Welcome To Q Research AUSTRALIA

In anticipation of FISA DECLAS and SPYGATE revelations, a new thread for research and discussion of Australia's role in The Great Awakening.

Previous thread

>>15175270 Q Research AUSTRALIA #20

Q's Posts made on Q Research AUSTRALIA threads

Wednesday 11.20.19

>>7358352 ————————————–——– These people are stupid.

>>7358338 ————————————–——– All assets [F + D] being deployed.

>>7358318 ————————————–——– What happens when the PUBLIC discovers the TRUTH [magnitude] re: [D] party corruption?

Tuesday 11.19.19

>>7357790 ————————————–——– FISA goes both ways.

Saturday 11.16.2019

>>7356270 ————————————–——– There is no escaping God.

>>7356265 ————————————–——– The Harvest [crop] has been prepared and soon will be delivered to the public for consumption.

Friday 11.15.2019

>>7356017 ————————————–——– "Whistle Blower Traps" [Mar 4 2018] 'Trap' keyword select provided…..

Thursday 03.28.2019

>>5945210 ————————————–——– Sometimes our 'sniffer' picks and pulls w/o applying credit file

>>5945074 ————————————–——– We LOVE you!

>>5944970 ————————————–——– USA v. LifeLog?

>>5944908 ————————————–——– It is an embarrassment to our Nation!

>>5944859 ————————————–——– 'Knowingly'

Q's Posts referencing Australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=AUS

https://qanon.pub/?q=australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=koala

https://qanon.pub/?q=HouseOfCards

https://qanon.pub/?q=boomerang

https://qanon.pub/?q=45HarisonHarold

https://qanon.pub/?q=RAT%20BAIT

https://qanon.pub/?q=VERY%20important

https://qanon.pub/?q=remain%20in%20the%20light

Q's Posts referencing Australian citizens

Malcolm Turnbull (X/AUS)

Former Prime Minister of Australia

https://qanon.pub/?q=X%2FAUS

https://qanon.pub/?q=call%20details

https://qanon.pub/?q=Threat%20to%20AUS

Alexander Downer

Former Australian Liberal Party politician and High Commissioner to the United Kingdom

https://qanon.pub/?q=Downer

Cardinal George Pell

Australian Cardinal of the Catholic Church and former Prefect of the Vatican Secretariat for the Economy

https://qanon.pub/?q=Pell

https://qanon.pub/?q=cardinal-george-pell

https://qanon.pub/?q=pecking

Julian Assange

Australian activist, founder, editor and publisher of WikiLeaks

https://qanon.pub/?q=assange

https://qanon.pub/?q=JA

https://qanon.pub/?q=Under%20protection

https://qanon.pub/?q=WL

https://qanon.pub/?q=wikileaks

https://qanon.pub/?q=server

https://qanon.pub/?q=Seth

https://qanon.pub/?q=SR

Virginia Roberts Giuffre

American-Australian survivor of the sex trafficking ring operated by Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

https://qanon.pub/#4568

https://qanon.pub/#4728

https://qanon.pub/#1054

https://qanon.pub/?q=chandler

https://qanon.pub/?q=epstein

https://qanon.pub/?q=island

https://qanon.pub/#1001

https://qanon.pub/#1861

https://qanon.pub/#4578

https://qanon.pub/#3497

https://qanon.pub/#4727

https://qanon.pub/?q=wexner

https://qanon.pub/#4576

https://qanon.pub/#4577

https://qanon.pub/?q=maxwell

https://qanon.pub/#4569

https://qanon.pub/?q=spacey

https://qanon.pub/#4570

https://qanon.pub/?q=normalize

https://qanon.pub/?q=Prince%20Andrew

https://qanon.pub/#4579

https://qanon.pub/#4907

https://qanon.pub/#4911

https://qanon.pub/#4921

https://qanon.pub/?q=Dearest%20Virginia

Q's Posts referencing The Five Eyes intelligence alliance (FVEY)

An anglophone intelligence alliance comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States

https://qanon.pub/?q=FVEY

https://qanon.pub/?q=Five%20Eyes

https://qanon.pub/?q=Interesting%2C

https://qanon.pub/?q=RAT%20BAIT

"Does AUS stand w/ the US or only select divisions within the US?"

Q

Nov 25 2018

https://qanon.pub/#2501

Notables

are not endorsements

#20 - Part 1

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>15185171 Video: Australia to acquire new weapons under billion-dollar defence deal with South Korea - Defence Minister Peter Dutton touted the deal as a boost for Australian firepower and security in the Indo-Pacific

>>15185173 Video: Australia-South Korea deal the largest defence arrangement with any Asian nation - Sky News Australia

>>15185212 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Tweet: Great to meet with my good friend @MarisePayne today. We reaffirmed both our nations' deep commitment to a peaceful and secure Indo-Pacific, COVID-19 economic recovery and resilience, and cooperating to deliver results for our citizens and partners around the region.

>>15185212 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: (United States) & (Australia) are the closet of friends and allies. @SecBlinken and I discussed our work to promote a free, open & inclusive #IndoPacific, & to progress the AUKUS partnership. We share experiences & democratic values that make our alliance an anchor of stability for our region.

>>15186803 Scott Morrison promises to give Australians their “freedom” back and get big government out of their lives - Coalition anchors its re-election pitch with pledge to keep the nation “stronger, safer, together”

>>15186809 Scott Morrison pledges to keep the nation 'stronger and safer together' - Sky News Australia

>>15200685 Joe Biden nominates Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former president John F. Kennedy, to be the next US ambassador to Australia

>>15200689 Joe Biden has nominated Caroline Kennedy as his ambassador to Australia. She's more than a symbolic choice

>>15200710 Q Post #703 - “Rest in peace Mr. President (JFK), through your wisdom and strength, since your tragic death, Patriots have planned, installed, and by the grace of God, activated, the beam of LIGHT. We will forever remember your sacrifice. May you look down from above and continue to guide us as we ring the bell of FREEDOM and destroy those who wish to sacrifice our children, our way of life, and our world. We, the PEOPLE.” Prayer said every single day in the OO. JFK - Secret Socities. Where we go one, we go all. Q

>>15201047 Video: JFK’s daughter Caroline Kennedy to become US ambassador to Australia - 9 News Australia

>>15201173 Biden DOJ partners with Australia to speed up sharing digital data on crime

>>15206674 Australia more exposed to cyber attack after AUKUS: Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews

>>15210819 ‘Australia has lost its way’: Keating flays both leaders - Paul Keating has savaged Scott Morrison for wilfully surrendering our sovereignty and lashed Anthony Albanese for his complicity

>>15217277 White House promises Australia’s nuclear subs will arrive ‘at earliest possible date’

>>15223559 Former Liberal Senator and Senate President Scott Ryan named as Australia’s new High Commissioner to Canada

>>15229914 This will be India’s century, says Australian envoy O’Farrell, talks of more military exercises, Canberra hopeful of interim trade pact by 2021 end

>>15229924 Video: AUKUS is good for entire Indo-Pacific region: Australian envoy O’Farrell - ThePrint

>>15235742 Video: Riccardo Bosi interviews General Flynn - AustraliaOne - Lieutenant General (Retired) Michael T Flynn and Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Riccardo Bosi discuss past and current affairs in the US and Australia

>>15235865 Millions of Australians face “cyber security ticking time bomb” - Cyber attack via compromised Log4j Java-based software - Children, parents and businesses under threat of being “hunted” and attacked by sophisticated cyber actors exploiting new software vulnerabilities across more than 100,000 devices, apps and online games

>>15235866 Australian Cyber Security Centre - CISA Log4j (CVE-2021-44228) Affected Vendor & Software List - Advice and mitigations are available for all Australian organisations - https://www.cyber.gov.au/ - ACSC National Hotline 1300 CYBER1 (1300 292 371)

#20 - Part 2

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>15243071 US to put nuclear submarines on fast track - Defence Minister Peter Dutton reveals Australia is set to get its first nuclear submarine at least five years ahead of schedule after Washington agrees to help fast-track the project

>>15247159 Free-trade deal to speed exports to India - Australian wine, coal and grain producers targeted by Chinese sanctions are on track to have greater access to Indian markets from next year

>>15251521 Australian Federal Police Tweet: During his recent visit to the United States, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw presented @FBI Director Christopher Wray with the AFP Partnership Medal. The medal is in recognition of the close working relationship between the AFP and the FBI.

>>15264936 Barnaby Joyce questions future of US’s global mission

>>15264954 JFK’s legacy is strong, but Americans are wary - Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals - theaustralian.com.au

>>15306365 Japan and Australia to sign landmark defence agreement, upgrading military co-operation, joint exercises and military deployments - The Reciprocal Access Agreement

>>15312135 Joint air operations to flow from ‘historic’ defence pact between Australia and Japan

>>15312136 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Kishida @JPN_PMO and PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP to meet virtually tomorrow and sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a landmark defence agreement between (Japan) & (Australia). PM Kishida said “I embark upon summit diplomacy in earnest” in 2022. This starts here.

>>15312266 Imam of Peace Tweet: My friends, Happy New Year, May the Almighty grant you whatever is in your hearts, and may you have a safe, blessed and meaningful 2022. Thank you for your warm messages and comments during my absence. As you well know, there’s a silence before every storm. Notifications on!

>>15325248 Australia and Japan sign security pact to respond to 'challenging' Indo-Pacific environment

>>15325267 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Kishida @JPN_PMO and PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP have signed the RAA during their virtual summit, increasing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. (Japan) & (Australia) will strengthen its cooperation as vanguards of the rules-based order in the region.

>>15325267 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP, your leadership and dedication were the No.1 driving force behind the RAA, ushering in a new chapter for (Japan and Australia) Special Strategic Partnership.

>>15325478 The oldest living American veteran of World War II, Lawrence Brooks, dies at 112 - Served with the largely African American 91st Engineer Battalion, stationed in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines

>>15342236 Opinion: New agreement with Japan a historic step for Australia in South-East Asia - Christopher Pyne - adelaidenow.com.au

>>15342288 Australia commits to $3.5 billion tank purchase from the US

>>15348724 US needs to step up more for Pacific allies: White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell

>>15380490 Video: Tsunami warning issued for parts of NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania following the eruption of an underwater volcano

>>15385203 Video: An underwater volcano off Tonga has erupted, triggering a tsunami warning for parts of Australia's east coast

>>15385210 Video: Tsunami warnings are in place across the Pacific after an underwater volcano eruption caused tidal waves to hit Tonga.

>>15385218 Video: Analysis: Tsunami warnings issued amid underwater volcano eruption

#20 - Part 3

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>15403917 Fears Australian writer Yang Hengjun could die in Chinese prison as medical condition worsens

>>15404139 Whip Tweet: Good to see everyone getting in on a water fight (Thumbs up) (Australia)

>>15412474 Billionaire Clive Palmer attempts a political comeback and runs for the senate in Queensland

>>15420667 Google doing ‘everything in its power’ to stop United Australia Party spreading misinformation

>>15427341 Australia, U.K. Work on Security Ties as China’s Clout Grows

>>15455465 Hundreds of Western Australians reported feeling the ground move on morning of Jan 25, 2022 - 4.7 magnitude earthquake may not be peak of WA 'swarm'

>>15463520 Protests, citizenship festivities mark contentious Australia Day holiday

>>15471412 OZ Trucks To Canberra being organized on Telegram

>>15507808 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken heading to Melbourne for meeting of Quad Foreign Ministers

>>15534400 Video: THE DEVIL'S WORK - Theft of human heads linked to ‘satanic ritual’ after remains go missing and letter to Satan is found at graveside - Footscray General Cemetery in Melbourne.

>>15534405 Video: Satanic ritual ruled-out as motive for stolen heads, while search for tomb raiders continues

>>15551303 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with Australia, Japan and India in bid to counter China during Olympics

>>15559256 Defence Minister Peter Dutton Tweet: An important discussion yesterday with @Secdef to discuss continued progress in the #AUKUS partnership, our support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, and mutual assistance to Tonga. #UnbreakableAlliance

>>15559256 United States Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III Tweet: Good phone call yesterday with @PeterDutton_MP on issues facing our #UnbreakableAlliance. We discussed our strong cooperation to enhance a #FreeandOpenIndoPacific, forward momentum on implementing AUKUS, and our steadfast support for Ukraine against Russian aggression.

>>15559256 U.S. Department of Defense - Readout of Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III's Call With Australian Minister of Defence Peter Dutton

>>15575034 Video: Scott Morrison apologises to Brittany Higgins over parliament’s ‘long-standing culture of abuse’

>>15575052 Members of US Congress consider creating an “AUKUS caucus” to sharpen Washington’s focus on the strategic military pact to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines

>>15583796 Abuse campaigner Brittany Higgins says Australia's prime minister apology not enough

>>15583919 Alexander Downer called Timor-Leste an ‘open book’ for Australia in 2000, tribunal hears - Former foreign affairs department officer says Downer made comment in private conversation years before bugging scandal

#20 - Part 4

Malka Leifer Extradition and Prosecution

>>15434839 Malka Leifer’s father-in-law arrested over child sex assault allegations - Baruch Pinchas Leifer, the rabbi father-in-law of accused child sex abuser Malka Leifer arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a child and a teenager in Israel

>>15481355 Ya’acov Litzman, former Israeli Deputy Health Minister cuts plea deal with Israeli Attorney-General over Malka Leifer case. Former minister had been suspected of having used his influence to prioritize the interests of private individuals over the needs of the general public

>>15481360 Israel's Litzman Admits to Breach of Trust in Malka Leifer Affair, to Pay $940 - Former deputy health minister signed a plea deal in case that saw him accused of using his influence to help keep alleged child rapist from being extradited to Australia

>>15534519 Australian Jewish communal leaders urge Israeli Court to reject Yaakov Litzman plea deal

#20 - Part 5

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

>>15190238 Ben Roberts-Smith wins access to private emails between lawyers defending three newspapers accused of defaming him

>>15427303 Ben Roberts-Smith loses case against ex-wife over allegations she accessed confidential emails, court orders he pay costs

>>15456117 Ben Roberts-Smith defamation trial to resume next week, despite WA border issues - January 25, 2022

>>15525427 Ben Roberts-Smith shot Afghan captive in the back, SAS member tells defamation trial

>>15534448 SAS soldier accused of ‘lying’ after telling court Ben Roberts-Smith involved in two war crime killings

>>15542095 Second SAS soldier claims captured one-legged Afghan shot by Australian soldier Ben Roberts-Smith

>>15566381 SAS soldier denies ‘rehearsing’ damaging evidence about Roberts-Smith

>>15575208 Soldier harboured doubts about Roberts-Smith’s VC honour, court told

#20 - Part 6

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition

>>15175394 Video Julian Assange verdict: US government wins appeal to extradite WikiLeaks founder

>>15175395 Prime Minister Scott Morrison under pressure to end Assange 'lunacy'

>>15180115 Julian Assange suffers stroke during court appeal, his fiancee Stella Moris says

>>15180124 Julian Assange has a stroke in Belmarsh prison: Fiancée blames extreme stress caused by US extradition battle

>>15180131 Stella Moris Tweet: Australia's foreign minister @MarisePayne is meeting with the US government who is literally torturing her citizen Julian #Assange to death, right now. What is she going to do about it? She must put a stop to this. Now. Before it's too late.

>>15190138 Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Assange shouldn’t be extradited to US

>>15190141 OPINION: I have never met Julian Assange and I presume I would not like him, but he’s entitled to justice - Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and National Party leader - theage.com.au

>>15195698 Julian Assange's mother, Christine Assange, describes 'unending pain' over her son's possible extradition to the United States

>>15201141 Video: 'I'm not going to put up with it': Julian Assange's father vows to keep fighting for his freedom

>>15201207 Secret Epstein settlement with Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre to be made public

>>15235776 PDF: Barnaby Joyce urged to intervene in Julian Assange case by hundreds of doctors - doctorsforassange.org

>>15241413 Donald Trump Says He Was Close to Pardoning Julian Assange or Edward Snowden

>>15241415 Video: Trump On Not Pardoning Julian Assange | Candace Owens Interviews Donald Trump - Deliverance

>>15247145 Julian Assange launches bid to appeal extradition to United States

>>15306217 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 'urged Trump Assange pardon', repeats his offer of asylum for the WikiLeaks founder

>>15318198 Julian Assange's fiancee says she wants to wed the Wikileaks founder behind bars this year as he spends his 1,000th day in jail

>>15448007 UK court to rule on Assange extradition case

>>15455925 Video: Julian Assange granted permission to seek appeal against extradition to US

#20 - Part 7

Cardinal George Pell and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations

>>15206766 Cardinal Pell Has One Question for Cardinal Becciu: ‘Will He Just Tell Us What the Money Was Sent for?’

>>15241409 Cardinal Angelo Becciu, open letter to Cardinal George Pell - Controversy between the two cardinals over the use of Vatican funds: "You know more than anyone else the pains of an unjust accusation"

>>15241409 Bree A Dail Tweet: Cardinal Angelo Becciu has issued an open letter in response to Cardinal George Pell’s recent interviews questioning his alleged involvement in money transfers to Australia. - “I will not respond to any of your reconstructions, the groundlessness of which are manifest”

>>15251400 Cardinal George Pell casts doubt on Vatican finance trial

>>15256276 Disgraced cardinal Becciu sends hostile note to George Pell

>>15256282 Vatican defends finance trial, says rights being respected

>>15318225 Cardinal Pell’s three-volume prison journal is a spiritual classic - Monsignor Richard Antall - angelusnews.com

>>15325338 Cardinal Pell: “Maintain the Purity of the Apostolic Tradition”

>>15542120 Cardinal George Pell blesses former PM Tony Abbott’s new CBD offices

#20 - Part 8

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>15180162 China’s response to Aukus deal was ‘irrational’, Peter Dutton says - Defence minister accuses Beijing of ‘bullying’ over criticisms of Australia’s pact with the US and UK

>>15180167 Video: Dutton: China’s reaction to AUKUS was ‘irrational’ - Sky News Australia

>>15185171 Video: Australia to acquire new weapons under billion-dollar defence deal with South Korea - Defence Minister Peter Dutton touted the deal as a boost for Australian firepower and security in the Indo-Pacific

>>15201098 Huawei ‘helped create’ tech for China’s state surveillance and ‘re-educating’ of Uighurs

>>15201101 Australia’s 5G Huawei ban ‘the right move’ for security: US tech billionaire Michael Dell, founder and chief executive of Dell Technologies

>>15206664 Royal Australian Navy expects new Evolved Cape Class patrol boats could be delayed by up to nine months, costing extra $44 million, after poor-quality aluminium was imported from China

>>15206972 Chinese Spies Accused of Using Huawei in Secret Australia Telecom Hack - Software update loaded with malicious code is key evidence in years-long push to block Huawei, U.S. government officials say

>>15225175 Hong Kong election has Five Eyes seeing red - Five Eyes nations issue joint statement expressing “grave concerns” over outcome of Hong Kong’s first legislative elections since Beijing dictated only so-called patriots could govern the city

>>15225175 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Statement - Joint Statement on Legislative Council elections

>>15229800 China accuses Australia of ‘violent’ interference in Five Eyes response to Hong Kong election - Allies voice grave concerns about ‘erosion of democratic elements’ after overhaul of electoral system

>>15229805 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - "China firmly opposed and strongly condemned the joint statement made by the Australian Foreign Minister, together with the other four Foreign Ministers of the Five Eyes Alliance countries"

>>15229812 Five Eyes with blurred vision unwilling to see Hong Kong back on the right track: Global Times editorial - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>15229820 Trump calls for China tariffs as he preaches to the converted on ‘History Tour’ - "US tariffs on Chinese goods should be increased “very substantially” as reparation payments for the chaos unleashed by Covid-19, according to Donald Trump"

>>15235841 China-Australia diplomatic ties may worsen due to anti-China rhetoric for 2022 Aussie election: experts - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn

>>15241429 Peter Dutton accuses Beijing of playing war games in space - Defence Minister accuses China of pursuing aggressive plan to militarise space to undermine warfighting abilities of western nations including Australia

>>15241432 Bob Carr defends speech to China forum - Former foreign minister defends decision to speak at seminar organised by Chinese-Australian billionaire Chau Chak Wing attended by Xi Jinping

>>15243088 Solomons turns to China for riot help - Solomon Islands government announces that Chinese police officers and equipment will be installed to help train members of the Solomon Islands police force

>>15247159 Free-trade deal to speed exports to India - Australian wine, coal and grain producers targeted by Chinese sanctions are on track to have greater access to Indian markets from next year

>>15271334 Defence Department review finds no national security grounds sufficient to recommend government intervention in lease of Port of Darwin to Chinese company Landbridge

>>15271371 Beijing ducks and weaves on trade tension allegations - Chinese officials accuse Australia of putting trading relationship at risk in aggressive written response to Australian queries at World Trade Organisation forum

>>15301826 Australia’s nuclear submarine deal sets off ‘very big alarm’ in China, says Taiwanese MP Wang Ting-yu, senior representative of Taiwan Foreign Affairs and National Defence committee

>>15325254 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on January 5, 2022

>>15325257 Japan-Australia defense, security treaty will inflame regional tensions - China warns of countermeasures if bottom line touched - Liu Xin and Zhang Changyue - globaltimes.cn

>>15325270 Video: ‘Groundless accusations’: China’s fury over joint statement from Australia and Japan - Sky News Australia

>>15325274 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - "The joint statement of the Australia-Japan leaders' meeting, in total disregard of the facts, makes groundless accusations against China"

#20 - Part 9

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>15331297 Video: The small clique formed by the US, Japan & Australia deviates from the trend of peace & development. - SpokespersonCHN

>>15372299 Canberra's China delusion a bellicose display adding to Australia's unpredictability - Chen Hong - globaltimes.cn

>>15403917 Fears Australian writer Yang Hengjun could die in Chinese prison as medical condition worsens

>>15412466 China says Australia is trying to interfere with its legal system in case of Australian writer Yang Hengjun

>>15412466 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on January 18, 2022

>>15411907 Nuclear subs, China aggression to top UK talks - Scott Morrison will host Britain’s foreign affairs and defence ministers in Sydney

>>15427341 Australia, U.K. Work on Security Ties as China’s Clout Grows

>>15441265 Video: Australian Open: Security orders woman to remove shirt featuring message supporting Peng Shuai

>>15447944 Scott Morrison’s WeChat account taken over as pro-China propaganda page

>>15447948 ‘Unacceptable’: Liberal MP Gladys Liu boycotts WeChat over political interference concerns

>>15447955 Video: Liberal MPs pledge to boycott WeChat after PM blocked from platform

>>15448033 Former Australian PM Paul Keating criticises Liz Truss over ‘demented’ China comments

>>15448036 Herald indulges UK Foreign Secretary’s demented remarks on China - Paul Keating - johnmenadue.com

>>15455528 Australian Open reverses ban on ‘Where is Peng Shuai?’ T-shirts

>>15456124 Tencent refutes foreign claims of ‘blocking’ WeChat account of Australian PM - Yin Yeping - globaltimes.cn

>>15456133 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on January 24, 2022

>>15456142 WeChat account owner set to cancel PM’s account

>>15463550 Hyping conspiracy theories against China is dirty politics of Australia - Ning Tuanhui - globaltimes.cn

>>15472704 China’s new ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, offers olive branch

>>15472744 Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Ambassador Xiao Qian Arrives in the Commonwealth of Australia - 2022-01-26

>>15472754 China's new ambassador was conciliatory, but Australian MPs are sceptical of Chinese 'tactics'

>>15472774 New Chinese ambassador to Australia sends 'goodwill' to reset bilateral ties: First message on Australia's national day a 'goodwill' gesture - Liu Xin - globaltimes.cn

>>15472792 China silence 'weak', says Defence Minister Peter Dutton

>>15551303 US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to meet with Australia, Japan and India in bid to counter China during Olympics

>>15566332 Australia will ‘lose next decade’ unless it stands up to China: Defence Minister Peter Dutton

>>15583815 Australia's hasty nuclear submarine plan to be outpaced by China's development: experts - Liu Xuanzun and Leng Shumei - globaltimes.cn

>>15583858 US, Australia to add more tensions in Pacific while China holds Olympics to promote world peace - Yang Sheng and Xu Yelu - globaltimes.cn

#20 - Part 10

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

>>15175352 Australia treasurer calls for easing Covid curbs despite rising cases

>>15180150 Australia shortens wait time for COVID-19 booster doses as Omicron cases rise

>>15181614 Video: What Really Happened in Wuhan: Donald Trump - Sharri Markson has a frank and freewheeling conversation with the former US president in his first Australian sit-down interview on China’s “gross incompetence” and the mysteries still unsolved - The Australian

>>15185153 More border rules ease in Australia ahead of Christmas holidays

>>15185173 Video: Australia-South Korea deal the largest defence arrangement with any Asian nation - Sky News Australia

