Welcome To Q Research AUSTRALIA

A new thread for research and discussion of Australia's role in The Great Awakening.

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>>18046055 Q Research AUSTRALIA #27

Q's Posts made on Q Research AUSTRALIA threads

Wednesday 11.20.2019

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

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

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

Tuesday 11.19.2019

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

Saturday 11.16.2019

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

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

Friday 11.15.2019

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

Thursday 03.28.2019

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

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

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

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

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

Q's Posts referencing Australia

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://qanon.pub/?q=6572656

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

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

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

https://qanon.pub/?q=news.com.au

Q's Posts referencing Australian citizens

Malcolm Turnbull (X/AUS)

Former Prime Minister of Australia, 2015 to 2018

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

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

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

Alexander Downer

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

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

Cardinal George Pell

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

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

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

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

Julian Assange

Australian activist, founder, editor and publisher of WikiLeaks

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

https://qalerts.app/?q=snowden

https://qalerts.app/?q=roadmap

Virginia Roberts Giuffre

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

https://qanon.pub/#4568

https://qanon.pub/#4728

https://qanon.pub/#1054

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

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

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

https://qanon.pub/#1001

https://qanon.pub/#1861

https://qanon.pub/#3147

https://qanon.pub/#4578

https://qanon.pub/#3432

https://qanon.pub/#3497

https://qanon.pub/#4727

https://qanon.pub/#4797

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

https://qanon.pub/#4576

https://qanon.pub/#4577

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

https://qanon.pub/#4569

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

https://qanon.pub/#4570

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

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

https://qanon.pub/#4579

https://qanon.pub/#4907

https://qanon.pub/#4911

https://qanon.pub/#4921

https://qanon.pub/?q=Welcome%20aboard.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Q

Nov 25 2018

https://qanon.pub/#2501

Notables

are not endorsements

#27 - Part 1

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>18046171 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): This is a physical attack on the institutions of democracy by a far right mob.All because of extremist statements by political leaders attacking the legal results of a democratic election,echoed faithfully by a cancerous far right media.This affects us all

>>18046171 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Unbelievable that Murdoch media would publish this outrageous cartoon of President Biden calling him “Creepy Joe” - and for what reason? Then suggesting he’s controlled by a non-existent organisation - “Antifa”. All QAnon crap. #MurdochRoyalCommission

>>18046179 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Murdoch has zero interest in stopping dangerous far-right extremism. He sees QAnon as just another marketing tool to sucker people into his parallel universe where he can take their money and tell them how to vote. #MurdochRoyalCommission

>>18046179 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Video: In America, the Murdoch media continues to support a QAnon congresswoman who is notorious for her racist, antisemitic nonsense. The lesson for Australia? Murdoch will back bigger fruitcakes than Craig Kelly if he thinks there’s money and power to be gained

>>18046186 Chris Bowen Tweet (2021): Video: Qanon is a conspiracy driven cult. And the Prime Minister has serious questions to answer. Watch my brief speech in Parliament

>>18046186 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Great speech by Chris Bowen on Morrison and his close personal relationship with an activist from QAnon - the far right, extremist, religious conspiracy group that stormed the US Capitol.

>>18046189 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Morrison has questions to answer on his personal relationship with a leading activist of the same extremist religious/conspiracy group that stormed the US Capitol. His wife worked for Morrison.His family have reported him to the National Security Hotline

>>18046189 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Video: Could you imagine any other Australian PM refusing to answer questions about inviting an extreme, far-right religious cultist to Kirribilli House? What about accepting his help to write a speech to parliament? His own family reported him to the National Security Hotline.

>>18046192 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Premier Andrews is right to call out Morrison's offensive courting of political extremists at the expense of ordinary law-abiding Australians. Whether it's far-right radicals, anti-vaxxers or the QAnon cult. Just appalling.

>>18046199 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2022): Donald Trump is a traitor to the West. Murdoch was Trump’s biggest backer. And Murdoch’s Fox Television backs Putin too. What rancid treachery.

>>18046199 Q Post #2576 - Those with the most to lose are the loudest. Those who 'knowingly' broke the law in a coordinated effort [treason] are the most vocal. Crimes against Humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#2576

>>18046747 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: Video: Thank you for a fantastic 2022, Australia! Happy New Year!

>>18057788 Emese Abigail Fajk, alleged “international con woman” accused of a raft of offences within the Ukraine Foreign Legion, including blackmail, misappropriation of donations and stealing a “massive shipment” of medical supplies valued up to $US2.5m

>>18071608 Rudd tells US not to ‘throw allies under a bus’ - Australia’s soon-to-be ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, says America needs to stop throwing some foreign allies “under a bus” on trade and economics if it wants to build international support to push back against China

>>18071684 The Wiggles slammed for hinting at ‘new collab’ with Lil Nas X: ‘You betrayed us’ - The Wiggles have been blasted on social media after hinting at a “new collab” with US rapper Lil Nas X - The popular children’s music group posed for a picture with the controversial American rapper, who was holding a purple Wiggles shirt, at Falls Festival in Melbourne - “Such a shame, my daughter loved The Wiggles. I don’t see how someone who lap dances the devil in their music videos is a good candidate for working in the children’s music industry,” one infuriated mother wrote

>>18071688 Fans criticise The Wiggles for posing with Lil Nas X at Australian music festival - The Wiggles have sparked outrage after posing with controversial rapper Lil Nas X - One outraged Twitter user wrote: "You're riding Satan in your new music video. You're proud of that?" - Another said: “Lil Nas X new music video ‘Call Me By Your Name…..if that doesn’t scream I sold my soul to the devil than idk.”

#27 - Part 2

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>18079409 Australia to buy long-range HIMARS missile system from United States after Ukraine praises weapon's effectiveness against Russia - Australia's Army will have an unprecedented long-range strike capability with the purchase of the US-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket (HIMARS) system, which Ukraine has praised for its devastating effectiveness against invading Russian forces

>>18079427 Former PM Kevin Rudd tells United States to stop throwing allies 'under a bus' to limit Chinese influence in the region - Australia's incoming ambassador to Washington, Kevin Rudd, has been accused of engaging in "opinionated lecturing" after he declared the United States needs to stop throwing its allies "under a bus" on the economy

>>18079476 NSW ‘ISIS bride’ charged for allegedly entering Islamic State-run areas of Syria - Mariam Raad charged with entering and remaining in the “declared zone” of al-Raqqa province in Syria, which was an IS stronghold in 2014 - Police say they have new evidence she willingly entered Islamic State territory in 2014 and knew of her then-husband, Muhammad Zahab’s activities with the group

>>18087932 US senators’ leaked letter won’t sink AUKUS subs deal: defence minister - Defence Minister Richard Marles has insisted Australia’s plan to acquire nuclear-powered submarines remains on track after two US senators staged a dramatic intervention, warning Joe Biden the AUKUS pact risked stressing America’s industrial base to “breaking point”

>>18087967 EXCLUSIVE: Reed, Inhofe warn Biden AUKUS risks becoming ‘zero sum game’ for US Navy - "We are concerned that what was initially touted as a 'do no harm' opportunity to support Australia and the United Kingdom and build long-term competitive advantages for the U.S. and its Pacific allies, may be turning into a zero-sum game for scarce, highly advanced U.S. SSNs," wrote the Senate Armed Services Committee heads

>>18097132 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese 'very confident' AUKUS deal will benefit all three countries, despite concerns raised in US - Australia is on track to announce plans to buy new nuclear-powered submarines from the US and UK, despite scepticism in Washington - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday Australia's relationship with the US remained strong

>>18097141 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to address Papua New Guinea's national parliament on two-day trip - Mr Albanese had been due to visit PNG in December last year but the trip was postponed after he tested positive to COVID-19 - He will attend an annual Leaders' Dialogue, before flying to Wewak in the north to pay homage to the late Grand Chief Sir Michael Somare

>>18097188 Australian YouTuber reported to police by Ukrainian ambassador over alleged 'harassment campaign' - In a video posted to YouTube, Simeon Boikov - also known as 'Aussie Cossack' - made a prank call to Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko

>>18102810 Worst floods in WA’s history cut off towns, could create an inland sea - Children are being winched out of remote communities, while livestock and wallabies are seeking refuge on small islands in what has been described as the worst flooding in Western Australia’s history, in the state’s northern Kimberley region - “People in the Kimberley are experiencing a one-in-100-year flood event, the worst flooding WA has ever seen,” the state’s Emergency Services Minister Stephen Dawson said

>>18108718 Dutton adamant Australia can still buy subs off the shelf - Peter Dutton says there is “no question” Australia could still buy two Virginia-class submarines from America by 2030 despite the heads of the US Senate armed services committee advising against it and warning the AUKUS pact risked stretching the nation’s industrial base “to breaking point”

