Women sexually harassed by former High Court judge Dyson Heydon receive historic settlement

Markus Mannheim - 14 February 2022

Three women who were sexually harassed by former High Court justice Dyson Heydon have secured a historic compensation payout.

The women's lawyer, Josh Bornstein, said he believed it was the first settlement under the Sex Discrimination Act for findings of sexual harassment against a serving federal judge.

The High Court apologised publicly to the trio — Rachel Patterson Collins, Chelsea Tabart and Alex Eggerking — as well as to three other unnamed women in 2020 after an independent investigation, led by Vivienne Thom, upheld their allegations.

Five of the women had worked as associates to Mr Heydon, while the other had worked for a different High Court justice.

After Dr Thom completed her inquiry, Chief Justice Susan Kiefel said the findings were of "extreme concern" to all of the court's justices and staff.

"We're ashamed that this could have happened at the High Court of Australia," she said in a statement.

Today, Mr Bornstein said negotiations since then had been delayed by the case's complexity and "an unfortunate delay by the Commonwealth".

“After their experience of working in the High Court, Rachael, Chelsea and Alex have been unable to pursue the legal careers that they aspired to," he said.

"Indeed, they were so severely impacted by what happened that it took them years to come forward to pursue this matter."

The terms of the settlement remain confidential.

However, Mr Bornstein said his clients were relieved and happy with the outcome.

"They have asked me to convey their strong conviction that women should not feel ashamed to pursue financial settlements in sexual harassment cases, because sexual harassment will only start to recede when there is a clear recognition that it has a substantial cost to organisations and individuals who are implicated."

Mr Heydon, now 78, has previously denied "any allegation of sexual harassment or any offence".

He was a High Court justice from 2003 to 2013, when he reached the mandatory retirement age.

Female associates have transformed court: Attorney-General

Federal Attorney-General Michaelia Cash praised the courage of the associates who had made formal complaints, saying they had instigated a transformation of the court's culture.

"We recognise Ms Tabart's, Ms Eggerking's and Ms Collins's bravery at coming forward and telling their stories to Dr Thom, the High Court and other Australians," Ms Cash said.

"These women have told us about what they have been through during, and since, their times as associates of the High Court and the serious impacts on their lives.

"We have listened to them and we apologise."

The government accepted all six of Dr Thom's recommendations and Ms Cash said it had acted on them.

"The practices of the High Court in responding to sexual harassment, and more importantly in attempting to prevent it from occurring, have been transformed."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-14/former-high-court-judge-dyson-heydon-compensation-payment/100829210

China’s snow job can’t erase Aussie ties

WILL GLASGOW - FEBRUARY 13, 2022

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Monday is the 10th day of the Beijing Winter Games.

It’s also the 550th day since Australian journalist Cheng Lei was nabbed by Chinese agents in the Olympic host city.

The Queensland University graduate has now been behind bars for 18 months.

She still hasn’t been allowed to see her two young children.

No trial date has been set.

The single mother – who was one of the most high-profile Australians in China – now features on a long list of subjects our Olympians have been advised to handle with care at these intensely political Games.

Snowboarding legend Scotty James did his best to negotiate the difficult terrain after he bagged his silver on Friday.

“I’m sorry about those circumstances,” he said after being awarded his medal at the man-made snow town just an hour away by fast train from where Cheng was ­arrested on August 13, 2020.

The wizard from Warrandyte and the prisoner in Beijing have a backstory.

They met in Beijing in late December 2019 when Cheng interviewed James in front of a business crowd at an Australian-backed steakhouse about his path to the 2022 Games.

The night at Hurricane’s Grill left an impression.

James became Cheng’s favourite member of Australia’s Winter Olympics team, and she recently told Australian diplomats she hoped to watch him compete.

That was after her prison wardens said she and her cellmates would be allowed to watch some of what China’s President Xi Jinping calls an “inclusive, open and clean Games”.

Whether she knows James won silver will remain a mystery until her next monthly online consular visit with Australian ­officials – her only ­contact with the world outside her cell.

“I hope she got to tune in. I hope she enjoyed it,” said James, when asked about a situation that is bizarre even by the standards of these Winter Games.

What is like to win Olympic silver with a fan cheering you on from a Beijing prison cell?

“Sorry, no comment on that,” said James.

And fair enough, too – he was still hours from flying out of China to his base in the US.

The situation is the same for athletes from all around the world – and for good reason.

Only a few weeks ago, a ­senior official on the Beijing 2022 organising committee warned that any speech against Chinese laws would be “subject to certain punishment”.

If asked about the more than one million Uighurs who have been sent to re-education camps, or the snuffing of civic life in Hong Kong, or the awful plight of Cheng or fellow Australian Yang Hengjun, or about all the others trapped in China’s dark prisons, Olympians have been advised to keep quiet – at least while they are in the People’s ­Republic.

It has contributed to a surreal environment inside the Olympics bubble, one that is completely ­removed from the world outside it.

(continued)

>>15623621

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After The Australian spoke to James about his imprisoned fan, the silver medallist was interviewed by Chinese state media.

They had three questions for him: was he enjoying his life in China? Was the food good in the Olympic village? Had he tried Beijing duck?

The Swiss snowboarder who took the bronze had been asked the same three questions minutes earlier.

Cheng – an anchor on China Global Television Network, China’s English-language state broadcaster – was a different kind of state media employee.

She was hugely respected in the Beijing journalism ­community.

Her colleagues loved her. She even coined CGTN’s official ­slogan, “See the difference”, in an all-staff competition when the network was rebranding, as The Australian revealed last year.

Cheng joined the network a decade ago when engaging critically with the world around her and working for Chinese state media did not seem to be completely incompatible.

That has all changed in the late Xi era.

In a different political regime, right now she would be a key part of Beijing’s English language media team covering the Olympics. Instead, her imprisonment on vague “state secrets” charges contributed to the Australian government’s decision to join with the US, Canada, Japan and others in a diplomatic boycott of these Olympics.

Reports on the 46-year-old’s condition are remarkable for someone who has endured sleep deprivation and brutal interrogation by China’s Ministry of State Security.

She is learning Spanish, reading Australian literature and ­trying to keep positive – or as positive as you can be in a Chinese prison cell more than 9000km away from your two children.

In her meetings with Australian consular officials, she has been able to pass on messages to family, friends and supporters.

She became visibly emot­ional at one, when she was told about the support for her back in Australia.

“It means so much that I’m not alone and that I’m remembered and thought about,” Cheng said.

“The appreciation I feel is too big to put into words.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/chinas-snow-job-cant-erase-aussie-ties/news-story/e2103ded046bd527629a70a5de6e0b95

>>15592354

Disinformation a ‘threat to poll’, says AFP chief Reece Kershaw

CAMERON STEWART - FEBRUARY 14, 2022

The growing number of disinformation campaigns now poses a direct threat to the integrity of the forthcoming federal election, the head of the Australian Federal Police has warned.

AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw has also warned of an increase in espionage and foreign interference threats, saying the challenge is expected to get worse in the year ahead.

In his opening remarks to Senate Estimates on Monday night, Mr Kershaw pledged that the AFP would exercise its full powers to crack down on disinformation during the coming election campaign.

“In the lead-up to this year’s election, I am concerned about the prevalence of disinformation and the impact this can have on the integrity of our institutions and the election itself,” Mr Kershaw said. “Where disinformation reaches a criminal threshold, particularly where it urges or ­advocates violence, the AFP will be exercising the full force of its powers.”

Mr Kershaw did not describe the types of disinformation campaigns that the agency was most concerned about.

However, his warning comes amid a growing prevalence of online campaigns containing disinformation promoted by various interest groups, including anti-vaxxer and anti-vax-mandate protesters. Other disinformation campaigns have spread false rumours about state and federal politicians designed to undermine their chances of re-election.

“For example we charged an individual with computer, carriage service and electoral offences for his role in an offensive spam email campaign” during the 2019 Wentworth and 2020 Eden-Monaro by-elections, he said.

Mr Kershaw also warned of the growing prevalence of espionage and foreign interference. His comments follow warnings last week by ASIO director-general Mike Burgess that foreign powers were trying to meddle in the election and that espionage and foreign interference had now surpassed terrorism for the first time as the agency’s prime concern.

“The AFP is aware of increased espionage and foreign interference threats,” Mr Kershaw told Estimates.

“Most Australians won’t see foreign interference or be targeted by foreign interference. But it has the potential to affect every Australian because it erodes our democracy and our institutions.”

He said the multi-agency Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce had achieved “a number of successful disruptions”.

Without naming China, he said the types of interference included attempts to monitor and harass those in Australia who were viewed as dissidents by authoritarian states. “It may also ­involve attempts to silence members of the community from criticising the policies of regimes in countries to which they maintain links,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/disinformation-a-threat-to-poll-says-afp-chief-reece-kershaw/news-story/01a37b01d7d84c4714cb25f094be93af

Prime Minister Scott Morrison calls on Beijing to speak up against Russian aggression

China’s criticism of Australia for hosting peaceful diplomatic talks while Beijing remains ‘chillingly silent’ on Russian troops gathering on the Ukraine border has been condemned by Scott Morrison.

Clare Armstrong - February 13, 2022

THE hypocrisy of China criticising Australia for hosting peaceful diplomatic talks, while remaining “chillingly silent” on Russian troops gathering on the Ukraine border has been condemned by Scott Morrison.

The Prime Minister called out the double standard after Beijing accused Australia of using its “Quad” alliance with the US, Japan and India to “contain” China, but has not spoken out against Russian aggression.

“Australia has been criticised by the Chinese Government for peacefully coming together with our partners in the Quad … and working together to promote peace and prosperity in our own region,” he said.

“The Chinese government is happy to criticise Australia for engaging in such peaceful activities, but yet remains chillingly silent on Russian troops amassing on the Ukrainian border.”

In some of his strongest language yet against Beijing, Mr Morrison said the “coalition of autocracies” around the world seeking to “bully other countries” was not an issue Australia would ever take a “light position” on.

“My government has always stood up for anyone who seeks to bully or coerce Australia,” he said.

“And the bullying and the coercion that we’re seeing take place on the borders of Ukraine is an example of that.

“It’s unacceptable there, and it’s unacceptable anywhere else.”

Mr Morrison said Beijing worked with Russia to shut down the UN Security Council on even basic discussions about issues like Ukraine and Taiwan.

“When autocracies start working together and co-operate and partner in this way, then that obviously raises real concerns for freedom-loving liberal democracies, like Australia,” he said.

“That’s why it’s important that we have taken such a strong stand on these issues.”

Mr Morrison said he had never had an “each way bet” on national security, accusing Labor leader Anthony Albanese of entertaining ideas of “trade offs” with China to de-escalate tensions.

But Mr Albanese said he supported the Quad “very strongly,” noting Australia was dealing with a “different China” now than in 2013.

He said this made Australia’s relationship with the US its “most important”.

China’s Foreign Minister spokesman Zhao Lijian was highly critical of the Quad meeting held in Melbourne on Friday between Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne, US Secretary of State Antony ­Blinken, India’s ­Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japan’s Yosh­imasa Hayashi, calling it a “tool for containing and besieging China to maintain US hegemony”.

“It aims to stoke confrontation and undermine international solidarity and co-operation,” he told reporters.

A joint statement from the Quad leaders included commitments to support efforts to advance an open Indo-Pacific region and protect the interests of their people, free from coercion.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/prime-minister-scott-morrison-calls-on-beijing-to-speak-up-against-russian-aggression/news-story/5ee508b8a15f4983ab3cef281c94a023

>>15631554

Scott Morrison's remarks about China being 'chillingly silent' over Ukraine labelled 'belligerent rhetoric' by Chinese foreign ministry

Stephen Dziedzic - 15 February 2022

The Chinese Foreign Ministry has accused Scott Morrison of "clamouring for confrontation" in Ukraine as the Prime Minister intensifies his attacks on both China and Russia over the looming threat of war.

On Sunday, Mr Morrison said China that remained "chillingly silent on Russian troops amassing on the Ukrainian border", suggesting that Beijing had given Moscow tacit approval for an invasion.

And Mr Morrison intensified his attack this morning, suggesting China's position on Ukraine makes a mockery of its constant proclamations that it wants stability and peace.

"When you have a large country, in our own region, that suggests they want peace and harmony and yet are not prepared to call out the actions of an autocratic state that wants to the violate the territorial sovereignty of their neighbour, then that is very concerning. Chilling," he told radio station 2SM.

"I'm calling that out."

Mr Morrison's accusations drew a sharp retort from China's Foreign Ministry on Monday evening, with its spokesman, Wang Wenbin, calling Mr Morrison's criticisms "dangerous".

"We urge the Australian side to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias and stop making belligerent rhetoric that will escalate the tensions," he told reporters in Beijing.

"Such acts of seeking selfish political gains by clamouring for confrontation are unethical and dangerous."

Morrison claims China wants ALP in government

Mr Morrison has also been ratcheting-up his attacks on Labor, repeatedly calling the opposition "soft" on Beijing and national security, despite a broad bipartisanship on most key China policies.

The Defence Minister Peter Dutton drew a furious response from the ALP when he declared in parliament last week that China's government had picked Labor leader Anthony Albanese as their "candidate".

On Monday, the Speaker ruled that claim out of order.

But this morning, Mr Morrison also claimed that China's government wants the Coalition to lose the approaching federal election, while accusing the ALP of trying to pacify Beijing.

"I can tell you what … the countries coercing us, I know they don't want to see the Liberal government re-elected. I know they're not having a one-way bet [on us], they're having a one way bet on others," he told radio station 2GB.

"We are in a very uncertain and challenging world and there is no time for weakness."

Mr Morrison's attacks come as global tensions over Ukraine continue to grow, with the Biden administration warning that Russia could launch an invasion at "any time".

The Prime Minister also said an invasion was "potentially imminent", telling 2SM there was a "real risk" of war.

But, he also stressed, there was no certainty of conflict.

Rudd hits back over 'smears'

The opposition has accused the government of shamelessly trying to exploit tensions with China – as well as the looming prospect of conflict with Russia — for domestic political gain.

Former prime minister Kevin Rudd also lashed the Coalition at a press conference this morning, pointing out that the Liberal Party had leased Darwin Port to a Chinese company, attempted to ratify an extradition treaty with China and signed the 2014 Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with Beijing.

"I don't use the term 'appeasement' lightly. But when you look at the Liberal Party record over more than a decade, there's no other way to describe it but appeasement," Mr Rudd said.

"And I will not stand idly by while Dutton smears the Labor Party as somehow soft on China.

"That is rancid hypocrisy, and a rancid lie."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-15/china-foreign-ministry-scott-morrison-ukraine-conflict/100831646

>>15631554

>>15631558

Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on February 14, 2022

Reuters: Again on the Ukraine crisis, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said China has been “chillingly silent” on the large number of Russian troops amassing on the Ukraine border. What’s China’s comment?

Wang Wenbin: We urge the Australian side to abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological bias and stop making belligerent rhetoric that will escalate the tensions. Such acts of seeking selfish political gains by clamoring for confrontation are unethical and dangerous.

Bloomberg: Just a few points about the Indian Foreign Minister Jaishankar. While he was visiting Australia, he criticized China’s economic actions toward Australia. And then separately, he mentioned the clash between India and China on the border had been discussed during Quad meetings. And at that time, he put the blame on China for the ongoing border conflict. Does the Foreign Ministry have any comments on the Indian Foreign Minister’s comments during the recent visit to Australia?

Wang Wenbin: With regard to the rights and wrongs of China-Australia relations, we have elaborated on China’s position many times and I will not repeat it here.

The ins and outs of the situation on the China-India border are very clear and the responsibility does not lie with China. At present, China and India are in communication on further improving border management and control and confidence-building measures. We hope that the Indian side will strictly abide by a series of agreements signed by the two sides, refrain from making irresponsible remarks and take concrete actions and work with China to jointly safeguard peace and tranquility of the border area.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202202/t20220214_10642170.html

Weak Australian leadership inhibits potential relationship reset with China

Bruce Haigh - Feb 14, 2022

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A rip is a dangerous movement of water that can sweep swimmers out to sea. Struggling against a rip may lead to drowning; the best course is to move to the edge, away from the center, and swim ashore.

Australia became aware of a small rip generated by President Barack Obama. It ignored it and continued to surf. The rip strengthened under Donald Trump and Australia found itself swept along, made worse by believing the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which said there was no problem. It was false advice. Its predicament became worse with President Joe Biden maintaining the rush to deep water.

Its only hope is that the rip slows allowing it to make for shore which is now a long way off.

Should Anthony Albanese become Prime Minister he will need help to get to shore. At the moment he is being swept along by a fear of upsetting voters prior to the Federal election due in weeks. The Murdoch-dominated media in Australia is anti-China and many in the Australian population go along with this view.

In addition, Albanese is a cautious person and politician. He is not an intellectual. He has demonstrated a propensity to believe the US view of the world without analysis. He appears to have accepted AUKUS and a dangerously increased US defense presence in Australia, particularly in the north.

Albanese could never be compared to Whitlam. He is not a lateral thinker, he is not creative, he will not be a charismatic leader. He will be a safe leader, if not an ordinary leader. If he were an officer in the army, he might lead a brigade but he would not be placed in a position to plan; stubborn defense might be seen as his forte.

Nonetheless, in comparison to Morrison, he positively shines, such is the abysmal state of Australian politics. Recently the head of ASIO, Mike Burgess, implied that he had thwarted attempts by a state player to infiltrate the selection process for Labor Party election candidates. The player was widely understood to be China. Under questioning he backed off giving just one example, without details, of an attempt to infiltrate the Australian political process through the Labor Party. Again, it was understood to be China.

(continued)

>>15631625

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Dutton, the defense minister, who is rabidly anti-China and believed to be heavily influenced by ASPI, the US state department and arms manufacturers (who also contribute to ASPI's funding), recently accused the Labor Party of being "soft on China" and of seeking to cultivate dangerous ties.

Albanese pushed back, but it was an unequivocal indication of the thinking of the majority in the LNP.

All of which conspires to make Albanese very cautious in the run-up to the election. He will be under sustained pressure from the US to implement the dangerous AUKUS understanding, which the US hopes will translate into an agreement.

Albanese looks increasingly likely to win the election, not because of anything he has done but because Morrison's LNP is imploding, through corruption, failure to manage COVID-19 and a range of other anti-social programs and prejudices.

One would like to see a reset in the relationship with China, but Australian leadership is weak and American pressure is sustained.

The Australian relationship with China was fine until America became aware of its steady decline, a fact increasingly obvious to others since the end of the war in Vietnam, through growing gun sponsored crime and violence, deteriorating race relations, the disasters of Iraq and Afghanistan and the election of Trump.

America panicked when it rightly perceived its power and influence to be waning particularly when set against the achievements of China. Rivalry turned to competition, hostility and then threats. Trump with his inestimable stupidity and bombast pushed deed and rhetoric to dangerous levels coupled to unsustainable accusations.

The Murdoch media became his faithful mouthpiece and Australia, under sustained US pressure, acquiesced. Morrison signaled the dramatic turn with his Trump-inspired Wuhan/COVID aspersion.

It was a pathetic attempt to please a ridiculous President.

Morrison is a clown. Fewer and fewer people in Australia are taking him seriously, which is a hopeful sign for the future.

The hope for a reset in the relationship rests with diplomacy - careful, cautious and creative discussions, free from outside pressure or influence and conducted out of the spotlight. What other course would a retired diplomat advocate?

The author was a diplomat from 1972- 1995 and was a Tribunal Member until 2000. He writes and comments on domestic and international relations. opinion@globaltimes.com.cn

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1252207.shtml

https://brucehaigh.com.au/

https://twitter.com/bruce_haigh

>All assets deployed.

>Win by any means necessary.

>>15631768

o7

Deeply appreciated!

WWG1WGA!

>>15592354

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching names billionaire Chau Chak Wing as 'puppeteer' in foreign interference plot

Andrew Greene - 15 February 2022

A federal senator has used parliamentary privilege to suggest a prominent Chinese-Australian political donor is the mysterious "puppeteer" behind a thwarted foreign interference plot to back political candidates in the next election.

During a Senate estimates hearing, Labor senator Kimberley Kitching alleged the wealthy businessman behind the recent overseas conspiracy was property developer Chau Chak Wing.

Dr Chau has denied the claim, labelling it "baseless and reckless".

Her comments follow last week’s revelation from ASIO boss Mike Burgess that his security agency recently blocked an overseas-funded operation to bankroll unsuspecting candidates in an unspecified election.

During his annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday, Mr Burgess declined to name the country behind the conspiracy, or whether it was a federal, state or local election that was targeted.

“I am reliably informed that the puppeteer mentioned in your case study in your annual threat assessment speech given last week is Chau Chak Wing,” Senator Kitching told the committee hearing on Monday night.

“I believe it to be Chau Chak Wing. Are you able to confirm that it is Chau Chak Wing?” Senator Kitching asked Mr Burgess.

The ASIO boss told the committee he would not discuss the matter publicly.

“Senator, as I said before, I will not comment on speculation of who is and who isn't targets, in general or in specific, as you are asking me there," Mr Burgess said.

“I think it's unfair that you ask me that question in public."

In a statement, Dr Chau said Senator Kitching had hidden behind the "shield of parliamentary privilege" to vilify and attack him without evidence.

"I am a businessman and philanthropist. I have never had any involvement or interest in interfering with the democratic election process in Australia," Dr Chau said.

"In 2017, the ABC and Nine journalist Nick McKenzie made a similar allegation in a Four Corners report. The Federal Court subsequently awarded me very substantial damages which I donated to charity.

"I invite Senator Kitching to show some courage and integrity by repeating her claim and revealing the sources she says she relied on, outside the parliament."

Dr Chau is an Australian citizen originally from China, who has donated millions of dollars to Australia’s major political parties, universities and charities that help veterans.

In 2018, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie also named Dr Chau in parliament as being closely associated with the Chinese Communist Party’s lobbying arm, the United Front Work Department, and alleged he was a co-conspirator in an FBI bribery case.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-15/labor-senator-names-chau-chak-wing-interference-plot/100830078

>>15631870

Kitching operated under 'parliamentary privilege' to 'name' Chau Chak Wing

Sky News Australia

Feb 15, 2022

Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching used parliamentary privilege to accuse Chau Chak Wing of being behind a foreign interference plot in Australian politics, according to Sky News Political Editor Andrew Clennell.

“Let's talk about this bomb, Kimberley Kitching exploded on her side, naming the Chinese businessman Chau Chak Wing and claiming he was behind a foreign interference plot in Australian politics,” Mr Clennell said.

“The Labor Senator here, questioning ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess and making her allegation in Estimates.

