer”.

Other assurances offered include that the US would not impose Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) – such as solitary confinement – on Assange, and that he would not be jailed at the “supermax” prison in Florence, Colorado. However, the US retained the caveat it could renege on those promises: “the US retains the power to impose SAMs on Mr Assange in the event that … he was to commit any future act that met the test to the imposition of a SAM”.

Assange turned 50 behind bars at Belmarsh prison earlier this month.

Moris visited him, accompanied by their four-year-old son, after the high court’s decision to allow the US appeal.

“Julian is very unwell,” Moris said after visiting. “Belmarsh prison is a horrible, horrible, place. Just yesterday, another prisoner was found dead in his cell. The suicide rate is three times higher than in other UK prisons. It’s a daily struggle.

“He won his case in January. Why is he even in prison? Why is he even being prosecuted? There is no legal case against him. All there is is an indictment based on lies.”

The Australian parliamentary friends of the Bring Julian Assange Home group has consistently called on the US government to drop its prosecution of Assange, and on the UK government to release him from prison and send him back to Australia.

“Like politicians in the US and UK, we are elected to defend our citizens’ rights. Voters expect us to hold accountable those who commit wrongdoing, not to punish those who expose it, such as Julian Assange,” the cross-party group said.

“Julian Assange is right now being arbitrarily detained in the UK for publishing activity. His treatment [violates] the convention against torture, and his persecution threatens journalists worldwide.”

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2021/jul/10/us-pledge-that-julian-assange-could-serve-any-jail-sentence-in-australia-is-grossly-misleading-partner-says

Incest survivor Tanya Lee on how shame is hiding cries for help

Sydney tennis coach Tanya Lee was never bound, beaten or even threatened but was instead groomed by her father, who coaxed her into a secret sexual relationship from the tender age of nine that would last five years. She reveals her harrowing story.

Jack Morphet - July 10, 2021

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The mere mention of incest makes some people squirm or snigger but the taboo is stifling cries for help from victims sexually abused as children.

Incest accounts for more than a quarter (27 per cent) of all calls and messages to Kids Helpline from young people in NSW, according to exclusive statistics obtained by The Saturday Telegraph.

Incest is grossly underreported but leading academics and paediatricians suggest it could account for between 70 and 90 per cent of all child sexual abuse cases.

According to NSW Police, the “vast majority” of the thousands of children sexually abused in NSW every year know the perpetrator.

When incest is uncovered, families all too often attempt to sweep it under the rug for fear of shame or retaliatory domestic violence.

But the torment incest survivors endure is no less painful than any other child sexually abused by a priest, teacher, or paedophile.

As long as incest remains unacknowledged, victim/survivors like tennis coach Tanya Lee, 53, feel robbed of the compassion and justice afforded to children raped by complete strangers.

“Incest is the new ‘C word’, which has made it so bloody difficult to talk about publicly,” Ms Lee said.

“It is the greatest shame of all for people who are sexually abused by a family member, in my case my father, because people naturally feel uncomfortable with this topic and understandably so.

“Incest survivors’ shame is compounded as others don’t want to believe it is a common reality.”

Ms Lee was never bound, beaten or even threatened, but was instead groomed by an adoring father who showered her with affection and coaxed her into a secret sexual relationship from the age of nine. It would last five years.

It was not until a conversation with horrified friends four years after the relationship with her father petered out that Lee even understood society considers incest abhorrent.

“I adored him. He was my dad,” she said.

“I had always sought my father’s approval and my whole identity was based around pleasing him.

“I loved the food, music and sport that he loved.

“He loved cricket, so I did too and we would spend hours watching Test matches.

“I actually felt blessed and important because I was getting attention from my father, who otherwise could be cold and intimidating. I physically enjoyed the sex and his affection made me feel special.”

But the strain of keeping such a toxic secret mixed with deep-seated confusion about her upbringing triggered Lee’s lifelong struggle with alcoholism and binge eating.

“I was not aware of any psychological cost – that came later in life,” she said.

“We were like a couple who were obsessed with each other. All that makes my guilt worse.”

Remarkably, after Lee told her family about the incest and her father confessed to his abuse, she forgave him.

Lee’s story is typical of incest victims, according to retired paediatrician and 2019 Senior Australian of the Year Dr Sue Packer AM, who spent 29 years treating more than 1000 child sex abuse victims.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics 1.4 million adults have experienced child sex abuse, and from Dr Packer’s experience nine in 10 perpetrators are family members or close family friends.

“Worryingly with most child sex abuse, the child does not talk because it’s too confusing and complex,” Dr Packer said.

“For many children the sexual abuse is compounded by the fact the abusing parent was the only one that ever showed them affection. There is loyalty to the parent.”

Confidential counselling service Kids Helpline has fielded a flood of crisis calls about incest this year, with the figures showing a 49 per cent spike in the first six months of 2021 compared to same period in 2020.

Children are not getting the help they need because sexual abuse inside the family home has been too difficult to discuss, according to Kids Helpline CEO Tracy Adams.

“It is uncomfortable to think children are sexually abused by those who have responsibility to care for them most,” Adams said. “But the statistics continue to highlight the vulnerabilities children have in their own homes.

“We’ve had a royal commission that highlighted sexual abuse in institutions, but as a society we still have to confront the fact children are vulnerable to sexual abuse in their own homes.”

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The majority of calls to Kids Helpline from children concerned about incest were aged between 13 and 18.

“It’s such an uncomfortable subject that it doesn’t get spoken about and because it doesn’t get spoken about it doesn’t get the attention and dedicated resources required,” Adams said.

“The impact (of incest) is lifelong for many people, but they themselves don’t discuss it because it makes others too uncomfortable.

“We have to be stronger than that.”

The NSW Police Force takes incest seriously but is hamstrung by a culture of secrecy surrounding sexually-based offences.

“When a crime is reported by a child, it’s important for the community, and police, to take them seriously,” a NSW Police Force spokeswoman said.

“We believe a big part of that is breaking the taboo. The community needs to say sexual abuse against anyone won’t be tolerated at any time.

“It’s time to remove the shame or embarrassment imposed on victims. It takes real courage to fight for justice.”

To help dispel the taboo surrounding incest, Lee has put together a new podcast called No Laughing Matter in which comedians including Adam Hills, Fiona O’Loughlin and Jean Kittson narrate victim’s stories.

The hope is audiences will be more receptive to confronting stories narrated by someone they feel comfortable listening to.

On the back of the podcast, Lee will call for a government-funded and managed 24-hour counselling service exclusively for incest victim/survivors, as well as better education around incest and a cultural change in attitudes.