>>15186797 Australia poised to become largest producer of mRNA vaccines outside the US and Europe under $2bn-plus deal with Moderna to build a plant in Melbourne capable of producing 100 million vaccines a year

>>15186803 Scott Morrison promises to give Australians their “freedom” back and get big government out of their lives - Coalition anchors its re-election pitch with pledge to keep the nation “stronger, safer, together”

>>15195696 Australia reopens borders to non-citizens despite Omicron worries

>>15206640 Pubs, parties push Australia's COVID-19 cases to record levels

>>15206650 Defence Minister Peter Dutton says there is no escaping Omicron’s spread in Australia

>>15212341 Australia's new COVID-19 cases hit record high - 4,017 cases on Saturday, 18 December 2021

>>15217577 Australia says it is well prepared for mounting COVID-19 cases

>>15223515 Sydney shrugs off COVID-19 spike, resists calls to restore tough curbs

>>15223553 Video: ATAGI to consider three-dose vaccine schedule as states push for earlier boosters

>>15229711 Australia rules out lockdowns despite Omicron surge

>>15229750 Expert says critics calling for more Covid restrictions will be proven wrong - Australia’s former deputy chief medical officer Dr Nick Coatsworth hits out at critics calling for more restrictions as cases rise sharply before Christmas

>>15235748 Australian PM says no Xmas lockdown as hospitals coping with rising Omicron

>>15235751 PM reveals steps to avoid new lockdowns - Scott Morrison reveals suite of new measures to ensure Australia is not plunged back into lockdowns as Covid cases rise

>>15241362 Australian states reinstate COVID-19 curbs as Omicron cases jump

>>15241365 Video: Victoria makes masks mandatory indoors as state records 2,005 COVID-19 cases and 10 deaths

>>15241372 Video: Masks, density limits reintroduced as NSW records 5,715 COVID-19 cases and one death

>>15241380 Despite Omicron explosion, Health Minister Greg Hunt says 'heartening' sign as number of COVID-19 patients on ventilators remains stable

>>15241443 Ghislaine Maxwell Jury Deliberates in Empty Courtroom as Virus Surges

>>15247140 Australia shortens booster wait as Omicron explosion turns holidays into chaos

>>15261247 Australia records first Omicron death, authorities stick to reopening plan

>>15270897 Australia COVID numbers hit a peak as Omicron outbreak strains domestic politics

>>15271297 Australia seeks to ease COVID-19 test rules as cases hit records

>>15271303 Video: New proposal to overhaul definition of COVID-19 close contact, shorten quarantine requirement

>>15271427 Citing COVID, judge prods Ghislaine Maxwell jury to work overtime

>>15271499 Mark McGowan West Australian Premier "getting his covid booster shot"

#20 - Part 11

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

>>15283382 Sydney gears up for New Year's Eve celebrations despite record Omicron surge

>>15289345 Australia starts 2022 with record COVID cases - 33,161 cases on Saturday, January 1 2022

>>15289367 OPINION: Welcome to 2022, the year this pandemic ends - Dr Nick Coatsworth, Former deputy chief medical officer

>>15294637 New Australian COVID-19 cases dip, but hospitalisations rise

>>15299790 Australia to push ahead with reopening amid record COVID-19 cases

>>15306213 Australia COVID-19 cases surge, overloading testing system

>>15312119 Tempers fraying in Australia as COVID-19 cases hit new highs

>>15316397 Novak Djokovic’s visa is denied as world No 1 faces deportation from Australia

>>15316419 Novak Djokovic’s lawyers begin fight for tennis player to stay for Australian Open

>>15316434 Video: Australian Border Force confirms Novak Djokovic 'failed to provide appropriate evidence' to meet entry requirements and has had his visa cancelled

>>15316444 Prime Minister Scott Morrison Tweet: Mr Djokovic’s visa has been cancelled. Rules are rules, especially when it comes to our borders. No one is above these rules. Our strong border policies have been critical to Australia having one of the lowest death rates in the world from COVID, we are continuing to be vigilant.

>>15318178 Australia suffers record COVID cases, straining businesses and supply chains

>>15318615 Video: Novak Djokovic wins court bid to remain in Australia until Monday

>>15325314 Sydney Omicron outbreak could peak by late January, modelling shows

>>15325325 Djokovic spends Orthodox Christmas in Australian detention amid legal fight

>>15331294 Australia Treasurer Josh Frydenberg tests positive for COVID-19 as daily cases soar past 100,000

>>15336619 Australia's New South Wales marks its highest COVID-19 death count

>>15342218 Australia vows to 'push through' Omicron wave as infections cross 1 million

>>15342382 Video: Novak Djokovic wins court battle to have visa cancellation overturned

>>15348705 Australia swamped by Omicron surge as pressure grows on hospitals

>>15348754 Novak Djokovic visa application: Star faces jail time if convicted of lying on Australian entry form

>>15356480 Omicron surge threatens to slow down Australia's economic recovery

>>15356509 Novak Djokovic: I attended photo-shoot event while positive

>>15356516 Video: Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic condemns Novak Djokovic: 'The laws equally apply to all'

>>15363320 Australia COVID-19 infections hit record amid runaway Omicron outbreak

>>15363356 Video: Spanish inquisition: Djokovic’s travels before Australia under fresh investigation

>>15372027 Novak Djokovic’s visa cancelled, throwing Australian Open draw into chaos

>>15372053 Video: Federal government cancels Novak Djokovic's visa

>>15372279 New South Wales, Australia's worst-hit state says COVID-19 hospitalisations may plateau next week

>>15380223 Australia nears Omicron peak as daily infections hover around records

#20 - Part 12

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 3

>>15380263 Video: Novak Djokovic's appeal against visa cancellation to be heard by three judges on Sunday morning, 16 January 2022

>>15380267 ‘This is Orwellian’: Djokovic defence emerges ahead of court hearing

>>15389130 Novak Djokovic loses attempt to overturn deportation

>>15389142 Video: Novak Djokovic to be deported after losing Federal Court case

>>15389151 Video: IN FULL: Federal Court hands down decision on Novak Djokovic visa

>>15389175 Video: Novak Djokovic loses bid to stay in Australia

>>15395904 Australia PM blames Omicron for testing woes as COVID-19 cases hit downward trend

>>15395935 Australia leaves door open for Djokovic to play at next year's Open

>>15403887 Australia suffers deadliest day of pandemic as Omicron drives up hospital cases

>>15411832 Australia calls on backpackers to help ease Omicron-fuelled labour shortage

>>15411868 Military to drive Victorian ambulances, but PM says support will be limited

>>15412119 PM tells Australians to disregard George Christensen over ‘dangerous’ vaccine advice

>>15412494 ‘A decision of my own making’: George Christensen quits plum role as Chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth after vaccine slap down

>>15420457 Covid deaths and new cases dip in NSW to 30,825 and hospital and ICU patients FALL for the first time in the Omicron outbreak - but Victoria rises to 21,966

>>15420474 Video: Hopes unvaccinated will get Novavax as new COVID-19 vaccine, drugs approved for use

>>15420667 Google doing ‘everything in its power’ to stop United Australia Party spreading misinformation

>>15427284 A divided nation: Western Australia stays shut as COVID deaths mount in east

>>15434807 Australia's Queensland state says peak of Omicron two weeks away

>>15434914 Video: Shocking signs on show as protesters march across Australia during ‘freedom’ rallies - Thousands of protesters against vaccines and lockdowns swarmed on city centres during ‘freedom’ rallies, with some carrying vile signs

>>15441220 Two Australian states to test school students twice weekly for COVID

#20 - Part 13

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 4

>>15447996 Australia COVID-19 deaths mount as return to school threatens new Omicron peak

>>15455569 Australia marks two years since first COVID case with another high death count

>>15472658 COVID-19 ICU admissions increase across Australia as 72 more deaths reported

>>15481328 Australia suffers deadliest day of pandemic, expands booster eligibility

>>15490071 Australia records 97 Covid deaths as Victoria detects ‘son of Omicron’ cases

>>15499002 Australia anxious as schools back in full swing amidst Omicron wave

>>15507783 Australia reports fewer COVID-19 deaths, infections as students return to schools

>>15507876 Anti-vaccination protesters flock to Parliament House

>>15516793 The lies about the "vaccines" continue in Australia - Disinfo from medical expert Dr Nick Coatsworth - “If you’re vaccinated, that’s when you’re not going to get Covid.” - That statement is an utter lie - There are vast numbers of fully vaccinated people who have contracted Covid 19. Many have died.

>>15517010 Australian PM says his government was too optimistic before Omicron surge

>>15525306 Australia's COVID-19 hospital admissions fall to lowest in weeks

>>15525440 ‘Zero tolerance’: Australia will pour more than $60 million into countering violent extremism amid an increase in conspiracy theories during the COVID-19 pandemic

>>15534240 COVID-19 hospitalisations fall in NSW and Victoria as nation records 84 further deaths

>>15542085 Australia may use defence forces to help COVID-hit aged-care sector

>>15550954 Queensland has deadliest day of pandemic, Victoria records 41 deaths while NSW reports drop in COVID-19 cases

>>15550983 Convoy to Canberra marches on Old Parliament House to protest against vaccine mandates

>>15559152 Australian PM signals reopening borders to tourists 'not far away'

>>15566287 After two years of closed borders, Australia welcomes the world back

>>15575102 ‘Double standards’: Craig Kelly slammed for bringing unvaccinated protesters to Parliament House

>>15575149 Activist who demanded Scott Morrison be sent 'to the gallows' escorted into Parliament House by Craig Kelly

>>15583763 Another 70 people die from COVID-19 as Queensland records highest daily death toll

#20 - Part 14

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - Part 1

>>15185192 Alan Dershowitz: Ghislaine's Prosecutors Won't Call Her Main Accuser. Why?

>>15190277 RealGhislaine Tweet: Video: Kevin Maxwell on Good Morning Britain

>>15195832 PDF: Prince Andrew hits out at ‘unintelligible’ rape accuser Virginia Roberts and claims she ‘changes her story’

>>15195868 RealGhislaine Tweet: Our sister's trial resumes on Thursday December 16 - 13 DAYS OF INACTION BY AG MERRICK GARLAND ON HER in-trial conditions - DISGRACEFUL, INHUMANE AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL

>>15206839 RealGhislaine Tweet: Our sister's trial resumes today, Thursday, Dec 16 - Please listen with an open mind to ALL the evidence presented.

>>15206853 The truth about my sister, Ghislaine Maxwell - Ian Maxwell - spectator.co.uk

>>15206914 Ghislaine Maxwell's defense begins after judge denies request for witnesses' anonymity - Defense attorneys argued their witnesses could face scrutiny and harassment.

>>15212460 Ghislaine Maxwell Trial thrown into disarray as defence struggle to find witness: ‘Our client’s life is on the line’ - ‘I have a rule, you have your next witness or you rest,’ judge says

>>15212465 ‘There is no reason to testify’: Ghislaine Maxwell refuses to take the stand

>>15212473 Eva Andersson-Dubin, wife of billionaire Glenn Dubin and ex-girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein, denies having group sex with Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell as the British socialite's defense wraps its case

>>15217656 Miss Sweden and Bugs Bunny add up to a bad day in court for Ghislaine Maxwell - former socialite had nothing to say after prosecution in her New York trial dispensed quickly with defence witnesses

>>15217689 Ghislaine Maxwell requests she be called ‘Ms. Maxwell’ instead of ‘defendant’

>>15217702 Ghislaine Maxwell verdict likely this week - December 19, 2021

>>15217751 Jury may weigh whether Ghislaine Maxwell avoided knowledge of Jeffrey Epstein's acts, judge says

>>15217804 Prince Andrew fails in bid to have newspaper cuttings describing his accuser Virginia Giuffre as a 'money-hungry sex kitten' taken into account by New York judge considering her sex claim against him

>>15223566 Why was Prince Andrew accuser not called in trial of Ghislaine Maxwell? Virginia Roberts was 'available' to give evidence in sex trafficking case but was not contacted by officials, court hears

>>15230012 RealGhislaine Tweet: Remember "money, Manipulation, memory" as you listen to the Closing Statements today. The government has to prove the charges beyond a reasonable doubt. The government has not carried their burden.

>>15230013 Ghislaine Maxwell was a 'dangerous' predator, prosecutor says in closing arguments, while defence protests innocence

>>15230017 Ghislaine Maxwell ‘emotional’ as jury begins deliberations in her trial

>>15235837 Ghislaine Maxwell and legal team seem buoyed as jurors ask questions about trial testimony

>>15241443 Ghislaine Maxwell Jury Deliberates in Empty Courtroom as Virus Surges

>>15241452 No Verdict Yet, So Ghislaine Maxwell Jury Is Given a Holiday Break - Jurors have given no indication of their progress toward a verdict. Deliberations are to resume on Monday.

>>15241455 Ghislaine Maxwell will spend her 60th, Christmas Day, behind bars

>>15241458 RealGhislaine Tweet: The Jury are doing their homework.

>>15247160 Lawyers Question Why Maxwell Jury Only Heard From Four Accusers

>>15251422 Video: Ghislaine Maxwell’s sister, Christine Maxwell, breaks down while siblings await verdict

>>15256321 Ghislaine Maxwell turns 60 behind bars as verdict looms

>>15261253 Ghislaine Maxwell's legal team use controversial 'false memories' theory as part of her defence

>>15270885 Jury in Ghislaine Maxwell trial requests office supplies to assist with deliberations

>>15270888 Ghislaine Maxwell jury eyes Epstein flights as third day of deliberations ends

#20 - Part 15

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - Part 2

>>15271427 Citing COVID, judge prods Ghislaine Maxwell jury to work overtime

>>15271450 PDF: Prince Andrew challenges rape accuser’s right to sue in US 'as she lives in Australia'

>>15277336 Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty of luring girls for sexual abuse by financier and paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

>>15277341 Ghislaine Maxwell found guilty in sex-trafficking trial - convicted on five of the six charges as US prosecutors hail verdict - ‘justice has been done’

>>15277349 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: My soul yearned for justice for years and today the jury gave me just that. I will remember this day always. Having lived with the horrors of Maxwell’s abuse, my heart goes out to the many other girls and young women who suffered at her hands and whose lives she destroyed.

>>15277349 I hope that today is not the end but rather another step in justice being served. Maxwell did not act alone. Others must be held accountable. I have faith that they will be.

>>15277355 Australian Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre who claims she was forced to sleep with Prince Andrew aged 17 after being sex trafficked by Ghislaine Maxwell hails her guilty verdict as 'another step towards justice'

>>15277457 RealGhislaine Tweet: PDF: "Juries are also only as good as the information and guidance they receive." WSJ OPINION.

>>15277461 RealGhislaine Tweet: PDF: "Request that the Court give the jury additional instructions to correct apparent errors in the jury’s understanding of Counts Two and Four, and the law applicable to those counts, that were highlighted by the jury’s note this afternoon.."

>>15277461 RealGhislaine Tweet: STATEMENT FROM THE MAXWELL FAMILY "We believe firmly in our sister's innocence - we are very disappointed with the verdict. We have already started the appeal tonight and we believe that she will ultimately be vindicated."

>>15277470 'We believe she will be vindicated': Ghislaine Maxwell's siblings stay SILENT on leaving NYC court after her underage sex trafficking conviction but issue statement saying her appeal has begun

>>15277558 'Andrew should be quaking in his boots’: Victims’ defense attorney says Maxwell verdict now makes Prince Andrew a self-confessed close friend of a child sex trafficker

>>15277568 PDF: Epstein settlement with Giuffre to be made public, affects Prince Andrew case

>>15277587 ‘Ghislaine Maxwell Is Worse Than Epstein.’ Virginia Giuffre reacts to the conviction she knows is long overdue.

>>15277589 https://qanon.pub/#1054

>>15277591 https://qanon.pub/#4728

>>15277593 https://qanon.pub/#4568

>>15277595 Q Post #4923 - Dearest Virginia - We stand with you. Now and always. Find peace through prayer. Never give up the good fight. God bless you. Q

>>15283410 Ghislaine Maxwell verdict makes things worse for Prince Andrew

>>15283434 With Ghislaine Maxwell in prison, attention is turning to her former friend Prince Andrew

>>15283474 PDF: Prince Andrew makes 'unprecedented' request for all witness testimony in sex abuse case to be kept secret

>>15283508 RealGhislaine Tweet: “Ms. Maxwell’s trial was widely seen as the courtroom reckoning that Mr. Epstein never had”. New York Times

>>15283508 Epstein Accusers Say Ghislaine Maxwell’s Conviction Provides a Measure of Justice

>>15283508 RealGhislaine Tweet: Our next battle is when we go for the Appeal - watch this space

>>15283541 Video: BBC faces backlash after Dershowitz analyzes Maxwell case, despite accusation from alleged Epstein victim

>>15283542 BBC News Press Team Tweet: Last night’s interview with Alan Dershowitz after the Ghislaine Maxwell verdict did not meet the BBC’s editorial standards, as Mr Dershowitz was not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst, and we did not make that background clear to our audience. We will look into how this happened.

>>15288448 Video: Ghislaine Maxwell a 'scapegoat' and she won't 'flip' to help prosecutors, says brother Ian Maxwell

>>15289625 PDF: Federal Judge Rejects Prince Andrew’s Request to Halt Discovery in Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Until He Can Grill Accuser About Where She Lives

>>15289627 Video: Virginia Giuffre: Prince Andrew accuser seeks evidence he could not sweat

>>15289631 PDF: Prince Andrew admits he has ‘no evidence’ of sweating condition as Epstein fallout case looms

#20 - Part 16

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - Part 3

>>15294695 Video & PDF: We can’t prove Andrew doesn’t sweat: lawyers

>>15294701 Ghislaine Maxwell ‘won’t name names’ for lighter sentence

>>15306240 RealGhislaine Tweet: "While the jury verdicts have been acclaimed by victims’ groups & commentators as a welcome development in the hunting down of sexual assault perpetrators, this case shows the deep flaws in the US justice system that fails to protect against adverse pre-trial publicity & which imposes sentences that are disproportionate to the point of cruelty."

>>15306240 We can’t escape the trial by media that preceded the Maxwell guilty verdict - Greg Barns SC, Barrister - watoday.com.au

>>15306255 PDF: Prince Andrew’s Aussie accuser secret deal with Epstein released

>>15312156 Video: Judge deals blow to Prince Andrew over Virginia Giuffre case, questioning whether an earlier settlement protected him from a lawsuit

>>15312193 'Ghislaine was a predator as guilty as Epstein': Maxwell juror Scotty David describes moment he 'locked eyes' with sex trafficker and reveals his own abuse ordeal

>>15312210 Ghislaine Maxwell 'could file for mistrial' after juror reveals he suffered childhood sexual abuse and that this had informed his decision

>>15312245 PDF: Alan Dershowitz has deposed ex-Victoria’s Secret mogul Leslie Wexner as part of his lawsuit against Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre

>>15318419 PDF: Maxwell says post-trial statements of juror delegitimize guilty verdict - the former girlfriend of Jeffrey Epstein wants a do-over of the monthlong trial that just resulted in her conviction

>>15318431 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell granted permission to request retrial after juror reveals childhood sex abuse - 'Scotty David' admitted that he influenced the deliberations that saw Maxwell, 60, convicted and facing up to 65 years in prison

>>15318439 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell judge to consider new trial over juror comments

>>15325506 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell: key juror has hired lawyer, trial judge says

>>15325532 PDF: Juror in Ghislaine Maxwell trial ‘told court he was not sexual assault victim’ - Revelation increases the chance Maxwell will be granted a retrial - particularly if the judge finds it prejudiced the verdict

>>15331314 Virginia Giuffre told me she'd slept with Prince Andrew just days after that trip to London with Jeffrey Epstein - Key witness at Ghislaine Maxwell's trial, Carolyn Andriano, bravely waives her anonymity and makes a sensational new claim

>>15331329 Video: Never-before-seen video captures the moment Ghislaine Maxwell juror Scotty David claimed he 'wasn't asked' about his sexual abuse history in jury questionnaire - sending the sex trafficker's conviction into chaos

>>15331357 Sydney socialite Katherine Keating puts Epstein controversy behind her

>>15331357 (2019) How Katherine Keating blasted into billionaire paedophile Epstein's orbit

>>15348785 The judge in Ghislaine Maxwell's trial told jurors it was OK to draw on their personal experiences, as the Jeffrey Epstein associate's conviction is under scrutiny

>>15348790 PDF: Prosecutors willing to drop Ghislaine Maxwell perjury charge if no retrial

>>15356680 BBC boss says personal error to blame for Alan Dershowitz interview - "Not a suitable person to interview as an impartial analyst"

>>15356685 BBC Director General Tim Davie Blames Personal Error Not Financial Cuts For Heavily-Criticized Alan Dershowitz Interview

>>15363419 PDF: Prince Andrew will face civil trial over Virginia Roberts Giuffre sex abuse claims - Judge rules that a settlement deal made by Virginia Roberts Giuffre and Jeffrey Epstein does not release Prince Andrew from litigation

>>15363549 PDF: Juror on Ghislaine Maxwell trial asks to see his own answer to question about sex assault

>>15363570 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: On #NationalHumanTraffickingAwarenessDay I stand in solidarity with victims, past, present, and future and will continue to fight to make sure your voices are heard.

>>15372375 Prince Andrew loses royal, military links and will defend lawsuit as private citizen

>>15372381 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I’m pleased with Judge Kaplan’s ruling yesterday that allows my case against Prince Andrew to go forward. I’m glad I will have the chance to continue to expose the truth & I am deeply grateful to my extraordinary legal team. 1/3

>>15372381 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Their determination helps me seek justice from those who hurt me and so many others. My goal has always been to show that the rich and powerful are not above the law & must be held accountable. 2/3

>>15372381 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: I do not walk this path alone, but alongside countless other survivors of sexual abuse & trafficking. 3/3

#20 - Part 17

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell - Part 4

>>15372406 Prince Andrew's accuser Virginia Giuffre praises US court ruling allowing her civil sex assault case to proceed to trial - saying 'the rich and powerful are NOT above the law'

>>15380427 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell sentencing set for June 28 2022, as judge weighs request for new trial

>>15396206 PDF: Prince Andrew’s lawyers want to quiz accuser’s psychologist and husband

>>15396258 PDF: 'People don't misremember sexual abuse by a prince': Virginia Roberts's furious lawyer hits back over Andrew's 'false memory' defence in sex abuse case as Duke of York is criticised for attempt at 'victim shaming'

>>15396301 Dershowitz: What If Prince Andrew Were Innocent? - Alan Dershowitz - newsmax.com

>>15396362 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell will no longer fight to keep names of 8 ‘John Does’ secret

>>15412436 Video: Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and the Paedophile will sap one’s faith in humanity – Charli Weaver - qnewscrunch.com

>>15412440 Video: Ghislaine, Prince Andrew and Epstein - This documentary unravels the story of how an entitled daughter of a billionaire sank into shame and disgrace through her friendship with paedophile Jeffrey Epstein

>>15420508 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell formally requests new trial after lawyers raise concern about juror

>>15420577 Ghislaine Maxwell’s Bid for a New Trial Faces a Major Hurdle - The rule that a trial judge cannot ask what happened in the jury room could block an attempt by Ms. Maxwell’s lawyers to overturn the verdict

>>15420647 Clubber who 'saw Prince Andrew in club' is willing to testify over what she witnessed - Shukri Walker says she 'definitively remembered seeing' Prince Andrew inside London's Tramp nightclub in 2001

>>15435102 A new trial for Ghislaine Maxwell would 'go even worse' for her, victim's lawyer Brad Edwards says, claiming more accusers came forward after her sex-trafficking conviction

>>15435309 New York City artist Rina Oh Amen says Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell shopped her around to men at Mar-a-Lago. Other victims saw her as one of their enablers.