“I'm told Kitching has information that federal and state Labor candidates were being recruited, but none of those candidates have been successful. The aim, supposedly according to her sources, was to have the candidates in parliament and have them owe their benefactor once elected.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_CUNno9DZG4

>>15631870

Chau Chak Wing hits back after Labor senator suggested he was ‘puppeteer’ in foiled election plot

ASHLEIGH GLEESON - FEBRUARY 15, 2022

The billionaire and political donor named in a parliamentary hearing as the “puppeteer” involved in a foreign interference plot has hit back, calling the claim “baseless”.

Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching on Monday night put to Australia’s spy agency boss Mike Burgess that the wealthy individual involved in the foiled plot to rig the upcoming election was Chau Chak Wing.

“I am reliably informed that the puppeteer mentioned in your case study in your annual threat assessment speech last week is Chau Chak Wing,” Senator Kitching said, using parliamentary privilege.

“I believe it to be Chau Chak Wing.

“Are you able to confirm it is Chau Chak Wing?”

Mr Burgess, the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) director-general, declined to answer.

“Senator as I’ve said before, I will not comment on speculation of who is and who isn’t targets in general or specifically,” he said.

“I think it is unfair you ask me that question in public.”

On Tuesday afternoon Dr Chau issued a furious statement which labelled the claim by Senator Kitching as “baseless”.

“I am shocked and disappointed at the baseless and reckless claim made by Senator Kimberley Kitching during a Senate Estimates hearing on Monday,” he said.

“It is always unfortunate when elected representatives use the shield of parliamentary privilege as a platform to vilify and attack Australian citizens without producing a shred of evidence.

“I am a businessman and philanthropist. I have never had any involvement or interest in interfering with the democratic election process in Australia.”

Dr Chau, who was last year awarded a large sum in a defamation case involving similar allegations, invited Senator Kitching to repeat her claim without parliamentary privilege.

“I invite Senator Kitching to show some courage and integrity by repeating her claim and revealing the sources she says she relied on, outside the parliament,” he said.

Mr Burgess first revealed that spies had plotted to rig an election during his annual threat assessment speech last week.

He said it involved a wealthy individual who he dubbed the “puppeteer” and the network sought to get candidates in positions of power before it was shut down.

“This case involved a wealthy individual who maintained direct and deep connections with a foreign government and its intelligence agencies,” he said.

“I’ll call this person ‘the puppeteer’, although it’s important to remember that while the puppeteer pulled the strings, the foreign government called the shots.”

It was later reported the case Mr Burgess was talking about involved Chinese spies trying to bankroll the campaigns of NSW Labor candidates in the upcoming federal election.

Dr Chau is a Chinese-Australian philanthropist and political donor who was last year awarded $590,000 in a defamation case against the ABC and Nine over a Four Corners episode in 2017.

The program, titled “Power and Influence”, investigated Chinese interference in Australian politics.

Dr Chau successfully argued in court the program falsely painted him as a corrupt Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy who paid a bribe to a UN official.

“In 2017, the ABC and Nine journalist Nick McKenzie made a similar allegation in a Four Corners report,” Dr Chau said in his statement on Tuesday.

“The Federal Court subsequently awarded me very substantial damages which I donated to charity.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/chau-chak-wing-hits-back-after-labor-senator-suggested-he-was-puppeteer-in-foiled-election-plot/news-story/932719b885f986309affcb53f319abca

>>15631625

Chinese propaganda outlet endorses Anthony Albanese as ‘better PM’ than Scott Morrison

SHARRI MARKSON - FEBRUARY 15, 2022

The Chinese Government’s propaganda mouthpiece, The Global Times, has published an article endorsing Labor leader Anthony Albanese as a better prime minister than Scott Morrison.

The government-owned media outlet, which espouses the views of the Chinese Communist Party, is promoting an article praising Albanese as a “safe leader”, saying he “positively shines compared to Morrison”.

By contrast, Morrison is described as a “clown” and is accused of leading a government that is “imploding through corruption, failure to manage Covid-19 and a range of other anti-social programs and prejudices”.

The Global Times tweeted on February 14: “Albanese will not be a charismatic leader but he positively shines compared to Morrison. Such is abysmal state of Oz politics. One would like to see a reset in ties with China, but Oz leadership is weak and US pressure is sustained.”

The author of the piece is Bruce Haigh, a former diplomat with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

In his article, he writes that the “Murdoch-dominated media in Australia is anti-China and many in the Australian population go along with this view”.

“Mr Albanese is “being swept along by a fear of upsetting voters prior to the federal election due in weeks,” he claims.

The Global Times article criticises Mr Albanese for believing the “US view of the world without analysis”, and for accepting “AUKUS and a dangerously increased US defence presence in Australia”.

The Chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, James Paterson, said the Global Times was a tool of propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party.

“They don’t typically publish opinion they disagree with,” he said.

“It’s increasingly clear those who seek to coerce Australia don’t want to see the Morrison government re-elected this year.”

It comes as the Morrison government launched an attack on Mr Albanese and his team for being weak on national security and the Chinese Government’s party of choice.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton made a controversial claim in parliament last week that China would prefer an Albanese government to a Coalition victory at the looming election.

Labor accused him of weaponising national security and said there was no evidence China’s preference was for Labor to win.

The Global Times article describes Mr Dutton as “rapidly anti-China”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/chinese-propaganda-outlet-endorses-anthony-albanese-as-better-pm-than-scott-morrison/news-story/e3e26b3a608654854fef7c64f853bfb1

https://twitter.com/globaltimesnews/status/1493177378809462784

Prince Andrew settles civil sexual assault claim with Virginia Giuffre

Victoria Ward and Josie Ensor - 15 February 2022

The Duke of York has reached an out-of-court financial settlement with his accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre.

The deal brings an end to the legal process and means he will not face a jury trial in the civil case on sexual abuse claims.

The terms of the deal will remain secret, but in a joint statement the Duke expressed regret about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein and confirmed that he will make a "substantial donation" to Ms Giuffre’s charity in support of victims’ rights.

Ms Giuffre alleged that she was sexually abused or raped by Prince Andrew on three separate occasions in 2001 when she was 17. She had sued him for unspecified damages.

In a joint statement, the two sides said: "Virginia Giuffre and Prince Andrew have reached an out-of-court settlement."

It said they would file a request to dismiss the case when the undisclosed sum had been received.

"Prince Andrew has never intended to malign Ms Giuffre’s character, and he accepts that she has suffered both as an established victim of abuse and as a result of unfair public attacks," it said.

"It is known that Jeffrey Epstein trafficked countless young girls over many years. Prince Andrew regrets his association with Epstein, and commends the bravery of Ms Giuffre and other survivors in standing up for themselves and others.

"He pledges to demonstrate his regret for his association with Epstein by supporting the fight against the evils of sex trafficking, and by supporting its victims."

In a joint court filing, the parties told the New York judge overseeing the case that they anticipated that it would be brought to a close within 30 days and asked that all action be suspended in the meantime.

The Duke had been due to give a deposition under oath on March 10.

Sigrid McCawley, representing Ms Giuffre, told The Telegraph: "As a managing partner at a firm that has from its beginning acted upon the belief that the law should be marshalled to bring justice to the most vulnerable, I can say, without hesitation, that our representation of survivors upholds that tradition.

"I am very pleased with the resolution of Virginia Giuffre’s litigation against Prince Andrew."

Lisa Bloom, an attorney representing eight victims of Jeffrey Epstein, said: "We hail Virginia’s victory today. She has accomplished what no one else could: getting Prince Andrew to stop his nonsense and side with sexual abuse victims.

"We salute Virginia’s stunning courage."

Penny Junor, the Royal author, said the settlement is likely to come as a "huge relief" to the rest of the Royal family.

"Going to trial, it could have been very, very nasty," she said. "It could have been embarrassing, humiliating, and it would have been huge fodder for the tabloid press.

"It could have really taken the shine off the Queen's Platinum Jubilee year."

Another royal expert said the Duke would "forever be tainted" by the civil sex assault claim brought against him.

Joe Little, of Majesty magazine, told the PA news agency: "I just don't think he's ever likely to resume work as a working member of the royal family.

"I think that too much water has gone under the bridge for that and the institution of monarchy has been tainted by his association with Epstein and I just think that there's no going back on all that."

On the likely reaction of the rest of the royal family, he said: "I'm sure that they're glad this (settlement agreement) has happened but does it exonerate the prince who really has not been charged with anything criminal?

"He will, I think, forever be tainted by this scandal, for want of a better way of describing it."

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/royal-family/2022/02/15/prince-andrew-settles-legal-case-virginia-roberts-giuffre/

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60119368/giuffre-v-prince-andrew/?order_by=desc

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.564713/gov.uscourts.nysd.564713.78.0_1.pdf

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.564713/gov.uscourts.nysd.564713.78.1_3.pdf

>>15640077

Did this email from Ghislaine Maxwell sink Prince Andrew's case and cost the royal $16M? 2015 email exchange between Epstein's madam and lawyer Alan Dershowitz confirms infamous image of the royal with Virginia Roberts is real

DANIEL BATES - 16 February 2022

Before he settled out of court last night, Prince Andrew was set to be dealt a major blow in his US sex case thanks to Ghislaine Maxwell.

A leaked email from the prince's friend and now convicted sex trafficker appeared to confirm the authenticity of an infamous picture of the duke standing with his arm around his accuser, Virginia Roberts.

The photograph, said to be taken in Maxwell's London townhouse in 2001, had been questioned by Andrew and just this week his legal team had demanded Miss Roberts turn over the original.

The duke's legal team had claimed it might be a fake, but an email obtained by the Daily Mail shows that even Maxwell, who appears in the background of the photo, believes it to be real.

In the message, sent in 2015, Maxwell says: 'It looks real. I think it is.'

On a dramatic day of developments yesterday, it was claimed that Miss Roberts had lost the original copy of the image.

But that was disputed by her legal team, who said the hard copy was with the FBI and that Miss Roberts misplaced a CD containing a copy of the image.

The photo was set to be a key piece of evidence in her claims for battery and infliction of emotional distress against Andrew, 61, which he had denied.

The duke's lawyers had lined up an image expert to cast doubt on the veracity of the photo.

If Miss Roberts had not produced the original, Andrew's team could have argued copies could not be admitted as evidence as they could not be properly tested.

Not being able to rely on the photograph as proof they met would have put a sizeable dint in his accuser's case.

But in an email exchange seen by the Mail, the picture was discussed by Maxwell and Epstein's former lawyer, Alan Dershowitz.

On January 10, 2015, Mr Dershowitz wrote: 'Dear G. Do you know whether the photo of Andrew and virginia is real? You are in the background.'

Eleven minutes later, Maxwell replied: 'It looks real. I think it is.'

The timing of the exchange is significant because days earlier Miss Roberts claimed for the first time in court papers that she had been forced to have sex with both Andrew and Mr Dershowitz.

The allegation was struck out by a judge who branded it 'impertinent'. But it caused panic for Andrew and in emails previously reported by the BBC, he contacted Maxwell at 5.50am on January 3, 2015.

The duke wrote: 'Let me know when we can talk. Got some specific questions to ask you about Virginia Roberts.'

Maxwell replied: 'Have some info. Call me when you have a moment.'

Mr Dershowitz has vehemently denied having sex with Miss Roberts.

Last year she dropped a battery allegation she filed against him after he claimed a civil settlement she signed with Epstein in 2009 gave him immunity.

Miss Roberts is currently suing Mr Dershowitz for defamation, a case he is fighting.

His lawyers did not respond to requests asking for comment.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10516655/Duke-set-sex-trial-bombshell-leaked-message-Ghislaine-Maxwell-appeared.html

>Sometimes it's the people in the background that are of greater significance.

>>15640164

Q Post #4565

Jul 2 2020 12:53:00 (EST)

Possible Epstein was a puppet [not the main person(s) of interest]?

Financed by who or what [F] entities?

1. [Primary] gather blackmail on elected pols, dignitaries, royalty, hollywood influencers, wall street and other financial top level players, other high profile industry specific people, etc.

2. Feed an addiction [controllable]

Maxwell family background?

Robert Maxwell history [intel, agency, wealth, [CLAS 1-99]]?

Sometimes it's the people in the background that are of greater significance.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#4565

>>15640077

Reports Prince Andrew to pay about $20 million in settlement with Virginia Giuffre

9 News Australia

Feb 16, 2022

Prince Andrew will not face trial over civil sexual assault claims, after reaching an out of court settlement with his accuser, Virginia Giuffre.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CgiYqHZ-Yxo

>>15631870

Anthony Albanese attended Chau Chak Wing event after ASIO warning

Anthony Albanese gave effusive praise for Chinese billionaire Dr Chau Chak Wing just weeks after ASIO warnings over foreign influence risks.

Samantha Maiden - February 16, 2022

Labor leader Anthony Albanese offered effusive praise for the Chinese billionaire Dr Chau Chak Wing at a dinner in Sydney in 2020 just weeks after ASIO warnings over foreign influence risks.

Dr Chau, who previously hit the headlines for spending $70 million on James Packer’s mega mansion, is the Chinese businessman named in Parliament this week as the “puppet master” ASIO was referring to in a major speech.

The businessman has slammed the claims as “reckless” and “baseless” and ASIO has refused to confirm or deny the allegations made under parliamentary privilege.

Despite previous warnings by ASIO to both the major parties about taking money from two Chinese donors including Dr Chau Chak Wing and the risk of foreign influence operations, Mr Albanese attended an event in his honour in November, 2020.

Government sources, that are trying to elevate the issue of China’s influence in the Labor Party ahead of the election, briefed journalists last night that the Prime Minister had declined the invitation on the basis of national security advice.

But Mr Albanese paid tribute to the billionaire’s generosity in his speech, offering effusive praise for the businessman who has donated an estimated $40 million to Australian universities.

“The Chau Chak Wing Museum has risen thanks to the generosity of the man whose name that it bears, but also along with the Ian Potter Foundation, the Nelson Meers Foundation and Penelope Seidler AM,’’ he said.

“Four great philanthropists. We should not take that for granted for their generosity.”

Dr Chau was not in attendance and remained in China as a result of border closures. He does not read or speak English but has been a generous donor to both the major political parties and the universities.

Mr Albanese said Dr Chau’s museum was more than just a good news story.

“It is a reminder and a reassurance that beyond coronavirus, a brighter future is within our reach, if we dare to dream it,’’ he said.

“It will open minds and it will connect people a bit more powerfully to their place in our human race. It is an honour to be here”

Mr Albanese’s speech was delivered just a month after ASIO boss Mike Burgess told Senate estimates in October, 2020 that he would write to all federal MPs warning they were potential targets for foreign spies looking to steal Australia’s secrets and gain a foothold in the nation.

“We see evidence of intelligence services deceptively cultivating politicians at all levels of government who will advance the interests of the foreign countries,’’ Mr Burgess said.

Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching used parliamentary privilege on Monday night to ask Mike Burgess, the head of Australia’s spy agency ASIO, whether the property developer was the mystery man involved in the alleged plot.

Dr Chau has slammed the allegations as baseless.

“I am shocked and disappointed at the baseless and reckless claim made by Senator Kimberley Kitching during a Senate Estimates hearing on Monday,” he said in a statement.

“It is always unfortunate when elected representatives use the shield of parliamentary privilege as a platform to vilify and attack Australian citizens without producing a shred of evidence.

“I am a businessman and philanthropist. I have never had any involvement or interest in interfering with the democratic election process in Australia.

“In 2017, the ABC and Nine journalist Nick McKenzie made a similar allegation in a Four Corners report. The Federal Court subsequently awarded me very substantial damages which I donated to charity.”

Dr Chau has previously been awarded $590,000 after a judge found he was defamed by an ABC program that portrayed him as a Communist Party member.

His lawyers argued the program carried six false and defamatory imputations including that he “betrayed” his country through espionage, is a member of China’s Communist Party and made enormous donations to influence politicians.

By naming Dr Chau under parliamentary privilege on Monday night, Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching cannot be sued for defamation.

The well-connected Dr Chau has always had powerful friends in high places and over the years has been photographed with former Prime Minister John Howard, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Australian war memorial director Brendan Nelson and former foreign minister Julie Bishop.

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/anthony-albanese-attended-chau-chak-wing-event-after-asio-warning/news-story/942a450b49a38fe476141c2054c196b3

>>15640316

Hon Anthony Albanese MP CCWM Preview Evening Speech

Chau Chak Wing Foundation

Dec 3, 2020

On the 16th of November, Hon Anthony Albanese MP, Leader of the Australian Labour Party spoke at the exclusive preview evening of the Chau Chak Wing Museum opening at the University of Sydney.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2hUC7cbZWik

>>15631870

>>15640316

Who is Chau Chak Wing? The alleged ‘puppeteer’ behind foreign interference plot

Anthony Galloway - February 15, 2022

1/2

There are few political donors better connected or more controversial than Chinese-Australian businessman Chau Chak Wing.

Mr Chau has often made headlines for his generous donations but serious accusations have been made against him a number of times in Federal Parliament, most recently on Monday when Labor senator Kimberley Kitching claimed he was the “puppeteer” behind a foreign interference plot.

He responded on Tuesday, labelling the claim “baseless” and inviting Senator Kitching to repeat her comments outside Parliament.

“I am shocked and disappointed at the baseless and reckless claim made by Senator Kimberley Kitching during a Senate Estimates hearing on Monday,” he said.

“It is always unfortunate when elected representatives use the shield of parliamentary privilege as a platform to vilify and attack Australian citizens without producing a shred of evidence.

“I am a businessman and philanthropist. I have never had any involvement or interest in interfering with the democratic election process in Australia.”

In 2019 Nine, owner of this masthead, was ordered to pay Mr Chau $225,000 in damages after a Federal Court judge found he was defamed in an article on The Sydney Morning Herald’s website that went online in October 2015. Last year, Nine and the ABC were ordered to pay Mr Chau $590,000 in damages for a joint investigation with Four Corners that aired in June 2017. The subsequent reimbursement of Mr Chau’s legal expenses, plus paying their own expenses to defend the cases, cost the media outlets millions of dollars.

The outlets were found to have erred in suggesting Mr Chau paid “bribes” in the form of political donations and for imputations that he carried out the work of the Chinese Communist Party’s secret lobbying arm, the United Front Work Department. The media outlets’ defences that their reporting was in the public interest were rejected by the courts.

Since then, barely a word has been written about Mr Chau. Until this week.

Senator Kitching’s accusation in a Senate estimates hearing relates to foreign interference whereby the “puppeteer” hired an employee to begin identifying and bankrolling candidates likely to run for Labor in the federal election.

The head of Australia’s counter-espionage agency ASIO, Mike Burgess, told the same hearing that ASIO stepped in to foil the plot and that no current Labor candidates were of any concern to his agency. He said it was critical that Australia did not let the fear of foreign interference undermine stakeholder engagement or stoke community division, as that would have the “same corrosive impact on our democracy as foreign interference itself”.

Mr Chau has long been a well-connected businessman with ties to both major parties. He has donated more than $4 million to Australia’s major political parties since 2004 – although it is believed they have stopped taking money from him. He has also donated more than $45 million to Australian universities, making him one of the biggest donors in Australian history.

Politicians who have previously met Mr Chau include former prime ministers John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Tony Abbott and Julia Gillard, as well as former foreign affairs ministers Julie Bishop and Bob Carr.

But there is a now wide gap between what Australian politicians are prepared to say about Mr Chau within the Federal Parliament and outside its walls.

Speaking at the opening of the Chau Chak Wing Museum on November 16, 2020, Labor leader Anthony Albanese said the institution at the University of Sydney had risen “thanks to the generosity of the man whose name that it bears”, as well as three other philanthropists.

“Four great philanthropists. We should not take that for granted – their generosity,” Mr Albanese said at the event, which Mr Carr and former Liberal leader Brendan Nelson also attended, but not Mr Chau.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age has seen an invitation to Prime Minister Scott Morrison to attend the same event, which was declined by his office.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton appeared to be pointing this out in Parliament on Tuesday, when he said “we don’t hang out in a museum with Bob Carr … and other murky figures”.

Asked why he attended the event, a spokesperson for Mr Albanese said: “As an alumnus, Mr Albanese regularly attends events at Sydney University.”

(continued)

>>15640346

2/2

According to last year’s defamation court judgment, Mr Chau was born in Guangdong province in China in 1949 and became an Australian citizen in about 1999.

“He came from a poor family and had no tertiary education. As he was growing up, he saw the value of a good education at a tertiary institution through the success in life of a person who had lived in his village and later obtained such an education,” the court judgment reads.

“Mr Chau’s childhood ambition, which he has pursued with the benefit of his own business success, was to support education and educational institutions.”

Liberal MP Andrew Hastie told Parliament in 2018 that he learnt from US authorities that Mr Chau was the unindicted co-conspirator identified in a New York court indictment as “CC-3”.

CC-3 was alleged in the indictment to have funded a $US200,000 ($263,000) bribe which was funnelled to the former president of the UN General Assembly, John Ashe, in 2013.

Chinese-Australian businesswoman Sheri Yan was jailed in the US in 2016 after pleading guilty to bribing Mr Ashe, but CC-3 was never charged.

“It’s time we applied sunlight to our political system and a person who has featured prominently in Australian politics,” Mr Hastie said in his 2018 speech to Parliament.

“For reasons that are best undisclosed, the United States government did not seek to charge CC-3 for his involvement in the bribery of John Ashe. We know that CC-3 was willing to participate in the bribery of the 68th United Nations President of the General Assembly in 2013.

“We also know that … CC-3 was in close contact with the United Front, the influence arm of the Chinese Communist Party in 2007.

Mr Hastie said that CC-3 had “also been a very significant donor to both of our major political parties”.

“He has given more than $4 million since 2004. He has also donated $45 million to universities in Australia. It is now my duty to inform the House — and the Australian people – that CC-3 is Mr Chau Chak Wing.”

When Nine and the ABC had tried to report these same allegations years earlier - without the benefit of parliamentary privilege - they were met with defamation claims from Mr Chau, the rebuke of multiple judges, and severe financial losses.

The spectre of Chinese government interference has been an issue that has plagued both major parties in recent years. In November 2020, Liberal Party member Sunny Duong became the first person charged under Australia’s landmark foreign interference laws for an alleged plot to target then-acting immigration minister Alan Tudge.

Leading into this year’s election, the Coalition is likely to increase its attacks on Labor over its stance on China, despite the opposition not differing from the federal government when it comes to substantive policies.

Mr Morrison and Mr Dutton have both accused Labor of appeasement in recent days when it comes to China. Former Labor prime minister Kevin Rudd on Tuesday called a press conference to hit back, saying that the Liberal Party’s record over more than a decade showed that it was guilty of “rancid hypocrisy, and a rancid lie”.