Incest survivors are not aware of any crisis support hotlines with counsellors who specialise in this form of sexual abuse, despite the complex concerns of children confronted with the thought of breaking up their families.

One of the stories that features in the podcast is that of Hayley Blease, 44, whose family member threatened to kill her when she was just a young child if she ever revealed they were having sex.

While she masked her abuse with a smile, adults suspected something was wrong but did not intervene.

Now a mother-of-two, Blease still suffers anxiety from her abuse.

“I have never taken a drug in my life, not even an antidepressant, because I am continually in fight or flight mode in case he comes back,” she said.

“I don’t leave myself vulnerable but that makes me constantly exhausted.”

Blease wants to dispel the myth incest perpetrators are archetypal horror movie creeps, when in reality they are most commonly trusted family members and not uncommonly highly regarded members of society.

“I will never understand how someone can prey on a young child’s innocence,” she said.

“They aren’t the monster in the dark. They are the people you know.”

The federal government earlier this year pledged to spend $146 million in the next four years to create a new national strategy to prevent child sexual abuse.

Just how the federal government intends to prevent and better respond to child sexual abuse in Australia will not be known until the strategy is unveiled later this year, but The Saturday Telegraph can reveal incest will be a focus.

“The national strategy as a whole is focused on preventing and responding to all forms of child sexual abuse, including abuse that occurs within familial, online, institutional and other settings,” a spokesman for the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet said.

“Any child sexual abuse is abhorrent, and the Australian government is committed to addressing related crimes and harms in all their forms.”

The purpose of the strategy is to gather better evidence about child sexual assault as well as raise awareness, prevent offending, and support and empower victims.

Blease has established a GoFundMe page to help ensure the No Laughing Matter podcast series can continue and help reduce the prevalence of incest in Australia.

To donate, head to: https://www.gofundme.com/f/nolaughingmatter

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/incest-survivor-tanya-lee-on-how-shame-is-hiding-cries-for-help/news-story/ae8712801b246546b54579ee2c33fda1

Kids Helpline Phone Counselling Service - 1800 55 1800

https://kidshelpline.com.au

>>14090918

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Help us end alarming levels of child sexual abuse.

Hayley Blease is organising this fundraiser.

10 July 2021

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Hello, I’m Hayley and a victim/survivor of child sexual abuse from a family member.

Incest (child sexual abuse by a family member) is an awkward topic, virtually taboo, but a vital one.

I have shared my experience of abuse by a close family member through the No Laughing Matter podcast series (www.nolaughingmatter.org.au). The Founder/Producer is my close friend Tanya Lee OAM.

No Laughing Matter needs your help to ensure the very important podcast project of incest awareness can continue. Their intention is to radically reduce the alarming statistics of incest in Australia.

And here is why; research says 70-80 percent of all child sexual abuse in Australia is from a ‘family member’. That is a concerning number and needs serious attention. Senior Australian of the Year 2019, Dr Sue Packer AM says the incest figure could even be as high as 90 percent.

As you can imagine, sadly, sexual abuse in the family home would significantly increase during COVID lockdown times. This makes their call even more urgent.

Often ‘incest’ is rolled into the bigger picture of ‘child sexual abuse’. Eight years ago, a Royal Commission was established to investigate child sexual abuse in Australian institutions, yet there have been no major investigations into incest. Why?

I am now in my 40’s and as a mother of two young teenage children, I have always thought if I could help save one child, I was doing enough, but my voice alone just isn’t powerful or loud enough, hence my alignment with the No Laughing Matter podcast series. I believe, by joining forces with other key people that share the same passion to make positive change with child sexual assault within families, we really can make a difference.

In early May this year, No Laughing Matter launched, with the aim to raise awareness and help make change. This also includes a call for the government to provide and manage a 24-hour counselling service, tailored exclusively for incest victim/survivors (current and past), along with a plan for better education across all levels of schooling and a cultural change in attitudes towards this forbidden topic. They believe it is time for a proactive movement to help ensure a lessening of the alarming statistics of child sexual abuse by a family member.

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Australian comedians, actors, media and sports personalities including Adam Hills, Richard Fidler, Fiona O'Loughlin, David Field, Jean Kittson, Susie Porter and Craig Foster among others, have chosen to step up and support the No Laughing Matter Podcast series by narrating the Australian real-life stories on the specific topic of incest.

The podcast series has been financially established through donated time from good friends and some small donations from other good friends and supporters. But it is not nearly enough for them to continue their cause. They have made huge progress, but their work so far is really just the tip of the iceberg.

I am asking you for your help to allow No Laughing Matter to keep up its incredible work to get urgent change and to help stamp out child sexual abuse by a family member.

Your (Tax Deductible) Donations will help fund:

• continued podcast production and development

• website management

• technology growth

• administration support

• round-table events with key crisis line outlet’s CEO’s and other child sexual abuse agencies

• implementation of a call to the government for change

• employing part-time staff to manage, implement and pay for a strategic national marketing plan to keep raising awareness of the issue of incest.

Please join their (well overdue) movement to help ensure no more Australian children become victims of sexual abuse by a family member.

About No Laughing Matter:

No Laughing Matter trades as The CorriLee Foundation (ABN 88 230 386 478).

The NLM team is a start-up initiative with almost no income. The team consists of two people working on the project part-time and asking a lot of favours of friends and contacts. But now they desperately require more funds to ensure the project can continue.

The CorriLee Foundation will manage all donations in a centralised fund and will be used for the sole purpose of a continued No Laughing Matter podcast series awareness campaign and call for government change.

How can you help?

• Donate via this GoFundMe page or the donation button on the www.nolaugingmatter.org.au website and click the Donate button. *NB. Your tax-deductible donation receipt (via either platform) will be emailed separately, within a few days.

• By pledging your support in another way - email [email redacted].au

• Share the NLM story and their GoFundMe link via your socials – Instagram @nolaughingmatterau and Facebook @nolaughingmatterau

If you are a victim/survivor of incest and would like to share your story, go to the No Laughing Matter website and select the ‘Contact’ page for consideration of potentially having a podcast about your experience. *NB. All stories abide by their lawyer's guidelines and require due diligence and discrete fact-checking.

For further information on how you can play your part in helping make change, or hear more about the No Laughing Matter Podcast Series Project please go to their website.

THANK YOU FOR CONSIDERING!

https://www.gofundme.com/f/nolaughingmatter

https://www.nolaughingmatter.org.au

https://www.nolaughingmatter.org.au/podcasts

The Untouchables: Top detectives to investigate ‘disgraceful’ kill squad

Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters - July 10, 2021

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A series of alleged murders by special forces soldiers which a military inquiry dubbed “the most disgraceful episode in Australia’s military history” will be investigated by an elite team of homicide detectives recruited from police forces across the country.