>>15448076 Ghislaine Maxwell witness refuses to take the stand again forcing prosecution to bring new case

>>15472832 PDF: Prince Andrew denies close friendship with Ghislaine Maxwell, in US court files

>>15472928 Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother, Ian Maxwell, claims grounds for mistrial after alleging ‘certain members’ of the jury lied

>>15490227 BIZARRE PICK - Prince Andrew ‘wants shamed actor Kevin Spacey to help him clear his name’

>>15490257 Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s lawyer David Boies: ‘She will accept a settlement only if it holds Prince Andrew to account’

>>15517192 US judge seeks statement from Robert Olney, former equerry of Prince Andrew

>>15525504 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers say juror ‘violated’ her right to fair trial

>>15542271 Sex in the bathroom: What allegedly happened moments after infamous Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre photo

>>15542333 realghislaine.com - Website maintained by Ghislaine Maxwell's family disappears - "Looks Like This Domain Isn't Connected To A Website Yet!" - 4 February 2022

>>15557991 Video: Prince Andrew to give evidence under oath in sex abuse lawsuit on March 10 2022

>>15557996 Prince Andrew in bid to cast Virginia Giuffre as sex trafficker - Prince Andrew plans to obtain sworn testimony from Carolyn Andriano, a victim of Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein in a high-risk gamble to cast his accuser, Virginia Giuffre, as a key member of the couple’s child sex-trafficking ring

>>15559170 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell retrial arguments must be public, prosecutors tell judge

>>15583972 PDF: Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers renew call to seal juror’s legal arguments

#20 - Part 18

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

>>15175356 'Arrogant' pedophile priest Anthony William Peter Caruana jailed for 15 years

>>15175357 Tasmanian health department put interests of alleged pedophile James Griffin ahead of victims, Ombudsman says

>>15175359 Global child abuse ring member Bret Anthony Chesworth jailed for crimes of the 'worst kind'

>>15175522 Pervert Josh Duggar tried to get off on gruesome 'hurtcore' video Daisy's Destruction, 'the worst of the worst' in international child porn that shows cruel torture and beatings of 18-month-old girl - The infamous video is the work of Australian predator Peter Scully

>>15175533 (2016) Video: Death penalty call for accused Australian child sex predator Peter Scully in Philippines

>>15185201 AFP warns online child sex offenders are offering Australian children vouchers and cash for naked images

>>15190229 Prosecutors launch bid to have Australia’s worst-ever child sex predator, Jadd William Brooker, jailed indefinitely for his crimes

>>15190412 Former footy star Brett Finch facing charges relating to child abuse material - Former NRL grand final winner charged with commenting on child abuse material, one of eight arrested by detectives

>>15217613 AJ Coutts, victim of paedophile Martin Cooper at Perth children’s home Warminda Hostel, receives $1 million settlement

>>15234468 Tasmanian child abuse survivor awarded record $5.3 million payout after suing abuser John Millwood

>>15235880 Australian Federal Police warn of human trafficking surge as border restrictions ease

>>15235880 Australian Federal Police Human Trafficking website - Information on human trafficking and the signs to look for

>>15251521 Australian Federal Police Tweet: During his recent visit to the United States, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw presented @FBI Director Christopher Wray with the AFP Partnership Medal. The medal is in recognition of the close working relationship between the AFP and the FBI.

>>15265942 Judge rules Catholic Church vicariously liable for Ballarat paedophile priest Bryan Coffey's abuse 50 years ago

>>15270892 Video: Police warn of increase in human trafficking, sex slaves, forced marriages as borders open

>>15325369 Child sex trafficking endures in Bali despite collapse of international tourism - Trade fueled by foreign pedophile rings and lone predators — none more infamous than Robert Fiddel Ellis, a 72-year-old Australian who was convicted in 2016 of sexually abusing 30 girls, one as young as 10.

#20 - Part 19

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

>>15325373 (2016) Accused Australian paedophile Robert Ellis says he doesn't deserve jail

>>15325605 Disturbing rise in childlike sex dolls imported from Asia - More than 150 childlike sex dolls sent from Japan, Hong Kong and China were stopped from entering Australia in 2021

>>15380363 David Sheppard and Alan Whitcher, former students suing Mentone Grammar over historic abuse claims from 1970s

>>15380370 Horrific new Mentone Grammar abuse claims emerge - Students at Mentone Grammar’s cadet camp in the 70s have revealed sickening experiences of being told to line up naked so leaders could inspect their genitals

>>15404001 Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation Tweet: We are blown away by the response to 'Stop Child Abuse – Trace an Object'. Since its launch in March 2021 there have been over 97,000 web page views leading to over 700 reports. Review the objects at http://accce.gov.au/trace

>>15404021 Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation - Stop child abuse: Trace An Object - We need your help in the fight against online child sexual exploitation - The smallest clue can often help solve a case - Can you help us recognise these objects?

>>15448055 SA Labor MP Nat Cook’s senior adviser Benjamin John Waters viewed child exploitation material at work, court told

>>15463568 Ben Waters says 'endless stress' of work for Labor MP Nat Cook led to 'escape' into child abuse material

>>15472800 Ex-Christian Brother Ted Bales (formerly known as Edward Dowlan), already twice-jailed for abusing young children, pleads guilty to more than 30 new charges related to abuse of 19 boys between 1971 and 1988

>>15490324 Video: Four million digital files seized in child exploitation crackdown by Australian Federal Police-led Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation (ACCCE)

>>15490480 How online creeps pose as celebs to target kids online - Shocking real life examples of how easily low-life predators are able to prey on kids and extort them for sexual material have been released in a bid to educate families of the dangers

>>15499029 Hillsong founder Brian Houston steps down as global leader of the Pentecostal church as he prepares to defend court charges that he covered up allegations of his father’s child sexual abuse

>>15517134 Child sex tourist sentenced in Brisbane Supreme Court - John Joseph Power - Brisbane man who groomed young girls and committed “depraved” sexual acts against them while on a trip to the Philippines

>>15534535 Sex offender and former Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes to be considered for parole

>>15534577 Grant Harden: Child sex offender to be sentenced as part of Operation Arkstone - Paedophile Grant Harden drugged kids as young as five before abusing them and even boasted he assaulted a child while they were in hospital for surgery

>>15566339 Grant Harden: Paedophile busted in Operation Arkstone wants treatment, court told

>>15584022 New Zealand Royal Commission hears from survivors abused by Brother Bernard McGrath ahead of Australian transfer

#20 - Part 20

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide

>>15175425 Video: Biden tells Jimmy Fallon right wing extremism in the GOP and Trump's big election lie are a wedge in the way of bipartisanship - "QAnon and the extreme elements of the Republican Party and what Donald Trump seem to be feeding with the ‘Big Lie’"

>>15175427 Video: President Biden Touts His Growing Economy and Plummeting Unemployment Rate - The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

>>15180259 Video: I Left QAnon in 2019. But I’m Still Not Free. Some say the movement is losing its power. But I see the opposite. - Jitarth Jadeja, as told to Anastasiia Carrier - politico.com

>>15229839 ‘Q’ Has Been Quiet, but QAnon Lives On: With the absence of a leader, the movement has transformed into more of a “choose your own adventure” conspiracy theory - Davey Alba - nytimes.com

>>15356626 Van Badham's new book 'QAnon and On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults' delves into this century's most dangerous and far-fetched internet cult - Van Badham - canberratimes.com.au

>>15356629 Video: Today Show host Karl Stefanovic denies being ‘lizard person’ in bizarre QAnon conspiracy theory - Today Show Australia - "Author Van Badham discussed the growing threats of these far-right conspiracies in her new book ‘QAnon and On’"

>>15396093 Donald Trump still claims 2020 presidential election was stolen, but vows to fight in 2024 - Keiran Southern - theaustralian.com.au

>>15525465 Anti-vaxxers jump ship to the sovereign citizen movement - Jack the Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au

>>15534496 Trying to get your head around QAnon and Lizard People? This book will help - QAnon and On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults by Van Badham - Cameron Woodhead - theage.com.au

PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED NOTABLES

Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/dd402760

Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/c2a98b43

Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/2ea866f7

Q Research AUSTRALIA #17 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/1df91700

Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/805b4829

Q Research AUSTRALIA #15 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/f975dc35

Q Research AUSTRALIA #14 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/62cdd4fd

Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/d2399cda

Q Research AUSTRALIA #12 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/558b72b8

Q Research AUSTRALIA #11 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/c17ab97f

Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 ————————————–——– https://controlc.com/bb780c9d

Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/6a61bec5

Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/7ee89fce

Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/239e467c

Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/c4932ea1

Q Research AUSTRALIA #5 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/5941506b

Q Research AUSTRALIA #4 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/acf74c16

Q Research AUSTRALIA #3 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/2021ac89

Q Research AUSTRALIA #2 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/b8855384

Q Research AUSTRALIA #1 ————————————––——– https://controlc.com/1e0dcd6e

THREAD ARCHIVES

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CURRENT DOUGH

https://controlc.com/1efa7d14

ASIO foils foreign spy plot to disrupt federal election

SIMON BENSON - FEBRUARY 10, 2022

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A spy ring led by a wealthy “puppet­eer” with deep links to a foreign government and its ­intelligence agencies recently tried to bankroll vulnerable ­political candidates in an attempt to get sympathetic MPs elected to parliament.

In one of the most brazen ­attempts at subverting Australia’s political system, the network sought to get candidates into positions of power but was shut down by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation before it could fulfil its ambitions.

While ASIO has not named the country involved, the sophistication of the operation, according to intelligence sources, pointed to only two nation states with that level of intent and the resources to carry it out: China or Russia.

It is understood that the sting was carried out recently, suggesting the target was the federal election due in May. The Australian has confirmed that Scott Morrison and Anthony Albanese were both briefed on the plot.

The subversion attempt has prompted a renewed warning to politicians from the country’s spy boss, ASIO director-general Mike Burgess, that the election is a ­highly vulnerable target.

Delivering the annual threat assessment in Canberra, Mr Burgess said on Wednesday night the security environment the country faced was becoming increasingly complex, with espionage and foreign interference now surpassing terrorism for the first time as the agency’s primary concern.

However, he warned that terrorism had also taken a sinister turn during Covid-19 lockdowns, with Australian children being radicalised and recruited to extremist groups at an alarming rate.

Almost half of all high-priority cases being investigated by ASIO now involve minors.

Mr Burgess revealed that the rise of ideologically motivated ­extremism, as witnessed during anti-vax and anti-government Covid-19 protests, was now deemed a significant security risk that would escalate.

Revealing the foreign interference spy plot, Mr Burgess said the agency was on high alert.

“I can confirm that ASIO ­recently detected and disrupted a foreign interference plot in the lead-up to an election in Australia,” he said. “I’m not going to identify the jurisdiction because we are seeing attempts at foreign interference at all levels of government, in all states and territories.”

The case involved a “wealthy individual with direct and deep connections with a foreign government and its intelligence agencies”. “This agent of interference has roots in Australia but did the bidding of offshore masters, knowingly and covertly seeking to advance the interests of the foreign power and, in the process, undermine Australia’s sovereignty.

“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.”

The “puppeteer” provided hundreds of thousands of dollars through an offshore bank account to run foreign-interference operations through a third party with ­direct links to politicians, political staff and journalists. The third party identified candidates believed to be vulnerable to inducements and cultivation.

The plan sought to promote the candidates’ political prospects through financial support, positive media coverage and hiring staff.

“The aim was not just to get the candidates into positions of power, but also to generate a sense of ­appreciation, obligation and ­indebtedness that could ­subsequently be exploited,” Mr Burgess said.

“The political candidates had no knowledge of the plot. Even if the plan had proceeded, they would not have known who was pulling the strings. The puppeteer used the employee as a cut-out.

“This deliberate deceit and ­secrecy about the foreign-­government connection is what took the case into the realm of foreign interference. Our intervention ensured the plan was not executed, and harm was avoided.”

(continued)

>>15592354

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Mr Burgess last year warned that by the mid-2020s, espionage and foreign interference were ­expected to have overtaken terrorism as ASIO’s principal security concern, but that had been realised earlier than anticipated.

“In terms of scale and sophistication, though, espionage and foreign interference threats are outpacing terrorism threats, and therefore demanding more attention and more resources,” he said.

“The threat is pervasive, multifaceted and, if unchecked, could do serious damage to our sovereignty, values and national interest.”

He warned that the nuclear submarine deal under the banner of the AUKUS security agreement between Australia, the US and Britain had already become the target of espionage attempts.

However, he said, the significance of terrorism could not be downplayed, amid an alarming rise in the radicalisation of minors.

“The number of minors being radicalised is getting higher and the age of the minors being radicalised is getting lower,” Mr Burgess said. “Most of the radicalisation occurs online, reflecting the dynamic I raised earlier, but some of it also happens in person, face to face.

“Children as young as 13 are now embracing extremism, and this is happening with religiously motivated violent extremism and ideologically motivated violent extremism. And unlike past experience, many of these young people do not come from families where a parent or sibling already holds extreme views.

“As the director-general of security, this trend is deeply concerning. As a parent, it is deeply distressing. “As a nation, we need to reflect on why some teenagers are hanging Nazi flags and portraits of the Christchurch killer on their bedroom walls, and why others are sharing beheading videos.

“Just as importantly, we must reflect on what we can do about it.”

Whereas minors represented about 2 to 3 per cent of new ­counter-terrorism investigations a few years ago, now they made up about 15 per cent, Mr Burgess said.

“At the end of last year, on average, minors represented more than half of our priority counter-terrorism investigations each week. Perhaps more disturbingly, these young people are more ­intense in their extremism.

“Where once minors tended to be on the fringe of extremist groups, we are now seeing teenagers in leadership positions, directing adults, and willing to take violent action themselves.”

Mr Burgess revealed ASIO had in 2007 conducted a threat assessment of a pandemic that had foreseen anti-government behaviour, as being played out with anti-vax protests. He warned politicians and commentators against labelling them as left or right wing. “They are a cocktail of views, fears, frustrations and conspiracies,” he said. “Individuals who hold these views, and are willing to support violence to further them, are most accurately described as ­ideologically motivated violent extremists.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/asio-foils-foreign-spy-plot-to-disrupt-federal-election/news-story/7db568241b244211fa78f13be1d17127

https://www.asio.gov.au/publications/speeches-and-statements/director-generals-annual-threat-assessment-2022.html

>>15592354

ASIO foils spy plot ahead of election

Sky News Australia

Feb 10, 2022

ASIO says it has foiled a major foreign interference plot ahead of the federal election.

The operation, led by a wealthy puppeteer, had deep links to a foreign government and aimed to bankroll vulnerable political candidates to get sympathetic MPs elected to parliament.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ienqEBG1iSY

>>15592354

Dating apps like Tinder and anti-COVID vaccine mandate protests drawing ASIO's attention, according to annual threat assessment

Andrew Greene - 9 February 2022

Foreign spies are using Tinder and other dating apps to recruit Australians with access to sensitive government secrets.

ASIO boss Mike Burgess made the alarming revelation while delivering his annual threat assessment, in which he also warned identifying anti-vaccine activists who could turn violent was proving difficult.

In a wide-ranging address to an audience of military chiefs, security bosses and politicians inside ASIO's Canberra headquarters, Mr Burgess confirmed espionage and foreign interference has now "supplanted" terrorism as the "principal security concern", declaring the recent AUKUS nuclear partnership an obvious target for international agents.

During the past two years, thousands of Australians with access to classified information are believed to have been targeted by foreign intelligence services using social media profiles.

"These spies are adept at using the internet for their recruitment efforts," Mr Burgess said.

"There's been a jump in suspicious approaches on messaging platforms like WhatsApp, for example."

Overseas intelligence operatives are even being monitored by ASIO on popular dating apps as they try to lure Australians with access to official secrets.

"ASIO is also tracking suspicious approaches on dating platforms such as Tinder, Bumble and Hinge," he said.

"My message for any potential victims on these sites is a familiar one — if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

The Director-General of Security said going online was an easy way for foreign intelligence services to target employees of interest.

"On any of the popular social media or internet platforms, they make seemingly innocuous approaches — such as job offers," Mr Burgess revealed.

"This then progresses to direct messaging on different, encrypted platforms, or in-person meetings, before a recruitment pitch is made."

Foreign interference plot on an unspecified Australian election also revealed

A spy ring led by a wealthy "puppeteer" linked to a foreign government recently attempted to bankroll vulnerable political candidates in an unspecified Australian election, to get sympathetic MPs elected to parliament.

Tantalising but only vague details of the thwarted plot were detailed by the ASIO boss as he warned of the risk of foreign meddling in this year's upcoming federal contest.

A person, who Mr Burgess dubbed "the puppeteer", hired another individual to enable foreign interference operations and used an offshore bank account to provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for operating expenses.

"The employee hired by the puppeteer began identifying candidates likely to run in the election who either supported the interests of the foreign government or who were assessed as vulnerable to inducements and cultivation," he said.

"This year – a federal election year – we need to be particularly on guard against foreign political interference," Mr Burgess said, declining to name specific countries that pose a threat.

Anti-vaccine mandate protesters closely monitored

The Director-General also described how COVID-19 has sent online radicalisation into "overdrive", with isolated individuals spending more time exposed to "extremist messaging, misinformation and conspiracy theories".

"Some Australians believe the government's approach to vaccinations and lockdowns infringed their freedoms. And in a small number of cases, grievance turned to violence," he said.

"In this uptick in specific-issue or grievance-motivated violent extremism, many of the actors are newcomers, so it's harder to get a sense of what is simply big talk — and what is genuine planning for violence."

Over the past week, some protesters in Canberra have been recorded on video calling for violence against elected officials, including the execution of the Prime Minister.

Mr Burgess revealed suspects younger than 18 now make up more than half of ASIO's priority counter-terrorism investigations each week.

"Where once minors tended to be on the fringe of extremist groups, we are now seeing teenagers in leadership positions, directing adults, and willing to take violent action themselves," he said.

"ASIO is aware of minors preying on other minors, seeking to turn them to their violent ideology and using grooming techniques similar to those used by paedophiles."

Following last year's fall of Afghanistan's government to the Taliban, ASIO is continuing to monitor the country closely, warning violent extremists from this region may again travel there for militant training.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-09/asio-threat-assessment-dating-apps-foreign-spies-covid-protests/100817850

Chinese hackers attack local media group

BEN PACKHAM - FEBRUARY 9, 2022

Chinese state-affiliated hackers have targeted a major Australian media company, stealing passwords and data using a publicised vulnerability within hours of the software flaw being revealed.

The nation’s biggest cybersecurity company, CyberCX, said the attackers moved swiftly to exploit the Log4j vulnerability in December last year, gaining access to the company’s IT systems before it had a chance to patch the affected software.

CyberCX said those responsible for the attack used “tradecraft consistent with Chinese state-sponsored actors” to gain access to the company’s mobile devices management software.

The company – which was not News Corp and understood not to be Nine Entertainment – was initially notified of the security breach by the Australian Cyber Security Centre. The attack occurred on December 10 – the same day the Log4j vulnerability was publicised, sparking a rush by users around the world to close the potential backdoor.

CyberCX chief strategy officer Alastair MacGibbon, a former ACSC head, said the company’s investigators were confident in ­attributing the attack to China.

“They used what we call customised web shells. We know the Chinese state uses a lot of these web shells,” Mr MacGibbon said.

“They stole data. They weren’t looking to lock phones or hold their data for ransom. And we have seen this same threat actor in other investigations we have done.

“And then when you compare that with what is publicly known about the tools and tradecraft, we have a high confidence in saying it is a Chinese state-affiliated actor.”

The Log4j vulnerability, unearthed in a piece of Java software code, was one of the most serious ever seen, sparking millions of ­attempted cyber attacks.

CyberCX investigators believe the Chinese attackers had developed a thorough understanding of the target application, MobileIron, enabling them to quickly exploit the Log4j flaw when it became known.

Mr MacGibbon said the speed with which the hackers moved to exploit the Log4j vulnerability showed how aggressive they had become.

“There used to be a time when a vulnerability was exposed and it was days, weeks or months before someone used it,” he said.

“Now it is a matter of hours. That shows how agile they are, how hyper competitive this space is, and how quickly they use ­opportunities. As soon as this vulnerability was public, they just pounced.”

The hacking incident predated a cyber attack on News Corp identified on January 20 and linked to Chinese espionage ­activities that affected The Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, and British newspapers The Times and The Sun.

Nine Entertainment was also the victim of a major cyber intrusion in March last year, which bore the hallmarks of a ransomware attack but was not accompanied by a demand for payment.

Mr MacGibbon said media companies were attractive targets for Chinese state-sponsored hackers because they received and analysed information that had intelligence value.

The ACSC – part of spy agency the Australian Signals Directorate – said it was aware of the cyber attack but declined to comment on whether China was responsible.

“Australia publicly attributes malicious cyber activity when it is clear and in the nation’s interest to do so,” an ACSC spokesman said.

“The Australian government condemns malicious cyber activity, including by cybercriminals, states and state-sponsored actors.

“No sector of the Australian economy is immune to the impacts of malicious cyber activity. All organisations should be alert to international threats and take ­action to strengthen their cyber ­security defences.”

The Australian government rarely publicly names the countries behind cyber attacks.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/chinese-hackers-attack-local-media-group/news-story/55471bf51f36473a683baf36969b048b

Quad unease at China, Russia ‘no limits’ pact

BEN PACKHAM - FEBRUARY 10, 2022

China and Russia’s new “no limits” partnership to stand up to the West will be at the top of the agenda at Friday’s Quad meeting in Melbourne, with Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne declaring the pact was “completely at odds” with Australia and its allies’ vision for the global order.

Senator Payne said on Wednesday that her meeting with US Secretary of State Antony ­Blinken, India’s Subrahman-yam Jaishankar and Japan’s Yosh­imasa Hayashi was part of a wider push to protect sovereignty and democratic freedoms, and ensure nations were free from coercion by authoritarian nations.

Mr Blinken flew into Melbourne on Wednesday afternoon, after spending “a chunk of this trip” on the phone to global counterparts about the Ukraine crisis.

While the US remains on high alert for a potential Russian attack on its neighbour, Mr Blinken said the Biden administration had a “sustained focus” on the Indo-­Pacific, “and that’s why we’re heading to Australia”. He said the Quadrilateral ­Security Dialogue was emblematic of US efforts ­towards “building, energising, (and) driving different coalitions of countries” to deal with pressing regional issues.

“The Quad is becoming a powerful mechanism for delivering; helping to vaccinate a big part of the world and getting a lot of vaccines out there; strengthening maritime security to push back against aggression and coercion in the Indo-Pacific region; (and) working together on emerging technologies and making sure that they can be used in positive ways, not negative ways,” he said.

In Canberra on Wednesday, Senator Payne met with her ­Lithuanian counterpart Gabrielius Landsbergis, whose country – like Australia – has borne the brunt of Chinese economic ­coercion. Mr Landsbergis, who is ­visiting Canberra to open the first local Lithuanian embassy, said China and Russia were working together “as disrupters of the global rule-based order”.

Australia has vowed to back Lithuania in its World Trade ­Organisation battle against Chinese trade bans, which were instituted after Vilnius agreed to host a Taiwanese trade office that bore the territory’s name rather than that of its capital, Taipei.

“For quite a while Australia was probably one of the main ­examples where China is using economy and trade as a political instrument, or one might say even as a political weapon,” Mr Landsbergis said.

“Now Lithuania joins this ­exclusive club … But it is apparent that we’re definitely not the last ones, especially if these practices are not stopped with the instruments that we have.”

Senator Payne said it was vital for “like-minded nations” to band together to counter coercion and authoritarianism.

The Quad foreign ministers will work to ramp up vaccine distribution across the region, boost co-operation on cyber and critical technologies, tackle Chinese disinformation and economic ­coercion, and improve collective efforts to address climate change.

The meeting comes a week after Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin vowed unprecedented co-operation, backing each other over stand-offs on Ukraine and Taiwan with a promise to collaborate more against the West.

Senator Payne said the new authoritarian partnership “sets out a vision of the global order that is at odds with that of Australia and that of our allies and ­partners, and I’m confident that includes all of our Quad ­partners”.

ANU National Security College head Rory Medcalf said the increasing closeness of China and Russia would “put India on the spot” over its longstanding ties to Moscow.

“India has its own distinct relationship with Russia which is weaker than it used to be – it has leaned more closely to the US in recent years – but it still has a relationship where it wants to position itself as not aligning against Russia,” he said.

“So this Quad meeting will be an interesting barometer on how much India has shifted.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/quad-unease-at-china-russia-no-limits-pact/news-story/72f4eeccf07dd795a81b83af579adc33

>>15592415

Australia leads world on standing up to China, Blinken says

Peter Hartcher - February 10, 2022

China’s trade sanctions on Australia have backfired, and by standing up to Beijing Australia “set an incredibly powerful example” for the world, according to the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

“I think China has lost more than Australia has in its efforts to squeeze Australia economically,” Mr Blinken said. Beijing would be “thinking twice about this in the future”, he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age in an interview.

The Biden administration’s chief diplomat is in Melbourne for talks with his counterparts from the Quad nations – Australia, India, Japan and the US – while simultaneously negotiating to deter Russia from attacking Ukraine.

His visit in the midst of the Ukraine crisis “only reinforces the point that for us, as a Pacific nation ourselves, we see the future, we see it here and you have got to keep focus on the core thing even as you deal with the challenge of the moment”.

Mr Blinken said that if Russia did attack its neighbour, he would expect Australia to contribute to imposing “massive costs” on Moscow, diplomatic and political as well as financial and economic, but not military.

The Quad ministers, meeting on Friday, are expected to discuss the Ukraine crisis in an effort to reach a joint position. The leaders of the four Indo-Pacific democracies are due to hold a summit in the next few months.