>>18108782 Malcolm Turnbull fires warning shot as AUKUS submarine debate rages - Former PM Malcolm Turnbull has issued a stern warning on the AUKUS submarines deal, noting a crucial element of the plan could undermine our sovereignty

>>18108831 Islamic State Missile terrorist to return to NSW country town after prison - Haisem Zahab, convicted Islamic State terrorist linked by marriage to “ISIS bride” Mariam Raad is expected to return to his home in the rural NSW town of Young after his release from prison this year, angering residents already reeling from the arrest last week of the 31-year-old mother of four

>>18115415 Not a day to celebrate: Wollongong university staff given option to work on Australia Day holiday - Vice-chancellor Patricia Davidson says 26 January is seen as Invasion Day by First Nations colleagues and we should ‘be clear about what we’re celebrating’

#27 - Part 3

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>18115451 Retired admiral sinks Turnbull ‘sovereignty’ fear - Peter Clarke, the only Australian admiral to have commanded both a nuclear and a diesel-electric submarine, has dismissed as “complete nonsense” criticism by Malcolm Turnbull that the trilateral AUKUS agreement to obtain a fleet of nuclear submarines would undermine Australian sovereignty

>>18115494 AUKUS subs warning ‘inaccurate portrayal’: Democrat congressman Joe Courtney, senior member of the House of Representatives Sea Power committee - One of the strongest supporters of the AUKUS security pact in the US congress has urged “everyone to take a deep breath”, amid growing fears US shipyards won’t have the capacity to provide Australia with nuclear-powered submarines before the nation has the capacity to build them itself

>>18115506 Memo PM: on AUKUS, you need to lead it or lose it - Albanese needs to be more energised about the risks to AUKUS, and hence to his prime ministership, than was on display at last Saturday’s media conference. He foreshadowed a meeting with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, “who I will meet with again in the first half of the year”, but there was no mention of further engagement with Biden, the essential figure in AUKUS success. - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au

>>18128882 US politicians express strong support for AUKUS submarine deal in letter to President Joe Biden - A bipartisan group of United States politicians have publicly thrown their weight behind the AUKUS pact after two powerful US Senators warned that selling Virginia-class nuclear submarines to Australia could stretch the US industrial base to "breaking point."

>>18128948 NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet apologises for wearing Nazi costume on 21st birthday - NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has apologised after revealing he wore a Nazi costume on his 21st birthday - Speaking on radio hours after a shock press conference, the premier admitted he should have revealed his "grave mistake" earlier

>>18128956 Neo-Nazi Thomas Sewell’s vile act outside court after sentence for assault on Nine Network security guard - A Melbourne neo-Nazi who violently assaulted a black security guard performed a Nazi salute outside court moments after avoiding jail time for his “sickening” crime

>>18128995 Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese keen to strengthen ties in first visit to Papua New Guinea - PNG Foreign Affairs Minister Justin Tkatchenko said that with the new Australian government, PNG sees a "brighter light" and expects "more partnership", which he believes will make the relationship "bigger and better than it has been before"

>>18135941 PNG security deal to push Beijing back - Australia will sign a new security pact with Papua New Guinea by June, as the two countries agree to move more quickly to push back against China’s regional ambitions and address entrenched law and order struggles facing the Pacific nation

>>18153811 Albanese confident US powerbrokers will keep faith in AUKUS - Anthony Albanese is directly lobbying members of US congress to hold the line in supporting the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal as it comes under criticism in America, calling the pact essential in strengthening Australia’s defence capabilities

>>18153844 Senior military leader concerned by Canada's absence from American-British-Australian security pact - Canada could miss out on important technology, says Vice-Admiral Bob Auchterlonie - There are concerns at the highest levels of the Canadian Armed Forces that this country won't have access to the same cutting-edge military technology as its closest allies because it is not part of a security pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States

>>18153870 Operation Ironside: Authorities closing in on the international drug-smuggling operations of Australia’s most wanted man, Hakan Ayik, and his offsider Duax Ngakuru, the global boss of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang

>>18160286 Retired Major General, Senator Jim Molan dies aged 72 - Jim Molan, the architect of the nation’s Operation Sovereign Borders policy and NSW Liberal senator, has died aged 72 - The former major general in the Australian Army passed away surrounded by family after a two-year battle with cancer

>>18160315 Russian and Belarusian flags banned at Australian Open after controversy during Ukrainian's match - The presence of a Russian flag in the stands at the Australian Open has prompted organisers to ban them from Melbourne Park - The red, white and blue stripes of the Russian flag were visible in the crowd during the first-round match between Kateryna Baindl and Kamilla Rakhimova on day one of the tennis major

#27 - Part 4

Australian Politics and Society - Part 4

>>18166750 Hundreds of thousands told they can ‘swap the date’ and work Australia Day - Hundreds of thousands of workers across the public and private sectors will be given the option to work on Australia Day instead of celebrating the public holiday as the national debate intensifies about the appropriateness of celebrating the 1788 arrival of the first fleet

>>18166822 Operation Ironside: Australian and Kiwi ‘sting of the century’ arrests - Former Sydney man Osemah El Hassen and New Zealand citizen Shane Ngakuru arrested as the FBI chase down the global group they allege was responsible for administering, distributing and marketing the encrypted devices and platform known as AN0M, widely used in the criminal underworld

>>18166827 US-accused Edwin Harmendra Kumar kept in Aussie jail since 2021 - A man wanted in the US to face racketeering charges has spent 19 months in jail in Australia despite facing no local charges, as his extradition application drags on - Sydney man Edwin Harmendra Kumar was arrested and remanded in custody on June 7, 2021, after a global sting by the Australian Federal Police and the FBI using the trojan horse encrypted app AN0M

>>18166835 Australia to buy 40 UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters from United States to replace troubled Taipan fleets - The Australian Army will ditch its European-made Taipan helicopter fleet early, with Labor confirming they will be replaced by a multi-billion-dollar purchase of American-made Black Hawks

>>18166844 Australian soldiers deployed to UK to train everyday Ukrainians, like bakers and hairdressers - Australian soldiers will be deployed this week to train everyday Ukrainians - like pastry chefs and taxi drivers - in a bid to bolster Kiev’s defence as Russia’s war rages on

>>18173359 New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern to resign - Jacinda Ardern has stunned New Zealanders by announcing she will step down as the nation’s prime minister within weeks and will not contest the upcoming election

>>18173359 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Tweet: Jacinda Ardern has shown the world how to lead with intellect and strength. She has demonstrated that empathy and insight are powerful leadership qualities. Jacinda has been a fierce advocate for New Zealand, an inspiration to so many and a great friend to me.

>>18173359 Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews Tweet: Through a pandemic, a terrorist attack and an eruption, Jacinda led with a kindness which came to define her Prime Ministership. A real leader, with so much to be proud of.

>>18180137 OPINION: Jacinda Ardern reminds us that kindness and strength are not mutually exclusive - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese - theage.com.au

>>18180152 New Zealand PM Ardern announces resignation, recognized for her role in ties with China - Wang Qi - globaltimes.cn

>>18180190 Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson calls for federal police, ADF assistance amid crime crisis - The mayor of Alice Springs has called for the army or federal police to be deployed to the outback town to assist with a prolonged and frequently violent crime crisis

>>18180217 NT Police Minister Kate Worden visits Alice Springs amid crime crisis - Police Minister Kate Worden has called on liquor retailers to come together to stamp out the “black market” secondary supply of alcohol seen as a root cause of crime in Alice Springs

>>18180264 Opposition Leader Peter Dutton calls for the federal government to take urgent action in Alice Springs, where a prolonged and frequently violent crime crisis has taken hold - The Northern Territory town has been battling against a spike in theft, assaults and anti-social behaviour, which has seen a surge in home robberies and property crime

>>18180306 Elders ready to intervene in Alice - The Albanese government has rejected pleas to send federal police to stem the wave of violent crime engulfing Alice Springs, as Aboriginal elders in remote communities plan their own emergency intervention to remove young troublemakers from town

>>18185491 Mutual admiration as billionaire Gates meets PM Albanese in Sydney - Billionaire Bill Gates had never met Anthony Albanese before Saturday, but he thought he’d drop in on the Australian prime minister to talk vaccines, energy and climate change - Gates, who is in the country with his foundation and representatives from his company, Breakthrough Energy, has made it his mission to ensure world leaders are ready for the next pandemic

#27 - Part 5

Australian Politics and Society - Part 5

>>18185495 Video: Bill Gates meets Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Kirribilli House - One of the world's wealthiest people Bill Gates, is meeting with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese at Kirribilli House. The pair are expected to talk on energy, tackling climate change, the Foundation and opportunities in the Pacific - Sky News Australia