Until now, it has been unclear what the final report of the heavily redacted Brereton inquiry was referring to in November when it described the “disgraceful episode”, but multiple official sources have since confirmed that it involves an alleged rogue special forces patrol team accused of executing multiple defenceless prisoners and civilians during a months-long deployment to Afghanistan.

A defence source confidentially briefed on the patrol team’s activities told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald this group had been described to him as a “kill squad”.

The team of detectives being assembled to investigate the allegations is being recruited by a former Queensland Police homicide investigator, Commander Matt Stock, who is also a former policy adviser to Defence Minister Peter Dutton.

Applicants include some of the most experienced detectives from murder investigation squads across the nation, according to sources aware of the process but who are not authorised to comment publicly.

The team, dubbed the “untouchables” by one former detective, will work under the auspices of the Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator, where Mr Stock was recently in a senior role.

The Office of the Special Investigator is a $75 million agency created by Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Mr Dutton in response to the damning findings of the Brereton war crimes inquiry last November. Justice Paul Brereton uncovered credible allegations that special forces soldiers committed 39 murders in Afghanistan and covered them up by maintaining a mafia-like code of silence.

The Office of the Special Investigator is expected to face intense legal, political and media scrutiny as its teams work with the AFP to bring accused former SAS and Commandos operatives to trial. The AFP has never conducted a successful war crimes investigation and its ability to investigate the Brereton inquiry allegations looms as a test for AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw.

Mr Stock is one of two senior managers at the Office of the Special Investigator who will report to the investigatory body’s chiefs, former Queensland Police deputy commissioner Ross Barnett and senior Victorian Court of Appeal judge Mark Weinberg, QC.

Mr Stock is a highly experienced criminal investigator who previously served as a senior policy adviser to Mr Dutton when he was home affairs minister, and as a senior officer in the Australian Border Force. Former senior Queensland detective and one of Australia’s leading corporate investigators, Graham Newton, previously worked with Mr Stock and said he was highly regarded in policing circles.

“He’s a quintessential detective who is made for this role. He loves the chase and he doesn’t let go,” Mr Newton said.

Another former police colleague of Mr Stock said even experienced state homicide detectives were missing the cut as the Office of the Special Investigator seeks elite officers prepared to take on unpopular, gruelling investigations that may take years to wind through the courts.

The Office of the Special Investigator confirmed the agency had recruited investigators with “significant experience in managing complex investigations, including historical and overseas crimes” from the NSW, Queensland, South Australian, West Australian and Victorian police services as well as the AFP.

The final Brererton inquiry report provides no clues as to the identity of the alleged “kill squad” patrol, when it served in Afghanistan or if it involved SAS or Commando soldiers. But Justice Brereton’s inquiry found unnamed officers up the chain of command bore “moral command responsibility” for the conduct of soldiers engaged in what the senior judge described as “possibly the most disgraceful episode” in defence force history.

Converting the exhaustive Brereton inquiry, which included classified interviews with hundreds of soldiers and officers, into criminal charges is a monumental task for the Office of the Special Investigator and the AFP. Not only did many of the alleged murders occur years ago, experts are warning of a rapidly deteriorating security environment in Afghanistan that could interfere with evidence gathering.

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Australian National University Professor William Maley, who specialises in Afghan politics, warned this week that the Taliban were “on a roll” and were placing Afghan towns they were capturing under totalitarian control.

However, the joint taskforce is not coming off a standing start. Several SAS insiders who served in Afghanistan, as well as local Afghan villagers, have already provided detailed sworn statements to the AFP. They include SAS soldiers who allege they observed or participated in unlawful executions.

Those statements have been gathered by a small AFP team of investigators which, since June 2018, has been probing some SAS members over allegations they directed the murder of Afghan prisoners. The AFP investigations were triggered by what the final Brereton inquiry report described as an “exceptional” referral by Justice Brereton to the defence force and onto federal police in late May 2018.

That referral and the subsequent investigations have produced two briefs of evidence, which have sat with the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, Sarah McNaughton, SC, for more than a year. The interplay of war crimes investigation and prosecution officials, powers and jurisdiction are a potential bureaucratic quagmire that no agency or politician envisaged when the Brereton inquiry began its four-year investigation in 2016.

In addition to the Office of the Special Investigator staff and state and federal homicide investigators, the personnel now involved in the sprawling investigations include a special counsel, Tim Begbie, SC, who is advising on what evidence from the Brereton inquiry is admissible. Ms McNaughton has appointed David McLure, SC, a former special forces officer turned Sydney silk, to advise the Commonwealth prosecutions agency on whether the evidence gathered by police is strong enough to charge suspects. And AFP commander Anthony McClement has also been appointed to oversee the AFP’s war crimes work with the Office of the Special Investigator.

AFP Commissioner Kershaw has assigned overall oversight of war crimes and related inquiries to two of the AFP’s highest-ranking officers, Deputy Commissioner Ian McCartney and Assistant Commissioner Scott Lee.

Officials dealing with aspects of the investigation and prosecution structure, but who are not authorised to speak publicly, told The Age and Herald that critical decisions were at risk of being stalled. They include deciding which ex-special forces soldiers should receive immunity from prosecution and how to safeguard witness safety in Afghanistan and Australia.

The Brereton inquiry in November recommended several soldiers receive immunity because they had confessed to crimes that otherwise would have remained hidden and in doing so implicated more senior personnel.

”While it is ultimately a matter for the CDPP, the inquiry considers that the interests of justice and public policy in holding to account those in positions of authority in the defence force, who have caused their subordinates to commit crimes, makes these cases appropriate ones for such immunities,” Justice Brereton wrote in his final report.

“The evidence of such individuals is likely to be crucial in the prosecution of their superiors which should take priority, both because of the greater criminal responsibility of the superiors, and because of the greater national importance in holding the superiors to account, and showing that they are held to account.”

The Office of the Special Investigator, AFP and Commonwealth DPP will also be keen to avoid the fate of the most-recent Afghanistan-linked case in Australia, a failed military court martial of commandos accused of negligently causing the deaths of civilians in Afghanistan in 2009. Mr McLure was representing the accused in this case and his advocacy led to the case being thrown out by a military judge in 2011. In 2020, Mr McLure was appointed to prosecute Australian soldiers in a civilian court if the Commonwealth DPP authorises charges relating to alleged prisoner executions.

The AFP and Commonwealth DPP declined to comment.