While China has imposed boycotts on more than $20 billion worth of Australian products, US companies have taken their place in some areas of the Chinese market. Asked whether there was a more effective way that countries could deal with Beijing’s trade coercion, Mr Blinken had no direct solution to offer.

He first paid tribute to “the very good and effective work that Australia has done, and Australian companies have done, in terms of diversifying markets and supply chains, tremendous resilience that I think will have China thinking twice about this in the future”.

The Australian trade economist Tim Harcourt concurred with Mr Blinken’s assessment that China had lost more than Australia through its punitive sanctions.

“China disrupted their own supply chains – they have shortages now in coal and iron ore and Australian exporters have been able to effectively diversify.

“They have energy security issues, they have food security issues, they have 300 million middle-class kids wanting to go to uni, so anything aggressive was going to hurt China.”

Coincidentally, the Financial Times on Wednesday carried the headline: “Australia offers timely lessons in resisting Chinese trade coercion”.

Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg in September said that total exports to China in affected sectors “are estimated to have fallen by around $5.4 billion over the year to the June quarter” but that exports of those goods to the rest of the world have increased by $4.4 billion. The implied loss to affected Australian industries was $1 billion over the year.

Mr Blinken pointed out that the US supported Australia’s economy as the biggest foreign investor by its accumulated stock of investment, although Japan was the biggest source of new investment in Australia last year.

He said that while the five-month-old AUKUS security partnership between Australia, the US, and the UK was new, “there’s a lot of focus” on how best to get US nuclear propulsion technology into submarines for Australia.

He said Washington was “looking at the most effective and efficient pathways to move that forward – there’s a lot of focus on that now. As well, of course, as setting the standard when it comes to upholding the non-proliferation regime.”

Mr Blinken was keen to draw attention to “the flip side of the AUKUS coin, which is collaboration among us – and potentially other countries coming in – on other things that are going to be vital to our security and wellbeing, particularly collaboration on emerging technologies, on AI, on quantum, but also on supply chains and building more resilience there.

“That’s also a part of AUKUS and that’s going to make a profound difference to sustainable security for all our countries.”

https://www.smh.com.au/national/australia-leads-world-on-standing-up-to-china-blinken-says-20220210-p59vhd.html

>>15592415

Blinken in Melbourne says Australia demonstrated best of humanity

Kirsty Needham - February 10, 2022

MELBOURNE, Feb 10 (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has told students in Melbourne that Australia had showed it was capable of the best of humanity, transforming the life of his step-father who arrived as a teenage refugee after the Holocaust.

Blinken is in Melbourne for the Quad meeting of foreign ministers on Friday, when he will meet counterparts from India, Japan and Australia.

On Thursday morning he spoke with students at the University of Melbourne, where his late step-father graduated, after he arrived with no education from Poland.

"Australia remade him," Blinken said, adding his family held Australia in a special place.

"It showed after a demonstration of how humanity is capable of the worst, it's also capable of the best."

Highlighting the closeness in values between the two nations, he said it was imperative for Australia and the United States to work together to tackle challenges from climate change to the pandemic, and ensuring technology was used to advance humanity.

"At a time when so many of those values and interests have been challenged, I think there's more of an imperative than ever, that our two countries be together, work together."

From Australia, Blinken flys to Fiji to reassure Pacific island leaders that Washington and its allies are committed to providing security and COVID vaccines, as China steps up its aid and influence in the region.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/blinken-melbourne-says-australia-demonstrated-best-humanity-2022-02-10/

Australia’s Pine Gap ‘hugely important’ to western monitoring of China, says former British spy chief

Richard Dearlove discusses facility’s role in monitoring China’s ‘rather alarming’ activities

Daniel Hurst - 10 Feb 2022

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The former British spy chief Sir Richard Dearlove has described the Pine Gap surveillance base in central Australia as “hugely important” to western intelligence collection about China’s “rather alarming” activities.

Intelligence officials are usually tight-lipped on exactly what the joint US-Australian facility is used for, but the former head of MI6 said Pine Gap was “a sophisticated listening post, all right, and a lot else besides”.

“You’ve got the massive installation, which is partly NSA [US National Security Agency], at Pine Gap and that’s really important because, well, it’s an intercept intelligence site,” Dearlove said on the global affairs podcast One Decision.

“And it’s hugely important strategically to the US and to the western alliance because of its position, its geographical location.”

He explicitly confirmed the western interest in Beijing’s activities, saying Pine Gap – the installation near Alice Springs in the Northern Territory – was “crucial to, let’s say, western coverage of China”.

“I don’t think I should go into detail about what it actually does, that would be indiscreet,” Dearlove added. More broadly, he said, Australia had “a very sophisticated intercept capability”.

The former head of the British Secret Intelligence Service made the comments during a podcast conversation with the former Australian foreign affairs minister Julie Bishop, who said Australia’s relationship with China currently was “tense”.

Australia is a member of the Five Eyes intelligence sharing alliance, which also includes the US, the UK, Canada and New Zealand.

The presence of the Pine Gap facility in Australia has from time to time attracted controversy. A trove of NSA documents leaked by Edward Snowden indicated the site “plays a significant role in supporting both intelligence activities and military operations”.

The ABC reported in 2017 that the facility – officially known as Joint Defence Facility Pine Gap - provided detailed geolocation intelligence to the US military. That prompted some legal observers to question the site’s potential role in supporting deadly US drone strikes in the Middle East.

Bishop said China had been “much more assertive” and “indeed aggressive in some instances” since Xi Jinping became president.

Some of China’s wolf warrior diplomacy had been “startling”, Bishop contended, and Beijing had “sought to make an example of us” since 2020 by introducing steep tariffs or trade actions against Australian export sectors such as wine, beef and barley.

Bishop said Australia was in the “rather unusual situation that our major trading partner, China, is in serious competition with our major strategic defence and intelligence ally, the United States”.

(continued)

>>15594672

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In the podcast interview, Dearlove asked Bishop whether it would be possible to “square this circle” in the long term.

Dearlove cited not only the Pine Gap installation but also Australia’s strategic alliance with the US, the rotation of US marines through Darwin, and the Aukus deal for the US and the UK to help Australia acquire at least eight nuclear-powered submarines.

“And all of this is, you could argue, [is] very provocative to the Chinese,” Dearlove said. “And at the same time, your economy or aspects of your economy, are absolutely totally tied to the Chinese market.”

Bishop agreed that it was “a balancing act” and called for Australia and China to “reestablish a more constructive dialogue”.

“It will be interesting to see how Xi Jinping is able to maintain this grip on power,” she said.

“I’ve not yet seen evidence that he’s losing it, but China’s future is facing many hurdles, many challenges. Its inexorable rise is not inevitable. I think there are many bridges to cross before China could be seen as a superpower in the nature of the United States.”

Bishop, who was foreign minister from 2013 to 2018, said Australia and other countries in the region were “looking for more US leadership, not less”. She contended that very few countries “would want to live in a region where the Chinese government was calling the shots”.

Dearlove called on the west to “develop a new security regime which copes with China’s presence as a superpower”.

But while saying he found China’s insistence on rewriting global rules as “rather alarming”, Dearlove also made an emphatic plea for Australia and other western countries to continue to seek dialogue with Beijing.

“I do firmly believe in talking, not just to one’s competitors, but to one’s enemies as well, and engaging in dialogue, and having some sort of bilateral infrastructure which allows for the treatment and discussion of problems on an almost constant basis,” he said.

The One Decision podcast, which is co-hosted by Dearlove and the journalist Julia Macfarlane, was recorded in December but released on Thursday. It is produced by the US-based communications firm Global Situation Room.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/10/australias-pine-gap-hugely-important-to-western-monitoring-of-china-says-former-british-spy-chief

—

One Decision podcast

The Wallaby and the Dragon

FEB 10, 2022

China’s growing power is a big concern for the West, but perhaps nowhere more so than Australia - US strategic partner and Five Eyes member. Julie Bishop, Foreign Minister between 2013-2018 talks to One Decision about Australia’s priorities in a western alliance post-Trump, and how the West needs to approach and counter, Beijing.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/one-decision/id1583753742

>>15534535 (pb)

Former Hey Dad! actor Robert Hughes parole decision deferred

Ryan Young and Erin Lyons - 10 February 2022

Ex-Australian TV star and convicted paedophile Robert Hughes will have to wait longer than expected to learn if he has been granted parole after serving almost eight years behind bars for child sex offences.

The NSW State Parole Authority (SPA) held a closed hearing on Thursday to consider if the 73-year-old former Hey Dad! actor would be suitable for release on parole.

Afterwards, a spokeswoman said a decision on the matter had been “stood over”.

“Given the complexities and seriousness of this matter, the SPA has called for a comprehensive psychological assessment of Hughes’ risk of sexual reoffending and a further report from Community Corrections,” she said.

“The SPA will hold a public review hearing on a date to be fixed before making a final decision on parole.”

Hughes had previously twice been denied parole and after he renounced his Australian citizenship.

The parole board said if granted parole, Hughes would be deported to the UK where he was residing at the time of his arrest.

In 2014 he was handed a 10 year and nine-month prison sentence after receiving 10 convictions for child sex offences that included sexual intercourse without consent and multiple acts of indecent assault.

Hughes, who has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, targeted four victims aged under 16, in the 1980s and ’90s.

According to court documents, the bulk of the offences were committed before he secured the lead role of widowed dad Martin Kelly on the hit Channel 7 sitcom that ran for seven years.

While in jail, Hughes claimed he was subject to constant verbal and physical abuse that included excrement, urine and boiling water being thrown over him.

Hughes’ sentence is due to expire on January 6, 2025.

https://thewest.com.au/news/former-hey-dad-actor-robert-hughes-parole-decision-deferred-c-5643048

Lithuania plays 'coercion card' against China in joining 'exclusive club' with Aussies

Vilnius' stunt exposes desperation, a laughingstock for immature actions

Liu Xin - Feb 09, 2022

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In an attempt to hype so-called China coercion and play "victims" to win sympathy, the Lithuanian Foreign Minister claimed on Wednesday that his country is in an "exclusive club" with Australia against China, a move that would not help Lithuania solve its problems but exposed its desperation like a drowning person clutching at a straw, analysts said. Analysts mocked the exclusive club as an international laughing stock for immature, imprudent and impenitent actions that provoke other countries' sovereignty.

China has unsurprisingly become the main topic for Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis' meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne on Wednesday. Landsbergis, at a joint conference with his Australian counterpart, reiterated the accusation of China for acting as the global disruptor and called Australia as one of the "main examples" when China was using economy and trade as "a political weapon."

Seemingly to stress their "shared experience," the Lithuanian Foreign Minister added that Lithuania joined the "exclusive club" with Australia, and the two foreign ministers agreed to step up cooperation on strategic challenges, especially from pressure from China.

Lithuania is trying to gang up with Australia in playing "victims" to win sympathy from the international community. But unlike the US, which also imposes unilateral economic sanctions, China is never the one that makes coercive economic sanctions, Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times.

"The 'exclusive club' is more like an exclusive club of laughingstocks that ate the bitter fruits of immature, imprudent and impenitent actions by Lithuania and Australia," Chen said.

In November 2021, China downgraded ties with Lithuania after the latter's wrong move of allowing the Taiwan authorities to open a "representative office" under the name of "Taiwan" in Vilnius. Bilateral trade also suffered due to the deteriorating relations.

By voicing its support to Lithuania, Australia has also descended into Lithuania's tool. "The current problems between China and Lithuania are rooted in Lithuania's provocations over China's bottom line. However, relations between China and Australia have not been downgraded, despite the current low ebb, and trade has continued. Why does Australia risk worsening relations with China for Lithuania?" Chen asked.

The expert noted that there is also one similarity shared by Lithuania and Australia - turning themselves into pathetic tools for the US to contain China at the cost of their own country and people's interests.

(continued)

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The Morrison government has been criticized for its souring relations with China by following the US in containing China and the country's trade with China has also been impacted. For example, Australia's exports across 12 key non-iron ore commodities, including coal, barely, beef, timber, wine and lobster plummeted in the first nine months of 2021 compared with 2019 while the value of US exports of the same commodities increased in the same period.

But Lithuania and Australia are also competitors for their exports to China–for example on wine and agricultural products, Chen said. He added that Lithuanian Foreign Minister's trip to Australia is more about politics and to hype the China threat.

Before flying to Australia, Landsbergis visited Singapore and claimed that Lithuania sees Singapore as a "gateway" to other Southeast Asian markets.

As Singapore is an important fortress in the Strait of Malacca, it is one reason for him to visit Singapore. Singapore's "small size" and heavyweight influence in ASEAN is Lithuania's focus for making the visit, Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times.

During the disputes with China, Lithuania tried to portray its "bravery" of being a "small country" to counter a power like China to win sympathy. "By visiting Singapore, Lithuania is attempting to spread the idea of 'China coercion' in Southeast Asian countries and hype the China threat," Cui noted.

However, the close economic cooperation and exchanges with China in the past decades as well as the shared willingness of not getting involved in political disputes among regional countries would make Lithuania's efforts fail, analysts said.

Cui noted that in facing growing opposition among Lithuanian politicians against the government's wrong moves with China, the Lithuanian government has fallen into a dilemma. But a small group of diehard politicians may push for more provocations instead of admitting their mistakes.

Lithuania is also seeking assistance from the European Union, while the EU does not want to be involved in nor does it want to be abducted by Lithuania in countering China, Cui said, noting that this is why the EU prefers to solve disputes through the World Trade Organization.

In January, the EU announced it was taking China to the WTO after disputes over Lithuanian exports surfaced.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian said on Tuesday that China always abides by the rules and regulations of the World Trade Organization and the so-called "coercion" of China against Lithuania is purely made out of thin air.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1251885.shtml

>>15592415

Quad foreign ministers meet amid divergent expectations

Targeting China, Russia only serves US strategic demand: expert

Yang Sheng and Liu Caiyu - Feb 09, 2022

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The tone of the 4th Quad foreign ministers' meeting scheduled for Friday in Australia is still based on ideological differences and a cold war mentality, as US and Australian officials stressed the meeting will discuss the "challenges" posed by China and Russia to so-called "democracy and rules-based order."

The Chinese Foreign Ministry on Wednesday said the US image of democracy has already collapsed, and using democratic values to form cliques for confrontation is a "betrayal of democracy."

Zhao Lijian, spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, made the remarks at a routine press conference on Wednesday, saying that "democracy is a common value shared by humanity, rather than a patent owned by a few countries."

For the "rules-based order," Zhao said China, just like most countries around the world, acknowledges and upholds the international system with the United Nations at its core, and international order based on international laws, rather than a "rules-based order" unilaterally defined by one or a few countries.

Zhao's remarks came after US Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel J. Kritenbrink and Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne made remarks to the media that the upcoming Quad meeting will discuss the "challenges" that China and Russia posed to them.

Kritenbrink said at a briefing on February 4 ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blinken's trip to Australia that the discussion of the top diplomats from four Quad members "will relate to the challenges that China poses" to their shared "values" and "rules-based order" in a number of sectors.

Similarly, Payne said in an interview with ABC on Wednesday that "The approach of authoritarian regimes," naming Russia, China and North Korea, "are not contributing to security. They are not contributing to stability." She said China and Russia's "vision of the global order is completely at odds with the vision that Australia has and our allies and our partners have."

Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that "emphasizing democracy or ideological elements is just an attempt to justify and beautify the Quad mechanism, to make it look more legitimate. But in fact, the Quad is driven by US strategic demand, which fabricates fears over China and Russia that the US uses to scare its allies. It's never been driven by democracy."

Stressing "democracy" or using the term "authoritarian regimes" to smear China and Russia and other countries is "a very outdated approach," and is just like "finding excuses to legitimize the crusaders' invasions of the Middle East," Li said. The values are just pretexts and tools, the interests and ambition of expansion are the real purposes, he noted.

Differences within Quad

Chinese analysts said that although the US, Japan, India and Australia can sit together and talk, what they want and what they want to get from each other are very different. This makes it hard for the mechanism to have any influence and presents obstacles for enacting concrete cooperation.

Chen Hong, a professor and director of the Australian Studies Center of East China Normal University, said that Payne's point is nonsense, and making Australia a rival or enemy to China and Russia is extremely unwise.

"China and Russia have never treated Australia as a threat. But Canberra, under the instruction of Washington, is willing to fight harder for the US while ignoring Australia's own interests and security. This is absolutely immature," Chen noted.

(continued)

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Australia is different from other Quad members, as it has neither sovereignty disputes nor strategic competition with China, "so loyally serving as a pawn for the US to provoke China will make Australia lose much more than it could get," Chen said.

Sadly, Australia is a country that failed to maintain official communication channels with China due to its diehard anti-China policy, while the US, Japan and India could all maintain dialogues with Beijing despite the divergences they have with China. This proves that politicians in Canberra are making their country look stupid and keep losing the game, said Chinese experts.

"And ironically, the US even benefited from the worsening China-Australia ties, as US wines have taken a big bite out of the share of Australian wines in the Chinese market. Australia has failed to realize this and continued to serve US strategy to keep diehard hostility toward China without any doubt. How could Australian officials be so silly and so loyal to the US?" said a Beijing-based expert on international relations who asked for anonymity.

India also has its own expectations from the Quad. According to Indian media the Economic Times, the Ministry of External Affairs of India said the four foreign ministers "will review ongoing Quad cooperation and build on the positive and constructive agenda… to address contemporary challenges such as the COVID pandemic, supply chains, critical technologies [and] climate change."

Lin Minwang, a professor at the Institute of International Studies of Fudan University, said that India shares a purpose with the other three - to contain China. "But India didn't go as far as Australia. For instance, it wasn't as provocative as Australia on China's internal affairs such as Xinjiang and Taiwan."

The US and Australia confidently said they share points of view with other Quad members, but India is a little bit special, Lin said, noting that "traditionally, India doesn't like playing values cards, because India is a developing country. The West uses the pretext of human rights to accuse India on many things and tries to interfere in India's internal affairs, so India is very sensitive on this matter."

India now is suffering from a bad COVID-19 epidemic situation, and New Delhi is preoccupied with the economy, not China. Beijing has clarified on multiple occasions that it has no intention to compete with India, so India might find there is no need for extreme hostility at the moment. It may prefer to stress less sensitive issues like fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chains and climate change, said the anonymous expert.

Lin said that calling China an "authoritarian regime" maybe a choice for some nationalist anti-China Indian media, but India absolutely dares not criticize Russia with the same terminology, so Australia and the US do not really share the same broad consensus with partners like India.

Chen said the Quad is not very solid, and the US even dreams to make a "Quad plus" to include countries like South Korea and Vietnam, although this is little more than a pipe dream. "Just like India and Japan, on one hand, these countries will do some little things to please the US for some benefits, but will keep engagements and exchanges with China on the other hand. They won't be willing to serve as a tool for the US. They will handle the complicated relations with China and the US based on their own wisdom."

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1251886.shtml

Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on February 9, 2022

The Global Times: The Productivity Commission, a research body of the Australian government, recently released two reports, namely Prison Dilemma and Report on Government Services 2022 for the justice sector. The reports pointed out the incarceration rate of Indigenous Australians is extremely high, which is grounded on a series of institutional problems like racial discrimination and selective law enforcement of the police. What is your comment?

Zhao Lijian: I have noted the reports. The comparison speaks volumes. According to the reports released by the research body of the Australian government, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people comprise 3.3% of the Australian population but 29% of prisoners in 2020. In the Northern Territory, they make up 84% of the prison population. And their rate of imprisonment is 13 times that of the non-Indigenous group. At least 474 Indigenous people died during incarceration over the past 30 years. These figures fully expose the grave human rights problems in Australia.

This is just the tip of the iceberg on human rights issues in Australia. In the past, Australia adopted genocide and assimilation policies against the Indigenous people. Up to 100,000 Indigenous children were taken by force from their families, and a large number of Indigenous people were slaughtered and enslaved. Even till this day, the Indigenous people are still subject to grave unfair treatment when it comes to living conditions and law enforcement. Systemic discrimination against ethnic minorities in Australia is severe and hate crimes are proliferating. Besides, Australia has set up offshore detention centers in third countries, where a large number of immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers are held in long-term and even indefinite forced detention with their basic human rights seriously violated. I have also given you many examples on how Australian soldiers illegally executed captives, tortured and killed civilians and committed serious war crimes in overseas military operations in countries like Afghanistan, but can still get away from punishment.

For a long time, Australia, a self-claimed “vanguard of human rights”, has turned a blind eye to its own problems while pointing fingers at other countries’ human rights conditions based on rumors and lies, which is out-and-out double-standard. Some in Australia should carefully read the reports, earnestly do some soul-searching, and seriously address the rampant human rights problems at home.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202202/t20220209_10640558.html

>>15600282

#Australia adopted genocide and assimilation policies against the Indigenous people.

SpokespersonCHN发言人办公室

Feb 10, 2022

Australia adopted genocide and assimilation policies against the Indigenous people. Some in Australia should read the reports carefully, do some soul-searching, and seriously address the rampant human rights problems at home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f30sA9lqtQU

Australians told to get COVID boosters to be considered fully vaccinated

Renju Jose - February 11, 2022

SYDNEY, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Australian residents will need to receive booster shots to be considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19, although authorities said foreign travellers will continue to need only two shots to enter the country.

Australia's national cabinet late on Thursday endorsed the revised guidance from the country's vaccination advisory group to classify "up-to-date" inoculations as including boosters.

A person's vaccination status will be considered "overdue" if they have not received a booster within six months of their second dose, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.

Australian officials have made vaccines mandatory only for some frontline workers, but many private businesses, including major corporations, restaurants and retailers, have made inoculations a requirement for entry.

The country is among the most heavily vaccinated in the world as a result, with 94% of people above 16 double-dosed. Nearly 10 million boosters have been administered so far.

The decision to keep the requirement for visitors to two doses only comes as authorities prepare to fully reopen Australia's borders, around two years after they were slammed shut to slow the progress of the pandemic.

Like other countries, Australia has been tackling the fast-moving Omicron variant.

Officials reported just under 26,000 new infections by midday on Friday, down from about 30,000 on Thursday, with Western Australia and Northern Territory still to report. Forty-eight new deaths were registered. Hospital cases remained on a downtrend, with nearly 3,300 admitted, the lowest tally in more than a month.

The bulk of Australia's pandemic total of around 2.7 million cases has been detected since the emergence of the Omicron variant in late November. Total deaths stood at 4,479.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/australians-told-get-covid-boosters-be-considered-fully-vaccinated-2022-02-11/

>>15592415

Quad ministers address Indo-Pacific 'coercion', climate, COVID

Humeyra Pamuk and Kirsty Needham - February 11, 2022

MELBOURNE, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The United States, Australia, Japan and India on Friday pledged to deepen cooperation to ensure the Indo-Pacific region was free from "coercion", a thinly-veiled swipe at China's growing economic and military expansion, as their top diplomats convened to also tackle climate change, COVID and other threats.

Foreign ministers of the so-called Quad, the informal grouping of the four countries, vowed to work on humanitarian relief, terrorism, cyber and maritime security and global supply chain challenges.

Despite being outside the group's scope, an escalating crisis between the West and Russia over Ukraine was also a top agenda item, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken casting Moscow's build-up as a challenge to the international rules-based order, which he said Quad would work to preserve.

"That includes championing the rights of all countries to choose their own path, free from coercion and the right to have their sovereignty and territorial integrity, respected. Whether that's here in the Indo-Pacific, in Europe, or anywhere else in the world," he said in his opening remarks of the meeting.

Blinken arrived in Australia this week as Washington grapples with a dangerous standoff with Moscow, which has massed some 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s border and stoked Western fears of an invasion. Russia denies it has such plans.

The Biden administration wants to show the world its long-term strategic focus remains in the Asia-Pacific and that a major foreign policy crisis in one part of the world does not distract it from key priorities.

Asked by reporters on Friday if confrontation with China in the Indo-Pacific was inevitable, Blinken replied "nothing is inevitable".

"Having said that, I think we share concerns that in recent years China has been acting more aggressively at home and more aggressively in the region," he said.

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne said the Quad's cooperation on the region's COVID response was "most critical", with cyber and maritime security, infrastructure, climate action and disaster relief - especially after the recent Tonga volcanic eruption - also in focus.

New pledges are unlikely to be announced before a May summit of Quad leaders in Japan that President Joe Biden plans to attend.

Payne also said Ukraine, China and North Korea would also be discussed.

"More than one authoritarian regime is presenting itself in the current world climate as a challenge. DPRK (North Korea), China as well and they will be part of our discussions today. We strongly support U.S. leadership on these challenges," she said before a bilateral meeting with Blinken.

Britain said the "most dangerous moment" in the West's standoff with Moscow appeared imminent, as Russia held military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea following the buildup of its forces near Ukraine.

The Quad nations have begun holding annual naval exercises across the Indo-Pacific to demonstrate interoperability, and the United States itself conducts freedom of navigation patrols in the South China Sea.