>>18186908 Video: Albanese hosts Bill Gates at Kirribilli House over key global issues - The Prime Minister has met with billionaire Bill Gates to discuss climate change and energy shortages, as well as healthcare - 9 News Australia

>>18187108 Democrat push to grant Australia a waiver to import nuclear subs earlier than expected - A maze of US regulations and export control laws stand between Australia and the multibillion-dollar AUKUS submarine agreement, prompting Democratic congressman Joe Courtney, a key ally of the pact in Congress to propose a blanket exemption to accelerate delivery of the nuclear-powered fleet

>>18187122 Alice Springs, a town on the edge of its wits - Daylight home invasions, car theft, vandalism and the constant threat of physical violence have made the CBD a no-go zone, plagued by out-of-control youths, often drunk - Todd Mall, once a thriving hub of Indigenous art galleries, restaurants, pubs and cafes is now a collection of dozens of boarded-up and shuttered shops

>>18200992 Andrews government quietly shelves Australia Day parade - Move welcomed by the co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria who described the event as an annual “slap in the face” - The parade down Swanston Street in Melbourne’s CBD will not return this year after two years of COVID cancellations - Instead the government will host an event in Federation Square to “reflect, respect, celebrate” on January 26

>>18201002 Invasion Day rallies will campaign against the Voice - Invasion Day rallies in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will march under slogans calling for treaty and sovereignty to take priority over a Voice to parliament, as the Indigenous organisers say they will campaign against the push for constitutional recognition

>>18201061 Video: Horrific scenes of public violence in Alice - On any given night, more than 200 children, some as young as five, roam the streets of Alice Springs looking for trouble, and almost always find it - Many of those kids are drinking alcohol, sometimes in the form of hand sanitiser diluted in soft drinks, or consuming deodorant, petrol or glue - Marion Scrymgour, Labor’s MP in Alice Springs says alcohol bans need to be brought back to curb the spiralling violence and crime

>>18201073 Australian Federal Police support Northern Ireland Police investigation into institutional abuse - The AFP is supporting the Police Service of Northern Ireland’s effort to locate women and children affected by institutional abuse between 1922 and 1990 as the search widens to Australia - The Police Service launched an investigation in 2021 into allegations of abuse within Mother and Baby Institutions, Work Houses and Magdalene Laundries in Northern Ireland and believes victims and witnesses may now live in Australia - They are appealing for mothers who gave birth in, or anyone who was adopted from institutions in Northern Ireland between 1922 and 1990 to come forward - These institutions housed many, including pregnant women and girls from 1922 to 1990 in Northern Ireland, who often felt coerced into giving up their child

>>18201546 Pandemic preparedness lacking: Bill Gates - Tech multi-billionaire Bill Gates says that when future pandemics hit, stronger political cooperation is needed, even among foes - He told an audience at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney on Monday that he wouldn't say that any country got their COVID-19 response totally right - Mr Gates praised Australia's policies in helping keep infection rates low before vaccines were rolled out

>>18201605 Video: Federal Opposition Leader Peter Dutton urges PM to visit Alice Springs amid crime increase - Pressure has been building on both the federal and Northern Territory governments to take further action on the issue - "If the level of violence, of crime, of sexual assault, of domestic and family violence was occurring in Brisbane or in Melbourne or in Hobart or in Sydney, there would be outrage."

>>18201660 Indigenous Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price renews her calls for Anthony Albanese to visit Alice Springs which has been "described as a war zone" and to provide federal government support amid a crime crisis

#27 - Part 6

Australian Politics and Society - Part 6

>>18208408 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flies into Alice Springs after days of pressure from the federal opposition and national media over crime and alcohol-fuelled violence in the town - The federal government has already rejected calls from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Alice Springs Mayor Matt Paterson for the Australian Defence Force or federal police to be deployed to the town

>>18208441 Ukraine to Australia: Don’t succumb to war fatigue - Ukraine is urging Australia not to succumb to fatigue over its war with Russia as it pleads for more military assistance from the federal government before the upcoming one-year anniversary of Vladimir Putin’s invasion - Ukrainian ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko said Australia had been generous in its support for his nation’s war effort, but expressed concern aid may drop off in the future as the conflict grinds on

>>18208456 Ukraine alert over Block bid reneger Emese Abigail Fajk - Ukrainian parliamentarian Maryan Zablotskyy has directed the country’s leading security agency to investigate alleged “international con woman” Emese Abigail Fajk following accusations of blackmail, counterespionage and financial crimes inside Ukraine’s Foreign Legion - Ms Fajk, who made headlines in Australia in 2020 when she placed a $4m winning bid on a house on Nine Network’s The Block but failed to pay, has been accused of a raft of offences including blackmail, misappropriation of donations and stealing medical supplies valued up to $US2.5m ($3.6m)

>>18208488 Bill Gates backs gas in shift to green-energy world - Billionaire philanthropist and Microsoft founder Bill Gates has backed gas as a critical part of the globe’s transition to green energy, saying it is the stepping stone to a hydrogen-powered world and that poorer countries will need fossil fuels like it for years to come - The world’s fourth richest man is in Australia for a series of talks and met Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

>>18208522 Calls to ban ‘Holocaust denier’ Kanye from Australia - Controversial rapper Kanye West has been labelled an “extremist” with a “history of provocation” by Victorian Industry Minister Ben Carroll ahead of his reported visit to Melbourne - The fiery comments come just as West is believed to be heading to the city next week to meet the family of his new Australian wife, Bianca Censori

>>18208555 US Congressman suggests sending jointly operated US submarine to Australia as AUKUS announcement looms - A senior member of the US Congress has called for a dual-crewed American submarine to be based in Australia as part of an interim measure under the AUKUS agreement - Republican Rob Wittman also argued Australian shipbuilders and sailors should be sent to the US for months at a time to prepare them for the eventual acquisition of a nuclear-powered submarine fleet

>>18208569 Video: The path ahead for AUKUS - Nearly 18 months after unveiling the AUKUS agreement, the federal government is preparing to announce exactly how it plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. But just weeks out from the major update, there are signs that support in the United States might be wavering, with political division over the best way of avoiding Australia's looming capability gap. North America correspondent Jade Macmillan spoke to members of congress on both sides of the aisle about the path ahead - ABC News (Australia)

>>18221059 Fly-in Anthony Albanese with one week fix - Anthony Albanese will not support blanket alcohol bans across central Australia to combat grog-fuelled violence in Alice Springs, despite warnings from Indigenous leaders that urgent “positive ­discrimination” is needed to protect under-siege households and businesses

>>18221098 Video: New Alice Springs alcohol restrictions after Albanese’s crime wave crisis talks - Alcohol sales will be subject to immediate curbs across the Northern Territory in a step towards more sweeping bans within a week, after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew to Alice Springs to respond to a surge in violence ravaging Indigenous communities

>>18221127 After Alice alcohol clampdown, NT to get tougher cash restrictions - Northern Territory residents could be subject to tougher spending restrictions when the cashless debit card used to control their spending winds up in March, while Prime Minister Anthony says he is open to a return of total alcohol bans for communities at risk

#27 - Part 7

Australian Politics and Society - Part 7

>>18221139 ‘Still at war’: Lidia Thorpe casts doubt over Greens’ support - Greens’ First Nations spokeswoman Lidia Thorpe says Australia is “still at war” and that an Indigenous voice to parliament is not the answer to ending that conflict, signalling rising Left-wing opposition to enshrining the advisory body in the constitution - It comes as organisers of “Invasion Day” rallies across the country flagged they would campaign against the voice on Australia Day

>>18221154 Pressure is building as the voice vote draws close - Anthony Albanese’s crisis dash to Alice Springs on Tuesday revealed a Prime Minister under pressure, months out from staking his authority on a referendum to enshrine a constitutional Indigenous voice to parliament

>>18221174 Change by stealth: bosses ‘undermining our holiday’ - The Coalition has accused Labor of encouraging corporate Australia “to change our national day by stealth” after Telstra chief executive Vicki Brady revealed she would work on Australia Day, declaring that for many First Nations people January 26 was a “painful reminder of discrimination and exclusion”

>>18221223 ‘Huge moment’: Government prepares to unveil AUKUS plan - Defence Minister Richard Marles says the government has almost completed its plan to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines under the AUKUS pact and won’t shy away from taking tough decisions to overhaul the Defence Force for today’s military threats

>>18228346 PRESS STATEMENT: Australia National Day - ANTONY J. BLINKEN, SECRETARY OF STATE - On behalf of the people and Government of the United States, I extend best wishes to all Australians on the occasion of Australia Day on January 26

>>18228355 Thousands protest Invasion Day in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Canberra - Dramatic scenes erupted at Invasion Day rallies across the country, with fights breaking out and Greens senator Lidia Thorpe declaring “they are stealing our babies”

>>18228382 Senator Lidia Thorpe protests Voice referendum at Invasion Day rally - “We have an opportunity to have a treaty – which is only through a piece of legislation, they could put 10 independent black seats in the senate today.” - Sky News Australia

>>18228396 Lidia Thorpe pushes for treaty at Invasion Day rally: 'We need to end the war on our people' - Lidia Thorpe tells Guardian reporter Cait Kelly that Labor needs to prove that the voice to parliament would not cede sovereignty of Indigenous land rights - Guardian Australia

>>18228406 Anon on calls for a Treaty: "I wonder who exactly the leftards think the early administrators of Australia should have made a treaty with? You had a stone-age, nomadic people with no centralised government and at least 250 distinct languages spoken. How would a treaty even work? Make one with every different group?"