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, you can contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

https://www1.defence.gov.au/adf-members-families/health-well-being/services-support-fighting-fit/need-help-now

https://www.openarms.gov.au

https://www.theage.com.au/national/the-untouchables-top-detectives-to-investigate-disgraceful-kill-squad-20210708-p58850.html

The venomous Epstein tapes: When VICKY WARD investigated Jeffrey Epstein, he tried to charm her… then threatened to get her sacked and put a curse on her unborn children. But she recorded it all - and what she reveals about Ghislaine Maxwell is shocking

VICKY WARD - 10 July 2021

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Ghislaine Maxwell and I crossed paths soon after I moved to New York in 1997.

Though she was a few years older than me, we were both English, Oxbridge-educated and would sometimes be invited to the same parties. She was pin-thin, expensively dressed, funny, fun, clever, worldly and the effortless centre of attention.

She talked about sex a lot — and she liked to behave outrageously. During one Manhattan dinner I heard about, she told a British movie star to lie face-down on the floor; she jumped on his back and gave him a massage right there on the ground in front of everyone. Even as people laughed, one observer wondered if what she was doing was not inappropriate.

Usually, she was by herself. I had no idea whether or not she had a boyfriend.

But then, in the autumn of 2002, I was assigned to write an article for Vanity Fair magazine about an intriguing and very rich man called Jeffrey Epstein. I soon discovered that Ghislaine had had a complicated relationship with Epstein for over a decade.

They didn't live together, I was told. Some sources claimed she worked for him — although Epstein later denied this. He insisted they were not romantically involved, instead telling me she was his best friend.

What struck me as strange was that at the start of my reporting I'd bumped into Ghislaine at a friend's baby shower: and when I mentioned I was writing the article, she started to cry.

At the time I put it down to how unequal their relationship seemed. I'd heard she loved him and he did not love her back.

She wanted to marry him and have children, sources told me — though she had insisted otherwise. Meanwhile, he wanted to stay single and sleep with (many) other women, which he certainly did.

And Ghislaine, according to the sources, put up with this — they presumed because Epstein could provide her with the same lavish lifestyle she'd grown up with as the daughter of the late and crooked media mogul Robert Maxwell.

After his bizarre death in 1991, Robert's children (two of whom were accused but cleared of aiding their father's crime) were left — at least officially — more or less penniless. So, Epstein looked after Ghislaine financially, in return for her introducing him to the glitterati. That was the mythology.

But when I toured Epstein's house in 2002, 11 years after Robert Maxwell's death, there were photos everywhere of another ex-girlfriend, former Miss Sweden Ava Andersson Dubin — but none that I saw of his 'best friend' Ghislaine.

I asked him about this and he brushed it aside, saying there were 'lots of photos of lots of people' in the house.

My 2002 article was on Epstein's money. No one knew how he'd become so rich: he lived in what was said to be Manhattan's biggest private townhouse, a nine-storey mansion.

He had a huge ranch in New Mexico, an island in the Caribbean and his own Boeing 727 — on which he had recently flown Bill Clinton to Africa.

Adding to the mystery, he rarely went out. It was said, instead, that wealthy and powerful people came to him — he claimed to manage the fortunes of billionaires.

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Our numerous phone calls as we arranged the interview — which was to be off-the-record, meaning I couldn't quote him — had shown me I was dealing with a mercurial control freak.

And he was true to form. He made a point of eating the sandwiches laid out for his 'tea', one by one, without offering me anything, despite the fact I was pregnant.

He had also left out a copy of a lurid book by the notorious French libertine the Marquis de Sade for me to notice on his desk.

We spoke for some time, and I left. Afterwards, weirdly, his assistant phoned me to tell me he'd thought I was 'pretty'. A messenger delivered a book to me at my home address: 'Maths For Dummies'. (I'd told Epstein I hadn't studied maths since I was 14.)

I was creeped out: I hadn't given him my home address — Vanity Fair's was easy enough to find — and the flattery was crass.

Then, even more uncomfortably, he began to bombard me with phone calls. These went on daily for months. From their tone — alternately smarmy and bullying — I knew he was hiding something. I just didn't know what.

He wasn't remotely charming or funny. He was deeply misogynistic: from a terrible joke about his desire to see his female staff only wearing Prada bikinis in his New York house, even in winter, to telling me he enjoyed being surrounded by women because he liked 'elegant things'.

Mostly, though, he was a thug, who soon told me he had compiled a dossier on my then-husband and me. He claimed that he could get my husband fired from his job, and me from mine.

He continually threatened to sue me personally, which, he reminded me, he knew I couldn't afford. Strangest of all, he threatened to put a 'hex' — a demonic spell — on my unborn children.

This crossed all normal boundaries — and it became an obsession for him. He wanted to know who my doctor was, where the babies would be delivered. And he warned me: 'I know all the doctors in this town.'

Because of the threats, I recorded him, on the advice of my lawyer. The transcripts of these conversations run to some 450 pages.

Now you will be able to hear parts of these, re-enacted by actors (sadly, I lost the micro-cassettes years ago) in my podcast Chasing Ghislaine, released on Audible next week. This is executive-produced with bestselling writer James Patterson, and we have also filmed a documentary series to be released by Discovery Plus later this year.

Now, of course, Epstein is dead: he was found hanged in his New York federal jail cell in 2019 in circumstances that continue to trouble conspiracy theorists.

Ghislaine, his alleged accomplice, is awaiting trial for sex trafficking and other offences, and faces up to 80 years behind bars if found guilty. She denies all the charges.

What you hear in them is a master manipulator at work: someone with many secrets to hide.

In 2002, for example, Epstein told me rich people don't go to the authorities when their money is stolen: they just want it back. Now I know what he meant.

I have discovered while preparing the podcast that, for 30 years, Epstein was embroiled in a shady underworld involving international espionage, blackmail, money-laundering and smuggling guns, diamonds and drugs.

He boasted that he was a 'hyper-fixer': someone who could move between different countries and cultures, exchanging information, but mostly making money through shadowy deals.

But, perhaps inevitably, what most fixated him during his talks with me were 'the girls'.

Again and again, he asked me: 'What about the girls? What have you got on the girls?' The answer, I know today, was 'not enough'.

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One woman who'd been to dinner at Epstein's house described the event to me as being like Eyes Wide Shut, the 1999 film starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman and featuring a debauched mass orgy.

There were parties, I heard, where Epstein and Maxwell cavorted with rich older men — among foreign women who looked much younger.

Now I know that, at the same time Epstein was demanding of me 'what about the girls?' he was raping 15-year-old Jennifer Araoz, a beautiful child from the poorer New York borough of Queens.

Jennifer's harrowing testimony and its devastating impact on her life are revealed in our podcast: she now runs a foundation, Survivors Initiative, to help girls like her.