With China to remain the biggest foreign policy challenge of the coming generation, divisions like these are exactly what Beijing wants.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/who-is-chau-chak-wing-the-alleged-puppeteer-behind-foreign-interference-plot-20220215-p59wjt.html

>>15631625

>>15632005

PM accuses Labor MP of being a 'Manchurian candidate' in Question Time, before quickly withdrawing accusation

Henry Belot - 16 February 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has been forced to withdraw a reference to Labor frontbencher Richard Marles as a "Manchurian candidate", an insult used to describe someone as a puppet acting on behalf of an enemy power.

Senior ministers have spent the week attacking Labor’s record on national security and arguing — without substantial evidence — that the Chinese Communist Party would prefer Anthony Albanese and Labor win the federal election.

Towards the end of an answer attacking Labor’s record on national security in Question Time, Mr Morrison said, "We’ve got another Manchurian Candidate", in reference to Mr Marles.

Speaker Andrew Wallace said he did not hear the comment spoken into the microphone but, after condemnation from Labor MPs, the Prime Minister withdrew the remark.

Mr Morrison had been referring to a speech given by Mr Marles at the Beijing Foreign Studies University in 2019, where he said Australia should embrace closer military cooperation with China.

In response, Mr Marles accused the government of undermining the "dignity of the house", and said the idea of defence cooperation started with the Coalition.

Fears bipartisanship on national security being undermined

Some national security experts have expressed concern about the tone of the national security debate heading into the election, noting that, in reality, there is little difference between the two party's policies.

"It’s all pretty unfortunate, unedifying, and frankly not healthy for the Australian national interest and it risks undermining a lot of the bipartisanship that I think both sides have built up over the past five years or more," said the head of Australian National University's National Security College, Rory Medcalf.

Mr Medcalf also encouraged people to ignore an opinion piece by former Australian diplomat and Coalition critic Bruce Haigh that endorsed Mr Albanese, which was published in the state-controlled Chinese newspaper The Global Times.

"The very timing of a ridiculous article in a Chinese propaganda newspaper — that amplifies the idea that, somehow, the Labor Leader is China’s preferred candidate [for Prime Minister] — suggests that discord is part of China’s playbook,” Mr Medcalf told the ABC.

"We absolutely should ignore it because, if you think about the value in advertising in propaganda terms, the Australian parliament and the Australian media amplifying a second-rate opinion piece in a Chinese propaganda newspaper, then that very small act has had a major effect."

Liberal MP Ted O'Brien made reference to the article in parliament on Tuesday.

"I am also concerned that the Chinese Communist Party's mouthpiece, The Global Times, has now endorsed Anthony Albanese as our next prime minister," he said.

On Twitter, Labor MP Julian Hill said Mr Morrison's insult played "right into the hands of authoritarian leaders".

"Scott Morrison is now doing Beijing’s bidding. Desperately politicising national security, spreading lies, creating division for his own political purposes," he wrote.

Labor frontbencher Ed Husic accused the Coalition of running a scare campaign to distract attention away from a difficult two weeks in parliament.

"I think what we saw today was classic panic," Mr Husic told the ABC.

"[Scott Morrison] is under huge pressure. We have a national crisis in aged care. He stuffed up the vaccine rollout, empty grocery shelves, all this leaking out of cabinet that is happening and even his own colleagues [undermining] him."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-16/prime-minister-labels-labor-mp-manchurian-candidate/100837380

West Australian ban thwarts AUKUS submarines tour

BEN PACKHAM and PAUL GARVEY - FEBRUARY 15, 2022

A high-level AUKUS delegation to Australia to help fast-track the nation’s nuclear submarines has been forced to postpone a planned visit to Western Australia’s HMAS Stirling – home of the Collins-class subs – due to the McGowan government’s strict quarantine requirements.

The delegation includes top US and UK officials, including Admiral James Caldwell, director of the US Naval Nuclear Propulsion Program, and UK Defence Nuclear Organisation head Vanessa Nicholls.

The US co-ordinator for AUKUS initiatives, Dr James Miller, is also heading to Australia with the 10-person mission, hosted by the head of Australia’s AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine task force, Vice Admiral Jonathan Mead.

The experts will arrive in Australia on Thursday to tour Adelaide’s Osborne naval shipyards, and visit Australia’s only nuclear reactor at Sydney’s Lucas Heights.

They will also stop in Canberra to meet with Admiral Mead’s task force, and visit Melbourne for further talks with Defence officials.

The delegation had hoped to inspect Australia’s main submarine base at HMAS Stirling in Perth, where the planned nuclear boats would be based.

But Defence was informed its members were unlikely to receive exemptions to enter the state without quarantine, under WA’s hard border rules.

The US and UK have vowed to help deliver Australia’s planned eight nuclear submarines “at the earliest possible date” under the trilateral AUKUS partnership, after initial forecasts the first would not be in the water until at least 2040.

WA’s hard border regime has been notoriously impervious for much of the pandemic.

Until February 5, when the restrictions were partially eased, people trying to return to WA from states to visit dying relatives or attend funerals were barred from entry if they were from a state experiencing a large-scale outbreak.

The rules were changed earlier this month to allow people with family connections or compassionate reasons to travel to WA on the condition they isolate upon arrival. That isolation period for people entering WA from overseas or interstate has since been trimmed from 14 days to seven.

Exemptions to that isolation requirement have proved all but impossible to obtain, although several sporting teams – most recently two AFLW sides from Victoria – have received special authority to enter the state on the provision they instead observe strict biosecurity protocols.

The requirement to isolate upon entry extends to the uppermost reaches of politics. Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese would both need to isolate for a week if they entered WA under the current rules, and have had to amend their election campaign strategies accordingly.

Even WA Premier Mark McGowan faces the prospect of being caught up in the isolation requirements, given he will have to travel to Sydney later this month to testify in his defamation battle with Clive Palmer. The Premier will be required to isolate for a week upon his return.

Mr McGowan on Tuesday flagged that the end of the border rules may be nearing, telling reporters a new date could be set by the end of this month.

“We are reviewing (the border restrictions) as we speak. We are going to review it over February and no doubt we will reach an announcement some time in February,” he said.

“The reality is though that we are getting the third dose vaccination rate up, the eastern states appear to be coming off their peak, which is a good thing. We are getting children vaccinated, and every thing we are doing every single day is saving many West Australian lives.”

Admiral Mead’s task force has been given 18 months to examine every aspect of the nuclear submarine acquisition, including the planned design, regulatory issues, and how they will be built in Adelaide as promised by the Morrison government.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told The Australian last week the US was “focused very intensively on the pathways to the submarines, looking at what the most efficient and effective pathway would be”.

“That’s being very actively looked at by our experts right now,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/west-australian-ban-thwarts-aukus-submarines-tour/news-story/5613b85163de8b6fa35fcd5ab5aae039

>>15640390

Australia looks to landlocked Czech Republic to win European support for contentious AUKUS submarine plan

Andrew Greene and Stephen Dziedzic - 16 February 2022

Stunning gothic architecture, a medieval Old Town square and the historic Charles Bridge typically draw millions of tourists to Prague each year and, for the first time in almost 20 years, an Australian foreign minister will soon get a chance to experience the picturesque city on an official visit.

The ABC can reveal that Foreign Minister Marise Payne will fly to the Czech capital next week for a visit, where discussions will focus on shared concerns, such as cyber security and the growing fear of war in Ukraine.

Diplomatic sources say they are hopeful the landlocked, former Cold War foe could help Australia's efforts in Europe to fight back against Beijing's efforts to stymie the controversial AUKUS nuclear submarine plan.

Last week the ABC revealed that Australia is bulking-up specialised diplomatic teams in both Canberra and Vienna to win international acceptance for the AUKUS initiative as it braces for a massive "disinformation" campaign from China as well as Russia.

A public announcement of Senator Payne's Prague stopover is yet to be made, as diplomats work to confirm meetings with key figures in the new Czech government led by its Prime Minister, Petr Fiala.

Closer cooperation on cyber security is expected to be discussed by Senator Payne, as well as concerns over Chinese and Russian foreign interference operations, and the growing military ties between those two military powers.

Czech officials have privately claimed credit for helping convince some European nations to back a campaign to have former finance minister Mathias Cormann elected as the new head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Last month, the Czech ambassador to Canberra lodged a diplomatic protest with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade after tennis player Renata Vorácová was deported, ahead of the Australian Open.

Concerns over Russia and China front of mind during European visit

Alexander Downer was the last Australian foreign minister to visit the Czech Republic in 2005, when questions about the Iraq War dominated.

However, in 2022, concerns over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine are top of mind.

Since the Velvet Revolution, Czech lawmakers have remained wary of Moscow's continued efforts to interfere in the small NATO member's affairs, but in recent years there has been growing alarm about Chinese Communist Party's influence.

Last year the Czech Republic expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and their families after accusing Moscow of deploying intelligence agencies to carry out two explosions at a military arms depot in 2014.

Tensions between the Czech Republic and China also flared last year when the Taiwanese Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, was welcomed by legislators to the central European nation's parliament.

Senator Payne will also travel to Germany to attend the high-profile Munich Security Conference, which brings together political leaders and top officials from around the region.

While the conference will focus on a broader array of security challenges, this year's event is likely to be consumed by discussions about whether Russia is on the brink of invading Ukraine and how NATO can deter Moscow.

Ahead of her arrival in Prague, the Foreign Minister will visit Paris, where the government is still smarting at Australia's decision last year to scrap the $90 billion French submarine project, in favour of a yet-to-be-chosen nuclear powered fleet.

During her brief stopover in Paris, Senator Payne will attend a meeting of Indo-Pacific foreign ministers organised by the French government.

The trip may also offer Senator Payne a chance to begin patching-up ties with France, although it is not yet clear if she has secured any bilateral meetings with her French counterparts.

The Foreign Minister was expected to visit Thailand on her way home, but she told Senate Estimates that leg of the trip was no longer occurring.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-16/foreign-minister-to-visit-czech-republic-over-ukraine-submarines/100832342

>>15600712

Ben Roberts-Smith trial: soldier tells court at least two men pulled from tunnel in Afghanistan compound

Events at the compound on 12 April, 2009 have emerged as central to the defamation trial brought by Roberts-Smith

Ben Doherty - 16 Feb 2022

A serving SAS soldier has told a court that at least two men were pulled from a tunnel inside a compound being raided by Australian SAS troops during a 2009 clearance operation in Afghanistan, a mission that has since become a key element of the defamation trial brought by Ben Roberts-Smith.

Roberts-Smith is suing the Age, the Sydney Morning Herald and the Canberra Times for defamation over a series of ­reports he alleges are defamatory and portray him as committing war crimes, including murder. The newspapers are pleading a defence of truth. Roberts-Smith denies any wrongdoing.

Anonymised before the federal court as Person 42, the Warrant Officer Class 2 and veteran of more than two decades’ military service appeared in court as a witness for the Nine newspapers’ defence.

Person 42 told the court he and other soldiers discovered the hidden tunnel during the raid on a compound called Whiskey 108. The soldiers called out in Pashto for anyone hiding inside to come out.

“They came out unarmed, they came out freely, they came out relatively quickly once we gave them the commands,” he said.

Person 42 said he took custody of one of the men and patted him down to ensure he was unarmed before passing him to the control of another soldier. He did not see the man again.

The events at Whiskey 108 on 12 April 2009 – and the presence or otherwise of men in the tunnel – have emerged as central to the allegations made against Roberts-Smith in the newspapers’ defence of the defamation claim. Roberts-Smith is a Victoria Cross winner and one of Australia’s most decorated soldiers.

Roberts-Smith has been accused in the course of the newspapers’ defence of ordering the execution an elderly Afghan man and murdering another man who had a prosthetic leg, both of whom had been taken from the tunnel in the compound. Roberts-Smith denies the allegations and says there was no one discovered in the tunnel.

Two other soldiers have previously given evidence in the trial on behalf of the newspapers about the alleged executions of the two men at Whiskey 108.

One soldier, Person 41, told the court Roberts-Smith and another soldier borrowed his suppressor which was then used in the execution of the elderly man. Person 41 also said he later saw Roberts-Smith “frogmarch” the man with a prosthetic leg outside a village compound, throw him to the ground and machine-gun him to death.

Another soldier, Person 14, said he saw an Australian soldier carrying a distinctive weapon, a Minimi machine gun, throw a human-shaped object to the ground and fire a burst of bullets into it. He said he later saw Roberts-Smith carrying a Minimi during that mission.

Roberts-Smith has consistently denied those versions of events, describing them as “completely false”. In his evidence last year, he said he never ordered an elderly man shot, and says he killed the man with a prosthetic leg outside Whiskey 108 because the man was a legitimate target, armed and running away, and was killed in accordance with troops’ rules of engagement.

He said no people were taken out of the tunnel in the compound.

“There were no people in the tunnel at Whiskey 108,” he told the court.

Whiskey 108 was a compound in the village of Kakarak, known as an insurgent stronghold, on the western side of the Dorafshan River in Uruzgan province and near an allied forward operating base.

In court on Wednesday, Person 42 said Whiskey 108 had been bombed by allied aircraft ahead of the Australian troops’ mission to ‘clear’ the compound on 12 April 2009, checking for insurgents, weapons, and bomb-making materials.

They found some weapons, ammunition and grenades, but “there were no enemy combatants found as part of the assault”, he said.

Shown pictures of the bodies of the men allegedly killed during the raid on Whiskey 108, Person 42 said he was unable to positively identify them.

Under cross-examination, he said Australian troops discovered the tunnel after being alerted to it by women, and possibly children, who were in the compound.

Arthur Moses SC, acting for Roberts-Smith, put it to Person 42 that his evidence was not true “because you weren’t there”.

“That is not true,” the soldier replied.

The trial before Justice Anthony Besanko continues.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/16/ben-roberts-smith-trial-soldier-tells-court-at-least-two-men-pulled-from-tunnel-in-afghanistan-compound

Military air bases fast tracked for upgrade as Australia joins US Pacific push

Australian military bases and airstrips are to be upgraded as US forces look for more part-time homes for their combat aircraft, troops and ships.

Charles Miranda - February 16, 2022

Military airstrips and bases providing a chain-link defence to Australia’s north are in for a multi-billion upgrade under a fast-tracked Australia-US drive to secure the Pacific region.

Strategic fuel and war-fighting ordinance storages, defence missile systems and base upgrade plans have been brought forward, with a Defence department review identifying security shortfalls.

China’s rapid expansionist ambitions in the region and supply chain challenges exposed by Covid-19 flagged vulnerabilities for both Australia’s national security and America’s war-fighting capabilities in the region.

That has now sparked a sense of urgency with a “credible chance” of armed conflict before the end of the decade, according to the latest Defence review.

A delegation led by US Indo-Pacific Command’s director for logistics and engineering Brigadier General Jered Helwig is currently inspecting military infrastructure in the Northern Territory and Queensland for “logistic opportunities”.

The US has already identified vulnerabilities around its major base in Guam, which is within missile range of China.

It is now looking at closer base-share arrangements in Australia, to park and service military hardware and, if needed, use as a forward operating base, as well as having a troop rotation above the current 2500 Marines here at any one time.

That’s more ships, aircraft and troops to visit.

The upgrades plan goes beyond those already known to be approved at RAAF Tindal and RAAF Darwin, where the US military is funding expansions, and Cocos Keeling Islands airport, which has also been approved for upgrade.

But also now the “bare bases” currently only in ad hoc use are being looked at to help form a chain-link defence effect to Australia’s north, including RAAF Scherger on Cape York Peninsula, RAAF Curtin in northwest WA and RAAF Learmonth on the North West Cape.

Even runway assets rarely used since World War II, such as Batchelor, 100km south of Darwin, have been reviewed by Defence, as have, more broadly, vehicle highways that could be used in the event of a conflict where an air base runway is damaged.

The ADF’s acting commander joint logistics command Brigadier Jason Walk said the US delegation visit would progress a commitment to establish “cooperative logistics, sustainment, and maintenance enterprises’’ in Australia.

“The Indo-Pacific Region is the priority theatre for the United States and working alongside Australia is critically important in this long-term partnership to achieve our collective goals of maintaining peace and stability in the region,” Brigadier General Helwig said.

Defence joint standing committee chair Senator David Fawcett welcomed the commitment to spend on the bases and the increased military interoperability with the US.

“The need has been recognised, funding has been allocated and Defence is working to making sure we have resilience capability,” he said.

“I am really pleased they are now talking about bare base resilience and looking at whether the bases are fit for purpose, I am pleased to see that development.”

Former Army major general turned senator Jim Molan has also long agitated for bare base upgrades.

“We have an obligation in this strategic environment to protect our major assets, which really are aircraft, ships and infrastructure such as communications and fuel,” he said.

“I think the fact the federal government’s allocating money to this and secondly receiving a US facilities and infrastructure group reflects how serious the government is taking the strategic future.”

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/military-air-bases-fast-tracked-for-upgrade-as-australia-joins-us-pacific-push/news-story/17f2466a23f6c0b6b5f37566b9e2cb48

U.S. reassured of Australian alliance regardless of election outcome - U.S. official

Kirsty Needham - FEBRUARY 17, 2022

SYDNEY (Reuters) - The United States is confident its alliance with Australia “transcends politics” and would remain strong regardless of which party won the Australian election, a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

With an election due by May, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has launched a political attack on opposition Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese over national security, claiming the ruling Liberal party will take a tougher stance than Labor on China. Security analysts have said there was no difference in the two parties’ policy on China.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited Melbourne last week for a meeting of the Quad group of the United States, Australia, India and Japan. He also met separately with PM Morrison and Labor’s Albanese.

Daniel Kritenbrink, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, said in a call with reporters that Blinken came away from the Australian meetings reassured.

“We came away reassured that these principles that we hold dear and our vitally important alliance transcends politics and any one party,” he said, in response to a question.

“We came away absolutely confident that whomever the Australian people select as their next leadership in the upcoming election, we are confident that the U.S.-Australia alliance will endure and remain as strong as ever.”

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-australia-politics-usa/u-s-reassured-of-australian-alliance-regardless-of-election-outcome-u-s-official-idUSKBN2KM09X

UK pledges $34 mln to enhance security in Indo-Pacific

Jahnavi Nidumolu - February 17, 2022

SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - Britain committed 25 million pounds ($34 million) to strengthen security in the Indo-Pacific as part of a pact with Australia, and leaders of both countries expressed "grave concerns" about China's policies in its far western region of Xinjiang.

In a video call on Thursday, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison also called for peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and warned Russia against invading Ukraine.

"They agreed the need for de-escalation and underscored that any further Russian incursion in Ukraine would be a massive strategic mistake and have a stark humanitarian cost," the leaders said in a joint statement after their meeting.

The funds pledged to the Indo-Pacific security agreement would strengthen regional resilience in areas including cyberspace, state threats and maritime security, Morrison and Johnson said.

The bilateral talks come just a week after the so-called Quad group of Australia, the United States, Japan and India pledged to deepen cooperation to ensure the Indo-Pacific region was free from "coercion", a thinly veiled swipe at China's economic and military expansion.

Johnson and Morrison expressed "grave concerns about credible reports of human rights violations in Xinjiang, and called on China to protect the rights, freedoms and high degree of autonomy for Hong Kong."

The United States accuses China of genocide in its treatment of minority Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang and abuse including forced and prison labour. China denies the accusations.

China imposed a sweeping national security law on Hong Kong in 2020, a move critics said undercut the greater freedoms promised under the "one country, two systems" framework agreed when the former British colony returned to Chinese rule in 1997.

Morrison and Johnson also stressed "the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, and expressed support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organisations."

China claims Taiwan as its own territory. Taiwan has complained about frequent incursions by China's air force into its air defence zone, part of what Taipei says is a pattern of harassment by Beijing.

The British and Australian leaders also stressed the importance of maritime rights and freedoms in the South China Sea, saying they were strongly opposed "to any unilateral actions that could escalate tensions and undermine regional stability and the international rules-based order, including militarisation, coercion, and intimidation."

($1 = 0.7364 pounds)

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk-sign-25-mln-stg-security-deal-with-australia-2022-02-16/

Visiting US General Charles Flynn endorses Australia's new multi-billion-dollar American tanks

Andrew Greene - 17 February 2022

One of America's most senior generals is strongly backing Australia's decision to spend billions of dollars on new army fighting vehicles and tanks, saying they will be crucial for any major future conflicts.

Commander of US Army Pacific General Charles Flynn has flown to Canberra, where he is promoting closer cooperation with like-minded nations such as Australia to provide a "powerful counterweight" to any threats posed by China in the region.

Last month, Defence Minister Peter Dutton confirmed $3.5 billion would be spent on more than 120 tanks and other armoured vehicles from the US, to upgrade Army's existing Abrams.

The federal government is soon also expected to unveil the winning design for the Australian Army's new Infantry fighting vehicles, worth between $18 billion and $27 billion.

As concerns grow over China's growing military might, some defence experts have questioned the need for such large spending programs on armoured vehicles, arguing the money could be better spent on more missiles, fighter aircraft and submarines.

Speaking alongside Australia's Army Chief, Lieutenant General Rick Burr, the visiting US General, argued strongly in favour of armoured land forces.

"I believe that in the future for a peer, or near-peer fight, that the impact of combined arms manoeuvre, particularly in dense urban areas, you're gonna want armour forces, you're gonna need tanks," General Flynn said.

He continued: "And so I think that combined arms manoeuvre of both over-the-shoulder attack aviation, light infantry, motorised infantry and armour forces are absolutely critical today, and they're going to be that way into the future."

The Australian Army Chief agreed modernisation of his armoured forces was crucial and interoperability with the United States was constantly improving.

"Armies operate on the land where people are aware — it's a complex environment, urban terrain, all sorts of terrain, and our troops need to be protected and our troops operate as part of a combined arms system," General Burr said.

"And the most protected and most lethal part of that system is the tank. So it's organic to that system so that you can operate in the most difficult areas and make sure our troops can achieve their mission."

As part of everything that we're doing there is an eye to what we call human-machine teaming — so robotics and autonomous systems working in conjunction with our manned systems to give us more scale, more mass, more effects over a broader area."

General Flynn, the younger brother of former president Donald Trump's first national security adviser, Michael Flynn, said he wanted to see closer cooperation with Australia and others in training exercises such as the biennial Talisman Sabre.

"Create opportunities for multiple countries to come together to again deepen our relationships, seek opportunities for interoperability and I think that that is a powerful counterweight to some of the destabilising activities that do happen in the region," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-17/us-general-charles-flynn-endorse-new-tanks/100838958

>>15600712

Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial told of ‘bullet in the head’ threat

RYAN YOUNG - FEBRUARY 17, 2022

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Decorated Australian war hero Ben Roberts-Smith told a soldier if his performance did not improve he would “get a bullet in the back of the head”, a court has been told.