>>18228418 TV presenter Jessica Rowe says children ‘don’t want to celebrate’ Australia Day - High-profile journalist Jessica Rowe has claimed children do not want to take part in January 26 celebrations, and has backed the campaign to change the date of Australia Day

>>18228427 Voice, Australia Day not top of mind in Alice Springs - "I cannot help but think opposition to Australia Day, along with the debate about the proposed enshrined voice to parliament, are convenient distractions to addressing the more serious problems facing Aboriginal Australians…For those who want to mourn on January 26, please do so. But please, on that day, take some time to think about those Aboriginal people who are genuinely suffering because they are hungry, live in unclean environments, share a mattress with three others, and are so accustomed to violence that they no longer bother to avoid it." - Anthony Dillon - theaustralian.com.au

>>18228435 Plenty of warning on grog horrors - Doctors and community leaders have been warning federal parliament about the unfolding crisis in Alice Springs for months, with a committee told last year about a woman who died after she was set on fire, axe ­attacks, and people presenting at emergency with “horrific ­injuries”

>>18228466 ‘No one knows what the hell’s going on’: Confusion as Alice alcohol bans hit - The crisis is more complex than easier access to alcohol: add to this the decline of service delivery, unemployment rates anecdotally north of 90 per cent in some places, welfare dependency and fracturing connections to traditional language, lore and land

#27 - Part 8

Australian Politics and Society - Part 8

>>18228489 Video: Police detain fans over Putin flag furore at Australian Open - Ugly scenes have been captured on film as police were forced to act following a clash between fans and security at the Australian Open - Footage posted online showed at least one man holding a Russian flag with President Vladimir Putin’s face on it - Another man was seen inside the stadium during the match with a pro war ‘Z’ symbol T-shirt

>>18228504 Simeon Boikov, a notorious pro-Russia commentator who goes by the name “Aussie Cossack” has had a warrant issued for his arrest after he refused to turn up to court while seeking refuge in the Russian consulate

>>18228515 Myanmar junta demands Sean Turnell’s return - The Myanmar junta has revoked Australian economist Sean Turnell’s amnesty and demanded he return to face court and potentially more jail time over public criticisms he has made of the violent regime since his release from prison and deportation to Australia last November

>>18235205 Day the hard Left ambushed the voice - Hardline Indigenous activists have used mass anti-Australia Day rallies to strike out at the voice campaign, leaving Labor and Aboriginal leaders having to act to prevent a split in the left ­derailing the referendum

>>18235220 ‘Not going to chuck the towel in’: Voice champion Pat Anderson undaunted by criticism at Invasion Day rallies - The peak Indigenous group backing the Voice to parliament will urge voters to ignore the “noisy few” critics who oppose the change to the Constitution

>>18235243 As heat of Australia Day cools, PM must reclaim narrative - The great divide emerging in response to Anthony Albanese’s referendum to enshrine a constitutional Indigenous voice to parliament threatens to widen unless the government reclaims control of the narrative - There’s only so much rhetoric and doublespeak that voters will tolerate and because winning support for an Indigenous voice to parliament was a promise made by the Prime Minister, he cannot blame the Coalition or the Greens if it fails

>>18235263 Alice Springs bottle shop: Police officers stationed outside Liquorland as town battles crime wave - New measures announced by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Northern Territory Chief Minister Natasha Fyles have been met with widespread scepticism - “People are getting really pissed off,” says local bakery owner Darren Clark

>>18235329 Horrors in my home town inevitable - The crisis unfolding in my home town of Alice Springs requires a bipartisan effort to create meaningful change. So far, the NT and federal governments have not demonstrated they are prepared to take this approach, despite offers from the Coalition to work alongside them and be part of the solutions - Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price - theaustralian.com.au

>>18235348 NT police brace for violent response - Northern Territory police are expecting an outbreak of assaults, burglaries and property damage in the wake of snap alcohol restrictions being imposed on Alice Springs this week

>>18235397 Ukraine's ambassador to Australia calls for Novak Djokovic's father to be banned from the Australian Open - Footage shared to YouTube showed Srdjan Djokovic outside Melbourne Park standing with a group displaying a Russian flag superimposed with Vladimir Putin's face

>>18235407 Video: @australianopen Djokovic's dad: "Long live Russia!" - Four Australian Open spectators were detained by police after waving banned Russian flags and threatening security at Melbourne Park - During Novak Djokovic’s quarter-final victory over Russia’s Andrey Rublev at Rod Laver Arena, a patron was spotted taking off their shirt to reveal the pro-war “Z” symbol associated with support of the invasion of Ukraine - Aussie Cossack

>>18235456 Holocaust survivors call for Nazi salute to be outlawed in Victoria - Attorney-General Jaclyn Symes will meet representatives of the Jewish community to discuss stepping up prohibitions already in place on Nazi symbols and flags

>>18235490 Rise in anti-Semitic incidents ‘tip of iceberg’ - The number of anti-Semitic incidents recorded in Australia has jumped by more than 40 per cent in the past two years, with almost 300 cases of verbal abuse or assault reported between 2021 and 2022

>>18235506 Liberal senator sues Higgins’ partner over ‘defamatory tweets’ - West Australian Liberal Senator Linda Reynolds has launched defamation action against Brittany Higgins’ partner David Sharaz, after vowing to vindicate her reputation following the former Liberal staffer’s rape allegations

#27 - Part 9

Australian Politics and Society - Part 9

>>18238743 The truth of Australia Day - This is information that all Australians need to know, especially those that believe it has to do with how anybody was treated - Australia Day does not celebrate the arrival of the first fleet or the invasion of anything - Captain Cook did not arrive in Australia on the 26th January - The landing of Captain Cook in Sydney happened on the 28th April 1770, not on 26th January - The first fleet arrived in Botany Bay on 18th January, the 26th was chosen as Australia Day for a very different and important reason - The 26th of January is the day Australians received their independence from British Rule - On 26th January 1949, the Australian nationality came into existence when the Nationality and Citizenship Act 1948 was enacted - That was the day we were first called Australians and allowed to travel with passports as Australians and NOT British subjects - This is why we celebrate Australia Day on the 26th January. This was the day Australians became free to make our own decisions about which wars we would fight and how our citizens would be treated - It was the day we were all declared Australians - Until this date, Aborigines were not protected by law - For the first time since Captain Cook’s landing this new Act gave Aboriginal Australians the full protection of Australian Law - What was achieved that day is something for which all Australians can be proud - Isn’t it time therefore that all Australians were taught the real reason we celebrate Australia Day on 26th January? In one way or another, we are ALL descendants of Australia ALL OF US. So we should ALL be celebrating and giving thanks for the freedoms, the lifestyles and opportunities that we currently enjoy, thanks to the strengths and battles of our ancestors.