For my Vanity Fair article, I did find two sisters, Annie and Marie Farmer. Separately, each told me that Epstein had sexually abused both of them, Annie when she was just 15. I believed them and I wanted to publish their story, but to my dismay, the sisters' allegations did not make into my Vanity Fair article.

The magazine's editor, Graydon Carter, says that he and the publication's lawyers didn't believe my reporting was sufficient, even though I maintain we had three sources supporting their allegations. (Carter has denied this.)

Troublingly, however, I have an email from December 2002 — just before the story was due to be published — from a colleague at Vanity Fair that reads: 'Bless you — guess who just appeared in Graydon's office? Jeffrey Epstein.'

It is, to say the least, highly unusual for the subject of an investigative magazine article to appear in the offices of the outlet profiling them — and perhaps especially in the editor's office.

Did the impeccably well-connected Epstein put pressure on the magazine to drop any hint of the sexual abuse I had uncovered about him? I don't know.

But there is no doubt Epstein was rattled by my forthcoming article. In one of our last and most unpleasant exchanges, he snarled that we had reached the point where this was no longer about a journalist and the subject of a magazine profile, it was about me and him: it was, he said, 'personal'.

His threats to my unborn children had affected me, and when I subsequently gave birth to twin boys, they were two months premature. I believe the stress of dealing with Epstein led to the premature births, and as they remained in the neonatal intensive care unit for weeks, then months, it was hard to forget his ugly threat to have a witchdoctor cast a spell on them.

As for Ghislaine?

Writing my magazine article, I was told by reliable sources that she was hopelessly in Epstein's thrall.

Stuart Pivar, a New York society art dealer and a former friend of Epstein's, told me that Epstein appointed him to watch over Ghislaine in the days after Robert Maxwell mysteriously fell to his death from his yacht in 1991.

Pivar said Epstein told him to make sure Ghislaine 'made it through this dark period'. But it was difficult to match the glittering social queen Ghislaine seemed at Manhattan parties with the woman described by the Farmer sisters, 'pathetic' in her emotional and financial dependency on Epstein, who treated her with disdain.

Annie told me Ghislaine had given her a topless massage when she was 16 — below the age of consent in America. Maria claimed Ghislaine had pretended to be asleep and held her hand while Jeffrey groped her one night in Ohio.

I had to put these allegations to Ghislaine in a deeply unpleasant phone call. She denied everything. She was furious.

And after the article ran — without, luckily for Maxwell and Epstein, the Farmers' allegations — I hoped never I'd never see the pair of them again.

(continued)

>>14092382

4/4

But Ghislaine and I were to cross paths again a few more times.

We ran into each other a few years later in New York. This time, she had a new boyfriend, Ted Waitt. He had founded a computer hardware company and made a fortune. They'd met through Bill Clinton and now she boasted about flying helicopters and piloting a submarine that was attached to Ted's yacht, as well as the philanthropic work she was doing, saving the oceans.

She didn't mention Jeffrey Epstein — and why would she?

In 2009, he had been jailed for 18 months for solicitation of a prostitute and a minor in Palm Beach, Florida. Much of New York society had decided that he was a creep — though they didn't know that a U.S. Attorney, no less, had shut down a far more serious federal investigation into his crimes.

That might have been the end of the story. But in 2011, a photograph, taken in Ghislaine's London townhouse, emerged. It showed a young girl, Virginia Roberts, standing with Prince Andrew with his arm pulled around her waist as Ghislaine smiled beside them.

Roberts claimed that when she was 17 Epstein and Maxwell had 'pimped her out' to Prince Andrew. In subsequent years Ghislaine has denied this.

In 2011, the year that photograph emerged, Maxwell and Waitt separated. I last glimpsed Ghislaine in 2014 at a book party, but I don't recall talking to her. That was one of the last events many of her friends remember seeing her at in New York.

In 2015, after leaving Vanity Fair, I finally wrote a piece about the Farmers with the sisters' help, published in the Daily Beast. This laid out their claims of what had been done to them in the 1990s.

I've no idea what Ghislaine thought of that article. But the following year, 2016, I received a call — the number was withheld — and answered.

It was Ghislaine. She asked if I knew that I was on the witness list for Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who was then suing her for defamation. A spokesperson for Ghislaine had called Virginia a liar.

I was surprised by the call. I hadn't met Virginia, though I would later interview her.

But I couldn't get off the phone quick enough. Journalists don't want to be dragged into people's private legal actions. Our job is to report and to protect our sources.

Ghislaine left New York in 2016, I discovered. But in 2019 she emailed me out of the blue, asking to meet for coffee.

This was in the wake of allegations that Epstein had received an unduly lenient sentence in Florida — allegedly perverting justice for dozens of his victims.

I sensed that she wanted to see me for litigation purposes, so I did not reply to her note.

Since her incarceration a year ago, she has become perhaps the most hated woman in the world. People find the idea of a woman allegedly abusing other women — children, even — worse than if a man does it.

And Ghislaine isn't just any woman. She's educated, born into immense privilege, with an extraordinary contacts book.

But there are still many questions about her. Even those who thought they knew her well are in the dark about the true nature of her relationship with Epstein — and what they may or may not have done together.

Still others — particularly certain very rich, very powerful men — fear that, even from the grave, Epstein could yet bring them down.

Chasing Ghislaine is an Audible Original podcast released on July 15.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Chasing-Ghislaine-Podcast/B09887Z858

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9774291/VICKY-WARD-recorded-Jeffrey-Epstein-tapes-reveal-Ghislaine-Maxwell-shocking.html

>>14042279

Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on July 9, 2021

Shenzhen TV: Recently, mainstream Australian media published articles commemorating the 50th anniversary of former Australian Prime Minister Gough Whitlam's visit to China, including articles written by Whitlam back then about his observations and insights during the visit. Whitlam believes that it is an unavoidable and objective reality that the CPC is in power in China and that Australia should have diplomatic relations with China which conforms to the trend of the times. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: We noted relevant reports. In July 1971, Mr. Gough Whitlam led a delegation to pay an "ice-breaking" visit to China as the leader of the Australian opposition Labor Party, making important and indelible contributions to the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia and the growth of bilateral ties. Looking back at this "ice-breaking" visit 50 years ago, people from different social sectors in Australia say that Mr. Whitlam exemplified great political wisdom, confidence and courage in choosing to establish diplomatic ties with China, a decision based on rational thinking by grasping and following the trend of the times. What he did shows that Australia is more than able to lead, rather than blindly follow, other countries in international affairs. They call on the Australian government to handle its relations with China in the same pragmatic and rational approach.

