>>17879103

Pastor wanted Frank Houston dealt with by the church

STEVE ZEMEK - DECEMBER 6, 2022

A pastor told the victim of disgraced Frank Houston that she would not “stand with him” if he sought justice through the “secular courts”, a court has heard.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court where he is defending allegations that he failed to go to police with details of his father Frank’s sexual assault of a young boy over 40 years ago.

Brett Sengstock was sexually assaulted by disgraced preacher Frank Houston at his family’s Sydney eastern suburbs home in January 1970.

The prosecution has alleged that from September 1999 onwards, Mr Houston had knowledge that his father Frank Houston had sexually assaulted the then seven-year-old boy but failed to disclose it to authorities.

At the time, Frank Houston was a New Zealand-based pastor and was staying at Mr Sengstock family’s Coogee home.

Mr Houston has argued that he had a reasonable excuse not to go to the police because Mr Sengstock had expressed a desire not to go authorities.

Mr Houston, 68, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of concealing the serious indictable offence of another person.

Mr Sengstock has told the court he did not reveal the abuse until he was 16, when he told his mother, who discouraged him from telling anyone.

Years later, in November 1998, Mr Sengstock’s mother disclosed Frank Houston’s rape of her son to others in the church, including pastors Barbara Taylor and Kevin “Mad Dog” Mudford, the court has heard. Neither have been charged with any wrongdoing.

Ms Taylor told the court on Tuesday that at the time there was no protocol about how to handle the sexual abuse of children and sought advice from senior members of the Assemblies of God.

She said she also only had a “vague” understanding of the allegations before trying to organise a meeting between Frank Houston and Mr Sengstock.

The court heard on Tuesday that at the time, she told Mr Sengstock she would “stand with him” if he goes to the church with the allegations but would not if he wanted to deal with in via the “secular courts”.

“I believe judgment should be given in the house of God,” Ms Taylor, 90, told the court on Tuesday.

“I believe the church should have disciplined (Frank Houston) and dealt with the matter. Not only disciplined the perpetrator but administered to the wounded man.”

She added: “The court could bring justice but not reconciliation. And as a pastor, I’m into reconciliation.”

Mr Sengstock says that during a meeting with Frank Houston at a northern Sydney McDonald’s, he was told to sign his name on a napkin and was offered $10,000. It is not suggested that Ms Taylor was at this meeting.

He subsequently had a phone call with Brian Houston, during which he inquired about the money before a cheque was delivered several weeks later.

Mr Sengstock says he was “paid” for his “silence”.

Mr Boulten suggested he also had a second phone conversations with Brian Houston during which he expressed an unwillingness to go to authorities - a claim denied by Mr Sengstock.

“You said ‘I’m angry my mother has told anyone, I didn’t want it to be made public’,” defence barrister Phillip Boulten suggested.

“That’s not any conversation that I had with him that I can recall,” Mr Sengstock said.

“You said to him I don’t want this to happen, I just want to get on with my life,” Mr Boulten said.

“Disagree,” Mr Sengstock said.

He further disagreed that he told Brian Houston: “If anyone is going to the police it’s going to be me” and that he “didn’t want any part of a church investigation.”

The hearing before Magistrate Gareth Christofi continues on Wednesday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/brian-houstons-fathers-victim-says-he-was-paid-for-silence/news-story/8a9fc314536e13ff2278569e6d7177ad

Rupert Murdoch to be deposed in $1.6 billion defamation case against Fox

The Fox Corp chairman is the highest-profile individual to be questioned in the case, which hinges on Fox’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

Jeremy Barr and Rachel Weiner - December 5, 2022

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Rupert Murdoch, the 91-year-old chairman of Fox News parent company Fox Corp, will be forced to answer questions under oath next week about his network’s coverage of the 2020 presidential election.

Murdoch will be deposed on the mornings of Dec. 13 and Dec. 14 as part of election technology company Dominion Voting Systems’ $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News, according to a filing in Delaware’s Superior Court. The lawsuit alleges that the network purposely aired false claims about Dominion’s role in the 2020 presidential election to boost ratings and fight off competition from more-conservative-leaning television networks.

According to the filing, Murdoch’s deposition will be conducted remotely, via videoconference.

Rupert Murdoch is the highest-profile person to be deposed by lawyers for Dominion, which has spent the past few months hauling in network executives, producers and hosts to answer questions about whether they knew that claims made about Dominion technology on Fox’s airwaves were false. Many of the most egregious comments were made by unpaid guests, including Donald Trump-affiliated attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, though some were echoed by Fox hosts including Jeanine Pirro, Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs, who no longer works for the company.

On Monday, Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son, Lachlan Murdoch, sat for an in-person deposition at a law firm office in Los Angeles. Murdoch is the executive chair and CEO of Fox Corp, and is considered to be the likely successor to his media titan father. James Murdoch, who was once chief executive of the then-Fox News parent company 21st Century Fox but has since cut ties with the family’s media entities, was deposed on Oct. 25.

Dominion lawyers have also deposed prominent Fox hosts including Sean Hannity, Pirro and Tucker Carlson, as well as former on-air personalities, including Shepard Smith. In doing so, lawyers for the election technology company have attempted to probe the internal culture and reporting practices of the highest-rated cable news network. The company has also obtained reams of internal communications sent by Fox employees and executives.

Suzanne Scott, the chief executive of Fox News, was deposed on Nov. 1, while Fox News president Jay Wallace was deposed two weeks later.

Hannity’s Aug. 31 deposition lasted more than seven hours, according to court records. He was asked specifically about a Nov. 30, 2020 episode in which Powell claimed that Dominion “ran an algorithm that shaved off votes from Trump and awarded them to Biden” and “used the machines to inject and add massive quantities of votes for Mr. Biden.” Dominion had previously warned Fox reporters and producers that audits and reviews had found no evidence of fraud or miscounting of votes in the election. Hannity aired Powell’s attack on Dominion “despite knowing it was false, and knowing it was coming,” the company said in one court filing, while Pirro “hosted Powell and endorsed her statements.”

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>>17884757

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Fox News has argued that Dominion’s lawsuit is an affront to the principles of press freedom and that the amount of money being demanded is “outrageous.” The company’s lawyers have said that Fox merely covered newsworthy claims of election fraud made by a highly public figure.

“There are very few events in the last 50 years in this country that I think are more newsworthy than our president alleging that our entire Democratic system was put on its head by a voting machine company stealing votes,” veteran trial lawyer Dan Webb, who is representing Fox, told The Washington Post in August.

“Instead of acting responsibly and showing remorse, Fox instead has doubled down,” a spokeswoman for Dominion said in a statement Monday. “We’re focused on holding Fox accountable and are confident the truth will ultimately prevail.”

Fox has sought to shield both Hannity and Pirro from sharing “confidential sources and information,” arguing that it is “a journalist’s right to maintain his confidences.” But Hannity has said in the past that he does not consider himself to be a journalist, and Dominion has argued that even if they do count as journalists, there is no such right when the information is directly relevant to whether Fox acted with “actual malice.”

Neither side in the case has suggested that a settlement in the case could be imminent. If an agreement is not reached, a five-week trial in Delaware Superior Court is set to begin on April 17. Fox News is asking for the case to be combined with an “identical” suit against Fox Corporation, saying Dominion “should not have two chances to drag Fox through massive, public trials.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com/media/2022/12/05/rupert-murdoch-deposed-dominion/

US, Australia to strengthen ‘unbreakable’ alliance as bulwark against China

Matthew Knott - December 6, 2022

Australia and the United States will deepen their already “unbreakable” military alliance by announcing plans to accelerate Canberra’s push to secure precision-guided missiles and expand the American military presence in the Top End.

The US and Australia will also vow to work closer together on foreign policy initiatives in South-East Asia and the Pacific as they seek to restrict China’s influence in the region.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles will meet their US counterparts in Washington on Wednesday for the first annual Australia-US Ministerial (AUSMIN) consultations since the Albanese government took office.

This year’s talks are particularly significant, coming just three months before the government releases a sweeping review of the nation’s defence forces and reveals which model of nuclear-powered submarine it will adopt under the AUKUS pact.

Marles has said he wants to secure nuclear-powered submarines as soon as possible while ruling out speculation a small number of US vessels could be temporarily based in Australia until Australia can help assemble its own fleet.

Meanwhile, US congressman Rob Wittman, the top Republican on the House armed services committee’s seapower subcommittee, ruled out the idea of Australia buying one or two submarines off the shelf from the US in the near future.

“There’s been a lot of talk about well, the Australians would just buy a US submarine. That’s not going to happen,” Wittman told news site Breaking Defense.

As he called out China for its “coercive and destabilising military activities” in the Asia-Pacific, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US and Australia were “focused on ambitious steps to further strengthen our unbreakable alliance”.

“And that’s within reach because our two democracies are so closely aligned on our most important strategic challenges and opportunities,” Austin told reporters after welcoming Marles for a meeting at the Pentagon.

Austin noted the talks come “at a time of tension, especially from Russia’s reckless and lawless invasion of Ukraine, as well as from coercive and destabilising military activities by the People’s Republic of China”.

“I think it’s safe to say that the alliance between United States and Australia is as strong as it’s ever been, and it remains vital to regional security,” he said.

“Our two countries share a common vision for a free and open Indo-Pacific, and we seek a region where all countries are free to chart their own course. Where all states adhere to international rules. And where all disputes are resolved peacefully, and free from coercion.”

Austin said the US and Australian governments were looking to strengthen their “bilateral security co-operation on posture, capabilities and defence industrial ties”.

The ministers were expected to discuss ways to expand Australia’s role in repairing and maintaining US military equipment and help Australia secure long-range strike weapons.

Foreshadowing an “ambitious agenda” at the AUSMIN talks, Marles said the US and Australia faced a strategic environment “as complex and precarious as it’s been at any point really since the end of the Second World War”.

Marles said there was a “very strong alignment between our two governments right now” and a “real closeness and shared mission between Australia and the United States”.

“I think the alliance has never been in better shape, and that’s a big thing to say because the alliance has always been in very good shape,” he said.

Marles and Austin will meet with United Kingdom Defence Secretary Ben Wallace at the Pentagon later in the week for the first meeting of AUKUS defence ministers.

With a decision due by March, the ministers will hone in on the detail of how Australia will acquire a fleet of up to eight nuclear-powered submarines.

Marles and Wong will then travel to Tokyo for meetings with their Japanese counterparts as they seek to deepen Australia-Japan military ties.

The talks come less than a month after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese met with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 summit, prompting a thaw in the bilateral relationship but no significant concessions from either side.

Wong said: “The United States is Australia’s vital security ally and our closest global partner.

“US engagement in the Indo-Pacific makes an indispensable contribution to regional prosperity and strategic balance.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/us-australia-to-strengthen-unbreakable-alliance-as-bulwark-against-china-20221206-p5c429.html

>>17857918

Will US supply Australia with AUKUS subs? ‘That’s not going to happen,’ key US lawmaker say

The US should take the "next Virginia class that's built, designate that to the Australian AOR, and [say] we're going to dual-crew it with Australian sailors and US sailors," Rep. Rob Wittman tells Breaking Defense.

COLIN CLARK and AARON MEHTA - December 05, 2022

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SYDNEY and SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — Rep. Rob Wittman, one of the most powerful defense lawmakers on Capitol Hill, sent a shot across the bow this weekend at anyone who thinks the solution to getting Australia new nuclear attack subs is simply to have America make them.

“There’s been a lot of talk about well, the Australians would just buy a US submarine. That’s not going to happen,” Wittman, currently the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee’s seapower subcommittee, told Breaking Defense in a Saturday interview. The issue, he said, is that the US cannot afford to interupt its own submarine buy: “I just don’t see how we’re going to build a submarine and sell it to Australia during that time.”

That unequivocal statement from Wittman makes clear the speculation that America would sell Australia a Los Angeles or Virginia class sub to get them going until the Lucky Country can build and deploy its own nuclear-powered attack submarine as part of the AUKUS agreement between Australia, the UK and the US will face serious headwinds in Congress. Ahead of those meetings, Australian Minister of Defence Richard Marles met with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin today at the Pentagon.

The comments were made just days before the Dec. 6 Australia–US Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) meetings between the foreign and defense ministers of the US and Australia. The first meeting of the Australian, UK and US defense ministers to discuss AUKUS are also scheduled for this week.

Marcus Hellyer, defense procurement expert at the government-funded Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said Wittman was expressing some simple truths about the difficulties Australia faces.

“The US doesn’t have spare submarines it can sell to Australia, and it won’t have them anytime soon. Giving Australia submarines that the USN needs, particularly when its own numbers are declining or at best flat-lining, is just not an option that the US political leadership will consider,” Hellyer said. “Ultimately, Australia will have to learn to build SSNs if it wants them, but what exactly ‘build’ looks like is still very unclear.”

Wittman did offer what he called a “creative” path forward.

“We’ve got to get Australian submariners or Australian shipbuilders here to the United States for a full build cycle, get them to HII to Electric Boat, have them there through a full build cycle for a submarine so that they know what it entails,” the veteran lawmaker told Breaking Defense on the sidelines of the Reagan National Defense Forum.

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Then, “What I believe the [US] Navy needs to do is, to say [when Australia’s] Collins class finishes the end of its lifecycle, we are going to, in the next Virginia class that’s built, designate that to the Australian AOR. And we’re going to dual-crew it with Australian sailors and US sailors. And we’re going to dual-command it with mission planning with Australian forces and US forces. So it’ll be a submarine that operates in their AOR like an Australian submarine. It won’t belong to Australia, but it’ll still be an asset that they have that element of control with. And I think that we can do that.”

That would seem to pose a host of legal and policy difficulties, especially given what such sensitive and powerful assets nuclear-powered attack submarines are. But Wittman said he “thinks” it can be done.

“It may be that the US needs to have 51% control and command and Australia has 49%. But still, there’s nothing that prevents it from saying it’s going to operate in the Australian AOR, and we’re going to consult with Australians on mission planning and the things that it does,” the lawmaker said. “Listen, in an emergency, it will come back to the United States. But if it’s an emergency, the Australians are probably going to want the United States to be able to have that.”

Hellyer predicted if such a plan went forward, both country’s navies would find it difficult to accept what are essentially calculated losses of sovereign control. But, he said, “Traditional views of sovereignty and sovereign capability are kind of irrelevant at this point.”

“The stepping stone to an Australian SSN capability is going to have to involve some new and creative approaches to operating capabilities that are very different from the traditional ‘sovereign’ capability approach. This involves not just joint crewing, but some kind of shared command arrangement — something quite foreign to Australia’s traditional practice,” Hellyer said in an email. He pointed to NATO’s experience with nuclear weapons, where allies “will deliver US nuclear weapons to American forces,” which requires shared command and control of the assets and of determining the process by which they are moved.

Wittman cautioned that Australia must build the nuclear boats in Australia, which has been the goal of AUKUS since it was formed. “I don’t think anybody knows how quickly they can put together that capability,” he admitted. “But I do know that, at the very least if their shipbuilders are here, if their sailors are here, then it will still be a platform that is jointly built with the Australians. So I think that they can do that.”

In the long run, Wittman appeared optimistic that Australia will train crews and build their own nuclear-powered boats: “And I do think the Aussies will get there.”

https://breakingdefense.com/2022/12/will-us-supply-australia-with-aukus-subs-thats-not-going-to-happen-key-us-lawmaker-says/

>>17874286

RAAF Chief Robert Chipman's visit to United States sparks renewed speculation Australia could purchase nuclear-capable B-21 Raiders

Andrew Greene - 6 December 2022

Regular rotations of America's newest nuclear-capable stealth bomber, and even a possible future Australian purchase of the B-21 aircraft, are expected to be discussed during high level talks between both nations this week.

At a tightly controlled ceremony in California on Friday, the United States Air Force publicly unveiled the B-21 Raider, in front of an audience that included the Chief of the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).

The B-21 Raider is the first new American bomber aircraft in more than 30 years, designed to carry both conventional and nuclear weapons, with each plane believed to cost around $1 billion (AUD).

Specific details of the in-development aircraft remain shrouded in secrecy with six currently being produced by US arms company Northrop Grumman and the first flight expected to take place next year.

"Fifty years of advances in low-observable technology have gone into this aircraft. And even the most sophisticated air-defence systems will struggle to detect a B-21 in the sky," US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the unveiling.

RAAF Chief, Air Marshal Robert Chipman, who attended last week's unveiling ceremony at Northrop Grumman's Palmdale facility with his British counterpart, described the event as "an awesome display of US innovation and industrial power".

The Defence Department is yet to confirm whether Air Marshal Chipman discussed future deployments of the B-21 to Australia with American officials while in the United States, or an eventual purchase of the long-range aircraft by the RAAF.

Defence Minister Richard Marles, who has previously suggested the B-21 is being examined by Australia in the Defence Strategic Review, has just arrived in the United States for talks with Secretary Austin.

RAAF figures believe the B-21 could provide an effective option for Australia to hold potential adversaries at bay over long distances but concede it would be well into the next decade before the aircraft could be acquired.

This week Mr Marles will join Foreign Minister Penny Wong for the annual AUSMIN talks with their US counterparts, as well as the first AUKUS meeting of Defence Ministers which will focus on Australia's plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

When asked during a visit to Canberra in August whether the US would consider selling the B-21s to Australia, US Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said his country "would be willing to talk to Australia about anything that there was an interest in from the Australian perspective that we could help them with".

"I'm pretty sure you will see Australia ask for the B-21, and the United States I can tell you, is very interested in selling them to Australia," says Sydney-based American military author Colin Clark, who writes for the Breaking Defense publication.

"Regardless of whether they are armed with nuclear weapons or are under Australian command, I am almost certain, emphasis on almost, that B-21s will at least rotate regularly through Australia and they may well be based here permanently."

Retired Air Commodore John Oddie, a former RAAF director-general of aerospace development, also believes the B-21 is eventually destined for Australia.

"B-21 is a great way to create uncertainty for others that may wish to hold Australia at risk for any reason, B-21 gives us speed and reach and capacity (payload)," he told the ABC.

At the same time, Commodore Oddie is pushing for Australia to ditch plans to replace and double the size of its existing C-130J cargo planes, in favour of the newer Brazilian-made Embraer C-390 Millennium aircraft.

He argues by acquiring a modified KC-390 the RAAF would be able to expand its air refuelling capability to support more of the existing F-35 fleet in combat missions, and eventually be able to release additional fuel for any future B-21 aircraft.

The US Air Force plans to build 100 of the B-21 Raiders which will replace the ageing B-1 and B-2 aircraft, and could eventually be used with or without a human crew.

Both the US Air Force and Northrop Gruman have heralded the Raider's relatively quick development, progressing from contract award to public debut in seven years.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-06/b21-nuclear-stealth-bomber-australian-military/101735190

https://twitter.com/ChiefofAirStaff/status/1598918086408957952

>>17857927

Building lasting partnerships with ally Australia

Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs - December 05, 2022

CAMPBELL, Australia - Director of Staff Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno recently traveled to Australia to meet with members of the Australia Space Operations to further discuss the unity of our forces with the common goal to expand defenses in the space domain.

During their trip, the Space Force delegation was invited to attend the Last Post Ceremony of Australian Corporal Clarence Rupert Roberts at the Australian War Memorial. Both Armagno and U.S. Space Force Lt. Gen John Shaw, U.S. Space Command deputy commander, participated in the ceremony themselves by laying wreaths besides the Pool of Reflection, a custom done in every ceremony.

“It was a humbling experience and an important honor to be allowed to lay a wreath during the ceremony,” Armagno said. “I hope this shows the strength of the bond between our two countries.”

While in Australia, Armagno was invited to speak at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Space Masterclass and National Security Space Dinner at the Sydney Opera House. She would speak in front of representatives from Australia, Japan, the United States and United Kingdom about defense perspectives on the importance of space.

“It’s important for societies to understand the relevance of space,” Armagno said. “It’s not space for the sake of space, it really is for likeminded countries to ensure that space is free for spacefaring nations. We all share those values.”

One of the keys to a successful partnership between the U.S. and Australia is the Space Surveillance Telescope (SST) Program. The telescope achieved “first light”, when images can first be seen, after it was moved from White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico to Harold E. Holt Naval Communications Station in Western Australia.

Our partnership continues to build on long history of close defense and space cooperation and has been a cornerstone of our continued alliance between the U.S. and Australia.

https://www.spaceforce.mil/News/Article/3236074/building-lasting-partnerships-with-ally-australia/

>>17853189

Julian Assange's family pleads for unity

Alex Mitchell - December 7 2022

Julian Assange's family wants supporters of the imprisoned WikiLeaks founder to politely advocate for his release, rather than "disparaging" the Australian government.

Endorsing the approach of "quiet diplomacy" and thanking Prime Minister Anthony Albanese for a supportive statement in parliament last week, Mr Assange's mother Christine called on backers to unite in their support of the government's efforts to bring her son home.

Mr Assange is facing espionage charges in the United States and remains in London's Belmarsh prison, where he's been since 2019 while fighting extradition.

Ms Assange asked advocates to "support and not thwart or disparage the efforts of the Australian government in their diplomatic efforts to bring Julian safely home".

"Diplomatic negotiations at this level are not easy. They require a high level of skill, experience, understanding, mutual respect, time and patience," she said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Please continue to politely inform your politicians, media and the general public of the facts of Julian's plight to raise public and political support for the Australian government's diplomatic efforts."

Mr Albanese has previously opted for quiet diplomacy in his efforts to secure the 51-year-old Australian's release, but told parliament last week he had raised the matter personally with US government officials.

"My position is clear, and has been made clear to the US administration, it is time this matter be brought to a close," he said.

"This is an Australian citizen … what is the point of continuing this legal action, which could be caught up now for many years into the future."

Ms Assange thanked the PM for the government's commitment to bring the "12-year legal stalemate and suffering to an end".

"His simple but compassionate statement 'enough is enough' resonates with the hearts of people around the world," she said.

"I endorse quiet diplomacy as the Australian government's preferred path for reaching a resolution … to date all other methods have failed.

"The involvement of diplomatic teams negotiating at a high level is the most appropriate and historically the most successful way to resolve the detention of Australian citizens overseas in political cases."

Mr Assange has spent more than a decade facing extradition, having spent seven years in London's Ecuadorian embassy seeking asylum.

He has appealed the United Kingdom's decision to allow his extradition to the US in both London's High Court and the European Court of Human Rights.

WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristinn Hrafnsson said there was a worst-case scenario where Mr Assange was "on a plane to the US within weeks".

He added only pressure on the US government could stop that from happening, stating "the only way to fight a political persecution is through political means.

"There's no justice to be had in courtrooms in London … and I don't have to mention the US … he will never be able to get a fair trial there," he told online video platform, Rumble.

"Our aim is to get political leaders to apply pressure … to stand behind their own ideals, the ideals they preach around the world of press freedom."

https://www.southcoastregister.com.au/story/8010563/julian-assanges-family-pleads-for-unity/

>>17853189

Wikileaks delegation received by Argentine President

Redazione Italia - 06.12.22

Argentine President Alberto Fernández received this afternoon at the Casa Rosada the Wikileaks delegation composed of Kristinn Hrafnsson and Joseph Farrell, who are touring South America in search of support for Julian Assange. Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Lula, who after winning the presidential elections will take office in January, have already strongly declared their support for the journalist who has been persecuted for years and asked President Biden to drop the charges against him.

Hrafnsson declared himself very happy with the meeting with the Argentine President, “which exceeded my expectations. The President assured us that he would support our mission,” he explained, and then described the sign of support received from the country’s highest authority as “very positive.” As he has said many times before, the WikiLeaks editor-in-chief emphasised that it is not just one man’s life that is at stake, but the freedom of the press throughout the world.

Today’s meeting follows a meeting, described as ‘warm and understanding’, yesterday in the Senate with Vice-President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who pledged her support for the cause of Julian Assange’s release.

Kristinn Hrafnsson and Joseph Farrell’s South American tour will continue with visits to Chile and Mexico.

https://www.pressenza.com/2022/12/wikileaks-delegation-received-by-argentine-president/

Work starts on nation-first mRNA facility

Tara Cosoleto - December 7 2022

Works have begun at the site of Moderna's first Australian mRNA vaccine facility in Melbourne's southeast.

The site at Monash University's Clayton campus has a 2024 completion date and will be capable of producing 100 million vaccine doses a year.

It will be the first facility of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere, providing COVID-19 booster shots as well as mRNA vaccines for other respiratory viruses like influenza.

Federal Health Minister Mark Butler joined Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas to oversee the commencement of construction at the Clayton site on Wednesday morning.

Mr Pallas said his government led the way on mRNA technology, and the site would give the country an advantage in future pandemics.

"Victoria will produce mRNA vaccines for Victoria, Australia and the world," he said in a statement.

"This project provides hundreds of construction jobs right now and will support hundreds of medical manufacturing jobs for decades to come."

Moderna will also establish its regional headquarters and regional research centre at the Clayton site.

The global pharmaceutical company has also invested in a series of research partnerships and fellowships with Victorian medical research institutes.

"The start of construction on this landmark facility is another step we take to ensure Australia has an onshore supply of respiratory mRNA vaccines," Moderna Australia and New Zealand general manager Michael Azrak said.

Melbourne is now recognised as a top-three global hub for medical research and innovation, along with Boston and London.

BioNTech in October also agreed in principle with the state government to develop a clinical-scale mRNA manufacturing facility in Melbourne.

The arrangement would see BioNTech deliver mRNA therapeutics and vaccines for research and clinical trials, including infectious diseases, cancer medicines and personalised cancer treatments.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8010744/work-starts-on-nation-first-mrna-facility/

>>17879103

Inside church’s investigation of paedophile preacher Frank Houston

STEVE ZEMEK - DECEMBER 7, 2022

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Brian Houston’s right hand man says church elders didn’t feel obligated to report Frank Houston’s sexual abuse of a young boy to police because it happened decades earlier when the church didn’t exist, a court has heard.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he is fighting allegations he failed to go to police with information about his paedophile father Frank Houston’s abuse of a young boy over 50 years ago.

Victim Brett Sengstock was one day shy of his eighth birthday when he was sexually assaulted by Frank Houston inside his family’s Coogee home in January 1970.

The trial is centering on whether Mr Houston had a “reasonable excuse” not to go to police, with his defence arguing Mr Sengstock had expressed to the megachurch founder that he did not want the authorities involved.

Mr Sengstock has told the court he remained silent about Frank Houston’s abuse until he was 16 years old, when he told his mother.

Frank Houston’s abuse came to light when in 1998, Mr Sengstock’s mother made disclosures to Emmanuel Christian Family Church pastor Barbara Taylor and later to travelling evangelist pastor Kevin “Mad Dog” Mudford.

Ms Taylor told the court that at the time Mr Sengstock was “vacillating” on whether he wanted to go to the authorities.

She also said she gave her “word” to Mr Sengstock’s mother, Rose Hardingham, that she would not pass on information about Frank Houston’s abuse.

“At that time (Mr Sengstock’s mother) told you that Brett didn’t want anyone to know about it,” defence barrister Phillip Boulten asked.

“I was sworn to secrecy,” Ms Taylor told the court on Wednesday.

Mr Houston’s defence has also argued that he had made public statements about Frank Houston’s abuse and that thousands of people, including police, were aware.

Mr Houston, 68, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of concealing the serious indictable offence of another person.

The court has heard that six months after Ms Taylor learned of Frank Houston’s abuse, Ms Hardingham made similar disclosures to Mr Mudford.

Ms Taylor says that at the time, she had been told by church hierarchy that to begin a church investigation she needed a complaint in writing.

Ms Taylor has not been charged and chose to give evidence despite being warned by Magistrate Gareth Christofi that she could incriminate herself.

Mr Mudford has not been charged, either.

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Ms Taylor said that when it first came to light, she sought advice from church leaders because there was no protocol for dealing with the sexual abuse of children.

The court has heard that Frank Houston was dismissed from the church when he admitted his crimes to his son in December 1999.

However, Ms Taylor said six months later she was told Frank Houston was still preaching, including on TV, and his name was printed on a Hillsong brochure.

In a letter she then wrote to Brian Houston, which was read out to the court on Wednesday, Ms Taylor said: “Where is justice, it’s not seen to be done at all.”

“Nothing was really being done about Brett’s case, it was six months after it had been brought to [Brian Houston’s] attention,” Ms Taylor said in court on Wednesday.

The court heard that in the letter, she further told Brian Houston the case was a “test of your integrity” and “I would hate for this thing to be trivialised, covered up or blown up.”

The court heard in another, earlier, meeting with Brian Houston that she told him there was a chance Mr Sengstock would go to the police.

According to Ms Taylor’s notes of the meeting: “Brian said he had spoken to a barrister who told him if it goes to court, his father would surely be incarcerated for the crime.”

Brian Houston was told of his father’s sexual abuse by George Aghajanian, the general manager of the Hills Christian Life Centre, which was the precursor of the Hillsong church.

The court heard that Mr Aghajanian found out in October 1999 when he was phoned by Mr Mudford, who accused the church of covering up Frank Houston’s crimes.

Mr Aghajanian disclosed the allegations against Frank Houston to Brian Houston in his weekly meeting that afternoon.

Frank Houston had his credentials removed in 1999 before the matter was discussed at a meeting of the elders of the Assemblies of God in November 2000.

Mr Aghajanian said it was the view of the Assemblies of God, that because the church did not exist at the time of Frank Houston’s offence, they felt they didn’t need to go to police.

“We were just unfamiliar with the new legislation with regard to a matter that had happened some 30 years prior,” Mr Aghajanian said on Thursday.

“Being a significant historical issue, when our church didn’t even exist at the time, I don’t think we understood that (legislation) and didn’t feel it needed to be reported.”

The hearing continues.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/moment-paedophile-pastor-frank-houstons-horrible-abuse-of-boy-was-exposed/news-story/c510bfe6a2ee6544d8b679c7466be48b

Japan joins US and Australia to counter China’s ‘dangerous and coercive actions’

Matthew Knott - December 7, 2022

Australia and the United States will integrate Japan into their joint military activities in Australia, a significant deepening of the relationship as the three nations work increasingly closely together to push back on China.

The US will also increase rotations of troops and military equipment in Australia to strengthen the alliance, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin announced after meeting with Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong in Washington.

“That includes rotations of bomber task forces, fighters, and future rotations of US Navy and US Army capabilities,” Austin told reporters after the Australia-US Ministerial consultations.

“We will also expand our logistics and sustainment co-operation, and that will deepen our interoperability and create more agile and resilient capabilities while also continuing to find ways to further integrate our defence industrial bases in the years ahead.”

The US and Australia also agreed to “invite Japan to integrate into our force posture initiatives in Australia”, he said.

The meetings came at a crucial time, with the Albanese government preparing to unveil a sweeping review of the nation’s defence forces in March while also deciding on the model of nuclear-powered submarine it will acquire under the AUKUS pact.

Calling out Beijing for its “dangerous and coercive actions throughout the Indo-Pacific”, Austin promised the US would ensure the Australian Defence Force is equipped for the emerging strategic threats.

We “will not allow Australia to have a capability gap going forward”, Austin said, referring to the period between the end of the Collins Class submarine life cycle and the arrival of nuclear-powered submarines.

“We recognise where Australia is and where its capability begins to diminish and of course we will address that in the pathway we create,” he said.

Marles said Australia and the US had taken “real steps” to enhance military co-operation between the two nations.

The coming years “will see an increased level of activity between our two countries across all domains, which will be really important”, he said.

“We’re also looking at increased force posture cooperation in enhancing the capacity of facilities in Australia.

“As Secretary Austin also pointed out, it’s really important that we are doing this from the point of view of providing balance within our region and involving other countries within our region and we look forward to being able to have more engagement with Japan in terms of that force posture co-operation.”

Marles said Australia’s alliance with the US was “essential to our worldview” and “completely essential to our national security”.

“There is a huge sense of alignment that we feel between the Biden administration and the Albanese government in the trajectory of the alliance,” he said.

“And there is an enormous sense of gratitude and pleasure that we have in the way in which America is engaging in the Indo-Pacific”.

Describing the US as Australia’s “vital security ally”, Wong said the alliance had “a different approach and an enhanced emphasis” under the Biden administration and Albanese government.

Climate change and clean energy had emerged as a “new pillar” of the alliance, Wong said.

“Obviously, the new Australian government is committed to ambitious domestic action on climate and to being an ambitious and constructive international player on this issue,” she said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the ministers had discussed the “challenges posed by the [People’s Republic of China] to the international rules-based order, including attempts to disrupt the freedom of navigation the South China Sea, efforts to unilaterally change the status quo and undermine peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and attempts to intimidate other countries through economic coercion”.

“Australia is no stranger to such efforts, and we reaffirm that we would stand with him against these pressure tactics,” he said.

The nations also agreed on the importance of responsibly managing the relationship with China, he said, and to find areas of co-operation on issues such as on climate and global health.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/japan-joins-us-and-australia-to-counter-china-s-dangerous-and-coercive-actions-20221207-p5c4ag.html?btis

Military conflict would lead to an almost total collapse of China: Morrison

SIMON BENSON - DECEMBER 7, 2022

Scott Morrison says military conflict between the US and China over Taiwan would deliver “mutually assured destruction” but would devastate the Chinese economy more than the west and lead to an almost total collapse of the country.

The former prime minister also doubted China’s capability to wage war, saying its military strength on paper would be unlikely to be matched by performance in battle.

In an address to the conservative US think-tank the Hudson Institute on Wednesday, Mr Morrison said China’s apparent appetite for a détente with the west was a recognition that it was not ready to engage conflict and stood to lose more than the US.

“There are also signs that Chinese ambitions are not really ready to be realised,” Mr Morrison said.

“Strength on paper when it comes to military capability is very different to what it is in a real theatre of conflict.

“And if anyone ever doubts that, just ask the Russians.”

Speaking to an audience in Washington DC, Mr Morrison said that China stood to lose more than the US and the west more generally in a conflict over Taiwan.

“China has an enormous amount to lose by getting it wrong, which gives pause for thought,” he said.

“And the appetite for détente could be as much about securing breathing space as it is to avoid conflict.

“There is a mutually assured destruction when it comes to questions regarding Taiwan and I don’t believe everyone is prepared to risk everything in China on that issue.

“Supply chains would seize up, financial markets would panic and potentially collapse and we know Chinese ports account for 40 per cent of shipping volume in the world’s top 100 ports.

“Six of the largest ships transit through the Taiwan Strait. What would happen to the movement of capital?

“The potential impact of sanctions would be a devastation to the Chinese economy and more so than it would be in western countries.”

Mr Morrison said estimates suggested that conflict with the US would reduce Chinese GDP by up to 35 per cent compared to between 5-10 per cent in the US.

“They have a lot to lose and the stakes are incredibly high and I think that gives pause for thought.”

Mr Morrison said that while China might have changed its tactics recently, and welcomed President Xi Jinping’s meeting with Anthony Albanese, he warned that Beijing had not changed its intent.

He said the west must remain vigilant.

Australia and the western world needed to continue to reduce their dependence on the Chinese economy, supply chains and continue to diversify trade relationships.

“We must also continue to align our resistance to coercion and other aggressive acts in the grey zone,” Mr Morrison said.

“We must protect the rules based order that favours freedom and supports market based economies.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/military-conflict-would-lead-to-an-almost-total-collapse-of-china-morrison/news-story/3dc1c15f028434ce2cb5447dc182801f

>>17906065

Australia’s Role in the China Struggle: A Conversation with Scott Morrison

Hudson Institute

7 Dec 2022

Please join Hudson Institute’s China Center for a conversation with Thirtieth Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Hudson Institute China Center Director Miles Yu to discuss Australia’s role in combatting the threat to a free and open Indo-Pacific.

Scott Morrison successfully led his nation through the most difficult and significant challenges Australia has faced since the Great Depression and the Second World War.

On the international stage, Morrison was known for his leadership role to counter an increasingly assertive China in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

Hon. Scott Morrison will deliver remarks before sitting down with Miles Yu for a conversation and Q&A with the audience.

https://www.hudson.org/

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

>>17869631

Chinese FM urges Australia to stop official exchanges with Taiwan island; delegation visit ‘doomed to end with nothing substantive’

Xu Keyue - Dec 06, 2022

A Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson on Tuesday urged Australia to earnestly adhere to the one-China principle, stop all forms of official interactions with the Taiwan region and stop sending wrong signals to "Taiwan independence" forces, in response to the visit of a bipartisan delegation of Australian politicians to the island of Taiwan despite the recent warming of China-Australia ties.

Mao Ning, spokesperson for the ministry, made the remarks at a regular press briefing on Tuesday. She noted that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory. The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and is the prerequisite and political foundation for the development of friendly relations between China and other countries.

Mao's remarks came after an Australian delegation of six federal members of parliament (MPs) from the Coalition and Labor arrived in Taiwan island by air on Sunday. The delegation is reportedly scheduled to meet Taiwan regional leader Tsai Ing-wen and the island's senior official in charge of external affairs Joseph Wu.

According to local media on the island, the Taiwan authorities have kept the visit low key with the spokesperson for the island's external affairs authority saying on Tuesday that they would not reveal any details about the trip.

While it remains unclear whether the low-pitched response came as the reckless visit has sparked strong opposition from the Chinese mainland, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been urged to express explicitly his opposition to the visit that is provocative to Beijing.

On Saturday at a press conference, Albanese tried to distance himself from the delegation by stressing the trip is not by the government and he "has no idea" of the trip's intention.

Chinese observers criticized Albanese's vague and cop-out remarks for being insincere on improving Canberra's relations with Beijing, as they will undoubtedly encourage the arrogance of anti-China forces and pro-Taiwan secessionist forces in Australia.

Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Australia which falls on December 21, the delegation's visit damaged the improving atmosphere between the two countries, Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Last month, on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali, Indonesia, Chinese and Australian heads of state conducted a face-to-face meeting in a significant breakthrough in relations.

Chen pointed out that during the past few years, the bilateral relationship had been at a low ebb, and some Taiwan secessionists in the island were trying to take advantage, wooing anti-China forces in Australia to gain political leverage.

During the trip, Taiwan authorities are expected to lobby Australia for support so it can join a regional trade pact, Australian media outlet ABC reported.

However, Chen believed that the efforts would be in vain, citing Albanese's recent remarks which have suggested Australia is very unlikely to support the Taiwan region's push to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Speaking at the APEC meeting in Bangkok, Albanese said the agreement was only for "recognized" nation-states, rather than economies. "Taiwan is represented here (at APEC) as an economy," the Australian prime minister noted, according to an ABC report on November 18.

The trip led by former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and other non-power-holders is no more than an eye-catching event, which is doomed to end with no substantive outcomes, Chen said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202212/1281277.shtml

—

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on December 6, 2022

AFP: A group of Australian lawmakers have arrived in Taiwan for a five-day visit. What’s China’s response?