China has previously denounced the Quad as a Cold War construct and a clique "targeting other countries".

Blinken's trip comes after China and Russia declared last week a "no limits" strategic partnership, their most detailed and assertive statement to work together - and against the United States - to build a new international order based on their own interpretations of human rights and democracy.

U.S.-Chinese ties are at their lowest point in decades as the world's top two economies disagree on issues ranging from Hong Kong and Taiwan to the South China Sea and China's treatment of ethnic Muslims.

Biden told Asian leaders in October the United States would launch talks on a new Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. But few details have emerged and his administration has been reluctant to offer the increased market access Asian countries desire, seeing this as threatening American jobs.

Critics say the lack of U.S. economic engagement is a major weakness in Biden's approach to the region, where China remains to be the top trading partner for many of the Indo-Pacific nations.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/quad-ministers-convene-address-indo-pacific-coercion-climate-covid-2022-02-10/

>>15592415

China's military build-up, aggressive behaviour in the region a concern, Japan says

GREG SHERIDAN - FEBRUARY 11, 2022

China’s military build-up and aggressive behaviour in the region have become “a grave concern”, according to visiting Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi.

Mr Hayashi came to Australia to attend Friday’s meeting of the foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue involving the US, Japan, India and Australia.

In an exclusive, detailed written interview with The Australian, he accuses China of aggressive military behaviour in Japanese waters: “it is unacceptable that China Coast Guard vessels have repeatedly intruded into the Japanese territorial sea around the Senkaku Islands and have attempted to approach Japanese fishing boats.”

He sketches the outline of China’s massive military modernisation, and says: “Chinese military trends, combined with insufficient transparency on its defence politics and military affairs, have become a matter of grave concern to the region, including Japan and the international community.”

Mr Hayashi also offers strong support for Australia in standing up to the economic coercion it has faced from Beijing: “Japan and Australia are opposed to the use of economic coercion that undermines the rules-based trading system and the links between nations fostered by economic engagement. I am encouraged by the resilience with which Australia has responded to economic coercion to date.”

The Japanese foreign minister also provided an explicit endorsement to the AUKUS agreement involving the US, UK and Australia, hailing it as a positive for regional stability: “I believe that enhanced security and defence co-operation between Australia, the UK and the US will contribute to regional peace and stability. It is from this perspective that Japan supports AUKUS.

“I believe that Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines is also an important initiative for the security of the Indo-Pacific.”

Mr Hayashi believes the Quadrilateral Dialogue plays a “central role” in promoting “a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/chinas-military-buildup-aggressive-behaviour-in-the-region-a-concern-japan-says/news-story/abcd12e4ed0e30dbfdca98a391130691

>>15592415

Quad pledges to counter China maritime aggression

BEN PACKHAM - FEBRUARY 11, 2022

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Australia, the US, Japan and India have vowed to ensure freedom of navigation in the East and South China Seas to counter Chinese maritime aggression, and pledged to work more closely with Indo-Pacific nations to help them protect their offshore resources.

In a historic meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue in Melbourne, Foreign Minister Marise Payne, US Secretary of State Antony ­Blinken, India’s Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japan’s Yosh­imasa Hayashi, also reaffirmed their support for a free Taiwan.

They pledged to work more closely to oppose Chinese disinformation and cyber attacks and secure undersea cables.

Secretary Blinken reaffirmed the US pivot to the Indo-Pacific during the meeting, saying his presence in Australia during the Ukraine crisis underscored US resolve to ensure the region remained free and open.

“Indeed, these efforts are part of one whole,” he said. “One of the reasons we are working so intensively to defend the core principles threatened by Russia in Ukraine, is because those very same principles are crucial to enduring stability in this region and every other part of the world.”

The Quad ministers also expressed deep concern over the military dictatorship in Myanmar, backing ASEAN’s plan to resolve the crisis, and condemned North Korea’s “destabilising” ballistic missile launches.

“Quad partners champion the free, open, and inclusive rules-based order, rooted in international law, that protects the sovereignty and territorial integrity of regional countries,” the ministers said in a joint statement.

Japan, which will host a Quad leaders’ meeting by mid-year, expressed particular concern over the Chinese activities in the East and South China Seas which Beijing treats as its own sovereign waters.

Minister Hayashi said: “I expressed serious concerns about the unilateral attempts to alter the status quo (in the seas) by force … and the four foreign ministers agreed to work together to counter the challenges against the maritime order.”

In the joint statement, the ministers committed to “deepen engagement with regional partners, including through capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness” and protect nations “ability to develop offshore resources” consistent with the UN Law of the Seas.

The ministers also backed Australia’s pushback against Chinese economic coercion, pledging to “work collectively to foster global economic resilience against such actions”.

They denounced violent extremism in the region and urged countries to work together to eliminate terrorist safe havens and disrupt terrorist networks.

Senator Payne said Australia supported a world order that favoured freedom, “where rules, not power and coercion, resolve disputes”.

“Today, in Melbourne, our overarching focus was on the Indo-Pacific,” she said.

“We agreed to strengthen Quad cyber and counter-terrorism co-operation, including by co-ordinating efforts to address the threat of ransom ware.

“We discussed humanitarian and disaster response and vital infrastructure delivery, which is climate adapted and resilient, in consultation with our partners.

“We agreed to boost maritime security support for Indo-Pacific partners to strengthen their awareness and ability to develop offshore resources to ensure freedom of navigation and overflight and to combat challenges such as illegal fishing.”

(continued)

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Dr Jaishankar said the Quad was working on an agenda to make the grouping “a force for global good”.

But he signalled India, whose country has a close relationship with Russia, was uncomfortable with discussion of the Ukraine crisis in the regional forum.

“This meeting is focused on the Indo-Pacific so I think you should figure out the geography there,” he said.

Earlier, the ministers met Scott Morrison, who said the Quad was vital to the defence of freedom in a “fragile, fragmented and contested world”.

“I think in doing so we stand up to those who would seek to coerce us,” he said, noting the Quad’s support for Australia in the face of Chinese economic coercion.

“I‘m reassured by the incredible strong support that Australia has received by our Quad partners and I just don’t mean in a security context.

“I mean that in terms of our economic partnership and co-operation; I mean that in our humanitarian partnership; I mean that in terms of how each of us stands for a world order that favours freedom and particularly here in a free and open Indo-Pacific.”

Mr Blinken said a confrontation with China in the Indo-Pacific was not inevitable, though the US was concerned about Chinese aggression in the region.

But despite the bloc’s aim to be a counterweight to China, Mr Blinken said the Quad should be defined “not by what we are against but by what we are for”.

“What we are for quite simply is a free and open Indo-Pacific,” he said.

“People deserve to live freely; countries deserve to work together freely and associate with whom they choose.”

In an exclusive interview with The Australian, Mr Hayashi said China‘s military build-up and aggressive behaviour in the region was increasingly worrying.

“Chinese military trends, combined with insufficient transparency on its defence politics and military affairs, have become a matter of grave concern to the region, including Japan and the international community,” he said.

Mr Hayashi also provided explicit endorsement of the trilateral AUKUS agreement between Australia, the US and UK, and declared Australia’s acquisition of nuclear submarines would be “an important initiative for the security of the Indo-Pacific“.

Labor Leader Anthony Albanese and his foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong also met with the Quad Foreign Ministers, and had private talks with Mr Blinken.

He said it was an “honour” to meet with the Secretary, and used the occasion to reiterate Labor’s strong support for the trilateral AUKUS alliance with the US and UK, and its support for Australia to get nuclear submarines.

“I also reflected, of course, on Labor‘s concerns about the changed posture of China and the need to stand firm in Australia’s interests, in the interests of all of those who hold democratic values dear,” Mr Albanese said.

“I look forward to continuing to strengthen Australia‘s engagement through the QUAD, but also through direct relations that we will have.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/quad-pledges-to-counter-china-maritime-aggression/news-story/5602df09f61d33a0f21d0a0647decdac

>>15592354

Chinese spies in plot to install ALP candidates at coming federal election

BEN PACKHAM - FEBRUARY 11, 2022

Chinese spies sought to bankroll the campaigns of hand-picked NSW Labor candidates in the upcoming federal election in a plot foiled by ASIO.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess referred to the case earlier this week, without identifying the political party involved or the nation behind the plot, saying a wealthy “puppeteer” had worked with a local “cut-out” to try to secure the election of sympathetic candidates.

Multiple national security and ALP sources have confirmed to The Australian that the case involved an attempt to subvert Labor’s NSW federal preselection process last year.

Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison were briefed on the conspiracy.

Mr Albanese on Friday said he met with Mr Burgess regularly, but was unable to comment on the contents of those briefings.

However, he said he had received assurances that ASIO had no concerns about any preselected Labor candidates.

“I have spoken to Mr Burgess today and he has reaffirmed he has not raised concern about any of my candidates. I can‘t be clearer than that,” Mr Albanese said.

In a statement on Thursday, NSW Labor Party general secretary Bob Nanva said the state branch had not been briefed on the matter by ASIO.

“NSW Labor can confirm that no national security agency has ever raised these alleged matters with the parliamentary leadership or the organisational wing of the NSW Branch,” he said.

Revealing the spy plot in his annual threat assessment on Wednesday, Mr Burgess said the agency was on high alert for political interference.

“I can confirm that ASIO ­recently detected and disrupted a foreign interference plot in the lead-up to an election in Australia,” he said.

“I’m not going to identify the jurisdiction because we are seeing attempts at foreign interference at all levels of government, in all states and territories.”

Mr Burgess said case involved a “wealthy individual with direct and deep connections with a foreign government and its intelligence agencies”, who

“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.”

The “puppeteer” provided hundreds of thousands of dollars through an offshore bank account to run foreign-interference operations through a third party with ­direct links to politicians, political staff and journalists

“This agent of interference has roots in Australia but did the bidding of offshore masters, knowingly and covertly seeking to advance the interests of the foreign power and, in the process, undermine Australia’s sovereignty,” Mr Burgess said.

The confirmation that the plot targeted potential Labor MPs came as Defence Minister Peter Dutton doubled down on his claim that China has decided to back Labor at the federal election.

He said there was “intelligence” and open source information of links between China and the ALP.

“I think there’s no doubt that there are elements within the Communist Party that would be very happy to see the back of our government,” he said.

“From what I see, both open source and other intelligence that I see, it’s a statement of the obvious, and there are relationships going back to Sam Dastyari and Bob Carr is still very close to Beijing, and there are many others.”

Mr Albanese said the suggestion China favoured Labor was “just desperate”. He said he taken a strong stand against foreign interference, and been clear in his rejection of Chinese trade bans against Australia and Beijing’s repression of Uighurs and citizens of Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“I'm not going to sit back and cop the sort of nonsense that has been put forward, from a government that sat back, while the port of Darwin was sold to interests of a company directly engaged with, directly connected to, the government of the People's Republic of China,” he said.

Mr Dutton’s attack followed his claim to parliament on Thursday that it was “open and obvious” that China was backing Labor to win the election.

“We now see evidence that the Chinese Communist Party has also made a decision about who they’re going to back in the next federal election … and that is open and obvious,” Mr Dutton said.

“And they have picked this bloke (Mr Albanese) as their candidate,” he added.

Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull told ABC Radio the Mr Dutton’s attack was “a sign of desperation”.

“(His comments) were purely for crass political advantage,” he said.

“We’ve got to stand our ground (against China), but we’ve got to do so in a measured way. There has got to be nuance and diplomacy.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/chinese-spies-in-plot-to-install-alp-candidates-at-coming-federal-election/news-story/f917096d91d83d449bfad778e4685f5a

>>15600547

‘Reckless and desperate’: Malcolm Turnbull savages Peter Dutton for claiming China is backing Labor

Former Liberal prime minister says defence minister has undermined national security ‘purely for crass political advantage’

Paul Karp and Daniel Hurst - 11 Feb 2022

Peter Dutton has doubled down on his controversial claims that China would like Labor to defeat the Morrison government at the upcoming federal election, prompting Malcolm Turnbull to warn that such “reckless” comments had “no basis in fact” and harmed Australia’s national security.

The defence minister said on Friday there was “no doubt in [his] mind” about what he described as a “statement of the obvious” regarding China’s preference of Labor. He claimed he based Thursday’s inflammatory allegation on “open source and other intelligence”.

The Morrison government, struggling in the polls, is increasingly seeking to weaponise its perceived advantage on national security issues before the 2022 election, despite Labor’s bipartisan cooperation against China’s aggressive stance in the Asia-Pacific region.

In question time on Thursday, Dutton claimed that the Chinese Communist party had “made a decision about who they’re going to back in the next federal election … and that is open and that is obvious, and they have picked this bloke [Anthony Albanese] as that candidate”.

The personal attack on the Labor leader was echoed by Scott Morrison, who claimed that “those who are seeking to coerce Australia” knew that “their candidate” in the election was “the leader of the Labor party”.

Turnbull told ABC radio that Dutton’s claim was “reckless” because it “undermines Australian security” and “uses matters of grave national security purely for crass political advantage”.

The former Liberal prime minister accused Dutton of seeking to wedge both Labor and Morrison by “rushing off to the right” with the inflammatory claim.

“We should not be turning the debate about China and national security into some kind of reds-under-the-beds scare,” Turnbull said. “The proposition that Albanese is under influence of the CCP is ludicrous. It’s just a sign of desperation.”

Asked how ugly he thought the election campaign could get, Turnbull said he was “worried it’s going to get uglier” and the China accusation was “really bad”.

“Morrison should try to pull Dutton back in on that. It has no basis in fact and all that will do is undermine our prospects of being united in face of pressure from other countries.”

But Dutton defended the claim, telling ABC radio there was “open-source information reported over a long period of time” that China and Russia exerted political influence in Australia and other democracies, including the US and the UK.

China and Russia sought to influence “young members [of political parties] who are on the rise” and “pick somebody who will be influential within that party in years to come”, he said.

“If you look at the facts, in this case, I think certainly, from what I see, both open source and other intelligence that I see it’s a statement of the obvious,” Dutton said, without producing any evidence to substantiate the claim about Albanese.

Instead, Dutton cited “relationships going back to” former the Labor senator Sam Dastyari and the former New South Wales premier Bob Carr, who he said was “obviously very close still to Beijing”.

“There’s no doubt in my mind about the statement that I made yesterday. And I think there needs to be greater awareness, frankly, particularly from the Labor party about the engagement of people who don’t have our national interests [at heart].”

Labor has supported the government’s diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics, criticised the Chinese government’s human rights record, and gone further than the Coalition in calling for targeted sanctions to oppose Uyghur forced labour.

In November Albanese rebuffed the former Labor prime minister Paul Keating for arguing for a return to the engagement policies of the 1990s. The opposition leader has also said he stands with Taiwan against Chinese aggression.

The director general of the Office of National Intelligence, Andrew Shearer, has said national security “is rightly bipartisan in a more partisan world” and his dealings with Albanese and senior Labor colleagues during private security briefings have been “cordial, constructive and professional”.

In his threat assessment speech on Wednesday evening, the head of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess, said “attempts at political interference are not confined to one side of politics”.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/feb/11/reckless-and-desperate-malcolm-turnbull-savages-peter-dutton-for-claiming-china-is-backing-labor

Australia deploys diplomatic resources to fight Chinese and Russian 'disinformation' on AUKUS submarine deal

Andrew Greene and Stephen Dziedzic - 11 February 2022

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Australia is bulking up specialised diplomatic teams in both Canberra and Vienna to win international acceptance for the AUKUS nuclear submarine project as it braces for a massive "disinformation" campaign from China and Russia.

In September last year Australia announced a contentious plan to acquire submarines with nuclear propulsion under a new security partnership with the United Kingdom and United States.

While the main focus has been on the technical challenges facing the ambitious proposal, all three AUKUS nations are now sizing up the formidable regulatory and geopolitical hurdles which also confront them.

One of the key diplomatic battlegrounds will be at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna, the intergovernmental organisation which works to regulate the use of nuclear energy and limit the development of nuclear weapons.

Test of international diplomatic efforts

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) has confirmed to the ABC that it has deployed "several" additional staff to the AUKUS initiative, including to the Australian permanent mission in Vienna.

DFAT has also been beefing up legal and diplomatic teams in Canberra which have been tasked with tackling the project's legal, regulatory and political repercussions internationally.

The scope and scale of the nuclear submarines plan were always going to place heavy demands on Australia's bureaucracy, but the challenges have been sharpened by the federal government's fraught relationship with China.

Beijing has already furiously criticised the AUKUS submarines plan, and Chinese officials have made it clear they will do everything they can in international organisations like the IAEA to delay or stymie it.

China says AUKUS plan a 'violation' of non-proliferation treaty

At an IAEA board of governors meeting late last year, China's ambassador Wang Qun criticised the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia over AUKUS, declaring the nuclear submarines plan would "spur regional countries to accelerate their development of military capabilities, and even seek to cross the nuclear threshold while increasing the risk of military conflicts".

He also pointed out that Australia would be the first non-nuclear weapons state to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

This is not forbidden under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT), but Mr Wang said it was still an "explicit violation of the object and purposes of the NPT, to the detriment of the international non-proliferation regime".

The ambassador launched an unprecedented bid at the meeting to establish a standalone "special committee" at the IAEA devoted solely to examining the AUKUS arrangement, and he declared that the US, UK and Australia should halt the plan entirely until it had been more closely scrutinised.

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China politicising issue, says Australia

But China's attacks drew a sharp response from Australia's representative to the IAEA, Richard Sadleir, who said the "special committee" idea was "nothing more than an attempt to introduce issues that are extraneous to the IAEA's technical and legal mandate and appears intended to politicise this issue".

The ABC has been told China has also been pressing other countries to throw their weight behind its campaign against AUKUS at the IAEA.

And while China's push to establish a special committee failed, the IAEA did decide to create an "agenda item" on the deal, in a clear sign it wants to monitor the implementation of the project.

'Wilful disinformation'

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) told the ABC: "There has been some mischaracterisations and wilful disinformation of the AUKUS partnership and Australia's acquisition of conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines."

"Australia, the UK and US have been unequivocal in reaffirming commitments to respective non-proliferation obligations," they said.

"We expect all members of the international community to act responsibly and to engage in the accurate dissemination of information, not disinformation or misinformation."

Senior lecturer in international relations at the Australian National University, Ben Zala, said it was good to see the federal government ploughing more resources into some of the legal and regulatory issues raised by AUKUS.

"Given the problems it raises for the non-proliferation regime and the importance we've set on keeping the regime intact, it's really welcome to see Australia recognising the challenges this new arrangement sets, and putting genuine resources behind it," he told the ABC.

"It's going to need creative thinking to work out how we can figure out some new arrangement with IAEA and give other states confidence that we're not undermining the regime too much. And the only way to do that is to put more time and effort and resources into that."

But Dr Zala said nuclear-powered submarines posed unique challenges to international safeguards because they were stealthy by nature, which created "obvious problems" when it came to oversight inspection of nuclear materials.

The fact that Australia would be the first non-nuclear-weapons state to develop nuclear-powered submarines could also set a worrying precedent, he argued.

"We have kicked open the door a little bit," he said.

"So the question is: Can Australia, the UK and the US figure out some sort of arrangement with the IAEA which makes it difficult to divert this material to a weapons program, and that provides at least some degree of oversight and accountability so it can be emulated in other cases?"

AUKUS poses 'complex' legal questions

The director-general of the IAEA, Rafael Grossi, has already warned that the AUKUS nuclear submarines project will be the "first of a kind" and pose "very complex" regulatory questions to the IAEA.

"We should not fool ourselves about this. This is not a straightforward thing," he told the Stimson Centre last October.

"We have a group of experts, some of my best safeguards inspectors and some of my best legal experts, already working on this."

"So when they come [to us] we will have a number of questions and a number of requests."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-11/diplomatic-resources-to-fight-chinese-and-russian-disinformation/100821770

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Manufacturing union joins Noam Chomsky in protest of AUKUS nuclear subs deal

Anthony Albanese is under pressure to distance himself from one of Australia’s biggest unions as it protests the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

Matthew Benns - February 10, 2022

The National Secretary of one of Australia’s biggest unions is headlining a meeting with American activist Noam Chomsky in protest at the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

Steve Murphy’s Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union is also a major donor to the Labor Party leading to calls for Anthony Albanese to show strong leadership on defence.

“This is a test for Anthony Albanese; he can’t have a bet each way,” Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said.

“Anthony Albanese was happy to take $464,000 from the AMWU last year; is he also happy to take their lead on AUKUS?”

The call prompted Labor’s acting Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Kristina Keneally to “reject” the views of the organisers of the event and stress that “nuclear propulsion is the best option for future submarines.”

The Zoom meeting on Saturday is organised by the Sydney Anti-AUKUS coalition and will tell attendees how “terrible” Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s deal with the UK and US for nuclear powered submarines would be for Australia.

Headlining it is 93-year-old American anti-war activist Noam Chomsky with AMWU National Secretary Mr Murphy among the speakers. On social media he has called the nuclear subs issue “a distraction” and said “we don’t need the threat of nuclear escalation at our doorstep.”

Mr Murphy said the union had a history of opposing nuclear proliferation and had been invited to speak at the event.

“The decision to pursue nuclear submarines has already cost shipbuilding jobs and we fear it will only get worse,” he said.

“The AUKUS deal is bad for our sovereign industrial capability. We want to build, maintain and sustain the Australia Navy’s ships and submarines in Australia.”

When he announced the new deal in September Mr Morrison vowed to build Australia’s eight submarines in Adelaide and taxpayer owned shipbuilder ASC has guaranteed the jobs of existing workers.

The anti-AUKUS movement in the past has also received support from the United Workers Union, Maritime Union of Australia, Retail and Fast Food Workers Union and the National Tertiary Education Union.

Their position is in lock-step with a joint press release issued from the Kremlin by Russia and China saying they “are seriously concerned about the trilateral security partnership” which is “contrary to the objectives of security and sustainable development of the Asia-Pacific region”.

Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie said: “The Prime Minister stood up for our values and sovereignty in the face of aggressive economic coercion from the Chinese Communist Party government. The Chinese government is also conducting the biggest military building since the Second World War.

“Our deeds speak louder than words,” he said. “Will Anthony Albanese stand up for Australia when he can’t even control the communists in his own party?”

Ms Keneally said: “Labor has supported AUKUS from the very beginning because it’s in Australia’s national interest.

“We recently reaffirmed that Labor in Government will continue support for AUKUS when the British Foreign Secretary was in Australia, and we will be reaffirming that with the US Secretary of State directly when he visits later this week.”

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/manufacturing-union-joins-noam-chomsky-in-protest-of-aukus-nuclear-subs-deal/news-story/38cb5c0665a170fea45934404fcc7dcb

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia

Chinese Ambassador Xiao Qian Presents Letter of Credence to H.E. Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

2022-02-11

On 10 February, 2022, H.E. Mr. Xiao Qian, the newly appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic of China to the Commonwealth of Australia, presented his Letter of Credence to H.E General the Honourable David Hurley AC DSC, the Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia at the Government House in Canberra. Ambassador Xiao had a cordial conversation with the Governor-General.

Ambassador Xiao conveyed greetings from President Xi Jinping to the Governor-General. He said that the Chinese side always believes that a sound and steady China-Australia relationship serves the fundamental interests and common aspirations of the two countries and the two peoples.This year marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the China-Australia diplomatic relations. China is willing to join hands with Australia, take stock of the past and look ahead into the future, work together in the same direction, so as to push China-Australia relations back to the right track at an early date, upholding the principles of equality, mutual respect and mutual benefit. Ambassador Xiao looked forward to strengthening communication and exchanges, enhancing understanding and mutual trust with the Australian government and people from all walks of lives in Australia, and making unremitting efforts to consolidate and enhance bilateral relations.

The Governor-General asked Ambassador Xiao to convey his good wishes and greetings to President Xi Jinping and expressed welcome to the Ambassador on assuming his post in Australia. He stated that the relationship between Australia and China has a solid basis, and hoped that both sides will take the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations as an opportunity to promote exchanges and cooperation between the two countries.

On the same day, Ambassador Xiao attended a welcome luncheon given by the Governor-General and his spouse.

http://au.china-embassy.org/eng/sghdxwfb_1/202202/t20220211_10641402.htm

Ben Roberts-Smith described alleged execution of Afghan teen as 'beautiful thing', court hears

Jamie McKinnell - 11 February 2022

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Australian war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith referred to the alleged execution of an Afghan teenager as "the most beautiful thing I've ever seen", an elite soldier has told a Sydney court.

Mr Roberts-Smith is suing The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age and The Canberra Times newspapers and three journalists for defamation over a series of articles published in 2018.

The Victoria Cross recipient denies allegations in those stories of unlawful killings in Afghanistan, bullying of his former Special Air Service Regiment (SAS) comrades and domestic violence.