With relations between China and Australia severely strained, these thoughts and appeals are cause for some soul searching on the part of the Australian government. The two sides had more differences 50 years ago than today. Why is it that the Australian statesmen back then had the vision to follow the overwhelming trend and begin cooperation with China and engagement with Asia despite obstacles while today certain people in the Australian government are led astray by bias and choose to move against the invincible trend, constantly obstructing bilateral cooperation and even inciting confrontation? We urge the Australian side to take history as a mirror, heed the voice of insightful people at home, and revisit the original purpose of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia. We call on it to reject Cold-War mentality and ideological bias, do more things to promote bilateral mutual trust and cooperation in keeping with the spirit of the two sides' comprehensive strategic partnership and the interests of the two peoples, and refrain from historical retrogression.

…..

Kyodo News: We've learned that the case of Cheng Lei, an Australian citizen suspected of illegally providing state secrets to foreign countries, has been handed over to the procuratorate for review and prosecution. Can you confirm this?

Wang Wenbin: We've stated China's principled position on the case of Australian citizen Cheng Lei many times. She was arrested on suspicion of illegally providing state secrets to foreign forces in accordance with law. The case is under further process. China is a country governed by law. China's judicial authorities handle cases in accordance with law and the rights of Cheng Lei are fully protected.

http://za.china-embassy.org/eng/fyrth/t1891109.htm

>>14071638

Australia has shown great resilience in the face of China’s aggression

PAUL KELLY - JULY 10, 2021

1/3

The Australian government would endorse the view of President Joe Biden’s Indo-Pacific adviser Kurt Campbell that China displays a “harshness” that seems “unyielding” in its dealings with Australia – but the bigger question is whether China’s pressure can break our will or fracture our unity.

This is an existential moment for Australia, with much of the world watching. It is a dangerous situation because Beijing, having triggered the confrontation, can hardly afford to lose. Yet the remarkable feature so far is Australian resilience, the resolve of public opinion and the recognition by most of the business sector that economics cannot be traded against national security.

Campbell advised Australia to be “settling in for long haul”. In fact, this has been the operating rule for Scott Morrison for some time. He has worked urgently to build coalitions of “like-minded countries and liberal democracies” to “push back against coercion” and achieve an Indo-Pacific region that is “open, inclusive and resilient”.

China’s retaliation against Australia is integral to the escalating great power strategic competition between China and the US, the issue being whether Australia succumbs as a client state or maintains its autonomy via the regional balance of power. Morrison’s speeches make it clear this is how he sees the contest.

We cannot know Beijing’s calculations. Yet China must be surprised that Australia hasn’t buckled to some degree. If you had said to people three years ago that China would threaten Australia’s coal, barley, wine, beef, education, lobster and timber industries but the government and public would stand firm, the reaction would have been disbelief.

The transition is astonishing. One of Campbell’s revealing lines in his Asia Society remarks this week was his perception a decade ago that Australia was susceptible to shifting away from the US towards a closer relationship with Beijing. The opposite has happened.

This highlights past US worries about the economic potential in Canberra-Beijing relations but, more significantly, China’s madness in replacing seduction with coercion in its dealing with Australia.

Campbell, often called the President’s Asia tsar, said the Biden administration saw China’s economic retaliation against Australia as designed to “cut Australia out of the herd” of US allies and “to try to see if they can affect Australia to completely change how it sees itself and the world.”

This goes to national identity. It is exactly how Morrison sees the challenge. This was made clear in his Perth speech last month when the Prime Minister said today’s challenges were about “where we are and who we are – our principles, our values and, of course, our national character”. Morrison has bet the house on Australian resilience against Beijing’s pressure. The question therefore becomes: what is Australia’s potential fault line? There are many possibilities. A Liberal-Labor split over China; commercial revolt over the pressure; a public that loses faith; or a schism in the federation. If you are betting, put a fractured federation at the shortest odds.

The empowerment of the premiers during Covid-19 isn’t a passing phenomenon. Australian politics is being transformed. Sooner or later disputes over China policy will see the premiers flex their muscles – another instance of a core change in power relations.

During his Perth visit last month, Morrison saw West Australian Labor Premier Mark McGowan, after which McGowan launched an assault on the PM, extraordinary even by his standards. “We are acting against our own interests,” McGowan said.

“The Prime Minister has a view he needs to attack (China) on trade. I’m more pragmatic, I’m more attuned to the interests of Western Australia and West Australians jobs. We sell them literally 20 times as much as we buy from them, why do we want to undermine that?

“I have been very clear with the commonwealth. I’m a premier of a state that actually carries the nation’s economy.”

McGowan branded the recent language from federal politicians and senior officials about possible war with China as “absolute madness” and “insane”. He said: “WA continues to trade through Covid with countries that buy our products, particularly when iron ore is over $200 a tonne. That’s what’s supporting the national economy, and yet we have politicians who want to destroy that.

“We have a massive trade surplus with China that employs hundreds of thousands of Australians, particularly here in Western Australia. If we lose our trading relationship with China, the economic consequences for Australia will be absolutely catastrophic.”

(continued)

>>14092493

2/3

McGowan said he and Morrison had a “very different” view of China relations. Have no doubt, this is a deep dispute and McGowan has great leverage here. China’s foreign ministry welcomed his remarks. The iron ore trade is safe for the time being – but for how long? If China cuts back the iron ore trade, there will be a political crisis between Perth and Canberra and McGowan will sheet the blame to Morrison. And don’t doubt that he will get traction in the West.

The story with business is far better. Deeply experienced in China business dealings and chair of the Business Council of Australia Global Engagement Council, Warwick Smith, made three points to Inquirer: most states still enjoy effective relations with Beijing; business accepts the national security imperative embraced by the Morrison government on China; and business should take the initiative to engage with the Beijing government.

The Morrison government has worked hard to secure corporate alignment with its China policy. This became a political necessity. Failure on this front would have been disastrous. “We understand the position of the government,” Smith said. “The fundamental point is that China has changed; it’s not Australia that has changed. It means we have to work out how we adapt and maintain our commitment as a trading nation with a heavy reliance on North Asia.

“For nearly two years, the Business Council of Australia has run quiet, deeply private meetings with all security agencies and key departments in Canberra. We are not screaming into the wind. We want to promote trade and dialogue but we think the government is doing the right thing.”

The security agencies have been charged by government to prioritise dialogue on China with the business community. Smith calls the briefings “really useful”. They have involved, variously, Home Affairs head Mike Pezzullo, Defence Secretary Greg Moriarty, ASIO chief Mike Burgess, Office of National Intelligence chief Andrew Shearer, Australian Secret Intelligence Service chief Paul Symon, former ONA head Nick Warner and current chair of the FIRB David Irvine.