The ex-SAS soldier, who can only be referred to as Person 1 for legal reasons, made the claims at Mr Robert-Smith’s defamation trial, which continued in the Federal Court on Thursday.

A distinguished Victoria Cross recipient, Mr Roberts-Smith, 43, is suing Nine and its journalists over reports that he claims were defamatory because they alleged he committed war crimes and murders in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012.

When questioned by Nine’s barrister Nicholas Owens SC, Person 1 said Mr Roberts-Smith was among a group of soldiers who subjected him to poor treatment.

“Members of the team would make disparaging remarks to me about my lack of experience,” Person 1 told the court.

“There certainly was a negative attitude towards me … I was from a reserve background and the rest of the members were from an army background with significantly more experience than me.”

When Person 1 and Mr Roberts-Smith were undertaking training at Lancelin, north of Perth, before being deployed to Afghanistan, the court was told of multiple alleged slapping incidents.

“I was driving … on a regular basis, as we would drive over the rocky off-road terrain. If I hit something, a rather large bump, the applicant (Mr Roberts-Smith) would reach down and slap me across the back of the head,” Person 1 said.

“The applicant said to me that he didn’t think I had the required skills or ability to deploy to Afghanistan with the task group.

“He also said that he was gonna (sic) do everything he could within his power to have me removed from the team and to get one of his colleagues to replace me.”

Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, objected to numerous questions Mr Owens put to Person 1, claiming they were not previously put to Mr Roberts-Smith when he was in the witness box last year.

Despite the objections, Justice Anthony Besanko allowed most of the questions to be asked.

Person 1 recalled an incident while serving alongside Mr Roberts-Smith in Afghanistan’s Chora Valley in 2006.

Person 1 said while manning an observation post involving secret surveillance, a man aged about 15 to 20 was spotted coming out from behind nearby rocks.

“He was a male, he had facial hair and he was wearing the traditional Afghan dress,” Person 1 said.

“He was just walking. I observed he had a satchel bag … I didn’t observe it the first time he walked across, I only observed it the second time.”

Person 1 said the Afghani man did not appear to have a weapon and because an observation post (OP) was being manned, “the idea was to not compromise yourself” by engaging in unnecessary conflict that could expose the OP.

Afterwards, the court was told that Sergeant Matthew Locke, who was second in command of the mission and died while serving in 2007, and Mr Roberts-Smith “engaged” the individual.

“I heard the shots from their engagement,” Person 1 said.

“He (Sergeant Locke) mentioned that when they engaged the individual he had some sort of device on him … they didn’t know whether it was a flair or smoke.”

No smoke or flair was observed by Person 1, the court was told.

(continued)

>>15648230

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Person 1 said he believed by “engaging” the OP had been “compromised” and his team began to be the targets of enemy fire.

While Mr Roberts-Smith was shooting at enemies, Person 1 said the rounds were “splashing” off rocks about 10-15 metres away from where Person 1 and Person 2 were located.

“As he fired, I could see the splash of where his rounds were and every time I saw the splash it felt like someone was throwing sand in my face,” Person 1 said.

“He fired about four to five rounds before I realised what was happening. I turned to him and said ‘stop firing’ … to which he responded with ‘shut the fk up ct’.”

During the battle, which only ended when aircraft support came in, Person 1 said his machine gun stopped working multiple times because it was not properly lubricated.

“I didn’t take oil with me on the mission and I needed to keep oiling it,” Person 1 said, acknowledging their performance was not up to standard on that mission.

In the months after the battle, the court was told that Person 1 received numerous reviews that showed a deterioration in performance, mistakes made, an official warning and concerns about suitability to serve that Person 1 agreed were legitimate.

“I did lack confidence then … due to the behaviour I was being subjected to,” Person 1 said.

“The applicant (Mr Roberts-Smith) would exaggerate my mistakes and he would spread rumours about me.

“The relationship between myself and the applicant got worse, we couldn’t really be in the same room together. I was in the room one day, we used to share a team room, we called them B huts … the applicant came into the room aggressively. He said words to the effect of ‘if your performance doesn’t improve on the next patrol you’re gonna get a bullet in the back of the head’.”

Person 1 said that exchange “made me fearful for my own personal safety”.

“It made me lose more confidence, it made me perform worse,” Person 1 said.

After being transferred, Person 1’s performance improved dramatically.

The court was told that Mr Roberts-Smith reacted with hostility when he discovered Person 1 made a complaint about him.

“The applicant approached me, stood right up close to me … looked down on me and said ‘if you’re gonna make accusations ct you better have some f*ing proof’,” Person 1 said.

“He’d spit on the ground in front of me

“He’d hold the door for me and let it slam in my face.”

Person 1 said Mr Roberts-Smith never offered any help to deal with the performance issues.

“Person 7 told me that the applicant had told him that I was an incompetent soldier, I was a coward and that I didn’t deserve to be in the regiment,” Person 1 said.

Several years later at a meeting among senior officials, Person 1 told the court that Mr Roberts-Smith allegedly continued his criticisms.

“Person 43 and Person 44 made me aware … they said to me that the applicant was making disparaging remarks about me at a manning meeting and that I didn’t deserve to be put in a 2IC (second in command) slot,” Person 1 said.

The trial continues.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/ben-robertssmith-defamation-trial-told-of-bullet-in-the-head-threat/news-story/5fe7e51f0eb0a269e0b19ce27a72bc33

Priti Patel hires Australia's migrant guru in bid to help solve Channel crisis

DAVID BARRETT - 17 February 2022

A former minister who played a key role in Australia's controversial asylum seeker 'pushback' policy has been hired to shake up Britain's border measures.

Priti Patel will announce today that Alexander Downer, ex-minister for foreign affairs Down Under, will carry out a thorough review of the UK Border Force.

His remit will include looking at the influence of unions over the agency's effectiveness.

It comes after the union that represents the majority of Border Force staff joined forces with a migrant charity to launch a legal challenge against Miss Patel's plans to turn Channel boats back to France.

It is understood that Mr Downer will cover all of Border Force's work – including immigration checks at ports and airports, counter-smuggling operations as well as dealing with asylum claims.

His report will be due within months, and is expected to influence ministers' decisions on the next stages of immigration reform. It opens the possibility of a complete overhaul of Border Force.

Proposals could include a merger with a separate Home Office agency – Immigration Enforcement – which deals with foreign criminals, visa-breakers and organised crime gangs.

The Home Secretary's appointment of Mr Downer will be controversial because he has been a leading advocate of Australia's long-standing policy of blocking asylum seekers' boats off its coastline.

Introduced in 2001, it sees boats from Indonesia and other Pacific islands stopped at sea, refuelled and redirected away from Australian shores.

Last September Mr Downer, writing in the Daily Mail, said: 'Priti Patel has been widely ridiculed on both sides of the Channel for suggesting that boats carrying migrants be physically 'pushed back' towards the French coast.

'Yet, from my experience as Australia's former minister for foreign affairs, I know that a 'pushback' policy can work.'

He set out how Australia took 'direct action' during its own migrant crisis, intercepting vessels and deploying naval forces to turn them away.

'As word spread around Indonesia that we were determined to stamp out the trafficking, it soon stemmed the numbers,' he wrote.

'I see no reason why this cannot be done in the Channel.

'My advice to Miss Patel would be to introduce the 'pushback' policy without fanfare, and to keep the French informed on a need-to-know basis only.'

Australia has conducted its turn-back policy for most of the last two decades.

Initially called the Pacific Solution, it was dropped by the country's Labour government in 2008 but later re-introduced after a series of migrant boat disasters.

Since 2013 it has been codenamed Operation Sovereign Borders.

Mr Downer, 70, was the Liberal Party's minister for foreign affairs – Australia's equivalent of the Foreign Secretary – under Australian prime minister John Howard from 1996 to 2007.

He was also Australia's High Commissioner to the UK from 2014 to 2018.

Concern over trade union opposition to Miss Patel's immigration plans came to a head last month when the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) joined forces with migrant charity Care4Calais to launch a judicial review of her Channel pushback proposals.

The PCS described the powers, which are currently going through Parliament, as 'morally reprehensible'.

Its general secretary Mark Serwotka said at the time that his organisation 'strongly opposes this policy, on moral and humanitarian grounds, and we will not rule out industrial action to prevent it being carried out'.

The legal challenge is yet to be heard. Last year more than 28,300 migrants reached Britain from northern France – triple the total in 2020.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10520925/Priti-Patel-hires-Australias-migrant-guru-bid-help-solve-Channel-crisis.html

Australia's biggest states ease more COVID-19 curbs ahead of border reopening

Renju Jose - February 18, 2022

SYDNEY, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Singing and dancing will resume in nightclubs in Sydney and Melbourne from Friday, while most mandatory check-ins have been scrapped as officials lifted nearly all COVID-19 curbs in Australia's biggest cities amid a steady fall in hospital cases.

The relaxation in social distancing rules comes ahead of the full reopening of Australia's international borders on Monday after nearly two years, boosting business confidence battered by stop-start lockdowns.

"We don't want restrictions in place for any longer than necessary and with hospitalisation and ICU rates trending downwards, now is the right time to make sensible changes," New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet said on Thursday.

People admitted to hospitals due to the coronavirus in the country more than halved to around 2,600 after peaking at just under 5,400 more than three weeks ago.

Like most countries, Australia has been tackling the fast-moving Omicron variant that pushed its infections and hospital cases to record levels. Numbers have been on a downtrend in recent days with a booster rollout gathering pace.

New South Wales and Victoria, home to more than half of Australia's 25 million people, have been the worst hit by the Omicron wave and had reintroduced several tough curbs last month.

From Friday, indoor venues in Sydney and elsewhere in New South Wales can allow as many patrons as they want and QR check-ins will only be required for some higher risk venues. Masks will be needed only on public transport and indoors at airports and hospitals from Feb. 25.

Hotel quarantine for unvaccinated international travellers will be cut to seven days from two weeks in both states.

More than 23,000 new cases and 38 deaths were reported in the country by midday on Friday, with two states due to report later. Most of Australia's pandemic total of around 2.7 million confirmed cases have been detected since the emergence of the Omicron variant in late November. Total deaths stand at 4,836 since the pandemic began.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australias-biggest-states-ease-more-covid-19-curbs-ahead-border-reopening-2022-02-18/

Omicron ‘clearly not’ as threatening as flu, says Dr Nick Coatsworth

HOLLY HALES - FEBRUARY 17, 2022

Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer has claimed the Omicron variant is less dangerous than the seasonal flu.

Dr Nick Coatsworth took the stance while downplaying the Covid health risks that lie ahead for people without pre-existing conditions.

“No, it’s not. It’s clearly not,” he told Sky News when asked if Omicron was more dangerous than the flu.

Dr Coatsworth also said he believed booster shots were only needed for vulnerable people or those with chronic illness.

“Young, fit, healthy adults and kids, their risk was so low anyway that if you take it from 0.007 to 0.001 per cent – I’m using those numbers to demonstrate the effect, I’d have to get the actual numbers for you,” he said.

“So, for the booster perspective, from the disease perspective, this is an illness that will very rarely cause harm to young, fit, healthy adults and kids.”

The comments come as states mull over to what extent booster doses should be mandated.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews this week walked back expectations international arrivals would be required to have a third dose of vaccine to be allowed into the state.

Despite initially pushing for the change, Mr Andrews conceded it would be impractical.

“There comes a point where things become impractical and you’ve got so many systems operating at once that it doesn’t really work,” he said.

“Some things are workable and some things aren’t, it gets hard to justify.”

Just 52 per cent of Victorians over the age of 18 have received a booster shot.

The nation’s chief medical officer Paul Kelly told a senate estimates hearing on Wednesday that he wasn’t in favour of mandating vaccinations.

“Philosophically and professionally, I’m not in favour of mandating, anything including vaccinations,” Professor Kelly said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/omicron-clearly-not-as-threatening-as-flu-says-dr-nick-coatsworth/news-story/8c111ea20f42fadf32777dbcd570252f

>>15656221

Former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth says Omicron variant is ‘clearly not’ as threatening as influenza

Dr Nick Coatsworth believes influenza is far more threatening than the Omicron variant for healthy adults and children saying if he was forced to choose which vaccine to give his children he would pick the influenza vaccine "every time".

Jack Mahony - February 16, 2022

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The Omicron variant is “clearly not” as dangerous to healthy adults and children than influenza, former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth has said.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Sky News Australia host Chris Kenny, Dr Coatsworth said only those who have chronic health issues were at risk.

When asked whether the Omicron variant of coronavirus was more threatening than influenza Dr Coatsworth answered simply: “No it’s not. It’s clearly not.”

Dr Coatsworth also believes booster shots are not as necessary for healthy adults and children to get protection from the Omicron variant saying only those with underlying health issues require the third vaccine dose.

“The statistics that we need to know out of Victoria are that a booster will give you seven times less chance of going to intensive care, that is true but that is most important for people with chronic diseases,” he said.

“Young fit healthy adults and kids, their risk was so low anyway that if you take it from 0.007 to 0.001 per cent – I’m using those numbers to demonstrate the effect, I’d have to get the actual numbers for you.

“But you can see you’re going from an extraordinarily low risk to an even more extraordinarily low risk.

“So for the booster perspective, from the disease perspective this is an illness that will very rarely cause harm to young fit healthy adults and kids.”

(continued)

>>15656223

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In most states across Australia booster shots are only mandated for certain workers in “high risk” settings such as health care, aged care, education and correctional facilities.

Last week the federal government updated its vaccine policy based on the latest advice issued by the Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI).

Under ATAGI's new advice, having three doses brings a person "up to date" rather than "fully vaccinated" which is a term used in public health orders or mandates.

Individuals aged 16-years and older will now receive a booster shot three months after their second dose which is also known as the “due date”.

After that period, anyone who has not received a booster within six months of their second dose will be considered "overdue".

Despite the recently updated advice Dr Coatsworth still believes the COVID-19 vaccine is far less important than the flu vaccine.

“I’m in the process of vaccinating my kids but if you had to give me a choice between which one I would vaccinate them against I would every time I would be choosing influenza over a COVID-19 vaccine,” he said.

“That’s how I feel about the difference in severity between the two. That being said I will give both to my kids.”

The former deputy top doctor in Australia has also recently been advocating against requirements for students and has said there is a lack of evidence saying they are necessary.

“I think the tide has turned on masks. People recognise they had a place at a time of uncertainty, but are appropriately reassessing their value especially in schools,” he tweeted.

“It is a good time to re-evaluate primary and secondary school mask policy in all Australian jurisdictions.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/former-deputy-chief-medical-officer-dr-nick-coatsworth-says-omicron-variant-is-clearly-not-as-threatening-as-influenza/news-story/9f7684fc26256ccccbddf2bf7ec3a142

Australia intends to list Hamas as terrorist organisation

John Mair, Ari Rabinovitch and Nidal al-Mughrabi - February 17, 2022

SYDNEY, Feb 17 (Reuters) - The Australian government intends to list the entirety of Palestinian Islamist group Hamas as a terrorist organisation under the country's criminal code, Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said on Thursday.

A listing by Australia of the whole group, rather than just its military wing as at present, would bring Canberra's stance in line with the United States, the European Union and Britain.

"The views of Hamas and the violent extremist groups listed today are deeply disturbing and there is no place in Australia for their hateful ideologies," Andrews said in a statement.

Andrews said she had written to Australia's state and territory leaders to consult with them on listing the whole of Hamas, "and will finalise the listing as soon as possible".

Hamas has political and military wings. It has ruled the Gaza Strip since a brief civil war in 2007 when it expelled forces loyal to Western-backed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Abbas remains dominant in Palestinian self-ruled areas of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

In Gaza, Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem condemned the Australian decision as biased in favour of Israel.

"The occupation, which deliberately targets Palestinians everywhere, and violates international and humanitarian laws, is the party that must be classified as a terrorist entity,” he said.

Hamas was founded in 1987 and opposes the existence of Israel and peace talks, instead advocating "armed resistance" against Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories.

"I welcome the news that Australia will list Hamas as a terrorist organization in its entirety," Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said in a statement, thanking Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison for the move.

Currently the military wing of Hamas, the Izz al-Din al-Qassam Brigades, is on Australia's list of terrorist organisations.

Andrews said Australia had newly listed three other groups as terrorist organisations - Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham and Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, which are based in Syria, and the Nationalist Socialist Order, a group based in the United States.

Another four Islamist militant groups - the Abu Sayyaf Group, al Qaeda, al Qaeda in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, and Jemaah Islamiyah -have been relisted under the code, she said.

https://www.reuters.com/world/australia-intends-list-hamas-terrorist-organisation-2022-02-17/

https://www.nationalsecurity.gov.au/what-australia-is-doing/terrorist-organisations/listed-terrorist-organisations

>>15600712

Soldier tells court he didn't 'fabricate' Ben Roberts-Smith death threats

Jamie McKinnell - 18 February 2022

An elite soldier who's told a Sydney court decorated war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith bullied him for years has denied blaming others to avoid confronting his own failings.

Codenamed Person 1, the witness was called by publisher Nine Entertainment in its defence of Mr Roberts-Smith's Federal Court defamation case over 2018 newspaper articles.

The Victoria Cross recipient claims the articles included false allegations of bullying of his Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) colleagues, unlawful killings in Afghanistan and domestic violence.

Person 1 has claimed Mr Roberts-Smith twice threatened to kill him, including during a 2006 deployment where he said words to the effect of: "If your performance doesn't improve on the next patrol, you're gonna get a bullet in the back of the head."

The soldier accepted the "elementary" and "basic" mistake of forgetting machine gun oil during a June 2006 mission in the Chora Valley put the lives of his entire team at risk due to weapon stoppages while under enemy attack.

Under cross-examination, Mr Roberts-Smith's barrister Bruce McClintock SC today highlighted assessments from three of Person 1's senior colleagues in 2006 that suggested he be removed from the patrol for his own safety and that of others.

Those criticisms "must have had a devastating effect", Mr McClintock suggested.

"I don't recall my feelings after reading these reports," Person 1 replied.

Mr McClintock said those colleagues, including the late Sergeant Matt Locke, had "justifiable doubts" about going on patrol with him after the Chora Valley mission.

Person 1 agreed, further accepting Mr Roberts-Smith might not have wanted to be in a position where the witness would put his life at risk again.

But he denied he'd come up with bullying allegations against Mr Roberts-Smith and two others to deal with the assessments.

"You couldn't confront the reality of your failings and you tried to blame them on other people," Mr McClintock said.

"That's incorrect," Person 1 replied, adding that he had taken accountability.

Mr McClintock showed the witness a 2013 statement he wrote raising the bullying allegations about Mr Roberts-Smith, which did not record the specific "bullet in your head" phrase Person 1 has attributed to the veteran.

"The encounter is listed, but the words specifically used weren't," Person 1 said.

The document recorded that Mr Roberts-Smith had "burst" into a team room one day and accused Person 1 of not being up to his standard for the SAS.

It recorded Mr Roberts-Smith as saying "on the next job I may get shot if my performance doesn't improve".

Mr McClintock put it to Person 1 that Mr Roberts-Smith's comment was consistent with a warning that Person 1 may be shot by the enemy.

"My client never said anything to you beyond 'if you don't improve you're going to be in trouble out there and you'll be in danger'," he said.

Person 1 disagreed and denied "fabricating" the alleged death threat.

Mr McClintock suggested things Mr Roberts-Smith said to the witness in 2006 were no more than expressions of professional opinion that Person 1 had failings as a soldier at that time.

"It's absurd to characterise any of the things my client said as genuine death threats," the barrister said.

"That's incorrect," Person 1 replied.

The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, will continue on Monday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-18/ben-roberts-smith-sas-soldier-denies-fabricating-bullying-claims/100843002

Why the Freedom Movement resembles a cult

JACK THE INSIDER (Peter Hoysted) - FEBRUARY 18, 2022

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The Canberra Truck Convoy without trucks ended last Sunday without parliament being stormed, without the Governor-General dissolving parliament and with none of the protesters’ vague objectives met.

There was an ominous sense of hope foiled and utter helplessness at the EPIC camp on Sunday night after the rally.

After the euphoria of the crowd building on the Friday night and the exultation from the speakers on the two stages outside the parliament had subsided, protesters returned to their tents and vans.

The world was supposed to have changed, the government gone, scuttling away under the sheer force of numbers, leaving the people (or a select few) to create a Utopia in Australia.

Besides some nasty cases of sunburn and the spread of Covid, nothing had happened.

Some had nowhere to go. Some had come from Western Australia and as they were unvaxxed could not cross the Nullarbor and expect to be allowed back in. Others had no money to go home wherever home is.

Down the deep hole

I’ve long believed that the majority who have become attached to the amorphous Freedom Movement in Australia are decent people who have fallen down a deep hole. I have no idea how we might pull them out.

One rally organiser had a moment of clarity when he described the assembly in Canberra last weekend as, “One third protesting vaccine mandates, one third wanting to overthrow the government, and the other third don’t want government at all.”

By that definition, two thirds of the protest movement must be seen as a cult. People in their thousands have fallen prey to a propaganda campaign peddling fear and anxiety, a systematic pattern of indoctrination, drip-fed through an information bubble from proselytisers on websites and social media, always with the ‘Donate Now’ button blinking away.

ACT Police estimated the crowd that assembled on Saturday somewhere 6,000 and at 10,000. On drone shots I looked at, I estimated the crowd to be 20,000. It was just a guess. The answer almost certainly lies somewhere in between.

Rubbery facts and figures

One excitable protest influencer claimed a million people were in attendance but, buoyed by a moment of adulation on stage, she revised the estimate up to three million. Another claimed there was traffic gridlock stretching 150 kilometres out of Sydney with 70 per cent of cars bearing Queensland plates. There were, she said, 700,000 people in one camp. She predicted a crowd of six million people. One rally attendee spoke of a more modest crowd of 500,000 people but explained that for every one of them, there were five hundred more who could not come but were present in mind and spirit. That’s just a tick under ten times the Australian population.

It’s not just in inflated numbers, the prosecution of the lie that the movement’s members are part of a much larger, more powerful group. There are other obvious detachments from reality.

One protest organiser, a veteran of anti-vax rallies over the last two years, reported he had returned home feeling seriously ill.

“My throat is like nothing I have ever experienced. Total agony. The tips of my ears are peeling and burnt, my chest has an infection, my eyes and ears are sore and swollen … but my throat is an indescribable hell of sharp pain.”

Could it be sunburn and Covid infection? The influencers know that a great swathe of their followers have been taught to believe that Covid-19 doesn’t exist, a fake pandemic, a plandemic. What seems obvious to us by way of street corner diagnosis is anathema to them. Thus, conspiracies need to be created, more battlelines drawn between us and them.