Mao Ning: Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The one-China principle is a universally recognized norm in international relations and the prerequisite and political foundation for the development of friendly relations between China and other countries. The Australian side should earnestly adhere to the one-China principle, stop all forms of official interaction with the Taiwan region and stop sending wrong signals to “Taiwan-independence” separatist forces.

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202212/t20221206_10985948.html

Donald Trump’s planned White House return could put AUKUS submarine program at risk

Tom Minear - December 7, 2022

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Since AUKUS was announced just over a year ago, the pact has been in the stewardship of three British prime ministers, two Australian prime ministers and one American president.

From all reports, this instability has not impeded progress on the critical defence initiative, including an 18-month study of how Australia can acquire its own nuclear submarine fleet.

Those decisions will be finalised early next year, with the first in-person meeting of AUKUS defence ministers in Washington DC this week expected to nail down the broad strokes.

Time is of the essence. Even the most optimistic experts concede it is unlikely Australia will have a nuclear-powered boat in the water much before the end of the next decade.

It is this decade, however, that Joe Biden has declared will be the decisive one in countering China – and we are already almost a third of the way through it.

Biden’s assessment is shared by senior figures in Canberra. This timeline, combined with the years already wasted on alternative versions of a future Australian submarine fleet, has opened an alarming capability gap in our defences that the AUKUS pact must resolve.

Defence Minister Richard Marles, while not wanting to front-run the trilateral study, has outlined a new doctrine for defence spending based on “impactful projection”. Reading between the lines, this is seen to mean fewer tanks and helicopters, and more missiles, autonomous underwater vehicles and submarines.

Marles rightly argues the nuclear submarine delivers on that doctrine better than anything else, placing “the single biggest question mark in our adversary’s mind”. If that is the case, then he cannot in good conscience make the Navy wait another 20 years for its first boat.

There is no perfect alternative. Some have suggested building new conventional submarines to accompany Australia’s existing Collins-class fleet, but this is seen to be highly unlikely, especially given the complexity of tasking the Navy with managing three separate platforms.

A more credible pathway rests on the goodwill of our American allies.

They could lease us part of their existing nuclear-powered fleet, sell us new boats coming off the production line in the US, or turn Australia into the home port for some American-crewed vessels.

Marles has described AUKUS as a chance to move “beyond interoperability to interchangeability” with our allies, and these moves would be the ultimate expression of that.

According to some reports, such options have prompted some scepticism in Washington, given the strain already on the US submarine production line as well as a desire to ensure Australia pulls its weight. This is fair enough, and Marles himself has acknowledged AUKUS must grow the combined defence footprint of the countries involved, not just shift it around.

But Marles and Anthony Albanese have so far given no reason to doubt their commitment to spend what it takes to transform Australia’s defences and meet the China challenge.

The same goes for Biden and Britain’s Rishi Sunak. What happens next rests on their will.

(continued)

>>17906076

2/2

To return to where we started, however, it is worth contemplating what happens beyond that.

There have been six leaders in the first 14 months of AUKUS, and more will follow. If Donald Trump has his way, he will be one of them after America’s 2024 presidential election.

In office, Trump complained the US was spending too much on NATO, and frequently told colleagues they “should just get out” of the security alliance. He similarly questioned the cost of America’s overseas bases, such as a South Korean facility needed to identify Chinese military movements within seconds rather than minutes from the US.

“I don’t really give a sh*t,” he reportedly told his generals, arguing that “we’ll be fine” without those bases.

If he returned to the White House, what would Trump make of lending Australia several multibillion-dollar submarines? How would he feel about giving Australia a nuclear-powered boat off a US production line instead of keeping it for his own Navy?

Even in private, such questions prompt a fascinating response from Australian officials. For reassurance, they seize on the fact that America’s posture on China is the perhaps most bipartisan issue in Washington. They also acknowledge the conventional wisdom that Trump’s recent track record makes it unlikely he will succeed in returning to the presidency.

What is left unsaid is that Australia can really only cross its fingers to avoid such a scenario, given the uncertainty – if not unmitigated chaos – it would bring.

But AUKUS is a decades-long endeavour. Even if Trump’s own political career is over, it is not clear yet whether his Republican successors will copy his brand of protectionism and his disrespect of allies. Top party figures have already cast doubt over American aid for Ukraine.

In Australia, both major parties are all the way with the USA. Here’s hoping we can take the Yanks to the bank.

Tom Minear is News Corp Australia's US correspondent. He was previously based in Melbourne with the Herald Sun, where he started in 2011 and held positions including national political editor and state political editor. Minear has won Quill and Walkley journalism awards.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/world/donald-trumps-planned-white-house-return-could-put-aukus-submarine-program-at-risk/news-story/852b293c303896910f00dad7f07d1a1e

—

Q Post #1867

Aug 14 2018 16:57:30 (EST)

They are in full blown panic mode.

Enjoy the show.

Each FAKE NEWS article written or attack is a badge of honor - military grade.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#1867

>>17879103

Hillsong manager tells court it was 'appropriate' for Frank Houston to receive retirement package

Ruby Cornish - 8 December 2022

The general manager of the Hillsong Church has told a court he believed it was "entirely appropriate" for self-confessed paedophile Frank Houston to have received a financial retirement package when he was removed from the church's ministry.

George Aghajanian gave his opinion on day four of a special fixtures hearing at the Downing Centre Local Court, where Hillsong founder Brian Houston is defending a charge of concealing his father's sexual abuse.

Mr Houston's lawyers argue it was reasonable not to report the allegations to police because the victim did not want authorities to know.

Historical sex offences committed by Frank Houston against Brett Sengstock, who was seven years old at the time, came to the attention of senior church leaders with the Assemblies of God in late 1999.

It was Mr Aghajanian who first told Brian Houston, then working as a senior pastor of the Sydney Christian Life Centre.

At a meeting in November 1999, Frank Houston's credentials were withdrawn, but he stayed on as an employee of the church for another year.

Today Mr Aghajanian told the court that at a meeting in November 2000, the national executive of the Australian Assemblies of God removed Frank Houston from the payroll but agreed to pay him and his wife (who was also a pastor) a financial retirement package.

"Your opinion is, it was entirely appropriate?" Magistrate Gareth Christofi asked Mr Aghajanian.

"Yes," he responded.

"Both for Hazel and Frank?"

"Yes."

He was asked whether he thought Frank Houston should perhaps not have received the payment.

"I hadn't thought of it to be honest, until now," he replied.

When asked why he had not reported the abuse against Mr Sengstock to the Department of Community Services (DOCS, now the Department of Communities and Justice), Mr Aghajanian said he did not believe the action was warranted.

"The matter related to an incident that pre-dated our church … and the victim was an adult," he said.

"I received an allegation. I reported it to my boss, who was Brian, and he reported it to the [Assemblies of God]."

"I felt at the time we had dealt with the matter appropriately and it was in other people's hands to determine what was to happen to Frank."

He denied that he had been motivated by a desire to protect the reputation of Frank Houston or the church.

Mr Aghajanian said he had not been aware of any requirement to report disciplinary actions taken against church staff members to the Office of the Children's Guardian.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-08/brian-houston-court-hearing-sydney-alleged-concealment/101748034

>>17879103

Hillsong denies ‘cover up’ of Frank Houston’s sexual abuse of boy

STEVE ZEMEK - DECEMBER 8, 2022

Brian Houston’s right-hand man has defended a golden handshake given to paedophile preacher Frank Houston and denied the matter was swept under the rug, a court has heard.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he has denied failing to disclose to police his knowledge of his father Frank Houston’s rape of a then seven-year-old boy in the 1970s.

Brett Sengstock was sexually assaulted by Frank Houston inside his family’s Coogee home before he says he was “paid” for his “silence”.

Brian Houston, 68, has pleaded not guilty to one charge of concealing a serious indictable offence and has argued that Mr Sengstock expressed a desire not to go to authorities.

His defence has also argued that prior to Frank Houston’s death in 2004, Brian Houston had made public and media statements about his father’s abuse of Mr Sengstock.

The court has been told that it first came to the church’s attention in October 1999 when Mr Sengstock’s mother disclosed the matter to travelling evangelical pastor Kevin “Mad Dog” Mudford.

Mr Mudford then phoned George Aghajanian, the general manager of the Hills Christian Life Centre, of which Brian Houston was the senior pastor.

Mr Aghajanian was given a certificate protecting him from prosecution by magistrate Gareth Christofi in exchange for his testimony. Mr Mudford has not been charged with any offence.

The Hills Christian Life Centre would later merge with the Sydney Christian Life Centre to become Hillsong.

Frank Houston was dismissed from the church and his credentials as a pastor removed in late 1999 after he made admissions to Brian Houston about his rape of Mr Sengstock.

However, the court was told on Thursday that Frank Houston remained on the church’s payroll until November 2000.

As well, Frank Houston received a financial payout as part of his retirement package, Mr Aghajanian said during his testimony on Thursday.

Mr Aghajanian, who is the current Hillsong general manager, defended the decision to give Frank Houston a golden handshake, saying it was a joint package that was also given to Frank’s wife Hazel, who was also a pastor at the Sydney Christian Life Centre.

“I believe it was a retirement package that was committed to both of them prior to any knowledge of this situation,” Mr Aghajanian said.

“And I believe Hazel should have been looked after as well in their retirement.”

Mr Aghajanian said the church’s board could have “made the package out just to Hazel” and the “whole entitlement could have been given to Hazel”.

He said the matter was not reported to the Department of Family and Community Services because the church’s board considered it a historical matter and the church didn’t exist in 1970 when Frank Houston abused Mr Sengstock.

“There was no cover up, I received an allegation, I reported the allegation to my boss, who was Brian,” Mr Aghajanian said.

“He then reported it to the ACCC (Australian Christian Churches). We felt that was the appropriate course of action for a situation that happened prior to the existence of our church some 30 years prior.

“We had no evidence of Frank offending in this matter prior to receiving that allegation.”

Meanwhile, an ex-Sydney preacher has told the court that Brian Houston appeared “shocked” when he informed him that an allegation had been made against his father.

John McMartin, the former pastor of the Liverpool Christian Life Centre, said he learned of the matter when he was approached by Mr Mudford and pastor Barbara Taylor.

Mr Aghajanian previously told the court that he had broken the news about Frank Houston’s actions to a “shocked” Brian Houston in October 1999 during one of their weekly face-to-face meetings.

But Mr McMartin said he also had a phone conversation with Brian Houston, in November 1999, when he said he “shocked” the celebrity preacher when he told him that he had some “disturbing news” and “your father‘s been accused of misconduct with a minor”.

“What if anything did Brian Houston say?” Crown prosecutor Gareth Harrison asked.

“It was more of a shock; ‘woah’ and then it was ‘how do you know it’s true?’ Mr McMartin said.

“And I said, ‘Well I don’t know it’s true, but it needs to be investigated’.”

Asked what made him think that Mr Houston was in shock, Mr McMartin said: “If you know someone for a long time, you know when they’re on the backfoot.”

The hearing continues.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/moment-shocked-brian-houston-learned-of-his-fathers-sexual-abuse-of-young-boy/news-story/c310790427ea1f53531d10d322802319

AUKUS members say plans on track for US and UK to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarine fleet

abc.net.au - 8 December 2022

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Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles says Australia will be able to acquire nuclear-powered submarines by the deadline set out in the AUKUS alliance without imposing any new taxes on Australians to fund it.

Representatives from Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom gathered in Washington DC for the first AUKUS defence ministers' meeting since the security pact was signed last year.

A key goal of the AUKUS agreement is to map out a pathway for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

The technology is considered important for Australia's future defence capabilities because nuclear subs are powered by reactors that do not need to be refuelled for many years.

They are also valuable because they are quieter than conventionally powered submarines and can remain underwater for several months at a time.

America's willingness to share its technology is seen as a reflection of the Biden administration's commitment to increase its presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Yesterday, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said China represented the greatest threat to stability in the region.

"There is an enormous sense of shared mission and momentum across all three countries, in having Australia acquire a nuclear powered submarine," Mr Marles said after the AUKUS meeting.

"The significance of that step shouldn't be lost on people — there's only been one occasion where a country has shared that capability with another and that was the United States with the United Kingdom a long time ago."

But questions remain about how Australia will pay for a nuclear-powered submarine and how the alliance can deliver on its promise to figure out a plan by March 2023.

'This is a huge endeavour that the nation will be pursuing'

The cost of a nuclear-powered submarine varies, but the US Congressional Budget Office estimated that a Virginia-class sub cost about $US5.5 billion ($8.16 billion) per hull in 2019.

When asked if Australians should expect new taxes to fund such a purchase, Mr Marles ruled that out.

"No," he said.

"The cost of the submarines is something that will form part of the announcements that we make in the first part of next year.

"That'll be in in general terms, because, by definition, we're talking about a very long program."

Under the pact, the UK and the US agreed to help Australia build and operate its own fleet of nuclear-propelled submarines by 2040.

"There is an enormous amount of work which is being undertaken, we're not by any means taking for granted the scale of the challenge here," Mr Marles said.

"This is a huge endeavour that the nation will be pursuing."

(continued)

>>17906295

2/2

How does AUKUS solve Australia's 'capability gap'?

Last year, the US, UK and Australia unveiled its new security deal, known as AUKUS, which had been quietly negotiated over several months.

The announcement enraged France because Australia had a pre-existing contract with French shipyards to build conventionally-powered submarines.

When asked by the ABC if he thought Australia lied to him about AUKUS, French President Emmanuel Macron angrily replied: "I don't think, I know".

Australia gave France's Naval Group $868 million as compensation for bailing on the contract.

But in the year since AUKUS was announced, there has been little public progress made in figuring out how to bring the subs deal to life.

To get the submarines to Australia as swiftly as possible, they would likely need to be built in the US.

A top Republican congressman has said American shipyards do not have the capacity to interrupt their own production schedule to make a submarine for Australia.

"I just don't see how we're going to build a submarine and sell it to Australia during that time," said Virginia congressman Rob Wittman, who is the most senior Republican on the House Armed Services Committee's seapower subcommittee.

During AUSMIN talks in Washington DC yesterday, Mr Austin said Australia risks a "capability gap" as its naval fleet ages.

"We recognise where Australia is and when its capability begins to diminish. And, of course, we will address all of that in that pathway that we create [with AUKUS]," he said.

"We will not allow Australia to have a capability gap going forward."

Australia hopes to announce by early 2023 which nuclear submarine it will acquire.

The US has insisted that AUKUS is on track to announce a "pathway forward" on the subs issue by the March deadline.

"Over the past 15 months, we've made great progress toward identifying a pathway for Australia to acquire conventionally armed and nuclear powered submarines," said Mr Austin.

"I want to reaffirm the US commitment to ensuring that Australia acquires this capability at the earliest possible date."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-08/us-australia-and-uk-meet-in-washington-for-aukus/101746970

Australia warned not to become US’ ‘spearhead’, as ‘2 2’ meeting goes beyond hyping 'China threats'

Wang Qi - Dec 07, 2022

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Australia should not sacrifice its interests and autonomy for the sake of US hegemony, and China would not meet Australia's wishful thinking on cooperation if it is just siding with the US and challenging China's core interests, Chinese experts warned Wednesday, following the US-Australia agreement to increase the presence of US forces in Australia, citing so-called "threats from China."

Along with Australian defense chief Richard Marles, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told a joint news conference Tuesday that the two sides agreed to increase the rotational presence of US forces in Australia, including rotations of bomber task forces, fighters and future rotations of US Navy and US Army capabilities.

At a routine press briefing on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning denounced that the US has formed military alliances with some of its allies to stir up division and confrontation and undermine regional peace and stability. "It is unpopular and has no market," Mao said.

According to the release from the US Department of Defense, Austin also said the US and Australia will expand logistics and sustainment cooperation and look for ways to further integrate their defense industrial bases, while Marles said Australia and the US need to be "working closer together to enhance our military capability and to develop new technologies."

The two have also agreed to "invite Japan to integrate into our force posture initiatives in Australia," according to US Department of Defense.

Along with Britain's Defense Minister Ben Wallace, the two ministers will attend a meeting of AUKUS ministers on Wednesday in Washington with nuclear-powered submarines expected to be discussed, US media reported.

Analysts noted that the "2 2" ministerial consultations between the US and Australia were aimed at exchanging views and information in the past, but with the substantive actions this time, it signals that the mechanism would serve more to implement the "alliance" into pursuing concrete measures in the future.

"The meeting goes far beyond hyping 'China threats,' and Australia's role in America's Indo-Pacific strategy is becoming clearer and more specific," Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

The first contingent of US troops was deployed in northern Australia's Darwin in 2012. In 2021, the US, UK and Australia created the AUKUS security deal, which will provide Australia with the technology to deploy nuclear-powered submarines. In October this year, the Financial Times disclosed that the Pentagon will deploy B-52 aircraft, which carry nuclear or conventional weapons, to Australia's Northern Territory.

Different from the past, the military link between the US and Australia is becoming increasingly substantive. The US aims to contain China's peaceful development by playing the "Taiwan card," while Australia plays a "proactive" role in the process, Chen said.

People have always described Canberra as Washington's "deputy sheriff" in the Asia-Pacific region, but now Australia is actually playing the role of a spearhead in some scenarios, Chen noted.

(continued)

>>17906310

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The announcement of the expansion in US-Australia military cooperation comes three weeks after formal talks between Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Bali, which analysts believed would be a hopeful start to lift the countries out of the "diplomatic deep freeze" given the plunge in ties. But two weeks later, six Australian members of parliament from the Coalition and Labor visited China's Taiwan region and met secessionists on Sunday.

It is also worth noting that about three months before the latest Australia-US 2 2 ministerial meeting, Australia's defense chief reaffirmed the country's commitment to the one-China policy when speaking with local media in August.

"Australia's foreign policy is adventurism alongside opportunism, swinging between the two like a pendulum," Chen said. "When their economy is in trouble, they are eager to change the impasse with China and restore comprehensive economic and trade relations. However, when the US shifts its position or policies, Australia expresses support almost without exception."

Ning Tuanhui, an assistant research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the US is trying to mobilize its allies against China, and that Canberra is an important pawn for Washington.

The idea of enhancing US military deployment and presence in Australia is aimed at encouraging Australia against China. It would also further increase US' strategic hold on Australia, so the country will be closely dependent on the US militarily and strategically, Ning added.

"The higher the US military presence in Australia is, the weaker Australia's strategic autonomy," Ning said, "When it comes to strategic weapons such as nuclear submarines and bombers, the US will certainly not allow Australia to dominate, and Australia may not even have a say in it."

"China has stressed on many occasions that the one-China principle is a red line that cannot be crossed. China will defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity at all costs. This is unshakable," Chen said, noting that it is a pointless act of adventurism to sacrifice Australians' interests for the sake of US hegemony.

Canberra must realize that China and Australia have no historical grievances, no territorial disputes, and both sides are economically complementary and share long-term mutually beneficial cooperation, Chen said.

Canberra needs to make sure it has the political wisdom and governance ability to properly manage differences, Chen said, noting that China would not meet Australia's wishful thinking on cooperation if it is just siding with the US and challenging China's core interests.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202212/1281371.shtml

>>17463649

All child abuse charges against former swim coach Kyle Daniels dropped

abc.net.au - 9 December 2022

Prosecutors have dropped all outstanding child abuse charges against former Sydney swimming instructor Kyle Daniels.

The 24-year-old was accused of inappropriate sexual contact with nine young female students while working as a part-time swim instructor at a Mosman pool in 2018 and 2019.

Mr Daniels pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies ever intentionally touching any student inappropriately.

In October, a jury acquitted him of 10 out of 21 child sexual abuse charges, including five counts of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.

The jury was discharged after remaining divided on 11 counts — five charges of indecent assault and six charges of intentionally sexually touching a child.

Today, Crown prosecutor Tony McCarthy told the court "the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) directed there be no further proceedings in relation to any of the outstanding counts".

In a statement, Mr Daniels's lawyer Urania Zafiris said the DPP's decision not to pursue a third trial was "appropriate".

"Mr Daniels has always maintained his innocence of all charges in respect of these matters," she said.

"The jury verdicts and decision to discontinue are an entirely appropriate outcome consistent with that innocence."

Mr Daniels did not appear in court but listened in to his case via video link.

He has faced two trials, with the jury being discharged both times for being unable to reach a verdict on all charges.

Mr Daniels told the first trial he was "dumbfounded" and "scared" when he first learned of the allegations after his arrest in March 2019, which initially related to two girls before others came forward.

The second trial heard evidence from the young complainants, which Mr Daniels's lawyers argued had been influenced or contaminated.

They suggested parents who came forward after Mr Daniels's arrest were influenced by what they saw about the case in the media, and in turn influenced their children.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-09/kyle-daniels-child-abuse-charges-dropped/101753600

>>17879103

Church leaders defend not reporting pedophile preacher Frank Houston to police: court

STEVE ZEMEK - DECEMBER 9, 2022

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Pentecostal church leaders did not report pedophile preacher Frank Houston to police in the late 1990s because they obtained legal advice telling them the victim was old enough to make his own complaint, a court has heard.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he is fighting allegations he covered up his father Frank Houston’s sexual abuse of a young boy in the 1970s.

He denies failing to report the matter to police and has pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence.

Frank Houston raped Brett Sengstock in January 1970 while staying with the then seven-year-old boy’s family while on a preaching tour of Australia.

The court has been told that Frank Houston’s sexual assault came to light in the late 1990s when Mr Sengstock’s mother made disclosures to pastors Barbara Taylor and Kevin “Mad Dog” Mudford.

Mr Mudford, a travelling evangelist preacher, took the information to George Aghajanian, the then general manager of the Hills Christian Life Centre, which would later become Hillsong.

At the time, Brian Houston was the senior pastor of the Hillsong Christian Life Centre, while Frank Houston oversaw the affiliated Sydney Christian Life Centre.

After Frank Houston made admissions to Brian Houston about his abuse of Mr Sengstock, he was dismissed from the church in late 1999.

However, the court has been told that Frank Houston – who died in 2004 – remained on the church’s payroll until November 2000.

Brian Houston, 68, has argued that he had a “reasonable excuse” not to come forward to police because Mr Sengstock had told him he did not want to go to police.

Mr Sengstock has denied telling Brian Houston that he did not want to go to authorities.

Defence barrister Phillip Boulten has also told the court that Brian Houston had referenced his father’s abuse of a young boy in several media interviews and there was “something like tens of thousands of people who knew Frank Houston had abused a boy or boys”.

Pastor Keith Ainge was in 1999 the national secretary of the Assemblies of God when he took a phone call from Brian Houston asking that an urgent meeting of the group’s national executive be called.

The meeting took place the following day inside the Qantas club at Sydney airport, where Brian Houston, who was president of the group, handed over the reins of the meeting to vice-president John Lewis.

“(Brian Houston) explained he had been informed of actions by his father which were inappropriate,” Mr Ainge told the court of his recollections of the meeting.

“(And) that he’d spoken to the person concerned and that it was child molestation. The victim was not wanting to have his name released to anyone; he wanted to keep it quiet and he also didn’t want to make a formal complaint.

“He also spoke to his father and his father had admitted he had behaved inappropriately with a minor.

“So he immediately suspended his credentials, which was his prerogative as the national president.”

(continued)

>>17917739

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According to minutes from that meeting, the AOG had obtained legal advice indicating that they did not have to disclose the matter to police because by that time Mr Sengstock was in his 30s.

“There was no requirement to report because the victim was now … old enough to make his own report and indicated he didn’t want a report to be made,” Mr Ainge said.

Mr Ainge told the court on Friday that he could not remember who relayed that legal advice to the AOG national executive but had since learned it was Brian Houston.

John McMartin, the former pastor of the Liverpool Christian Life Centre, said he learnt of the matter when he was approached by Mr Mudford and Ms Taylor.

He was also involved in a meeting with Mr Houston and Ms Taylor in November 1999 during which they discussed Frank Houston’s sexual abuse.

Mr McMartin said he felt he had fulfilled his obligations in the matter because he had taken it to the national executive of the Assemblies of God.

“I felt my part was done,” Mr McMartin said.

Mr McMartin told the court on Friday that in 1999 he had been told by Ms Taylor that the victim did not want to be identified or co-operate with any investigation.

“The complainant was completely non-compliant, as in wouldn’t co-operate,” Mr McMartin said.

Asked if he had a “clear conscience about the way you handled” the complaint, Mr McMartin said “yes”.

He added he didn’t think he had committed the same crime that Brian Houston had been charged with.

Mr McMartin was given a certificate protecting him from prosecution in exchange for his testimony.

“You don’t think you did anything criminal in this whole set of circumstances,” he was asked by Mr Houston’s barrister Phillip Boulten.

“I agree,” Mr McMartin said on Friday.

“It follows that you did not report this matter to the police,” Mr Boulten asked.

“How can you report a matter to the police if you haven’t got a complaint?” Mr McMartin said.

The trial continues.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/brian-houston-told-followers-about-fathers-sexual-abuse-of-young-boy-court/news-story/5e5f8da65b4bb52ac3acaaac03621868

Fears elderly sex abuse victims will die before delayed Hollingworth inquiry held

JOHN FERGUSON - DECEMBER 9, 2022

The secretive inquiry into the ­potential defrocking of Peter Hollingworth faces yet another extraordinary delay, sparking concerns elderly participants will die before there is proper scrutiny over the former governor-­general’s handling of the child sex abuse issue.

Dr Hollingworth, 87, is overdue to face professional standards board hearings under the sex abuse response system set up by the Anglican Church, with the board acting as an effective legal tribunal to determine whether his behaviour warrants him being defrocked or facing other action.

The church-inspired process received complaints against Dr Hollingworth as far back as five years ago but victims say they have faced a brick wall of secrecy and delays that reached crisis point this month when they were told of yet another legal setback.

That delay, which has not been fully explained and means it will be February at least before the hearings begin, has led one victim to warn the overall investigation into Dr Hollingworth’s behaviour as archbishop of Brisbane would trickle into its sixth year without coming to a conclusion.

The confidential inquiries into Dr Hollingworth, the 1991 Australian of the Year, threaten to run longer than the entire child sex abuse royal commission, with the church arguing the so-called Kooyoora system is independent and does not respond to clerical influence.

Chris Goddard, a global expert on child sex abuse, said the system had become farcical and was threatening the health of the ­participants.

Dr Goddard said the process looked like it had been set up to thwart accountability. “I think they are fundamentally waiting for people to give up or they are waiting for them to die,” he said.

An elderly victim of church abuse also told The Weekend Australian that the process was so drawn out that it looked like it was tactical.

The church and the Kooyoora investigative body it set up declined to comment.

Dr Hollingworth was never an abuser but was exposed falling short of basic community standards in his handling of the crisis when Brisbane archbishop.

His critics argue there is enough evidence already on the record that suggests he should be banished from his church, including that against a specialist’s advice he allowed a pedophile priest in 1993 to continue to preach, giving incorrect evidence to a 2002 abuse inquiry and blaming a victim of child sex abuse for encouraging the offending.

Multiple victims of church abuse have made complaints to Kooyoora but are extremely frustrated with the slow response. The church says the process is fully independent, a claim rejected by its critics. There is now a strong push for any tribunal hearing to be held without Dr Hollingworth present if he is unable or unwilling to ­attend. He did not comment.

If Dr Hollingworth were not to appear, the tribunal could rely on public record documents and evidence that includes the 1993 decision to allow the pedophile to preach.

Anti-sex abuse campaigner Hetty Johnston said Dr Hollingworth should never have been ­appointed governor-general, a position he had to relinquish after a storm of controversy over his handling of the abuse issue.

Ms Johnston said the constant delays in the Victorian tribunal were harmful to the victims. “There is no question that this is re-traumatising (them),” she said. “I just find it incomprehensible. The system just doesn’t work.”

The secrecy surrounding the Kooyoora process makes it difficult for even those who make complaints to know exactly what is happening. It also is becoming increasingly embarrassing for the church, which has, like all the biggest denominations, been attempting to move on from the abuse crisis and implement new accountability systems.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/fears-elderly-sex-abuse-victims-will-die-before-delayed-hollingworth-inquiry-held/news-story/b3a2660e2187d0e4fbcda15c6b366ba4

>>17869695

Parents swept up into controversy over After School Satan Club speak out: 'At their wits' end'

Jon Brown - December 9, 2022

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As controversy roils a Virginia town over a planned Satanist after-school club, organizers and parents on both sides of the issue spoke to Fox News Digital to share their perspectives.

The city of Chesapeake has recently drawn national attention as the center of a firestorm sweeping the southeastern Virginia community after The Satanic Temple has attempted to establish an After School Satan Club (ASSC) for kids at the local B.M. Williams Primary School.

‘Fear and indoctrination’

"Regarding parents who are upset about the club, I would like them to know that we are here because we have worked with educators to develop an after-school program that is engaging and fun and helps young minds grow and thrive," June Everett, an ordained minister in The Satanic Temple and campaign director of ASSC, told Fox News Digital.

Maintaining that ASSC "fosters creativity and projects [that] are often designed to benefit the community and promote empathy," Everett said The Satanic Temple attempts to establish such clubs "as a constructive and positive alternative to other religious after-school clubs that often glorify fear and indoctrination."

Everett said she was first led to The Satanic Temple five years ago after her first-grader "was traumatized by his classmates on the playground one day, and they were attendees of the Good News Club that was taking place at the public elementary school he was attending at the time."

"I picked him up from school one afternoon, crying and upset after he was told that he would burn in hell away from his mommy and daddy and Molly, our dog at the time, if we didn’t accept Jesus Christ into our hearts and start going to church," Everett continued. "I knew there was a Good News Club [there] at the time, and this prompted me to start researching them more, and I realized that this is their goal: to use children who attend the club to proselytize to their peers."

Everett, who earlier this week resubmitted an application to establish an ASSC in Chesapeake after the original sponsor withdrew, said the congregation at her local chapter of The Satanic Temple took her in "with such open arms."

"I had never met such genuine, non-judgmental people in my life," she said. "Satanism truly has made me a better person, a better friend, a better parent and a much better contributing member of society."

Everett said she believes that "the evangelicals" in particular emphasize fear and indoctrination in their approach, citing that the Child Evangelism Fellowship's (CEF) stated mission for the Good News Clubs they sponsor is "to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living."

‘We emphasize the goodness of God’

Lydia Kaiser, a spokesperson for the Missouri-based CEF, could not comment on the specifics of Everett's situation because she was not involved, but she described as "typical" the accusation that Good News Clubs browbeat children into Christianity. Their curriculum materials for children, however, emphasize God's goodness and do not contain vivid descriptions of hell, she told Fox News Digital.

"We believe that there is a physical place called hell, we believe all that the Bible says about it," said Kaiser. "But when we're talking to children, the way we describe it is ‘separation from God.’"

"You don't need all the scary description," Kaiser continued. "We don't want to scare children into making a decision. We want them to desire a relationship with God. That's our goal. And so we emphasize the goodness of God, how much God loves them and wants to forgive them for their sin and be their friend, their Savior and their Lord."

"We try to draw children into a relationship with God by describing him as good, and the bad we describe as separation from all of that," she added.

Kaiser, who noted that parents are welcome to observe what goes on at after-school Good News Clubs, parried arguments that children are too young to reflect on spiritual issues by pointing out how children are expected by adults to learn other basics of human existence such as a healthy diet and personal hygiene.

(continued)

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‘The real danger’

Stephen Mannix, who said he has served for about 15 years as the chairman of his local CEF chapter in the Virginia Tidewater region, said he plans to speak about the ASSC brouhaha at next week's scheduled school board meeting in Chesapeake.

"They say they don't have any religious content, but it's bigger than that," Mannix told Fox News Digital of the Satan clubs.

ASSC claims not to teach of a personal devil, but rather serves as a place where young students can learn about benevolence and empathy, critical thinking, problem-solving, creative expression, personal sovereignty and compassion.

Both Mannix and Kaiser believe that since The Satanic Temple started its ASSC campaign in 2016, it has been using the 2001 Supreme Court decision in Good News Club v. Milford Central School to stir up hysteria in various places that sponsor Good News Clubs until school boards feel compelled to shut down after-school clubs altogether.

The case ultimately rose to the Supreme Court after an upstate New York school district denied an application to a Good News Club on the basis that "the kinds of activities proposed to be engaged in by the Good News Club were not a discussion of secular subjects such as child-rearing, development of character and development of morals from a religious perspective, but were in fact the equivalent of religious instruction itself."

The Supreme Court's opinion, which was written by former Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, ruled in favor of the Good News Club, noting that restrictions on speech in a "limited public forum" such as a public school must not discriminate on the basis of the speaker's viewpoint.

The school district's attorneys in the case argued that having a religious club on public school property, even after school hours, would violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution by leading children to believe that the school or the government was somehow establishing a particular religion.

The Court shot that argument down, writing: "Finally, even if we were to inquire into the minds of schoolchildren in this case, we cannot say the danger that children would misperceive the endorsement of religion is any greater than the danger that they would perceive a hostility toward the religious viewpoint if the Club were excluded from the public forum."

The Satanic Temple "does not believe in introducing religion into public schools and will only open a club if other religious groups are operating on campus," according to their website.

"We are only doing this because Good News Clubs have created a need for this," Lucien Greaves, cofounder of The Satanic Temple, told The Washington Post in 2016. "If Good News Clubs would operate in churches rather than public schools, that need would disappear. But our point is that if you let one religion into the public schools you have to let others, otherwise it’s an establishment of religion."

"The danger becomes this lie of a secularized space that bans and censors and tells Christians to go home," said Mannix. "That's where the real danger is."

Kaiser and Mannix pointed out the short shelf life of Satanist clubs as an indication of their intention merely to sow discord in an attempt to shut down competing Christian clubs.

Everett confirmed to Fox News Digital that only four clubs are currently active in the U.S., pending the approval of a fifth in Chesapeake.

(continued)

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‘Wearing down the inhibition of children’

"They say that they don't actually teach kids about Satan," Kaiser said of the Satan clubs. "They say it's more about humanism and so-called tolerance, which is ironic when they're actually being intolerant, trying to get us kicked out."

"But they have an 8,000-pound statue of Satan with two little elementary-aged children looking at it adoringly," Kaiser continued. "If every time the story was run, they would show a picture of this mascot, people would be able to judge for themselves whether they're trying to appeal to children with Satanism."

"They're wearing down the inhibition of children so that they'll think it's fine to attend a truly satanic event when they're older," she added.

The statue Kaiser referenced, which The Satanic Temple unveiled in 2015, cost $100,000 to make and has featured repeatedly in its public campaigns. Standing at nearly 9 feet tall, the bronze figure depicts a boy and a girl gazing up at a winged, goat-headed hermaphrodite known as Baphomet, which has historically been presented as a satanic symbol.

Based on an 1856 sketch of the "Sabbatic Goat" by French occultist Éliphas Lévi, the statue is replete with occult symbolism representing the union of supposed binary opposites such as human and animal, male and female or good and evil.

In Lévi's original depiction, the figure was androgynous, but Greaves told the BBC in 2015 that in their iteration, Baphomet's breasts were removed to avoid wading into cultural gender debates. He noted to the outlet that the original drawing's "male-female dualism" is represented instead by the two children.

‘At their wits’ end’

Citing "the heightened emotional situation in our city" following the recent mass shooting at a local Walmart, the original sponsor of the ASSC in Chesapeake withdrew her name this week, according to The Virginian-Pilot. Other organizers promptly resubmitted the necessary paperwork and still aim to roll out the ASSC at the primary school on Dec. 15.

Aspen Nolette, a local parent and founder of Chesapeake Parents for Freedom, said the ASSC has caused an "uproar" in her community and that parents are increasingly wearied by what is going on in public schools.

"People are extremely upset, they're extremely disturbed, I think," Nolette told Fox News Digital. "In the nation right now, you've got boys attempting to go into girls' bathrooms. You saw what happened in Loudoun County, Virginia, and the assault that happened there because of that. You've got pornographic books and graphic novels in our schools that parents are extremely upset about because we have laws about distributing pornography to children."

"And now you've got After School Satan Clubs. From what I've seen, and I've been involved in this for a couple of years, parents are at their wits' end," Nolette added. "The Satan clubs seem to be where they drew the line."

https://news.yahoo.com/parents-swept-controversy-over-school-070032404.html

>>17869695

What is Satanism? And where does social justice fit into this controversial religion?

David Rutledge - 6 Nov 2022

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What do Satanists believe? It's a timely question, given that accusations of Satanism and reports of Satanic activity have become worryingly mainstream in recent years, particularly in the USA.

We're all familiar with the feverish imaginings of QAnon adherents and their belief in the existence of a global network of Satanist paedophiles.

But even among seemingly rational people on the American political right, the name of Satan is dropped with increasing frequency, and unwelcome cultural phenomena routinely denounced as "Satanic".

Are Satanists really out there? And do they pose some sort of demonic threat to decent society?

The short answers are (1) yes, and (2) no — and beyond the scare stories lie some fascinating complexities.

From sketchy figure to symbol of freedom

It's worth noting that while the image of Satan in Christian folklore and popular culture is elaborate and detailed, Satan in the bible is a sketchy, minor figure, and a surprisingly innocuous one.

Satan first pops up in the Book of Job (his Hebrew name satan means "opponent" or "adversary"), where he and God appear on perfectly amicable terms, and even engage in a friendly wager.

In the New Testament Gospels, Satan subjects Jesus to various temptations, but he's easily outwitted by the Son of God. In the Book of James, it's suggested that even the everyday Christian might find Satan something of a pushover: "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

So far, so unthreatening. But what do Satanists take from all this?

The first and most important thing to understand is that by and large, Satanists are not devil worshippers. They don't believe in the existence of Satan as a supernatural entity.

Satan in modern Satanism functions more as a symbol of certain things that Satanists venerate: freedom, knowledge, fearlessness, power, pleasure. But there's no God-figure, and no worship.

Peter H Gilmore, current High Priest of the international Church of Satan, puts it very simply: "There's no belief or spirituality in Satanism. We're carnal, we're sceptical, we're proudly faithless people."

So why make it a religion? Why have a church of Satan?

"Satanism understands that we are creatures of conceptual consciousness", says Gilmore, "and our concepts are put together in such a way as to make symbols."

This activity includes the creation of such symbolic institutions as churches.

"It's a very powerful thing, and it leads to ritual as a form of human behaviour. We employ symbols and ritual to enact self-transformation and catharsis — hence the church, and the religion."

'Being our own gods'

It was founded by Anton Szandor LaVey, who established the Church of Satan in San Francisco in 1966, and three years later published The Satanic Bible, a collection of essays and rituals that's become a central "scripture" for the Church.

LaVey was a notorious hippy-baiter — he hated the burgeoning peace and love movement at least as much as he hated the Christian church, if not more so.

He was also a devout individualist who articulated a philosophy of what today we would call self-empowerment.

"What we invoke in Satan is a projection of the best in ourselves — a symbol of pride, liberty and individualism," says Peter H Gilmore.

"When it comes to celebrating ego and self-deification, we understand that nature is hierarchical, and that there are always going to be different levels of people.