>>18241540 ‘Radicals, wreckers hijacked city rally’ - Marcus Stewart, head of the largest elected Aboriginal organisation in Australia, the First Peoples Assembly of Victoria, confirmed he did not attend the annual Australia Day event in Melbourne because he had known that “a handful of wreckers” intended to hijack it to denigrate the proposed Indigenous voice - Organisers of the Australia Day rallies that became a platform for Indigenous critics of the voice – ­including Greens senator Lidia Thorpe – include an alliance of ­activists who want the nation’s police forces abolished and all prisons closed

>>18241591 Grog bans don’t work but the laissez-faire is killing us - All Australian governments, federal, state and local, need to try much harder to speed up the improvement in the terrible social and economic conditions which often drive or exacerbate the current epidemic of drinking problems, especially of Aboriginal and other Indigenous people throughout Australia - Ross Fitzgerald, Emeritus Professor of History & Politics at Griffith University - theaustralian.com.au

>>18241620 Radioactive capsule's loss in Western Australia described as 'highly unusual' as authorities urge public to keep their distance - A radiation safety expert has described the loss of a tiny radioactive capsule along a 1,400-kilometre stretch of road in Western Australia as a 'bizarre, one-in-100-year event'

>>18247115 Freezing conditions for Australian troops training Ukrainian recruits - The Australian Defence Force has joined the international coalition initiated by the British to provide training for Ukrainian Armed Forces recruits which has been ongoing since last June

>>18247130 French ambassador who scolded ScoMo praises Australia-France relationship - High level meetings between France and Australia will resume this week, the first time since Scott Morrison “lied” to Emmanuel Macron - Jean-Pierre Thébault gave a glowing review of the Albanese government on Sunday, as Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Richard Marles, and Foreign Minister Penny Wong head to France and the United Kingdom for high-level meetings

>>18252267 Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and John Anderson unite to co-ordinate 'No' vote in Voice to Parliament referendum - A group of high-profile Indigenous Australians has banded together with a former deputy prime minister to co-ordinate the No campaign in this year's Voice referendum, running on the slogan "Recognise a Better Way"

>>18252285 Doubters find their voice on recognition: ‘fix is destined to fail’ - A formal committee advancing the No case for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice to parliament warns the body would forever change the way Australia was governed while failing to improve results for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders

#27 - Part 10

Australian Politics and Society - Part 10

>>18252301 Triple-0 surge in Northern Territory after strict alcohol ban lifted - Northern Territory ambulances have attended to nearly double the number of assaults and sexual attacks since strict alcohol bans lapsed late last year, as Alice Springs residents braced for chaos amid a new sweep of grog restrictions

>>18258283 Anthony Albanese under fire for spending more time at Australian Open than in Alice Springs - Anthony Albanese has been slammed for spending more time enjoying an ice cream and sipping a beer than fixing a massive crisis

>>18258294 “Get out of the bloody corporate boxes”: Warren Mundine slams PM for time at Aus Open - Indigenous leader Warren Mundine has slammed Anthony Albanese’s lengthy visit to the Aus Open, likening it to a former PM’s notorious Hawaii trip

>>18258333 Yes and no Voice campaigns battle it out for the migrant vote - Migrants will be told to vote ‘yes’ for an Indigenous Voice at religious services, in ethnic newspapers and through non-English radio stations, while No campaigners will tell migrants to reject the notion that Australia is a racist nation

>>18258409 Australia's nuclear safety agency joins the hunt for a tiny radioactive capsule missing somewhere in the outback, sending a team with specialised car-mounted and portable detection equipment

>>18258434 The gunpowder pact: Australia, France cast aside past for unity on Ukraine - Both governments are keen to stress they’ve moved on from the row that saw Australia abandon diesel-powered French submarines in favour of nuclear-powered ones from the United States and Britain

>>18263747 Albanese prepared to take ‘immediate action’ to curb Alice Springs violence - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to respond as soon as possible to the alcohol-fuelled social emergency in Alice Springs, as he awaits the findings of a snap report that will consider whether liquor bans should be reimposed on Indigenous communities

>>18263756 Mayors of Darwin, Katherine call for NT-wide alcohol restrictions amid concerns about crime - The mayors of two major Northern Territory towns say they want alcohol restrictions similar to Alice Springs rolled out across the jurisdiction, warning people who need alcohol will shift to other areas to access it

>>18263855 Australia aims for bigger fines a week into Outback hunt for radioactive capsule - Authorities in Australia aim to toughen up laws on the mishandling of radioactive material as a search for a hazardous capsule that a mining company lost in the Outback enters a seventh day

>>18263862 Missing radioactive capsule found in Western Australia - Australian authorities have found a radioactive capsule that was lost in the vast Outback after nearly a week-long search along a 1,400 km (870-mile) stretch of highway

>>18268946 Alice Springs residents weigh $1.5 billion class action bid against NT government in 'tense' crime meeting - Thousands of Alice Springs residents have gathered to share grief and anger over years of high property crime rates, with many voicing support for a class action against the Northern Territory government

>>18268961 Video: Deep divisions in Alice Springs over how to tackle crime wave - A town meeting in Alice Springs has ended in ugly scenes laying bare the deep-rooted problems and divisions on how to tackle ongoing violence in the community - ABC News (Australia)

>>18268978 Alice Springs mayor Matt Paterson demands Ita Buttrose retract ‘white supremacy’ stories - The mayor of Alice Springs has demanded ABC chair Ita Buttrose retract multiple stories on the public broadcaster that claimed the town’s community forum on Monday was beset by sentiments of “white supremacy”

>>18269047 Bruce Lehrmann lodges formal complaint of professional misconduct against ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC, alleging Mr Drumgold failed to ensure a fair trial over the Brittany Higgins rape allegations and that his conduct was driven by malice and “political interests”

>>18269076 Richard Marles, Penny Wong visit Australian troops training Ukrainian recruits in fight against Russia - Australian soldiers are running intensive combat courses for Ukrainian recruits at a military base in southern England, pushing them through an accelerated program in basic infantry training that will prepare them for the frontline back home

>>18269171 White House optimistic on tech sharing for Aukus security pact - Top US official sees ‘pathway’ for allies to build nuclear-powered submarines for Australia - The White House has expressed optimism that the US, UK and Australia will clear the main obstacle to their landmark security deal, allowing technology transfers that will enable Canberra to obtain nuclear-powered submarines

#27 - Part 11

Australian Politics and Society - Part 11

>>18275458 Peter Dutton slams ABC’s ‘rubbish’ reporting on Alice Springs - Peter Dutton has demanded ABC chair Ita Buttrose address what he calls the “rubbish” reporting from Alice Springs that has been aired on the public broadcaster in the past week

>>18275475 PM flags overhaul of Australia’s counter-terror laws to combat ‘real threat’ of rightwing extremism - Recent murders of police officers at Wieambilla highlight need for action to protect community safety, Anthony Albanese says

>>18275488 Higgins DPP threatened me: trial witness - Former Liberal staffer Fiona Brown, a key witness in the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial has accused ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold of threatening and intimidating her as she left the witness box on a morning tea break, and of ignoring her pleas to be recalled to the stand to refute what she alleged was “blatantly false and misleading” evidence by Brittany Higgins

>>18275654 Video: Donald Trump puts gender ‘madness’ on front line of US culture wars - Donald Trump has vowed to pass legislation that recognises only two genders under US law if he is elected president as he seeks to shore up his conservative base and outflank rival candidates on the right of the Republican Party

>>18275686 Malcolm Turnbull says Labor has failed to answer if AUKUS deal compromises Australian sovereignty - Former PM says if operation of nuclear subs depends on US then that is ‘a momentous change which has not been acknowledged’

>>18275708 Australia prepares to unveil AUKUS nuclear submarine plans in the United States - Anthony Albanese is expected to detail Australia's preferred nuclear submarine option on American soil next month, alongside US President Joe Biden and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak – raising the prospect of a potential new boat design involving all three allies

>>18275735 Video: 1st Marine Division Tweet - Happy Birthday to Us - #USMC #Marines #military #semperfi #82yearsyoung - "No Better Friend, No Worse Enemy"

>>18280215 ABC issues extraordinary apology over Alice Springs stories - The ABC has issued an extraordinary apology for airing multiple reports on Tuesday claiming there were displays of “white supremacy” at an Alice Springs community meeting - The ABC said “ABC news management takes responsibility” for the reports that were broadcast on its AM radio program and Newsradio that provided “an incomplete picture of the event”

>>18280329 ABC issues apology over ‘biased’ coverage of Alice Springs community meeting - The ABC has backflipped over its controversial Alice Springs coverage by issuing an apology just hours after it was threatened with an official investigation into the matter

>>18282644 Legal threat over Brittany Higgins memoir - Lawyers for Linda Reynolds have written to Brittany Higgins’s publishers warning against any defamatory references to the former Liberal minister, saying they believe publication of Ms Higgins’ memoir is imminent and seeking a copy of the manuscript

>>18282674 Lehrmann trial inquiry must restore faith in law and order - Last week, Walter Sofronoff KC was appointed by the ACT government to head the board of inquiry to examine the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Australian Federal Police and the ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner before, during and after the trial of Bruce Lehrmann - This inquiry, the ACT’s version of a royal commission, could mark a turning point for the law and the media in this country. Here is a rare chance for a widely respected member of the legal profession to remind our most powerful institutions, and the rest of the country, that there is no substitute for the principle that underpins our justice system: that our laws apply equally to all people, and the corollary of that is that the protections at law apply equally to all - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18282688 AUKUS subs a boon but finding nuclear workforce will challenge us: Richard Marles - Defence Minister Richard Marles has warned that Australia’s plan to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines faces a significant challenge to find the workforce needed to bring the ships to service

>>18288422 Mental health checks for WA's gun owners to become mandatory under changes to firearms laws - Anyone buying a gun in Western Australia will have to undergo mandatory and ongoing mental health checks, as part of a complete overhaul of the state's 50-year-old firearms legislation - The changes are designed to create some of the toughest gun laws in the country