(continued)

>>15656316

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The mystery LRAD

The organiser went on: “At this event they used the LRAD in conjunction with aerosols and radiation poisoning. These bastards sprayed us, fried us and hit us with the LRAD. This government has gone completely rogue and is literally waging war on our people.”

The LRAD became a point of contention in the parliament later in the week when senators Michael Roberts (PHON QLD) and Alex Antic (Liberal SA) put questions to the Commissioner of the AFP, Reece Kershaw which he took on notice.

An LRAD – a long range audio device can be deployed as a crowd control device. At one end of the scale, it can be used as a public address system which it plainly was on Saturday with police making announcements advising protesters not to cross barricades and enter the parliament forecourt. At the other end of the scale an LRAD can emit sounds at 160 decibels. 130 decibels equate to sound emitted by artillery fire at close range and is deemed a threshold of human tolerance.

Put simply, if LRAD had been deployed at the sharp end of its use as a crowd control device, protesters would have experienced sharp pain, disorientation, burst ear drums, tinnitus. They would have known it and we would have seen it.

In answer to a question put by Senator Antic, Kershaw replied, “Overall, the crowd was well behaved. You probably saw there were children and families who were involved. Pretty well behaved. A lot of poor attitudes though but there’s no offence for that. Police did cop a fair bit of abuse but again it didn’t cross into the criminal threshold.”

That speaks of the basic human decency I mentioned earlier. But there were elements in that crowd and some who took the stage who have and continue to agitate for violence.

Disappearing donations

One of the big stories to emerge from the Canberra rally was that some $200,000 in donations had disappeared. Protesters at the main camp were told “the money’s gone.” Buckets seeking cash donations hung prominently around the camp site had disappeared, too. Fingers were pointed in all directions. One hinted the money had been confiscated by ASIO, a blatant nonsense. The influencers drip paranoia so who knows how much has been trousered, if any, or by whom.

The more significant issue is that people continue to throw money at the various organisers, down to their last dollar. Ultimately, that’s why the cultists have to keep members on the hook. As with all cults, this one runs on money. It is all about the grift.

Now various influencers in the protest movement are creating online dating services, because partners have walked away, families have disengaged. I mean, who wants to sit down for a family meal and be told over and over that the world is run by a cabal of bloodsucking paedophiles?

One group is offering telephone psychological counselling. They say they don’t trust Lifeline and are setting up duplicate services that includes suicide prevention. What training has been or will be offered to telephone counsellors is anyone’s guess but the effect is to keep everyone in the tent. Locked in. No external influences. Keep the money rolling in.

What happens when the money runs out?

There are many people who attended the Canberra rally who retain a strong and healthy sense of self-awareness. I noticed some people commenting in social media describing how they had tested positive to RATs after they returned home. But others never will, preferring the nonsense that they have been poisoned by the state. And of those, many haven’t returned home and are living in makeshift camps around the capital.

These cultish elements will ultimately exhaust. The effectiveness of indoctrination has a use-by-date. The propaganda will be scrutinised, the money will run out, the self-aware will walk away, numbers will dwindle.

Peter Hoysted is Jack the Insider: a highly placed, dedicated servant of the nation with close ties to leading figures in politics, business and the union movement.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/why-the-freedom-movement-resembles-a-cult/news-story/040a599a77df205eeffea89b87c66941

>>15648206

GT Voice: UK, Australia geopolitical gimmicks for Indo-Pacific unwelcome

Global Times - Feb 17, 2022

In a joint statement issued on Thursday after a video call between British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison, the UK announced plans to commit 25 million pounds ($34 million) to strengthen regional resilience in areas including cyberspace, state threats and maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

It remains vague as to what exactly the UK and Australia intend to do in the Indo-Pacific region with such a plan. If they are interested in participating in the development of network infrastructure in the Indo-Pacific, the funds the UK announced is clearly far from sufficient to support any major project. More importantly, Australia and the UK do not have much of an advantage in the development of network technology, particularly 5G, and they cannot provide any hardware support. That makes it untenable that they are actually aiming to help develop network infrastructure in the region.

A more plausible motive behind such a move is their ill-advised intention to blindly follow the US in the latter's containment strategy against China, which is in line with the two countries' previous attempts with the US. Both the UK and Australia are members of the US-led trilateral security partnership called AUKUS, which supports Australia's stated goal of acquiring nuclear-powered submarines, among other things.

The UK's $34 million pledge might be another step related to the trilateral partnership; however, the figure is completely overshadowed by Australia's commitment under AUKUS, and the future of the AUKUS may depend on how long Australia is willing to pay for the geopolitical confrontation game.

It is increasingly annoying to see the UK and Australia constantly roll out ideological gimmicks in the Indo-Pacific region. While they can do no harm to China's development and the vast majority of regional countries know clearly that it is in their best interests to strengthen cooperation with China and avoid US-led confrontation, this kind of geopolitical tensions hyped by the West is still detrimental to the peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

From the UK's point of view, if the British government really sees the Indo-Pacific as a focal point of its Global Britain vision, its Brexit development strategy, it should take the role they play in the region carefully and seriously. Serving as a potential partner or a pawn for the US to trigger regional conflicts will only lead to undesirable results and will certainly not bring any development opportunities to the UK.

In terms of regional network infrastructure, which is still in the stage of construction, if developed countries like the UK and Australia have an interest in supporting such construction in the Indo-Pacific, regional countries will certainly welcome the investment. Of course, the premises are that their participation in network infrastructure construction is aimed at promoting regional cooperation, not instigating confrontation.

As for China, it is important to point out that there is no way that the UK and Australia can completely separate China from the development of Indo-Pacific internet network infrastructure and cybersecurity, given that the Chinese economy is already inextricably linked to other Indo-Pacific economies.

In this sense, if the UK and Australia want to use cybersecurity as a pretext to create a split in network construction in the Indo-Pacific region, they will only become unwelcome players that threaten regional stability and economic development.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1252537.shtml

>>15592354

>>15631870

AFP uncovers suspected Chinese spy’s alleged plot to smuggle military equipment

Nick McKenzie and Cloe Read - February 18, 2022

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Australian police have disrupted an alleged plot by two Queensland-based businessmen to traffic military hardware from Russia to China, a small part of what sources have revealed is a broader investigation into a suspected Chinese Communist Party spy network with ties to a relative of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Australian parliament was this week roiled by disputed allegations of Chinese influence, and on Friday the Queensland Magistrates Court heard that Chinese-born Gold Coast accountant Kim Bowei Lee, 64, and Russian-born Brisbane entrepreneur Alexander Cher, 63, had been charged with contraventions of Australia’s Defence Trade Control Act.

Multiple official sources, who are not authorised to speak publicly, say the charges had spun out of a broader ASIO investigation into an alleged Chinese spy network operating in Australia. Members of that alleged network were detected as early as August 2016 when Australian officials intercepted an unusual private jet flight, organised by an Australian casino, from the Gold Coast to New Zealand.

Mr Lee was one of six passengers on the flight. Among the others were president Xi’s cousin, Ming Chai, a Melbourne organised crime boss and casino junket operator Tom “Mr Chinatown” Zhou, and another figure suspected to be linked to Chinese intelligence.

The Magistrates Court in Brisbane heard on Friday that Mr Lee and Mr Cher were accused of partnering with another Chinese national and former Melbourne businessman Brian Chen, who is now in hiding overseas and subject of an Interpol red notice.

One official source, who has been briefed by ASIO, described Mr Chen as a Chinese military intelligence operative “who travels the world as a spy”. An ASIO informant claimed two years ago that Mr Chen had sought to plant an operative, Nick Zhao, a member of the Victorian Liberal Party, in a seat in Federal Parliament.

ASIO officers quizzed Mr Chen in March 2019 at Melbourne Airport but he was then allowed to depart Australia.

The charges Mr Lee and Mr Cher face are simply that they are accused of illegally brokering the supply of defence goods. There is no suggestion they are involved in espionage activity or any other criminality and the charges are yet to be tested in court.

Court documents allege that between January 9, 2018, and July 27, 2018, the two men “arranged for another person to supply goods which were listed in part 1 of the Defence and Strategic Goods list from the Russian Federation to the People’s Republic of China”.

Mr Cher, a Russian émigré who has run a string of companies in Queensland and NSW, was charged last week by detectives and released on bail after a short court appearance. He must not leave Australia and must report to authorities twice a week. When called for comment on Friday morning, Mr Cher said : “I can’t talk now. Call me later,” before hanging up.

According to business and property records, Mr Cher’s first venture in Australia was an agriculture company he founded in Bronte in 1996. In the late 1990s, he moved to Queensland, shortened his name from Alexander Tcherkezov to Alex Cher and launched a string of companies in the property, construction and maritime sector part-financed by businessmen from Russia and Ukraine. Mr Cher also worked as a federal government-licensed migration agent, running a business called Nita International that helped Russians get visas or residency in Australia.

According to court documents, Mr Lee was released last week on bail in connection to the alleged military equipment smuggling plot.

In a statement, the federal police confirmed that a “64-year-old Gold Coast man and a 63-year-old Brisbane man have been charged with arranging to supply [military] goods.”

The AFP statement didn’t name Mr Chen, but referred instead to an unnamed “59-year-old Chinese national, currently believed to be residing overseas” and who was the subject of an arrest warrant.

This masthead has confirmed that the case against the pair and Mr Chen grew out of a much broader probe by ASIO into Chinese intelligence operations and Chinese organised crime activities in Australia. That broader probe does not involve Mr Cher or Mr Lee.

Multiple federal and state sources with knowledge of the intelligence investigations said that by 2019, ASIO had begun mapping an overlapping and opaque network of Chinese Communist Party linked businessmen, money launderers and intelligence operatives.

(continued)

>>15656336

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Ming Chai was of particular interest to ASIO due to his family ties with the Chinese president and involvement with Chinese crime figures and Chinese Communist Party operatives in Melbourne. Mr Chai previously worked for a Chinese public security agency and telecommunications company ZTE, a firm with documented ties to the Chinese military-industrial complex.

The Australian Federal Police’s initial interest in the 2016 private jet flight was linked to allegations that Tom Zhou was a major money launderer, however subsequent ASIO investigations determined that at least two men on the flight (not Mr Chai) were linked to Chinese intelligence agencies. A key aim of such agencies is often to acquire defence materiel and secrets.

Mr Chen was not on the flight. He became the subject of intense ASIO interest in 2019. Prior to this, he was living in Melbourne and running several businesses. He was also listed as a director and shareholder in several Hong Kong and mainland Chinese companies with deep ties to the Chinese military procurement industry.

He was the first suspected Chinese intelligence operative to be unmasked in Australia and was named as part of an investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes in late 2019 and which aired allegations Mr Chen had sought to infiltrate Australia’s parliament. The reports detailed how an ASIO informant had claimed Mr Chen had sought to plant an operative in Federal Parliament via the Victorian Liberal Party member Nick Zhao.

In response to these revelations, ASIO director general Mike Burgess released a public statement saying his agency took the allegations involving a suspected interference plot “seriously.”

Mr Zhao died unexpectedly in March 2019, after telling ASIO officers that Mr Chen had allegedly offered him $1 million if he ran for a seat in Federal Parliament. There is no suggestion that Mr Chen was involved in Mr Zhao’s death, and the Victorian Coroner ruled the death did not involve foul play.

In an interview with this masthead in 2019, Mr Chen denied any links to Chinese military intelligence, insisting he was merely a businessman.

Analysis by officials of Mr Chen’s communications devices, travel and immigration records by authorities revealed he adopted multiple identities, including as a paint brush manufacturing manager, military vehicle manufacturer and Hong Kong journalist. Business records from Hong Kong and mainland China show Mr Chen also formed joint ventures with a subsidiary of Chinese military manufacturer Norinco.

Mr Chen also tried to buy laboratory space at Australia’s science agency, the CSIRO, and he has connections to figures involved in China’s acquisition of an aircraft carrier from Ukraine. Among his collection of photos are pictures of him on Chinese naval vessels and, according to Mr Chen himself, meeting the Hong Kong businessman Xu Zengping who aligned with the Chinese military to acquire China’s first aircraft carrier from Ukraine.

The arms and defence technology trade in China has for years been controlled by the Chinese military, either via state-owned companies or ostensibly private firms controlled by defence officials. A similar dynamic exists in Russia, with estimates more than two thirds of the country’s arms trade is controlled by the state and is used as a tool of foreign policy.

More broadly, Russia has been forging far closer ties with China as the West has ramped up sanctions and other diplomatic pressure over Russia’s aggression towards Ukraine.

On February 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin travelled to Beijing for the Winter Olympics and engaged in significant discussions with Chinese president Xi.

While the international arms trade often is propelled by political or foreign policy agendas, it also can be a lucrative business pursued by those for economic gain.

In 2011, Australian and US agencies identified a plot involving Chinese intelligence officials who had sought the help of a Sydney crime figure to smuggle weapons to Iran and Lebanon. The suspected deal was organised in Sydney and Hong Kong and involved the supply of small arms by Chinese state-owned defence company Norinco, but lead to no charges.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/afp-uncovers-suspected-chinese-spy-s-alleged-plot-to-smuggle-military-equipment-20220218-p59xld.html

>>15656192

Australia reports 43 COVID deaths before expanded border reopening

Lidia Kelly - February 19, 2022

Feb 19 (Reuters) - Australia recorded 43 coronavirus-related deaths on Saturday, as it readies to welcome international tourists on Monday for the first time in nearly two years.

The country, which shut its borders in March of 2020, has been gradually reopening since November, allowing first Australians to travel, then international students and workers, and now leisure travellers.

Once a champion of a zero-COVID strategy, the country has moved to live with the coronavirus in the community, chiefly through high vaccination rates that have resulted in less severe cases and fewer hospitalisations.

Even Western Australia, the mining-heavy state that has kept strict borders controls for almost 700 days, has decided it can cope with the Omicron outbreak and will reopen to triple-vaccinated visitors.

The state on Saturday recorded 257 new community infections, its highest yet, and no deaths. Australia's deaths were reported mainly in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland, states that continue to see several thousand daily cases or more.

Victoria, Australia's second-most populous state, will open a new quarantine hub for unvaccinated international residents on Monday.

"The Omicron variant has shown us we must continue to be flexible in our pandemic response - and the purpose-built (hub) will be vital to how we manage pandemics today and into the future," Lisa Neville, the state's police minister responsible for quarantining, said on Saturday.

Fully vaccinated travellers, Australians and international, are not required to quarantine in managed facilities.

New Zealand, Australia's closest neighbour, which keeps its international borders nearly fully shut, recorded 1,901 community cases, one of its highest daily tallies.

The two are among the most highly vaccinated countries, with more than 94% of people aged 16 and over double-dosed in Australia and 94% of those 12 and older fully vaccinated in New Zealand.

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/australia-reports-43-covid-deaths-before-expanded-border-reopening-2022-02-19/

>>15664451

Victoria set to open purpose-built quarantine hub

9 News Australia

Feb 19, 2022

Victoria's purpose-built COVID-19 quarantine facility in Melbourne’s north will accept unvaccinated international travellers from Monday. Offering guests access to fresh air, the new isolation hub will mitigate many of the challenges posed by the trouble-plagued hotel system.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WenUo0YBshE

Chinese navy ship accused of ‘unsafe’ act after pointing laser at Australian defence aircraft

MELISSA IARIA - FEBRUARY 19, 2022

A Chinese navy ship has used a laser on an Australian defence aircraft in flight, in what has been described as a “serious safety incident” that vindicates concern about the increased military presence close to Australia.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said the Australian aircraft detected the laser coming from a Chinese vessel on Thursday while it was flying along Australia’s northern approaches.

“Acts like this have the potential to endanger lives,” the ADF said in a statement on Saturday night.

The Chinese vessel, in company with another People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) ship, was sailing east through the Arafura Sea, located between northern Australia and Western New Guinea, at the time of the incident.

The Luyang-class guided missile destroyer, which is armed with surface-to-air missiles, was travelling with a Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock.

The ADF said its P-8A Poseidon detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while in flight over Australia’s northern approaches on February 17.

“The laser was detected as emanating from a People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel,” the ADF said in a statement.

“Illumination of the aircraft by the Chinese vessel is a serious safety incident.”

The head of Australian National University’s National Security College, Professor Rory Medcalf said that the incident raised “ important international security questions and vindicates concern about increasing presence of Chinese military close to Australia”.

“Would Chinese forces have reacted with such restraint if a foreign navy had committed this dangerous act in China’s maritime approaches?” he tweeted.

ABC defence correspondent Andrew Greene noted in a tweet that ADF assets had been increasingly targeted like this in recent years, but “this incident occurred very close to the Australian coast (inside EEZ) and involved a military vessel and military grade laser which had capability to take out aircraft sensors”.

The ADF condemned the actions as “unprofessional and unsafe” military conduct.

“These actions could have endangered the safety and lives of the ADF personnel,” it said.

“Such actions are not in keeping with the standards we expect of professional militaries.

“We strongly condemn unprofessional and unsafe military conduct.”

The vessel and the other PLA-N ship it was travelling in company with have since transited through the Torres Strait and are in the Coral Sea, the ADF said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/chinese-navy-ship-accused-of-unsafe-act-over-lasing-of-adf-plane/news-story/57db190ed8495acf78a977c487df1f32

>>15665139

Australian Government Department of Defence

Chinese vessel lasing ADF aircraft

19 February 2022

Defence can confirm that on 17 February 2022, a P-8A Poseidon detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while in flight over Australia’s northern approaches.

The laser was detected as emanating from a People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel. Illumination of the aircraft by the Chinese vessel is a serious safety incident.

Acts like this have the potential to endanger lives.

We strongly condemn unprofessional and unsafe military conduct.

These actions could have endangered the safety and lives of the ADF personnel.

Such actions are not in keeping with the standards we expect of professional militaries.

The vessel, in company with another PLA-N ship, was sailing east through the Arafura Sea at the time of the incident. Both ships have since transited through the Torres Strait and are in the Coral Sea.

Media Note

Imagery is available here: https://images.defence.gov.au/S20220361

https://news.defence.gov.au/media/media-releases/chinese-vessel-lasing-adf-aircraft

Jeffrey Epstein’s model agent friend Jean-Luc Brunel found dead in prison cell

Jeffrey Epstein’s model agent friend Jean-Luc Brunel has been found dead in prison, as his alleged Australian victim spoke of her disappointment not to face him at his trial.

Shoba Rao - February 20, 2022

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The alleged Australian victim of Jeffrey Epstein’s friend Jean-Luc Brunel, who was found dead in his Paris prison cell on Saturday, says she’s “disappointed” she won’t face him at his trial.

Virginia Giuffre, who recently settled a sex assault civil case with another of Epstein’s friends Prince Andrew, has claimed that she was also one of Brunel’s abuse victims.

On Twitter she wrote: “The suicide of Jean-Luc Brunel, who abused me and countless girls and young women, ends another chapter.

“I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to face him in a final trial to hold him accountable.”

Meanwhile, the family of Ghislaine Maxwell say they fear for her safety following Brunel’s death.

Maxwell, who was convicted last year of sex trafficking, allegedly introduced Brunel to billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was also found dead in his Manhattan jail cell in August 2019.

“It’s really shocking,” Ian Maxwell, one of Ghislaine’s siblings, told the New York Post. “Another death … in a high-security prison. My reaction is one of total shock and bewilderment.”

In an interview from his home in London, Ian Maxwell said the family “fears for her safety” at the Metropolitan Detention Centre in Brooklyn where she is being held.

Following her December 29 conviction on sexual abuse charges, Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, was put into a room at the prison with a psychiatrist and two others, her brother said.

“She was deemed a suicide risk and they are now waking her up every 15 minutes. It’s a complete violation of prisoner rights and human rights,” Ian Maxwell said.

It comes as Jeffrey Epstein’s close friend Jean-Luc Brunel, who was accused of procuring more than a thousand women and girls for the US billionaire, has been found dead in prison.

The discovery comes days after Prince Andrew agreed to settle Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s lawsuit accusing him of sex abuse after they met through Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

French daily newspapers Le Monde and Le Parisian report the formerly powerful French modelling tycoon was found after he allegedly took his life in his prison cell at La Sante in Paris.

It is reported that he was found dead at around 1am, local time, during a night check by prison guards. Video cameras were reportedly not working at the time he died. Prosecutors said an investigation into the cause of death is underway.

(continued)

>>15670139

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Brunel, 76, had been indicted and remanded in custody in December 2020 following accusations of rape and sexual assault of minors – including three 12-year-old sisters.

He was awaiting a criminal trial on a day to be confirmed.

He was arrested at the city’s Charles de Gaulle airport as he tried to board a plane to Dakar, Senegal, where he told detectives: “I’m going on holiday.”

He was also being investigated over human trafficking and being part of a criminal conspiracy amid his association with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell.

Described previously as Epstein’s “best mate” and “pimp”, he is believed to have been a key member of Epstein’s inner circle.

Brunel denied involvement “directly or indirectly” in any of Epstein’s offences in a statement issued in 2015.

“I strongly deny having committed any illicit act or any wrongdoing in the course of my work,” he stated.

Jailed ahead of a trial, Epstein was also found dead in his cell after being linked to a string of sordid abuses involving underage girls at both his Palm Beach home and on his private island in the Caribbean.

There were allegations that some abuses may also have taken place in Paris at Epstein’s apartment on Ave Foch near the Champs-Elysees.

Brunel began his career as a model scout who in 1978 set up the prestigious Karin Models agency before he moved to the US where he co-founded the Miami-based agency MC2.

Brunel’s name had been linked to Epstein for several years but details emerged only relatively recently during a civil lawsuit launched in 2015 by Virginia Roberts Giuffre against Epstein.

According to court documents, Roberts Giuffre accused Epstein of using her as a “sex slave” and said she had been forced to have sex with well-known politicians and businessmen, including Brunel.

She also alleged that Brunel would bring girls as young as 12 to the US and pass them on to his friends, including Epstein.

These claims prompted Brunel to issue his statement saying he had “decided to bring judicial proceedings in France and in the United States against allegations which cause considerable damage to me personally and to my model agencies.”

A French judicial inquiry into Brunel’s conduct was opened in August 2019, when prosecutors heard allegations that Brunel and Prince Andrew shared a lover.

Both Prince Andrew and Brunel deny these claims.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/world/jeffrey-epsteins-model-agent-friend-jeanluc-brunel-found-dead-in-prison-cell/news-story/9f6641c0baba7df5c54b46b9b467e756

>>15670139

Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet

The suicide of Jean-Luc Brunel, who abused me and countless girls and young women, ends another chapter. I’m disappointed that I wasn’t able to face him in a final trial to hold him accountable, but gratified that I was able to testify in person last year to keep him in prison.

https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1495067505131503618

>>15670139

GIUFFRE VS. MAXWELL

Deposition

VIRGINIA GIUFFRE

05/03/2016

(Laura A. Menninger, Appearing on behalf of the Defendant)

Q … Okay. Name the other politically connected and financially powerful people that Ghislaine Maxwell told you to go have sex with?