"So we're aware of our talents and our abilities — but in being our own gods, we can be beneficent gods, and we can deal with others in a very charitable and loving way. It's not about crushing other folk, which is how people tend to interpret self-centredness."

(continued)

>>17917917

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Hierarchy and heft

This all sounds well and good, but even a quick browse through The Satanic Bible reveals an unnervingly steely kind of social Darwinism:

Blessed are the strong, for they shall possess the earth — Cursed are the weak, for they shall inherit the yoke!

Blessed are the powerful, for they shall be reverenced among men — Cursed are the feeble, for they shall be blotted out!

As it happens, Anton LaVey was an admirer of arch libertarian Ayn Rand, indeed he once described his own writing as "Ayn Rand with trappings", and Satanism as "Ayn Rand's philosophy with ceremony and ritual added".

Whether or not LaVey was being entirely serious — he loved to troll and provoke in interviews — there's no doubt that in its rational egoism, its celebration of power-differentiated hierarchy and its aversion to altruism, The Satanic Bible has a distinctively Randian flavour.

It's an often-noted irony that much of The Satanic Bible anticipates the social and economic doctrines of modern-day Republicans in the USA.

Church of Satan members have pointed out that LaVey's more problematic beliefs (he was also a eugenicist, and often advocated in interviews for the establishment of a police state) are not official COS policy positions, and that individual members should not regard them as gospel.

But statements from Church of Satan leaders over the years espousing Survival of the Fittest as a fundamental law of nature have been too numerous to be easily brushed aside.

And it was partly in opposition to this perceived might-makes-right ethos that another Satanic religious organisation was founded in 2013: The Satanic Temple, which is based in Salem, Massachusetts (scene of the infamous witch trials of 1692).

From the outset, The Satanic Temple rejected the Church of Satan's apolitical stance and jumped with both feet into public affairs.

Its stated mission is "to encourage benevolence and empathy, reject tyrannical authority… oppose injustice and undertake noble pursuits".

Its principal targets are manifestations of what founder Lucien Greaves has called "theocratic assaults on the separation of church and state", and the privileging of Christianity over and above minority religious groups.

In addition to public campaigns protesting (for example) the establishment of Christian monuments on the grounds of the public buildings, The Satanic Temple also runs an addiction recovery support group, a campaign opposing corporal punishment in schools, refugee support outreach and so on.

Satan: Champion of the outsider

According to Stephen Long, who's a minister and member of Ordination Council with The Satanic Temple, this activity is very much in keeping with a certain literary interpretation of the figure of Satan.

Like many modern Satanists, Long takes his Satanic bearings from John Milton's 17th century epic poem Paradise Lost, a work that tells the story of Adam and Eve's fall from grace in the Garden of Eden, Satan's subsequent expulsion from heaven, and a three-day battle between God's angels and Satan's rebels.

In Paradise Lost, Satan is unquestionably the bad guy. But he's also one of those irresistibly noble villains — a tragic antihero, dynamic and charismatic, who pushes back against the authority of God.

Early in the story, Satan — or Lucifer, as he's known at this point — says it is "better to reign in Hell than serve in Heaven", a declaration that's endeared him to romantics and revolutionaries ever since.

"During the 1800s, the Romantic poets started to look at Lucifer in Paradise Lost as a heroic figure," says Long.

"The foundational belief structures of the Western world were being reconfigured, and so during that time he started to be seen as a champion of the outsider; a champion of reason and enlightenment. So that is where I root my Satanism."

(continued)

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Socially just Satanism?

As a gay former Christian who underwent ex-gay therapy and other attempts at "deliverance" in his teens, Stephen Long knows what it's like to be an outsider. But his perspective on Satan as champion of minority rights also informs his understanding of Satanism as a materialist, carnal religion in interesting ways.

"Satanism is a religion of the body, and my concern as a Satanist goes downward, toward the earth," Long says.

"Part of that means material pleasure — but I'm not some kind of libertine, I'm very conservative in how I live my life.

"As I understand it, the carnality of Satanism also needs to be put in the broader context of material conditions, physical conditions — and that includes people's physical needs being met. What are the conditions that people are living under, and are those conditions just?"

At the moment The Satanic Temple is running campaigns for abortion access, LGBTQIA support, mental health, education, religious liberty and much more.

So, does this mean that The Satanic Temple is really just a political activist organisation dressed in Luciferian robes?

"One can argue whether or not TST started as an activist organisation," says Long, "but we're a church. We are a community of religious people.

"The political action of the Temple emerges from deeply-held Satanic religious beliefs — in the same way that when Quakers get involved in politics, they're not activists pretending to be Quakers.

"Nobody would be stupid enough to say that Quakers are just activists masquerading as religious people — it's the same with Satanists."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-11-06/is-satanism-a-religion-of-social-justice/101591462

https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/david-rutledge/2924810

—

Q Post #133

Nov 11 2017 23:29:35 (EST)

Hard to swallow.

Important to progress.

Who are the puppet masters?

House of Saud (6 ) - $4 Trillion

Rothschild (6 ) - $2 Trillion

Soros (6 ) - $1 Trillion

Focus on above (3).

Public wealth disclosures – False.

Many governments of the world feed the ‘Eye’.

Think slush funds (feeder).

Think war (feeder).

Think environmental pacts (feeder).

Triangle has (3) sides.

Eye of Providence.

Follow the bloodlines.

What is the keystone?

Does Satan exist?

Does the ‘thought’ of Satan exist?

Who worships Satan?

What is a cult?

Epstein island.

What is a temple?

What occurs in a temple?

Worship?

Why is the temple on top of a mountain?

How many levels might exist below?

What is the significance of the colors, design and symbol above the dome?

Why is this relevant?

Who are the puppet masters?

Have the puppet masters traveled to this island?

When? How often? Why?

“Vladimir Putin: The New World Order Worships Satan”

Q

https://qanon.pub/#133

—

Q Post #3155

Mar 20 2019 22:15:06 (EST)

Keep digging, Anons.

RACHEL CHANDLER IS KEY.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#3155

>>17853189

Pink Floyd's Roger Waters calls for freeing Julian Assange at NY rally

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters attends another rally to call for freeing Julian Assange.

Al Mayadeen English - 10 Dec 2022

Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters attended a rally calling for freeing Julian Assange in front of the British Consulate in New York on Saturday.

About 100 people attended the rally in the early afternoon, holding banners that read "Free Julian Assange".

"We live maybe in the craziest city, and it is definitely the craziest country in a crazy world," Waters told the rally participants.

Waters has attended protests to call for freeing Assange in the past. Some US politicians have criticized Waters for his recent accusations of President Joe Biden fueling the conflict in Ukraine.

In August, Waters showed up in a rally in front of the Justice Department in Washington while on his 2022 "This Is Not a Drill" Tour, where he warned that Assange's stay in prison was making him sicker and pushing him closer to death and called on the protestors to "never, never shut up" and keep doing what they are doing until Assange is free.

Assange is accused of breaking the US Espionage Act by publishing US military and diplomatic records pertaining to the Afghanistan and Iraq wars in 2010, as per US claims, whereas in reality, he exposed US war crimes in both countries, which enraged Washington. He is currently fighting extradition from London to the US.

The Assange case has become a cause celebre for media freedom, with advocates accusing Washington of attempting to stifle real security concerns.

The US claims it wants him to stand trial for breaching the US Espionage Act by disclosing military and diplomatic information in 2010. If proven guilty, he may face up to 175 years in prison, though the exact punishment is difficult to predict.

The UK Interior Ministry had previously revealed that Home Secretary Priti Patel had accepted the extradition order, but he had 14 days to appeal.

The long-running legal saga began in 2010 after Assange published more than 500,000 documents classified in the US regarding war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan.

His supporters have staged many protests against his deportation, accusing Washington of a politically motivated effort since Assange, 50, exposed US war crimes and a cover-up.

Assange reportedly applied to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) to challenge his extradition to the US from the United Kingdom, where he has been held at a maximum security prison for three and a half years so far.

The Australian-born publisher has been in prison since he was removed from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2019 and arrested by British police.

Fresh information recently revealed that at least 15 people were appointed by the UK government to the secret operation to seize WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian Embassy in London.

Although Assange was granted political asylum by Ecuador back in 2012; he was never allowed safe passage out of Britain since he was the target of prosecution by the US.

https://english.almayadeen.net/news/art-culture/pink-floyds-roger-waters-calls-for-freeing-julian-assange-at

https://twitter.com/anyaparampil/status/1559956581466480640

Australia's 'indispensable' partnership with Japan could see it join AUKUS pact as strategic links grow

Stephen Dziedzic and James Oaten - 11 December 2022

Defence Minister Richard Marles has sent a clear signal that Australia would like Japan to be included in the AUKUS pact with the United States and the United Kingdom, declaring that security ties between Tokyo and Canberra were becoming "indispensable".

Both countries have also committed to more complex and sophisticated defence exercises, including potentially rotating Japanese F-35 fighter jets in Australia in the future, in another sign of strategic convergence between the two countries.

Mr Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with their Japanese counterparts, Defence Minister Yasukazu Hamada and Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi in Tokyo on Friday for their annual meeting dubbed the 'two-plus-two'.

Mr Marles used a speech while there to declare that he was intent on "growing defence industry integration with Japan: bilaterally, through our trilateral mechanisms with the United States, and, when ready, via our advanced capabilities work in AUKUS as well".

While there is no chance that Japan will look to acquire nuclear-powered submarines under AUKUS, Australian officials have made it clear that it could be included in separate work under the arrangement to develop advanced defence technology capabilities.

The Defence Minister said he was focused on ensuring the AUKUS pact delivered results in defence technology cooperation, but said after that all three countries would like to involve Japan.

"We have to focus on making sure it's actually starting to deliver," he said.

"But when it's delivering, I absolutely think there's a chance to involve Japan in the work we're doing and I think that view is shared by both the UK and the US."

Mr Marles also talked up the rapidly intensifying bilateral defence ties between Australia and Japan.

The Defence Minister said both countries had "benefited from the United States' network of alliances" but were now "poised to build the Japan-Australia relationship as a powerful force in its own right" — citing two landmark security pacts signed this year.

This included the Reciprocal Access Agreement, which will allow reciprocal access for defence personnel to conduct joint military training and missions.

"The Joint Declaration on Security Cooperation and the Reciprocal Access Agreement mean we now have the road map to take our partnership to a very different place — a better place," he said.

"Our partnership is becoming indispensable."

This deepening relationship was at a time when China was embarking on the "largest military build-up since World War 2", which was "without transparency or reassurance to the region of China's strategic intent," Mr Marles said.

"This is the most significant factor shaping the strategic landscape in which Australia, and Japan exist."

RAAF's F-35s to Japan for exercises

The joint statement from the defence and foreign ministers of both countries commits both nations to "accelerating the consideration" of bringing Japan's F-35s to Australia "with an eye to future rotational deployment of Japan's fighters including F-35s in Australia".

It also points out that Royal Australian Air Force F-35s will go to Japan next year for the first time to participate in military exercises.

The joint statement says both countries also want to discuss "enhancing the complexity of Japan Self Defence Forces' participation in Exercise Talisman Sabre" — a major multilateral training exercise in northern Australia.

It also flags conducting "submarine search and rescue training between the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force and the Royal Australian Navy" as well as "amphibious operations, exercises and guided weapon live-fire drills".

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-09/aukus-australia-japan-richard-marles-pact/101757248

>>17922492

Growing uncertainties as Japan, Australia strengthen strategy coordination with US

GT staff reporters - Dec 09, 2022

Clichéd “China-threat” rhetoric was brought to the gathering of the defense and foreign ministers of Japan and Australia in Tokyo on Friday, and analysts said the meeting, which was held close on the heels of a similar one between US and Australian defense ministers in the US this week, will bring more uncertainties to the region as Australia and Japan vow to strengthen coordination in containing China.

Japan and Australia vowed to bolster security ties, citing “China’s threat” as an excuse as Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada hosted their Australian counterparts, Penny Wong and Richard Marles, on Friday, in what was the first in-person two-plus-two talks between the two countries since October 2018.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida also met with the ministers on Friday. The Japanese Foreign Ministry said that they shared the view that Japan and Australia need to “lead efforts toward the realization of a free and open Indo-Pacific," referring to a vision that Japan has been promoting along with the US to counter China, Japanese media reported.

The Friday talks, which followed a similar meeting in Washington between US and Australian defense and foreign ministers, aimed to put the consensus reached in Washington into action and further assign missions for Japan and Australia, two spearheads of the US in pushing its Indo-Pacific Strategy, Chen Hong, director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University, told the Global Times.

The "2 2" ministerial consultations between the US and Australia were held on Tuesday, and the two countries agreed to increase the rotational presence of US forces in Australia and to "invite Japan to integrate into our force posture initiatives in Australia," media reported.

The US and Australia referred to Japan with the purpose of emphasizing coordination between Japan and Australia, particularly in their militaries, and they also wanted to bring Japan into their military cooperation, particularly in joint drills to better prepare for any military clashes in the Indo-Pacific area, Chen said.

In recent years, Australia and Japan have worked to strengthen their cooperation. For example, in October, Japan and Australia signed a new bilateral security agreement covering military, intelligence, cybersecurity and space cooperation, a move that experts said shows the two countries' willingness to be pawns of the US, while threatening regional peace and security.

Chen said that no matter how loud Japan and Australia tout a “free” Indo-Pacific, the two countries are actually trying to join forces and exert their influence in Southeast Asian and Pacific Island countries to help the US contain China and stir up trouble in the region, for example, in the South China Sea or on the Taiwan question.

Chen noted that there will be more interactions between Australia and Japan in the coming year, as the two have become a de facto military alliance after signing a Reciprocal Access Agreement. It is also possible that Japan will join the Five Eyes Alliance, an intelligence grouping comprising Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the US, and AUKUS, the trilateral security pact between the US, UK and Australia.

Australian Defense Minister Richard Marles said in a speech in Tokyo that Australia will push for Japan to be included as a quasi fourth member of AUKUS as it seeks to elevate its partnership with Tokyo to unprecedented heights, media reported.

The Australian government has combined adventurism with opportunism and chosen to defend US hegemony at the cost of its own national interests and security, which reveals its lack of prudence and political wisdom, said Chen.

Analysts also warned that Japan is using cooperation with Australia and other countries to seek to lift its military restrictions, while the rise of conservative forces in Japan and the Japanese government’s hyping of the Taiwan question have also alarmed many Asian countries.

A small group of countries are using “free” and “open” as excuses to stir up confrontations and clashes, severely threatening the hard-won peace in Asia, Chinese Ambassador to Japan Kong Xuanyou said in a forum on Thursday, calling on Japan to maintain strategic independence to make the right choice and defend the overall and long-term interests in Asia.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202212/1281541.shtml

Bipartisan political delegation visits the Pacific amid concerns over China, climate and COVID

Andrew Greene - 12 December 2022

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is this week leading a bi-partisan parliamentary delegation to the Pacific to demonstrate Australia's unwavering commitment to the region amid growing strategic competition.

Labor and Coalition frontbenchers will first visit Vanuatu, where Australian officials have recently been dispatched after a devastating cyber-attack that's crippled the nation's critical infrastructure, including hospital systems.

Later the bi-partisan delegation, which includes Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham, Minister for International Development and the Pacific Pat Conroy and his Opposition counterpart Michael McCormack, will fly to the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau.

A cross-party visit to the Pacific region last occurred during the Turnbull government and Minister Conroy says it's timely that the practice is now resuming.

"In the Pacific there are three Cs that are the major challenges for the region; and that's COVID, climate and competition," Mr Conroy told the ABC before departing Australia.

"There's significant geo strategic competition in the Pacific and it's something that we have to be very honest about, but Australia remains the partner of choice for Pacific nations."

Shadow Foreign Minister Simon Birmingham concedes Australia has much work to do.

"These are challenging times, we all acknowledge that, but the challenges faced by our Pacific island nation friends aren't ones they face alone, they face it with the support of Australia as friends, as partners, and that's regardless of who is in government."

Vanuatu recovering from cyber attack

The parliamentary delegation is scheduled to arrive in Vanuatu's capital Port Vila on Monday as officials there continue to deal with the aftermath of a devastating ransomware attack that took down government servers and websites including hospital systems.

Last week Vanuatu's Prime Minister Ishmael Kalsakau declared 70 per cent of the government's network had now been recovered but warned the risk of further cyber-attacks remained.

Australian experts, including members of the cyber spy agency ASD, have been deployed to help deal with the aftermath of the attack which is suspected of being launched by a foreign state-based actor.

Local suspicions have focused on Indonesia for the attack because of Vanuatu's outspoken support for Papuans, but Mr Conroy won't be drawn on a possible culprit.

"It's not appropriate for me to speculate on that particular incident but importantly Australia offered our assistance immediately to the government of Vanuatu and it was accepted to support their effort," he said.

"That's a great example of Pacific nations looking to other parts of the Pacific family."

The Opposition's Simon Birmingham says Australia's assistance demonstrates how important its Pacific neighbours are.

"The fact that Australia is able to step up and help respond to a cyber-attack in a country like Vanuatu is a sign of the depth of our pacific relationship and the range of different ways in which Australia support can be and is valuable to Pacific island nations".

In Vanuatu the parliamentary delegation will also witness the official handover ceremony for a newly-constructed wharf and police boat, as part of Australia's security cooperation with the Pacific.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-12/bipartisan-delegation-visit-pacific-nations/101759598

Convicted pedophile Mark Ginn jailed after using Roblox currency for online abuse

Aymon Bertah and Fiona Killman - December 12, 2022

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A convicted pedophile from the Central Coast has been given a 10 year jail sentence after using currency from the online game Roblox to coerce young girls into sexually abusing themselves.

Mark Anthony Ginn from Kanwal appeared via video link from Parklea Correctional Centre to be sentenced in Sydney District Court on Friday.

In August, he entered guilty pleas to three counts of possessing child abuse material with intention to be used by himself or another person, five counts of making child abuse material available using a carriage service, two counts of transmitting child abuse material using a carriage service, one count of soliciting child abuse material using a carriage service and one count of failing to comply with court orders.

An agreed set of facts tendered to the court revealed how police came to arrest Ginn and the extent of his offending between June, 2020 and March, 2021.

The facts state that in September, 2020 the FBI carried out a search warrant on a US man in relation to the production of child abuse material.

The man was arrested and indicted for child sexual abuse offences. During an interview with police he mentioned an Australian man he met over Snapchat during a conversation with a female he was trying to groom.

He told officers the man went by the alias “Keith Anderson” and was in a wheelchair.

“The pair traded online currency for a game Roblox,” the facts stated. “On one occasion Keith Anderson sent him $30 via PayPal for (the man) to purchase a Roblox game character for him.”

The US man gave the Australian man access to a Mega.nz storage account by the name “evil gurl” in May 2020.

“Keith Anderson” told the American man he would groom pre-pubescent females online and record them committing sexual acts on themselves via Snapchat. He would then forward them onto him to upload to their shared account.

The facts stated that Snapchat records connected “Keith Anderson” to Mark Ginn from the Central Coast of Australia.

In March 2021, members of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) child protection team attended a house in Kanwal and seized Ginn’s Apple iPad.

His email account revealed that he had logged into the Snapchat account over various dates in March 2021 and August and April 2020.

“A review of the iPad revealed child abuse material offences,” facts stated.

Ginn was arrested and charged with the offences before the court and a six month forensic review of his iPad was conducted with 66 videos found.

The AFP identified an ongoing conversation between Ginn and a Snapchat account belonging to a girl aged 8-10 in June and July, 2020.

“The accused offers to purchase or give various Roblox characters for use in the online game Roblox in exchange for videos of (the victim) performing various sexual acts upon herself,” the facts read.

One conversation read –

Ginn: “What are you doing? Why are you not asleep yet?”

Victim: “Cus I can.”

Ginn: “Fair enough, come play Roblox.”

Victim “OK”

After some back and forth Ginn asks “wanna make a deal? I’ll buy the ferret and I’ll call you everyday so you can see it and watch it play”.

Victim: “OK”

Ginn: “If you make videos so I can see your p*ssy properly”.

Victim: “OK”

The victim sends a video and then Ginn asks for further videos of more serious self abuse in exchange for a photo of his “d”.

“I’ll show you my d*ck after a few more videos”.

The facts stated that videos of this victim were uploaded to the shared storage account. The videos showed the victim reclining on her bed performing acts of sexual abuse.

(continued)

>>17927384

2/2

The facts also revealed that Ginn targeted sisters from the US, one aged 8-10 and the other 7-9.

When one of the sisters asks him to get an “adopt me pet” from Roblox, Ginn asks her to take a video “so I can watch you take your clothes off”.

“How many more?” the victim asks.

“Can you please show your ass and try to twerk. Where’s your sister?”

The sisters engaged in sexual acts with each other at Ginn’s request.

Between November 2020 and February 2021, Ginn communicated with a girl aged 8-10 from Scotland over Snapchat and told her he was a 12 year old boy.

He asked her if she has a Roblox “parrot” before saying “can you please do the splits naked so I can see your whole body?”

The facts state that of the 66 files uploaded from Ginn’s IP address, three were classed category three child abuse and 61 were category one.

The AFP also identified conversations with other males online where Ginn sends them images and videos of his victims. He sent 20 videos to one account in March 2021.

The facts stated that in 2016 Ginn was jailed after being convicted of two counts of possessing child abuse material and three counts of using a carriage service to access child porn. He was sentenced to two years and two months with a non-parole period of one year and three months.

On Friday Judge Donna Woodburne told the court she would be “required to deal with” a call-up matter for Ginn breaching past reporting obligations in 2018.

“It would seem to me that unless I am persuaded to make no order … to impose a sentence for six months to commence from the date of arrest,” Judge Woodburne said.

“There is a distinct criminality in failing to comply with reporting obligations … it is important there be deterrence.”

Judge Woodburne told the court Ginn was “involved [with] multiple failures to comply” over an 11 month period.

“[He] was well aware of his reporting obligations … such deliberate disregard … exhibits poor insight,” she said.

In addressing Ginn’s latest charges, Judge Woodburne said the “offending involved planning” and she was “satisfied” the 34-year-old “engaged” with the victims “for the production of child abuse material”.

She continued by highlighting the “corruption” of children involved with the offences.

Judge Woodburne told the court about Ginn’s “serious medical condition” resulting in “chronic” back pain and the 34-year-old being confined to a wheelchair.

However, she said this did not “prevent or impede” the offending but had made jail more onerous due to his “vulnerability”.

This was “compounded” with PTSD suffered from Ginn seeing a fellow “inmate murdered with a sandwich press in 2017”.

Judge Woodburne said she was “not satisfied that [Ginn] is unlikely to reoffend”, despite accepting the 34-year-old’s efforts in attending programs in jail and committing to rehabilitation once released from prison.

“There is a paramount public interest in protecting children,” Judge Woodburne said.

“The sentence to be imposed … must make it clear … that these types of offences are abhorrent.

“In this regard the offender has prior convictions for similar offending which he received a custodial sentence [but it] did not deter him from re-engaging with further offending.”

Judge Woodburne continued saying “imprisonment is the only appropriate sentence”.

Ginn was given an overall sentence of 10 years from March 18 2021 to March 17 2031 with a non parole period expiring on March 17 2027.

In order for Ginn to be considered for parole, Judge Woodburne said he “should take advantage of any courses offered” during his time in custody.

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/central-coast/kanwal-convicted-pedophile-mark-ginn-jailed-after-using-roblox-currency-for-online-abuse/news-story/47441587429c09a008f375b0c8089c83

>>17879103

Wife of pedophile preacher Frank Houston’s letter after allegations

STEVE ZEMEK AND LAUREN FERRI - DECEMBER 12, 2022

The wife of pedophile preacher Frank Houston made complaints to a group of Pentecostal church leaders claiming they were treating him poorly after it was revealed he sexually abused a young boy, a court has heard.

Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong church, is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court where he has denied covering up his father Frank’s rape of a seven-year-old boy in 1970.

Brett Sengstock was one day shy of his eighth birthday when he was sexually assaulted by Frank Houston inside his family’s Coogee home.

Brian Houston has denied allegations he failed to pass on the information to police after he learned of his father’s abuse of the boy in 1999.

He pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence of another person and is defending the charges at a hearing where he has argued he had a “reasonable excuse” not to pass on the information because Mr Sengstock told him he didn’t want authorities involved.

Mr Sengstock denied telling Brian Houston he did not want to go to authorities.

Pastor Keith Ainge was in 1999 the national secretary of the Assemblies of God when Brian Houston organised an urgent meeting of the group’s national executive and told the meeting he was “informed of actions by his father which were inappropriate”.

Mr Ainge took to the witness stand to continue giving evidence on Monday where he told the court the group received a letter from the elder Houston’s wife.

The court was told Frank’s wife, Hazel Houston, had written to the AOG to complain after he was stripped of his credentials.

Mr Ainge said she sent a letter to the group “complaining that after all his years of service, Frank wasn’t being treated right”.

“My response was we had to deal with it and it was a serious problem,” Mr Ainge told the court.

The court was told it was Mr Houston who stripped his father of his credentials as it was his “prerogative as the national president”.

At the meeting, decisions were made in regards to not disclosing the matter to police and not making any public announcements to anyone in the group of churches.

Mr Ainge told the court it wasn’t a policy of the AOG to make public announcements in regards to serious situations.

He said the group would not have taken different steps if the matter did not have to do with child molestation.

But the group did decide if Frank failed to comply with the order not to preach set by the national executives, they would make the “situation known to all ministers”.

“There was no way we could enforce it if someone invited him to preach, it was more of a hammer to say if you don’t adhere to this then we’ll have to make it public to everyone,” Mr Ainge said.

The national executives then organised for a statement to be prepared if anyone came to them with “rumours about Frank”.

While the group chose not to make the statement public to the entirety of the church, the court heard Frank’s wife, Hazel Houston had written to the AOG to complain.

Mr Ainge said she sent a letter to the group “complaining that after all his years of service, Frank wasn’t being treated right”.

Mr Ainge told the court Mr Houston told him some money had been paid to Mr Sengstock at some stage.

“We were talking in relation to the situation with Frank and he told me Frank and someone from the church, an elder, had met with the complainant and given him money,” Mr Ainge said.

“I can remember Brian saying ‘that’s his business, I had nothing to do with it, but I hope it doesn’t appear as some sort of hush money’.”

Mr Ainge said he believed the amount was $10,000.

The trial before Magistrate Gareth Christofi continues on Tuesday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/what-church-knew-about-paedophile-preacher-frank-houston/news-story/60cca9a60abc60568097a5862dac6eaf

>>17858006

>>17869625

Scathing letter alleging police and political interference in Bruce Lehrmann trial made public

Elizabeth Byrne and Isaac Nowroozi - 12 December 2022

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A dispute between the ACT's chief prosecutor and the territory's police force is continuing, with the public release of a letter alleging interference in the now-abandoned rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann.

The letter written by ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold to ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan was originally obtained last week under freedom of information (FOI) law by the Guardian, and called for a public inquiry into political and police conduct during the prosecution.

This morning, that letter was made public.

In the letter, Mr Drumgold complains of "blatant misrepresentations" and "cherry-picked" summaries of evidence by officers, as he alleged police pressured him not to charge Mr Lehrmann on a number of occasions.

Mr Lehrmann, a former Liberal party staffer, had been charged with the alleged rape of his then-colleague Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in Canberra in 2019.

His trial was aborted after misconduct by a juror, and although a retrial was planned for February, it was abandoned by Mr Drumgold earlier this month, amid fears any trial would have adversely affected Ms Higgins's health.

Mr Lehrmann has maintained his innocence and there have been no findings against him.

In the letter, sent after the first trial but before the retrial was cancelled, Mr Drumgold told the ACT's top police officer that the alleged pressure not to prosecute was present from the start, when he was invited for "a briefing in relation to a sensitive matter".

"My immediate perception of this meeting was that it was not a briefing at all, rather a clear and overt attempt to use [the] loaded characterisation of some very select evidence in an attempt to persuade me to agree with a position police had clearly adopted," Mr Drumgold said.

He went on to describe other meetings and correspondence which he alleged were purported to seek his advice but were clearly attempts to pressure him into not pursuing a rape charge.

'Too much political interference': police

Mr Drumgold said in the letter that he had also become aware of diary notes of a meeting in June 2021, where police discussed his decision to prosecute.

The names have been redacted in the public version of the letter.

According to the letter, one person at the meeting advanced the view that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.

Another person said: "If it were my choice I wouldn't proceed, but it's not my choice, there is too much political interference."

Mr Drumgold's letter did not reveal any details about what the alleged political interference was.

Mr Drumgold also used the letter to complain about the conduct of a prosecution witness during the trial, who sought transcripts of evidence from the defence team.

He also alleged senior police who attended the latter stages of the trial were "regularly conferencing with the defence team during the breaks".

Finally, Mr Drumgold alleged there was then an attempt to influence how a decision about a retrial should be determined.

"On the discharge of the jury on 27 October 2022, defence barrister Steven Whybrow spoke to my junior … and stated that he had a meeting with the investigators and that they had suggested that he contact me and firstly suggest I was not impartial, and consequently request that I should outsource the decision as to whether or not to re-run the trial to someone outside of the office."

Mr Drumgold told the chief police officer he was of the view that after the end of the then-scheduled retrial, there should be a public inquiry into both political and police conduct.

(continued)

>>17927414

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'Erosion of public confidence'

This morning, Canberra Liberals leader Elizabeth Lee wrote to ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury about Mr Drumgold's letter, urging him to establish a wide-ranging inquiry into the allegations of interference in the trial.

In her letter to Mr Rattenbury, Ms Lee warned the public could lose confidence in the legal system.

"There are serious allegations of 'political interference', and the published correspondence between the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and the ACT Police Commissioner is alarming," Ms Lee wrote.

"Unanswered questions surrounding these serious allegations and the trial could have a devastating and irreversible erosion of public confidence in our legal system."

Ms Lee said the Australian public would be interested to know what was meant by "political interference".

"The Australian public would be very interested to know what that means, who it has come from and what that has involved," she said.

"A wide-ranging inquiry into the matter will provide an opportunity for a holistic review of not only these serious allegations but the entire prosecution, trial, and subsequent mistrial.

"This inquiry would provide confidence to the Canberra community, that the ACT government is dedicated to maintaining the highest and most robust legal standards."

ACT government to 'consider best way to proceed'

The matter has already been referred to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said the government was "concerned by the allegations made about the investigation and conduct of the Lehrmann trial".

He said, noting that the matter had been referred to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity, the ACT government was "currently considering whether further investigations [were] warranted".

ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr confirmed this afternoon that Mr Rattenbury and the Director-General of the Justice and Community Safety Directorate had briefed the cabinet "regarding the issues raised by the actions of authorities involved in the Lehrmann trial".

"The cabinet discussed how a broad-ranging, independent inquiry could help to identify the roles played by the parties involved in the trial and whether these actions were appropriate," Mr Barr said.

"These discussions also noted that an ACLEI investigation is currently underway."

Mr Barr said the government would provide further updates in the coming days.

Ms Lee welcomed the independent police review but said it did not go far enough.

"That is limited in terms of police involvement," she said.

"A board of inquiry will provide an opportunity for a wide-ranging and holistic independent review of all of the issues that have been raised amongst all stakeholders and the questions that are in the minds of the broader community about things that have happened in this trial."

The Australian Federal Police have also acknowledged calls for an inquiry and said it would fully cooperate if one were to be established.

In the meantime, Mr Lehrmann has retained top defamation lawyer Mark O'Brien, although no legal action has yet been mounted.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-12/calls-for-inquiry-into-handling-of-bruce-lehrmann-trial/101758652

https://www.dpp.act.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/2121456/Letter-to-CPO-re.-R-v-Lehrmann-01.11.2022-_Redacted.pdf

Police shoot three dead after two police murdered in execution-style shooting in Wieambilla, Queensland

MICHAEL MCKENNA, JAMIE WALKER, GEORGIA CLELLAND and LAURA PLACELLA - DECEMBER 13, 2022

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Two young police officers who were murdered in an execution-style killing on Monday “didn’t stand a chance,” Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll has said as she paid tribute to the fallen officers.

Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, both from Tara police station, were killed in an ambush on a remote property northwest of Brisbane which they were visiting to make inquiries about a missing NSW man.

A neighbour, who was also shot dead when police went to the property, was identified as Alan Dare, 58.

Three people, including missing NSW school principal Nathaniel Train, were shot dead by Special Forces police after the ambush, bringing the total of dead to six.

The police officers had gone to the property in Wieambilla, south of Chinchilla on a missing person’s inquiry instigated in NSW.

Commissioner Carroll said the two young constables were highly respected police officers who had a “passion for policing and for serving their community”.

Ms Carroll, speaking at a press conference in Chinchilla, held back tears as she spoke about the “unimaginable tragedy” adding that the two police officers “did not stand a chance”.

“Both under 30 years of age. Both had wonderful careers and lives ahead of them,” she said.

“Yesterday, as they did every day, they put their lives on the line to serve their community. In this awful incident, they made the ultimate sacrifice. Sadly, both Matthew and Rachel had only recently commenced their policing careers.”

Constable Arnold was sworn in as a police officer in March 2020, while Constable McCrow was sworn in last year in June 2021. They both worked out of Tara Police Station.

“I will be visiting their families in the very near future. Tara is a small station within a very tight knit community,” Ms Carroll said.

“Unfortunately, this incident is a tragic reminder of the unpredictable nature of policing. Every day, our officers face very real dangers while protecting their communities. I know the days and weeks ahead will be extremely difficult for us as a police family. To all our officers and their loved ones, please look out for each other.

“I would like to thank the local community, here, as well as everyone across Queensland and Australia for their support. I know we are all thinking of the victims’ families who are grieving at this difficult time. With honour, they served.”

Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers described the chaotic scene that played out on the property as “something out of the movies”.

“They had no idea that when they jumped the fence that their lives would come to an end. What I do know is as soon as they jumped the fence, they were met with a hail of gunfire and they immediately fell to the ground,” Mr Leavers said.

Ms Carroll said Mr Dare, who lives next door to the property with his wife, “did not stand a chance” either as he was gunned down in cold blood. The 58-year-old went to investigate the commotion after he heard gunshots.

“(Mr Dare) was doing what was right to investigate and help someone,” Queensland Union President Ian Leavers said.

(continued)

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Missing NSW teacher shot by police

The NSW Department of Education confirmed on Tuesday that missing primary school principal Nathaniel Train had been shot dead by police.

Queensland police had visited the property to make inquiries about the missing teacher.

Mr Train and his brother Gareth, who, with his wife Stacey, owned the property where the shooting occurred, were shot dead by police.

The former principal, who went missing in December 2021, had not worked at Walgett Community College Primary School since August 2021. His employment was officially terminated in March this year.

In a statement, a Department of Education spokesperson said. “One of the deceased was a former NSW Education employee who had not been working at a NSW school since August 2021. He officially left our employment in March this year.”

“Extra counselling will be provided at the impacted school today and for as long as staff and students require support,” they continued.

“As this is the subject of a police investigation we will not provide further comment.”

Police have not confirm the names of the three people shot by Special Forces.

Mr Train was the Executive Principal of Walgett Community College Primary School in NSW when he went missing in December, last year.

He had previously taught at a Queensland school.

Mr Leavers confirmed the police officers were investigating a missing person report.

“It was as simple as that. It’s just completely bizarre and it doesn’t make sense,” he said.

“What I do know then is these ruthless murderous people then went and executed the two police who were on the ground. They were executed in cold blood.”

He added that one of the alleged gunmen was a registered firearms owner, who is understood to have owned a high-powered shotgun.

Mr Leavers said he was stunned there was not an even greater loss of life.

“The two other police officers how they survived I will never know. They’re still both in hospital. I hope they are released today. We could have had four murdered police officers but we have two and we’re all hurting, right across the country,” he said.

Surviving cop ‘sent frantic texts’

The two police officers who survive Monday’s ambush are Keeley Brough, 28 and Randell Kirk, 27.

Constable Brough fled into surrounding scrub and narrowly escaped with her life despite the gunmen lighting a bushfire in a bid to flush her out. As she hid, Ms Brough sent frantic text messages to loved ones as she prepared for the worst.

She was eventually rescued by a 16-strong extraction team of police who also ­recovered the bodies of the two murdered officers.

“The female, she took cover in long grass, and these people showed no compassion in any way, shape or form,” said Mr Leavers. “They actually lit the grass on fire to try and have her stand up, so they could shoot her dead. And she did not know whether she was going to be shot or she would be burnt alive.

“I do know she was sending messages to loved ones saying she almost thought it was her time. What was going through her mind, one cannot comprehend.”

A bullet is understood to have grazed Mr Kirk’s leg before he managed to ­escape and raise the alarm, The Australian understands. He is now recovering in hospital.

In a local newspaper interview after he moved to Chinchilla in December 2020, Constable Kirk said he was excited and keen to support the Chinchilla community any way he can.

“It’s a great country town, the people here are welcoming, approachable, and friendly – it’s great,” he said.

Ms Carroll also paid tribute to the two injured constables.

“They bravely did what they could to save their colleagues in the most horrendous circumstance. Their bravery was beyond belief,” she said.

“I will shortly meet with Keeley … and the people that I have spoken to cannot believe how she survived and what she did during that period of time.”

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The police commissioner confirmed that a total of 16 police officers went in to retrieve the bodies of their fallen colleagues.

However, she could not confirm whether reports the gunmen continued to shoot the officers after they had died were true.

“I cannot go into any detail … as I said before, the scene is unimaginable and distressing. And in my view, those officers did not stand a chance. And I don’t know how two got out alive,” she said.

Authorities could not yet rule out the possibility that the gunmen called the police to the property, Ms Carroll said. However, she added that the officers were directed by NSW Police to make inquiries about the missing principal after his loved ones lost contact with him in recent days.

An ethical standards investigation is underway into the police response with oversight from the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Fatal ambush

Police reinforcements and ­ambulances converged on the chaotic scene on Wains Rd at Wieambilla, near Chinchilla, after the contingent of uniformed ­officers was attacked without warning.

It is believed at least two shooters opened fire on the unsuspecting police as they walked up the driveway of the property about 4pm as part of a missing-person ­inquiry instigated by NSW police.

Horrifyingly, as they lay wounded, Constables Arnold and McCrow were seen to be ­approached by the gunmen clad in military-style camouflage ­fatigues, and shot ­execution-style where they lay.

A police source said: “Two people were spotted in camo and they opened fire when the police ­approached the house. Two of the officers were hit and went to ground. A witness reported seeing two people in camouflage stand over them and shoot them again. They then took their pistols.”

Police helicopter fired on

Three ambulance crews and a police helicopter round out the ­resources scrambled in response to the widening emergency that gripped the sleepy locale 290km northwest of Brisbane.

There were reports that the gunmen, armed with shotguns and rifles, had opened up on the police helicopter.