#27 - Part 12

Australian Politics and Society - Part 12

>>18288436 Thousands of new jobs to build AUKUS subs: Richard Marles - Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles has promised “thousands” of new jobs to build Australia’s planned fleet of nuclear-powered submarines, which could ultimately see South Australian shipyards supplying parts for the US and UK submarine programs as the three nations develop a “seamless defence industrial space”

>>18293556 Lidia Thorpe: Controversial senator quits Greens to pursue black sovereignty - Lidia Thorpe has sensationally quit the Greens after splitting from her party on the Indigenous voice to parliament, saying its support for the advisory body is “at odds” with community activists who want a treaty first

>>18293576 Video: IN FULL: Lidia Thorpe quits the Greens over Voice to Parliament disagreement - Greens First Nations spokesperson Lidia Thorpe has quit the party over its approach to the Voice to Parliament - The Greens will unveil their position on the Voice referendum this week, the first sitting period of 2023, after weeks of apparent tension over their approach to the referendum - Senator Thorpe, a DjabWurrung Gunnai Gunditjmara woman, has regularly criticised the Voice as a symbol with no tangible benefit - SBS News

>>18293583 Lidia Thorpe: Voice politics just got a lot worse for Anthony Albanese - Lidia Thorpe has just made Anthony Albanese’s job on the voice to parliament much harder. The rebel Green and now black sovereign movement senator has opened an entirely new front against the referendum

>>18293598 Thorpe’s exit from the Greens the biggest bait and switch in politics - "Lidia Thorpe just managed the biggest bait-and-switch in Australian political history. Thorpe hooked Australian voters on the idea of electing her as a strong Greens senator at the last election. Now those same voters discover they have bought something utterly different. This is a spectacular and shameless act of political desertion that weakens the Greens, resets calculations about crossbench power in the Senate and crowns a new and wildly unpredictable independent in parliament." - David Crowe - theage.com.au

>>18293629 Video: Alcohol bans to return in Alice Springs town camps, remote communities in Central Australia - Alcohol bans will be reinstated in central Australia, preventing the sale of alcohol to people living in Aboriginal town camps and remote communities - The move was recommended in the snap review of alcohol laws ordered by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in response to a spike in crime and alcohol-fuelled violence

>>18293682 General David H. Berger, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps Tweet: Throughout a vast Indo-Pacific, the message is clear—allies and partners are critical to free and open sea lanes and deterring aggression. The US and Australia have enjoyed over 100 years of “mateship,” and the unique relationship between the @USMC and the ADF is strong as ever

>>18293682 General David H. Berger, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps Tweet: I was in Australia last week and met with US Amb @carolinekennedy @usembaustralia and other leaders throughout the continent, including @lukegoslingMP, NT Chief Minister Fyles, ADF Chief Gen Campbell @CDF_aust, and LtGen Bilton, Chief of Joint Ops @cjopsaustralia

>>18293682 General David H. Berger, Commandant of the United States Marine Corps Tweet: I also saw Marines in Darwin and Canberra. Although there are no @USMC units permanently stationed in Australia, we have Marines as a rotational force, in our MSG program, as students attending Australia’s military universities, and as liaison officers to our friends in the ADF.

>>18299696 Tony Abbott accuses Anthony Albanese of behaving like a “used car salesman” on his campaign to support the indigenous voice to parliament - 'The Prime Minister only wants to talk about “the great duco” and not about how the engine works'

>>18299711 Bashings, killings, rapes: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price on living in the ‘hellholes’ of Alice Springs - Watching loved ones succumb to grog, the horrific murder of her aunt, and the sexual assault “in some way, shape or form” of every woman in her family are among the standout childhood memories for Price

>>18299733 Video: Jacinta Price pushing for more alcohol bans, says NT 'can't be trusted' to manage Alice Springs restrictions, funding - Northern Territory Coalition senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says she will introduce a private member's bill to parliament tomorrow, allowing for greater federal oversight of Northern Territory alcohol bans - ABC News (Australia)

#27 - Part 13

Australian Politics and Society - Part 13

>>18299818 Christian Lobby, deputy premier pushback over Pussay Poppins drag storytime event at Launceston Library - Tasmania's education minister Roger Jaensch is resisting calls to cancel a book reading by a drag queen at a state-run library, even as the state's deputy premier Michael Ferguson declared he "wouldn't be taking my children"

>>18299843 ‘We need a plan B’: Unions have ‘deep concerns’ about AUKUS pact - Labor’s traditional union allies say they harbour deep concerns about Australia’s plan to acquire a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines and fear the AUKUS pact will not deliver the promised bonanza of Australian manufacturing jobs

>>18299854 US Congress suggests sending B-21 stealth bombers to Australia under AUKUS partnership - America's next-generation B-21 bomber could be sent to Australia to "accelerate" national security under a congressional proposal put to the US secretary of defense

>>18306023 ‘Recklessly indifferent to truth’: Bruce Lehrmann sues Lisa Wilkinson for damages - Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and its star Lisa Wilkinson for defamation, accusing them of seeking to exploit allegations of sexual ­assault against him for ­personal and professional gain

>>18306039 AUKUS ‘trilateral submarine’ surfaces as option - Speculation is mounting that Australia may opt for a next-generation British submarine with a US combat system and weapons, rather than an American boat, as our future nuclear-propelled sub

>>18306046 Quick submarine deal could change regional balance of power: US Admiral - Australia should receive nuclear-powered submarines quickly under the AUKUS agreement and not wait decades for their development, says Admiral Harry Harris, former Commander of the US Pacific Command

>>18306059 AUKUS: 'Share military secrets with Australia' urges former US navy chief - Admiral Harry Harris, the former commander of the US military in the Indo-Pacific, has urged the new Republican controlled congress to slash regulations that impede the sharing of advanced military technology with Australia’s “tremendous military”, declaring the AUKUS security pact “supremely important”

>>18306100 Voice discussion, not campaign, in schools: Daniel Andrews - Daniel Andrews has downplayed Victorian education department policy promoting the Indigenous voice to parliament as part of the state’s “journey to treaty”, saying he doesn’t believe there’ll be a “campaign” for the yes case in schools, but rather a “discussion” about an important national event

>>18306116 Voice to Parliament pamphlets advocating both sides to be sent to Australians, in concession to Peter Dutton - The government has conceded to a Liberal Party demand for pamphlets making cases both for and against the Voice to Parliament to be issued ahead of the referendum, in hopes of bringing the opposition onboard

>>18312164 AUKUS poses no risk to sovereignty: Richard Marles - Defence Minister Richard Marles will move to allay fears the AUKUS pact will undermine the nation’s sovereignty by making it overly reliant on foreign technology, arguing nuclear submarines and other high-end capabilities will build the nation’s self-reliance

>>18312173 Defence Minister insists AUKUS will enhance Australia's sovereignty, not dependence on US - Australians are being assured the controversial AUKUS pact will not undermine this country's sovereignty or increase military dependence on the United States

>>18318259 Anthony Albanese adopts new tone for Indigenous voice to parliament - Anthony Albanese has embarked on a major reset of his campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament to engage the support of the Coalition, promising to provide further detail and use a bipartisan committee to be set up next month to maximise support for the referendum

>>18318465 Indonesia and Australia promise new defence cooperation agreement despite AUKUS tensions - Indonesia and Australia have promised to strike a new defence cooperation agreement, despite lingering tensions over the federal government's push to acquire nuclear-powered submarines

>>18324634, >>18326591 Anthony Albanese to become first sitting Australian PM to march in Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras - Prime Minister likens upcoming Indigenous voice referendum to the successful 2017 marriage equality vote - The Prime Minister will be joined by the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, the first openly gay woman in Parliament

>>18324657 Why Anthony Albanese backed down on voice pamphlets stoush - "Peter Dutton’s demands for the commonsense distribution of pamphlets, particularly for older and non-English-speaking Australians, was a rational and reasonable request in the name of normal process and procedure that was giving the Liberals grounds to oppose the referendum and was creating suspicion and confusion." - Dennis Shanahan - theaustralian.com.au

#27 - Part 14

Australian Politics and Society - Part 14

>>18324696 Alcohol restricted in Laverton, Western Australia as Aboriginal elder Janice Scott says pub has become 'sacred site' - "That pub over there … all the sickness and everything happens because of it. It's standing there in all its glory, their sacred site … killing generation after generation."