(Virginia Giuffre)

A Again, I'm going to tell you "they" [Maxwell and Epstein] because that's how it went. They instructed me to go to George Mitchell, Jean Luc Brunel, Bill Richardson, another prince that I don't know his name. A guy that owns a hotel, a really large hotel chain, I can't remember which hotel it was. Marvin Minsky. There was, you know, another foreign president, I can't remember his name. He was Spanish. There's a whole bunch of them that I just - it's hard for me to remember all of them. You know, I was told to do something by these people constantly, told to - my whole life revolved around just pleasing these men and keeping Ghislaine and Jeffrey happy. Their whole entire lives revolved around sex. They call massages sex. They call modeling sex …

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4355835/giuffre-v-maxwell/?order_by=desc

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706/gov.uscourts.nysd.447706.1090.32_1.pdf

>>15670139

Epstein associate found dead in prison

Sky News Australia

Feb 20, 2022

A longtime associate of Jeffrey Epstein has been found dead in his prison cell in Paris.

French Modelling agent Jean-Luc Brunel was detained as part of an inquiry into allegations of rape, sexual assault and sexual harassment in December 2020.

Mr Brunel's body was discovered in his prison cell yesterday.

He was being investigated as part of an inquiry into whether Jeffrey Epstein had committed sex crimes on French territory – against French victims.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRAdYdUWjx0

>>15670139

Ghislaine Maxwell’s family ‘fears for her safety’ after Brunel found dead

Isabel Vincent - February 19, 2022

The family of Ghislaine Maxwell say they fear for her safety after model agent Jean-Luc Brunel was found hanged in his Paris prison cell on Saturday.

Maxwell, who was convicted last year of sex trafficking, allegedly introduced Brunel to billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, who was found hanging in his Manhattan lockup in August 2019.

“It’s really shocking,” Ian Maxwell, one of Ghislaine’s siblings, told The Post. “Another death by hanging in a high-security prison. My reaction is one of total shock and bewilderment.”

In an interview from his home in London, Maxwell said the family “fears for her safety” at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn where she is being held.

Following her Dec. 29 conviction on sexual abuse charges, Maxwell was put into a room at the prison with a psychiatrist and two others, including a guard with everything recorded on camera, her brother said.

“Despite the psychiatrist advising to the contrary, she was deemed a suicide risk and they are continuing to wake her up every 15 minutes in the night. It’s a complete violation of prisoner rights and human rights,” Ian Maxwell said.

Maxwell insisted his younger sister is not suicidal, and said that it was “ironic” that Epstein and Brunel who died of apparent suicides were not on suicide watches in their respective prisons. Epstein had been taken off suicide watch shortly before his death in August, 2019.

Last month, Ghislaine Maxwell, 60, officially requested a retrial after a juror in the case told media that he used his own experience of being sexually abused in order to influence his peers on the jury to reach a guilty verdict.

Maxwell’s attorney Bobbi Sternheim refused comment Saturday.

Brunel, who ran Karin Models in Paris, and later formed MC2 Model Management with Epstein, was charged with securing girls and young women for Epstein.

He was awaiting trial when he was found hanged by his bedsheets in his cell around 1:30 a.m. local time at La Sante prison, the Paris prosecutor’s office told CNN.

French prison authorities told local media that “no breach” in security at the prison had occurred, and an investigation into the cause of death had been launched.

https://nypost.com/2022/02/19/ghislaine-maxwells-family-fears-for-safety-after-jean-luc-brunel-death/

>>15665139

Australia accuses China of 'act of intimidation' after laser aimed at aircraft

Lidia Kelly - February 20, 2022

MELBOURNE, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison accused Beijing of an 'act of intimidation' after a Chinese navy vessel directed a laser at an Australian military surveillance aircraft last week.

A P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft was illuminated on Thursday while flying over Australia's northern approaches by a laser from a People's Liberation Army–Navy (PLA-N) vessel, potentially endangering lives, the defence department said.

Morrison said his government will demand answers from Beijing.

"I can see it no other way than an act of intimidation, one (…) unprovoked, unwarranted," Morrison said at a briefing. "And Australia will never accept such acts of intimidation."

Defence Minister Peter Dutton called the incident "a very aggressive act" that took place in Australia's exclusive economic zone.

"I think the Chinese government is hoping that nobody talks about these aggressive bullying acts," Dutton told Sky News television. "We're seeing different forms of it right across the region and in many parts of the world."

The Chinese vessel was sailing east with another PLA-N ship through the Arafura Sea at the time of the incident, the department said. The sea lies between the north coast of Australia and the south coast of New Guinea.

Relations between Australia and China, its top trade partner, soured after Canberra banned Huawei Technologies Co Ltd from its 5G broadband network in 2018, toughened laws against foreign political interference, and urged an independent investigation into the origins of COVID-19.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australia-accuses-china-act-intimidation-after-laser-aimed-aircraft-2022-02-19/

>>15665139

'Very aggressive act': Dutton calls out Chinese warship targeting RAAF aircraft

Sky News Australia

Feb 20, 2022

China's "very aggressive act" needs to be explained after one of its warships sailing within Australia's exclusive economic zone shone a military-grade laser at a RAAF aircraft, says Defence Minister Peter Dutton.

The Australian Defence Force accused a Chinese warship sailing in Northern waters of firing a military-grade laser at a RAAF P-8 Poseidon aircraft – which had been monitoring it from above.

The incident reportedly happened on Thursday morning as the Chinese destroyer was sailing through the Arafura Sea – which is within international waters – but inside Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

"It's a very aggressive act and that's why it's right that we call it out," Mr Dutton said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cxjk3jiuR10

Australian police cracking down on protesters who try to incite violence

STEPHEN RICE - FEBRUARY 20, 2022

Protest leaders who have called for the execution of politicians and other public officials will be targeted for prosecution as federal and state police forces change tactics and crack down on incitements to violence, in a bid to avert a feared “lone wolf” terror attack.

Police are expected to charge high-profile leaders of the “freedom” movement with incitement to commit offences of violence and deprivation of liberty, following explicit death threats to MPs, state premiers and other officials.

In one recent case, a prominent leader of the Convoy to Canberra protests publicly called for Foreign Minister Marise Payne to be hanged by a wire cable.

In Western Australia, police have already charged a leader of the so-called Sovereign Citizen movement who threatened Premier Mark McGowan, under rarely used incitement provisions.

Counter-terrorism authorities have been reluctant to use incitement laws for fear of provoking further violence from extremists but now believe that risk is outweighed by the threat of an attack by an unbalanced individual spurred on by others.

ASIO boss Mike Burgess last week warned that the greatest ­security threat facing the nation was from conspiracy theory ­extremists and anti-government “sovereign citizens” who did not fit on the traditional left-right spectrum.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw last week vowed to ramp up enforcement action against those inciting violence, even if not committing it themselves.

“Where disinformation reaches a criminal threshold – particularly where it urges or advocates violence – the AFP will be exercising the full force of its powers,” he said. Mr Kershaw told a parliamentary inquiry the AFP was very concerned about the risks to MPs and their staff, noting the murder of British MP Sir David Amess four months ago.

Risk assessments for MPs would be “a growth part of our business”, he said, pointing to more than 20 arrests at the Canberra protests, including that of a Sovereign Citizen leader found with what police allege was a loaded sawn-off rifle and plans of Parliament House in his truck.

Sovereign Citizens believe they – not politicians, judges or police – should decide which laws to obey and which to ignore.

Among those being monitored is an ex-SAS officer, Riccardo Bosi, who has figured prominently in the Convoy to Canberra ­protests, often dressed in military fatigues.

Mr Bosi, who leads the unregistered AustraliaOne Party and has more than 40,000 followers on Telegram, has called several times for politicians and others to be charged with treason and hanged.

In one recent video, he made vile remarks about Senator Payne.

“That bloated cow … if we hang her … we’re going to have to get an arrestor cable off an aircraft ­carrier to suspend the weight,” he said.

Mr Bosi has openly called for the execution of media figures ranging from Sky’s Peta Credlin and Andrew Bolt to the ABC’s Ita Buttrose for their alleged roles in protecting pedophiles.

“Watch them hang by their necks till they’re dead … we’ll draw a lottery to see who gets to pull the lever,” he said in one obscenity-filled rant.

State Security Investigation Group officers in Western Australia last week charged Sovereign Citizen and former policeman Wayne Glew after he allegedly posted videos inciting others to ­arrest government ministers including Mr McGowan.

The videos also allegedly threatened those who “guard” Mr McGowan.

Two other people have been charged with impersonating commonwealth public officials after they allegedly sent “arrest warrants” to government ministers.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/australian-police-cracking-down-on-protesters-who-try-to-incite-violence/news-story/0f3daeacbcb9917ade7aadfafc63acb0

>>15665139

Beijing claims RAAF plane ‘flew’ too close to laser ship

BEN PACKHAM - FEBRUARY 21, 2022

China has accused Australia of “throwing mud” over its targeting of an RAAF surveillance plane with a laser rangefinder, accusing the aircraft of flying too close to its navy ships.

Chinese Communist Party mouthpiece, The Global Times, quoted military expert Song Zhongping, who claimed it was “almost certain” that the Australian P-8A aircraft was too close to the Chinese warships.

He told the paper that Australia failed to tell the public how close its aircraft flew near the Chinese vessels, “so people could not tell if the Chinese vessels were forced to take defensive countermeasures”.

The action, which occurred in Australia’s exclusive economic zone last Thursday while the aircraft was carrying out surveillance duties in the Arafura Sea, put the lives of up to 10 defence force members in danger and has sparked concern about China’s rising influence in the region.

The Global Times also played down the use of the laser, saying almost all modern warships were equipped with similar rangefinder devices.

“They are also used for civilian purposes and are of little danger,” the paper said, quoting an unnamed expert.

Scott Morrison condemned the incident in the Torres Strait, demanding answers from Beijing.

“This is completely unacceptable and so we have demanded there be an investigation on the behaviour of what occurred on the vessel,” he said on Monday.

“It was dangerous, it was reckless and it was unprofessional for what should be a sophisticated navy.”

The Global Times said the reaction was “an attempt to throw mud at China when the PLA has been sending assistance to other countries in the region like Tonga and the Solomon Islands”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/beijing-claims-raaf-plane-flew-too-close-to-laser-ship/news-story/670a96f18528e4ddc575aa8198b0c131

>>15680374

Australia's accusation of PLA vessel's laser deployment 'false mud-throwing at China'

Liu Xuanzun and Guo Yuandan - Feb 21, 2022

Australia on Saturday accused a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy flotilla of aiming at laser at an Australian patrol aircraft, calling the move "unsafe," but this only exposes the Australian aircraft's unsafe, provocative close-in reconnaissance on the Chinese ships in the first place, and it is an attempt to throw mud at China when the PLA has been sending assistance to other countries in the region like Tonga and the Solomon Islands, helping them overcome disaster and epidemic, experts said on Sunday.

An Australian P-8A maritime patrol aircraft detected a laser emanating from one of the two PLA Navy vessels, illuminating the aircraft while in flight over Australia's northern approaches on Thursday, Australia's Department of Defense said in a press release on Saturday.

The Australian press release accused the illumination as a serious safety incident, saying the move was "unprofessional and unsafe," and "could have endangered the safety and lives of the Australian personnel."

The two PLA Navy vessels are the Type 052D destroyer Hefei and the Type 071 amphibious landing ship the Jinggangshan, according to images released by the Australian Defense Department, which also shows that the ships were sailing in international waters.

They were sailing east through the Arafura Sea at the time of the incident, and have since transited through the Torres Strait and are in the Coral Sea, the press release said.

It is almost certain that it was the Australian patrol aircraft that conducted a close-in reconnaissance on the Chinese warships first, Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Sunday.

Australia failed to tell the public how close its aircraft flew near the Chinese vessels, so people could not tell if the Chinese vessels were forced to take defensive countermeasures, Song said.

Almost all modern warships are equipped with laser rangefinders, which are a type of measurement tool used to tell distances between objects, an analyst close to the PLA who requested anonymity told the Global Times on Sunday.

They are also used for civilian purposes and are of little danger, the anonymous analyst said, noting that the Australian military knowingly hyped this with the aim of throwing mud at China.

PLA aircraft and vessels have been frequent visitors to the South Pacific recently, as they sent supplies to Tonga for disaster relief and to the Solomon Islands for anti-epidemic efforts.

On January 28, two Y-20 large transport aircraft of the PLA Air Force arrived in Tonga, delivering 33 tons of supplies including food, fresh water, water purifiers and tents to the South Pacific nation, helping it overcome the devastating volcanic eruption and subsequent tsunami.

On Tuesday, the second batch of disaster relief weighing 1,400 tons arrived in Tonga via the Type 071 amphibious landing ship Wuzhishan and the Type 901 comprehensive supply ship Chaganhu.

A PLA Air Force Y-20 transport aircraft on Friday arrived in the Solomon Islands, bringing Chinese anti-epidemic supplies including test kits and oxygen generators weighing over 20 tons, as the country faces a growing number of COVID-19 cases.

Australia does not like China providing concrete benefits to other countries near Australia, so it is finding all ways to discredit China, analysts said.

In the meantime, Australia's largest warship, the HMAS Adelaide, suffered significant power failures when conducting humanitarian operations to Tonga.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1252720.shtml

>>15680374

Global Times torches Australia for trying to ‘throw mud’ at China

Sky News Australia

Feb 21, 2022

China’s mouthpiece ‘The Global Times’ has accused Australia of attempting to “throw mud” at the country following Canberra’s anger over a Chinese warship pointing a laser at an Australian military plane.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HxOE3Ho-tI

US military asset to be linked to controversial Port of Darwin via fuel pipeline

Henry Belot - 21 February 2022

A US military asset currently under construction will be linked via a fuel pipeline to the controversial Port of Darwin, raising more national security concerns about the wharf controlled by Chinese company Landbridge.

Work on the $270 million East Arm fuel storage facility began last month and, by late next year, it is expected to be able to hold 300 million litres of fuel, supporting the expansion of American military presence in the Northern Territory and Indo-Pacific.

The previously unreported link comes amid heightened tensions between Beijing and Canberra, and as the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader openly criticise the port's $506 million lease and consider whether it should be cancelled.

Construction of the fuel farm is being managed by the Florida-based company Crowley Solutions.

Its vice-president, Sean Thomas, said that military fuel would be dispensed and collected through the Port of Darwin.

"We will have a pipeline connecting our facility to the petroleum, oils and lubricants berth at the port, at which ships employed by the US government will either take receipt of fuel or issue fuel into the facility," Mr Thomas said.

Labor senator Kimberley Kitching said that was a concern, as it could give a Beijing-linked company access to sensitive military activity, such as the storage of military fuel.

There is no publicly available evidence so far that operations could be observed by foreign officials at the port nor that sensitive information could be passed back to the Chinese government, but there are bipartisan concerns that that is possible.

"If Landbridge remains in ownership of the Port of Darwin, then there [will be] fuel pipelines that are necessary for the refuelling of US and allied ships," said Senator Kitching, who chairs the Senate's Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee.

"Obviously, they would have access to them. That is a problem. If you are going to be pumping fuel and a situation develops, there might be a strategic issue.

"No one expected a Chinese navy ship in recent days to use a military laser to target and Australian defence plane. We just don't know what is going to happen."

Landbridge has previously insisted its interests are purely commercial and has been contacted for comment.

Port ownership review ongoing

In October, Defence completed a national security review of the Port of Darwin and is now consulting with other agencies, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, before a final recommendation is made to government.

On Friday, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he opposed the sale of the port and that he would not hesitate to cancel the contract if advised to do so by Defence and intelligence agencies.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said there was a case "for strategic assets in the national interest to remain in Australian hands".

Defence and security analyst Alan Dupont said the 99-year lease of a strategic port to a Chinese subsidiary company was controversial, but manageable.

"It's essentially a political risk, rather than security risk," he said.

"There's no doubt there's a perception problem, particularly outside Australia, that the Chinese own Darwin Harbour or the Port of Darwin and that's clearly not correct."

Mr Dupont does not expect an announcement from the federal government any time soon.

"The government itself is divided on the merits, or otherwise, of taking the lease back and, therefore, the last thing that probably the Prime Minister wants is an internal ruckus within his cabinet before an election," Mr Dupont said.

A spokesman for the Northern Territory government said it played a role in the leasing of land for the fuel farm and that it had not been advised of national security concerns.

The ABC has approached the Defence Department, asking how it judges the risk of having a Chinese-owned company responsible for handling fuel destined for the US military.

The Defence Minister Peter Dutton's office was also approached for comment.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-21/us-military-asset-link-port-of-darwin-landbridge/100847070

>>15656192

'Welcome back world!': Australia fully reopens borders after two years

Renju Jose - FEBRUARY 21, 2022

SYDNEY (Reuters) -Australia on Monday fully reopened its international borders to travellers vaccinated against the coronavirus after nearly two years of pandemic-related closings as tourists returned and hundreds of people were reunited with family and friends.

More than 50 international flights will reach the country through the day, including 27 touching down in Sydney, its largest city, as the tourism and hospitality sectors look to rebuild after getting hammered by COVID-19 restrictions.

“It is a very exciting day, one that I have been looking forward to for a long time, from the day that I first shut that border right at the start of the pandemic,” Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in the island state of Tasmania, which relies heavily on tourism.

After being away from loved ones for months there were many emotional reunions, including for Cindy Moss who travelled from the U.S. state of Kentucky to see her daughter.

“I just haven’t seen her in so long and it was such a big thing to be able to get over here. So I’m so excited,” she said after hugging her daughter, her voice cracking with emotion.

Tourism is one of Australia’s biggest industries, worth more than A$60 billion ($43 billion) and employing about 5% of the country’s workforce. But the sector was crippled after the country shut its borders in March 2020.

Once a champion of COVID-suppression strategy, Australia shifted away from its fortress-style controls and relentless lockdowns since late last year and began living with the virus after reaching higher vaccination levels. Skilled migrants, international students and backpackers have been allowed to fly into Australia since November in a staggered reopening exercise.

“IT’S A PARTY OUT HERE”

Passengers flying to Sydney were greeted from the air with “Welcome Back World!” painted on a sign near the runways while people in kangaroo costumes welcomed travellers and a DJ played music from a van festooned with a banner saying “You were worth the wait”.

“It is a party out here, music playing, smiles on people’s faces, they will be dancing soon, I’m sure,” Tourism Minister Dan Tehan told broadcaster ABC from Sydney airport as he gave travellers gift jars of Vegemite, an iconic Australian food spread, and stuffed koala toys.

Tehan said he was hopeful for a “very strong” rebound in the tourism market, with Qantas looking to fly more than 14,000 passengers into Australia this week. Virgin Australia said it was seeing positive trends in domestic bookings and continued to assess demand for international flights.

All trains in Sydney, meanwhile, were cancelled on Monday after pay disputes between the union and the state government, taking some shine off the reopening.

As borders fully reopen, Australia’s outbreak of the Omicron coronavirus variant appears to have passed its peak with hospital admissions steadily falling over the past three weeks. The bulk of Australia’s pandemic total of about 2.7 million confirmed cases has been detected since the emergence of Omicron in late November. Total deaths stood at 4,929.

Just over 17,000 new cases and 17 deaths were registered by midday on Monday with the Northern Territory due to report later.

($1 = 1.3959 Australian dollars)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia/welcome-back-world-australia-fully-reopens-borders-after-two-years-idUSKBN2KP0LZ

>>15600712

Army officer tells Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial VC recipient threatened to 'smash his face in'

Jamie McKinnell - 21 February 2022

A senior army officer has told a Sydney court he was left "in shock" when his subordinate, Ben Roberts-Smith, threatened to "smash his face in" at an unofficial soldiers' bar in Afghanistan.

Mr Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, is suing three newspapers and three journalists for defamation, claiming 2018 articles contained false allegations of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence.

A witness known as Person 69 today told the Federal Court of his 2006 deployment to Afghanistan where he worked in an operational support role.

Person 69 recalled his understanding of a difficult mission where Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) operators in Mr Roberts-Smith's patrol were "surrounded" by Taliban fighters in the Chora Valley.

The witness, at that time a captain, later attended the Fat Ladies Arms bar with two warrant officers and overheard SAS operators discussing the mission.

He told the court he heard Mr Roberts-Smith say words to the effect of: "I was watching the expression on the guy's face as the bullets crept closer."

Person 69 said he looked over his shoulder towards Mr Roberts-Smith, then a lance corporal, who was sitting about a metre away.

"He saw me, turned to me, and said 'what the f*ck are you doing here … I should smash your face in'," Person 69 told the court.

"I was in shock because I had never been spoken to that way by a subordinate.

"I didn't really know what to say."

Person 69 said one of the warrant officers warned Mr Roberts-Smith to "pull your f*cking head in", while the other gave a "menacing stare".

"I decided it would be best I left and I never returned."

Person 69 said he had only ever been threatened three times during his career by his own team and remembered each occasion.

"It has a profound impact on me that my own team would threaten me," he said.

Under cross-examination by Bruce McClintock SC, Person 69 said he didn't report the matter because he believed it had been dealt with by the warrant officers.

He rejected Mr McClintock's suggestions the conversation never happened.

"It's ludicrous to think of a lance corporal saying that to a captain, isn't it?" Mr McClintock said.

"That's why I remember it," the witness replied.

The alleged conversation was put to Mr Roberts-Smith in the witness box last year, where he rejected that he made the comments or was reprimanded.

Person 69 also claimed earlier that day, in his accommodation, he overheard a junior trooper who was "upset and emotional" complaining of being "ostracised" by his patrol after his weapon jammed on the battlefield.

The court has previously heard that solider, Person 1, forgot oil for his machine gun on the mission.

"I'd never worked with the Australian SAS before and I was shocked they weren't a collegiate team," Person 69 told the court.

"I had worked with other special forces and they seemed to help people who were making mistakes."

The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, will resume on Tuesday.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-21/ben-roberts-smith-trial-hears-from-army-officer/100848750

>>15680374

‘Malicious, provocative’: RAAF ‘dropped sonar buoy’ claims China

BEN PACKHAM and WILL GLASGOW - FEBRUARY 22, 2022

China has released a picture of an anti-submarine sonar buoy allegedly dropped by an RAAF P-8A Poseidon in what it said was a “malicious and provocative” action.

The statement confirmed the nearest the aircraft came to two Chinese ships during their encounter in the Arafura Sea last Thursday was about 4km, which Defence had previously disclosed to The Australian.

However, the Chinese Defence Ministry said this was “very close”, demanding Australia “immediately stop such provocative and dangerous actions”.