An exclusion zone was set up at 6.10pm under a public emergency declaration.

People in the area between Chinchilla Tara Rd, Bennetts School Rd and Mary St had been told to stay indoors.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spoke of his personal shock on learning of the “barbaric” attack, telling ABC Radio Brisbane, every police officer in Australia and their family would be devastated and affected personally by the “horrific” tragedy.

“My heart particularly goes out to the families and friends of the police officers, and also this innocent victim as well, this neighbour, who was murdered in this atrocity,” Mr Albanese said.

“This barbaric action is something that has just shocked everyone. I was certainly shocked when I received the call last night.”

Mr Albanese said he had spoken with Nationals Leader David Littleproud, who represents the people of Wieambilla in his electorate of Maranoa.

Facebook fund launched

The union launched a fund on Tuesday, according to Mr Leavers, to assist the families of the deceased police officers.

https://www.facebook.com/QueenslandPoliceUnionOfEmployees/posts/pfbid0kjFXh2B1UGVYLCYsKxABLzYy2pKyJabk6KDAPxzbmS8spFkdrsvVWJgeM9NKpXnkl

“We’re all doing it pretty tough. This is one of those things you hope that never happens,” he said.

“We at the police union are certainly going to support the families and we’ll work with the police service to do that. It’s the entire blue family that will come together.

“But just send a message to a police officer, go to your local police station, say g’day. It actually means a fair bit. It may be a very small gesture, but to the police on the front line when you get a positive comment, it means so much.”

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‘Terrible scenes’

Chinchilla mayor Paul McVeigh said the council had ­offered assistance to the Queensland Police Service following the incident.

Locals described the area as “blockie territory”, a preserve of tree changers and alternative lifestyle seekers lured there by cheap land. Marijuana growing and drug dealing was on the rise, they said.

Federal Opposition leader Peter Dutton also expressed his condolences on social media.

“Deeply distressing news coming out of western Queensland tonight with those police who have been murdered,” he tweeted.

“Police officers face danger every day to keep us from it.”

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk tweeted that her deepest respects to the officers’ families and “to the Queensland Police Service family as a whole”.

“Our police risk their lives every day to keep us safe. I know Queensland joins with me in expressing our shock and sadness,” Ms Palaszczuk tweeted.

Story Bridge to light up in tribute

Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said the Story Bridge and government buildings will be lit up in blue and white to pay respect to the “young and beautiful” officers who were tragically killed.

“Sometimes we take our police for granted. Sometimes we forget the risk that they take every single day, every single day of their life,” Ms Palaszczuk said.

“I want to echo the thoughts of the Police Union president, Ian Leavers, that whenever you see a police officer in the next few days or weeks, offer them a kind word or a sign of respect.”

Ms Palaszczuk said NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet reached out to her and offered his condolences, as it was a request from the NSW Police that led to Queensland Police attending the Wieambilla property. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who served as a police officer in Queensland for nearly a decade, said the execution-style killings would “send a shiver down the spine” of any cop on duty today.

Mr Dutton said on Tuesday that many will be “scarred” by the scene they would have been confronted with at Wieambilla on Monday.

“The families, the loved ones, of those police officers who said goodbye for the last time yesterday, they will never ever recover from that. Of course, the police family is absolutely devastated. People will be scarred from the experience,” he told The Today Show.

“It’s bad enough as a police officer going to a scene where you know there are firearms or there’s domestic violence or you’re walking into the scene which may be dangerous, but when you have a few police officers who are turning up to check an address, walking up the driveway and they’re gunned down in a cold-blooded style; that will send a shiver down the spine of any police officer attending any job today right around the country.

“It’s a time for our community, for our country, to come together around police and support them and always remember that they go into the line of fire and into that danger zone, so that we don’t have to.

“We should be very grateful for the work, the service and the sacrifice of these two officers yesterday, and spare a thought and a prayer today for all of those in the police family.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/three-police-feared-dead-in-shooting-in-wieambilla-queensland/news-story/00d52d3b39b3539e85a790fc2678cf4b

https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1602265105894240257

https://twitter.com/PeterDutton_MP/status/1602265649438330881

https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1602271519199367168

>>17933898

Brothers Nathaniel and Gareth Train identified as gunmen in Queensland siege

Patrick Emmett - 13 December 2022

Two brothers Nathaniel Train and Gareth (Gavin) Train were shot dead by police during a siege at a property in Queensland's Western Downs overnight.

The brothers are the offenders who police say shot and killed two armed officers and neighbour Alan Dare last night at a property in Wieambilla, west of Brisbane.

Stacey Train, 45, was also killed at the scene.

Four Queensland police officers went to the property as part of a search for Nathaniel Train who was subject to a missing persons report.

The Wains Road property, where the shooting happened, is listed as being owned by Gareth and Stacey Train.

Nathaniel Train was reported to have been seen in Dubbo in December last year but had been in contact with his family as recently as October 2022.

The 46-year-old was the former principal at Walgett Community College Primary School which is about 700 kilometres north-west of Sydney.

He was the executive principal for 18 months up until August 2021 when he said he had a cardiac arrest at his desk. He then left the school.

He had previously taught in Queensland but while at Walgett had concerns about the education policy at the school.

He raised those concerns with member for One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham.

The upper house MP told NSW parliament earlier this year that Train sent 16 emails over the course of two weeks to the NSW Department of Education, outlining problems and challenges at his school and requesting assistance.

Mr Latham said Train first reached out to him over 12 months ago.

He said they never met, only spoke on the phone three or four times.

He said he emailed Train on July 6 this year and received no response.

'A mild-mannered school leader'

It comes as the NSW Department of Education confirmed the former principal had died in the overnight shooting.

Nathaniel Train was employed from August last year before leaving in March this year, a spokesperson for the department said.

"One of the deceased was a former NSW Education employee who had not been working at a NSW school since August 2021," the department said in a statement.

"He officially left our employment in March this year.

"Extra counselling will be provided at the impacted school today and for as long as staff and students require support."

Nathaniel Train was also principal at the Yorkeys Knob State School in Far North Queensland in 2017.

He was described in a local media story as a "mild-mannered school leader" who decorated his beard with glitter and Christmas baubles to help raise money for the school P&C.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-13/qld-wieambilla-shooting-nathaniel-train-siege-gareth-police/101765462

>>17933898

Police shooting: Slain NSW teacher Nathaniel Train made complaints about college

REMY VARGA and LIAM MENDES - DECEMBER 13, 2022

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A missing NSW primary school teacher involved in the murder of three people, including two Queensland police officers, had made a number of complaints about a troubled majority Aboriginal student college in northern NSW.

Former Walgett Community College Primary School executive principal Nathaniel Train – shot dead along with his brother and a woman on Monday night in Queensland – sent 16 emails to the NSW education department over two weeks in March 2021.

Mr Train also produced a document in 2020 that mandated a moderator be present during NAPLAN testing to “ensure protocols are followed so that data can be considered to be a valid representation of student ability”.

Mr Train was tracked down at the property in Wieambilla, south of Chinchilla, leading to a confrontation with police and a neighbour that left six people dead.

He had been declared missing by NSW Police and his brother Gareth, who, with his wife Stacey, owned the property where the shooting occurred, were shot dead by police.

On April 12 this year One Nation NSW Leader Mark Latham asked a number of questions in state parliament about whether assessments had been compromised by teachers and learning support officers assisting students and whether a year three student who couldn’t read achieving a high score in their NAPLAN numeracy test.

NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell told the NSW parliament Legislative Council Mr Train sent 16 emails over two weeks in March 2022 to the “Secretary Office” email and were then referred to the responsible unit.

Ms Mitchell said Mr Train met department deputy secretary Murat Dizdar and the director of educational leadership Tom Ballard at the on May 11 in 2021.

She said Mr Dizdar did not recall Mr Train disclosing students had been assisted by school staff on their NAPLAN tests and denied the deceased principal had raised allegations or provided material relating to cheating at the school.

“He does recall Mr Train discussing some matters that Mr Train had experienced during the course of his educational leadership,” she said.

Nearly 100 per cent of students at Walgett Community College, the senior school to Walgett Community College Primary School, are Indigenous and the school has well documented problems with student violence.

Ms Mitchell said Mr Train had provided “anecdotal information” about surveys being completed with one-on-one assistance from support teachers at the primary school.

“Some students, including those with either lower literacy levels or who present with English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EALD), may need further explanations to better understand some Tell Them From Me questions,” she said.

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Mr Latham also asked whether parents had requested the creation of a “suspension room at the school so that ‘they don’t have their kids at home’”.

Ms Mitchell responded that an “engagement centre” had been created at Walgett Community College Primary School to “bolster student participation and reduce the need for suspensions by supporting students with the development of social skills, and a more positive approach to learning”.

Mr Latham also asked about high teacher absenteeism at the school, to which Ms Mitchell replied “is well resourced and is staffed by qualified teachers and other para-professionals.”

A Department of Education spokesperson says Nathaniel Train had stopped working for the department in March 2022 and had not worked at any school in NSW since August 2021.

“Our sincere condolences go to the Queensland Police and the families and friends of those impacted by the tragic incident in rural Queensland overnight,” said the spokesperson.

“One of the deceased was a former NSW Education employee who had not been working at a NSW school since August 2021. He officially left our employment in March this year.

“Extra counselling will be provided at the impacted school today and for as long as staff and students require support.

One Nation NSW leader Mark Latham said Mr Train left Walgett primary school after suffering a heart attack and said the slain principal’s experience with the education department had left him bitter and bruised.

“He was a passionate school reformer who had to leave for a health reason but was determined for his work [at Walgett Community College Primary School] to go on and was disappointed when it didn’t,” said Mr Latham.

Mr Latham disputed reports that the emails Mr Train sent to the education department indicated a decline in the former principal’s mental health.

“He contacted me as a passionate and concerned former principal whose sole motivation was the best interest of Indigenous kids and he had documentation that supported his complaint,” he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/police-shooting-slain-nsw-teacher-nathaniel-train-made-complaints-about-college/news-story/6b5e3c368120b17e8531a5c0bfecf9d7

>>17933898

Queensland shooting: Gunman Gareth Train was a conspiracy theorist

MICHAEL MCKENNA and GEORGIA CLELLAND - DECEMBER 13, 2022

A gunman who killed two police officers in a shootout in western Queensland on Monday had posted conspiracy theories online including that the Port Arthur massacre was faked by government to enable a crackdown on gun ownership.

Gareth Train, wife Stacey and his brother Nathaniel Train, a principal of a NSW primary school until last year, were killed by police in a shootout Monday night after they earlier ambushed officers who visited their remote property at Wieambilla, 300km west of Brisbane.

Police had been asked by their NSW counterparts to go to the property on an inquiry about Nathaniel Train, who had been reported missing.

They opened fire on the unsuspecting police as they walked up the driveway of the property about 4pm, hitting three police with another able to escape into bushland.

Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, both from Tara police station, were killed in an ambush on a remote property northwest of Brisbane which they were visiting to make inquiries about a missing NSW man.

A neighbour, who was also shot dead when police went to the property, was identified as Alan Dare, 58.

Internet searches show that Gareth Train was a prolific author of bizarre conspiracy theories about Port Arthur, the Catholic Church and against police.

In one post on “Citizens Initiated Referendums”, he described convicted Port Arthur shooter Martin Bryant as the “perfect patsy” and that the 1996 mass killing of 35 people was staged.

“Anyone who watch the live media coverage at the time (1996) and was aware of the political deceit lead up, knows that this was a Government Psychological Operation to disarm the Australian population,” he wrote.

“Martin was the perfect patsy. The Australian government is guilty of mass murder, it’s not the first time and won’t be the last. Joint operation CIA, MI6, Mossad, ASIO and the Australian SASR.

“The MK special operator (shooter 1) gave the game away in a recorded phone conversation dropping the operation name JAMIE. ‘Jamie’ is not shooter 1’s name nor did he make it up on the spot, he was dropping the code name to be clever.”

And in an ominous post, Train wrote of warning police about coming to his property.

“I have directed law enforcement to leave my premises over the last 20yrs, having no reason or grounds and at times have also asked them to remove their hands from their weapons or pull their pistols and whistle Dixie,” he said.

“Fortunately for me they have all been cowards.

“Our country is at a point where even cowards are now dangerous because they are unpredictable in groups, turn your back and you may find yourself out cold on the floor with law enforcement dancing on your head. We are seeing this in Victoria.”

In posts to the Cairns News site in November, last year Train wrote about the Jesuit World “Order” when discussing protests against Covid pandemic lockdowns.

“How did we get here”,’’ he wrote.

“Intelligence operation after intelligence operation, false flag after false flag, instilling fear into a retarded populous distracted by sports and beer to install totalitarian corporate Jesuit government muppets.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/queensland-shooting-gunman-gareth-train-was-a-conspiracy-theorist/news-story/86190803a025a4b6d283faeb7c2e87fc

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:cairnsnews.org "gareth train"

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:michaelsmithnews.com "gareth train"

https://www.google.com/search?q=site:cirnow.com.au "gareth train"

>>17832778

Former US pilot held in Australia accused of breaking US arms controls by training Chinese pilots

Ben Doherty and Reuters - 13 Dec 2022

Australian pilot Daniel Duggan – a former US Marine Corps aviator – has been accused of breaking American arms control laws by training Chinese fighter pilots to land on aircraft carriers, according to an indictment now unsealed by a US court.

The indictment said the naturalised Australian “provided military training to (PRC) People’s Republic of China pilots” through a “test flying academy” in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

Duggan was arrested by Australian authorities, at the request of the FBI, in regional New South Wales in October, pending a formal extradition request. The US has until 20 December – 60 days from his arrest – to lodge that request, or Duggan will be eligible for release.

Duggan’s arrest coincided with warnings from Australian and British authorities over the practice of former military pilots being offered lucrative contracts to train pilots in China.

Duggan’s lawyer, Dennis Miralis, has previously said the 54-year-old pilot will fight any extradition request, and resolutely maintains his innocence.

“He denies having breached any US law, any Australian law, any international law,” Miralis said. Miralis did not respond to requests from the Guardian for comment on Tuesday.

On Friday, the District of Columbia court unsealed the 2017 indictment and a US warrant for Duggan.

The indictment said Duggan was allegedly contracted directly by an unnamed co-conspirator – a Chinese national – to provide services to a Chinese state-owned company, including evaluations of Chinese military pilot trainees, testing of naval aviation related equipment, and instruction on tactics related to landing aircraft on aircraft carriers.

Duggan did not seek authorisation from the US government to provide military training to China, although the US State Department had informed him by email in 2008 this was required to train members of a foreign air force, it said.

The indictment alleges he travelled frequently between Australia, the US, China and South Africa between 2009 and 2012, when he held both US and Australian citizenships. Duggan has since renounced his US citizenship.

Duggan’s alleged violation of an arms embargo imposed on China by the United States also included providing aviation services in China in 2010, and providing an assessment of China’s aircraft carrier training, it said.

The indictment alleges the Chinese national brokered a deal between the South African flight school and a Chinese state-owned enterprise to provide aircraft carrier landing training to Chinese military pilots in South Africa and China.

A T-2 Buckeye aircraft was bought from a US aircraft dealer for the training, by providing false information that resulted in the US government issuing an export licence, it said.

Duggan faces four charges, including conspiracy to defraud the United States by conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two counts of violating the arms export control act and international traffic in arms regulations.

Duggan is being held in custody in New South Wales. His case will return to a Sydney court on Friday.

Duggan, the father of six school-age children, spent more than a decade flying in the US Marine Corps, reaching the rank of major and working as a military tactical flight instructor, according to his company website.

He moved to Australia after leaving the Marines, establishing an “adventure flight” company called Top Gun Tasmania, running joy flights in fighter planes in the southern island state.

The company operated “an initial military training aircraft of the Chinese air force” known as a Nanchang fighter jet, according to its website.

Australian company records indicate Duggan moved to Beijing around 2014. Since 2017 he has been managing director of Avibiz Limited, “a comprehensive aviation consultancy company with a focus on the fast growing and dynamic Chinese Aviation Industry”, based in the eastern city of Qingdao, site of a strategically important naval base.

Duggan’s wife, Saffrine Duggan, has launched a public petition calling on Australia’s attorney general to refuse any US extradition request – a “politically motivated … injustice” – and order the pilot freed.

In a preliminary court hearing last month, Miralis said his client had endured “extraordinary, unprecedented and unjustifiable” treatment, which he believed was the result of “foreign interference”.

A spokesperson for the Australian attorney general’s department said it “does not comment on extradition matters until after the person has been brought before the court pursuant to that extradition request”.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/australian-daniel-duggan-former-us-marine-pilot-training-chinese-fighter-pilots

Australia agencies set to access US data

Andrew Brown - 13 December 2022

Australian law enforcement agencies will soon be able to obtain data previously hidden in messaging apps under a new treaty with the US.

A parliamentary inquiry has recommended Australia sign up to the Cloud Act agreement, which would allow for Australian agencies to get electronic data that's hosted in the US when it related to serious offences.

The treaty would also allow for US authorities to access data from Australian organisations.

The agreement will reduce delays that to obtain evidence in relation to offences such as terrorism, child exploitation and human trafficking.

As part of the conditions of the treaty, both Australia's parliament and the US Congress needed to review it before it came into effect.

Australia was only the second country after the UK to sign an agreement with the US in order to access the data.

"For Australia, the Cloud Act Agreement would complement but significantly improve on the current mutual legal assistance treaty process for the acquisition of data held by US communications service providers," a parliamentary report into the treaty said.

"In so doing, it has the potential to substantially reduce the time frames for the acquisition of relevant data relating to the commission of a serious offence."

The report said there was a need for the agreement due to the growth of communication services that aren't based in Australia being used for serious crime.

Under previous arrangements, it could take more than a year for the data to be provided to Australian authorities from the US.

"The complexity of a matter and the nature of the assistance sought mean requests can take between three months and two years," the report said.

"The current processes for obtaining data from US communications service providers under the (current) process can be cumbersome and not necessarily suited to modern communications, data storage, and cloud computing."

Permission would be needed from the Australian government if evidence was to be used in a case that resulted in the death penalty in the US.

Greens senator Dorinda Cox, who was part of the parliamentary inquiry, said "independent authorities" should be removed from the agreement, with only courts, judges and magistrates providing oversight.

https://thewest.com.au/politics/australia-agencies-set-to-access-us-data-c-9146791

Treaties Committee supports ratification of CLOUD Act Agreement

Joint Standing Committee on Treaties - 13 December 2022

https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/Treaties_Committee_supports_ratification_of_CLOUD_Act_Agreement

https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/download/committees/reportjnt/024997/toc_pdf/Report204.pdf

Australia to move away from ‘COVID exceptionalism’ in 2023 plan

Caitlin Fitzsimmons - December 12, 2022

Australians will need a doctor’s referral for a PCR test at a private pathology clinic from January 1 next year as Australia moves away from “COVID exceptionalism” even as the nation’s chief medical officer predicted regular waves of the virus for at least two more years.

Australians will still be able to get tests without a referral at state-run clinics, hospitals and respiratory clinics but by the end of 2023, they will no longer be bulk-billed.

Chief medical officer Paul Kelly said the threat of COVID-19 was likely to be part of life for some time to come.

“The likely emergence of new variants, including those able to partially evade immune responses, means the Australian community can expect to experience new waves on a regular basis for at least the next two years,” Kelly said.

According to the national COVID plan for 2023: “Australia will transition to managing COVID-19 in a similar way to other respiratory viruses, moving away from COVID exceptionalism and bespoke arrangements”.

PCR testing, which remains more accurate than rapid antigen tests, will no longer be used as a surveillance tool like it was during the lockdowns of 2020-2021, but will instead be targeted to allow eligible patients faster access to antiviral treatments.

“There will be an ongoing need to evaluate and optimise how we test, who we test and when we test people for COVID-19 over the course of 2023,” the plan said.

“Over the next 12 months, COVID-19 testing requirements will be aligned with testing arrangements associated with other respiratory illnesses.”

Health Minister Mark Butler said the government’s priority was to minimise the incidence of death and severe illness.

“We will continue to protect those most at risk, while ensuring we have the capacity to respond to future waves and variants,” Butler said.

While 72 per cent of Australians aged 16 and over have had at least three doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, the plan commits the government to securing new vaccines in future that could provide protection against emerging COVID variants and other diseases such as influenza.

Plans will go ahead to boost Australia’s vaccine manufacturing, such as the nation’s first mRNA lab, currently under construction in Melbourne.

Butler has come under fire following a decision to halve the number of subsidised psychology appointments available to people from next year.

People were able to access an additional 10 appointments following the initial lockdowns in 2020, on top of the 10 already available under the government scheme.

However, funding for the extra appointments will run out at the end of this year and will not be renewed.

Suicide Prevention Australia chief executive Nieves Murray has described this decision, which will halve the number of sessions that can be subsidised by Medicare, as “baffling and very concerning”.

Lifeline: 13 11 14; Suicide Call Back Service: 1300 659 467; Emergency services: 000

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-to-move-away-from-covid-exceptionalism-in-2023-plan-20221212-p5c5r9.html

As Xi’s sun turns up heat, we’d do well to smarten up

BARNABY JOYCE - DECEMBER 13, 2022

1/2

A human hair is 100 microns in diameter. Have a look at one and ask yourself: could you make an electronic component, or anything, that small? A red blood cell is 8 microns in diameter. Taiwan is making highly complex electrical components 0.03 of a micron in depth. These are the semiconductors that are in everything from cars, usually 0.065 microns, or in your mobile phone. They are in the forthcoming small modular reactors, spacecraft, phones, fridges and missiles.

When I was in Taiwan as part of what Labor hoped would be an invisible delegation, we asked whether Australia could be part of this manufacturing process. We were told our role was in the application side. Translated, that means our role is to purchase semiconductors, whether we realise equipment has them or not.

There is a huge difference between buying something that is clever and making something that is clever. There is a huge difference between using a smartphone and making one. This is why an island half the size of Tasmania supports a population nearly the size of Australia’s with a gross domestic product approaching that of Australia.

Our major resources are coal, iron ore, gas and agriculture; theirs is IQ. It was such a reality check for me and others on the delegation. Today, when I hear of the CSIRO it is usually something to do with climate change research or politically guided reports. In the past it was wi-fi, myxoma virus to get rid of rabbits, the seed intellect for computing or penicillin. Would it not be wonderful if instead its scientists were leading in groundbreaking, world-changing technology such as small modular reactors, or smaller microreactors? This is the strength of Asia, focusing on the cutting edge of super smart.

The biggest interest Taiwan has in Australia is food. That is something it has not figured out how to cover for itself and it is one of our strongest levers that we can fill the demand. However, with our aversion to dams, fascination in a new methane pledge and policy of zero-emissions power security destruction, agriculture may also become one of the glories of our past.

As I boarded the plane to return home, the thought that ran through my mind was not of the threat to Taiwan from China but the threat to Australia from our unbridled romantic naivety to the economic reality of the world as it is now. This reality underpins the new global power paradigm.

China and Taiwan, I believe, are unlikely to come to a conflict. It is too stupid and they are not stupid. China instead will try to assert its power incrementally.

There can be only one sun in the sky and the new dynastic form of leadership in China under Xi Jinping believes that heavenly body is Beijing. This is not the future, this is now, and it will continue on this course. It has been happening, it is accelerating in effect and it will arrive as vassal status for the weak. The US, we hope, has a life and strength of a thousand years, but I stood before Chinese bronze craftsmanship more than 3000 years old in Taipei. They play a much longer game.

(continued)

>>17934310

2/2

The only defence is strength, not just military as that is merely an outcome of economic strength. Economic strength comes from being the best in many fields.

Our education has to produce the best mathematics, physics and chemistry students. In the humanities, we need to have proficiency in English better than the Singaporeans and more lang­uages spoken at year 12 than just English. Agriculture has to produce not just volume but also the highest quality, which we do.

Asia has such a great advantage with its Confucian ethos, respect for family, teachers and the law. They waste little energy and have less time for those who want to be belligerents outside the guide rails. We are so concerned with trying to make everyone happy we create the all-inclusive culture that leaves us all behind.

The new emperor is making sure they are heard. This was mentioned to me more than once: “China will ask that you listen” – roughly translated as you will do as you are told if asked.

When asked about the delegation, Anthony Albanese said: “I have no idea, I’m not going, you should ask them.” An odd response considering he previously had been on a delegation himself and ours included and was led by Labor. It almost sounds like he was trying to hide us under a rock, maybe as a duty to a request made to him. In the same month, Penny Wong could not find the time to meet a delegation of Uighur representatives whose people are being persecuted by the Chinese Communist Party.

The one sun in heaven has dawned for Australia and we are hoping others will give us shade.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/as-xis-sun-turns-up-heat-wed-do-well-to-smarten-up/news-story/e450aa0aac608b524c3e900d68bd4d6a

>>17879103

Church didn’t speak to paedophile Frank Houston’s victim about his wishes: court

Pentecostal church leaders did not speak to paedophile preacher Frank Houston’s victim about whether he wanted to come forward, a court has heard.

Steve Zemek and Lauren Ferri - December 13, 2022

A high-ranking member of a Pentecostal church’s leadership has admitted it should have been confirmed with paedophile preacher Frank Houston’s victim that he did not want to make a complaint to police, a court has been told.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court, where he is fighting allegations he covered up his father Frank Houston’s sexual abuse of a young boy in the 1970s.

He has pleaded not guilty to concealing a serious indictable offence and denied being part of a cover-up, arguing he was abiding by the victim’s wishes when he did not go to authorities.

Brett Sengstock was sexually assaulted by Frank Houston inside his family’s Coogee home in January 1970 when he was just seven years old.

Mr Houston learned of his father’s abuse of the boy in 1999 and the case is hinging on whether he had a “reasonable excuse” to not pass on the information to police.

During his evidence last week, Mr Sengstock denied telling Mr Houston that he did not want to go to the authorities.

Pastor Keith Ainge was in 1999 a member of the national executive of the Assemblies of God when Brian Houston called an urgent meeting at Sydney Airport to discuss revelations that Frank Houston had sexually abused the boy.

Mr Ainge has previously told the court that Brian Houston told the meeting that “the victim was not wanting to have his name released to anyone” and “he wanted to keep it quiet”.

The AOG board decided Frank Houston would be stood down, enter into its “restoration program”, would refrain from preaching for 12 months and offered counselling and support, the court heard last week.

According to minutes from that meeting, the AOG had obtained legal advice indicating that they did not have to disclose the matter to police because by that time, Mr Sengstock was in his 30s and could make his own complaint.

Mr Ainge told the court on Tuesday morning that, with the benefit of hindsight, the AOG national executive should have sought to check that Mr Sengstock wanted neither to be identified nor take part in a church investigation.

Mr Ainge told the court it was Brian Houston who told the meeting that the victim did not want to come forward to speak with either police or the church.

Asked whether anybody who did not have a possible conflict of interest attempted to verify the information, Mr Ainge said: “With the benefit of hindsight, we should have done that.

“We believed the evidence Brian was giving us was correct and we were working on the basis that the victim didn’t want to be identified and didn’t want to be contacted by the church.

“We were working with his wishes.”

He told the court he considered Brian Houston trustworthy and had no reason to doubt his statements about Mr Sengstock’s wishes.

The court has heard that Frank Houston was dismissed from the church in late 1999 after having his credentials removed by his son Brian.

Mr Ainge told the court Mr Frank Houston’s credentials were removed as a “protective measure” to stop him carrying out “possible abuse”.

Under the terms of his punishment, he was still allowed to enter churches but was not allowed to preach as a minister.

“How does that protect somebody from possible child abuse?” Magistrate Gareth Christofi asked.

“I guess reducing the exposure would be the only thing that I’d suggest … A minister is in a position of power,” Mr Ainge said.

“There’s an authority that comes with being a minister. And by removing the credentials, you remove the authority which in some way removes the threat.”

The trial continues.

https://www.geelongadvertiser.com.au/breaking-news/hillsong-founder-brian-houston-devastated-over-fathers-rape-of-7yo-boy/news-story/3f32f9939e6e67aeef9020bedba7e02e

Jail for Hobart man who orally raped baby son to make video for internet predators

GRAPHIC CONTENT: A Hobart man who orally raped his baby son, and got caught with scores of horrific child abuse images and videos far too disturbing for publication, has discovered his fate in court.

Amber Wilson - December 13, 2022

A HOBART man who orally raped his baby son to make a video for other paedophiles on the internet will spend at least three-and-a-half years in jail.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, wept in “anguish” in the docks on Tuesday, as he was sentenced by Supreme Court judge Helen Wood.

The man had pleaded guilty to a raft child exploitation material offences, plus two sexual abuse crimes against his son, after he was raided as part of a massive, Australia-wide child abuse bust.

Justice Wood described some of the images and videos Tasmania Police found on the man’s iPhone and MacBook, with much of the content far too disturbing for publication.

She said the man had been communicating with predators online via apps like Telegram, Wickr and Instagram, expressing “approval and sexual interest” when they sent him explicit child abuse material, including horrific images and videos of pre-pubescent children and an infant being graphically molested.

Justice Wood said the man committed the crime of rape when he orally raped his four-month-old son, then committed the crimes of production and distribution of child exploitation material by sending it to a predator online.

The man also committed an indecent assault of his son on his play mat on the lounge room floor, sending it onto two other men online.

“Once the images left the defendant’s control, it is likely they will be distributed further on the internet,” Justice Wood said.

Among the conversations he had online, which Justice Wood said demonstrated “a paedophilic interest in having sex with children”, the man said he was “keen on some young fun” and had been “perving” when he took his young daughter to swimming lessons.

“This is particularly grave case,” Justice Wood said.

“His partner and the mother of the child had no idea what he was doing.

“His betrayal is beyond her comprehension.”

She said the harm the woman and her children suffered was “profound and lasting”.

“She cannot fathom how something so horrific could be done by their baby’s father, in their home,” Justice Wood said.

“She has forced herself to attend court to represent the children. Despite how traumatised she is, she is determined to create a life that minimises the effect of these crimes on the children.”

The man said he had created the child exploitation material of him abusing his son at the request of someone online, who wanted him to prove he was “legit”.

The judge said the case revealed the “insidious reach” of paedophiles online who had a predatory interest in child abuse material, thought of children as a “sexual commodity”, and targeted parents or people with access to children.

“Anyone entrusted with the care of a child who allows themselves to be corrupted, choosing to sexually abuse a child, and then distributing the product of that abuse, cannot expect anything other than heavy punishment,” she said.

The man was jailed for seven years, with a non-parole period of half that time.

His name will be recorded on the sex offenders register for 15 years upon the date of his release.

https://www.themercury.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-tasmania/jail-for-hobart-man-who-orally-raped-baby-son-to-make-video-for-internet-predators/news-story/7eed8f9e46f9603b7475bce4d910bafd

REPORT EXPOSES QANON’S EXPLOITATION OF U.S. MILITARY’S REPUTATION

December 12, 2022

WASHINGTON D.C. – Human Rights First (HRF) today released “Digital Soldiers:” QAnon Extremists Exploit U.S. Military, Threaten Democracy, a report that examines how the extremist QAnon movement is working to exploit the United States military to undermine American democracy.

Digital Soldiers focuses on QAnon-associated influencers centering the U.S. military in their social media narratives and propaganda, and investigates how those narratives recruit new followers, including members of the military community. These narratives create an impression that the movement is allied with the military, providing the QAnon movement credibility that allows it to expand its reach.

“With its masquerade of a partnership with the military, QAnon and its adherents encourage public acceptance of military intervention in domestic politics and other authoritarian actions,” said Elizabeth Yates, Senior Researcher on Antisemitism at Human Rights First. “Their repeated calls for military intervention as a solution to claims of voter fraud, as they did in the recent midterm elections, attacks the very bedrock of American democracy.”

This research identifies 25 influential veterans who spread disinformation and build support for the QAnon movement. The report analyzes QAnon social media channels and reveals how QAnon-influencers – including veterans – portray the U.S. military as a heroic protagonist of extremists’ efforts and exploit military veterans to both legitimate those claims and recruit new members.

The research shows that the QAnon movement’s effort to create the perception that it is allied with the U.S. military has some stark consequences:

• It strengthens the QAnon movement by facilitating recruitment from both military and civilian communities and encourages active participation among adherents;

• Lends legitimacy to discriminatory and anti-democratic conspiracies that are integrated into the Q movement, such as antisemitism and election denial;

• Distorts the public’s understanding of the primary responsibilities of the military and, importantly, the legal boundaries of domestic military intervention;

• Undermines public faith in democratic institutions by regularly encouraging the acceptance of authoritarian actions; and

• Threatens the communities the movement targets with its conspiracies and tarnishes the reputation of U.S. service members, veterans, and their families.

The report shows how QAnon-associated influencers co-opt military language and symbolism to suggest the U.S. military’s involvement in their conspiracy theories. The research also reveals that veterans are over-represented in the movement. These self-described “digital soldiers” are highly engaged in the movement and play a major role in validating conspiracy theories.

Addressing this threat needs to be an urgent priority for both government and civil society, and the report includes several recommendations including: supporting efforts by the Department of Defense to address extremism in the military; increasing veteran awareness of QAnon’s recruitment tactics and narratives; improving digital literacy and increasing public awareness of QAnon disinformation; demanding that elected leaders denounce extremist conspiracies; and both supporting targeted communities and holding accountable perpetrators of extremism.

To speak with Yates or other experts on extremism at Human Rights First about the report and its findings, please contact Shamari White, hrf@westendstrategy.com, (202) 714-4129.

https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/report-exposes-qanons-exploitation-of-u-s-militarys-reputation/

—

QAnon Extremists Exploit U.S. Military, Threaten Democracy

This report examines how the QAnon movement exploits the U.S. military’s credibility in society to further its aim of undermining American democracy. It shows how 25 U.S. military veterans – all of whom have been engaged in the QAnon movement since the failed insurrection on January 6, 2021 – spread disinformation and build support for the movement. Analysis of their social media, along with a broader review of QAnon content, reveals how Q influencers portray the U.S. military as a heroic protagonist in their conspiratorial propaganda, and how they exploit military veterans to legitimate such claims and even recruit. It concludes with policy recommendations that focus on protecting members of the armed services, those who have served and their families, and communities the movement targets with its conspiracies.

https://humanrightsfirst.org/library/digital-soldiers/

https://humanrightsfirst.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Digital-Soldiers_QAnon-Report.pdf

>>17858006

Brittany Higgins settles personal injury claim against the commonwealth

Katharine Murphy and Christopher Knaus - 14 Dec 2022

Former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins has settled her personal injury claim against the commonwealth after a short mediation, according to her lawyers, but the dollar value of the settlement will remain confidential.

Noor Blumer of Blumers Lawyers issued a statement on Tuesday night confirming the development. “At a mediation held today, the commonwealth and Ms Higgins settled her claims,” it said.

Blumer said the terms of the settlement would remain confidential “at the request of Ms Higgins”.

News that Higgins would pursue the personal injury claim coincided with a decision by prosecutors to drop charges against Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Higgins because of concern another trial would risk her wellbeing.

Lehrmann had maintained his innocence to allegations that he raped Higgins, a colleague and fellow political staffer, in the office of the then-defence industry minister, Linda Reynolds, in March 2019.

The Lehrmann case collapsed due to juror misconduct last month. The collapse of the trial leaves Lehrmann with the presumption of innocence. He pleaded not guilty to one charge of sexual intercourse without consent and has always maintained that no sexual activity occurred between him and Higgins.

The trial’s collapse has also precipitated an extraordinary series of complaints, calls for inquiries, and legal threats.

Lehrmann is reported to be contemplating suing media outlets for defamation, including the ABC, the Australian, and Network 10’s The Project.

Meanwhile, the Australian Capital Territory’s director of public prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, SC has made extraordinary allegations about the conduct of police during the investigation and trial, saying they pressured him not to pursue the case. The police union has dismissed the allegations as smears and the police chief, Neil Gaugha, has said they are untested.

The concerns about police conduct are now being examined by the law enforcement watchdog, the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity.

Pressure is also growing on the ACT government to announce some form of public inquiry into the affair. Almost every party involved has called for some form of inquiry and it is now being seriously contemplated by chief minister Andrew Barr’s cabinet.

The cabinet met on Monday afternoon and discussed the possibility of a broad-ranging, independent inquiry.

“The cabinet discussed how a broad-ranging, independent inquiry could help to identify the roles played by the parties involved in the trial and whether these actions were appropriate,” Barr said. “These discussions also noted that an [Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity] investigation is currently under way.”

Higgins has also complained about police conduct prior to the trial, alleging they distributed a USB stick containing, among other things, her private counselling notes to Lehrmann’s defence. The defence says they did not access the documents. She has complained to ACT policing and is still waiting on the results of the internal investigation.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/dec/13/brittany-higgins-settles-personal-injury-claim-against-the-commonwealth

>>17884784

Ready-made nuclear subs still a stop-gap option for Australia

Matthew Knott - December 14, 2022

A senior US congressman says Australia should not give up hope of purchasing nuclear-powered submarines off-the-shelf from the United States, insisting the strained American shipbuilding industry can rise to the challenge of the AUKUS pact.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has called for the Albanese government to buy two Virginia-class submarines from Connecticut to plug a looming capability gap between the retirement of the current Collins-class submarines and the arrival of locally made nuclear-powered submarines in the late 2030s or 2040s.

The idea has been widely dismissed on the grounds American shipbuilding yards are struggling to meet the US Navy’s needs and don’t have capacity to build submarines for Australia.

“There’s been a lot of talk about well, the Australians would just buy a US submarine. That’s not going to happen,” US congressman Rob Wittman, the top Republican on the House of Representatives’ seapower subcommittee, said earlier this month.

But Democratic congressman Joe Courtney, chair of the House seapower subcommittee, repudiated this statement, telling The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age: “I don’t think the notion of purchasing a Virginia [class submarine] is off the table”.

Asked about his Republican colleague’s comments, Courtney said: “I think it’s premature to take that position. I have a lot of respect for Rob, but we should not look at December 2022 as the permanent state of affairs in terms of the industrial base.”

Courtney’s electoral district in Connecticut includes the General Dynamics Electric Boat shipbuilding yard where the Virginia-class submarines are constructed.

Defence Minister Richard Marles and US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy visited the construction facilities last week during a visit to the US.

Widely regarded as one of the top experts in Congress on submarines and shipbuilding, Courtney is also co-chair of the Friends of Australia caucus.

Courtney acknowledged the US needs to significantly expand its submarine manufacturing capacity in coming years, including by constructing new facilities and hiring new staff.

“But I am very bullish on the fact that if you give shipbuilders a plan that contains a demand signal and the resources, this is not just pie-in-the-sky stuff,” he said.

“Once it’s clear what the government is looking for, I think the industrial base will respond.”

Courtney noted the US was extending the life of its Los Angeles-class nuclear submarines, raising the possibility Australia could lease or purchase a small number of these vessels as an interim measure until local manufacturing begins.