Interviewed by Inquirer, Smith said China “had kicked some own goals”, and he branded the 14 points released by China’s embassy as the conditions to repair relations as “stupid and nuts” – with Morrison tabling these points at the recent G7 meeting for the benefit of other leaders.

The potential for political schism was revealed last month when WA Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, now Assistant Defence Minister, attacked McGowan, saying his comments were “weak, gutless and contrary to the Australian national interest”.

Hastie said McGowan’s intrusion into foreign policy saw him operating in a “hysterical” manner beyond his “level of ­competence”.

While McGowan said Australia must not trade its values and must stand against foreign espionage, his remarks left the impression that Australia could fix the trade dispute with China. If the Premier believes this, he should explain how. But Hastie went further in his critique, saying McGowan’s attitude revealed why the federal government had been obliged to pass new laws to assert Australian sovereignty against the behaviour of some states. Make no mistake, this is dangerous territory in terms of policy and politics.

Smith sits on the BCA board, and is pivotal to business ties with China. He said Australia had to get the balance right. “What I’m saying on behalf of business is let’s have good dialogue with our governments, let’s understand the ­security reality – and uphold the security principles – but let’s recognise we are reliant on one of the fastest-growing economic entities in the world, which is going to have more impact on us not less.”

Foreign Minister Marise Payne, having cancelled Victoria’s Belt and Road agreement with China under new federal laws passed last year, will soon ­adjudicate on a bevy of further agreements involving state governments and institutions with China. Only this week, the West Australian and Queensland governments said negotiated ties with Beijing must remain to ­secure trade and investments.

While Victoria declined to resist the Belt and Road cancellation, Smith called upon the Foreign Minister to proceed with caution, saying most agreements were “benign”. Payne faces a difficult assessment: the need to cut down deals that infringe Australia’s security and sovereignty, while trying to avoid any federal-state eruption over China.

“Surprisingly, all the states have good relations with China,” Smith said. “I understand Mark McGowan’s views and respect them. He’s got a lot to lose if iron ore goes backwards. NSW has a very good relationship and diversified trade with China, as does Victoria and Queensland – even Tasmania and South Australia. The states are focused on holding and extending their trade with China.”

(continued)

>>14092499

3/3

Federal Labor remains locked behind Morrison, aware that breaking bipartisanship on China would expose it to attack on national security grounds as well as taking an unpopular stance at a federal election. But as Covid-19 shows, premiers operate in a different political framing. It is hard to see them challenging Morrison on foreign policy in the near ­future, but if China’s campaign deepens over time then fractures in the federation seem guaranteed. This must figure in Beijing’s calculations to try to break Australia’s nerve.

Campbell’s remarks repeated earlier assurances from the Biden administration – from the President, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security adviser Jake Sullivan – that “we are not going to leave Australia in the field”.

The Morrison government has put much store by these remarks. Campbell said America’s position in Asia had slipped and that it must intensify its efforts to prevent China’s domination.

This confirms a high degree of common analysis of China between the Morrison and Biden governments. Campbell affirmed early impressions that despite leading governments of different political disposition, Biden and Morrison have “a tremendous sense of common purpose” about the Indo-Pacific.

Note, however, that Biden will soon have a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping, something Morrison is denied. The ­optics might not be good for Australia. The meeting might bring guidance on where Biden will resist Xi and where they will agree, a critical point for Australia.

Note also that China’s foreign ministry blatantly said Australia’s trade suffered because it was a “cat’s paw” to the US and then suggested America was making inroads into the Chinese market in the vacuum left by Australia.

Beijing always searches for the diplomatic wedge.

Few observers believe China will retreat from its pressure on Australia, despite the failure of its tactics so far. Smith warns we need to be careful with Australia being “heavily reliant” on iron ore revenues. Yet Beijing burns with resentment at such Australian market control and seeks alter­native sources of supply. Smith thinks Australia has medium-term security with iron ore but warns that “nearly 70 per cent of our raw wool goes to China”.

The economic partnership is being redirected. He said China’s new investment into Australia was “collapsing”. The task facing business is “to hold our trade and diversity our trade”. Meanwhile, Smith said the China-Britain Business Council met last week with Premier Li Keqiang and several Chinese ministries.

That’s right, Britain’s business community is speaking with China’s premier, with Britain part of the Five Eyes intelligence group, having backtracked on Huawei and sending an aircraft carrier to the South China Sea. The task facing nations was “to manage dialogue despite deep and extreme differences over technology and strategy”.

Could Australia’s business community mount such a venture? “It’s possible, yes,” Smith said. Maybe China wouldn’t accept such a proposal now but, at some point, “doors need to be opened”. If they are not, that will ultimately rebound on the Morrison government.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/australia-has-shown-great-resilience-in-the-face-of-chinas-aggression/news-story/9c84a95f4ca9cfad9ffcea889b1825ee

>>14020199

Australia reports first 2021 COVID-19 death, highest case number

Lidia Kelly - July 11, 2021

MELBOURNE, July 11 (Reuters) - Australia reported its first coronavirus-related death of the year on Sunday and a 2021 record 77 new cases of the virus in the state of New South Wales, which is battling an outbreak of the highly infectious Delta variant.

State Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the numbers in and around the country's biggest city Sydney, already under a hard lockdown, are expected to rise.

"I'll be shocked if it's less than 100 this time tomorrow, of additional new cases," Berejiklian told a televised briefing.

On Saturday there were 50 cases, the previous 2021 record high. The recent outbreak stands at 566 cases.

Of Sunday's cases, 33 were people who had spent time in the community while they were infectious, raising the likelihood that the three-week lockdown of more than 5 million people in Sydney and surroundings will be extended.

"Given where we're at and given the lockdown was supposed to be lifted on Friday, everybody can tell it's highly unlikely at this stage," Berejiklian said.

There are 52 cases in hospital, or about one in 10 people infected in the current outbreak. Fifteen people are in intensive care, five require ventilation. The death, the country's first locally contracted case since December, involved a woman in her 90s.

Australia has fared much better than many other developed countries in keeping its COVID-19 numbers relatively low, seeing just over 31,000 cases since the start of the pandemic and 911 deaths.

The vaccination rollout, however, has been sluggish due to supply constraints and changing medical advice for its mainstay AstraZeneca shots.

Vaccinations are available for now only to people over 40 and groups at risk either due to their health or exposure to the virus at work. Of those hospitalised in Sydney, 11 are under the age of 35 and more than three-quarters of the patients have not had any doses, health authorities said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-reports-first-2021-covid-19-death-highest-case-number-2021-07-11/

Alexander Downer Tweets

#EvonneGoolagong and #AshBarty. We love them both!!

https://twitter.com/AlexanderDowner/status/1413880945418117125

—

Glenn Ray @GlennInTassie

Replying to @AlexanderDowner

And I hope you hate George Papadopoulos as much as I do for lying about our Country.