“From the photos taken by our ship, it can be seen that the Australian aircraft is very close to our ship, and sonar buoys are also placed around our ship,” China’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement released on WeChat.

“Such malicious and provocative actions can easily lead to misunderstandings and misjudgements, posing a threat to the safety of ships, aircraft and personnel of both sides.”

It was revealed at the weekend that a Chinese naval vessel targeted the aircraft with a laser. But in a key omission, Beijing’s statement failed to mention the Chinese ship’s use of a laser to target the P-8, accusing Australia of “spreading “false information”.

Scott Morrison has condemned the use of the laser as a “reckless and irresponsible act” that endangered the P-8’s crew of ten.

The Australian has contacted Defence to confirm whether the P-8 dropped any sonar buoys.

If it did, it would suggest the aircraft believed a Chinese submarine could have been in the area, accompanying the Luyang-class guided missile destroyer and Yuzhao-class amphibious transport dock vessel during their passage of Australia’s exclusive economic zone.

Defence earlier refuted Chinese claims the RAAF aircraft was flying too close to its warships when it was targeted with a military-grade laser.

In a rare disclosure of operational details, Defence told The Australian that the P-8 was “approximately 7700m” from the People’s Liberation Army’s Navy vessel operating the laser, flying at an altitude of 457m.

It said the closest the P-8 flew to the PLA-N vessel was about 3900m.

“This is a standard flight profile for Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft for a visual inspection of a surface vessel,” Defence said in a statement.

Beijing on Monday evening denied its ships acted inappropriately in the Arafura Sea last week, when the P-8 was hit by the laser.

“We urge the Australian side to … stop maliciously spreading false information related to China,” said China’s foreign ministry spokesman, Wang Wenbin.

Mr Wang said the Chinese ships had followed “relevant international law and inter­national practice, and (were) completely legitimate”.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/malicious-provocative-raaf-dropped-sonar-buoy-claims-china/news-story/abbbd2e8f45e2e6ea15a9f5a0a9f7336

>>15680374

China slams Australia's groundless accusations on PLA Navy's operations against ADF aircraft's approach

Li Wei, Ministry of National Defense - 2022-02-21

BEIJING, Feb. 21 – The Chinese PLA naval vessel maintained safe, normative and professional operations all along in the whole process when encountering the aircraft attached to the Australian Defence Force (ADF), which conforms to the International Law and related international practices, said Spokesperson Senior Colonel Tan Kefei of the Chinese Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Monday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in a response to the claim made by the Australian Department of Defense that a Chinese PLA naval vessel illuminated an ADF's P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft with the laser on February 17. The ADF condemned that the Chinese vessel made unprofessional and unsafe military conduct which endangered the safety and lives of the ADF personnel.

The Chinese defense spokesperson declared that the claim of the Australian side completely goes against the facts. He introduced that on February 17, an Australian P-8A anti-submarine patrol aircraft approached the airspace over the PLA naval fleet with the nearest distance of only 4 kilometers.

The spokesperson provided two pictures taken from the Chinese naval vessel, which clearly showed that the ADF aircraft was very close to the PLA naval vessel and even cast sonar buoy around the vessel.

Such spiteful and provocative actions by the ADF will undoubtedly result in misunderstanding and threaten the safety of aircraft, vessel and personnel of both sides, said the Chinese defense spokesperson. He also pointed out that the Australian side then deliberately spread false information and made irresponsible claim.

"China is firmly opposed to these actions by the Australia," stressed the spokesperson, adding that China urges the Australia side to stop such provocative and risky actions and groundless slander toward China, and avoid negative effects on the relationship of the two countries and two militaries.

http://eng.mod.gov.cn/news/2022-02/21/content_4905451.htm

>>15680374

China responds to RAAF allegations

Sky News Australia

Feb 22, 2022

Beijing has responded to accusations made by the Australian government after a Chinese naval vessel pointed a laser at a local surveillance aircraft.

Defence has rejected Beijing's claims the Australian P-8A aircraft was flying too close to the ship and said it was more than 7 kilometres away.

A spokesperson for China's Foreign Affairs said those claims are untrue.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3w-2m3iGJAk

>>15688601

Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on February 21, 2022

NHK: The Australian government claims that a Chinese navy vessel pointed a laser at an Australian surveillance aircraft on February 17. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he will protest to China about this. Does the Chinese side have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: According to what we have checked and verified with relevant department on the Chinese side, the information released by the Australian side is untrue. The normal navigation of Chinese vessels on the high seas is in line with relevant international law and international practice and is completely legal and legitimate. We urge Australia to respect the lawful rights that China’s vessels are entitled to in relevant waters under international law and stop maliciously disseminating China-related disinformation.

…..

The Paper: According to reports, on February 19, US Secretary of State, UK Foreign Secretary and Australian Foreign Minister held a trilateral meeting on the margins of the Munich Security Conference, where they discussed progress made in implementing initiatives within the AUKUS trilateral security partnership, including Australia’s acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines. Do you have any comment?

Wang Wenbin: The US, the UK and Australia have been blatantly advancing nuclear submarine cooperation in disregard of their non-proliferation obligations and the shared concerns and opposition of regional countries and the international community. This is provocation against regional security and defiance of international rules. The AUKUS trilateral security partnership is further evidence that the rules-based international order championed by the three countries is based on the interests of a small clique and does not represent the the will of the majority of the international community. The three countries’ willful behavior of doing whatever they want to serve their needs guided by the doctrine of “might makes right” is nothing short of the law of the jungle in the 21st century.

Once again China urges the three countries to treat the concerns of regional countries and the international community with a responsible attitude, earnestly respect regional countries’ efforts to establish a Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone and a South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone, conscientiously fulfill their nuclear non-proliferation obligations, and stop the dangerous moves that undermine regional peace and stability.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202202/t20220221_10644075.html

>>15688601

Japan 'fully behind' Australia over laser incident involving China in Arafura Sea, says ambassador Yamagami Shingo

Stephen Dziedzic - 22 February 2022

Japan's Ambassador to Canberra has backed Australia's demand that China's navy explains why it shined a laser at an Australian Defence force plane in the Arafura Sea, labelling it a "very dangerous" provocation.

The incident has sparked a fresh bout of recriminations between Australia and China, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison labelling it an "act of intimidation" which put the lives of the Australian air crew at risk.

Beijing has not denied that its ship lasered the Australian surveillance plane, but China's Foreign Ministry accused Australia of "maliciously spreading disinformation" about the event.

China's Defence Ministry weighed in as well, saying that the Australian aircraft dropped portable sonar systems called sonobuoys into the water near its ships in a "provocative" move.

The Defence Ministry also said the plane had come within four kilometres of the Chinese ships. But independent military analysts told the ABC that is not unusually close for surveillance planes, and could not be cast as an aggressive act.

An Australian Defence spokesperson said at the time of the incident, the closest the RAAF plane flew to the ship was 3,900 metres.

"This is a standard flight profile for Royal Australian Air Force maritime patrol aircraft for a visual inspection of a surface vessel," they said.

Japanese ambassador Yamagami Shingo said Tokyo shared Australia's concerns about what happened off the coast of the Northern Territory and said his country was "fully behind Australia on this matter".

"I think anyone who has been involved in defence or national security issues will easily agree … that this is a provocation [and] very dangerous," Ambassador Yamagami told the Australian Institute of International Affairs in Melbourne.

The ambassador said China had also targeted Japanese ships with lasers in the disputed waters of the East China Sea, where Beijing is intent on challenging Tokyo's hold on the uninhabited Senkaku island chain.

"This is the kind of experience we have gone through before – our Self Defence Forces vessels have also been laser-targeted by [China]" the Ambassador said.

But he also stressed that while it was important to respond "firmly" to provocations, the Japanese Self Defence Force navy was also very careful not to "react in an emotional manner."

For example, if Chinese coastguard ships approached into contested waters claimed by Japan, then Tokyo would be careful not to ratchet up tensions by sending in heavily-armed naval vessels into the same area.

"This is our way of handling the matter in a professional manner without escalating the matter," he said.

The ambassador's comments are one of the first public expressions of support that Australia has received from other countries in the region since the confrontation.

On Monday, the Prime Minister said Australia was demanding an explanation from China on behalf of several other countries in the region who were also worried about aggressive behaviour by China's navy.

"We expect, and not just Australia, [but] all countries in the region demand an answer to this because it's an Australian surveillance aircraft this time — [but] who's next?" Mr Morrison told reporters.

But so far most major countries in the immediate region – including Indonesia and Papua New Guinea – have steered well clear of the controversy and have made no public remark about what happened.

Ambassador Yamagami said he believed the behaviour of China's navy was "constantly discussed" by the four Quad countries – Australia, India, the United States and Japan – and was likely to be a focus of the AUKUS defence agreement as well.

He also predicted that a "number of like-minded" countries would support Australia in any dispute with China over the matter, although he didn't predict what form that support might take.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/japanese-ambassador-slams-china-over-raaf-laser-incident/100849886

>>15688601

Australia's 'laser attack' fault-finding farce copies the US: Global Times editorial

Global Times - Feb 22, 2022

In regard to Australia's hype of a Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy vessel pointing a laser at an Australian patrol aircraft, here comes the truth. It was the villain - Australia - sued its victims. An Australian defense plane made dangerous moves toward a Chinese naval vessel, but Australia turned around and blamed China. However, such a move is consistent with Australia's "character."

On Monday, the spokesman of China's Ministry of National Defense said that the Australian P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft operated near the Chinese vessel flotilla with a minimal distance of only four kilometers. The Chinese vessels were sailing normally in international waters, which conform to the relevant international laws and international practices. Against this backdrop, the fact that an Australian P-8 anti-submarine patrol aircraft came within only four kilometers from Chinese ships for surveillance was highly provocative.

Worse still, the Australian plane also dropped sonobuoys around Chinese ships. Such a move means it was preparing to detect if there were Chinese submarine activities and possibly force PLA submarines, if there were any, to surface. This went far beyond the scope of "unprofessional," and became a practice of military hostility. Such a malicious and provocative behavior could easily lead to a misunderstanding and misjudgment, threatening the vessels, the aircraft and the safety of the personnel on both sides.

In the face of such malicious provocations, China maintained safe, standard and professional actions throughout the process, and did not take the initiative to announce the ugly actions of the Australian patrol aircraft to the international community. Instead, China chose to keep a low profile and remain restraint. This is China's goodwill toward regional stability as a responsible major country. However, Australia has been slandering China without telling the full story. Australia has played the trick of a thief crying to stop a thief to the utmost.

The key information China released was missing from the statement of the Australian defense department or from the remarks of Prime Minister Scott Morrison or Defense Minister Peter Dutton.

They just repeatedly claimed that "a Chinese navy ship fired a laser at an Australian surveillance aircraft" and that the Australian government "would always stand up to China's coercion, bullying and intimidation." These remarks show their persecutory delusions.

Morrison, in particular, seemed extremely frantic. He spoke out on the matter for two days in a row, each time more vehemently, demanding a "full investigation" from Beijing. He also put forward an inconceivable hypothesis that if an Australian frigate points a laser at a Chinese surveillance aircraft in the Taiwan Straits, "Could you imagine their reaction to that in Beijing?"

This provocative analogy was in fact a sensational campaign stunt designed to play the "anti-China card" with the opposition Labor Party, and to compete with his opponent Dutton over who is better at political hype as the general election is approaching, completely disregarding the truth, let alone justice.

Australia has shown such a high profile without much self-awareness in recent years, as if it is no longer a good US lackey if it does not do so. Australia established an AUKUS alliance with the US and the UK last year, preparing to build and deploy a fleet of nuclear submarines with long-range capability. It also touted that Australia must be prepared to "send off, yet again, our warriors to fight." Its warships have also frequently swaggered in the South China Sea from time to time, and they claimed to attempt to break into waters within 12 nautical miles around Chinese islands and reefs. Australia's military ambitions are expanding like never before. As a result, the farce of bullying others by flaunting his powerful connections often appears.

It is now clear that Australia's claim that its patrol plane was fired at with laser light by a Chinese naval vessel is nothing but a fault-finding farce directed and performed by Australia itself. Of course, this is not Australia's own creation. The US had been embarrassed by China several times in this regard. Australia even copied the US on how to find fault with China. Australia deserves its title as an "anti-China vanguard of the US." Meanwhile, it showed the international community who is the destabilizing factor in the region.

As for Morrison's so-called "intimidation" from the Chinese side, what he needs to do now is not to seize the microphone of the media, but to tell his defense minister that only by following the rules can there be safety.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1252823.shtml

>>15600712

Former soldier tells court Ben Roberts-Smith ordered mock execution of unarmed prisoner during training exercise

Jamie McKinnell - 22 February 2022

A former elite soldier has told a Sydney court Ben Roberts-Smith surprised colleagues when he ordered the mock execution of an unarmed prisoner during a training exercise.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, The Canberra Times and three journalists in the Federal Court over a series of 2018 articles.

The Victoria Cross recipient argues he was defamed by false allegations in those stories of unlawful killings, bullying and domestic violence, while publisher Nine Entertainment is seeking to establish a truth defence.

A former colleague, anonymised in court as Person 19 and called by Nine, today recalled a 2012 pre-deployment training exercise in Lancelin involving an assault at a mock Afghan village.

He said another colleague, Person 9, was among soldiers playing the role of villager or civilian and was kneeling on the ground in Afghan robes towards the end of the exercise.

Person 19 said Mr Roberts-Smith directed another member of the patrol, Person 10, to "shoot the PUC (Person Under Confinement)".

"I remember that distinctly because it was unusual," the witness said.

"I remember seeing the look on Person 9's face, they were quite surprised as well, no-one had expected to hear that phrase."

Person 19 said he recalled Person 10 then "saying bang" or shooting at the ground.

The witness recalled another training exercise at Bindoon, also involving an assault on a mock compound.

He said there was a discussion about "sensitive site exploitation", the process of searching a scene to gather intelligence.

Person 19 claimed Mr Roberts-Smith told colleagues: "Any people we suspected of being enemy combatants, we'd take them into a room and shoot the c*nts".

He told the court that either Mr Roberts-Smith or another member of the patrol, Person 35, then discussed the prospect of a "throw down", where a weapon could be placed on a body and "submitted as evidence that they were killed in the conduct of the assault."

This would mean they would "be deemed an enemy combatant," the witness said.

The court heard Person 19 was removed from the patrol days before deployment as a result of disciplinary action, after he left body armour and a plastic bag of ammunition in his car, which was later stolen.

The witness said the car was involved in an accident, leading to a military investigation and charges of losing service property and prejudicial behaviour.

He spent 32 days in defence force jail in September and October 2013, the court heard.

Person 19 also admitted to a "gross error of judgement" by making a false declaration on a form that his girlfriend wasn't living with him, for which he was dismissed in 2014 after pleading guilty to recklessly gaining financial advantage.

Under cross-examination by Arthur Moses SC, for Mr Roberts-Smith, Person 19 admitted he initially asserted he didn't know the ammunition was in the car.

He agreed he was "quite upset" and "disappointed" about not being deployed, describing his errors as "silly" and costing him a 14-year career.

"Is it the case that you harbour anger towards [Mr Roberts-Smith] because he had to raise matters about the ammunition in your vehicle with the unit?" Mr Moses asked.

"No," the witness replied.

Person 19 told the court when he first reported the issue to Mr Roberts-Smith, the veteran replied: "Don't say anything about this and it will go away".

The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-22/ben-roberts-smith-trial-mock-execution-training-exercise/100850172

Labor braces for report into dealings with fire union

DAMON JOHNSTON - FEBRUARY 22, 2022

A marathon anti-corruption investigation into dealings between the Andrews government and the United Firefighters Union is nearing a potentially dramatic climax.

The Australian can reveal the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission is putting the finishing touches to the top-secret investigation codenamed Operation Richmond.

IBAC has written to multiple witnesses called before the investigation this week informing them its probe is almost complete and it was preparing a draft report into the investigation which opened in mid-2018.

The preparation of a draft report suggests the anti-corruption agency will also release a public report into the four-year probe, which could be explosive for the Andrews government.

Operation Richmond has been one of the most secretive operations in the history of IBAC and has involved scores of witnesses being called before secret hearings.

The investigation’s original focus was into the dealings between the UFU and its state secretary Peter Marshall and Labor, but it’s terms are believed to have widened over the course of the probe.

“We gave them (IBAC) everything on a platter,” one witness told The Australian.

Among the issues believed central to the IBAC probe are the events surrounding the controversial merging of the Country Fire Authority and the Metropolitan Fire Brigade and industrial agreements, allowances and pay claims between the government and the union. Premier Daniel Andrews has previously declined to comment on whether he was a subject of the investigation.

The Australian believes that among the issues witnesses raised with IBAC was the alleged hacking of emails from MFB chiefs.

It’s also believed that senior Labor ministers have emerged as figures of interest to the secret anti-corruption investigation as it probed dealings between the government and the UFU.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/labor-braces-for-report-into-dealings-with-fire-union/news-story/e393819d2dd2932bf2f321f50a5262b6

Federal police warn human trafficking will surge as international borders open

ANGELICA SNOWDEN - FEBRUARY 22, 2022

Reports of all types of human trafficking are expected to surge from Monday after Australia’s international border reopened.

Australian Federal Police expect criminals to exploit eased travel restrictions with cases of modern slavery — including forced marriage, forced labour and sexual servitude — set to increase after two years of border closures.

AFP Detective Superintendent Jayne Crossling said traffickers may have been disrupted during the pandemic due to travel restrictions, but victims continued to be exploited in Australia.

“We think there was a lag in reporting. We think the offending behaviour was still happening but it was harder for the victim to either self report, or it was harder for them to engage with somebody to act as an advocate,” she said.

It is not uncommon for women to be sexually exploited in Australia after they were promised a job in retail or hospitality, Superintendent Crossling said.

“When they get to Australia, they discover that perhaps they‘re actually working in a massage parlour. And then they‘re told perhaps, that they have a debt to pay that they were never told about before they left the country,” she said.

“So they‘re then told that in order to pay the debt off, they actually have to perform sexual acts on clients.

“You can imagine the spiralling down where none of this is what I thought it was going to be. For some of them they feel too potentially proud or embarrassed to let their family back in their country of origin know.”

There have been 189 reports of human trafficking between July 1, 2021 and February 9 this year — already a slight increase on the previous financial year, which saw a total of 224 human trafficking cases.

Forced marriage, domestic servitude

In this year alone, 47 victims of forced marriage have been reported to the AFP plus 23 cases of sexual servitude, 30 cases of forced labour, 34 cases of trafficking and 15 reports of domestic servitude.

It’s likely there are many more cases of modern slavery in Australia because for every victim who is known to police, the Australian Institute of Criminology has predicted there are an additional four who are not detected.

Organised criminal syndicates, small groups and individuals have all been found responsible for human trafficking and the AFP are also investigating some cases where social media and apps have been used to recruit employees.

The majority of people who are trafficked into Australia come from Asia, including Thailand, Korea, Philippines and Malaysia. Most enter through Sydney or Melbourne and are frequently shifted between states after they arrive.

It is common for people who are trafficked to also be victims of “the most heinous of crimes” like sexual and physical assault, the AFP said in a statement. Victims are deprived of their basic human rights, including access to food, because their freedom is controlled.

AFP Commander human exploitation Hilda Sirec said signs a person is at risk of being trafficked or is a victim include that they are reluctant to travel, their movements appear to be controlled by another person, and they don’t have access to their passport.

Anyone concerned about human trafficking can report it by calling the Australian Federal Police on 131 237 or email NOSSC-Client-Liaison@afp.gov.au (National Operations State Service Centre)

Australian Federal Police - Human trafficking, slavery and slavery-like practices (including forced marriage) information report form

https://forms.afp.gov.au/online_forms/human_trafficking_form

Crime Stoppers - 1800 333 000

https://crimestoppers.com.au/

If you, or someone you know, is at risk of a forced marriage please see:

My Blue Sky - Australia’s dedicated forced marriage portal providing information, support and legal advice to people in or at risk of forced marriages

https://mybluesky.org.au/

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/federal-police-warn-human-trafficking-will-surge-as-international-borders-open/news-story/ca76789141135daa218baad44d640aa0

>>15665146

>>15688601

Australian Government Department of Defence

Chinese ship lasing of P-8A Poseidon on 17 February 2022

22 February 2022

On 17 February 2022, an Australian Maritime Patrol Aircraft P-8A Poseidon detected a laser illuminating the aircraft while it was conducting a routine surveillance flight over Australia’s northern approaches.

The laser was detected as emanating from a People’s Liberation Army – Navy (PLA-N) vessel. Illumination of the aircraft by the Chinese vessel is a serious safety incident.

Defence conducts surveillance patrols as part of our integrated and layered approach to surveillance of our maritime approaches including the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone.

These activities are conducted in a disciplined and safe manner, well clear of surface vessels and in accordance with international law, particularly the United Nations Convention of the Laws of the Sea (UNCLOS).

To surveil the approaches to Australia the P-8A is equipped with an array of sensors to locate, track and understand air, surface and subsurface contacts.

Surveillance activities are conducted using all available surveillance tools including photography, sonobuoys and radio calls to identify maritime and air traffic.

The use of sonobuoys for maritime surveillance is common practice.

Sonobuoys are used to collect passive acoustic data on environmental activity as well as surface and sub-surface contacts. These buoys are a receiving buoy only and do not pose any hazard to shipping.

No sonobuoys were used prior to the PLA-N vessel directing its laser at the P-8A aircraft on 17 February. Some sonobuoys were used after the incident but were dropped in the water a significant distance ahead of the PLA-N vessel.

The aircraft was acting within international law at all times.

At the time of the lasing incident the RAAF P-8 was approximately 7.7 kilometres from the PLA-N vessel and was flying at an altitude of 457m.

The closest the P-8 flew to the PLA-N vessel was approximately 4 kilometres.

This is a standard flight profile for RAAF maritime patrol aircraft for a visual investigation of a surface vessel.

Australia expects all foreign vessels entering our maritime zones to abide by international law, particularly the UNCLOS.

Australia has raised its concerns to the Chinese Government about the lasing incident, via senior Australian Defence and DFAT officials liaising directly with the Chinese Embassy in Canberra. Senior diplomatic staff in Beijing have also raised the matter with both China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense.

Australia supports and respects the rights of all states to exercise lawful freedom of navigation and overflight in international waters and airspace.

Australia does not engage in the spread of misinformation or disinformation.

Media Note

Imagery is available here: https://images.defence.gov.au/S20220361

https://news.defence.gov.au/media/on-the-record/chinese-ship-lasing-p-8a-poseidon-17-february-2022

Australia imposes sanctions on Russia over Ukraine invasion

Stephen Dziedzic - 23 February 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison says Australia will join other western nations to impose financial sanctions on Russia, as punishment for its actions in Ukraine.