Courtney said Australia could rely on US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin’s vow last week that the US would not leave Australia with a capability gap.

“Secretary Austin says what he means and means what he says,” Courtney said.

Australian Navy chief Mark Hammond recently swatted away an earlier warning from a senior US Navy officer that Australia has little chance of securing nuclear-powered submarines off American production lines, dismissing the highly publicised remarks as mere “noise”.

Courtney said there had been much “opinion and speculation” about what type of nuclear-powered submarine Australia will acquire when the Albanese government makes its “big reveal” in March.

While some commentators still doubt the promise of nuclear-powered submarines will become reality, Courtney said: “I hear from folks in the Navy that people are feeling good about the process.

“The outcome will rise to the intent of AUKUS when it was announced in September 2021.”

A significant amount of legislative work needs to be done next year on technology transfer and export controls to ensure the nuclear-powered submarine technology can be delivered as quickly as possible, he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/ready-made-nuclear-subs-still-a-stop-gap-option-for-australia-20221213-p5c5uc.html

>>17513816

Launceston General Hospital sex-abuse report rebukes leaders

Ethan James - 14 December 2022

Senior management at a Tasmanian hospital where a male pedophile nurse worked for almost two decades showed "inertia" to implementing child safety reforms after his death, a review has found.

The Launceston General Hospital (LGH) was the subject of harrowing evidence at an inquiry into child sexual abuse in state institutions, which will deliver a final report by May.

The inquiry, which wrapped up public hearings in September, was told of missed red flags relating to pedophile nurse James Geoffrey Griffin.

Griffin died by suicide in 2019 after being charged with multiple child sexual abuse offences.

The state government in July announced a child safe governance review of the hospital.

The review's final report was published on Wednesday, with Premier Jeremy Rockliff pledging to implement all of its 92 recommendations.

It found the hospital had no clearly designated executive with oversight responsibilities for the effective functioning of child safety.

It also found that despite significant work across Tasmania's health system, there remained a "level of confusion" about individual mandatory reporting obligations at the LGH.

All medical practitioners and nurses are required by law to report suspicions of child abuse or neglect.

The review determined there had been significant work by the health department since 2019 aimed at strengthening child safety.

"Despite these state-led changes, we found a level of inertia present in the engagement of the senior executive management team at the LGH in making changes locally and with the review itself," it reads.

"From our perspective, there appeared to be a lack of the responsive leadership necessary to drive change at the local level."

The review, by adjunct professors Debora Picone AO and Karen Crawshaw, found poor governance systems and responses, ill-defined executive and clinician accountabilities and an absence of strong organisational leadership.

They found clinical leaders struggled to deliver necessary reforms, such as implementing patient safety and quality systems.

There was inadequate risk management and complaints management, some loss of confidence in the incident management system and a failure to escalate and adequately deal with serious complaints.

The inquiry was told during investigations following Griffin's death, the hospital failed to accurately inform the health department of allegations of inappropriate behaviour made against him.

Peter Renshaw, executive director of medical services at the LGH since 1989, told the inquiry he was "not certain" systems at the hospital had markedly changed since Griffin's death.

Following the hearings it was announced Dr Renshaw, nursing director Helen Bryan and hospital chief executive Eric Daniels would retire.

Mr Rockliff said the review was an important step in rebuilding the trust of the community.

"We have accepted the recommendations in full and we will implement them so that we keep our children and young people safe," he said.

Recommendations include creating a flow chart to provide patients, carers, families and staff clarity about how to report child safety concerns.

The review recommended the digitisation of all current and historical family violence and sexual assault medical records "as soon as possible" so there is one record for each patient.

The review said a new management structure in place for a short period of time at the hospital had already made a positive change.

https://thewest.com.au/politics/hospital-sex-abuse-report-rebukes-leaders-c-9156308

>>17513816

Launceston General Hospital report: 92 recommendations to be adopted

The embattled hospital’s “senior executive management team” showed a “level of inertia” in engaging with the review and a “lack of the responsive leadership” needed to fix the woes.

Alex Treacy - December 14, 2022

Launceston General Hospital’s senior executive management team displayed a “level of inertia” and “appeared to lack… the responsive leadership necessary to drive change at the local level” in the wake of the Commission of Inquiry, a report has found.

The Independent Safe Child Governance Review of the Launceston General Hospital and Human Resources report, publicly released on Wednesday, made 92 recommendations.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said on Wednesday afternoon the state government would implement each of them.

“I was devastated by what we heard throughout the Commission of Inquiry. While we cannot change the past – I’ve said many time we failed our children in this state over successive decades – we can change the future,” Mr Rockliff said.

Health secretary Kathrine Morgan-Wicks said some of the key changes being implemented included “full-time resources for child safety liaison at the LGH and a dedicated child-safe unit to support reporting and training in child safety”.

All DoH staff must undertake child safety training by June 30, 2023 and there would be improved processes to proactively encourage and support the reporting of incidents.

A new position, Chief Executive – Hospitals North has also been created to help implement the changes. It will be filled by Jen Duncan, who performed the role on an interim basis.

Ms Morgan-Wicks said there would be “independent oversight” of the implementation of the recommendations.

The review was commissioned in August in the wake of terrible revelations at the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings, especially regarding the hospital’s harbouring of paedophile nurse James Geoffrey Griffin.

While, since 2019, the Department of Health had undertaken “significant” work to strengthen child safety procedures and there was now in place “exemplary policy frameworks and incident reporting systems”.

However, the same could not be said of the hospital’s senior levels, which copped a lashing from the review’s co-chairs.

“Despite these state led changes, we found a level of inertia present in the engagement of the senior executive management team at the LGH in making changes locally, and with the review itself,” co-chairs Adjunct Professor Debora Picone AO and Adjunct Professor Karen Crawshaw PSM.

“From our perspective, there appeared to be a lack of the responsive leadership necessary to drive change at the local level.

“At the LGH we found poor governance systems and responses, ill-defined executive and clinician accountabilities, an absence of strong organisational leadership, clinical leaders struggling to deliver necessary reforms such as implementing patient safety and quality systems, inadequate risk management and complaints management, some loss of confidence in the incident management system and failure to escalate and adequately deal with serious complaints.”

Other key recommendations of the review include:

– The executive and clinical leadership team of the LGH join with the secretary and executive of the department (to undertake) an annual review of child safety and wellbeing status confirmed through a publicly reported attestation statement.

– The One Health Leadership and Management Training, including people management training on how to have difficult conversations and manage staff grievances, be prioritised for those frontline and middle managers at the LGH who have not yet undertaken any structured leadership or management training.

– A LGH Culture Improvement Advisory Group be established which includes staff and managers, chaired by Chief Executive Hospitals North, and supported by HR Business Partner. Regular progress reports on implementation of local action plans be provided to staff from the Group. This should occur at least biannually. Membership of the LGH Culture Improvement Advisory Group to include First Nations and Diversity Inclusion identified positions.

– All leaders and managers at the LGH prioritise child safety as part of broader patient safety. Managers should be accountable through their performance agreements and reviews for the timely completion of mandatory training on child safety and reporting requirements by their staff.

https://www.themercury.com.au/news/launceston/launceston-general-hospital-report-92-recommendations-to-be-adopted/news-story/534b5e4e59d085399b2ea3833f86b648

>>17513816

Launceston General Hospital report makes 92 recommendations after abuse scandal

Jessica Moran - 14 December 2022

1/2

Amanda Duncan's sister Zoe is never far from her mind, and what happened to her while she was a patient at the Launceston General Hospital (LGH) is something Amanda never wants to see repeated.

In 2001, 11-year-old Zoe went to the LGH suffering an asthma attack, but during her stay she was sexually assaulted by a male doctor.

When the assault was reported to authorities, the claims were dismissed.

Zoe died from epilepsy in 2017 aged 28. Even after she was diagnosed, she refused to go back to the LGH.

The Duncan family gave evidence earlier this year during the Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government's Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in Institutional Settings.

The harrowing stories and experiences of the family and many others prompted the Tasmanian government in July to call for an immediate review into management at all levels at the hospital.

Six months on, the Independent Child Safe Governance Review of the Launceston General Hospital and Human Resources has been released.

Ms Duncan welcomed the decision by the Tasmanian government to accept and implement all 92 recommendations from the report, describing it as a "positive step forward" — but she said there was "still a lot of work to do after the recommendations are passed down".

"It's absolutely critical that LGH staff, senior management and HR respect the recommendations that have been made," she said.

"Child safety is everyone's responsibility, and it's regardless of your role within a health service."

As a nurse and a midwife, Ms Duncan said it was challenging to share her lived experience as part of the review, but she was glad she did.

"It was important that I represented those who are working in the LGH currently, and also as the little sister of Zoe," she said.

"It was challenging but also empowering to represent the voice of Zoe and the family."

(continued)

>>17939744

2/2

The Child Safe Governance Review looked into management of the hospital and human resources, with a particular focus on the handling of serious misconduct such as institutional child sexual abuse through the lens of child safety.

The report identified a raft of failures at the LGH, including:

"Ill-defined executive and clinician leadership accountabilities, lack of cohesion across the executive team, an imbalance within the executive leadership team which was weighted too heavily to longevity and status quo and insufficiently to renewal and change.

"Ineffective and unwieldy, internal communication and decision-making structures and ineffective performance management".

The report found while there were "well-established patient safety systems available at the LGH", the governance failures had "led to a lack of confidence in the effectiveness of those systems and the effectiveness of their practical application".

It also noted "complaints management at LGH was inconsistent and immature, and there was a lack of clarity in the escalation pathways for the handling of serious complaints, which the establishment of a centrally based complaints oversight system within the Department of Health should help address".

Other issues included "confusion about the respective roles and accountabilities of the HR and clinical operational managers" as well as "no clearly designated executive [having] oversight responsibilities for the effective functioning of child safety at LGH".

The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) Tasmanian branch secretary Emily Shepherd said it would "take time" for the culture at the hospital to undergo meaningful change.

"As a member of the advisory panel, [the ANMF] very much support the recommendations, and we are hearing members are feeling more positive, but it will take a long time to rebuild the culture," she said.

Premier Jeremy Rockliff said he would work to ensure all recommendations from the review were implemented in full.

"We have already made changes since the commission of inquiry and indeed we will continue to do so," he said.

The review also outlined the need for LGH staff to undergo mandatory child-safety training by June 2023.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-14/lgh-child-safety-changes-accepted-by-tasmanian-govt/101769744

—

Independent Report from the Co-Chairs for the Child Safe Governance Review of the Launceston General Hospital and Human Resources

https://www.health.tas.gov.au/publications/independent-report-co-chairs-child-safe-governance-review-launceston-general-hospital-and-human-resources

https://www.health.tas.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-12/independent_child_safe_governance_review_of_the_lgh_and_hr_-_report.pdf

>>17879103

Disgraced pastor Frank Houston continued preaching after ban for child sex abuse

Despite being banned by the church for raping a child, disgraced pastor Frank Houston continued preaching up until months before his death, a court has heard.

Steve Zemek - December 14, 2022

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Disgraced paedophile pastor Frank Houston continued preaching up until two months before his death, with audio capturing him telling a child during one sermon: “It’s not your fault you’re so good looking”.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court where he has denied covering up his father Frank Houston’s sexual abuse of a then seven-year-old boy in Sydney over 50 years ago.

Mr Houston, 68, has argued that he was not obligated to report his father to police because he was abiding by the wishes of victim Brett Sengstock.

He has pleaded not guilty to one count of concealing the serious indictable offence of another person.

Brett Sengstock was raped by Frank Houston inside his family’s Coogee home in Sydney’s eastern suburbs in January 1970 and Brian Houston is accused of not passing on the information to police when he was told in late 1999.

The court has previously heard that Brian Houston was told of his father’s sexual abuse in October 1999 by George Aghajanian, the general manager of the Hills Christian Life Centre, which was the precursor of the Hillsong church.

Frank Houston had his credentials as a pastor removed by Brian Houston, though the court has heard that he continued to preach.

The court was on Wednesday played an audio recording of Frank Houston preaching at the Hunter Valley Christian Life Centre in September 2004, two months before he died.

Mr Houston’s defence barrister Phillip Boulten described Frank Houston’s sermon as being “nutty” and self-contradictory.

During the 50-plus minute sermon Frank Houston tells jokes about his wife Hazel’s death after she collapsed at a McDonald’s earlier that year.

“The only grievance I had was that she didn’t choose a beautiful, expensive restaurant to die in rather than McDonald’s,” Frank Houston said.

Bob Cotton, who was the senior pastor of the church, invited Frank Houston to preach, having in the late 1990s forged close personal and professional relationship with him.

At the time, he had changed the name of his church to the Hunter Valley Christian Life Centre to come under the umbrella of the Sydney Christian Life Centre, which was founded by Frank Houston.

However, when Frank Houston’s sexual abuse was uncovered at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2014, Mr Cotton again changed his church’s name to the Maitland Christian Church.

“We did that because we wanted to break any connection or association we had with Frank Houston after the truth came out about his child sex offences,” Mr Cotton told the court on Wednesday.

(continued)

>>17939800

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The court heard on Wednesday that Mr Cotton was set to tell the court that when he invited Frank Houston to speak at his church in 2004, he was unaware of the reasons he had had his credentials removed.

On another occasion during the sermon, Frank Houston he is heard conversing with two boys, aged 10 and eight.

He tells another boy in the congregation: “This curly-haired little man here … What a fantastic young fellow he is, curly hair, sort of. Good looking.

“It’s not your fault you’re good looking. So thank God you are.

“Who wants to be ugly when you can be good looking.

“Yeah. Look at this great big strong man, full of faith. I hope you love God all the days of your life, follow the Holy Ghost and be a man of God. You may preach the gospel one day.

Mr Boulten has argued that Brian Houston made numerous statements, in the media and during sermons, about his father’s sexual abuse and “there was something like tens of thousands of people” who knew.

In a video played during the trial and released by the court, Mr Houston addresses the Hillsong Conference at Sydney’s SuperDome in 2002 and talks to the 18,000-strong crowd about his father’s sexual abuse of the boy.

“A couple of years ago I received probably the worst news I’ve ever, ever received in my life,” Mr Houston said.

“One of my team, one of my staff came into my office and began to tell me a story where my own father, who is my hero, was accused of sexual abuse over 30 years ago when he was a pastor in New Zealand still.

“And I’ve got to tell you that what was being said left me so numb, so stunned, I could hardly believe what I was hearing.

“And I had to confront my own father, who I loved and still love, and I had to confront him with this accusation. To which he made certain confessions. And I, along with others, had to sack my own dad.

“And the best way I can describe this, the best way I can describe it, it was like jets flying into the twin towers of my soul.”

The trial continues.

https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/breaking-news/how-does-that-protect-somebody-church-questioned-over-houstons-punishment/news-story/c2eb904a982e614851369cac0112135b

>>17494507

U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China's TikTok

Alexandra Alper - December 14, 2022

WASHINGTON, Dec 13 (Reuters) - Republican Senator Marco Rubio on Tuesday announced bipartisan legislation to ban China's popular social media app TikTok, ratcheting up pressure on owner ByteDance Ltd amid U.S. fears the app could be used to spy on Americans and censor content.

The legislation would block all transactions from any social media company in or under the influence of China and Russia, Rubio's office said in a news release, adding that a companion bill in the U.S. House of Representatives was sponsored by Republican congressman Mike Gallagher and Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi.

"It is troubling that rather than encouraging the administration to conclude its national security review of TikTok, some members of Congress have decided to push for a politically-motivated ban that will do nothing to advance the national security of the United States," a TikTok spokesperson said in a statement, adding that the company would continue to brief members of Congress on the plans that are "well underway" to "further secure our platform in the United States."

The bill comes as scrutiny of TikTok has grown in Washington in recent weeks, after a failed bid by the Trump administration to ban the video-sharing app.

At a hearing last month, FBI Director Chris Wray said TikTok's U.S. operations raise national security concerns, flagging the risk that the Chinese government could harness it to influence users or control their devices.

Alabama and Utah on Monday joined other U.S. states prohibiting the use of TikTok on state government devices and computer networks due to national security concerns. read more

In 2020, then-President Donald Trump attempted to block new users from downloading TikTok and ban other transactions that would have effectively blocked the apps' use in the United States but lost a series of court battles over the measure.

The U.S. government's Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a powerful national security body, in 2020 ordered ByteDance to divest TikTok because of fears that U.S. user data could be passed on to China's communist government.

CFIUS and TikTok have been in talks for months aiming to reach a national security agreement to protect the data of TikTok's more than 100 million users.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-lawmakers-unveil-bipartisan-bid-ban-chinas-tiktok-2022-12-13/

>>17869695

‘Hail Satan’: a Virginia town at war over After School Satan Club

Christians and Satanists clash at the Chesapeake School Board meeting

Amber Athey - December 13, 2022

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If you’re looking for a Christmas display to rival Clark Griswold’s 25,000 twinkling incandescent lights, the Chesapeake City Hall is a good place to start. The building lights up each year for its “Deck the Hall” event, a drive-through light display featuring candy cane-wrapped trees, glittering snowflakes and City Hall itself glowing red and green. The decorations were so bright I had a difficult time reading the signs that would point me to the Chesapeake Public Schools building. Luckily, it only took a few more turns before I saw two parking lots full of cars and a line of people sprawling down the block.

The crowd wasn’t there to take in the beautiful Christmas lights. Instead, they wanted to make it known to their local school board members that they opposed the addition of an After School Satan Club, or ASSC, hosted by the Satanic Temple, at B.M. Williams Primary School. When the ASSC was first approved, the Chesapeake School Board sent an email to parents explaining that while they don’t endorse the club, they feel they legally had no choice but to allow them to hold events in public buildings. They told community members they could make their personal objections to the group known at Monday night’s school board meeting.

A quick drive around Chesapeake left me surprised that the town would be home to a proud Satanic group. It wasn’t just City Hall that lit up for Christmas; the neighborhood surrounding the Chesapeake Municipal Center saw entire blocks of homes beaming with coordinated light displays celebrating the holiday. A quick Google Maps search told me that there were at least twenty churches within a five mile radius of the Public Schools building.

A woman standing in line next to me, whose name I didn’t catch, told me that she believes Chesapeake’s vibrant faith community is precisely why the Satanic Temple targeted them.

“They are doing this because they know that we are a strong community and that our community stands with God,” she said. “It’s a test.”

A police officer outside of the Chesapeake School Board building was handing out paper slips to anyone in line who wanted to sign up to speak at the meeting. Once inside, attendees had to go through a metal detector, and there were several more police officers stationed inside the meeting room. Overall, a diverse crowd of about 200 people showed up for the meeting; more than sixty spoke. The public comment period lasted over three hours.

The Satanic Temple only starts After School Satan Clubs at public schools that also have active Christian clubs, supposedly in a bid to poke at religious liberty laws and threaten school boards with legal action if they don’t comply. There are six other ASSCs throughout the country. In Chesapeake, the Satanic Temple was summoned by a local parent due to the creation of a “Good News Club,” an evangelical fellowship program for children. Parents must sign a permission slip in order for their children to attend. After the ASSC’s first parent sponsor withdrew their name, another took their place and resubmitted the group’s application.

Despite identifying as a religious group, the Satanic Temple says they do not worship Satan as a supernatural figure, and only use the ASSCs as ways to expose children to critical thinking skills, science and the arts. However, the real goal of the ASSC is seemingly to create enough controversy that school boards decide to cancel all after-school clubs, including Christian ones.

Several speakers at Monday’s meeting, including volunteers with the Good News Club, warned of this potential outcome. Instead of shutting down after school clubs, they suggested community members respond to the Satanic Temple’s antagonism with prayer, regular Church attendance and even more Christian clubs.

“We want to commend Chesapeake for supporting free speech,” one sponsor of a local Good News Club said. “A critical part of their strategy is to inflame emotions… they want schools and parents to react by shutting down all after school clubs.”

“Gather, pray,” another said. “I don’t need the Chesapeake School Board — I need God.”

(continued)

>>17939832

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Most of the anti-ASSC speakers acknowledged the legal challenges of shutting down the group, but still urged the Chesapeake School Board to find some way to reject the club. One individual questioned if the Satanic Temple can truly count as a religious organization subject to legal protections if they only view Satan as a “literary figure.” Another asked if the School Board would be compelled to accept an after school club application from a group that used Hitler as a symbol, a comparison that a Satanic Temple member later rejected as “offensive.”

The Chesapeake Public Schools Building Use policy states that a request may be rejected if it “is judged not to be in the best interest of the school and community or would result in an unacceptable risk.”

A particularly impassioned speaker begged the Chesapeake School Board to shut down the club’s application, “damn the consequences.”

“If it means we got to go to court and fight, then go to court,” the man said, “Roe v. Wade was ‘settled law’ until a few months ago.”

Several Chesapeake residents lamented the fact that the After School Satan Club was bringing more controversy and divisiveness to the city just weeks after six people were killed at the local Walmart. An older woman teared up as she spoke about leaving the Walmart just minutes before the shooter, who left a manifesto stating that he committed the heinous act because he had been lead astray by Satan, opened fire. She feared what would happen if Satanic imagery were subsequently allowed in public school buildings.

About a dozen of the attendees were with the Satanic Temple. They sat together in the front left of the room. Most of them had brightly colored hair, dark, gothic clothing, facial piercings and tattoos. One exception was June Everett, a petite blonde woman who is an ordained minister with the Satanic Temple. Everett flew in from Colorado for the meeting and said she got involved with the Temple because Good News Club members “traumatized” her son by telling him that he was going to burn in Hell.

Several of the Temple members snickered to one another as the Christians spoke at the podium and shook their heads emphatically at the descriptions of the ASSC. At one point, a speaker held up disturbing Facebook posts from a local ASSC sponsor who goes by the pseudonym “Rose Bastet”, including one meme that depicted a baby in an oven. The gaggle of Satanic Temple members burst into laughter at the photo. A Chesapeake School Board member said he understands the group is trying to “sensationalize”, but warned them that if they disrupted the meeting again they would be removed.

Some Temple members used their time at the podium to defend the club, but seemed equally as interested in airing their personal grievances against Christianity. One speaker insisted that Christians are “unhinged” hypocrites who sexually abuse children. Others said that they had been bullied and threatened by Chesapeake community members who wanted them to withdraw the club’s application. One young man alleged that the Good News Clubs only have members because parents use them for free childcare.

They nearly all concluded their remarks with “Hail, Satan!” as their comrades in the audience held up the sign of the horns. They reveled in the negative reaction like teenagers telling edgy jokes for the first time.

The most bombastic Satanist speakers stormed out of the meeting after they finished. One member named Lacy emphatically said to a group of Christians on her way out, “You don’t have to like it, but you have to respect it!”

A woman replied simply, “No, we don’t.”

After the more than three-hour public comment period Monday night, Chesapeake Public Schools superintendent Dr. Jared Cotton said that the board needed to review the ASSC’s application and conduct a safety assessment before making a final decision on their ability to use public building space. This could mean a delay to the ASSC’s first planned meeting on December 15. Whatever the School Board decides, the parents of Chesapeake made clear that they don’t intend to let the club through without a fight.

https://spectatorworld.com/topic/satan-chesapeake-virginia-town-war-after-school-satan-club/

>>17933898

>>17934061

‘Not just at the pointy end’: Calls for renewed focus on conspiracy threats

Matt Dennien and Matthew Knott - December 14, 2022

Experts are calling for renewed national focus on the potential violent threat posed by elements of Australia’s conspiratorial fringe, after the killing of two police and their alleged attackers in regional Queensland.

The warning comes as Queensland police comb through the online footprints and personal backgrounds of the trio, killed in a shootout after what has been described as an ambush on a regional property leaving two colleagues and a neighbour dead.

Those scenes and the early attempts to understand them have also sparked comments from the chair of the powerful Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, federal Labor MP Peter Khalil, about disrupting the “pipeline towards extremism” at its source.

“Not just at the pointy end of the spear where violent attacks are imminent,” Khalil told this masthead.

“Increasing polarisation, online echo chambers and the intersection of ideological, transnational and socioeconomic factors have cultivated a febrile atmosphere for radicalisation that is challenging for security agencies and law enforcement.”

While police have given little public detail about the events and motivations of the group at Wieambilla, or what role any views they held may have played, extremism experts have reiterated warnings about the still-simmering ashes of pandemic-fuelled conspiracy communities.

Online accounts sharing the name of one member of the trio, 47-year-old Gareth Train, had been active on conspiracy websites for years and suggested an interest in the topics for decades.

The account had posted about entwined theories spanning vaccines, claims the Port Arthur massacre was staged to take away the nation’s guns to broader anti-authority beliefs, and brags about previously telling “coward” police to leave his property.

His brother Nathaniel, 46, had developed a deep resentment for the NSW education system he was only recently part of before disappearing and resurfacing at the property. Gareth’s wife, 45-year-old Stacey, quit a local public school role ahead of vaccine mandates last year.

All three were killed in the grisly end to the situation which unfolded on Monday night about three hours west of Brisbane.

Elise Thomas, a senior analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, said the uncertainties of the pandemic and frustration at government responses to it had exposed many people to conspiracy theories for the first time.

Those already involved were pulled deeper. As COVID fuel left the movement, some found their way out, but others had lost ties to friends and families outside. The security threats of mass protest activity then shifted to lone actors or small groups capable of violence, Thomas said.

Deakin University senior research fellow Josh Roose said while relatively benign conspiracies such as Area 51 had long found their place in popular culture, the present risk was this “committed core” with a far-right undercurrent.

“We’re already starting to see little bits and pieces online … supportive of the attacks in Queensland recently,” Roose said, noting others had already “turned this event into a conspiracy”.

Lydia Khalil, an expert in far-right extremism at the Lowy Institute and wife of Peter Khalil, said authorities had been understandably wary of policing people for unorthodox views and most even on the extreme end did not engage in violence.

But she said conspiracy-fuelled violence was increasing around the world and the connection between extremist views and violence needs to be better understood. “This is a clear signal we need to take the uptick in conspiratorial beliefs more seriously,” she said.

Thomas and Roose agreed that any solution was complex and one not yet laid out by most governments, but involved a range of programs to disengage people from conspiratorial communities by offering a positive alternative and addressing social inequalities.

Better regulation of the content swirling on both mainstream and alternative social media sites and online forums was another way to stop the spread of — and funnelling of people towards — more violent messaging, they said.

Federal Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil last week announced the federal government was creating a new cyber-security strategy and reforming counter-terrorism laws to deal with emerging national security threats linked to right-wing extremism.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/queensland/not-just-at-the-pointy-end-calls-for-renewed-focus-on-conspiracy-threats-20221214-p5c6ch.html

>>17933898

Peter Dutton becomes emotional during condolence motion for Queensland police officers killed in shooting

Georgia Hitch - 15 December 2022

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton has become emotional during a condolence motion for the two police officers and local resident who were killed in Queensland during Monday night's siege.

Mr Dutton served as a police officer in Queensland before entering federal politics in 2001.

Parliament was recalled to sit today to pass the government's energy relief package, but members in the House of Representatives have also been given time to deliver condolence motions in response to the events earlier this week.

Mr Dutton became visibly upset as he delivered his speech, and paid tribute to Constable Rachel McCrow, Constable Matthew Arnold and Alan Dare, who were shot dead.

He described them as three people "who embodied compassion, commitment and courage", and said the pain of the events would endure for some time to come.

"In this instance what has hit hardest across the country is the execution style and the complete disregard for the human beings these officers were," he said.

"The premeditated nature of the attack, the callous lack of heeding the pleas that would've, that would've echoed in between the gunshots.

"Mr Speaker I want to acknowledge the work of all of those to attended the scene … those included in the many police officers who'll be scarred from this experience."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese noted Mr Dutton's service as a police officer in Queensland saying that "every death in the line of duty strikes in the heart of all those who serve".

He told parliament the nation was mourning with the families of those who were killed, especially given the time of year.

"We know that for their families, this Christmas, there will be a place not taken," he said.

"An empty space of grief and loss that the years will never be able to fill."

The member for the area, Nationals leader David Littleproud — who also became emotional — described the crime as "one of the most vile acts".

"To those who are prepared to put their lives on the line for us, as a society we are better than that and we are," he said.

"While this is a stake to the heart of two small country towns it's not the end, in fact it's only solidified the strength, solidified our reverence for those who serve our community.

"Because once you become a country copper, you become part of the community."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-15/peter-dutton-emotional-condolence-queensland-police-shooting/101776036

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKupk9zqSLM

>>17933898

>>17934061

Internet ‘turbocharging’ extremism and conspiracy theories: home affairs minister

Matthew Knott and Angus Thompson - December 15, 2022

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Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil says intelligence agencies are investigating the national security implications of the Queensland shootout that led to the death of six people, including the role online radicalisation may have played in sparking the tragedy.

O’Neil said conspiracy theories, disinformation and misinformation were being “turbocharged” by the internet, presenting a new kind of national security threat for law enforcement agencies and policymakers.

New policy responses, including legislation, may be needed to help prevent people with extremist views from turning to violence, O’Neil said.

While Queensland Police are still investigating the case, O’Neil said online radicalisation was likely to form part of the explanation for why police officers were fired upon when they approached a property at Wieambilla, near Brisbane.

Online accounts sharing the name of one member of the now deceased trio inside the home, 47-year-old Gareth Train, had been active on conspiracy websites for years and suggested an interest in the topics for decades.

The account had posted about entwined theories spanning vaccines, the Port Arthur massacre being staged to take away the nation’s guns and broader anti-authority beliefs, and bragged about previously telling “coward” police to leave his property.

O’Neil told parliament on Thursday that “security agencies are actively considering the implications of this matter for the national security of our country, the implications of online radicalisation of misinformation and violent extremism”.

“There is a lot of media reporting and speculation about what has motivated these three people to perform the despicable acts of violence that they did.”

Warning that the initial information after such an event can often be wrong, O’Neil said: “Before we get into the discussion about what’s happened, it’s really important that we let law enforcement and national security agencies do their job.

“Once the picture does start to clarify, it is likely that radicalisation will form a part of it.”

As Home Affairs Minister, O’Neil has oversight of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation and is responsible for cybersecurity.

“Radicalisation is not new, but it is absolutely clear from events here and around the world that conspiracy theories, disinformation and misinformation problems as old as time are being turbocharged by technology into terrible acts of violence,” she said.

“They’re presenting a new kind of threat to national security. There will be deep and very important policy questions for us here as a parliament to think about how our country prevents and deals with acts of violence.

“But today is not the day for those discussions. Today is a day for grieving.”

O’Neil last week announced the Home Affairs Department’s national resilience taskforce would examine ways to strengthen Australian democracy and combat misinformation and disinformation.

She said that “we need to explore what we can do with tech companies to reduce the spread of polarisation and falsehoods, which have become such an important part of our lives”.

(continued)

>>17946270

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On Thursday morning, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who was home affairs minister in the Morrison government, agreed conspiracy-theory activity of those who began the Queensland shootout should be a concern for law enforcement in Australia.

“We’ve seen in recent years the spread of disinformation on the internet and the way in which that infects people’s minds and changes their whole persona, their whole perspective, and causes them to commit or contributes at least to them committing extreme acts. [That] should be of concern to any right-thinking Australian,” he told reporters in Canberra.

Dutton said the opposition would support the government introducing any measures to make it easier for law enforcement to access encrypted apps, where a lot of discussion surrounding conspiracy theories takes place.

“If a court issues a warrant that information should be discoverable by police,” he said.

“It’s just a technology issue and we’re allowing these people to manifest their crazy ideas online.”

Dutton had to pause several times during an emotional tribute in parliament to the police officers and civilian who were killed in Monday’s deadly shooting west of Brisbane.

“The depravity of this incident is what has struck hardest,” he said. “In this instance, what has hit hardest is the execution style [of the shootings] and the complete disregard for the human beings.”

Earlier, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Monday “should have been an ordinary day” for the officers, “a day of warmth, a day of peace”.

“Instead that day of quiet was shattered by the gunfire of an atrocity,” he said.

Albanese also paid tribute to Queensland resident Alan Dare, who was gunned down after coming to check on his neighbours following the first shots ringing out.

He described Dare as an “innocent Australian who paid for his kindness and concern with his life”.

Labor MP Peter Khalil, the chair of the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security, yesterday said it was important to disrupt the “pipeline towards extremism” at its source.

“Not just at the pointy end of the spear where violent attacks are imminent,” Khalil said.

“Increasing polarisation, online echo chambers and the intersection of ideological, transnational and socioeconomic factors have cultivated a febrile atmosphere for radicalisation that is challenging for security agencies and law enforcement.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/internet-turbocharging-extremism-and-conspiracy-theories-home-affairs-minister-20221215-p5c6j4.html

>>17933898

>>17934061

Wieambilla murders a wake-up call on the dangers of sovereign citizen cults

JACK THE INSIDER (Peter Hoysted) - DECEMBER 14, 2022

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Four young police officers ambushed, two of them shot dead, one wounded, the other, who can only be described as a hero, left in a world of pain and trauma, and a neighbour executed, shot in the back.

Three innocent people dead. The three perpetrators, also dead, got what was coming to them.

The term that hasn’t been used by police or media to date is domestic terrorism but that is surely what led to the deaths of three innocent people. The incident also stands as a warning on the dangers of cult behaviour and the rapid radicalisation of individuals amplified by disinformation associated with the pandemic.

There has been a media focus on Gareth Train and his online conspiracy laden rants. Whether it’s the Port Arthur massacre as a false flag or babbling about the “Luciferian agenda”, 5G, Bill Gates, the CIA as a “Jesuit cabal”, freemasonry, and secret government depopulation policies through vaccines, it is mere wallpaper.

The belief systems of conspiracists are an intellectual cul-de-sac for rational people. There’s no point trying to comprehend them or seek some truth from them.

After reviewing several of Gareth Train’s posts, I would identify him as a sovereign citizen aligned conspiracy cultist. This mentality, reinforced in social media echo chambers, led to his radicalisation. In turn, it would appear that his wife and brother were radicalised. In the case of the brother, Nathaniel, it seems his radicalisation occurred in the space of just a few months.

Sovereign citizens, sometimes known by their Canadian nomenclature as Freemen on the Land, believe the state and its law enforcement arms have no authority over them.

It’s an amorphous collective. Some sovereign citizens spend their time attempting to find holes in Australia’s constitutional framework. Others engage in doomed but exhausting legal battles with the state or individuals unfortunate enough to have crossed their paths. Some engage in taxation fraud which is how the movement first started in the US in the early 1990s. Many drive the roads unlicensed, their vehicles uninsured and unregistered.

All are living on the fringes of society — geographically, ideologically and culturally. Their numbers are hard to discern but there are various state and federal reports that put the figure at somewhere around 100,000 in this country alone. Not all are dangerous, but many are.

It is only a matter of time before sovereign citizens come into contact with police. That’s where the problems begin. In the US, routine traffic stops have escalated into shootouts. At a routine traffic stop in Arkansas in 2010, Jerry Kane grappled with a police officer before his 16-year-old son, Joseph emerged from the vehicle and opened fire, killing both officers. The father and son sov-cits went on a spree thereafter shooting and wounding two more police officers before they were shot to death by police.

Kane had outstanding warrants, an expired driver’s licence and uninsured vehicle. He and his son had been touring the country holding seminars where Kane would lecture participants on bogus legal pathways to avoid paying creditors or tax.

Sergeant Brandon Paudert was the first cop killed by Joseph Kane. He was shot fourteen times in the head, neck and shoulders by Joseph Kane bearing an AK-47 variant. Paudert’s father, Bob, was chief of police at West Memphis, Arkansas.

Bob Paudert now travels the US speaking to other law enforcement officers to educate them on identifying sov-cits and taking steps to reduce risk. He speaks of practical measures for cops on the beat, calling for backup as a rule.

Jerry Kane was in the FBI database as a red flag, but this was not known to local police. Two weeks earlier, Kane had been arrested and held in custody for two days in New Mexico for failure to produce a driver’s licence. By the time Bob Paudert’s son and his colleague approached the vehicle in Arkansas, Kane and his son were itching for a firefight.

Intelligence that could have been shared was not and a routine traffic matter became a murder scene.

(continued)

>>17946304

2/2

The outpouring of grief over the murders of two young police officers, and the murder of a civilian in the Western Downs of Queensland needs to find form as a wake-up call for law enforcement across the country.

There was clearly a failure of intelligence that led to the ambush. Gareth Train had firearms on the property and licences to possess them. Not unusual in that part of the world. But he had a long history of social media engagement in the conspiracy theory alternative universe. And in 2020, he posted what stands as an ongoing threat to police.

“I have directed law enforcement to leave my premises over the last 20 years, having no reason or grounds, and at times have also asked them to remove their hands from their weapons or pull their pistols and whistle Dixie. Fortunately for me they have all been cowards,” Train wrote.

Had this information been made available to Queensland Police — and it was not hard to find, it is difficult to understand why four young police officers on general duties were dispatched to the property.

Wisdom in hindsight, perhaps.

Two weeks ago, I watched a video filmed by a sovereign citizen. He’d been pulled over by a single highway patrolman for driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle. The sov-cit refused to show his licence and cited laws and associated nonsense. These are the language triggers that should inform police of what they are dealing with. The police officer was patient and stood his ground. There was no physical altercation and the video ended with the outcome unclear.

I got the distinct feeling that the police officer had no experience in dealing with sovereign citizens and was unable to identify the immediate risk he was facing.

That needs to change across the country with training made available to all police officers so they can quickly identify risk. In the US, the standard response is to withdraw and call for back up.

Intelligence and security agencies need to share information across all law enforcement. Similarly, senior police need to do their homework before they send young officers off to enter the premises of a sovereign citizen. This means doing some deep digging into a suspect’s online posts, devoting time and manpower to monitoring conspiracy cult groups and seeking advice from experts in this field.

We simply cannot allow young police officers to walk into these situations without an understanding of the risks they will encounter.

As a society, we need to properly understand the nature of the threat. And that takes me back to my original point, that what occurred in Wieambilla this week was domestic terrorism.

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

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/wieambilla-murders-a-wakeup-call-on-the-dangers-of-sovereign-citizen-cults/news-story/eb53900b5da5f37c01752e53ab644bfd

Unmanned prototype stealth sub ‘a game-changer’

LIAM MENDES - DECEMBER 15, 2022

The prototype for a “game-changing” unmanned Australian submarine designed to undertake stealth missions throughout the Indo-Pacific has been unveiled at a top-secret ceremony in Sydney.

The first underwater vehicle, Dive-LD, is capable of spending up to 10 days under water to a depth of 6000m and will be used to test systems that will eventually feature in three larger autonomous submarines designed and manufactured in Australia over the next three years.

Those school bus-sized autonomous submarines will “create uncertainty in the minds of potential adversaries” and “deter illegal and coercive behaviour”.

The test vehicle for the program, dubbed “Ghost Shark”, was unveiled at a secret location on Sydney Harbour. Attendees were transported by water taxi and closely watched upon arrival, with guests asked to remove location-specific metadata on images captured on phones.