>>18324757 Video: Senators Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and Malarndirri McCarthy share truths of alcohol abuse amid Alice Springs crisis - In the chambers of Australia's federal parliament, personal secrets are often buried far from the curious public eye - But occasionally they are laid out on the carpeted floor, raw in their fury and heartbreak - Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, an Alice Springs local, rose to deliver an impassioned tale of trauma centred around the early death of her cousin in the town's palliative care unit late last year - Assistant Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy, a former television journalist, recounted her own stories of immeasurable grief caused by alcohol in NT communities

>>18324787 Sovereignty at the heart of the Voice - "Lidia Thorpe is the worst nightmare for the Yes proponents. Her departure blows a hole the size of Uluru right through claims from Yes advocates that the voice is a modest matter of polite manners. Her ­departure encourages us to dig deeper and, in so doing, better understand that black sovereignty sits at the heart of the voice proposal. This is not about reconciliation. This is separatism, pure and simple, and to be writ large in law." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18324863 Federal government seeks to suppress court documents examining torture-resistance program - The federal government is urgently seeking to suppress court documents examining a torture-resistance training program that a former soldier claims breached his human rights - Medically retired soldier Damien De Pyle is suing the Commonwealth after claiming last year that he was forced to participate in humiliating sexual acts as part of the program

>>18330596 Legal implications over Indigenous voice to parliament should give us the chills - As currently proposed, the voice will amount to a new group right in the Constitution. It will be exercised collectively and exclusively by Indigenous people - By boldly entrenching a new group right, we are set to find ourselves with a novel and unprecedented advisory fourth arm of government. Of course, some people will be comfortable with that, and that is fine. But many Australians would be surprised to hear this characterisation - Louise Clegg, Sydney barrister - theaustralian.com.au

>>18330608 Jews at odds over Yes or No on Indigenous voice - The Indigenous voice to parliament debate has split Australia’s Jewish community, with prominent representative associations at odds over the referendum - The Anti-Defamation Commission is “unequivocally committed” to supporting the voice, just months after recognised community leadership body the Executive Council of Australian Jewry signed a bipartisan action with several other religious organisations supporting the Uluru Statement from the Heart - The Australian Jewish Association, however, condemned the actions of other Jewish bodies for supporting a Yes vote, saying it had “major concerns” on potentially “racist” amendments to the Constitution

>>18338023 Jacinta Nampijinpa Price jumps ship for new No drive against the voice - Northern Territory senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has quit the national 'Recognise a Better Way' committee she launched with Warren Mundine just weeks ago to oppose the Indigenous voice to parliament, and will head a new grassroots No campaign funded by right-wing activist group Advance

>>18338036 Video: Peter Dutton apologises for boycotting apology to Stolen Generations - Liberal leader Peter Dutton has apologised for boycotting the National Apology to the Stolen Generations in 2008 - Mr Dutton, who was the only Opposition frontbencher to abstain from the apology, says he was wrong for not supporting it. "I failed to grasp at the time the symbolic significance to the Stolen Generation of the apology," Mr Dutton said. "It was right for Prime Minister [Kevin] Rudd to make the apology in 2008."

>>18338062 Right-wing terror threat has receded as COVID restrictions have eased, ASIO chief Mike Burgess says - The head of Australia's domestic spy agency says the threat of a terrorist attack by nationalist extremists or conspiracy theorists has receded since governments abandoned lockdowns and other strict COVID-19 control measures

#27 - Part 15

Australian Politics and Society - Part 15

>>18344218 ‘Systems and processes failed’: ABC boss acknowledges mistake in Alice Springs report - ABC managing director David Anderson has admitted its systems and processes failed during the production of a radio report that claimed there were elements of white supremacy at an Alice Springs community forum on social unrest in the town

>>18350474 Don’t ask: Labor refuses to say whether US bombers bring nuclear weapons to Australia - The federal government has refused to say whether US strategic bombers that rotate through Northern Australia carry nuclear weapons, but argues the temporary presence of such weapons would not violate Australia’s international obligations

>>18350489 Officials will not confirm whether US bombers in Australia carry nuclear weapons - Defence Department secretary Greg Moriarty has stopped short of ruling out that US strategic bombers are carrying nuclear weapons to Australia, but insists any such move would not breach this country's international obligations under the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty

>>18356949 Scientology leader considered legally served in Australian human trafficking case - Scientology’s reclusive leader, David Miscavige, has 21 days to respond to allegations from a human-trafficking case brought by three Australian residents, after nearly a year of avoiding legal service - Gawain Baxter, Laura Baxter and Valeska Paris have claimed in a civil case lodged in Florida that they had endured horrendous emotional, physical and psychological abuse while in Scientology - Now a US magistrate has ruled that Miscavige had been concealing his whereabouts for nearly a year and declared him officially served in the case

>>18356979 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese Tweet: Slava Ukraini - Australia stands with Ukraine. Today our Parliament paused to reflect and to stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine who are bravely defending their country against Russia's brutal and illegal invasion

>>18357072 'Shocking evidence': A former Australian prime minister is part of a plan to jail Vladimir Putin - Legal experts are warning the international system makes pursuing Russian President Vladimir Putin difficult. Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull is part of a group aiming to change that

>>18357094 Video: Defence providing 'surge' support to border protection efforts north of Australia - Extra Defence surveillance aircraft and ships have been deployed to Australia's north, to assist with border protection efforts, amid warnings that changes to temporary protection visas could prompt a resumption in people smuggling ventures

>>18357111 Wieambilla: Queensland shooting declared act of domestic terror - The deadly ambush that led to the execution-style murders of two Queensland police officers and a civilian on a remote property last December has been declared an act of domestic terrorism linked to the Christian fundamentalist belief system known as premillennialism

>>18357132 Video: Queensland police say Wieambilla shooting was 'a religiously motivated terrorist attack' - Deputy Police Commissioner Linford said the trio saw police "as monsters and demons" - "What we've been able to glean from that information is that the Train family members subscribe to what we would call a broad Christian fundamentalist belief system, known as premillennialism" - She said the COVID pandemic, climate change, global conflicts and social disparity contributed to their belief in their system

>>18363017 ‘We stand with you, Ukraine’ - In a show of unanimity and solidarity rarely seen in the House of Representatives, federal MPs and senators gathered with Ukraine’s ambassador to demonstrate Australia’s support for the war-torn country ahead of next week’s 12-month anniversary of Russia’s invasion - The assembly of politicians from all sides of parliament came as Vasyl Myroshnychenko urged the Albanese government to reopen the nation’s embassy in Kyiv, saying it was missing out on valuable briefings on the ground because of a lack of diplomatic representation

>>18363020 Advisers split on Voice power - The expert group advising Anthony Albanese on how to ensure an Indigenous voice to parliament succeeds at the referendum has split over whether the body should make representations to executive government, amid concerns the current wording will sink the proposal

>>18363033 Ex-defence minister Linda Reynolds breaks her silence on the Brittany Higgins rape allegations: ‘It was a hit job’ - In her first interview since being caught up in what she calls “the firestorm” of the Brittany Higgins rape allegations, former Liberal minister Linda Reynolds speaks exclusively to The Weekend Australian, accusing her political opponents of a “hit job” and saying she was “expendable”

#27 - Part 16

Australian Politics and Society - Part 16

>>18363651 Higgins, the hit and the day I broke: Linda Reynolds - The former Liberal cabinet minister at the centre of the Brittany Higgins rape scandal says she was the target of an orchestrated plot to bring down herself and the Morrison government, claiming senior Labor and media identities ruthlessly exploited her young staffer for political and personal gain - Former defence minister Linda Reynolds has broken her two-year silence, alleging the rape case was used as a political weapon and acknowledging she was targeted “to the point where I broke”

>>18363699 Doubts, devastation and a designer coat: the story you haven’t heard - When Brittany Higgins walked out of Parliament House on March 23, 2019, she was captured on CCTV wearing a Carla Zampatti jacket. That coat defines the gaping divide between the public’s perception of the Higgins saga and what others knew - Away from the court case that followed after Higgins alleged Lehrmann raped her in the ministerial suite, after the media stories, the questions in parliament, the poring over details, all of which moulded public opinion, there was another story the public never heard. And this story might not quite match what the public thought they knew

>>18367577 Brittany Higgins furious as ‘private’ diary entries leaked - Brittany Higgins has lashed out as “private” diary entries have been leaked after the material was sent to police to investigate her sexual assault allegation

>>18369775 Dutton ‘open’ to voice dialogue but pushing for changes - Peter Dutton is “open to discussion” with Anthony Albanese on the form of the Indigenous voice to parliament and government and believes the referendum will fail unless the Prime Minister agrees to changes

>>18369785 Quietly, carefully, Peter Dutton starts to find his voice - Peter Dutton is on the move. After a relatively quiet first nine months as Opposition Leader – during which he has been accused of not doing enough, not making ground against Anthony Albanese, not reforming the Liberal Party, being too negative and not taking definite policy and political positions – Dutton is asserting himself