The third SAS witness called by publisher Nine Entertainment, code named Person 16, told the Federal Court the comment about the young man's death occurred during a 2012 mission in Afghanistan.

Mr Roberts-Smith has denied making the remark.

Person 16 said soon after arriving by helicopter, soldiers intercepted a Toyota Hilux and he placed two of its four occupants under confinement.

He described one as being in his "late teens", without a full beard, "a little bit chubby" and "shaking in terror".

"He appeared extremely nervous and trembling uncontrollably," the witness told the court.

Person 16 said he heard a radio call that improvised explosive device components were discovered in the vehicle and handed the two detained Afghans to Mr Roberts-Smith's patrol for tactical questioning.

Person 16 said about 15 to 20 minutes later he heard Mr Roberts-Smith make a radio call stating: "Two EKIA (enemy killed in action)".

He said he crossed paths with Mr Roberts-Smith in the barracks a day or two later and asked what happened to "that young fella that was shaking like a leaf".

"He said to me 'I shot that c*nt in the head'," Person 16 told the judge.

"And he said, 'Person 15 (another colleague) told me not to kill anyone on the last job, so I pulled out my 9mil, shot the c*nt in the side of the head, blew his brains out, and it was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen'."

Person 16 said he never reported what he claims Mr Roberts-Smith said due to a "code of silence within the regiment as to these things occurring".

"The fear of retribution, it would have been a career-ending move," he told the court.

"I would have been ostracised.

"I also think [for] my personal safety, I would have been in danger by making such allegations against someone so influential, so I thought I just, best keep quiet and move on with life."

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The witness was shown a photograph of the young Afghan's body in which he was holding an AK47 variant weapon, but said the teenager did not have a weapon at the vehicle stop.

The comment about the teenager was put to Mr Roberts-Smith in the witness box last year, when he denied saying "any part" of it.

Person 16 said before Mr Roberts-Smith joined the SAS, the VC recipient had a "formidable" reputation as being a "no-nonsense individual".

But he described "two camps" later forming; those "for" Mr Roberts-Smith and those "against".

"Those against, seen him as being someone who was belligerent, a bully, [who] would trash and tarnish others' reputations," Person 16 said.

Under cross-examination by Mr Roberts-Smith's barrister, Arthur Moses SC, the witness told the court colleagues in the "for" camp were friends with Mr Roberts-Smith and supported his decisions and actions.

Person 16, a medic, said he had never suggested he was in the "against" camp.

"I actually admired some of his qualities," he said.

He also agreed he had never been bullied or treated poorly by Mr Roberts-Smith, despite "weekly" dealings with him prior to the 2012 deployment.

A previous outline of evidence stated the mission took place on October 21, 2012, however this was amended to reflect the date of November 5.

Mr Moses put to Person 16 that he changed his recollection after being told Mr Roberts-Smith couldn't have been on a mission with him on the October date.

"I can't recall saying it was in October, all I can recall is that this was the last mission (of the deployment)," he replied.

Person 16 also denied that reading newspaper articles in 2018 had influenced his recollection of events.

He revealed he had met journalist Nick McKenzie, who is named as a respondent, in Queensland, "some time in late 2018".

But the witness insisted he "didn't agree or disagree", nor provide a "thorough rundown", after Mr McKenzie appeared to have some knowledge of the mission.

Mr Moses suggested Person 16 had "imagined" the conversation with Mr Roberts-Smith.

"That conversation 100 per cent happened and his reply shocked me to the core and that's why I remember it," he replied.

The trial, before Justice Anthony Besanko, continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-11/ben-roberts-smith-described-killing-as-beautiful-court-hears/100822770

‘Cold War is long over’: China hits out at Australia, US after Quad meeting

China has accused Australia and its allies of undermining international solidarity and trying to maintain US dominance.

Angie Raphael - February 12, 2022

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China has hit out at Australia and its allies following a Quadrilateral Security Dialogue meeting, claiming the group is merely a “tool for containing and besieging” the Asian country to maintain US dominance.

At a meeting in ­Melbourne on Friday, Australia’s Foreign Minister Marise Payne, US Secretary of State Antony ­Blinken, India’s ­Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Japan’s Yosh­imasa Hayashi vowed to support efforts to advance an open Indo-Pacific region and protect the interests of their people, free from coercion.

“We reiterate the importance of adherence to international law, particularly as reflected in the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, to meet challenges to the maritime rules-based order, including in the South and East China Seas,” a joint statement read.

The ministers committed to “deepen ­engagement with regional partners, including through ­capacity-building and technical assistance, to strengthen maritime domain awareness” and protect nations’ ability to develop offshore resources consistent with the UN Law of the Seas.

They also reaffirmed commitment to uphold and strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system, with the World Trade Organisation at its core.

“We oppose coercive economic policies and practices that run counter to this system and will work collectively to foster global economic resilience against such actions,” they said.

Further, they said they welcomed progress on the practical co-operation they led to address “regional challenges, including humanitarian assistance and disaster response, maritime security, counter-terrorism, countering disinformation and cyber security”.

But China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian was quick to criticise the Quad meeting.

“China believes that the so-called Quad group cobbled together by the US, Japan, India and Australia is essentially a tool for containing and besieging China to maintain US hegemony,” he told reporters.

“It aims to stoke confrontation and undermine international solidarity and co-operation.

“I want to stress that as the Cold War is long over, the attempt to forge a so-called alliance to contain China wins no support and leads nowhere.

“Relevant countries should abandon the antiquated Cold War mentality, correct the wrong approach of bloc confrontation and geopolitical games, and contribute to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.”

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The US Secretary of State suggested China’s trade sanctions on Australia had backfired, but Mr Zhao was quick to throw his own barb.

“No one has a better claim to the title of ‘master of coercion’ than the US,” he said.

“China always proceeds from the lawful rights and interests of domestic industries, and the safety of consumers, and adopts appropriate measures on imported products in strict compliance with Chinese laws and regulations as well as WTO rules.

“This is fully justified, lawful and beyond reproach. The label of ‘economic coercion’ cannot be pinned on China.

“All attempts to gang up with others to misrepresent facts and resort to malicious hype-up are bound to fail.”

Asked about reports that Chinese spies had sought to fund candidates in Australia’s forthcoming federal election, Mr Zhao said the reports were “not worth refuting at all”.

“China is committed to developing relations with other countries on the basis of mutual respect and noninterference in each other’s internal affairs,” he said.

“China has no interest in and has never interfered in Australia’s internal affairs. We urge certain politicians and institutions in Australia not to make an issue out of China.”

Mr Zhao also expressed “grave concern” and “firm opposition” to nuclear-powered submarine co-operation under the AUKUS framework announced by the US, the UK and Australia.

“We believe that this is a deliberate move that escalates regional tension, provokes an arms race, threatens regional peace and stability, and undermines international nuclear non-proliferation efforts,” he said.

“An increasing number of countries have expressed concern over the possible repercussions of the co-operation of the US, the UK and Australia.

“The nuclear-powered submarine co-operation involves the transfer of a large amount of weapons-grade nuclear material from nuclear-weapon states to a non-nuclear-weapon state.

“But there is nothing in the IAEA safeguards mechanism that can effectively monitor such transfer, thus posing a great risk of nuclear proliferation and severely impacting the international non-proliferation system.”

He accused the countries of having a double standard.

“China urges the three countries to adopt a responsible attitude toward the international community’s concerns, rescind their erroneous decision, fulfil non-proliferation obligations with concrete actions rather than saying one thing and doing the complete opposite.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/cold-war-is-long-over-china-hits-out-at-australia-us-after-quad-meeting/news-story/ed78dea3bfedf56015f14c6a39af2150

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Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian’s Regular Press Conference on February 11, 2022

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Bloomberg: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday that China had been acting more aggressively both at home and in the region. But he added that he didn’t consider a conflict in the Indo-Pacific region as inevitable. Does the foreign ministry have a comment?

Zhao Lijian: The remarks made by the US politician are nothing but a rehash of political lies. China is firmly opposed to such remarks by the US side.

The US is playing up the “China threat” theory in order to smear, oppress and contain China’s development. This fully exposes the deeply-entrenched Cold War mentality and ideological bias of the US side. Speaking of acting aggressively in this region and beyond, the US is second to none.

Shenzhen TV: According to reports, US Secretary of State Blinken will visit Fiji on February 12, which will be the first visit to the country by a US Secretary of State since 1985. Some reports say with relations between China and Pacific island countries growing rapidly in recent years, Blinken’s visit aims to push back against China’s growing influence in the region. Do you have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: I noted that as you mentioned, this will be the first visit to Fiji by a US Secretary of State in 37 years. I did some homework before today’s press conference on Chinese leaders’ visits to Fiji since 1985.

I can tell you that more than 20 Chinese leaders and senior officials above the foreign minister level have visited Fiji since 1985. In recent years, the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and Pacific island countries has developed rapidly and steadily. With political mutual respect, economic mutual support and cultural affinity, the two sides have set a good example of friendship, solidarity and cooperation between countries in different regions, of different size, and with different cultures. In developing relations with Pacific island countries, China always treats all countries, big or small, as equals, upholds justice while pursuing shared interests, and follows the principle of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith. China is committed to building a community with a shared future with Pacific island countries, which has been warmly welcomed by the governments and people of these countries.

In the wake of the recent disastrous volcanic eruption in Tonga, China acted swiftly and provided emergency assistance through multiple channels. When rioting broke out in Solomon Islands in November last year, China provided firm and strong support to the country in fighting violence, curbing chaos, maintaining social stability, and protecting people’s safety. Recently, as the COVID-19 situation suddenly worsened in many island countries, China has overcome difficulties in transportation and sent a large number of anti-epidemic supplies and medical equipment by sea and air to ease their immediate difficulties. All these are true reflection of China and island countries offering each other assistance and sharing weal and woe.

I want to stress that the development of relations between China and Pacific island countries is open, transparent, inclusive, and not targeted at any third party. We hope all countries can take concrete actions to help Pacific island countries deal with challenges and do more to contribute to regional peace, stability and development.

(continued)

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Reuters: According to reports in Australian media, Chinese spies sought to fund candidates for Australia’s opposition Labor party in an upcoming federal election. The Chinese spies, according to these reports, were stopped by the Australian security agency. Do you have any comment on these reports?

Zhao Lijian: I noted the above-mentioned reports, which are not worth refuting at all. I believe you may have noticed that some people in Australia have criticized such remarks as reckless and purely for political gain.

I want to reiterate that China is committed to developing relations with other countries on the basis of mutual respect and non-interference in each other’s internal affairs. China has no interest in and has never interfered in Australia’s internal affairs. We urge certain politicians and institutions in Australia not to make an issue out of China.

Hubei Media Group: On February 10, a spokesperson for Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed in an interview with an Australian media outlet that the Department has been beefing up diplomatic and legal teams in Canberra and Vienna to work on the response to the legal, regulatory and political repercussions of AUKUS and the nuclear-powered submarine cooperation. The three countries involved has reiterated their respective commitment to non-proliferation and noted “We expect all members of the international community to act responsibly and to engage in the accurate dissemination of information, not disinformation or misinformation”. What is China’s comment?

Zhao Lijian: China has expressed its grave concern about and firm opposition to nuclear-powered submarine cooperation under the AUKUS framework announced by the US, the UK and Australia on multiple occasions. We believe that this is a deliberate move that escalates regional tension, provokes an arms race, threatens regional peace and stability and undermines international nuclear non-proliferation efforts. An increasing number of countries have expressed concern over the possible repercussions of the cooperation of the US, the UK and Australia.

The nuclear-powered submarine cooperation involves the transfer of a large amount of weapons-grade nuclear material from nuclear-weapon states to a non-nuclear-weapon state. But there is nothing in the IAEA safeguards mechanism that can effectively monitor such transfer, thus posing a great risk of nuclear proliferation and severely impacting the international non-proliferation system. Under China’s proposal, the IAEA Board of Governors added issues related to the trilateral nuclear submarine cooperation to the meeting’s official agenda in November 2021, which fully reflects the grave concern shared broadly by member states of the Board of Governors. China has suggested that the IAEA launch a special committee open to all member states to focus on discussing the political, legal and technical issues concerning the cooperation, and to properly seek a solution acceptable to all parties. The US, the UK and Australia should not proceed with relevant cooperation, and the IAEA Secretariat should not have consultation with the three countries on the so-called safeguards arrangement for their nuclear submarine cooperation until consensus is reached by all parties.

In disregard of the international community’s concerns, the US, the UK and Australia have obstinately advanced nuclear submarine cooperation. This fully exposes their double standards on the non-proliferation issue and will have profound negative impact on the resolution of regional nuclear hotspots including the Iranian nuclear issue and the Korean Peninsula nuclear issue. The relevant cooperation may also open the Pandora’s Box and prompt other non-nuclear weapon states to follow suit, which will gravely undermine the international nuclear non-proliferation system. It is clear to all who is irresponsible. China urges the three countries to adopt a responsible attitude toward the international community’s concerns, rescind their erroneous decision, fulfill non-proliferation obligations with concrete actions rather than saying one thing and doing the complete opposite.

(continued)

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AFP: The top diplomats of the US, Australia, Japan and India opened talks on deepening their Quad alliance, saying that countries need to stand up to those who seek to coerce them and raising a long-term issue of China’s rising power. Does the foreign ministry have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: I have expounded on our position on the Quad for many times. I also made a response specifically on this subject the other day.

China believes that the so-called Quad group cobbled together by the US, Japan, India and Australia is essentially a tool for containing and besieging China to maintain US hegemony. It aims to stoke confrontation and undermine international solidarity and cooperation.

I want to stress that as the Cold War is long over, the attempt to forge a so-called alliance to contain China wins no support and leads nowhere. Relevant countries should abandon the antiquated Cold War mentality, correct the wrong approach of bloc confrontation and geopolitical games, and contribute to peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific.

Beijing Daily: According to reports, US Secretary of State Blinken said in an interview with Australian media outlets that China’s trade sanctions on Australia have backfired and by standing up to Beijing, Australia “set an incredibly powerful example” for the world. “I think China has lost more than Australia has in its efforts to squeeze Australia economically,” he said, adding that Beijing would be “thinking twice about this in the future”. Does the Chinese side have any comment?

Zhao Lijian: With regard to “coercion”, no one has a better claim to the title of “master of coercion” than the US. Speaking of “coercion”, the US government forced the military government of Haiti to step down in 1994, and referred to that as “a textbook example of coercive diplomacy”. In 2003, it explicitly characterized $30.3 billion additional military expenses for “coercive diplomacy” as incurred expenses. The US government went all out to hobble competitors like Huawei of China, Alstom of France and Toshiba of Japan and used coercion to force the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), Samsung and other companies to provide chip supply chain data. These are textbook examples of economic coercion.

I would like to reiterate that China always proceeds from the lawful rights and interests of domestic industries and the safety of consumers and adopts appropriate measures on imported products in strict compliance with Chinese laws and regulations as well as WTO rules. This is fully justified, lawful and beyond reproach. The label of “economic coercion” cannot be pinned on China. All attempts to gang up with others to misrepresent facts and resort to malicious hype-up are bound to fail.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202202/t20220211_10641714.html

Incredible scenes as anti-vaccine mandate protesters swarm Canberra streets

Up to 10,000 anti-vaccine protesters have taken to the streets of Canberra, with police making multiple arrests during incredible scenes near Parliament House.

Emily Cosenza and Angie Raphael - February 12, 2022

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Three people have been arrested after about 10,000 anti-vaccine mandate protesters swarmed Canberra.

Convoy to Canberra protesters have been gathering at the nation’s capital for the past two weeks, with the main focus on Saturday at Parliament House where people arrived after a march in the morning.

The crowd was so huge that it spread out over the grass areas between Old Parliament House and Parliament House, as well as the lawns to State Circle.

One man was arrested after he breached a fence and ran onto the forecourt area, with police quickly tackling him to the ground.

Two other people were also arrested during the protest, police revealed.

“One man was charged with multiple offences after he drove his truck through a roadblock and two men were taken into custody for breaching the peace,” a spokesperson said.

Police estimated up to 10,000 protesters moved down Commonwealth Ave and congregated in the Federation Mall.

“The crowd was generally well behaved,” a spokesperson said.

Some protesters held signs and flags as they marched, including one that read: “No more mandates.”

Many also joined in to chant: “Sack them all!”

There were fears the protesters might attend a children’s “Superhero Day” vaccination event at the Australian Institute of Sport clinic, but police said that did not eventuate.

“ACT Policing reminds people camping at Exhibition Park in Canberra that they must leave the venue by Sunday to ensure preparations for the Royal Canberra Show can occur,” the spokesperson said.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison earlier said Australia was “a free country” and protesters had a right to voice their opinion, but he asked they do it in a “peaceful and respectful way”.

“The Commonwealth government have only ever supported mandates that relate to aged care workers, disability workers and that those that are working in high-risk situations in health system,” he told reporters in Sydney.

“My government has only ever supported mandates that have been recommended right across the country by the medical expert panel and our chief medical officers.

“All other mandates that relate to vaccines have been imposed unilaterally by state governments.”

Protesters had indicated they were displeased with the way the Morrison Government had handled the pandemic, but the Prime Minister said Australia had the lowest death rate of almost any country in the world.

“We have one of the strongest economies to come through Covid that of any country in the world, particularly advanced economies, and we have one of the highest vaccination rates with 95 per cent of our population over the age of 16 having had their vaccinations — this is what is keeping Australia safe,” he said.

“We now have a record that is the envy of almost any other country in the world.

“Now, if others want to criticise us for that, they are at liberty to do so.

“If others want to seek to undermine that recovery or pretend that they would have done things differently or got better outcomes, well, there are plenty of armchair critics out there.”

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Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese told the protesters to “go home”.

“It doesn’t advance any cause, it doesn’t assist any of the nonsense we’ve seen of people dressed up in military camouflage walking around Canberra,” he said.

“If you think that’s the way that you win support for your view in Australia, I think you’re very wrong.

“I think these people need to just go home and think about the facts which are out there and the facts are that you are far more likely to avoid getting Covid if you’re fully vaccinated.

“The fact is that if you do get Covid, you’re far less likely to have an acute health concern if you’re fully vaccinated and you’re far less likely to suffer death if you’re fully vaccinated.”

Meanwhile, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson took to social media saying: “I hope you’re all behind this Convoy to Canberra.”

“Convoy to Canberra has arrived,” she also posted.

“Say hi if you’re here and see me.”

ACT Police had been prepared for the AIS event to be disrupted.

The dress-up event was aimed at children aged five to 11 to “channel their inner superpowers” and make the experience of lining up for their first jab more enjoyable.

“ACT Policing would like to reassure all of Canberra’s young superheroes, and anyone attending the AIS Arena mass vaccination clinic (on Saturday), that they will be able to do so safely,” ACT Police wrote on social media on Friday.

“There will be a police presence with a zero-tolerance approach to anyone who seeks to intimidate or harass those attending the clinic.”

Lifeline Canberra decided to close the doors to its book fair to keep its staff and patrons safe during the protest.

The Capital Regional Farmers Market was also cancelled due to safety concerns and logistics for customers.

“It is a devastating result for our farmers and producers following on from the last two years,” the market’s social media post read.

Protesters have targeted Parliament House and other parts of the nation’s capital over the past two weeks.

There have been major disruptions to traffic with the Convoy to Canberra clogging roads and police putting measures in place to restrict access to parliament.

Demonstrators marched through Canberra’s city centre on Thursday afternoon, then rallied through the courts precinct on Friday morning, with some moving to the city police station later in the day.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/news/antivaccine-mandate-ralliers-potentially-target-vaccine-hub-hosting-childrens-event/news-story/9e98221eab0c5436f122209a38d56102

60 Minutes’ Liam Bartlett in fiery clash with Trump-backed Republican candidate Kari Lake

LIAM MENDES - FEBRUARY 12, 2022

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A Donald Trump-backed Republican candidate has accused Australia of running internment camps and rescinding the population’s democratic rights by “melting down their guns” in an explosive exchange with veteran journalist Liam Bartlett.

Kari Lake, who is running for governor of Arizona, walked out after the fiery interview with Bartlett, conducted via a Zoom call and leaked online. She has since labelled him a “complete nut” and a “complete insane person” for grilling her about Donald Trump, the 2020 presidential election and the riots that followed at the US Capitol.

Candid vision of the interview, recorded by Lake’s husband as part of her conditions for participating, has since gone viral on right-wing social media sites throughout the United States, with right-wing identities praising Lake for standing up to Bartlett’s intense line of questioning.

The 25-minute interview started off amicably enough but soon veered into uncomfortable territory, with Lake pushing debunked claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged.

Bartlett pushed back, saying: “On a broad scope, right across the United States, you’ve had election officials, you’ve had court officials, you’ve had judges look at this,” he said.

Lake replied: “They’ve not looked at the evidence, they’ve not looked at the evidence.”

Bartlett said: “There’s been no evidence, no evidence has been presented in a single court of law in your country that has proved there’s election fraud. I mean, if that is true, if it was stolen, as you say, why is there no evidence, a year down the track.”

Lake said: “It‘s really rich to have somebody from Australia coming here trying to tell us how our elections were run.

“You haven’t done your homework either,” she said.

The interview was conducted as part of an upcoming 60 Minutes story understood to be highly critical of conservative figures in the US political system.

The leaked vision will also come as a further embarrassment to the 60 Minutes’ executive team, which is still dealing with the fallout from its underperforming $2m interview with the parents of kidnapped West Australian girl Cleo Smith.

Lake, who also said Trump’s face should be added to Mount Rushmore, reiterated explosive claims that US voting officials are “corrupt”.

“It‘s really rich that sitting in Australia, you’re trying to tell us how our election was run, and it’s so typical of the media to push this propaganda, The Big Lie, The Big Lie is what the media has been pushing for many, many years,” she said.

Bartlett replied: “It’s the media’s fault, so the media are corrupt, the election officials are corrupt, the courts are all corrupt, everybody’s corrupt?”

She then accused Bartlett of not doing his research, with Bartlett replying: “I have done my research, with respect I could be sitting on a hill in Timbuktu, it wouldn‘t matter where I was, there’s still being no hard evidence presented.”

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The back-and-forth continued, with Lake saying Australians “don’t even have any freedom”.

Lake said: “What I don’t like is that people are being held in prison without being charged, that’s un-American, maybe they get away with that stuff in Australia.”

“Perhaps in Australia because you’ve given your rights away, you melted down all of your guns and you guys have no freedom, but you find that okay.

“But here in America we do things differently, we have something called the US Constitution and we have rights,” she said.

Lake doubled down, saying Australians would be better off having more guns.

“I feel so sorry for the people in Australia, (who) have no power, the only thing keeping us from being Australia right now or Canada is our Second Amendment, and we will never ever let that go,” she said.

“What we saw happening in Australia, internment camps, and people are being forced — if they’ve encountered anybody with Covid — to be locked into a quarantine camp is the most horrifying thing I think I’ve ever seen a government do,” she said before giving Bartlett one final question.

Bartlett replied: “Would it have been better on the sixth of January if the military had been involved.”

Lake replied: “Why do you keep asking me about the sixth of January?”

Bartlett replied: “It was a watershed moment for you, don’t you agree? A thousand assaults, 769 people charged, you don’t think that was the big event?”

Lake replied: “Liam you can keep asking the same questions and I‘ve already given you my answer, I do appreciate your time.

“I appreciate all the effort you went through to do the interview, and I thank you so much for your time, you‘ve asked the question three, three times, and I believe I’ve answered it.

“So thank you so much for your time. Appreciate it.”

Bartlett went in for one more question, but Lake had already stood up and began removing her microphone. “So when the going gets tough the tough get going?” he asked.

“I gave you 15 minutes, we promised you 15 minutes sir,” she said.

Bartlett replied: “Well no, you promised us 30 minutes actually yesterday.”

Lake replied: “Well I never promised 30 minutes, I told my staff, 15.”

Bartlett replied: “Really? I don’t think that’s true.”

Lake replied: “I‘m sorry you asked the same question three times and wasted your time.”

Bartlett said: “Well I’m sorry you couldn’t bring yourself to see the world in a different light.”

“Well are you a journalist or unbiased journalist, or not? Why are you trying to tell me how I should see the world,” she said.

“You’re a journalist.”

Bartlett replied: “No, you don’t get any questions to me, you‘ve cut me off you don’t get any questions to me.”

Lake said: “Why are you trying to tell me as a journalist how to see the world, I don’t understand that. It’s not a journalists job to tell me how to see the world, it’s a journalists job to ask questions that are not biased and I didn’t get from you.”

Bartlett replied: “Why aren’t you open and accountable to the facts, and real evidence?”

Lake said: “Oh boy, I’m happy to send you some of the facts.”

Bartlett said: “This is the way Trump people do it, yeah? This is what happens. You have one narrative and that’s it, you can think out of the box.”