The arrival of the vehicle, never before deployed outside the US, is a major step forward in a $140m partnership between the Royal Australian Navy, Defence Science and Technology Group and Anduril Australia.

The program was described as “stealthy and lethal” by navy capability Rear Admiral Pete Quinn, who said the submarines were a “game changer” for Australia’s defence capabilities.

The range, stealth and persistence would allow the Ghost Shark vehicles to operate undetected through the Indo Pacific, he said.

“Our adversaries will need to assume that their every move in the maritime domain is subject to our surveillance and that every XL-AUV (extra large autonomous undersea vessel) is capable of deploying a wide range of ­effects, including lethal ones.

“Once our potential adversaries understand what a Ghost Shark is – not that we’re going to give them any specifics at all – I ­expect it will generate doubt and uncertainty,” he said.

Rear Admiral Quinn said the Ghost Shark XL-AUV could swap in and swap out sensors and payloads for different missions.

“From a defence capability, an adversary not knowing what payloads we might be carrying creates doubt and uncertainty,” he told The Australian.

“With the advances that will be achieved through the Ghost Shark program, we’ll be able to undertake the dull, dirty, dangerous missions using autonomous and uncrewed systems, safeguarding our personnel and freeing up our crewed submarines for more complex missions, where human decision making is absolutely essential.

“(As) nations and organisations capitalise on improved access to, and move to occupy, the subsea domain, it is rapidly becoming the new frontier of military exploitation.”

Anduril Asia Pacific chief executive David Goodrich said the arrival of the Dive-LD three months ahead of schedule would allow for accelerated development of the larger XL-AUV program. He said the Dive-LD would test critical subsystems that the XL-AUV would require, such as navigational, power and more classified technologies, allowing for a daily turnaround of design and testing phase cycles.

“Most people are aware there is an increased activity in the water­ways that surround our nation … we need autonomous capabilities to be able to disrupt that affect to stop our adversaries from bringing very large and very exquisite manned capabilities into our waterways.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/unmanned-prototype-stealth-sub-a-gamechanger/news-story/32c62d3df58df888a10f7f7930de07ec

>>17927371

Vanuatu security treaty leaves China out in cold

BEN PACKHAM - DECEMBER 13, 2022

Australia has outplayed China to secure a legally binding security treaty with Vanuatu, paving the way for intelligence sharing and faster deployment of defence, ­humanitarian and cyber support to the small Pacific nation in times of crisis.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong signed the agreement with Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Ishmael Kalsakau, in Port Vila on Tuesday, saying Australia was “proud to be Vanuatu’s principal security partner”.

Negotiations to secure the treaty started under the Turnbull government in 2018 but were ­accelerated this year after China’s security agreement with Solomon Islands and its later attempt to sign a region-wide security pact with Pacific nations.

“It reflects our belief that ­security is regional responsibility, and it is the responsibility of the Pacific family,” Senator Wong said. “We come to it with a recognition that we are equal partners, and we come to listen.”

Mr Kalsakau said the treaty, which still needs to be ratified by both nations’ parliaments, was “the embodiment” of the countries’ 40-year relationship.

He and Senator Wong sealed the treaty by drinking a coconut shell each of kava, after which Mr Kalsakau declared: “Now our partnership is cemented.”

The Foreign Minister was also given a piglet as a token of her hosts’ respect.

Senator Wong, in return, conveyed an invitation from ­Anthony Albanese for Mr Kalsakau to come to Australia next year for an official visit.

The treaty includes a commitment to hold an annual security dialogue and entrenches a broad definition of security co-operation including police, maritime and humanitarian support, cyber and biosecurity engagement, and help dealing with the impacts of climate change.

Its signing coincided with the finalisation by Vanuatu of a new national security policy and a formal system of classifying security documents that will allow the countries to share secret information with the confidence that it won’t leak.

Mr Kalsakau said the measures were vital for the policing of Vanuatu’s borders and the protection of its exclusive economic zone. “As Prime Minister, I cannot state enough that security and the protection of this nation and its sovereignty must be my first priority and my toughest challenge,” he said.

Australia is working on a similar treaty with Papua New Guinea, and Senator Wong did not rule out further such pacts with other Pacific partners in the future.

Unlike China’s Solomons pact, the Australia-Vanuatu treaty would be a public document, ­reflecting the nations’ commitment to accountability and transparency, Senator Wong said.

The minister, who is leading a bilateral delegation on a four-day regional trip, also officially handed over a wharf and new police boat to Vanuatu with the support of her opposition counterpart Simon Birmingham, Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy and opposition Pacific spokesman Michael McCormack.

Senator Birmingham said the wharf and treaty showed “Australia and Vanuatu are at our strongest when we stand together”.

The finalisation of the document comes despite Vanuatu’s close economic relationship with China, to which it owes 30 per cent of its national debt.

And it also comes as Vanuatu works to restore systems after a massive cyber attack with the support of Australian experts. ­Officials said such support would be delivered more rapidly under the new security framework.

Once ratified, the treaty will become only the second such ­legally binding agreement between Australia and a Pacific partner, after the 2017 treaty with Solomon Islands. That agreement was invoked by the country’s Prime Minister last year amid rioting against his government. Senator Wong’s office said the piglet was later re-gifted.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/vanuatu-security-treaty-leaves-china-out-in-cold/news-story/39f4a8bee474155b4e64295ac78b3055

Microsoft and Apple among the global companies accused of 'turning a blind eye' to child sexual exploitation

Brett Worthington - 15 December 2022

Some of the world's biggest technology companies, like Microsoft and Apple, aren't doing enough to prevent the spread of child sexual exploitation on their platforms, according Australia's e-Safety Commissioner.

A report from Julie Inman Grant, a world first of its kind, found tech companies were failing to proactively detect exploitation in cloud storage and streaming services.

"Some of the largest, richest, most powerful tech companies in the world are turning a blind eye to crime scenes happening on their platforms, being hosted on their cloud-based services, being propagated through their messaging services and they're simply not doing enough," Ms Inman Grant told the ABC.

After years of talking with the companies, the commissioner used new laws that allowed her to send questions to Apple, Facebook's owner Meta, WhatsApp, Microsoft, Skype, Snap and Omegle, demanding they answer what they were doing to tackle the issue.

Ms Inman Grant, a former Twitter employee and two-decade veteran of the sector, said she was both shocked and disheartened yet not surprised companies weren't taking more meaningful action.

She said none of the companies that offered streaming, where exploitation of impoverished children was rife, were using available tools to search for abusive material.

"The kind of child sexual exploitation that we're talking about is known child sexual exploitation and the tools like photo DNA have been around since 2009," Ms Inman Grant said.

"We're simply asking the companies that invented it to start using them across their platforms and services."

Microsoft developed that photo detection technology, which Ms Inman Grant said was used on the company's X-Box gaming service. But she said she was disappointed it was not used on more Microsoft platforms.

Failure to respond to the e-Safety Commissioner's questions could have resulted in the companies facing fines of up to $550,000 a day.

Ms Inman Grant said she expected governments across the globe would look to her report, further adding pressure on the tech companies to do more.

She said the full extent of child sexual abuse would not be known until companies unearthed the material on their platforms.

Her office has handled more than 61,000 complaints about illegal and restricted content since 2015, with the majority involving child sexual exploitation material.

The e-Safety Commissioner has the power to ask the tech companies to continue to provide transparency reports.

She said she was closely looking at codes of conduct to determine if making them mandatory was sufficient or if new standards were needed to force the tech companies to do more.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-15/microsoft-apple-child-sexual-exploitation-esafety/101771844

>>17946343

How social media giants created a ‘paedophile paradise’

Jordan Baker - December 15, 2022

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A world-first insight into how social media giants are responding to online child sexual abuse has exposed what Australia’s eSafety boss condemned as a culture of wilful blindness in which companies ignore or make token attempts to monitor serious criminal activity on their sites.

As the volume of online child exploitation grows exponentially – reports ballooned from 3000 images in 1998 to almost 85 million last year – commissioner Julie Inman Grant said companies had not only turned a blind eye to the problem, but had “effectively created a paedophile’s paradise”.

Australia’s eSafety commission used pioneering laws this year to compel companies to reveal information that has been kept secret by companies and chased by governments internationally for up to a decade.

Some, particularly Apple, have been reluctant to monitor content for child abuse amid concerns that it invades users’ privacy.

Now, a report on the companies’ responses, published on Thursday, shows Microsoft’s video conferencing tool Skype, which is the most common platform for live-streamed child abuse, takes two days to respond to a report of abuse and does not use any of the available technology to detect new child abuse material unprompted.

Microsoft developed a technology called PhotoDNA, which can detect known exploitation content, but does not use it to check material stored in its OneDrive service, allowing offenders to escape detection unless they try to share the material.

Apple does not check for abuse material either in its cloud, or when it is shared via iMessage. It made the fewest reports of child exploitation of any tech giant last year, with just 160 instances reported to a US database, despite many of its 2 billion users having access to FaceTime.

The tech giant last week abandoned plans to use a new tool to check iPhones and iCloud photos for child abuse material because of a privacy backlash.

WhatsApp bans 300,000 accounts a month for child exploitation violations, but does not share details about the users it bans with stablemates Facebook or Instagram, even though abusers use multiple accounts.

Neither Skype, Microsoft Teams nor Facetime take any action to detect child exploitation material in live video streams. Inman Grant said the gold standard in using technology to detect images was Microsoft’s XBox, but questioned why it was not as active on other platforms.

(continued)

>>17946371

2/2

Inman-Grant said none of the companies justified their failure to act. “It’s shocking to me that none of the video conferencing platforms are using any kind of detection technologies when we know livestreamed child sexual abuse is a growing crime,” she said.

“What this actually shows us – particularly with Apple’s latest announcement – is that not only are they turning a blind eye to crime scenes, they’ve effectively created a paedophile’s paradise where they can store photos without detection.

“The hubris we got in some of the responses was really gobsmacking. [This activity] is criminal in almost every country in the world. They were admitting to enabling crime scenes of the worst possible kind on their platforms, knowingly.”

Professor Hany Farid, one of the inventors of PhotoDNA, which identifies and removes child exploitation images, described the responses as predictable and disappointing. “The technology sector has not responded to this crisis with the urgency or resources that I think it should,” he said.

“I continue to be baffled as to why they are not more aggressively responding to these horrific crimes against children. So-called privacy-focused groups talk about the importance of privacy, seemingly unaware that when we are talking about tracking down [child sexual abuse material], we are talking about privacy — the privacy of the young victims.”

Information and Privacy Commissioner Angelene Falk said children required support online as well as offline. “As part of the Privacy Act review, we have recommended that all organisations handle personal information fairly and reasonably, which would ensure they consider the impacts of their information handling activities on children,” she said.

A Microsoft spokesperson said bad actors were becoming more sophisticated and “we continue to challenge ourselves to adapt”, adding that companies, communities and governments must continue to collaborate.

National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service: 1800 737 732.

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800.

https://kidshelpline.com.au/

To report online exploitation material and abuse, visit https://www.esafety.gov.au/

https://www.smh.com.au/national/how-social-media-giants-created-a-paedophile-paradise-20221214-p5c666.html

—

Basic Online Safety Expectations

Summary of industry responses to the first mandatory transparency notices

eSafety Commissioner - December 2022

https://www.esafety.gov.au/newsroom/media-releases/world-first-report-shows-leading-tech-companies-are-not-doing-enough-tackle-online-child-abuse

https://www.esafety.gov.au/industry/basic-online-safety-expectations/responses-to-transparency-notices

https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2022-12/BOSE transparency report Dec 2022.pdf

>>17879103

Disgraced preacher Frank Houston’s big claim about son: court

Paedophile preacher Frank Houston claimed he’d been banned from preaching because his son, Hillsong founder Brian Houston, wanted to “steal his church”

Steve Zemek - December 15, 2022

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Paedophile preacher Frank Houston claimed to a pastor and friend that he had been sacked by Brian Houston so his son could “steal his church”, a court has been told.

Hillsong church founder Brian Houston is standing trial in Sydney’s Downing Centre Local Court where he is fighting allegations he concealed information about his father Frank Houston’s historical sexual abuse of a young boy.

Mr Houston, 68, has denied that he failed to pass onto police details of his father’s rape of victim Brett Sengstock in Sydney in January 1970.

The court has heard that after Mr Houston in October 1999 learned of his father’s sexual abuse of the boy, he and the national executive of the Assemblies of God removed Frank Houston’s credentials as a pastor, which was supposed to prevent him from preaching at associated churches.

However, the court has heard Frank Houston continued to preach, and was invited by pastor Bob Cotton to stand at the pulpit at the Hunter Valley Christian Life Centre in Maitland in September 2004, about two months before his death.

Mr Cotton said he did not know that Frank Houston had admitted to raping a child when he extended the invite.

However, he admitted under cross examination on Thursday that he was told that Frank Houston had committed a “criminal” act.

Mr Cotton told the court that in the late 1990s he considered Frank Houston a “giant” of the church, a mentor and a personal friend.

However, when Frank Houston’s sexual abuse of young boys was uncovered at a Royal Commission in 2014, Mr Cotton changed the name of his church so that it would no longer be associated with Houston’s Sydney Christian Life Centre.

During his sermon at the Maitland church, Frank Houston could be heard speaking in tongues and conversing with several young boys in the congregation.

“This curly haired little man here … But what a fantastic young fellow he is, curly hair, sort of. Good looking,” Frank Houston can be heard saying in an audio recording of his sermon.

“It’s not your fault you’re good looking. So thank God you are.

“Who wants to be ugly when you can be good looking.

“Yeah. Look at this great big strong man, full of faith. I hope you love God all the days of your life.”

Frank Houston had preached at Mr Cotton’s Maitland church in 1997, 1998, 1999 and Mr Cotton was keen to get him back in 2000 and 2001 however was unsuccessful in being able to book him after contacting his secretary.

The Assemblies of God in December 2001 sent a letter to all ordained pastors in which they said Frank Houston’s credentials had been removed because of a “serious moral failure”.

“A serious moral failure, according to our code, could have been anything from looking at pornography, going to a brothel, an act of immorality, homosexuality, there are many things that could have been classed as a serious moral failure,” Mr Cotton told the court.

(continued)

>>17946383

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Mr Cotton said he continued to be good friends with Frank Houston right up until his death in November 2004.

And he claimed he was “gutted like a fish” when he learned of Frank Houston’s crimes a decade later.

Asked whether he would have allowed Frank Houston to preach at his church in 2004 had he known he had sexually assaulted a child, Mr Cotton said: “Hell no.”

“There’s no way in the world I would have had him back in the church,” Mr Cotton said.

“I wouldn’t have had him near any of the kids in the church. I wouldn’t have had him around my son who was in the church.”

Under questioning from Mr Houston’s defence barrister Phillip Boulten, Mr Cotton admitted he had allowed Frank Houston to preach at his church despite the fact Houston was no longer an accredited pastor.

Mr Boulten asked whether the AOG’s December 2021 letter had revealed that Frank Houston was guilty of “very serious misconduct”.

“Frank himself told me that there was more to it than that,” Mr Cotton said.

“He said he’d been sacked for an underhanded reason. And that was so Brian could steal his church from him.”

Following Frank Houston’s retirement, his church was merged with Brian’s Hills Christian Life Centre to form Hillsong.

“We had a longstanding relationship with Frank Houston and there had been no satisfactory reason given to us as to why Frank would not be restored to the ministry,” Mr Cotton said.

“And every time I sought an answer to that question, I was given nothing. We were just expected to blindly submit to a cover up of a child sex offence.”

He also said he had not read two news stories published about Frank Houston being sacked from his church, published in 2002 and 2003.

The court has previously heard that Brian Houston spoke about his father at the Hillsong conference in Sydney in 2002 in which he described his Frank’s offences as “like jets flying into the twin towers of my soul”.

Mr Cotton said he had heard the “twin towers” comment made by Brian Houston but could not remember when he first heard it.

He told the court on Friday that when he “went up the chain of command” and sought answers about why Frank Houston had been banned, he was told by a former member of the AOG national executive that what his former friend had done was “criminal.”

“You were also told by Brian Houston (that Frank Houston had committed a crime) as well weren’t you?” Mr Boulten asked.

“No sir,” Mr Cotton said.

The trial continues.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/frank-houston-preached-to-young-kids-despite-ban-for-child-sex-abuse/news-story/7056431139cc6815b449e72af83a1220

>>17879103

Defrocked Houston gave sermons, court told

Jack Gramenz - December 15, 2022

Stripped of his credentials to minister after his son learned he sexually abused children, pedophile pastor Frank Houston continued leading church sermons until weeks before his death.

Hillsong founder Brian Houston took away his father's credentials in late 1999 after he admitted he had abused children.

Houston later gave media interviews where he said his father never preached again.

However, eight weeks before Houston senior died in 2004, he was still ministering, leading a sermon at a church in the NSW Hunter region.

After retiring to the Central Coast he also preached and prayed for those attending a local church.

Children were among the congregations, including young boys whose appearance Houston commented on, theorising what they may look like when they were older.

Brian Houston, 68, has pleaded not guilty to concealing his father's crimes, arguing the person his father admitted to abusing did not want an investigation, and was an adult who could have reported it to police themselves by the time he found out.

Maitland church pastor Robert Cotton said Houston was "at his best" as a preacher and entertainer when he led a sermon weeks before he was stripped of his credentials.

Over the next few years Mr Cotton tried to have him return, only to be told by Houston's daughter and personal assistant that he was not taking bookings.

He did not ask why.

"If you had been told no by the Houstons you didn't question it," Mr Cotton told the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.

He said he never would have allowed Houston to preach again in 2004 if he knew he was a pedophile.

Greg Morris, the former business manager of the church Houston and his wife Hazel joined on the Central Coast, said there was a sense of honour about the pair attending.

Houston senior was widely known in Pentecostal churches.

"Godfather's not the right term, but (he was) highly revered … highly respected," Mr Morris said.

Houston gave three or four sermons and prayed for those attending in late 2002 and early 2003, Mr Morris said.

Young people were also present at the "family church" when Houston ministered.

Mr Morris was the church's contact with the NSW Office of the Children's Guardian.

He said he did not learn Houston senior was a pedophile until after his death.

Mr Morris believed a "moral failure" he learned of related to adults, thinking Houston may have cheated on his wife, a "not uncommon" reason a pastor might lose their credential to minister.

Houston's lawyer Phillip Boulten SC said those within the Central Coast church who attended the 2002 Hillsong conference would have heard Houston addressing his father's abuse in a sermon, prior to him preaching at the church.

Mr Morris said some church congregants typically attended the conference but maintained he'd heard nothing about child sexual abuse.

Houston also gave media interviews addressing his father's abuse after his death.

In a press conference played to the court, Houston said he was unaware of any requirement to report a crime when he learned of the abuse.

In another interview with 2GB broadcaster Ben Fordham he explained why he didn't report to authorities in 1999 on behalf of the abuse survivor, who was by then an adult.

"I just genuinely believed that … if he wants to go to the police he can go to the police," Houston said in a recording played to the court.

Houston said his father's days as a minister were over after he learned of the abuse in 1999 and took action against him.

"He never preached again, anywhere," Houston said.

The hearing continues.

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/crime/defrocked-houston-gave-sermons-court-told-c-9174673

Child attends neo-Nazi meeting in Melbourne organised by European Australia Movement

Shocking images have revealed a young child posing for photos at a secret, national neo-Nazi meeting in Melbourne.

Jon Kaila - December 15, 2022

A young child has attended and posed up for pictures at a national neo-Nazi meeting in Melbourne.

The shocking image was taken at a secret event organised by the far-right group European Australia Movement, founded by Thomas Sewell.

Sewell is fighting charges of affray, unlawful assault and recklessly causing injury after allegedly punching a Channel 9 security guard multiple times in the head outside the network’s Docklands studios in March last year. Sewell is claiming self defence.

About 50 males attended the “Australia For The White Man” gathering, which was held at an undisclosed location in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

A promotional flyer, seen by the Herald Sun, said there would be boxing, MMA and music.

“European Australia Movement is holding this event to celebrate the white Australian community,” it reads.

“We welcome anyone from the wider community to join us at our national meetup, on the condition they agree to be vetted in person at a separate location, prior to the event. Partners and children welcome.”

A young boy wearing shorts, a short-sleeved shirt, socks and a mask to cover his face was front and centre of a photo taken at the December 3 event.

Several Nazi flags are placed around the gym and all but four men have their faces covered or blurred. The image was uploaded to social media this week.

The child is standing next to a man with a swastika tattooed on his chest and sonnenrad (Black Sun) tattooed on his shoulder. He was seen supporting Sewell in person at Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this week.

Blair Cottrell, who spearheads another far-right organisation, the United Patriots Front, was also a supporter in court while Neil Erikson – another well-known far right extremist – watched proceedings online.

The online hearing for Sewell was disrupted by supporters this week as they refused to turn on cameras, used fake names, or disguises such as sunglasses and hats.

One man displayed a photograph of Hitler youth as a virtual background.

Magistrate Stephen Ballek demanded those online turn on their webcams after the prosecution raised concerns about the potential of intimidation of witnesses.

Those who attended the European Australia Movement meet-up this month were not allowed to have any electronic devices or cameras.

“(They) will be under the co-ordination of the event organisers,” attendees were told.

“There will be no unapproved photography. This will be a straight edge event. There will be no intoxication.”

Sewell is expected to learn his fate over the assault charges on Tuesday.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/child-attends-neonazi-meeting-in-melbourne-organised-by-european-australia-movement/news-story/1c70af80fa8d94ba0716197db4e60c25

>>17933898

Police chopper audio reveals intense firefight at rural Queensland property

A Current Affair

16 December 2022

An intense firefight that unfolded on a remote Queensland property, leaving six people dead on Monday, has been laid bare in dramatic police helicopter audio.

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

>>17933898

‘We killed them’: Queensland shooters posted video online after attack

A now-deleted YouTube account shows footage of the Wieambilla shooters foreshadowing violence against police in the lead-up to the attack.

CAM WILSON - DEC 16, 2022

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The following story contains content that some readers may find disturbing.

The couple at the centre of the Wieambilla shooting posted chilling footage after the attack claiming that they had killed “devils” and “demons” on their property.

Videos and comments posted online appear to show the perpetrators anticipating and then admitting to carrying out the killings.

New footage, uploaded to a now-deleted YouTube account, shows in real time the state of mind and actions of Stacey Train and Gareth Train as they prepared for and carried out the killing of three people on their remote property in Queensland’s Western Downs.

Police say that four police officers visited a property owned by the couple to do a welfare check on Gareth’s brother, Nathaniel Train, who had been reported missing. Two police officers and a neighbour were killed after an ambush. Police then fatally shot the trio after a six-hour stand-off.

The videos feature the likeness and voices of two people who refer to themselves as Daniel and Jane, the middle names of Gareth Daniel Train and Stacey Jane Train. Nathaniel Train does not appear in the videos.

A YouTube channel “Mrs Yugi Girawil” had only six subscribers, 10 videos and fewer than 100 views on the majority of their videos as of last night. The channel was created in May 2022 but all of the videos had been created since the beginning of November.

The videos show details about the Trains’ lives and the shooting, and were published prior to that information being reported in the media.

The most recent video shows Gareth and Stacey, huddled in darkness, telling the camera they had killed multiple people. The video was published at 7.39pm on Monday, several hours after four visiting police officers and a neighbour were reportedly fired on but prior to media reports with those details.

“They came to kill us and we killed them. If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons you’re a coward,” Gareth says.

“We’ll see you when we get home. We’ll see you at home, Don, love you,” Stacey says.

Videos and comments posted by the account earlier in the day foreshadow the attack. The account commented on its own video on Monday hinting at violence.

“After dealing with covert agents and tactics for sometime now, Daniel believes that should they choose to cross the rubicon with public state actors our Father is giving us a clear sign. Monsters and their heads are soon parted,” the account commented on a video posted earlier in the week.

(continued)

>>17953376

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A video posted at 1.41pm on Monday titled “Prepare for battle and be strangers on earth” combined apocalyptic graphics with a female voice reading from “2 Esdras”, an obscure book included in some versions of the Bible. The passage speaks about impending war, sinners being punished and Judgment Day.

“For of a city there shall be 10 left, and two of the field, which shall hide themselves in the thick groves, and in the clefts of the rocks,” the voice says.

Police sources told Guardian Australia that Gareth and Nathaniel were dressed in camouflage gear and ambushed the police officers.

The videos show a specific fixation with police, which peaked when NSW Police put out a missing persons report for Nathaniel on Thursday.

A video posted on Sunday uses a picture of Nathaniel accompanied by a male voice reading out the report. It then goes on to make a claim that Nathaniel was a whistleblower for “high-level corruption” in the NSW Department of Education and NSW Police. Two videos posted the week before also menacingly insult four named police officers and speak of previous welfare checks about the property.

“‘Welfare checks’ aka state sponsored murder has started up again. These fools are stepping into a world of hurt they know nothing of,” the account commented on its own video last Friday.

Many of the account’s other videos are about conspiracy topics including vaccines (like a video that combined a clip of anti-vaccine New Zealand parents trying to stop their child from receiving a life-saving blood transfusion with a threat to “defend children to their last breath or answer for your cowardice”), illegal human experimentation program MKUltra, and ASIO boss Mike Burgess’ warning about COVID-19-related radicalisation and extremism.

Gareth had an extensive online history of interactions with obscure Australian conspiracy websites. Stacey quit her job at a school the day before a COVID-19 vaccine mandate came into effect. It also appears Gareth published his videos to an account on Rumble, a YouTube alternative that’s populated with hate speech and conspiracy theories.

Another video from early on the day of the shooting features a handwritten letter from Stacey to an obscure international Christian YouTuber. The note lamented an estrangement from her two children.

“Recently my husband and I lost both our adult children when they chose the world, rejecting us and the narrow path to take their wide road,” it said.

Gareth and Stacey have reportedly raised two children together.

One of their final acts appears to have been sending a last message to another obscure Christian YouTuber who frequently commented on their videos.

“THEY’VE CROSSED THE RUBICON,” Mrs Yugi Girawil posted at 5.39pm on Monday.

A Queensland Police Service spokesperson declined to comment about whether they were aware of the account prior to the attack or whether they asked YouTube’s parent company Google to take down the account.

“While the matter is currently being investigated, and respecting the sensitivities of the families involved, it would be inappropriate for the QPS to provide further comment at this time,” the spokesperson said.

Google did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/12/16/queensland-wieambilla-shooting-youtube-video-online/

>>17933898

>>17953376

‘Devils and demons’: Wieambilla shooters film video after killing police

Matt Dennien - December 16, 2022

Warning: This article contains information some readers might find distressing.

The couple at the centre of the Wieambilla shooting had posted videos online in the weeks leading up to, and night of, the fatal confrontation with police on their regional Queensland property, in which they claimed to have killed the “devils” and “demons”.

A since-deleted YouTube account and alternative video hosting site feature details from the lives of Stacey and Gareth Train — along with his brother Nathaniel, who does not feature but is mentioned — weeks before Monday’s events.

Four officers had been sent to the property about 4.30pm in response to a NSW police missing person report for Nathaniel, in what police described as a welfare check.

Two of the four police were killed after what police said was an “ambush” by the Trains.

Neighbour Alan Dare was also shot dead after going to investigate the hours-long siege which followed, eventually including a police helicopter and Special Emergency Response Team officers, who killed the three Trains.

In the most recent of the videos posted to the YouTube channel, published at 7.39pm on Monday before details of the incident emerged through the media, Gareth claimed “they came to kill us and we killed them”.

In the dark video, he then sought to portray the actions as self-defence “against these devils and demons” before offering a personal message to an overseas Christian conspiracy-laced account which had shared frequent recent public contact with the pair.

One of the Trains accounts featured the name Daniel, which was Gareth’s middle name. The couple refer to themselves as Daniel and Jane — Stacey’s middle name — in the videos.

Some were uploaded across both accounts, with the earliest dating to early November.

A video posted by one earlier on Monday was titled “Prepare for battle and be strangers on earth”. Commenting on one of their own videos in the days prior day, one of the accounts foreshadowed violence.

“After dealing with covert agents and tactics for sometime now, Daniel believes that should they choose to cross the rubicon with public state actors our Father is giving us a clear sign,” it wrote.

The expanded online footprint of the group was first reported by news website Crikey, and has since been independently viewed and verified by this masthead which has chosen not to publish the videos.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday urged the media and the public not to share the material.

While police have given little formal detail about the events and motivations of the group at Wieambilla, or what role any views they held may have played, extremism experts have reiterated warnings about the still-simmering ashes of pandemic-fuelled conspiracy communities.

Accounts bearing the 47-year-old Gareth’s name emerged on conspiracy and sovereign citizen sites the day after the confrontation, with comments dating to 2020 outlining a decades-long interest in a web of conspiratorial thinking.

The account had posted entwined theories about COVID vaccines, claims the 1996 Port Arthur massacre was staged to take the nation’s guns, broader anti-authority beliefs, and brags about previously telling “coward” police to leave his property.

Gareth’s brother Nathaniel, 46, had developed a deep resentment for the NSW education system he was only recently part of — referenced in the new videos —before disappearing and resurfacing at the property.

Both Nathaniel and Stacey, 45, had refused to get COVID-19 vaccines mandatory for their work in schools.

The brother’s estranged father, a preacher who established his own church in Toowoomba, told A Current Affair this week of the brother’s conservative Christian upbringing before they became estranged more than two decades ago.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/queensland/devils-and-demons-wieambilla-shooters-film-video-after-killing-police-20221216-p5c6wu.html

>>17933898

>>17953388

Disturbing footage found from Queensland cop killers’ deleted YouTube account

Disturbing videos from a YouTube account believed to belong to the Queensland cop killers have been published online, one revealing Stacey Train’s “pain”.

Ed Bourke - December 16, 2022

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Videos from a deleted YouTube account that appears to have belonged to the Queensland cop killers have been republished online, showing the disturbing depths of the trio’s plunge into conspiracy theories.

The account, which features footage and audio of Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train, was republished on controversial video hosting service BitChute on Friday, just days after two police officers and an innocent neighbour were killed in an ambush attack on the trio’s rural property.

Stacey, her husband Gareth and brother-in-law Nathaniel, lured four police officers to their property in rural Wieambilla on Monday December 12.

When the officers, all aged under 30, arrived about 4:40pm, the trio were laying in wait, and shot two of them Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, dead. Neighbour Alan Dare, who had attended the property after spotting smoke, was also killed.

The Train family were killed in a firefight with specialist officers later that night.

In one of the videos, a woman believed to be Stacey Train narrates a letter she has written to another conspiracy theorist, “Deanna”, offering her a “safe refuge” at the Trains’ Western Downs property due to her fears of authorities “coming for her children”.

In the video, uploaded on December 12, hours before the fatal shooting, Mrs Train reveals she had become recently estranged from her own two children.

Train shared the children with Nathaniel, who she was married to first, before going on to marry Gareth, who is believed to have taken over care of the children.

“I know the pain of losing children. Recently, my husband and I lost both our adult children when they chose the world, rejecting us and the narrow path to take the wider road that their partners and friends are on,” she said.

“This is a pain that will only be healed in heaven.”

(continued)

>>17953413

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The YouTube account, titled Mrs Yugi Girawil, had 13 published videos.

Only one video had been viewed more than 50 times.

The most recent upload was a 40-second clip published on Monday night, showing Gareth and Stacey Train sitting in darkness, telling the camera they had killed “devils and demons” on their property.

The trio had lured officers from the Tara and Chinchilla police stations late on Monday afternoon, and had put in motion a “calculated plan” to murder the officers.

Police sources said the assailants were wearing camouflage outfits and were heavily armed, firing heavily on the four police officers.

Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, were the first to enter the property and were gunned down, while Constables Randall Kirk and Keely Brough were able to escape despite Constable Kirk being chased and fired at by the offenders, who then set fire to nearby bushland in a bid to smoke out Constable Brough.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said the Train trio had lit a bushfire to try and force Brough out of hiding before reinforcements could arrive.

The surviving duo received treatment and have now both been released from hospital.

Mr Leavers said the slain officers “never had a chance” of surviving the ambush.

https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/crime/disturbing-footage-found-from-queensland-cop-killers-deleted-youtube-account/news-story/933c5c4da1b6fc0e349866988a9b4bcf

>>17953388

>>17953413

Cop killer Stacey Train quoted an obscure Bible verse before being shot dead, American friend claims

An eerie clip from a man who claimed to be close friends with the Queensland cop killers has revealed Stacey apparent last words before being shot dead.

Jack Evans - December 16, 2022

Evil cop killer Stacey Train quoted an obscure Bible verse about death moments before she was gunned down by specialist police, according to the ominous ramblings of an American man.

The man, who goes by the name Geronimo’s Bones on YouTube, praised the work of Gareth and Stacey Train in an unhinged and foul-mouthed piece to camera.

He said he wished he was with his “friends”, Gareth and Stacey Train, on the night they murdered two officers and a bystander before they were eventually killed by tactical police.

“I received a message from my brother Daniel, and my sister Jane, in Queensland, Australia, but the devils came for them, to kill them,” he said in the disturbing clip.

“And they had to kill the devils themselves and are now on the run,” he said, referring to a video Stacey and Gareth Train are believed to have posted between killing two police officers and being killed themselves.

In another video posted Friday morning, the man claimed the last words Stacey spoke to him were: “Where there is a corpse, the vultures will gather.”

Stacey wrote that same quote, almost verbatim in a letter to another conspiracy theorist before the incident: “Where the dead bodies are, there the vultures will gather.”

It is understood Gareth and Stacey were known to the man as Daniel and Jane - their middle names.

The man claimed to be close friends with the cop killers, having spoken with them after the deadly ambush.

“It breaks my heart that there’s nothing I can do to help them,” he continued.

“These are a people that are not armed as we are in America. And here, my brave brother and sister, a son and daughter of the highest, have done exactly as they are supposed to do.

“We are free people, we are owned by no one … Daniel, Jane, if there is any way possible that you are receiving this comm (communication), I am so sorry that I’m not there to fight with you.

“If you’re already home – our heavenly home, hold a place for us, we’ll be joining you soon enough.”

The man’s three-minute rant – which at times diverted into incoherence – seemed to express anti-police values of personal sovereignty, almost identical to the views recently reportedly held by Gareth, Nathaniel and Stacey before their atrocious act against police.

Other videos on his page, some of which directly mention “Daniel and Jane”, resent the idea of a social credit system, banks and the media in sermon-like presentations.

However, the account has just 475 subscribers with none of his videos surpassing 300 views.

Gareth and Stacey recorded a chilling video of their own on the night of the deadly ambush.

“They came to kill us, and we killed them,” Gareth says, shrouded in darkness with his wife at his side.

“If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons, you’re a coward.”

https://www.news.com.au/national/queensland/cop-killer-stacey-train-quoted-an-obscure-bible-verse-before-being-shot-dead-american-friend-claims/news-story/af13c62f83b5a2b649efb45317eaefda

>>17933898

>>17946304

Police shooting sparks sov-cit expert to warn of rising ‘cult’ danger

JACK THE INSIDER (Peter Hoysted) - DECEMBER 16, 2022

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Back in 2017, Rob Sudy had an online conversation with Gareth Train, one of the three shooters who killed two police officers and a neighbour in Wieambilla earlier this week.

Sudy’s Facebook page regularly lit up with angry rebukes from sovereign citizens.

Train had approached Sudy over a post concerning one of the greybeards of the movement, Brian Shaw. Declared a vexatious litigant in Victoria in 2007, Shaw had previously attempted to sue John Howard and Kim Beazley for treason and misprision of treason.

He engaged in multiple frivolous legal action against judges, claiming they were part of a freemason conspiracy. Shaw also argued the Victorian Constitution was invalid and had been enacted without legal authority.

It is these fanciful notions that form the bedrock of pseudo-legal arguments and continue to delude and divert Australians to the sovereign movement.

Sudy sent Train case histories and legal judgments made against Shaw. He was able to turn the conversation around to a broader discussion on self-sufficient off-the-grid lifestyles, an interest both men shared.

“He appeared quite rational,” Sudy said. “Unlike many of those commenting on that page in defence of various pseudo-law gurus.”

Sudy is Australia’s resident expert on the sovereign citizen movement in Australia. He dislikes the term sovereign citizen, preferring to refer to the amorphous clique as adherents of what he calls an “organised pseudo commercial agreement”.

While Sudy dislikes it, the term is applicable as members who find themselves before the courts declare themselves “sovereign” and by the pseudo-legal argument maintain the courts have no jurisdiction over them.

Is it a cult?

“Yes, definitely,” Sudy told me. He would know. Sudy is not a bland academic musing on the esoteric. He was a sov-cit and fell out with the group more than a decade ago. He now dedicates himself to documenting and exposing the influencers of the movement on a website called the Freeman Delusion.

As a member of the cult, Sudy became deeply immersed in internet chatrooms and websites. “It was a mass thought bubble,” he said. “Law-breakers were praised and encouraged. Everyone felt the embrace of the movement. Detractors and doubters were quickly sent packing.”

After a conviction for driving an unregistered and uninsured vehicle, he left the sov-cit bubble and walked away. More than a decade later, and with years of exposing pseudo-law practitioners under his belt, Sudy’s knowledge is sought by academics here and around the world.

Sudy has also become an enemy of the movement.

“I’ve been told that I’ve been sentenced to hang. The People’s Court has already handed down its sentence.”

The magistrate who convicted him on the traffic matters is now a friend and regular correspondent. Sudy was lucky to come across one of the few members of the judiciary who had experience of the movement and gently coaxed him away.

I interviewed Sudy when a sov-cit proclamation written by former One Nation senator Rod Culleton was read to a large group of protesters outside the federal parliament in February 2021. I reached out to him again this week as the terrible news from Wieambilla came through.

Sudy spoke of a rapid increase in the numbers of adherents.

“There’s been huge growth. I gave up taking all the names of those influenced just after the start of the pandemic, there’s just too many for me to keep up with. Rapid multiplication, like multi-level marketing growth.

“The pandemic was the first major restriction on freedoms several generations have seen, and because the response provided an example of the plenary power of the state, it was already very fertile ground to propagate anti-government sentiment.

“People from all walks of life sought solutions to what they perceived as government tyranny. All they needed was a tool with which to exert their feelings of disenchantment, and speculations as to the lawfulness of the response went viral. It went mainstream from what was once limited to specific small groups.”

That tool was the pseudo-law framework put about on social media by sovereign citizen influencers.

(continued)

>>17953468

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Much will be made of the Trains’ religious beliefs. In postings, Gareth identified as a Christian conservative.

“It is the intersection of fundamental religious notions and anti-government sentiment that is very dangerous,” Sudy said.

There are other forces at play. The Trains were fringe dwellers, identified as “blockies” in their communities, and lived in self-imposed isolation. There are more people like the Trains out there who are now not leaving an online footprint.