Mr Morrison said targeted travel bans and financial sanctions will be imposed on eight individuals on Russia's national security council who are "aiding and abetting" the invasion, and broader sanctions will be extended to the separatist Ukrainian regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

The financial punishments bring Australia into line with the United States and United Kingdom, who announced sanctions overnight.

"The invasion of Ukraine has effectively already begun. This invasion is unjustified, it's unwarranted, it's unprovoked and it's unacceptable," Mr Morrison said.

“We cant have some suggestion that Russia has some just case here they're prosecuting – they are behaving like thugs and bullies.

"Australians always stand up to bullies, and we will be standing up to Russia."

Sanctions extended to the separatist regions will target transport, energy, telecommunications, oil, gas and mineral reserves, as well as several Russian banks.

The Prime Minister said he also expected to impose sanctions on more Russian citizens and entities who seek to benefit from a Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Morrison said Ukrainian visa applications would be moved to "the top of the pile", and further support was being planned.

"There are some 430, roughly, applications from Ukrainian citizens to come to Australia, they're across a range of different visa classes; student visas, family visas and others, so I have asked for those to be concluded," Mr Morrison said.

"We will work very closely with [neighbouring countries] to deal with the likelihood of displaced persons. This is where we think we can provide some quite effective assistance."

He warned a full-scale invasion of Ukraine was "likely to occur" within 24 hours.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has officially been given parliamentary approval to deploy troops abroad hours after reports that Russian forces had already rolled into rebel-held areas in eastern Ukraine.

Ministers warn Russia may retaliate for sanctions

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews has warned Russia may hit Australian critical infrastructure with cyber attacks in retaliation for fresh sanctions from the federal government.

"We are concerned about protecting Australia's interests. We are concerned about the potential for a cyber attack on our critical infrastructure in Australia," Ms Andrews said.

"[But] that doesn't mean we are going to go lightly in our response to Russia because their behaviour needs to be called out."

Mr Morrison said several companies had already been alerted privately of possible attacks from Russia and "other actors".

Foreign Minister Marise Payne — who is in Europe attending security meetings — also left the door open to expelling Russia's ambassador to Australia.

"Dealing with diplomats in that way, whether it is expulsions or recalls, is always an option," Senator Payne said.

"Our focus at the moment, though, is targeted sanctions that will have an impact on those responsible.

"So, whilst there are other options and other tools, if you like, in the toolkit — such as how we deal with diplomats — that's a matter I'll turn my mind to at an appropriate time."

Earlier, Ukraine's representative in Australia, Volodymyr Shalkivskyi, thanked Australia and other countries for their support and said that sanctions should be directed toward the "most-vulnerable" areas of Russia: energy and finance.

"We believe there's need for significant expansion of sanctions, but this will depend on the situation on the ground," he said.

Mr Shalkivskyi said there were "clear signs" Ukraine had been invaded but that his country would not retaliate while diplomatic options were still on the table.

"We do not want to give the Kremlin pretext for the invasion," he said.

"We are ready to defend our territory… but we do hope that sanctions, increasing sanctions, will work and it will make [the] Kremlin think about further escalation of this situation."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-23/national-security-committee-russia-sanctions-ukraine-invasion/100852876

>>15697731

Scott Morrison urges China to join the west in condemning Russia over Ukraine invasion

After two years of diplomatic tit-for-tats, Scott Morrison has extended an olive-branch to China urging Beijing to join the west in condemning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Tyrone Clarke - February 23, 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made an embattled plea to China for cooperation to prevent any further destruction in Ukraine at the hands of a thuggish Russia.

Mr Morrison said he hoped China would join Australia in coming out against Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

“I hope they (China) join us,” the Prime Minister said in a bid to mend two years of extended hostilities between Canberra and Beijing.

“That is the message that I am sending and have been sending for some time. China's language in the course of the past week has improved.

“We welcome them going the full distance and joining ourselves and the United States and the UK and EU and Canada and so many other countries, in the denouncing what is occurring there.”

The Prime Minister has been in the middle of a heated diplomatic and trade row with China since he called for an independent inquiry into the origins of COVID-19 in Wuhan in April 2020.

Beijing swiftly responded in what would be the first of many trade actions against Australian exporters, slapping a massive 80.5 per cent tariff on Aussie barley.

Shortly after, China’s Education Ministry warned its students they could face “racist incidents” in Australia with similar warnings spreading from its Culture and Tourism Ministry.

China rapidly began scaling back purchases of Australian coal, cotton, lobster and beef as well as wine on which it later placed a tariff of up to 200 per cent.

In November, 2020 the embassy in Canberra released a list of 14 grievances which it demanded Australia address to mend the relationship including retracting the call for a COVID inquiry, reversing a ban on Huawei and overturning foreign interference legislation.

The relationship continued to sour throughout 2021 when Australia launched action against China at the World Trade Organisation.

Beijing also began a diplomatic communication freeze with all senior ministers in Canberra.

While Russia and China recently launched a broad new alliance, Beijing has urged restraint over the Kremlin’s recent moves in eastern Ukraine.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Tuesday said all parties needed to de-escalate the situation and “resolve differences through dialogue and negotiation”.

It comes after President Putin quickly deployed troops on “peacekeeping operations" in eastern Ukraine hours after recognising the independence of the separatist regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/scott-morrison-urges-china-to-join-the-west-in-condemning-russia-over-ukraine-invasion/news-story/4736f821db37003e24cacfd7c77a957c

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

It’s time to put Putin’s useful idiots on notice

JACK THE INSIDER (Peter Hoysted) - FEBRUARY 23, 2022

1/2

The term ‘useful idiots’, often attributed to Vladimir Lenin for non-communists who propagandised communism, is now a catch-all for those who ignore a regime’s excesses and outrages, preferring to clamber up onto a soap box to extol its virtues.

Putin has so many useful idiots, it’s hard to know where to begin. Some from the left, others from the right. Many are academics obsessed with dubious neo-Marxist constructs about western imperialism.

NYU’s Professor of Russian Studies, Stephen F. Cohen who died in September 2020, maintained the leftist fiction that Putin’s hand was forced when Russia annexed Crimea in 2014.

Cohen wrote that “media malpractice” had resulted in the “relentless demonisation of Putin” who was “not an autocrat.” It was all the West’s fault. The West had humiliated Russians in the post-Soviet era, wantonly threatening the Federation by extending invitations to Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic to join NATO. Ukraine, Cohen argued, was the point in which Putin was obliged to say, thus far and no further.

Since the start of the century, populists on the left and the right have clamoured around Putin. Those on the right have done so because they see Putin as standing up to the European Union. Those on the left are drawn to the despot because they see anybody who opposes the West as a kindred ideological spirit.

In 2020, when the Russian Federation held its constitutional referendum which would allow Putin to remain as President for 16 more years, 60 foreigners from 29 countries were flown into Russia to act as Putin appointed election “observers.” Some were members of the European parliament, including Thierry Mariani from the French far-right party National Rally (National Front) and Prussian separatist, Volker Chapke.

The informal observers were wined and dined across Russia before declaring the vote was free and fair. Save a few minor administrative mistakes, the votes when counted were a fair expression of the people’s will, they reported.

Genuine independent observers were far from impressed. Senior associate at the German Institute for Security and International Affairs, Janis Kluge, tweeted that “the dimension of fraud in the 2020 constitutional vote” was “simply staggering.” A physicist and data expert who has monitored Russian elections for the past two decades, Sergei Shpilkin, published statistical evidence that up to 22 million votes were fraudulent.

Perth man Anthony Maslin had lost his three children when flight MH17 was downed over Ukraine. In 2018, Maslin condemned Donald Trump as “kissing the arse of Vladimir Putin”, after an awful performance at a summit in Helsinki where the 45th POTUS sided with Putin ahead of his own security services over the issue of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. On Sky News, Craig Kelly responded to Maslin’s comment published on Facebook, lapsing if not into apologism then a sort of amoral realpolitik.

“I’m sure that any father that’s lost three kids would be absolutely devastated but the reality is nothing is going to bring those three kids back,” the then Liberal MP, now independent, said.

“So, what is best for the continued future of the world? And it is best, in my opinion, that the leader of the USA and the leader of Russia at least have a good talking relationship.

“And if that means some of the things that Russia have gotten away with in the past have to be slightly looked over, well, I’m sorry, that’s the price that we have to pay sometimes to have good relations going forward.”

(continued)

>>15697830

2/2

In total, 283 passengers and 15 crew were killed when a Russian built surface-to-air missile was fired at the Boeing 777 by what was found to be Russian-backed separatist fighters. Thirty-eight of those killed were Australians.

On 8 February, Kelly invited a group of protest leaders from the Freedom Movement into his parliamentary office. Much was made about vaccination status and how those opposed to mask wearing felt obliged to wear them. What was genuinely surprising was the appearance in Kelly’s office of Simeon Boikov.

Boikov is a Sydney-born pro-Putin Russian ultranationalist who calls himself the Aussie Cossack. Perhaps unkindly, some have described the self-branded Aussie Cossack as Putin’s man in Australia if Putin knew who he was.

In 2018, told a Russian media outlet, “We have a unique opportunity to support Russia from within an enemy state.” The enemy he alluded to is Australia.

Boikov, who has more than 12,000 followers on Instagram, is unashamed about spreading a pro-Putin, pro-Russian message by lobbying politicians.

In August 2020, Russian Opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent and evacuated to Berlin where he recovered. Navalny accused Putin of being responsible for his poisoning, and an investigation implicated agents from the Federal Security Service (FSB) the successor to the KGB, Putin’s alma mater. He returned to Russia in January 2021 and was jailed for two and a half years in February 2021.

Protesters gathered worldwide to call for his release. In Sydney a group of a hundred or so protesters did the same and Boikov assembled a counter-protest.

“We’re here with our President Vladimir Putin,” Boikov said, pointing to a poster of Putin toted by one of the counter-protesters, supporting Vladimir Putin, supporting the President against this opposition scum.”

When asked by Four Corners journalist Sean Nicholls if he supported the idea of murdering political opponents, Boikov replied, “I wouldn’t say murdering. I would say liquidating. Murdering is a bad word.”

As the Morrison government sanctions Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, some big questions need to be put to political candidates who overtly have endorsed Putin’s conduct.

Our security agencies will be on full alert. Putin has useful idiots everywhere.

Peter Hoysted is Jack the Insider: a highly placed, dedicated servant of the nation with close ties to leading figures in politics, business and the union movement.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/its-time-to-put-putins-useful-idiots-on-notice/news-story/741d9dccfc54785cd3abefd842db4b52

Fascist flags, QAnon and extremist ties: the many faces of ‘freedom’ protesters

Andrew Leigh MP - 23 February 2022

Over recent weeks, far-right anti-vax protests have cropped up in Canada, Britain, France and New Zealand. But never have these protests come to a city with a higher vaccination rate than Canberra, where unvaccinated adults are as rare as UFO sightings.

They have a right to peacefully protest, but those of us who believe in science also have a right to point out that vaccines save lives and conspiracy theories can kill. Since the Morrison Government belatedly began rolling out COVID vaccines in Australia, these free vaccines have protected thousands of Australians from hospitalisation and death. COVID vaccines work. Ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine and Vitamin C do not.

The anti-vax protesters aren’t just wrong about the science; they’re also a risk to democracy. As media commentator Van Badham has pointed out, these groups should be judged not by their relatively small numbers but by the damage they’re willing to do. Ironically, the people who claim to be saving democracy are its biggest threat.

The violent anti-lockdown protests in Melbourne, the attack on the US Capitol on 6 January last year and the global so-called freedom protests have brought together a dangerous brew of conspiracy theories. Today, 15 per cent of Americans agree with the central false tenet of QAnon: that the government and other entities are controlled by Satan-worshipping paedophiles running a child sex trafficking ring.

The Melbourne anti-lockdown protesters have waved swastikas and nooses and welcomed anti-Semites. Some of the Canberra protesters waved Ustaše fascist flags and Confederate flags. According to Australian Federal Police commissioner Reece Kershaw, one protestor was arrested with a loaded gun and an internal map of Parliament House.

The Canberra protests attracted support from senators Pauline Hanson, Alex Antic and Gerard Rennick. Like Greens Senator Lidia Thorpe, with her support for those who vandalised the Museum of Australian Democracy, these extreme senators seem not to realise they’re playing with fire.

The protesters didn’t seem to care who they were hurting. When the vandalism of fences at Exhibition Park forced the closure of the Lifeline Bookfair, they shut down a charity event that helps people with mental health challenges. (Sidenote: if you haven’t yet made a donation to Lifeline, they could still really use your support.)

Many Canberrans turned the other cheek, putting up with abuse in the streets and shops. At BentSpoke in Braddon, Richard Watkins and his staff behaved with calm decency when a protester threw a glass at the bar.

The Australian Federal Police moved the protestors on from the National Library lawns with minimal conflict and then did the same again at Exhibition Park a few days later.

The protestors wrapped themselves in multiple flags, but the one that struck me most was their attempt to co-opt the Eureka legend.

In one sense, there’s nothing new in this. Barely had the shooting stopped in 1854 when the battle of the Eureka Stockade became the battle for the Eureka Stockade – a battle for its history, meaning and legacy. As Geoffrey Blainey once put it, Eureka is a “great neon sign with messages that flick on and off, with different messages for different people on different occasions”.

But the Eureka legend is too big to be co-opted by extremists. Mark Twain called it “the finest thing in Australian history”. Ben Chifley believed “Eureka was the first real affirmation of our determination to become masters of our own political destiny”.

HV ‘Doc’ Evatt said, “Australian democracy was born at Eureka”. Gough Whitlam thought that it would “stir the imagination of the Australian people”. Robert Menzies and John Howard also acknowledged the role that Eureka played in our democracy.

Yes, Eureka was a tax revolt, but it was also about democracy, multiculturalism, egalitarianism, mateship and the fair go. Eureka inspired the women’s suffrage movement and the republican movement.

It is fitting that our first female Prime Minister was the member for Lalor – the electorate named after the Eureka leader, Peter Lalor. As Clare Wright, Peter FitzSimons, David Headon, John Uhr, John Molony and others have made clear, Eureka is a big national story – a story for everyone, not just the extremists.

Andrew Leigh is the Federal Member for Fenner. He will be in conversation with Van Badham about her book QAnon and On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults at the ANU on Monday (28 February).

https://the-riotact.com/fascist-flags-qanon-and-extremist-ties-the-many-faces-of-freedom-protesters/535228

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‘Weak dog’: Private eye turns on Ben Roberts-Smith in court

PERRY DUFFIN - FEBRUARY 23, 2022

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Ben Roberts-Smith’s former private eye has told a court he triggered a police investigation into an “unhinged” SAS soldier, surveilled a woman as she allegedly faked an abortion and dressed as a bartender to spy on network Seven employees all on behalf of Mr Roberts-Smith.

The relationship came to an end, the private investigator told the court, after he called Mr Roberts-Smith a “weak dog” for compromising him in an alleged plot to threaten former SAS soldiers.

Private eye and former policeman John McLeod has denied leaking to the media after the court heard he was closely communicating with Mr Roberts-Smith’s detractors who are accused of feeding private information to journalists.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing Nine and its journalists over a series of articles claiming he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, bullied his squadmates and abused his “mistress”.

Mr Roberts-Smith has denied every allegation, saying he only killed enemy combatants within the rules of war, did not cheat on his wife and he abhors domestic violence.

THE PRIVATE INVESTIGATOR

High profile private investigator John McLeod, a former fixer for Mr Roberts-Smith, was called to give evidence in the defamation trial on Wednesday.

Mr McLeod told the court he met Mr Roberts-Smith and his wife, Emma Roberts, while working security for a five-star hotel in Brisbane.

Mr McLeod became a fixer for Mr Roberts-Smith, running errands and organising mundane elements of their lives like concert tickets and repairs to their new home in Queensland.

In recent years Mr McLeod has turned against Mr Roberts-Smith and was in recent contact with the SAS veteran’s ex wife - and had been accused of leaking to Nine.

GREENSLOPES SURVEILLANCE

By the start of 2018, Mr Roberts-Smith has told the court, his marriage was on the rocks and he was dating a woman known as Person 17.

Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith was still with his wife at the time and punched Person 17 after they had gone to a ritzy VIP party in Canberra and the woman drunkenly embarrassed herself.

The court has heard Person 17 had travelled to Brisbane for an abortion after telling Mr Roberts-Smith she was carrying his child.

Mr McLeod told the court Mr Roberts-Smith sent him to surveille the woman as she went to Greenslopes clinic for the termination.

Person 17 did not show up at the airport or the clinic but Mr McLeod said he eventually found her at the nearby Greenslopes hospital - which he said does not perform abortions.

Mr McLeod told the court he filmed Person 17, who looked like “a normal woman”, coming out of the hospital and sent the video to Mr Roberts-Smith.

Mr Roberts-Smith, in his evidence last year, told the court Person 17 met him in a hotel room minutes later and confessed she did not have an abortion at Greenslopes.

She had the abortion earlier, she allegedly told Mr Roberts-Smith, and he ended the volatile relationship.

“She started to cry and said ‘I didn‘t have the procedure, I had the procedure up in Townsville’,” Mr Roberts-Smith told the court in June 2021.

“I said Townville doesn’t have a clinic. She said ‘I had a miscarriage’ so now I had three stories as to what was going on.”

“(It) gave me great concern that I was being manipulated so I’d stay in the relationship.”

Mr McLeod told the court he invoiced Mr Roberts-Smith $1500 for the job.

(continued)

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THE “UNHINGED” SAS SOLDIER TIP OFF

The private investigator, on Wednesday, told the court Mr Roberts-Smith had also asked him to look into an “unhinged” former SAS soldier who had his hands on a semiautomatic rifle.

“He said there was an SAS bloke who was unhinged, an alcoholic, prone to domestic violence with a weapon from special forces… he would carry this weapon in the vehicle driving around Perth,” Mr McLeod said.

“Semiautomatic weapons are incredibly dangerous, in the hands of trained people who are allegedly unhinged… it needed to come off the street.”

Mr McLeod told the court he advised Mr Roberts-Smith he needed more than unsubstantiated tips if he wanted to cause a police investigation and Mr Roberts-Smith provided him with details on a black USB.

The private investigator said he made a fake email account and sent the information, anonymously, to Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mark Colvin, the editor of The Australian newspaper and one of its journalists.

The court has previously heard one SAS soldier, who has an acrimonious relationship with Mr Roberts-Smith, was raided by the police but no weapons were found and no charges were laid.

“THREATS” IN THE POST

In June 2018, the court has heard, SAS soldier Person 18 received threatening letters in the post - Nine claims Mr Roberts-Smith was the author.

“You and others have worked together to spread lies and rumours to the media and (Inspector General of the Australian Defence Force) inquiry,” the letter reads.

Mr Roberts-Smith believed that, when the letters were sent, that soldier had been talking with Person 6, his “enemy” in the SAS community, and the media, the court has heard.

“You have one chance to save yourself,” the letters said.

“You must approach the inquiry and admit that you have colluded with others to spread lies.”

Mr Roberts-Smith has denied sending the letters or instructing Mr McLeod to send them on his behalf.

But Mr McLeod, on Wednesday, said he met with Mr Roberts-Smith at a Bunnings and the SAS veteran handed him a blue folder with envelopes and letters inside.

Mr Roberts-Smith instructed Mr McLeod to send the letters to Person 18, the private investigator told the court.

THE FAKE BARTENDER

Mr Roberts-Smith, since leaving the SAS, has had a successful life as a public speaker and media executive for the Seven network based in the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.

Mr McLeod said Mr Roberts-Smith invited him to impersonate a bartender at his home when he invited his new staff from Seven over for a party.

“I pretended to be a bartender to listen to conversations and report back to Ben,” he told the court.

“He wanted to know what they thought of him.”

Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Bruce McClintock SC, told the court Mr McLeod was hired as a door man at the event - not a bar tender.

Mr McLeod denied it.

(continued)

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MILTON MEETING

Mr McLeod told the court he was summoned to a meeting with Mr Roberts-Smith in Milton the week after the letters were posted.

The private investigator said Mr Roberts-Smith approached him and told him “no phones, no phones” and they walked around the side of a building.

“They’re saying the letters are threats, they’re not f*cking threats it’s just a touch up,” Mr McLeod claims Mr Roberts-Smith said.

Mr McLeod said he didn’t quite understand at first, then the penny dropped and he understood it was about the letters he allegedly posted.

“I looked at him and said ‘if you put me in the frame and compromised me you better get me a f*cking good lawyer’… I said ‘if you’ve done something stupid put your hand up because the cover-up is ten times worse than the offence’,” Mr McLeod claims he responded.

Mr McLeod claims Mr Roberts-Smith told him to just say he was a “supporter” who was sick of seeing Mr Roberts-Smith treated badly - so he sent the letters.

“I said ‘f*ck that you weak dog’, and walked away,” Mr McLeod said.

That was their last contact, the private investigator said.

ALLEGED LEAKS TO 60 MINUTES

Mr Roberts-Smith’s legal team have long claimed his ex wife and her best friend, Danielle Scott, leaked private information to Nine ahead of a damaging 60 Minutes program.

In court on Wednesday they began probing Mr McLeod’s relationship with Ms Scott in recent months.

Mr McLeod, under cross examination by Mr Roberts-Smith’s barrister Bruce McClintock SC, was shown messages he had sent to Ms Scott about the 60 Minutes program which aired in April 2021.

The messages begin with Ms Scott checking in on Mr McLeod in late March.

“Letting you know I’m thinking of you, we’ll have a drink in Bali over this,” Ms Scott said on March 31.

A few days later, following the program, Ms Scott again checked in on Mr McLeod who responded “they will come for me!!”.

“Do you think it was enough to wake Kerry?” Mr McLeod added.

Mr McLeod told the court it was likely he was speaking about Kerry Stokes, head of Seven and Mr Roberts-Smith’s financial backer, friend and supporter.

Mr Roberts-Smith’s lawyers are claiming he worked with Ms Scott to jeopardise the SAS veteran’s relationship with Mr Stokes.

The 60 Minutes episode included secret yet legal recordings of a conversation with Mr Roberts-Smith and others. Mr McLeod is believed to be present at the meeting, the court has heard.

In the recordings, Mr Roberts-Smith vowed to “f.cking destroy” his enemies and praised Mr Stokes.

“There’s no f.cking way I’d be able to keep paying what I’m paying for until Kerry got into it. That’s why now they’re shitting themselves because they realise he’s prepared to run his bank down to do it,” Mr Roberts-Smith was recorded saying.

Mr McLeod told the court he “despises the media” and denied he was a source.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/weak-dog-private-eye-turns-on-ben-robertssmith-in-court/news-story/4f9a1c51650a8586f673fde876136764