Lake said: “Sir I believe you have that narrative”

The pair continued back-and-forth for several more minutes.

“I don‘t I don’t live in Australia, are you actually a respectable journalist there or are you kind of considered a joke?” Lane asked.

Bartlett replied: “Incredible. Incredible. That’s the Donald Trump way, it’s fake news, all of a sudden it’s fake news, if you have a different narrative it’s fake news.”

The pair continued, before Lake walked out of the room.

“That guy is a complete nut, seriously, a complete insane person. Do people in Australia listen to him?” she said while walking out.

“That’s the craziest thing I’ve ever experienced,” she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/media/60-minutes-liam-bartlett-in-fiery-clash-with-trumpbacked-republican-candidate-kari-lake/news-story/7b89d83c9186b8507cff5fdebf43eb36

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY1dLJ7YKAk

Neo-Nazi unmasked as former Young Liberal

Nick McKenzie - February 12, 2022

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On January 19, a propaganda video depicting three masked neo-Nazis burning an Aboriginal flag, performing Sieg Heil salutes and reciting a white supremacist manifesto began circulating on social media. The video was poorly filmed and produced, reeking of a desperate effort to gain publicity and followers for a new extremist group.

Yet it began to gain traction with mainstream news outlets, largely because it singled out Greens senator Lidia Thorpe, who is also Indigenous. The senator’s name, alongside a vicious racist slur, was written on a sign behind the men. Soon, terror experts were warning of the potential for the video to incite attacks or further harassment of Thorpe, a development the anonymous neo-Nazi propagandist who uploaded the video greeted with glee in subsequent online postings.

But this neo-Nazi, who uses the online alias “John Dixon”, also made a mistake. Among hundreds of vicious and violent online posts – including those referencing the Christchurch terrorist – he left a breadcrumb trail of clues pointing to his true identity.

These clues led to an Australian mobile phone number and an approximate home address in outer suburban Melbourne. Further data mining fully lifted John Dixon’s black mask: he is a Victorian man and former Melbourne University Young Liberals office holder named Stefan Eracleous.

A deep dive into Eracleous’s online posts, court cases and interactions with other neo-Nazis provides a case study of what ASIO’s director-general, Mike Burgess, warned this week is an expanding and deeply disturbing trend: the descent of young Australians – some as young as 13 – into extremism.

The reaction of police to the flag-burning video offers its own insights. It highlights the challenge for security agencies in responding to this growing pool of radicalised Australians whose conduct may not cross a legal line but who may be fanning the flames of civil unrest and violence. Law enforcement sources say this challenge is amplified by the sheer number of online videos and posts published by extremist figures that threaten politicians in the wake of every significant COVID-related announcement.

As Burgess put it on Wednesday, “it’s harder to get a sense of what is simply big talk and what is genuine planning for violence”. Correspondence sighted by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald reveals that federal police initially advised Thorpe they could do little about the video because, despite being offensive, it “does not appear to contain material which constitutes a criminal offence”.

“As the material has been posted on YouTube, which is owned by Google, the advised course of action is to follow the YouTube process for reporting inappropriate material,” the Australian Federal Police wrote to Thorpe’s office on January 21. The senator declined to comment.

Since then, Victorian counter-terror authorities have begun assessing the video and the AFP is also understood to be making further inquiries.

Assessing the threat posed by Eracleous – who is in his late 20s and no longer a Liberal Party member – and the small but loud minority of Australians who, online or at rallies, discuss hanging politicians and acquiring firearms, is now devouring huge police and intelligence resources. According to Burgess, combatting rising radicalism should be viewed not only as a concern for security agencies but as a whole-of-society problem.

“As a nation, we need to reflect on why some teenagers are hanging Nazi flags and portraits of the Christchurch killer on their bedroom walls and why others are sharing beheading videos,” Burgess said in his annual threat assessment speech on Wednesday night.

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Eracleous’ proclivity for extremity first emerged publicly in 2014, while he was serving as treasurer of the Melbourne University Young Liberals.

He was outed by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald as one of a small group of Young Liberals posting highly offensive sexist and homophobic material. In one post, Eracleous described feminist author Germaine Greer, as a “lying f-cking c-m guzzling slut … and a union member”.

He left mainstream politics and disappeared from public view, spending the next few years mixing in Melbourne’s neo-Nazi scene. In 2019, court records reveal he hit the radar of Victoria Police’s counter-terror command intelligence unit. Eracleous was charged with using a carriage service to offend, but he avoided a criminal conviction in July 2020 by admitting to his offending as part of a program aimed at redirecting first-time offenders away from the criminal justice system.

The court case did not steer him away from radicalism. Rather, his online postings – using several aliases on encrypted platforms – became more extreme. After the Christchurch terror attack in March 2019, Eracleous began posting the number “51” in his messages as a sly nod to other neo-Nazis signalling his support of the attack, which left 51 people dead.

“Quick announcement. It’s my birthday today. Let’s celebrate by spamming 51,” Eracleous wrote in one online post.

In late 2020, his online footprints suggest Eracleous (who did not respond to repeated efforts to contact him) began mixing with the National Socialist Network. The NSN was Australia’s most active neo-Nazi group before two of its key leaders were arrested by police last year, around the same time its inner workings were exposed in a joint investigation by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and 60 Minutes.

Last March, just before these arrests and media exposure crippled the group, one of its leaders, Bradley Ingram, used an online alias to announce in an encrypted neo-Nazi forum that Eracleous was “now officially under the protection of the National Socialist Network”.

Eracleous’ dealings with the NSN almost certainly placed him again on the radar of state and federal security agencies, who regard the group as a key intelligence gathering target. Yet there is no evidence Eracleous or the NSN as a whole is considered a terror threat. While three of the group’s members or adherents are facing terror charges, the danger of the NSN – according to state and federal officials not authorised to speak publicly – is as an incubator for political violence.

These sources also describe the NSN as a disorganised, amateurish outfit, riven with internal conflicts. The reason Eracleous needed the group’s protection was that, according to social media posts, he had fallen out with other neo-Nazis.

A high proportion of the NSN’s members have also engaged in alleged criminal activity, drawing constant police attention and charges. Court records reveal that in the next month, two mid-ranking NSN members will face the Melbourne Magistrates Court over summary (less serious) criminal offences: Dean Lynch, for possessing a prohibited weapon, and another young Victorian man for family violence order breaches.

The charges point to the quiet strategy of NSW and Victorian police counter-terror commands to intensely monitor members of active neo-Nazi groups and seek to lay charges, no matter how minor, when they transgress the law.

Official sources also make clear that agencies don’t regard the threat posed by the neo-Nazi movement Eracleous is part of as comparable to that posed by groups such as Islamic State. “Most of these NSN guys are blowhards,” says one security source. Still, this doesn’t discount the intense fear they can cause those they troll on video and posts, including female politicians.

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In his Wednesday address to political and security leaders and the media, Burgess said that while his agency’s terror case load had dropped, radicalism in Australia was rising. “Some Australians believe the government’s approach to vaccinations and lockdowns infringed their freedoms. And in a small number of cases, grievance turned to violence,” he said.

If Eracleous is your typical suburban neo-Nazi, the assortment of groups who participated in the recent protests outside the nation’s parliaments cover the political spectrum, with concerns ranging from lockdowns to paedophiles and other QAnon-style conspiracies.

Policing briefings about one of the most active groups, Sovereign Citizens, sighted by this masthead state its members aren’t considered a terror threat. The group believes the power of the state is illegitimate and has recently escalated a campaign involving attending police stations to deliver arrest warrants that name politicians.

Yet the briefings also make clear that concern some members could cross over into violence requires policing vigilance. At least two Sovereign Citizens have recently been arrested, one over an alleged “incitement to deprive liberty” and another for firearms offensives.

The White Rose Society, an anti-fascist research group that engages in deep internet dives to uncover and document extremist behaviour, has recently analysed hundreds of posts and videos uploaded by key members or affiliates of the Sovereign Citizens. Along with the bizarre conspiracy theories they peddle are consistent references to acquiring guns, liaising with veterans or police with firearms experience and using violence as a means of political expression.

In a Zoom chat this month, one of the group’s affiliates was recorded saying that “peaceful is lawful, but sometimes you need a sophisticated application of force”. Another extremist influencer responded: “that’s what we’re organising … only if everything else fails.”

A small number of politicians also appear willing to legitimise extremists. This week, federal politician Craig Kelly escorted a notorious right-wing extremist figure, Simeon Boikov, into Federal Parliament. Boikov leads a far-right Russian nationalist group in Australia and, according to official sources, has been on the intelligence services’ radar since at least 2014.

To date, the various extremist groups seeking to recruit and radicalise more Australians appear to have had limited success in signing up military veterans. White Rose has identified nine ex-military members who have recently played key roles in extremist groups agitating for political insurrection. This targeting of veterans is not anywhere near the scale of American militia and far-right cells, but is still deeply concerning to ASIO and the Australian Defence Force, which has increased its vetting of members to identify budding extremists.

Security agencies hope some agitators will lose motivation with the relaxing of pandemic-linked restrictions, although a new wave of infections or other international events, such as conflict in Ukraine (where neo-Nazi militias seek to recruit foreign fighters) could help radicalise more Australians.

Says Burgess: “We assess that these tensions and the associated possibility of violence will persist.”

https://www.theage.com.au/national/neo-nazi-unmasked-as-former-young-liberal-20220211-p59vpo.html

Ghislaine Maxwell lawyers cannot keep retrial arguments under seal, judge rules

Lawyers want new trial after juror Scotty David gave interviews in which he said he had been sexually abused as a child

Victoria Bekiempis - 12 Feb 2022

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Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawyers cannot keep sealed their detailed legal arguments about a juror in her trial who might not have disclosed childhood sex abuse during jury selection, a judicial decision issued Friday said.

Judge Alison Nathan wrote: “[The] defendant’s motion to temporarily seal, in their entirety, all documents related to the motion for a new trial, is denied.”

This ruling stems from Maxwell’s filing of detailed arguments for a new trial, relating to this juror, under seal.

Maxwell was found guilty on 29 December of sex trafficking and associated counts for facilitating Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse of girls, some as young as 14. Epstein, a financier and convicted sex offender, was apprehended in July 2019 for sex trafficking minor teens. Epstein killed himself approximately one month later in a New York City jail while awaiting trial.

The arguments on sealing documents stem from controversy about Juror 50, who has been identified as Scotty David. After Maxwell’s trial, David gave interviews where he claimed to have been sexually abused as a child.

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Maxwell’s lawyers claimed that filing their defense documents publicly, before Nathan makes a decision about a hearing or retrial, “will provide a roadmap of the defense’s examination of Juror 50 and will allow him to plan out and tailor his responses, or even potentially spoliate evidence, to paint himself and his conduct in the best light possible”.

David publicly said that he told other panelists about this sexual abuse during deliberations, allowing them to understand circumstances from a victim’s perspective.

David’s statements about alleged abuse spurred questions because potential jurors filed out questionnaires as part of the selection process. These questionnaires inquired about sexual abuse.

David reportedly said that he did not remember a question on abuse but said he had answered every question truthfully. In the wake of David’s statements, prosecutors asked Nathan to investigate his comments. Maxwell’s lawyers promptly asked for a hearing and new trial.

In issuing her decision about sealing, Nathan said: “The court is unpersuaded by the defendant’s concern that media interest in the motion warrants temporary sealing of the documents in their entirety.”

Nathan said that both sides must propose “narrowly tailored” redactions. It is unclear when these redacted documents will be made public.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/feb/11/ghislaine-maxwell-lawyers-motion-juror-retrial

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17318376/united-states-v-maxwell/?order_by=desc

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612/gov.uscourts.nysd.539612.596.0.pdf

The global ‘freedom movement’ is a carnival of crank and conspiracy – and very dangerous

I spent a year undercover in QAnon. Don’t let the ridiculousness distract from the threat

Van Badham - 12 Feb 2022

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The far right “trucker convoy” that has paralysed Ottawa might be singularly shocking, but what disturbs the most is it’s not unique.

“Freedom” protests similar in form and simultaneously nebulous in broadly anti-vax/anti-mandate political goals have materialised in Britain, France and New Zealand. A convoy claiming to originate from across Europe is making its way towards Brussels. An ongoing gathering that locals alternately describe as “Spring Break for QAnon” or “Camp Covid” is encamped outside Australian Parliament House in Canberra.

Across these countries, protestors appear as a wild herd of “sovcit”, anti-vaxxer, QAnonner and more nefarious fellow travellers, alongside some more ordinary people. Sometimes it’s hard to tell whether social media content about these events has been gathered by extremism monitors, or comedians.

Participants unwilling to be injected with a free vaccine safely used on hundreds of millions of people further advise each other that drinking one’s own wee is curative and somehow “camel urine deals with cancer”. Monitors observe attendees costumed as paramedics, pilots and deceased Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. Someone really wears a tinfoil hat.

In New Zealand, the monitors themselves hijacked the Telegram and Zello channels the protestors use to organise. They’ve sown chaos and crammed the convoy’s Spotify playlist with songs like Redneck Piece of White Trash, Why Don’t You Get a Job and Dumb Fuck.

In Canada, protestors have used their vehicles to blockade entire Ottawa neighbourhoods, erecting jumping castles and even saunas. Participants stiffly stage ceremonies to anoint one another faux powers of police. Amid the carnival of crank it all reads like character-based black comedy … but this investment in a parallel reality is not satire. It’s not performance. It’s complete. It’s terrifying.

Wherever this “freedom movement” manifests, a similar cast of characters emerges. Light-in-the-eyes zealots holler conspiracy theories. Grifters solicit to camera like a roll of tabloid clickbait. Burly, closed-mouth types appear to be handling secretive logistics. Around them are impassioned, often inarticulate – and poorly-costumed – clowns.

Don’t let the ridiculousness distract from the threat.

I spent a year undercover in the broadly QAnon movement researching a book; I understand well why democratic citizens may struggle to take seriously the crossed streams of alien lizard aficionados, drink-your-own-wee health enthusiasts and those people who believe democrats eat children’s faces. Even while besieged in his capital and struggling to contain the protests, Canadian PM Justin Trudeau hasn’t yet called in the army; he’s made the point that in more than 80%-vaxxed Canada, those protesting vaccine mandates are indeed a “fringe” – the truckers aren’t backed by their unions, more than 90% of their industry is vaccinated. The tomfoolery in Canberra could not be considered a representative movement of Australians either. Like New Zealanders and the Europeans, we’re a country with a high vaccination rate too.

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But the relevant historical lesson is that the threat to democracy doesn’t come from the proportion of the people these groups can claim to represent. It’s about the size of the damage they are willing to do. Writing off Canberra’s buffoon insurgency just as a loud thing blocking the carpark is a mistake.

What was learned from last year’s United States Capitol attack of 6 January and Melbourne’s violent anti-lockdown protests was that people don’t have to be able to comprehend the politics of the movement they’re in to be weaponised by them. The swastikas, confederate flags and other sly hate symbols that appeared at protests go wilfully unheeded by the wellness-influenced anti-vaxxers and others literally marching beside them. William Saletan recently made the frightening point that those Americans who have become the greatest threat to their republic are those who’ve been convinced by propaganda lies that they’re saving it.

Canadian researchers claim what’s now happening in Ottowa is both driven by the cultural narratives of the American right and simultaneously serving a propaganda function as a proxy battlefront for it. The “trucker protest” has been sustained by American money pouring into it by the millions. The likes of Ted Cruz and Donald Trump are making positive talking points of the actions as “standing up for freedom”, perpetuating the same kind of myths Cruz and others made last year insisting pro-vax Australia had descended into some sort of totalitarian dictatorship.

Different countries’ protests may claim they’re just “inspired” by one another, but a chilling tactical similarity to the protests suggests a deeper level of international coordination. Last year, the Logically group revealed Melbourne’s protests occurred among worldwide action devised and organised by extremists from Germany. Supposedly local organisers in Canada and Australia have been tracked to foreign servers, operating hacked accounts. Observe now how the same behaviours – from shared language, icons and slogans to their direct organising tactics on the ground – are common across the protests. Note that their political targets are consistently the apparatus of democratic government itself.

The street-level participants of these protests don’t have to be slick, admirable or coherent to be useful to this movement – just credulous, unquestioning and willing to be mobilised. Where the protest presence grows, so do arson attacks and warnings of escalating violence.

The Museum of Australian Democracy was recently set on fire; it’s time to face we are in the era of Brownshirts Without Borders. Unless we can formulate international tactics for dealing with them, it’s not just Ottawa that’s under siege. It’s democracy in the west.

Van Badham is a theatre-maker and author of QAnon And On: A Short and Shocking History of Internet Conspiracy Cults. An occasional broadcaster, critic and trade union feminist, she writes columns for the Guardian and lives in Melbourne.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/feb/12/the-global-freedom-movement-is-a-carnival-of-crank-and-conspiracy-and-very-dangerous

‘Defend democracy’: The race to tackle conspiracy theories this election

Caitlin Fitzsimmons - February 12, 2022

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The main goal of the thousands of protesters gathering in the national capital in recent weeks is to oppose COVID-19 vaccination mandates.

Among them is former special forces soldier Riccardo Bosi, who has a bigger agenda: calling for the Governor-General to sack the Parliament and install an executive council to take over running elections from the Australian Electoral Commission.

In several videos posted on social media last week, Mr Bosi told his fellow protesters at EPIC – the Exhibition Park in Canberra – that the electoral commission can’t be trusted.

“The AEC recommended recently to the government to use Dominion vote-counting machines,” he said. “Do you think you’re going to get a free and fair election under these bastards?”

Mr Bosi’s views are at odds with the vast majority of the Australian public, who overwhelmingly trust the electoral commission. For the past three federal elections, the routine post-electoral follow-up has found nine out of 10 voters agree the AEC conducted the election “fairly and impartially”.

Despite it being a minority view, the AEC was quick to jump in.

On both Twitter and Facebook, the AEC rejected the claims as “completely false and very disappointing”, and shared a video titled The Dominion Conspiracy Theory it already had in the can.

Dominion is a large supplier of voting machines used in US elections.

Mr Bosi, who warns people in a number of videos not to talk to the media, did not respond to a request for comment made through his AustraliaOne party website.

The response to the Bosi video is just the latest example of the electoral commission’s increasingly assertive approach to correcting facts. AEC director of media and digital engagement, Evan Ekin-Smyth, who runs the social media team, confirmed a policy of setting the record straight.

“A key part of the AEC’s thinking and our role is that if we don’t defend Australia’s democracy from potential disinformation about the electoral process, who will?” Mr Ekin-Smyth said.

Both Parliament and intelligence agencies have growing concern about misinformation (any incorrect information) and disinformation (a subset of misinformation that is deliberately deceptive) undermining Australian elections, amid growing distrust of elections in Western democracies internationally, especially in the United States.

Mr Ekin-Smyth, who manages the social media team, said it was not the role of the AEC to fact-check politicians, but it was very much in its remit to correct information and answer questions about how elections run – everything from people asking why pencils are used instead of pens to suggestions that the electoral commission is not politically neutral.

The AEC’s channels include its website, AEC TV on YouTube, Facebook including an Indigenous-specific Facebook page, Twitter and LinkedIn, and it has a watching brief on TikTok and Reddit. Mr Ekin-Smyth’s team uses a software package called Falcon for third-party monitoring, and will frequently insert itself into conversations where it has not been tagged. When necessary, it asks platforms to remove content.

Mr Ekin-Smyth said his team do not have the capacity to monitor social media conversations in languages other than English, and cannot see private messages or inside private Facebook groups.

Reset Australia, the local affiliate of a global not-for-profit organisation working to counter digital threats to democracy, says this leaves large gaps. Executive director Chris Cooper said misinformation often starts in closed Facebook groups.

“It builds a following and then explodes out into public Facebook but by that stage, in the context of an election, it’s too late,” Mr Cooper said.

He also said it was not wise to rely on the goodwill of the social media platforms and their willingness to take down material, when the revelations of whistleblowers such as ex-Facebook employee Frances Haugen showed they consistently put engagement and profit above the greater good.

The big technology companies signed the Australian Code of Practice on Disinformation and Misinformation last year, but Mr Cooper said the code was fundamentally flawed, being written by industry and entirely voluntary.

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The Senate’s Select Committee on Foreign Interference through Social Media, established in 2019, also has questions about how well the code is working. In interim recommendations published in December, the select committee recommended the Australian Communications and Media Authority’s report into the functioning of the code be publicly released as a matter of priority.

A spokesperson for the Department of Home Affairs said the Electoral Integrity Assurance Taskforce – a multi-agency body chaired by the AEC – had not identified any foreign interference that undermined the integrity of the 2019 election, but had a watching brief for the 2022 election and was testing scenarios with a number of social media companies.

Foreign interference is one threat, but homegrown conspiracy theories spread and reinforced by echo chambers on social media are another – one that counter-espionage agency ASIO highlighted in its annual threat assessment last week.

Director-General Mike Burgess said the pandemic had sent online radicalisation into overdrive because isolated individuals spent more time in online environments where they were “exposed to extremist messaging, misinformation and conspiracy theories” without the circuit breakers of everyday life.

The storming of the US Capitol last January, and the large number of Americans who believe former president Donald Trump’s repeated claims he won the 2020 election, are a cautionary tale of what can happen when citizens lose confidence in electoral integrity.

Meanwhile, the US has a long history of voter suppression – usually of Black voters who are more likely to vote Democrat – and foreign interference is no longer just a hypothetical, given intelligence agencies confirmed Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election when Mr Trump was elected.

Mr Ekin-Smyth said the globalisation of media consumption means many Australian voters across the political spectrum were importing perceived problems from overseas.

“What we see on our online channels is a lot of reference to the United States and some of the suggestions about what may or may not have gone on there with the electoral process,” he said.

“The comparisons are often not very useful because the American electoral system is so vastly different.”

The AEC has won fans for its proactive and humorous approach to correct misinformation on social media – but also critics.

Recent tweets, for example, include “can’t afford shoe-strings, spent all of our budget on cardboard” in response to someone who said the electoral commission operated on a shoestring budget.

Mr Ekin-Smyth said the aim was to “talk like real people, rather than robots” so the messages could be easily understood and shared, but it did not mean any lack of respect for the serious nature of the election process.

“I think we’re irreverent when the subject matter demands it, po-faced when it demands it and a range of other styles – really treating each interaction on its merits,” he said.

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But there are pros and cons to every approach.

Monitoring tools that mean the AEC is apprised of every utterance about the election made in public on social media can mean they wind up replying to the same accounts multiple times, making the individuals feel hounded by a government institution. And what is humorous to one person can be “snark” to another.

One woman who was on the receiving end of a fact-check on Twitter over a speculative tweet said she subsequently received “torrents of abuse” from third parties, and she believes the way the account engaged with her contributed to that outcome.

She asked to be anonymous to avoid adding fuel to the fire.

“I want to be clear that I absolutely respect and admire the work that the AEC does in running elections – they wrangle the bloody cat every three years,” she said. “But I think the social media team is completely out of control – if their role is to educate, they can educate and stop with the snark.”

The AEC has blocked a handful of users on social media, citing personal abuse, raising the question of whether a government body should block citizens and the fine line between trolling and dissenting voices.

Greg Jericho, author of The Rise of the Fifth Estate, Social Media and Blogging in Australian Politics and an active Twitter user, said the AEC’s use of humour in social media was “fantastic” and in his view blocking is “acceptable but not preferable”.

“Were I the AEC I would just mute those accounts who in my view have been attacking them with some pretty outlandish conspiracy claims,” Jericho said.

“Government accounts should only block as a last resort, but for those who manage the account, it is also in effect their work role and dealing with abuse in work is not something they should have to put up with just because it is an official account.”

Another big disadvantage to rebutting misinformation is whether it actually changes hearts and minds.

“I did have a conversation with one individual via the AEC account where the indication provided to me was that the more that we engage, the more likely a certain cohort of people are to not believe what we’re saying,” Mr Ekin-Smyth said.

“I don’t quite understand that. If you want factual information, surely you want to go to the most authoritative source of that information and if it’s about the election process, well, that’s us.”

Mr Cooper said this experience mirrored several research studies both in Australia and abroad that found providing factual information to correct misinformation or misunderstanding on social media can sometimes lead to that person doubling down on their belief.

“The broader trend is that networks that traffic in misinformation – and currently that’s a mix of anti-lockdown, COVID science and climate science – when you dig down into some of the values that are informing their views, and enabling those individuals to be susceptible to disinformation, there is often a very consistent anti-government sentiment,” he said.

“When that’s part of the belief system, it’s hard for the AEC to provide that information because they don’t have legitimacy or trust in the eyes of that person.”