“This recent event has the elements of the prepper community. The adherents that pose a real danger in similar circumstances got offline a while ago,” Sudy said.

“They are all busy actively preparing for more severe government intrusion; they gave up trying to ‘wake up the sheeple’ and have instead focused on their own and loved ones’ protection and survival. When that is threatened by intruders (police or not), violence is inevitable.”

Sudy had seen the violence coming from long way off and is frustrated that senior police, politicians and the courts have failed to educate themselves on the inherent dangers of the movement or sought to act in a way that would moderate the impact of sovereign citizenry with its pseudo-legal justifications.

“I started bringing the potential dangers of this movement in Australia to the attention of authorities in 2014, which led to investigations aired in 2015. I feel almost nothing has been done to prepare for the inevitable explosion that I warned a single crisis would spawn.

“Just look at the US response, the official FBI and law enforcement papers are all published here. Almost immediately there were training blocks for law enforcement, tips on how to identify signs of radicalisation for the officers’ protection.

“Psychologists have grouped OPCA ideologies with the beliefs of right-wing hate groups and ultraconservative Islamic groups such as ISIS and al-Qaida as a personal grievance blamed on others, with moral outrage linked to a “victimized” group, that is framed by a superficial, cherrypicked ideology that rationalises aggression.”

So where are we now? Surely, some real action must occur across the criminal justice system, in our parliaments, and in our communities to prevent people stuck in a cult from moving to violence.

Sudy’s own experience informs us that people can be brought back from the brink but that cannot occur in a system that is ignorant to the nature of the problem.

At present, the only available answer is to respond with force. We need to be better than that, smarter.

Sudy says a paper will soon be published and workshops involving police, lawyers, judges and government will take place on how to constructively deal with the rise of the sovereign citizen movement. It is important work but it’s probably a decade too late.

In the meantime, police commissioners, parliamentarians and the judiciary would do well to listen to Rob Sudy. A failure to do so would be taking blindness into wilful territory.

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

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/police-shooting-sparks-sovcit-expert-to-warn-of-rising-cult-danger/news-story/5fa45f23afd232aeb3c75192c800b4de

>>17832778

Extradition request filed by US government against Australian fighter pilot

LIAM MENDES - DECEMBER 16, 2022

The US government has filed a formal extradition request against a former fighter pilot arrested in Australia accused of helping train Chinese pilots to land on aircraft carriers.

Daniel Duggan is accused by the US government of providing “military training” to People’s Republic of China pilots” through a South African flight school on three occasions in 2010 and 2012.

Appearing before Downing Centre Local Court, a lawyer acting on behalf of the US government said on Friday morning an extradition request had been made against the 54-year-old Australian citizen, who was previously a US citizen and air force pilot.

Mr Duggan’s lawyer Dennis Miralis told the court he was not aware the request had been made.

Earlier this week an indictment was unsealed, revealing the former marine pilot was facing four US charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two counts of violating the arms export control act and international traffic in arms regulations.

Prior to the extradition request being revealed in court, Mr Miralis told the court the Australian citizen’s request to Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus to make an interim order for his release was being considered.

He also said his client would be making a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee regarding his “inhumane” treatment in custody on the “basis of ongoing refusal” of medical treatment.

Mr Miralis previously told the court his client had “ongoing denial of medical treatment”, and told the court a complaint had been made to Corrective Services, and directly to Kevin Corcoran, Corrective Services Commissioner.

“Notwithstanding that complaint Mr Duggan continues to be denied basic medical treatment.

The court was also told the complaint would include that Mr Duggan had been designated as a “high risk” inmate.

“No explanation has been provided by Corrective Services as to why that classification was initially implemented and continues to be implemented against Mr Duggan,” Mr Miralis said.

The father of six was arrested by Australian police in the NSW town of Orange in October at the request of the US government as part of a co-ordinated crackdown by the Five Eyes intelligence partners, including Australia, to prevent retired fighter pilots training Chinese military for payment.

Duggan will return to court on December 20.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/extradition-request-filed-by-us-government-against-australian-fighter-pilot/news-story/b9903d275e697e32cb356d02393f23ac

>>17879103

‘One strike, you’re out’: Brian Houston confronted his father over child abuse, court told

Georgina Mitchell - December 16, 2022

Former Hillsong leader Brian Houston has told a court he did not tell police about his father’s sexual abuse of a boy in the 1970s because the complainant urged him not to.

Giving evidence in Downing Centre Local Court on Friday, Houston said his father, Frank, confessed to him in 1999 that he had molested the boy. In response, he informed Frank he would no longer be able to attend Hillsong, then known as Sydney Christian Life Centre.

“He asked why, and I told him we have a ‘one strike and you’re out, no tolerance policy’ towards paedophiles, and it can’t be any different for you than it is for anyone else,” Houston said.

Houston, 68, was charged last year with concealing a serious indictable offence over failing to report his knowledge of his father’s crime to police between learning of it in 1999 and his father’s death in 2004.

He has pleaded not guilty. His barrister previously told the court the case would turn on Houston having a “reasonable excuse” not to bring the matter to the attention of police.

Frank Houston was still preaching to crowds with children present as late as 2004, five years after confessing to his son that he had sexually abused a child in the 1970s, the court heard this week.

On Friday, Brian Houston said he told a variety of people about his father’s confession, but believed he should not tell police because the complainant – Brett Sengstock – was then in his 30s and had made it clear he did not want a police complaint.

“I believed I shouldn’t because that was Brett’s express wishes – that I don’t pre-empt him in going to the police,” Houston said.

He said he called Sengstock and told him his father had admitted the abuse, and there was “a stunned silence on the other end of the phone”.

“We continued to talk and I told him I had no option but to expose it to the national executive of the Assemblies of God, and then his demeanour changed. He got very panicky, angry sort of panicky,” Houston said.

“He said ‘I don’t want to be part of some big church investigation … if strangers from the church try to contact me I’m not going to talk to them, I’ll deny it, I’ll hang up’. He was very blunt and clear.”

Houston said Sengstock was adamant that he did not want the police involved, and told him “you are not to go to the police”.

“He said ‘if anyone is going to go to the police it will be me, and I don’t want to do that’,” Houston said.

He said he told his siblings of his father’s confession that he had “fondled” the boy’s genitals, and had a conversation with his brother in which both said they had not been abused by their father as children.

Magistrate Gareth Christofi asked Houston why he had checked with his brother, when his father had claimed the “fondling” was a one-time incident.

“Did you think your father may not have been telling the truth when he said it had only happened once?” Christofi said.

“Big picture, the answer’s yes,” Houston said.

Houston said he detailed his father’s confession to multiple people within the church, including at a meeting with members of the national executive.

He said he was “devastated” and “torn” to be relaying the news, but felt he had to call a meeting because it had been emotionally exhausting to inform people individually.

“Now, if we’re talking about my father, I don’t have any respect for him – but then, I was like so torn,” he said. “I was emotional, I think I was crying. I was pretty sad.”

The hearing continues.

https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/one-strike-you-re-out-brian-houston-confronted-his-father-over-child-abuse-court-told-20221216-p5c702.html

John Rolleston: Paedophile GP avoids more jail time for more historical abuse of young boys

Shocking revelations have emerged about a dad’s response to his child divulging he’d been molested by their family GP.

Clare Sibthorpe - December 16, 2022

The last thing two young brothers needed when they built up the courage to tell their parents they’d been abused by their GP was to not be believed.

Yet, after suffering an abhorrent abuse of trust by their family doctor, another adult that was supposed to protect them failed to do so.

Serial convicted paedophile John Rolleston has avoided more jail time after admitting to abusing two more young patients between 1969 and 1972 — the latest victims to come to light in the decade that Rolleston has been in and out of prison.

Reading the disturbing facts in Sydney District Court, Judge Leonie Flannery said two brothers were aged between 13 and 16 when they were each molested twice by Rolleston, who was aged 31 to 34.

The first brother was taken to Rolleston’s practice in St Ives, a suburb in Sydney’s Upper North Shore, after he was bitten on the hand by a neighbour’s border collie.

But the boy was confused when Rolleston asked him to pull down his pants and started molesting him, saying: “just imagine you’re with your girlfriend”.

Feeling too shocked to tell his parents, the boy kept the abuse to himself and was sent back to Rolleston six months later with a flu, only to again be abused.

The predator also molested the boy’s teenage brother twice, the court heard.

When the first boy told his parents about the abuse one night while having dinner, his dad, who was friends with Rolleston, said he “must have misunderstood the procedure”.

The father continued his friendship with Rolleston and even sent his daughter off to be seen by him when she had appendix pain, Judge Flannery said.

“A few years later, (the victim) brought the subject up again. And he complained that his dad had not believed him and was unhappy with his father’s response and this affected the relationship for a long time,” Judge Flannery said.

Decades later, the victim was shocked to see Rolleston walking along the street in Mosman, after serving time in jail for abusing other former patients.

Judge Flannery said Rolleston walked over to him on that afternoon in 2016, called him a “kiddie fiddler” and “rock spider”. He told him: “You abused me as a child”.

The court heard when police interviewed Rolleston about the allegations, he said: “I just can’t understand why these people have suddenly come forward with these sorts of things, when there was plenty of opportunity to come forward if they had a problem”.

Given 84-year-old Rolleston suffered from melanoma, lung disease, heart disease, gastrointestinal bleeding and recurrent kidney stones, Judge Flannery said it would “be cruel and unusual punishment to return him to jail for such a short period in his state of health”.

But she said if these crimes had come to light earlier, she would have sent Rolleston to jail for longer in the past.

“These offences involved a gross breach of trust, as the offender was a doctor in the course of his duties,” Judge Flannery said.

“The relationship between a doctor and patient is inherently unequal.”

Rolleston pleaded guilty to four counts of indecent assault on a male.

He was sentenced to an 18-month community correction order, under which he must not commit any further offence.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/john-rolleston-paedophile-gp-avoids-more-jail-time-for-more-historical-abuse-of-young-boys/news-story/8aaf015e71fb69b40979ba28ac0c9ad1

Aussies play key role in new space mission

Tracey Ferrier - December 16, 2022

Not far from Los Angeles, one of Elon Musk's rockets is about to blast off carrying a satellite with extraordinary capabilities.

It's a piece of kit scientists have dreamt about for decades and will be used to survey nearly all the water on the surface of Earth for the very first time.

The data will provide an unprecedented depth of knowledge about the substance covering 70 per cent of the planet: things like the height of oceans, rivers and lakes, and ocean functions linked to climate change.

And two experts in Australia will be front and centre, making sure the SWOT satellite, short for surface water and ocean topography, is beaming back accurate data.

Dr Christopher Watson, from the University of Tasmania, and the CSIRO's Dr Benoit Legresy say the advanced radar satellite is ground-breaking.

Designed and built at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory near LA, it will fill huge gaps in ocean monitoring by surveying the planet's surface at least once every 21 days.

It will measure rivers, lakes and reservoirs whose water volumes and flow rates have not been observed before and offer a view of ocean features like currents and eddies, and ocean height with unprecedented clarity.

The satellite will also provide information about how the ocean is taking up atmospheric heat and carbon dioxide. It's a process that moderates climate change but can't continue forever and humanity needs to know when the tipping point will come.

To trust the data SWOT will provide, scientists need to be sure it's accurate.

In the early months of its orbit, during the commissioning phase, Dr Watson and Dr Legresy will have the job of ensuring ocean height readings made by instruments positioned in Bass Strait match what the satellite sends back.

"When the satellite flies over, we will compare what it sees with what we see," Dr Watson said.

"It's such a new way of observing the ocean that we need to really compare in-situ data - data we go out in Bass Strait to collect, as with other sites dotted around the globe - to be able to check the satellite is working as we expect it."

It's taken NASA, in collaboration with counterparts in France and Canada, about 20 years to develop the satellite, which will provide broad grid-like, two-dimensional observations, rather than linear ones over narrow tracks.

Dr Watson remembers being a PhD candidate in 2001 and hearing about the long held desire among colleagues for high-resolution ocean sampling of the kind SWOT will deliver.

"It's taken literally decades to get a mission like this to fly, which is really exciting," he said.

"There's certainly a whole lot of people around the world with their fingers crossed for this thing to launch safely and successfully, that's for sure."

Dr Legresy said Australia stood to gain much from the SWOT mission.

"It will help us better understand where we are in the climate system, monitoring how the ocean around us stores the extra heat from climate change - 90 per cent of it goes into the oceans," he said.

"And the majority of this goes in the southern side of the ocean."

A Falcon 9 rocket, owned and operated by billionaire Elon Musk's commercial launch company SpaceX, will carry the satellite into orbit.

The launch is expected to occur late on Friday, Australian time, at the Vandenberg US Space Force Base, northwest of Los Angeles.

Mission updates can be found here:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/swot/

https://www.perthnow.com.au/news/environment/aussies-play-key-role-in-new-space-mission-c-9179770

>>17933898

>>17946304

Beware toxic extremism lurking on the fringes

CLAIRE LEHMANN - DECEMBER 16, 2022

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In 2014, US law enforcement officers ranked the sovereign citizen movement as the highest domestic terror threat, above Islamists, the Ku Klux Klan, neo-Nazis, skinheads, and environ­men­tal and animal rights extremists.

While the movement has no defining text, centralised leadership or accepted creed, sovereign citizens are united by a belief that the state and its laws are illegitimate. During routine traffic stops involving adherents of the ideology, several US law enforcement officers have been murdered.

Last week in Germany, special forces arrested 25 people involved in a plot to storm the Bundestag, overthrow the country’s government and attack the power grid. Members of the Reichsburger movement believe the 1871 borders of the German Empire are the country’s true borders and that the Federal Republic should not exist. The Reichsburger group previously had plans to attack state representatives, including the carrying out of killings.

On January 6, 2021, the US Capitol was stormed by a mob who wished to prevent the counting of electoral college votes that would confirm the victory of president-elect Joe Biden. While the mob consisted of a motley crew of Donald Trump supporters, militia men and QAnon devotees, they were united in their belief that the results of the 2020 election were false. More than 2000 rioters entered the building, leaving faeces in hallways, while outside they erected a gallows chanting “Hang Mike Pence”.

What unites the sovereign citizens, the Reichsburgers and the mob who stormed the US Capitol is a fundamental belief that the state is illegitimate or should not exist at all. Whether it is in defiance of laws, the overturning of government or the repudiation of democratic elections, the common thread that unites is rejection of state institutions and state authority, and a willingness to carry out violence in support of such beliefs.

Two young police officers lost their lives this week in Queensland in part because their killers appear to have been adherents of a similar anti-statist ideology.

Online posts written by Gareth Train point to deep paranoia about vaccines, Bill Gates, big business, artificial intelligence technology, the military, the Queensland government and law enforcement. While many people subscribe to such theories, the Trains were willing to commit cold-blooded murder in support of them. The Australian has reported that the Wieambilla property was set up with obstacles, sensors and cameras designed to lure visitors into a death trap with little chance of escape.

Stacey Train, it has been reported, was a long-time teacher but quit her job the day before she was required to have her first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine. Anti-vaccina­tion beliefs, traditionally associated with the far left, have proliferated on the right in response to Covid and now appear to be a core plank of the Reichsburger, QAnon and sovereign citizen movements.

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In the US, the outgoing director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Anthony Fauci, has armed federal agents with him at all times because of the credible threats made against his life.

In Germany, four members of the Reichsburger group were arrested for plotting to kidnap the German Health Minister in April.

In Australia, one GP had to flee his home after he became the subject of anti-vax disinformation early this year. Writing on Facebook, Dr Wilson Chin described “utter fear” when his practice was deluged with violent threats after false claims about children dying at the practice circulated online.

“We are just doing our jobs – we just want to care for our patients … I’m on the last thread here,” he wrote.

Former Queensland chief health officer Jeannette Young received so many threats during pandemic restrictions that a police detail was stationed outside her house. West Australian Premier Mark McGowan was threatened with beheading.

And one anti-lockdown protester in Melbourne was arrested when he encouraged fellow protesters to bring guns to shoot Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews.

When we think of far-right ideologies we tend to conjure up images of brown shirts and jackboots, and the totalitarian movements of the first half of the 20th century. Or we may recall images of skinheads and neo-Nazis as depicted by films such as Romper Stomper and American History X. But today’s extremists do not fit this historical archetype and, beyond that, do not fit neatly into a left versus right binary at all.

In The Coming Storm, a BBC podcast about QAnon, British journalist Gabriel Gatehouse pushes back against the notion that QAnon is far right. He explains that today’s extremist political cults should be understood as the “fringe against the centre”.

They do not seek to impose a utopian vision of economic governance or a hierarchy of racial purity. They seek to undermine, attack and delegitimise mainstream institutions, from the media and public health to democratically held elections and the rule of law. But beyond the undermining of institutions there appears to be no coherent vision.

Those most at risk of harm from these extremists appear to be our public servants. Health officials and law enforcement have been in the line of fire, and if we follow US trends this hostility may expand to include teachers and education officials as well.

Moderates of all persuasions – left or right – need to resist the pull of fringes and reject the rhetoric that leads to such paranoid anti-statism. While thoughtful people can disagree on matters of policy, we should respect the neutrality of our public institutions – the good people who work within them – and protect them from attack. We should never accept a society where public servants face threats against their lives simply for doing their jobs.

Claire Lehmann is founding editor of Quillette.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/beware-toxic-extremism-lurking-on-the-fringes/news-story/937713c7f093a4c37e68dd02c6636932

>>17933898

>>17934061

Police murders show disturbing rise of the conspiracy mindset

Every political conspiracy theory carries within it the germ of hatred and violence. Two innocent police officers and a kindly neighbour are now dead because, in part at least, the conspiracy theory runs on.

GREG SHERIDAN - December 17, 2022

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Four young police constables drove out on Monday afternoon to the most straightforward of jobs. A welfare check, a missing person’s inquiry. No special danger. No bulletproof vests (though vests wouldn’t have helped against high-powered ammunition). No back-up needed. Just another job.

Out in Wieambilla, roughly 300km west of Brisbane. Rural Queensland. The sweetest spot on earth. The salt of the earth, rural Queensland. Waltzing Matilda country. Older Australians might remember the rural Queensland of the Dad and Dave stories, a kind of bush Garden of Eden in which our sense of ourselves once took shape.

A welfare check in a tiny hamlet in the big state’s hinterland, it should be an Australian version of the village bobby in a Miss Marple story.

The four young police officers were all impossibly good-looking. They could have stepped into A Country Practice or Doctor Doctor or any TV wonderland you like.

But those police didn’t inhabit that sylvan glen of our common imagining. The Australian bush isn’t usually US-style Deliverance country. But when they walked up the driveway, two good, decent, fine young people, constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold, were savagely shot to death. The other two police escaped, not least through heroic actions of their own.

A kindly neighbour, Alan Dare, come to see if he could help, was also shot and killed. The murderers, one in combat camouflage gear, stood over the dead officers and fired again.

Pause for a moment, as parliament rightly and nobly did this week, to express our grief, our shock, our anguish and the deepest appreciation we can for our police. For every day they walk into a dozen situations that could become deadly. And they do it for us.

What did the constables encounter when they walked into that driveway killing zone? Certainly they encountered the face of human evil. But they also met minds and lives wretchedly warped by conspiracy theories.

We don’t know anything like all the factors at work among the three killers, Gareth Train and his wife Stacey, and his brother Nathaniel. All human situations are complex and this looks more complex than we can imagine. But we do have a series of Gareth Train’s social media postings.

He seems to have been well into the sovereign citizen set, a conspiracy theory-laden movement that thinks laws and taxes are invalid. It started, like so much of this stuff, in the US. Train was also involved in citizen-initiated referendum websites. He thought the Port Arthur massacre was a fake, undertaken by government to justify disarming the population. All three killers were fierce anti-vaxxers. Gareth Train boasted that he had told police to stay away and threatened them with firearms. He accused the Victorian police of crimes during Covid.

Which leads us to this question: why are conspiracy theories so prevalent now across the West, so widely believed, so often connected to violence, so pervasive, especially the crazier ones?

Lydia Khalil is a non-resident fellow at the Lowy Institute and author of a new book, Rise of the Extreme Right. She is a brilliant analyst of extremism, with a long background in Middle East politics and Islamist terrorism.

She told me the conspiracy mindset has always been around. But what’s new, she says “is this increase in anti-government conspiracy theory movements”.

“That sort of conspiracy mindset was often evident in the Middle East. But that was in an environment of high degrees of corruption, distrust, authoritarian systems where people were never told the truth. We’re starting to see this more now in consolidated democracies.”

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Among democracies, it’s worst in the US, but globalisation and the internet mean it spreads all around.

The anti-vax movement predated Covid, but Khalil believes the pandemic hugely accelerated conspiracy theory mindsets across the West, including Australia.

“Covid turbocharged all that,” she says. “People found the state heavily involved in their lives for the first time. A lot of middle-class Australians were very unfamiliar with this. Some were very uncomfortable with it.”

Khalil’s analysis is acute and her book an important contribution. The rise of the conspiracy theory mindset I think has invaded our culture across an astonishing range of areas. Most conspiracy theories are strikingly similar in their psychology and often even a great deal of their content.

A conspiracy can be considered a secret action by a group of people designed to produce a malignant result that is at odds with how things appear on the surface. A conspiracy theory is typically a belief in such a scenario that is simply not true. Obvious examples include the idea that Princess Diana faked her own death to avoid public scrutiny and escape the royal family, or the opposite idea that the British secret services assassinated her.

Some conspiracy theories are widely believed but still untrue. Some polls suggest most Americans believe the CIA assassinated John F. Kennedy.

Some conspiracy theories are non-political. Before the Open era in tennis, when for a time the game was divided between official amateur events and paid professional events, many tennis fans, especially in Australia, were so devoted to the amateur ideal that they thought the games were all rigged in professional tennis. So Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver, two of the finest sportsmen and best people we’ve ever produced, battled furiously and for hours in epic matches that, with a knowing wink, those in the know could tell you were fixed.

But we are moving into much more dangerous social territory now. Our whole culture has become objectively pro-conspiracy theory. That’s extremely troubling for the health of our politics and society.

Academics often cite three main psychological reasons people succumb to conspiracy theories. The first is epistemic, which means simply the desperate need to know what’s going on. The world is complex and grey. Conspiracy theories are simple, black and white. Why are interest rates rising? A complex interaction of government debt and supply chain interruptions fuelling inflation etc. Much easier to believe classic, foul, anti-Semitic nonsense: the Jews control the international financial system and make money from high interest rates.

The second reason for conspiracy belief is existential. The world is very big and it’s easy to feel you don’t have control of your destiny. Instead of doing the things that actually give you control, working hard at a job, cultivating good family and social relationships, participating positively in civic life and democracy, it’s much easier to believe you know the real, underlying reason you don’t have control – because of the conspiracy you’re fighting – and then to believe you’re gaining back some control by fighting the conspiracy.

The third motivation is social. You can feel heroic, special, cool, in a way historically important, through your special knowledge of the conspiracy. And you can get close with your fellow conspiracy theory believers.

Take QAnon. It’s a vile, hateful, anti-Semitic, far right movement that embodies a crazy set of conspiracy theories, including some from the political left. QAnon believes, among other things, that the US government is run by a network of secret pedophiles. Khalil points out that the Covid pandemic led to a spike in QAnon believers and QAnon traffic on the internet.

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QAnon has become ultra dangerous partly because some mainstream political figures have consciously used conspiracy memes and movements to garner support. Thus the bizarre Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has not only claimed that Democrats were running a pedophile ring in the basement of a pizza store but that the 9/11 attack on the Pentagon was faked and did not involve a plane. She once argued that no children were killed at the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, that Israeli intelligence agency Mossad killed Kennedy and that Jewish space lasers were a threat to America.

She suffered a huge swing against her at the most recent US election, but she was re-elected. Her ally, broadcaster Alex Jones, has been successfully sued for claiming the Sandy Hook massacre was a fake and the grieving parents were paid actors. This madness not only upset parents but caused them to be harassed and sometimes attacked by gullible fools who believed Jones’s nonsense.

The most senior figure to give occasional nods to QAnon is Donald Trump. Although QAnon is extreme and hateful, it also eng­ages its followers in a kind of game, with the challenge of endlessly deciphering the clues of Trump and the like.

Now it’s true that Trump’s enemies tell almost as many lies as he does. The social media companies at the last presidential election censored stories about the laptop of Joe Biden’s son, Hunter Biden. Some 50 former senior US intelligence officials signed a letter saying they thought the laptop was Russian disinformation. It turned out the laptop was authentic, so its information about Hunter Biden’s business dealings while his dad was vice-president should have been public.

In so grievously trashing the credibility and impartiality of the intelligence agencies they were associated with, these former officials contributed hugely to the growth of conspiracy theories.

So the Biden camp assisted conspiracy theory growth by telling lies and thereby diminishing trust in institutions and democracy, while Trump consciously courts conspiracy theory forces, having several times in the past praised Jones, giving all his too-cute signs to QAnon. Just recently Trump had dinner with Kanye West and a notorious white supremacist. Trump’s excuse was he didn’t know the white supremacist was coming along. But West himself has recently made a stream of grotesque anti-Semitic remarks, even on one occasion arguing that Hitler was not all bad and criticism of the Nazis was exaggerated.

Trump certainly knew all about that. Trump is the most cynical of all politicians because he knows all the conspiracy stuff is nonsense at best, and mostly vile nonsense, but he wants the active support of its legions of believers. He thus validates those believers even as he claims, rightly no doubt, not to share their views.

But our culture has now moved decisively towards validating conspiracy theory. Let’s consider just four forces: Hollywood, foreign governments, the digital universe, academic fashion.

A vast number of Hollywood movies now celebrate some kind of conspiracy theory. In The Da Vinci Code, the whole of Christianity is presented as a conspiracy in a film based on a book that is laughably inaccurate about everything but believed by millions to represent reality. The Matrix, Khalil points out, not only has a typical conspiracy theory plot but breaks down the idea that reality itself is reliable. The term “red pill” has taken on a life of its own in conspiracy theory land as the main character in The Matrix gets a choice – blue pill and have an easy life knowing nothing of the underlying reality, or the red pill, after which you can go behind the matrix and see the true nature of things. Conspiracy theory believers all think they’ve taken the red pill.

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Foreign governments. The Russians have encouraged far right groups. Before the Ukraine war Vladimir Putin had a ludicrous following among many Western right-wingers who combined gullibility with plain ignorance to an astonishing degree. The Russians do their best to promote social division in the West via social media. This is not all by aiding far-right groups. Russian internet activists also worked hard to amplify the Black Lives Matter movement.

The digital universe. Not only does social media viciously polarise society but it allows industrial quantities of absolutely false information to be “published” every minute of every day. If a million eyes see a concocted video that is a lie, 10,000 people might actually believe it and 1000 of those might become active in some way.

Academic fashion. Postmodernism is the left-wing version of right-wing conspiracy theory. Postmodernism holds there is no absolute truth, no possibility of an agreed grand narrative, no reliable reality beyond the text. It also holds that the true purpose of every expression is to uphold the unjust and exploitative power structures that lie beneath our seemingly democratic society.

And finally, we must confront the source material of so much conspiracy theory. That is anti-Semitism, the hatred of Jews, the oldest and foulest conspiracy theory of all. Judaism predates Christianity and Islam, and of course modern liberalism. Jews have always been a small, creative and distinctive minority in every society they’ve lived in except Israel. So they’ve often been cast as “the other”. It may be that humanity has never forgiven them for introducing the moral code of the Ten Commandments.

Because anti-Semitism is so old and so extensive, every other conspiracy theory tends to adopt a version of anti-Semitism for itself. More particularly, the key source document for virtually all modern conspiracy theory is the all-time classic of anti-Semitism, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. This was a forgery by the tsarist secret police of Russia, first published in 1903. It recounts (fictional) Jewish involvement in depravity, but more particularly sketches a plan for a secret world government run by Jews.

It’s the Ur-document of all modern conspiracy theory – the secret group, the evil intent, the worldwide plot. And this grotesque parody is why, even today, Jewish day schools and community halls in Sydney and Melbourne need to engage security guards.

Of course, conspiracies do sometimes occur in the real world. It’s perfectly fair and reasonable to hold and debate all kinds of views about the efficacy of vac­cines or anything else, so long as it’s based on evidence and reason and a willingness to disagree peacefully. But every political conspiracy theory carries within it the germ of hatred and violence. Two innocent police officers and a kindly neighbour are now dead because, in part at least, the conspiracy theory runs on.

Greg Sheridan is The Australian's foreign editor. His most recent book, Christians, the urgent case for Jesus in our world, became a best seller weeks after publication. It makes the case for the historical reliability of the New Testament and explores the lives of early Christians and contemporary Christians. He is one of the nation's most influential national security commentators, who is active across television and radio, and also writes extensively on culture and religion. He has written eight books, mostly on Asia and international relations. A previous book, God is Good for You, was also a best seller. When We Were Young and Foolish was an entertaining memoir of culture, politics and journalism. As foreign editor, he specialises in Asia and America. He has interviewed Presidents and Prime Ministers around the world.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/police-murders-show-disturbing-rise-of-the-conspiracy-mindset/news-story/4504d47082b1998433381ce512db6461

>>17933898

>>17953388

Tech giants told by Peter Dutton to cut off online evil

ELLEN WHINNETT, MICHAEL MCKENNA and GEORGIA CLELLAND - DECEMBER 16, 2022

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Peter Dutton has launched a scathing attack on social media companies, accusing them of abrogating their responsibilities in ­pursuit of profits, after the emergence of a chilling online video posted by the killers of two young constables and a neighbour in Monday’s ambush on a remote Queensland property.

A former Queensland police officer and long-time home affairs minister, the Opposition Leader said social media platforms used algorithms to promote conspiracy theories and make money but ­refused to tackle a proliferation of dangerous and hateful material.

Mr Dutton said he would work with the Albanese government on any plans it had to stem the flood of conspiracy theories, disinformation and hateful commentary online, such as that spread by Gareth and Stacey Train.

Just hours after the shooting, the couple boasted that they killed “these devils and demons” in a YouTube video that had followed a series of increasingly ominous online posts leading up to the attack at their property at Wieambilla, 290km west of Brisbane.

Mr Dutton urged members of the public to contact authorities if they had concerns that friends and relatives were engaging with wild, dangerous conspiracy theories.

The government went to ground on Friday, with Home ­Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil ­refusing to make any comment on the appearance of the video and other evil rantings online by murderous accomplices Nathaniel Train, brother to Gareth and first husband of Stacey. Attorney-­General Mark Dreyfus also ­declined to say what the government could do to address the ­proliferation of false conspiracy theories being spread online. “Right now, three families are grieving and the Queensland Police are conducting an investigation into these horrific murders,’’ Mr Dreyfus said. “I think it’s important that the Queensland Police be allowed to conduct that investigation and complete that investigation without speculation or any interference. Obviously, federal agencies will continue their work in the meantime, and equally clearly, the Australian Federal Police stand ready to assist the Queensland Police in any way they can with the conduct of those investigations.’’

On Thursday, Ms O’Neil said new policies were required, which could include legislative responses, to tackle disinformation and conspiracy theories such as those being spread by the Trains.

“Security agencies are actively considering the implications of this matter for the national ­security of our country, the implications of online radicalisation of misinformation and violent ­extremism,’’ she told parliament.

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The emergence of the video will spark renewed debate about what obligations social media channels have to prevent the spread of dangerous conspiracy theories, disinformation and vile, hate-filled commentary.

The video was uploaded on YouTube, owned by American giant Google, at 7.39pm on Monday – three hours after the Trains had ambushed Constable Matthew Arnold, 26, and Constable Rachel McCrow, 29, shooting them dead after they arrived at their remote bush block at ­Wieambilla following up a missing person’s report on Nathaniel Train.

“They came to kill us and we killed them. If you don’t defend yourself against these devils and demons … you’re a coward,” said Gareth Train, sitting in the dark with his wife, a veteran teacher, beside him.

Specialist police were surrounding the property on Wains Road, halfway between Chinchilla and Tara, at the time.

“We’ll see you when we get home,’’ Stacey then says.

“We’ll see you at home, Don,’’ her husband adds in reference to an unidentified person before his wife then finishes with “love you”. The video was posted under the name Mrs Yugi Girawil.

Three hours later, the trio were shot dead.

The video was later taken down but re-emerged on BitChute, an alt-right and largely unregulated video-hosting platform used by conspiracy theorists.

“We can confirm the YouTube channel Mrs Yugi Girawil was ­terminated for a violation of our violent extremist or criminal organisations policy,’’ a YouTube spokesman said.

Queensland Police later asked all media outlets to remove the video from their platforms.

Mr Dutton said social media companies that allowed such ­content to be posted on their ­platforms showed a “complete ­abrogation of their corporate and social responsibilities’’ and ­allowed like-minded conspiracy theorists to come together in chat rooms and spread disinformation in such vast quantities it was almost impossible for law enforcement to monitor it.

He said the public needed to notify authorities if they saw family and friends begin to spend many hours online and sign up to dangerous conspiracy theories, as people “waded into the edge’’ of dangerous disinformation.

“It is domestic terrorism and it’s on a huge scale; there are terabytes of data,’’ he said.

Mr Dutton likened the situation 10 years ago when young people started becoming radicalised online to support Islamic State.’’

Monday’s shootings followed years of online posts by Gareth Train in which he espoused bizarre conspiracy theories – including that the 1996 Port Arthur massacre was faked – and even writing about his threats against police entering his ­property.

The trio were armed and in camouflage gear when the team of four police officers arrived at the bush property about 4.30pm (AEST) and were shot as they walked up the driveway.

All three killers were later shot dead about 10.30pm by police who stormed the property in armoured vehicles under the cover of ­darkness.

On Friday, The Australian ­revealed police were investigating the possibility the three shooters were the source of an anonymous tip-off to NSW police that Nathaniel Train was at the property, which had a sophisticated surveillance network and sniper “kill zones”.

On December 8, NSW police had issued a public statement asking for assistance in locating Nathaniel Train, a primary school principal who went missing last December.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/tech-giants-told-by-peter-dutton-to-cut-off-online-evil/news-story/717804241f18fbf190029fc6bbdf0819

>>17832778

>>17953477

Former fighter pilot’s wife defends ‘angel and patriot’ against charges of training Chinese military

LIAM MENDES and ELLEN WHINNETT - DECEMBER 16, 2022

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The wife of a former fighter pilot accused of helping to train the Chinese military says her husband has the “moral compass of an angel’’ and that her family had been ripped apart by an American bid to extradite him to face charges in a US court.

Saffrine Duggan, from Orange, said her husband Dan Duggan was a patriotic Australian who was being used as a “geo­political pawn’’ by the US in an ­attempt to stop other pilots from working in China.

She said the father of six was “broken’’ by his 57-day detention alongside Islamic State terrorists in Silverwater prison and that he would never do anything against Australian interests.

“He had a civil aviation company (in China),” she told The Australian, from the farm outside Orange where she is raising her three young children with Mr Duggan, along with his three children from his first marriage.

“He was not training the Chinese military.

“Why is there an assumption that he’s training the Chinese military because he’s got an aviation company?

“He’s a father of six amazing human beings with the moral compass of an angel.

“It’s a geopolitical play that America is using Dan as a poster child to ward off others from going to China.”

Former US Marine Daniel ­Edmund Duggan, 54, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in Orange at the request of the Americans in October and deemed a “high-risk prisoner’’ after a crackdown by the Five-Eyes intelligence communities against Western pilots training Chinese military.

His wife, a photographer and fashion designer, said he had done nothing wrong, but was being held in segregation inside a tiny 2m by 4m maximum security prison cell usually reserved for Australia’s most hardened and dangerous criminals.\

When speaking to his lawyer, Mr Duggan’s legs and arms are shackled to his waist. He’s given a tiny pencil no more than 5cm long to take notes.

“He is 100 per cent treated as if he is a convicted terrorist,” Ms Duggan said.

“Our family has been ripped apart. One minute dad’s here, and the next minute he has been taken away.”

“He is broken, he is just hanging on,” she said.

The US District of Columbia Court indictment against Mr Duggan was unsealed this week, revealing the former American citizen was facing four US charges, including conspiracy to unlawfully export defence services to China, conspiracy to launder money, and two counts of violating the arms export control act and international traffic in arms regulations.

On Friday morning, Ms Duggan’s worst fears were realised when Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney heard the US government would be applying for her husband, an Australian citizen who renounced his US citizenship in 2012, to be extradited.

She said she was “devastated” by the news, and stressed that her husband was “100 per cent patriotic to Australia”.

She accused the Australian government of allowing her husband to become a political prisoner. “How is that allowed?” she questioned. It’s happening in Australia, as an Australian, by ­foreign intervention. That’s not Australian sovereignty.”

She said he would “absolutely not” do anything against the ­national interests of Australia.

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Ms Duggan, 47, said until a week ago she had not been able to speak with her husband. Since then, she has had several calls which last around six minutes ­before they’re disconnected.

“That’s not enough time for him to ask how his children are, and to ask how are they going, for him to relay his message back with screaming in the background from other people who are yelling out,” she said.

She categorically denied the US government’s claims he trained Chinese fighter pilots via a South African flight school on three occasions in 2010 and 2012.

Ms Duggan said that in the week of his arrest, her husband was due to start a new job on the NSW south coast for a government military contractor, which provides specialised air training support services to Defence. She said he had passed the strict government background security checks required for the job.

Outside court on Friday, his lawyer Dennis Miralis said the extradition would be fought as the indictment was “wrong at law” and Australia did not have the same legislation “prohibiting the defence services” to China as the United States.

“The facts underpinning that indictment are rejected and materially incorrect,” Mr Miralis said. “The law in the US by ­presidential decree has placed an embargo on China, it’s a geopolitical piece of legislation intended to further America’s security interests.

“We do not have such laws in Australia,” he said. “Australia does not have an embargo on the provision of services to China, nor are there currently sanctions against China with respect to these types of services.

“Therefore the extradition would fail on the basis it does not meet the requirements of dual criminality,” he said.

Mr Duggan returns to court on Tuesday, December 20.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/former-fighter-pilots-wife-defends-angel-and-patriot-against-charges-of-training-chinese-military/news-story/e4936b18880dfe72dcf5b9d93cff5645

>>17933898

Survivor of horror police ambush Constable Keely Brough honours fallen victims

MADELEINE ACHENZA - DECEMBER 17, 2022

The young police officer who managed to survive a targeted ambush on police has come together with her community to honour her colleagues and a brave civilian who lost their lives in the attack.

Constable Keely Brough, 28 was among four officers who attended a remote property in southeast Queensland for a routine missing persons call on Monday when they walked into a wall of bullets fired at them by the residents.

A candlelit vigil was held in honour of the three victims in the nearby town of Chinchilla where the young officer was embraced by her community.

It is the first time Constable Brough has been seen in public since the horror incident which has rocked the tight-knit community 300km west of Brisbane.