Great night for our Aussie Legends.

https://twitter.com/GlennInTassie/status/1413884433489219591

—

Alexander Downer @AlexanderDowner

Replying to @GlennInTassie

Honestly, I never give him a thought!

https://twitter.com/AlexanderDowner/status/1413895545618378758

—

Glenn Ray @GlennInTassie

Replying to @AlexanderDowner

He’s blocked me twice.

He doesn’t like being called on his lies about his Australian conspiracy.

Have a great Sunday.

https://twitter.com/GlennInTassie/status/1414000919428042759

Time to abandon One China policy, says senator Rex Patrick

CAMERON STEWART - JULY 10, 2021

Independent senator Rex Patrick has called for Australia to consider abandoning its One China policy amid growing tensions over Taiwan in the first such call by a federal politician since the 1970s.

The move comes amid rising international tension over China’s political and military pressure on Taiwan, with Japan this week saying it would join the US in defending Taipei against a Chinese invasion.

It also comes when there is a growing push within the government for Australia to strike a free-trade deal with Taiwan in defiance of China’s wishes.

Senator Patrick said China’s belligerence over Taiwan at a time of heightened tensions between Beijing and Australia meant it was time to review the One China policy, which has been an accepted bipartisan Australian foreign policy position since 1972.

Any move to abandon the One China policy, which recognises Taiwan as a part of China, would be greeted with fury in Beijing and would almost certainly end diplomatic relations.

In practice, Australia treats democratic Taiwan much like an independent nation supporting deep economic, business and cultural contacts with the island, which is now Australia’s seventh largest export market.

“For nearly 50 years, Australia has, as a price for good relations with Beijing, agreed to the diplomatic fiction that Taiwan is part of China and that Taiwan will one day be peacefully reunited with the People’s Republic of China. That political sophistry has now run its course”, Senator Patrick said. “Australia needs to have an open national discussion, and consultation with our close allies, on the future of this foreign policy orthodoxy that is no longer credible and is becoming unsustainable.

“The Coalition government and the Labor opposition need to publicly address this question. It must not be dealt with through ­silence and acquiescence.“

Senator Patrick said change was needed because of Beijing’s increasingly belligerent and threatening behaviour towards Taiwan over the past year. “Last year, the Chinese Communist Party dropped their nominal commitment to peaceful reunification with Taiwan and embarked on a steady escalation of political and military pressure, including almost daily violations of Taiwanese airspace,” he said.

“Chinese President Xi Jinping has made clear his ambition to assert control over Taiwan and end the island’s democratic autonomy. Last week, he vowed to crush any opposition to ‘complete reunification’ and ‘utterly defeat’ any attempt for Taiwan independence.”

Although relations between Australia and China are at their lowest ebb in years, the Morrison government has no plans to review the One China policy.

“Australia’s longstanding one-China policy is the basis of our relations with China,” a spokesman for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.

“We do not take a position on Taiwan’s future status, and encourage China and Taiwan to resolve any differences peacefully.”

Australia abandoned its recognition of Taipei in 1972 as part of its agreement to restore diplomatic relations with China.

No Western nation has full ­diplomatic relations with Taiwan and only 15 states recognise Taiwan as a sovereign nation, including Honduras, Nicaragua and Swaziland.

Australia has been forging closer trade relations with Taiwan even as its relationship with China has deteriorated.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/time-to-abandon-one-china-policy-says-senator-rex-patrick/news-story/32fee8f0ac4b75793f6117850f311517

National day to honour Australia’s Afghanistan troops

ADESHOLA ORE - JULY 11, 2021

Australian troops who served in Afghanistan and Iraq will be honoured with a national day of commemoration, as the federal government confirmed the nation’s longest war is officially over.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said the day would pay tribute to the great sacrifice of the two-decade conflict that cost the lives of 41 Diggers and scarred a generation of veterans.

“The contribution of our troops over a very long time has contributed to a period of stability, the ability for girls to be educated and importantly, from our perspective and that of our Five Eyes partners, there has not been an attack the scale of 9/11 for over twenty years,” he told Sky News on Sunday.

“I want those Diggers to hear very clearly the message that because of their efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, they have stopped terrorist attacks from taking place in our country, in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand and elsewhere.”

Mr Dutton said Australians were “eternally grateful” for the nation’s troops who served in the Middle East.

The Taliban’s resurgence in Afghanistan – following the withdrawal of Western troops – has sparked concerns for the safety of Afghan interpreters and officials who helped Australia during the two-decade campaign. Former prime minister John Howard weighed in this week, saying the country had a “moral obligation” to provide asylum to Afghans who worked with Australian troops. The officials face a near-certain death from the ­resurgent Taliban.

Mr Howard, who committed Australian troops to Afghanistan in 2001, said the nation needed to urgently help those who risked their lives for Australia, and their immediate family members.

Mr Dutton said Australia remained committed to following a “rigorous” approach for granting protection visas and would not compromise on its security clearances.

“We don’t make any apologies for that … my job, my responsibility is to make sure we act swiftly to make sure we get those people here who have provided us with support,” he said.

“We will continue to do the right thing. Since 2013, 1480 visas have been issued to these interpreters and their families, those locally engaged employees.”

The Australian has revealed that hundreds of Afghan interpreters, aid workers and security guards who worked for the Australian government during the two-decade conflict have been left in limbo, including many with multiple character references from ADF personnel.

Mr Dutton confirmed that the last of Australia’s troops had been withdrawn from Afghanistan, bringing to an end almost 20 years in the war-torn country.

Mr Dutton said that the decision to withdraw ahead of the September deadline was based on advice from the Chief of the Defence Force.

“That doesn’t mean that we won’t be part of campaigns with the United States, perhaps involving the SAS or Special Forces when we deem that to be in our national interest or the interest of our allies,” he said.

The US pulled all its combat troops out of Bagram Air Base on Thursday but 650 of its troops will remain as security for the embassy. US President Joe Biden had pledged to withdraw all American forces by September 11 — the 20 year anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/national-day-to-honour-australias-afghanistan-troops/news-story/7cbcbae22fd6c40e041b6f2f71c2c7b0

>>14057971

>>14057972

Three warships docked in Sydney for joint missile exercises

7NEWS Australia

Jul 10, 2021

Three international warships are docked in Sydney Harbour tonight after a week of joint missile exercises.

It wasn't hostile, it was a chance for the nations to see how they work together as China strengthens its hold on the Pacific.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLJHjr2oRf8