Certainly, the AEC’s attempted debunking of Mr Bosi’s claim has not stopped him and his followers repeating it all week.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/defend-democracy-the-race-to-tackle-conspiracy-theories-this-election-20220111-p59nfq.html

https://twitter.com/LizardHumanoid/status/1491181380344377346

https://twitter.com/AusElectoralCom/status/1491184709854167043

Australian embassy in Kyiv evacuated as Russia invasion of Ukraine feared

Lisa Visentin and Shane Wright - February 13, 2022

The Australian government has ordered the evacuation of its embassy in Kyiv amid concerns that Russian troops massing on Ukraine’s border are preparing to invade.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the remaining three staff members at the Australian embassy had been directed to leave as the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, and he condemned Russia’s actions as “utterly unacceptable”.

“I want to send a very clear message on behalf of Australia – a liberal democracy who believes in freedom and the sovereignty of states, not just in Europe but in our own region as well – that the autocratic, unilateral actions of Russia to be threatening and bullying Ukraine is something that is completely and utterly unacceptable,” Mr Morrison said.

He said the government had already relocated other Australian-based staff and their families from the mission in Kyiv.

“They have already departed some time ago,” Mr Morrison said. “We have three remaining staff, and they have been instructed now to move – as other Five Eye countries are – to Lviv.

“But the situation, as you are all hearing as well, is deteriorating and reaching a very dangerous stage.”

Mr Morrison thanked the three staff members, who had remained to provide consular support to Australians, many of whom were dual Australian-Ukrainian citizens.

Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne said the Australian government had established a temporary office in Lviv while operations were suspended at the Kyiv embassy.

She said the government’s advice remained that Australians leave Ukraine immediately by commercial means. Security conditions could change at short notice.

“Russian military action in Ukraine will severely limit our ability to provide consular assistance to Australians,” Senator Payne said.

“Australia continues to support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. We remain in close contact with our Five Eyes and other like-minded partners on the ground.”

Labor leader Anthony Albanese said there was no excuse for Russia’s actions.

“Russia should back off,” he told Sky News. “The threats and intimidation that’s occurring to a sovereign state like the Ukraine are entirely inappropriate in 2022, and we respect Ukraine sovereignty and that should be respected by all, including by Russia.”

Australians in Ukraine seeking consular assistance should call the Australian government 24-hour Consular Emergency Centre on 1300 555 135 or +61 2 6261 3305 outside Australia.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australian-embassy-in-kyiv-evacuated-as-russia-invasion-of-ukraine-feared-20220213-p59w03.html

Millionaire corporate raider Ron Brierley, 84, is released from jail after just four months due to ill health despite being found with 40,000 vile child porn images

AUSTRALIAN ASSOCIATED PRESS - 13 February 2022

Once-feared corporate raider Ron Brierley has been released from jail after his sentence for possessing child abuse material was reduced.

The multi-millionaire New Zealander businessman had his knighthood revoked when authorities stopped him at the airport before he boarded a plane to Fiji and found thousands of the images with more discovered at his Point Piper house.

The 84-year-old's legal team challenged his 14 month term in Sydney's Long Bay jail earlier in February, citing a deterioration of his medical conditions.

His sentence had a non-parole period of seven months, which was due to expire on May 13, but he was deemed eligible for release three months earlier after the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal allowed the challenge on February 1.

Justices Robert Beech-Jones, Ian Harrison and Des Fagan re-sentenced Brierley to 10 months with a non-parole period of four months.

Noting Brierley's declining health, his barrister Tim Game SC particularly referred to the inability of the jail's medical services to deal with the aftermath of the removal of skin cancers from his leg.

While a dermatologist said he needed to be hospitalised for three weeks after surgery which included a skin graft, he was returned to his cell on the same day.

Despite the need for dressing changes on his large wound, Brierley had to rely on help from another inmate and the stitches broke.

'The resources of Justice Health to deal with a geriatric prisoner are stretched beyond capability, at least with respect to this man,' Justice Fagan said.

Brierley - who amassed a fortune of estimated at $200 million through his corporate raids and ventures - was stopped by Australian Border Force officers at Sydney Airport as he was preparing to board a flight to Fiji about 6.30am on December 17, 2019.

'The man's carry-on luggage was searched before the contents of his laptop and electronic storage devices were reviewed, which are alleged to have contained large amounts of child abuse material,' police previously said.

A search was then conducted of his house in the exclusive Sydney harbourside suburb of Point Piper where thousands more images were found.

Brierley pleaded guilty to three counts of possessing child abuse material with more than 40,000 images, many being duplicates, of prepubescent girls in swimwear, underwear or other clothing, in sexually suggestive poses being found.

He also had two sexually explicit stories involving child victims and an image of a naked girl posing on a bed.

The charges led to his being stripped of his knighthood after the NZ Prime Minister led calls and his name was erased from the many organisations he worked with.

Brierley's arrest followed a four-month investigation by detectives after an anonymous tip-off in August 2019.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10506879/Millionaire-corporate-raider-Ron-Brierley-84-released-jail-just-four-months.html

Unsolved mysteries behind famous Prince Andrew photo

The photo of Prince Andrew, Virginia Giuffre and Ghislaine Maxwell is now famous – but some basic facts about the shot have never been established.

Daniela Elser - February 13, 2022

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In 2001, financier, and later registered sex offender, Jeffrey Epstein gave the then 17-year-old Virginia Giuffre (nee Roberts) a small yellow Kodak camera. It might have been the sort of simple gift millions of teenagers would receive but the snaps that she would take with the present would, two decades later, trigger the biggest crisis in modern royal history.

Later this year, around spring time in Australia, Prince Andrew, the Duke of York’s name will appear on the docket in federal court in New York where he is facing a civil sex abuse trial.

Ms Giuffre, who is now a Perth-based mother-of-three, has accused the 61-year-old royal of “rape in the first degree,” alleging that she was sexually abused by the Queen’s son on three occasions.

It was nearly exactly ten years ago that this current crisis started when, in late February 2011, the now defunct News of the World published a photo of Andrew walking in Central Park with Epstein, by then a convicted sex offender. A week later, the Mail on Sunday published the first interview with Ms Giuffre, reporting that the teen had “been flown across the world to be introduced to the Prince.” (It has been reported that she was paid $226,000 for the interview.)

Crucially, she also produced the now notorious photo of herself with Andrew and convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell. (Ms Giuffre has said of why the image was taken, “I wanted something to show my mom.”)

That image could now play a central role in Andrew’s case, with the revelation by the Daily Beast recently that Andrew will “continue to maintain his reservations about the authenticity” of the image at the jury trial.

Ms Giuffre says that the shot was taken in March 2001 on the first night that she met the duke and that they first had sex. Andrew, however, during his cataclysmic Newsnight interview in 2019 told host Emily Maitlis he had ‘investigated’ the authenticity of the image and that “Nobody can prove whether or not that photograph has been doctored but I don’t recollect that photograph ever being taken.”

Who was behind the camera?

In the image we can see Andrew, Ms Giuffre and a smiling Maxwell, inside the latter’s home in the exclusive London suburb of Belgravia. In an uncropped version released in 2019, a blurry thumb can be seen on the right, the work of the clumsy photographer.

So who was behind the camera? Ms Giuffre has said that it was Epstein himself who took the shot.

However, Andrew told Maitlis that “I’ve never seen Epstein with a camera in my life” and that “it’s very difficult to be able to prove it but I don’t remember that photograph ever being taken.”

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Is that Ghislaine’s house or not?

What you would think would be one of the easiest things to prove, or disprove, about the photo has never actually been checked. That is whether the layout of Maxwell’s home at 69, Stanhope Mews East, actually looks like what you see in the picture. (According to Airmail, in 1994 the Metropolitan Police had investigated whether a possible brothel was being run out of that address.)

The image appears to have been taken on an upstairs floor next to what looks to be a balustrade with a window in the background. Exterior shots of the Stanhope Mews property show six-paned windows that look near-identical to the ones we can see behind Maxwell.

What has never been fully explained is why this has not been undertaken or if it has, what the conclusions might be.

Andrew claimed during his Newsnight debacle that “I don’t think I ever went upstairs in Ghislaine’s house” and when he was asked if he was sure, he told Maitlis: “Yeah, because the dining room and everything was on the ground floor.”

Is the original photo actually in Sydney?

Perhaps the biggest, still unanswered question about the snapshot is, where is the actual physical photo?

In 2016, when Ms Giuffre was being deposed by lawyers for Maxwell she was asked about its location and said that “It’s not in my possession right now” and that it was “probably in some storage boxes.” She also said the image could be at her home or her in-laws’ home in Sydney, saying, “I mean, there’s seven boxes full of Nerf guns, my kids’ toys, photos. I don’t know what other documents would be in there.”

She also revealed in the deposition she had previously given the image to the FBI.

However, in late January, the Daily Beast reported that a “source in Virginia Giuffre’s camp” had said that “they did not know whether Giuffre still has the original of the photo, or whether the original photograph even still existed.”

The man who has seen the original

The version of the image we have all seen is in fact a photo of the original and which was taken by Kiwi snapper Michael Thomas in 2011.

He has no doubts about its authenticity.

“I have always believed it was real,” Thomas told news.com.au this week. “As I have said before it was just an ordinary photo you would of got from a chemist in the days of negatives. Surely if it was fake every media outlet in the world would be getting sued for using it. The fact that isn’t happening, to me says everything.”

In 2019 Thomas told Panorama of when he saw the infamous image, “It wasn’t like she pulled the photo of Prince Andrew out, it was just in among the rest of them. They were just typical teenage snaps. There’s no way that photo is fake.”

The ‘chubby’ finger argument

In August 2019, after Epstein’s suicide two stories appeared in the UK press in the same week quoting ‘friends’ of Andrew’s calling into question “inconsistencies” in the image and attempting to discredit it.

“Look at the picture. It has clearly been faked. Andrew’s fingers appear quite slender, like a girl’s fingers. They are also a strange shade of red,” a friend of Andrew’s told the Telegraph in August 2019. “His real fingers are actually much chubbier – quite small and chubby.”

Meanwhile, around the same time, a source told the Evening Standard: “Look at his fingers in the photo. The duke has quite chubby fingers – they don’t look right.

“Many close to the duke, who know him well, believe this is witch-hunt based on absolutely no evidence.”

However, look at images of Andrew’s hands and they do not immediately appear to look that different to the digits visible in the shot.

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The height question

Another argument put forward to try and cast doubt on the image relies on a supposed issue with the heights of Andrew and Ms Giuffre.

In 2019, the Telegraph reported that “The Duke also believes that he is far taller in real life than he appears in the photograph, it is understood. The source pointed to a picture of Ms Roberts standing next to the model Naomi Campbell, and more recent images showing her alongside other alleged Epstein victims.

“Compare the picture against the others. The Prince is 183cm tall, while Ms Roberts seems to be of below average height,” a source told the paper.

“She certainly appears to be much shorter than Naomi Campbell, who is apparently 177 cm tall.

“So it’s strange that she and the Duke appear to be of similar height in the alleged photo. That doesn’t make a lot of sense.”

However, the Daily Mail has reported that Andrew is around 182 cm and Ms Giuffre is 176 cm, which the photo bears out.

‘Travelling clothes’ and the hugging defence

Andrew himself has offered other very strange arguments which cast doubt on the picture.

“I don’t believe it’s a picture of me in London because … when I go out in London, I wear a suit and a tie,” he said during his Newsnight outing. “That’s what I would describe as … those are my travelling clothes … if I’m going overseas.”

He has also claimed that “as a member of the Royal Family” he was “not one to, as it were, hug and public displays of affection are not something that I do.”

Again, this is where we get to the ‘but’ part of things. Immediately after making the hugging claim, various photos were dugo out of Fleet Street’s archives showing him engaging in what most people would term a “public display of affection” including hugging the Countess of Lichfield at a charity dinner, kissing a bikini-clad woman on the cheek while in the South of France in 2002, and up close and persona with American socialites Chris Von Aspen and Canadian socialite Pascale Bourbeau on two occasions in 2007.

‘Calling BS’

In the wake of Andrew’s Hindenburg-like Newsnight performance, Ms Giuffre was interviewed by the BBC’s Panorama program. Her reaction to the claims that the image had been doctored?

“The people on the inside are going to keep coming up with these ridiculous excuses like his arm was elongated or the photo was doctored,” she said. “I mean I’m calling BS on this.”

The two biggest questions that must be answered

In the fight to prove or disprove the veracity of the shot, there are two key questions that would seem to go a long way to making the case either way: Does the interior shown in the image match the layout of Maxwell’s former property? And where is the original photo?

With speculation swirling that Andrew might try to settle this case before it goes to trial, in this legal stoush, a picture is not simply worth a thousand words but potentially tens of millions of dollars in damages.

Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.

https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity-life/royals/unsolved-mysteries-behind-famous-prince-andrew-photo/news-story/b3f883a7df663db2db5de516928ae2b6

https://qanon.pub/#4568

https://qanon.pub/#3152

https://qanon.pub/#4565

Falling into the ‘freedom’ movement … and getting out

Rachael Dexter and Simone Fox Koob - February 13, 2022

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At the height of Melbourne’s anti-lockdown protests, Ash Jackson was a familiar face. Front and centre of screaming crowds, she dutifully waved flags, clashed with police and was arrested several times.

For almost a year she was totally consumed as a follower of the ‘freedom’ movement – entire days were spent online, reading and watching anti-government videos and posts on encrypted social media apps, becoming increasingly paranoid, angry and obsessed. Jackson turned up on the news more than once after being arrested and was shunned by family and friends.

But now she’s out. About eight months after leaving the movement, she still can’t believe the grip it had on her life.

Jackson says if you had asked her a year ago where she might be in 2022, she would have said in a concentration camp for the unvaccinated or engaged in an insurrection after a communist takeover.

“I was thinking by this time … that we’d have an underground movement with weaponry,” says the 48-year-old.

In her small Melbourne apartment, Jackson brings up a YouTube video on her television. It’s a Channel 7 report from February 20, 2021, the day hundreds of protesters marched to the Shrine of Remembrance and ended up being corralled by police at Fawkner Park, where dozens were arrested.

Amid the angry mobs, Jackson points to herself. That day, while attending the protest, she was arrested after marching up to a group of police to conduct a “citizen’s arrest” of the officers for “crimes against humanity”.

“I was so brainwashed,” she says as she watches the chaotic scenes, shaking her head

The ‘freedom’ movement, initially centred around anti-lockdown and anti-vaccine sentiment, saw protesters take to the streets, particularly in Melbourne, every weekend for almost two years to reject COVID health measures.

Last year, as lockdowns lifted, the movement’s leaders shifted their attention to vaccine mandates. This year protesters have descended on Canberra, including on Saturday, talking about everything from the dangers of vaccination to QAnon-adjacent theories about paedophiles within the Australian government.

At the extreme edges are those who claim they are willing, as “sovereign citizens”, to launch a full government takeover – violent or otherwise.

In his latest annual threat assessment, delivered this week, the boss of Australia’s counter-espionage agency ASIO, Mike Burgess, highlights growing concern about online radicalisation during the pandemic, noting vaccine mandates and lockdowns had fuelled extremism that is not “specifically left or right-wing”.

“More time in those online environments — without some of the circuit breakers of everyday life, like family and community engagement, school and work — created more extremists,” he wrote.

The federal government this month announced it would commit more than $60 million to countering violent extremism amid an increase in conspiracy theories during the pandemic and concerns about MPs’ safety, and on Wednesday the Victorian Greens secured a parliamentary inquiry into the growing threat and influence of far-right extremism in Victoria for the same reasons.

But another complex problem has been left in the pandemic’s wake: the path back for thousands of individuals whose lives, livelihoods and personal relationships are in tatters after going down the rabbit hole of these conspiracy theories.

While the path is different for each person, experts and former conspiracy theorists say we urgently need to better understand why and how this descent happens.

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Falling in

Just before the emergence of COVID-19 in early 2020, Jackson was working part-time as a musician; composing music for productions, gigging around Melbourne’s suburbs in cover bands and teaching guitar. Victoria’s initial six-week lockdown drove her out of work. She had no real social interaction for more than two months.

At home, scrolling on her phone, she found anti-lockdown groups starting to call out what they saw as overly harsh measures from an increasingly dangerous police state.

“I stumbled across some things on the internet, and I was like ‘oh this makes sense, I don’t want to be locked down’,” she says. She can’t remember the specific video or post that first touched her conspiracy nerve, but she became a big fan of influencers such as Monica Smit of Reignite Democracy Australia – a lobby group backing Craig Kelly and the United Australia Party – Smit’s partner, podcaster Morgan Jonas, and Avi Yemini from Canada-based right-wing commentary website Rebel News.

“I was slowly finding myself getting brainwashed,” Jackson says. “I kept looking into conspiracy theories, including QAnon. I started rooting for Donald Trump, which was ridiculous. Being trans … he’s not very favourable to us.”

Once a born again Christian, Jackson had left her faith over a decade earlier, ousted from her church for coming out as transgender. It was a deeply wounding experience she still has trouble talking about.

“I’ve sort of been a little bit of a loner [since],” she says. “I found a bit of community in the anti-lockdown movement.”

She became a regular on the front line at Melbourne’s anti-lockdown rallies, coming onto police’s radar for disseminating a handbook on how to thwart officers at protests.

“I got sucked in big time to the point where I was doing … very dodgy illegal stuff that I’m ashamed of now, but at the time I thought it was totally justified,” she says.

She’s visibly distressed about the abuse she hurled at police on the front line.

“I gave them so much shit, I called them every name under the [sun],” she says.

The trouble for policymakers and concerned family members is a lack of information available to help them navigate relationships with loved ones who have succumbed to misinformation.

Conspiracy theories are not new, but in the internet age they grow and morph quickly. Pre-pandemic, QAnon – a theory that the world is run by a cabal of paedophiles who drink the blood of children – was dominant online. Evidence from online support groups suggests that now the overlap between QAnon and anti-vaccination sentiment is strong.

One of the moderators of the 230,000-person Reddit page “QAnon Casualties” is Sydney man Jitarth Jadeja. Five years ago, he returned to Sydney from a university exchange in the United States and was living at home, studying part-time with no job or partner. He became increasingly obsessed with US politics. “I was really basically on my own, on the internet just all day, every day.”

He was shocked when Donald Trump unexpectedly won the presidential election in 2016. His “worldview was shattered”, and he questioned how it could have happened, searching for alternative media and less mainstream social media platforms. Before long, he fell deep into the fast-growing worldwide conspiracy theory of QAnon.

Eighteen months later, a series of lightbulb moments made him realise QAnon was a “con” (he wrote about this experience in a Reddit post which later went viral). He has since talked publicly about his experience, of going down the rabbit hole and climbing back out, to help others understand why people believe in conspiracy movements.

”One thing I’ve found, and this is anecdotal, but I really have found this to be a common trait is that there’s [often] some sort of preceding trauma that occurs before someone falls down a rabbit hole,” Jadeja says.

“For me it was finding out I had ADHD …I think people forget that when COVID hit it was very traumatic for everyone. It happened very quickly.

“I don’t think it was just that people were online more often. People are online all day at work. But it was a trauma … I think people were traumatised and they went looking for answers. So that really expedited the whole conspiracy situation.”

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Research has suggested that conspiracy theories often prosper in times of crisis, with a 2017 study finding that during times of societal upheaval, people’s experiences of fear, uncertainty and being out of control stimulate a motivation to make sense of the situation, increasing their likelihood of turning to conspiracies.

Another study, published in 2018, found that the emotions which make up the psychological origins of believing in conspiracy theories include anxiety, uncertainty, or lacking control. Research conducted by psychology experts in Britain shows that belief in conspiracy theories is particularly strong among people with unsatisfied psychological needs.

Colin Klein, an associate professor at ANU’s School of Philosophy, has studied online conspiracy theory communities. Many people assume the path into misinformation and conspiracy theories is similar to that of a virus, where people bounce around online, get exposed to misinformation and get infected.

Instead, his team’s research, which analysed a large set of Reddit comments, found that those susceptible to conspiracy theories tend to seek out fringe and conspiracy forums “because it fits with either how they’re thinking about the world or experiences they’ve had”.

“And so it looks like people aren’t just passive consumers of information. They’re working towards finding stuff that makes sense to them, or makes sense of the world for them.”

The lightbulb moment

For Jackson, it was her experience with Victoria Police that planted the seed for her escape.

In late May last year, at her last ‘freedom’ protest, she was encouraged by other protesters to throw herself in front of police after receiving a move-on notice.

Police arrested her, while she says the others ran away. “I was kind of thinking, ‘where the hell are my friends?’” she recalls. “They all just buggered off and left me.

“I was confused … so I didn’t give the police a hard time at all. And they said, ‘Look, we’re going to give you a move-on because you’ve been so cooperative’.”

The following week Jackson was arrested at home and taken in for questioning over her role in the protests and the anti-police booklet circulating online.

When the formal interview was over, she says officers spoke to her candidly about their life, their families and how difficult it had been working on the front line during the pandemic, showing sympathy for her struggles with her gender and mental health. “I realised, ‘these aren’t the Gestapo or anything … I had it all wrong’.

“I had tears when I was just talking candidly with them just saying, ‘God how have I f-cked my life up like this?’

Police didn’t lay charges that day, and offered Jackson a lift home.

“I said, ‘no, actually, I wouldn’t mind walking. I need to think about my life’.”

Jackson went home and fell into a deep, days-long depressive spell, during which she self-harmed. By this point she had lost ties with her extended family, had a criminal record and felt she had been manipulated.

Around this time she found others online who had grown sceptical of the movement, and had begun questioning the extraordinary amounts of money being raised. This and follow-up welfare visits by the police were the final impetus for her to leave the ‘freedom’ movement.

“The weight that came off my shoulders instantly – it was unbelievable,” she says.

“If I didn’t leave, I would have probably ended up in some sort of psych ward or something. When you believe that strongly in something and that the police are coming for you, the government’s coming for you, you’re going to get sent to a concentration camp.

“I used to be in my apartment and I’d have the door barricaded with a couch and tables. I’d booby-trapped the windows.

“It was consuming and eating me away. Totally just destroying my soul and my friendships – I lost a lot of friends.”

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Jadeja, whose father still believes in QAnon after he introduced him to it, says trying to reason with those caught up in conspiracy theories is fruitless.

“Focus on their behaviour rather than their beliefs. Chances are if they believe in this, their behaviour changed … they become more anxious, they’ve become more agitated, more aggressive, they can’t not talk about it … so focus on their behaviour,” he says.

“Say ‘it’s fine, I don’t care what you believe, but that doesn’t explain why you haven’t done the dishes or picked up Jamie from soccer the last two Sundays in a row’.”

Jadeja hopes that sharing his story and the lessons he and others have learned can increase conversation around de-radicalisation. Now more than ever, being able to better understand the influences that lead people to QAnon and other conspiracies is crucial, he says.

“They say ‘tinfoil hat brigade’. What has that got to do with a goddamn thing? You’re acting like these people are crazy, like they belong in a nuthouse. These people go to work. They have family. And they believe you are a part of a controlling cabal, and they will justify incredible misdeeds as a justification for righting wrongs. And that includes violence,” he says.

“I just don’t think that anyone has quite grasped how serious the situation is.”

Those who come out of the rabbit hole should be able to find a path back to normality without being shamed, he says. “There has to be some sort of pathway back to polite society for most of these people because most of them haven’t done anything. If there isn’t, then there’s no incentive for them to come back.”

Rebuilding

Jackson says she is now getting her life back on track. She’s recently moved house for a fresh start after a long period of recovery living with her parents, and this week is going back to university to study a master’s degree in music. She recently recovered from COVID-19 too, a mild case she attributes to now being vaccinated.

She becomes emotional when she talks about her extended family, who welcomed her back at Christmas.

“The biggest moving part for me was seeing my nieces,” she says. “I didn’t see my nieces for like eight months, and I love my nieces. And just seeing them again was amazing.”

“I was expecting I was going to have to spend [Christmas] by myself and I got a call from my brother the day before and he said, ‘You’re more than welcome. What’s in the past is in the past, and we’re glad that you’re safe and that you’re out of that’.”

Ash still keeps an eye on the movement, which was responsible for a fire at Old Parliament House in December and has now set up a permanent camp at the Canberra Showgrounds with leaders claiming to stay put until the government is “cleaned out”.

Amid calls for an end to vaccine mandates and vaccine passports are speeches about the “paedophile cabal” by leaders who have repeatedly called for MPs to be hanged.

Last week convoy leader James Greer, who raised almost $200,000 in crowdfunding for the protest, was arrested after police found a loaded rifle and ammunition in his car at the protest campground.

“It’s so different to what it was even a year ago,” says Jackson. “I can fully see some sort of domestic terrorist thing happen.”

She believes most people will “have to hit rock bottom themselves” in order to leave the movement, and hopes her story helps others.

“I still care about some of these people, you know? I hope they can get out.”

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/falling-into-the-freedom-movement-and-getting-out-20220104-p59lsl.html