The 28-year-old had only entered the force nine weeks ago and has been praised for her bravery as the murderous trio cornered her in bushland and tried to “smoke” her out with fire.

Constable Brough made the desperate calls to colleagues that likely ultimately saved her life and the life of Constable Randall Kirk, 28.

A team of sixteen police officers came to the rescue and bravely battled gunfire into the night as attempted to surviving officers and the bodies of the fallen.

Rachel McCrow, 29 and Matthew Arnold, 26, were shot almost immediately after stepping onto the property before the murderers stood over their bodies to kill them “execution style”.

Alan Dare, who lived at a neighbouring property, rushed to help when he smelt smoke and heard the cracks of gunfire but was also fatally shot.

Queensland Police Assistant Commissioner Charysse Pond was pictured comforting Constable Brough at the ceremony.

The only other survivor Constable Kirk was unable to attend the vigil as he remains in hospital recovering from surgery for a gunshot to the leg.

A guard of honour was formed to pay tribute to the fallen officers with blue and white ribbons pinned to the chests of all attendees.

The community is still trying to come to terms with how this senseless act of terror has befallen their remote town.

On Thursday, more than 200 people paid tribute at Tara police station where two of the officers served.

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll told Sky News Australia that she had spoken to the surviving officers on Wednesday.

“Of course, eternally grateful that they got away with their lives and I saw the scene. I don’t know how they survived,” she said.

“But sadly, bittersweet as well, because they saw their friends die in front of them, so it’s difficult days for them as well.

“They will need a lot of help into the future, a lot of support … wrapped around them by everyone, not just their family and friends, community and colleagues, and we will assist them with that.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/survivor-of-horror-police-ambush-constable-keely-brough-honours-fallen-victims/news-story/66498912a51b389421861a752d0cc0a5

Caulfield Hebrew Congregation’s former caretaker investigated by police over alleged sexual assault claims

Suzan Delibasic - December 11, 2022

A former caretaker from a prominent Caulfield synagogue is being investigated by police after sexual assault allegations were made against him.

Danny Radojcin, 88, was stood down by Caulfield Hebrew Congregation on March 21 after a sexual assault allegation was made against him.

The Herald Sun can now reveal Bayside Sexual Offences and Child Abuse Unit detectives are investigating reports of sexual assaults by Mr Radojcin.

“The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been laid at this time,” a police spokesman said.

Sources close to Caulfield Shule have told the Herald Sun there are more than 10 victims who have alleged historical sexual assault by Mr Radojcin.

Mr Radojcin is also believed to be the longest serving synagogue caretaker in Australia and celebrated 52 years of service this year.

Voice Against Child Sexual Abuse (VoiCSA) director Phillip Weinberg said the organisation was supporting victims and survivors who were allegedly sexually abused as children while attending Caulfield Shule.

“We commend those courageous victims and survivors who have reported to police and will continue to encourage and assist others who may wish to do so,” Mr Weinberg said.

“We applaud the recent actions taken by Caulfield Shule to improve safety standards for children on its premises.”

Mr Weinberg said the organisation had received an average of four disclosures every week for the past year from children who say they had been sexually abused in the Jewish community across Melbourne.

“A large number of those cases have allegedly occurred while children were playing outside synagogues while their parents were participating in services,” he said.

Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Daniel Aghion said: “We support brave victims of sexual abuse, we commend them for their courage, and we stand with them in stamping out this evil wherever it occurs.”

“The JCCV is currently in the process of setting up an education and training arm to guide organisations within the community towards best practice in guarding against the risk of child sexual abuse,” he said.

A Caulfield Hebrew Congregation spokesman said earlier this year its board had commissioned an internal review into all safety policies and procedures surrounding the conduct of staff and contractors.

“We are also liaising with the Commission for Children and Young People and Victoria Police to ensure that all required information is readily available,” he said.

On its website, the congregation known as Caulfield Shule describes itself as “an inclusive modern Orthodox synagogue”.

“We aspire to appeal to all ages, with programs targeted at toddlers and mothers, youth of all ages, young adults, right through to the elderly through our Shmoozeday program,” its website said.

Caulfield Hebrew Congregation was contacted for comment.

Anyone with information that could assist police is urged to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

https://crimestoppers.com.au/

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/victoria/caulfield-hebrew-congregations-former-caretaker-investigated-by-police-over-alleged-sexual-assault-claims/news-story/9d2b838ec81e4a2b61820697bbddf634

Students expelled after parents refuse to keep quiet on child sex abuse claims

Adam Carey - December 6, 2022

Several siblings have been expelled from a faith-based school in St Kilda because their parents refused to sign a memorandum of understanding that limited who they could talk to about the alleged sexual abuse of their children.

The parents expressed concerns last month about the possible reintegration of a student who had been the subject of a police investigation and complaints of sexual abuse towards other, younger students.

Eliezer Kornhauser, the founder and acting principal of the small private school Cheder Levi Yitzchok, wrote to the parents on Monday that their children’s continued presence at the school was “untenable”.

“As of Monday 5th December, your children are no longer welcome to attend the school,” he said.

The students might be welcomed back next year, “but we would need to see clear evidence of a change in your mindset, leading to a very different set of behaviours on your part”, he wrote.

Kornhauser had insisted that the parents sign an MOU if they wanted their children to remain at the school, which caters to Melbourne’s small Jewish ultra-Orthodox Chabad movement.

The MOU said the parents should air their concerns with school leadership or the authorities but refrain from speaking with other school staff, parents, advocacy groups or the media.

“We are imploring you, in the interests of maintaining our relationship, to follow our guidelines and sign the contract and return it immediately,” Kornhauser wrote to the family last month.

“If you choose another course – which of course you are at liberty to do – you cannot maintain your relationship with our school.”

The alleged sexual abuse did not take place at the school but at the Yeshivah Centre, a religious centre linked with the school, in neighbouring St Kilda East.

The school regulator, the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, recently launched a review of the school’s adherence to child safety standards.

VoicSA, an advocacy group addressing Jewish child sex abuse, was named in the MOU as one organisation the parents should refrain from communicating with about allegations or complaints about the school or its students.

VoicSA spokesman Phillip Weinberg said the group had asked the regulator to suspend the school’s registration “due to immediate concerns for the safety of children”.

“Attempts to silence victims/survivors of child sexual abuse in the interests of protecting the reputation of an institution are abhorrent, incompatible with the minimum standards of a registered school and contrary to Jewish law,” Weinberg said.

On Tuesday, Kornhauser wrote an “open letter to the Jewish community”, saying the school had been subjected to an inaccurate and defamatory campaign of slander by VoicSA.

“Perhaps the most slanderous of all is the persistent narrative that in light of Jewish law, the school does not adhere to its mandatory reporting requirements, and indeed ostracises parents if they choose to make reports to the authorities,” he said.

“The school decries even one single act of sexual or other abuse against a child.”

Last month, Kornhauser told the school’s parents to pray to protect their children from abuse after they voiced concerns about sexual abuse allegations.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Kidshelpline on 1800 55 1800.

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://kidshelpline.com.au/

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/students-expelled-after-parents-refuse-to-keep-quiet-on-child-sex-abuse-claims-20221206-p5c46k.html

China contact raises hopes for detained Australians

Anthony Galloway and Eryk Bagshaw - December 18, 2022

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The plight of two Australian citizens imprisoned in China has advanced in the most positive way in years as diplomatic channels open and detention conditions improve.

The family and friends of journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun have revealed they are in better health and more optimistic about their prospects than at any time since they were first arrested, despite Chinese authorities not granting Australian consular officials access to them since October due to COVID-19 restrictions.

Anticipation is growing that Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong could visit China in the coming weeks to meet her counterpart Wang Yi after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he expected “further measures and activities which indicate a much-improved relationship”.

Dialogue between officials at the Australian embassy in Beijing and their Chinese counterparts on the conditions of Cheng and Yang has also increased since relations between the two countries started to thaw around the middle of 2022.

Some officials inside the Australian government believe there is now an increased chance of securing their release at some point in the future but do not anticipate any imminent breakthrough. They remain deeply dissatisfied with the recent lack of consular visits, which China has blamed on the COVID-19 situation in the country, but are more positive overall given the talks taking place at the official-to-official level.

Albanese also directly raised their cases with Chinese President Xi Jinping during their meeting last month on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali, while Wong took their cases to her counterpart, Wang Yi, in September. The Australian foreign affairs minister is expected to again raise their case with Wang if she travels to China in coming weeks.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian government “will continue to advocate at the highest levels for Australians detained in China”.

“Australia expects Chinese authorities to provide regular access to both Australian citizens in line with our bilateral consular agreement,” the spokesperson said. “We have repeatedly conveyed our concern to Chinese authorities about delayed consular visits.”

Cheng, a Chinese-state TV journalist whose two young children are in Australia, was detained in August 2020 on vague national security charges. The Australian government has been told the charges involve supplying state secrets, but no other details have been released since her closed-door trial in March.

The detention came at a low ebb for relations between the two countries, with Beijing imposing more than $20 billion worth of trade sanctions on Australia in response to a number of actions including the former Coalition government’s call for an independent inquiry into the COVID-19 outbreak.

But relations have returned to a more stable footing since the election of the Albanese government. The prime minister, Wong and Defence Minister Richard Marles have all met their direct counterparts since May.

Cheng’s partner, Nick Coyle, said she was “holding up really well”.

“It’s positive,” he said. “The fact that the bilateral relationship seems like it’s improving augurs well for a solution.”

The Melbourne mum will miss her third Christmas at home this year with her two children. “It’s time you don’t get back, those really formative years, it can be a really hard thing to deal with,” Coyle said.

(continued)

>>17972561

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Cheng, who was kept largely in solitary confinement, under bright lights 24/7 and interrogated by Chinese state security for six months, is now in a cell with three other inmates.

The 47-year-old has been teaching them English through song lyrics and reading the books of two other Australians detained by foreign governments, Kylie Moore-Gilbert and Peter Greste.

“I often think to myself, Jesus Christ, two years and four months – I don’t know how I’d be going, but she seems to be doing remarkably well,” Coyle said. “From a mental health standpoint, she has improved out of sight.”

Yang, a writer and pro-democracy advocate, was detained in January 2019 at Guangzhou airport as he arrived from New York trying to visit a sick family member. He was tortured repeatedly during his first year in jail as Chinese authorities attempted to extract a confession to claims of espionage, leading his family to fear for his life.

“His health situation now is much better,” said his friend Feng Chongyi, who is a professor of Chinese politics at the University of Technology, Sydney.

“He has not been under that sort of interrogation and pressure. He can relax somehow and recover some strength to do some exercise.

“One indicator that his situation in the detention centre improved was about two months ago; books were allowed to be passed to him.

“That means they have relaxed controls. It’s a very small step, but that is one of the indicators of improvement. It’s symbolically significant.”

Cheng has remained silent since her arrest, but Yang has repeatedly declared his innocence, criticised China’s legal system and vowed he would not be broken by torture.

“Yang has been very tough to not give in, in any way, so his torture is much harsher and longer,” Feng said.

Coyle and Feng said the Australian government should use this week’s 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with Beijing to push harder for their release. Cheng’s verdict is scheduled to be handed down by January but could also be delayed by a further three months. Yang faced a one-day secret trial in Beijing in May 2021, but relatives and Australian diplomats were denied access to the hearing and there has been no update on sentencing since.

“Yang and Cheng have been a part of hostage diplomacy,” Feng said. “If the Chinese want to improve the relationship with Australia, the rational thing to do is to release the hostages first.”

Said Coyle: “They could say, Look, we need the Australian public to come behind our reset of the relationship. This is a big blockage”.

Feng said he was optimistic about the prospects but urged Australia to get other governments to lobby on their behalf. Canada used multinational pressure to secure the release of two of its citizens, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, in September last year.

“The Chinese have that kind of mentality to show their goodwill by releasing political prisoners,” said Feng, who was detained by Chinese authorities in 2017. “Let’s be hopeful. It’s four years already since he was taken from us.“

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/china-contact-raises-hopes-for-detained-australians-20221215-p5c6k7.html

>>17800549

French border officials 'stopped talking to UK counterparts over AUKUS deal'

Tony Diver - 17 December 2022

French border officials working on the small boats crisis stopped talking to the UK for three months last year because of a row over the AUKUS submarine deal.

Dan O'Mahoney, who is standing down as the head of Britain’s Clandestine Channel Threat Command, said a “post-Brexit freeze” in relations was extended by a row over the submarines but was now going from “strength to strength”.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, was furious about Australia’s decision to scrap a multi-billion dollar French submarine contract and join AUKUS, a new alliance with the UK and US, in August last year.

He accused Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, of lying to him over the submarines and recalled France’s ambassador, while Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, called the alliance a “stab in the back”.

Speaking to The Telegraph, Mr O’Mahoney revealed his opposite number refused to engage with the UK for three months because of the row, despite the number of small boats reaching their highest-ever level at that point, of 2,000 crossings per month.

‘Post-Brexit freeze’

“I think I’ve been over [to France] 35 times personally, including all the way through lockdown,” he said.

“During that time we’ve experienced the post-Brexit freeze in the relationship starting to thaw.

“Then the AUKUS submarine deal created another freeze at one point. My French counterpart didn’t speak to me for about three months.

“We came out the other side of that, and now we’re in this really great position where both the Prime Minister and the Home Secretary are really clearly and genuinely committed to the French relationship.”

On Tuesday, Rishi Sunak announced Mr O’Mahoney’s command centre is to be replaced with a new “small boats operational command”.

It will place control of operations back in the hands of the Home Office, after eight months of Royal Navy “primacy” in the Channel.

Mr O’Mahoney said it was possible that the number of boat crossings in the Channel would begin to “plateau” next year because criminal gangs have reached their maximum capacity of illegal migrants.

“I don’t think we're going to continue to see that exponential rise next year,” he said, adding that over the next “couple of years” Britain had an “opportunity… to make a real difference and to start reversing that trend”.

‘Days away from the first patrols’

His comments come after ministers announced that British officers are to begin joint patrols with their Continental counterparts, which Mr O’Mahoney said would begin within “weeks if not days”.

He said officials had been “working on the details a bit” with French counterparts, including reassurance that UK officers will not be allowed to exercise any powers while abroad and must be kept “protected” from criminal gangs.

“It’s really boring administrative stuff that we need to get through, but I’m confident that we are weeks if not days away from the first patrols happening,” he said.

The outgoing director also praised “incredibly dedicated” Border Force staff, who he said had been called “traitors” while out shopping in Dover wearing their uniforms because locals resented migrants arriving on UK shores.

“I’ve had similar sorts of comments made about me on social media,” he said.

“But when somebody’s staring you in the eyes as they’re close to drowning in the icy waters of the English Channel there’s only one right course of action.

“In taking that course of action, they’ve saved hundreds, if not thousands of lives.

“In any other walk of life, they’d be hailed as heroes, because that’s exactly what they are. They’re heroes, and it’s been an absolute privilege to work alongside them.”

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2022/12/17/french-border-officials-stopped-talking-uk-counterparts-aukus/

https://archive.ph/CNzxU

Foreign Minister Penny Wong to make first ministerial visit to Beijing since China froze diplomatic relations with Australia

Jake Evans - 19 December 2022

Penny Wong will on Wednesday become the first Australian minister to visit China since Beijing put diplomatic relations into a deep freeze.

The last time an Australian minister travelled to China was when then-trade minister Simon Birmingham visited in November 2019.

High-level lines of communication reopened between the government and the People's Republic of China after Labor's federal election win in May.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had a face-to-face meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit in November — the first meeting between the leaders of the two countries since 2016.

Senator Wong met with her Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the UN General Assembly in September.

She will travel to China at the invitation of the People's Republic of China to hold the sixth Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue with Mr Wang, which was last held in 2018.

Her visit to China coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Whitlam government establishing diplomatic ties with the country.

Senator Birmingham said the Coalition welcomed the news and wished Minister Wong well.

"We both have much to gain from supporting a stable, prosperous and open Indo-Pacific, in which the sovereignty of nations is respected and the international rules-based order upheld," he said in a statement.

"The test of these talks will be whether trade sanctions are lifted, progress is made for the release of detained Australians and improvements in security and cyber context that we face."

Australia has been lobbying China to release detained journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun, and drop its $20 billion worth of trade sanctions.

Senator Birmingham said Senator Wong's visit would also be judged on progress towards advancing regional security and respect for international law and securing "greater transparency" on human rights issues.

"Australia should also continue to appeal for China to use its influence on Russia to end the immoral and illegal invasion of Ukraine," he said.

In a joint statement, Mr Albanese and Senator Wong said trade between the nations had delivered "significant benefits".

"Australia seeks a stable relationship with China; we will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in the national interest," Senator Wong and Mr Albanese said.

Notably, Trade Minister Don Farrell has not yet secured a meeting with his Chinese counterpart.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-19/foreign-minister-penny-wong-to-visit-beijing/101787586

>>17980326

Penny Wong to visit China for historic meeting

BEN PACKHAM and ELLEN RANSLEY - DECEMBER 19, 2022

Penny Wong has revealed she will visit China this week, meeting her counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday – the 50th anniversary of Australia-China relations.

In a joint statement, Anthony Albanese and Foreign Minister Wong said the visit was being made at China’s invitation, following the Prime Minister’s talk with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali last month.

Senator Wong and State Counsellor Wang will hold the 6th Australia-China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue during the visit.

“The meeting will coincide with the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, on Wednesday 21 December,” Mr Albanese and Senator Wong said.

“We welcome the opportunity to mark this anniversary.

“Australia seeks a stable relationship with China; we will cooperate where we can, disagree where we must and engage in the national interest.”

The trip follows years of strained diplomatic relations between the countries, inflamed by China’s trade bans on $20bn in Australian exports, and its detention of Australians Cheng Lei and Yang Hengjun.

Mr Albanese and Senator Wong hailed Gough Whitlam’s “bold decision” to establish diplomatic relations with China in 1972, “recognising the importance of engagement and cooperation between our two nations and peoples”.

“In the decades since, China has grown to become one of the world’s largest economies and Australia’s largest trading partner.

“Trade between Australia and China, as well as strong people-to-people, cultural and business links have delivered significant benefits to both our countries.”

The last time a foreign minister visited China was in 2018, when Marise Payne made the journey.

The last government minister to make a trip to China was Simon Birmingham, who was the trade, tourism and investment minister in 2019.

Mr Birmingham, now the opposition spokesman for foreign affairs, said the Coalition welcomed the visit.

“It was always counter-productive for the Chinese government to cease ministerial dialogue for a period of time, and the resumption of face-to-face dialogue has been welcome,” Senator Birmingham said.

“We both have much to gain from supporting a stable, prosperous and open Indo-Pacific, in which the sovereignty of nations is respected and the international rules-based order upheld.”

Senator Birmingham said the “ultimate test” of Senator Wong’s visit would be in the outcome.

“Minister Wong’s visit will be judged on progress towards the removal of unwarranted tariffs and sanctions on Australian exports; achieving fair and transparent treatment of Australians currently detained in China; advancing regional security; and securing greater transparency on human rights issues,” he said.

“I wish Minister Wong well in her pursuit with the Chinese government, productive discussions and outcomes positive to our national interest.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/penny-wong-to-visit-china-for-historic-meeting/news-story/0c65761122e61c2680ec7dfa4a8633e4

>>17701300

‘We need to be prepared to invest’: Albanese highlights need for subs, not tanks

David Crowe - December 19, 2022

Australian defence spending must keep rising to put the nation on a “self-reliant” footing against regional dangers, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has declared after receiving an interim review that calls for a new approach to potential military conflict.

The shift in thinking will challenge previous plans to spend tens of billions of dollars on tanks and armoured vehicles because the money will be needed for more advanced capabilities to assert Australian power in the region.

In an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, Albanese also confronted critics of the $100 billion plan for nuclear-powered submarines by insisting they were “the assets that we need” in an era of greater tension in the region.

With a debate raging over whether Australia needs more missiles, drones, aircraft and battleships to defend its territory, the prime minister is considering a confidential report from former defence minister Stephen Smith and former defence force chief Angus Houston that will set new priorities next year.

The Coalition pledged to spend 2 per cent of GDP on defence and Labor has promised to match the target, but Albanese made it clear that the spending could rise above that level because the need for new capabilities was so great.

“We need to be prepared to invest what we need to promote peace and security in the region,” he said. “One of the objectives of defence as well, for a country like Australia with the values that we have, isn’t to attack any other nation.

“[It] is to respect national sovereignty, but to make sure that we can defend ourselves and make sure as well, that it acts as an appropriate deterrent.”

Former Labor prime minister Paul Keating strongly criticised Labor’s support for the AUKUS alliance with the United States and United Kingdom last year, saying it had “neutered Labor’s traditional stance” on Australian strategic autonomy.

Albanese said his message to critics of the AUKUS alliance was that Australia needed the nuclear-powered submarines to be chosen early next year after a working group advises on the best options from the US and UK.

“My answer is that the defence strategic review that’s being undertaken by Angus Houston and Stephen Smith is, in the interim report, very much talking about the need for self-reliance, the need to recognise that what was thought to be a 10-year window of a warning for any potential military conflict has been narrowed, that we need to make sure that our defence assets are fit for purpose,” he said.

“Now, our defence assets need to not be about fighting a land war defending western Queensland because that is highly unlikely, but a lot of our assets are not really the ones that we necessarily need for this century and for the times — and also their location as well.”

Albanese said the US alliance was critical for Australia and the AUKUS agreement was part of strengthening that relationship.

“The advice very clearly that we received at the time that [AUKUS] decision was made, and why we gave support in principle to it, but since then, as well, the obviously much more detailed briefings that we have had to indicate that nuclear submarines for a range of reasons, for how long they can stay underwater, for their detectability, for their operability, the way they operate, are the assets that we need.

“And that’s why we’re making that decision in Australia’s national interest. Yes, it’s about our relationships with the United States and the UK, two important relationships that go back a long way, but we are also very confident that in all of these decisions that we’re making, it’s about Australia’s national interest, and our capacity to make sure that we can defend ourselves.”

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/we-need-to-be-prepared-to-invest-albanese-highlights-need-for-subs-not-tanks-20221214-p5c6ah.html

>>17879103

Hillsong founder Brian Houston tells court his father was a 'serial paedophile'

Heath Parkes-Hupton - 19 December 2022

Hillsong founder Brian Houston has told a Sydney court he believes his father was a "serial paedophile", and the responses to abuse allegations when they first came to light were not "all they should have been".

Mr Houston said, in hindsight, a public statement should have detailed why Frank Houston was stood down from the Assemblies of God church in 1999, instead of internal messaging about a retirement.

At the time, he thought his father was not "a danger" to the community due to his failing health and belief the offending took place within a "season" during the late 1960s and early 1970s.

It came during the second day of his evidence at a special fixture in Downing Centre Local Court, where he has pleaded not guilty to concealing the indictable offence of another.

It is alleged 68-year-old Brian Houston failed to report to police his father's abuse of a seven-year-old boy at a home in Sydney's eastern suburbs in the 1970s.

He denies claims of a "cover-up" or that he was aware a $10,000 payment to victim Brett Sengstock was allegedly designed to buy his silence.

His lawyers say it was reasonable not to report the abuse claims as the victim had asked for authorities not to be involved.

Asked if he would have spoken to police if he had his time over again, Mr Houston said he was "conflicted" about how to answer.

"Because I believe did the right thing," Mr Houston said.

"Brett Sengstok said to me … 'I don't want you going to the police.' I feel I'd do the same thing again."

The court has heard that within a year of Frank Houston confessing to his son in late 1999, Brian Houston learned of more complainants living in the family's homeland of New Zealand.

He said his "stomach dropped" when he was told during a phone call with a New Zealand-based pastor in 2000 that a man was seeking a meeting with him to speak about Frank Houston.

They met at a cafe in Sydney's CBD, where the man alleged he had been abused by Frank Houston at the Houstons' Wellington home in the late 1960s.

"I was really devastated again," Brian Houston said.

He told the court his father had been adamant the abuse of Mr Sengstock was a "one-off" but he now knew that was not the truth.

Those who came forward did not want to be part of any "action" against his father, Mr Houston claimed.

Magistrate Gareth Christofi asked Mr Houston if he thought an investigation should have been launched to identify if there were more potential victims.

"I don't remember having those thoughts," he replied.

Mr Houston said he had only recently been told about allegations his father abused another boy at a shelter he worked at.

"I have no doubt now that my father was a serial paedophile and we'll probably never know the extent of it," he said.

"However, there's no evidence that after that season, in the early 70s and so on, that he continued to abuse minors."

Mr Houston said he attended a meeting at a lawyer's office in Sydney where a document was prepared for an "agreement" whereby his father would make a payment to Mr Sengstock.

He said, however, he made it clear the agreement would not have the effect of silencing Mr Sengstock so it "couldn't possibly be seen that there was a cover-up".

"I was very careful to make sure that it didn't reflect any NDA (non-disclosure agreement), nothing to silence Brett, and that there was nothing to stop Brett from going to the police."

He conceded he did not "actively" think a public statement about his father's abuse was warranted and he did not consider going against the decisions of the church's national executive.

He said "churchmen" were now more aware of their obligations to the community following the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse.

"I'm quite sure if we had our time over again there would have been a different approach to public announcements," he said.

Frank Houston was stripped of his credentials in 1999 and died in 2004.

Brian Houston's evidence before hearing, which has now entered its third week, continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-19/brian-houston-tells-court-father-was-serial-paedophile/101788456

>>17933898

Queensland police minister supports national gun register after revelations shooter Nathaniel Train crossed border carrying weapons

abc.net.au - 19 December 2022

Queensland Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll and Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk have both called for a national discussion around gun legislation, a week on from the fatal shootings of Constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow at Wieambilla, west of Brisbane.

The Premier visited Chinchilla on Monday, paying tribute to the two fallen constables and local resident Alan Dare, all fatally shot by Nathaniel, Gareth and Stacey Train on December 12. Two other officers escaped the property.

All three attackers were then later killed by specialist police.

Ms Palaszczuk's visit comes after the ABC revealed police killer Nathaniel Train illegally crossed the state border carrying multiple weapons a year ago.

A farmer in the Goondiwindi region told the ABC that in December 2021, Nathaniel Train crossed the flooded land border but destroyed his car engine in flood waters.

Train was observed throwing items into a flooded creek, which the farmer later discovered were loaded weapons.

Train told farm workers who helped tow the car out that he was an "anti-vaxxer" who wanted to see his family in Queensland.

The farmer gave Train a lift north towards Talwood and reported the incident to police, who later collected the weapons but left behind the car and documentation detailing Train's NSW Education employment history.

The incident occurred months after Train quit his job at Walgett Community College in northern NSW in August 2021, saying he had had a cardiac arrest.

He crossed Queensland's land border, which had been closed to control the spread of COVID-19, days after it reopened to fully vaccinated travellers.

Commissioner Carroll said calls for a national gun registry should be reviewed.

"We should always be learning from incidents like this, and that conversation does need to happen," she said.

Ms Palaszczuk echoed her comments, saying a national register should be discussed at national cabinet.

"Anything we can do to tighten gun laws in this country would be a good thing," she said.

'Exhaustive investigation'

Acting Deputy Commissioner Mark Wheeler today declined to answer questions about what police knew about Train's crossing into Queensland and whether police had known about the farmer's reported incident before the four constables attended Train's brother's property in Wieambilla last Monday.

Acting Deputy Commissioner Wheeler said he understood people were seeking answers, but the investigation into what happened at Wieambilla would be lengthy and "take time".

"This is an exhaustive investigation that will take many weeks, if not months," he said.

"What I can say is, a number of people have been interviewed, of course all of the normal scientific and ballistic-style examinations are being made.

"It is still a crime scene, we still have that area being guarded."

Deputy Commissioner Wheeler said the two surviving police officers from the incident, Constables Keely Brough and Randall Kirk, were recovering and being interviewed as part of the investigation.

Queries were also being made interstate, and police were also handling a large volume of information from the public through Crime Stoppers and in person, he said.

Calls for national gun register

Police Minister Mark Ryan said he fully supported a national gun register and would be happy to discuss the proposal at a national level.

"Queensland has committed money to upgrade its entire weapons licensing system, we committed that in the budget," he said.

"It's a significant investment, many millions of dollars, and we hope to have that new system up and running by the end of next year."

Nationally, the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission (ACIC) runs the Australian Firearms Information Network (AFIN), which Mr Ryan said Queensland had signed up to in 2020.

AFIN, operated by the ACIC, was prioritised following the 2014 Lindt cafe siege, collating data from state and federal archives on gun registrations.

However, Mr Ryan said not all states had yet signed up.

Last week Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers called for a review of how Australia manages and tracks firearms nationally.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-12-19/queensland-gun-register-train-shootings-weapons-wieambilla/101787840

>>17933898

>>17980363

Nationals leader David Littleproud backs calls for change to national guns register following the murders of three people in Wieambilla

The Nationals leader has echoed calls from top police officers for a national firearms register to allow information to be shared between state and territories on individuals.

David Wu - December 19, 2022

Nationals leader David Littleproud has thrown his support behind a national firearms register following the murders of two police officers and a member of the public.

Constables Matthew Arnold, 26, and Rachel McCrow, 29, were shot and killed in Wieambilla, about 300 kilometres north-west of Brisbane, last Monday.

The rookie officers had been tasked to an address over concerns about a missing person's welfare when they - and hero neighbour Alan Dare, 58, who went to help after hearing the commotion - were executed by the heavily-armed Train family.

Queensland Police Union President Ian Leavers has since suggested a national guns database to allow a sharing of firearms information between states and territories.

The state's Police Commissioner Katarina Carroll backed the call from the union in a bid to "improve officer safety and further protect the community".

"Enhancing databases and information-sharing arrangements across jurisdictions remains a priority for the Queensland Police Service," she said.

Mr Littleproud told Sky News Australia on Monday he spoke with Mr Leavers about the move and believes the proposal is quite "pragmatic and sensible".

"He's simply asking for a register so that every state can see the registration of firearms to individuals and that's a sharing of information," he said on First Edition.

"He's not talking about changing gun laws from the conversation I had with him."

The Nationals leader added the change would allow officers to be "empowered" and go into certain situations with accurate intelligence to respond accordingly.

He noted it was a "common-sense approach" to minimise risk while flagging it would need to be supported by other jurisdictions.

"If we can work through this with the states who own this information… then that may save lives into the future and save our police officers who are putting themselves in harm’s way in the frontline," Mr Littleproud said.

Queensland detectives had revealed there was "significant weaponry" at the crime scene, with reports Nathaniel Train held a gun licence in New South Wales.

It is understood Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk will bring forth the proposal of a national firearms register to National Cabinet in early 2023.

(continued)

>>17980377

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Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce said he had "no problems" with the idea, as long as it did not limit people, such as farmers, from using weapons recreationally.

"We got no problems with that as long as we don't get an overreaching ridiculous restriction on how we utilise firearms because we utilise it for work and we do utilise them for recreations… you can see the reason we got them," he said on Sunrise.

"It's a big sport for Australia, it gives so many people so much enjoyment (but) when criminals, and these people are criminals, the worst type, cold-blooded murderers break the law, they make it difficult for everybody."

A national firearms register was first mentioned more than 30 years ago after shooting deaths in Victoria.

The idea was raised again following the 1996 Port Arthur massacre which claimed the lives of 35 people.

Then-prime minister John Howard led gun reforms which banned rapid-fire guns from civilian ownership except under certain and restricted licences.

Mr Littleproud was later questioned by host Danica Di Gorgio on the responsibility of social media giants to stop the spread of conspiracy theories.

It was revealed the Train trio had extremist views and had commented online about their beliefs, which is believed to have led to the deaths of the three innocent lives.

"We’ve got to get better at this. These tech giants are making billions of dollars, but they have a social responsibility," he told Sky News Australia.

"We saw that as far back as the New Zealand massacre whereby they’ve got to get better at what they’re doing and more timely particularly for these types of events.

"It’s important they clean their act up and they do it very quickly."

He recognised the change would need to come from the United States as that is where most social media corporations were registered.

"I think we need to work as a global community in understanding we’ve got to stamp these conspiracy theorists out and not give them the platform," he said.

Matthew and Rachel will be farewelled with a state funeral on Wednesday at the Brisbane Entertainment Quarter, while Alan's funeral will be held on Thursday.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/nationals-leader-david-littleproud-backs-calls-for-change-to-national-guns-register-following-the-murders-of-three-people-in-wieambilla/news-story/d112d301ddd759c81b7d3fa08e0964b2

Network Ten refuses to recognise Australia Day as executives declare January 26 is 'not a day of celebration'

In a stunning snub of the national holiday, Network Ten has told staff it will not recognise Australia Day with executives declaring January 26 is “not a day of celebration” in an internal note.

Tyrone Clarke - December 19, 2022

Network Ten has told staff not to feel obliged to take a day off for Australia Day, refusing to recognise the national holiday by name in a letter to staff.

In the note to editorial and programming staff obtained by The Australian, the commercial network’s Chief Content Officer Beverley McGarvey said January 26 was “not a day for celebration” as the debate over the public holiday ramps up again.

McGarvey began the letter by asking herself the rhetorical question: “What does Paramount ANZ call January 26?”

“January 26,” she replied.

The letter reinforced to staff they could refuse to celebrate the public holiday and instead show up for work.

McGarvey said the network understood the date “evokes different emotions” for staff as she urged employees to “reflect and respect” the diverging opinions around the date.

“We are receptive to employees who do not feel comfortable taking this day as a public holiday,” she said.

“Upon individual requests, all employees will have the option to work on January 26 and substitute the public holiday for another day in line with business requirements and approval from their manager.”

Defending her decision and refusal to recognise the name of the public holiday, McGarvey said in the note – co-signed by Chief Commercial Officer Jarrod Villani – that the date was associated with a “turbulent history”.

“At Paramount ANZ we aim to create a safe place to work where cultural differences are appreciated, understood and respected,” the letter sent to staff last week said.

“For our First Nations people, we as an organisation acknowledge that January 26 is not a day of celebration.

“We recognise that there has been a turbulent history, particularly around that date and the recognition of that date being Australia Day.”

It comes as the debate around the date of Australia Day heats up once again.

The Albanese Government last week reversed a decision by its predecessor to force local councils to hold citizenship ceremonies on January 26.

Under the new changes, the event can now be held on the three days before and after January 26 including the date itself.

The decision directly affects two Melbourne local councils – the City of Yarra and Darebin City Council – after they were both stripped of their ability to hold citizenship ceremonies altogether in 2017.

The two councils voted to dump the key Australia Day event but will now have that right returned.

Shadow immigration minister Dan Tehan hit back at the government for “bowing to pressure from Labor-Greens dominated councils”.

He said all immigrants deserved the right to become a citizen on Australia day and celebrate with their local community.

“New citizens are taught that Australia Day is our biggest annual public holiday,” he said in a statement last week.

“Now the message they are receive from the Albanese Government is that January 26 is no more special than any other day of that week.

“Make no mistake, this is Labor laying the groundwork to abolish January 26 as Australia Day despite Anthony Albanese promising during the election campaign that Labor had no plans to change the date of our national day.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday said he supported the change, which was announced by Immigration Minister Andrews Giles, so that more people could become Australian citizens but denied scrapping the rule was “laying the groundwork” to abolish Australia Day.

"No. I support Australia Day. The government supports Australia Day. There are no changes here,” he said.

"What should not happen…is a new migrant from the United Kingdom, is denied the opportunity to become an Australian citizen because of a decision made by a local council.

“That, quite frankly, is unfair on individuals. It was punishing individuals.”

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/politics/network-ten-refuses-to-recognise-australia-day-as-executives-declare-january-26-is-not-a-day-of-celebration/news-story/7ead800e209942d482405980369eb48f

>>17980326

China’s sanctions on Australian exports could end next month

LAURA PLACELLA - DECEMBER 19, 2022

China’s sanctions on Australian exports could be dropped in a month’s time following Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s “significant” visit to the country, according to the head of the international and security affairs program at The Australia Institute.

Senator Wong on Monday morning confirmed she will visit China this week to meet her counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday – the 50th anniversary of Australia-China relations.

Allan Behm, who was a former adviser to Senator Wong from 2017 to 2019, said he does not expect changes to policy to be announced on Wednesday but “gradually”.

“I don’t expect (changes) to happen the day after tomorrow. I think what we will see is … these things will change gradually over time and I think the reason for that is pretty straightforward,” Mr Behm told ABC.

“Nobody wants to appear to be losing face or taking a major victory. It’s just always managed in a very careful way, so I would expect over the next month or so we’ll have a lifting of those sanctions on trade commodities. But also we’ll see some forward movement, I strongly suspect, with respect to the two detainees.”

Australia’s relationship with China is one of “our most important international relationships”, according to Mr Behm.

“(Senator Wong and Foreign Minister Wang Yi) will be putting down the frameworks for a new normality, a new normalisation in the relationship, not going back to the past, but moving forward into the future,” he said.

“And so there will be movement on trade and on other political matters, but I think it will be done in a calibrated, managed way, so that we don’t have shock news immediately, but rather, a restoration of a mature, businesslike relationship over the next couple of months.”

In a joint statement, Anthony Albanese and Senator Wong said the visit was being made at China’s invitation, following the Prime Minister’s talk with President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the G20 in Bali last month. The last government Minister to make a trip to China was Simon Birmingham, who was the trade, tourism and investment Minister in 2019.

Mr Behm said he expected Senator Wong to raise the war in Ukraine and the situation in the South China Sea with her counterpart, in addition to issues directly affecting Australians back home such as the trade sanctions on Australian exports.

In November, Mr Albanese told SBS it was his hope that these sanctions - imposed on $20 billion worth of exports - would start to lift after he met with Xi Jinping at the G20.

“I want to see the barriers that are there to Australian trade lifted. What I’ve said is that it is in Australia’s interests to export the wonderful products that we have - our meat, our wine, our seafood, our barley and other products, including mineral resources - but it’s in China’s interest to receive them as well. This is a win-win on the table. That is what we are pursuing,” he said at the time.

However, he added that it would “take a while to see improvement in concrete terms going forward”.

China announced the bulk of the sanctions in 2020 after the former federal government called for an inquiry into the origins of Covid-19.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/chinas-sanctions-on-australian-exports-could-end-next-month/news-story/059e8fadd75652dc685f3285bad20e84

>>17980326

Talks break the ice but PM won’t bow to China

BEN PACKHAM - DECEMBER 20, 2022

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Anthony Albanese says Australia won’t bow to Beijing and will continue to call for Chinese leaders to respect global rules as Penny Wong prepares to depart for the first official visit to China by an Australian government minister in four years.

The Foreign Minister will meet her Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on Wednesday – the 50th anniversary of Australia-China diplomatic relations – in a likely precursor to a Prime Ministerial trip to China next year.

Beijing has agreed the meeting will be considered “the sixth Australia – China Foreign and Strategic Dialogue”, reactivating a key element of the nations’ comprehensive strategic partnership that had lain dormant since 2018.