>>18374631 Australian envoy return to Kyiv 'in interest of both nations' - Ukraine's ambassador to Australia says the reinstatement of an envoy in Kyiv would help boost the relationship between the two nations as the first anniversary of Russia's invasion approaches

>>18380400 Gallagher ‘knew Higgins’ boyfriend before payout’ - Katy Gallagher, whose department paid a large settlement to Brittany Higgins, ‘knew David Sharaz’ before Ms Higgins’ rape claims became public, Linda Reynolds says

>>18380432 Brittany Higgins responds to Linda Reynolds interview - Brittany Higgins has responded to her former boss, Liberal senator Linda Reynolds, who for the first time since Ms Higgins’ initial rape allegation spoke in a broad-ranging interview with The Weekend Australian - Ms Higgins criticised one of the reports for referencing parts of her diary, saying no journalist should have been able to access “private information” she entrusted to police to aid their sexual assault investigation

>>18380530 Ukraine didn’t ask us to reopen Kyiv embassy, says Pat Conroy - Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy has brushed aside criticism of Australia’s decision to keep its embassy in Kyiv closed, despite allied countries reopening theirs, as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine against Russia’s invasion

>>18386750 Keating turning into PM’s worst enemy - "Recently Paul Keating has argued that if we get AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines we will lose our sovereignty, as these will be dependent on US nuclear reactor technology. In foreign policy Keating has journeyed further and further from common sense, often indeed from reality itself, in the more than a quarter of a century since he last had responsibility (or a security briefing) for anything. Keating has now become so self-absorbed and eccentric that some things he says about Australian foreign policy history are factually misleading." - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au

>>18386847 Jacqui Munro: NSW Treasurer Matt Kean’s endorsed candidate’s progressive past - NSW Treasurer Matt Kean’s endorsed candidate for the upper house vacancy declared she loved “the devil”, supported legalisation of drugs and celebrated the victory of former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard - The historical social media posts of Jacqui Munro, the Liberal Women’s Council president and former adviser to Wentworth independent Kerryn Phelps, reveal a progressive streak that opposed the NSW Liberal Party’s lockout laws and criticised Tony Abbott

#27 - Part 17

Australian Politics and Society - Part 17

>>18386885 Video: Drug Enforcement Administration agents sent back to America after complaint - Two Sydney-based agents from the American Drug Enforcement Administration are being sent home after the Australian Federal Police complained to US ambassador Caroline Kennedy about methods of investigating a massive drug importation - The DEA agents have not been accused of wrongdoing but the AFP fears their investigation techniques may have impacted on operations, particularly involving a major cocaine shipment destined for Western Australia and NSW

>>18387936 Sky News host reduced to fit of laughter by Biden video - Sky News Australia host Rita Panahi burst into laughter live on air after viewing a montage of US President Joe Biden’s most memorable blunders

>>18392801 ‘It feels like hand-to-hand combat’: ASIO boss warns on spy hives, foreign interference - ASIO boss Mike Burgess has warned Australians to be vigilant as he revealed the nation is experiencing the highest level of foreign interference, espionage and terrorism in its history, surpassing the Cold War, September 11 and the height of the Islamic State caliphate

>>18392821 Video: Annual Threat Assessment 2023 - Director-General of Security - The Director-General of Security Mike Burgess delivered his fourth Annual Threat Assessment on 21 February 2023 from ASIO headquarters at the Ben Chifley Building - Australian Security Intelligence Organisation

>>18392839 Judges, journalists and military veterans targeted in 'unprecedented' spy threat on Australia - Journalists, military veterans and judicial figures are being targeted by foreign espionage agencies at "unprecedented" levels, with the country's intelligence chief revealing a "hive of spies" was removed from Australia in the past year - In his annual threat assessment, the director-general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) has also hit out at former military personnel who have put "cash before country" by working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "top tools" more than "top guns"

>>18392853 ASIO urged to ‘ease up’ on foreign spies: Mike Burgess - Australia’s top spy Mike Burgess was directly pressured by public servants, academics and business identities to “ease up” on ASIO’s foreign interference and espionage operations, despite judicial figures, journalists, veterans and diaspora communities being targeted in record numbers by foreign spies and agents

>>18392865 Security boss pulls no punches on growing national threats - Australia’s balancing act in the great power competition between the US and China means it is now a primary target for espionage and foreign interference - This was now the greatest security threat facing the nation, according to ASIO director-general Mike Burgess - And not enough Australians were taking it seriously enough

>>18392901 Australian spy chief says veterans training rivals are 'top tools' not 'top guns' - Australia's spy chief has hit out at former military pilots who turn to working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'" in his annual security threat assessment - A former U.S. marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is fighting extradition from Australia to the United States, where he faces charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers. He has denied breaking any law

>>18392962 Whatever it takes on Defence: Anthony Albanese - Anthony Albanese will deliver his strongest endorsement of the AUKUS security pact, pledging to fund the Australian Defence Force to ‘deter aggressors’ - Amid unprecedented geostrategic competition between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Albanese will say AUKUS presents a “whole-of-nation opportunity: for new jobs, new industries and new expertise in science and technology and cyber”

>>18392986 At the heart of Linda Reynolds’ story is a gross hypocrisy - "At the heart of Linda Reynolds’ story is a gross and gendered hypocrisy. The same women, very senior women within Labor’s ranks, who talk a lot about wanting a safer, fairer workplace culture in parliament, perpetrated a cruel and unrelenting attack on their workplace colleague. What Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher did to Reynolds is recorded in Hansard. The attacks were relentless, over days and weeks and months. The implications were devastating: that Reynolds had covered up the alleged rape of a young staffer; that she had threatened Brittany Higgins’ employment in a wholly inappropriate way. The results were predictable, with Reynolds breaking down, admitted to hospital, on sick leave." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

#27 - Part 18

Australian Politics and Society - Part 18

>>18401561 An army of ‘little Americans’ dominates foreign policy debate - "Greg Sheridan, in his opinion piece of Tuesday, February 21, provides yet another display of his spiteful, vacuous journalism – his erroneous claims that I am not the progenitor of the APEC Leaders’ Meeting, and that my views on Australian strategic policy are eccentric and at odds with the US alliance." - Paul Keating, 24th prime minister of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>18401571 In Aussie visit, US Navy chief talks sub challenges, All Domain needs - During a visit this week to Australia, the US Navy’s top officer acknowledged that there is some “risk” that America’s submarine industrial base cannot deliver on the navy’s requirements, but expressed his belief that the Pentagon and its industry partners could figure out a way forward with key submarine programs - Adm. Mike Gilday also expressed optimism that US restrictions on tech transfer known as ITAR can be managed when it comes to working on key AUKUS-related technologies

>>18401605 Video: Australia will control nuclear submarines in any conflict with AUKUS partners, Albanese says - Anthony Albanese has signalled Australia will retain full operational control of nuclear submarines acquired under the AUKUS pact in any circumstances where there was a conflict over military strategy with the US and UK - Guardian Australia

>>18402202 Fake Russian diplomats revealed as heart of ‘hive’ spy ring in Australia - A highly active “hive” of Russian spies posing as diplomats operated in Australia for more than 18 months before it was dismantled as part of a sweeping and aggressive counter-espionage offensive by ASIO - The Australian intelligence agency spent months tracking the Russian spy ring, which comprised purported embassy and consular staff and operatives using other deep cover identities, before ASIO finally moved to force the ring’s key players out of Australia, according to sources with knowledge of its operation

>>18402220 Mateship vital for Ukraine victory, and a safer world - "After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine started on February 24, 2022, a year ago now, Australia was one of the first nations to condemn the attack and step up for Ukraine. Now moving into the second year of the war, you have our commitment that the values Australians and Ukrainians share will be strongly protected by Ukraine. When you invest in us – politically, emotionally and materially – you invest in a safer, democratic world. Our victory, with Australia’s steadfast support, will be the free world’s victory. Thank you for your mateship and trust.'' - Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukrainian ambassador to Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>18402233 U.S. Embassy Australia Tweet: One year on from Russia’s brutal invasion, we #StandWithUkraine.

>>18402233 Australian Embassy, USA Tweet: Australia continues to stand with Ukraine. Tomorrow, 24 February, marks one year since Russia’s illegal and immoral invasion of #Ukraine. We honour the unwavering resolve and strength of the people of Ukraine and mourn the countless lives lost.

>>18402250 ‘It’s time’ for a Voice: $5m donation underwrites Yes campaign - A $5 million donation will turbocharge the Yes campaign for the Voice to parliament, as it prepares to recruit thousands of volunteers to drive a groundswell of support in neighbourhoods across the country - The Yes Alliance announced the donation from the Paul Ramsay Foundation as it launched its ground campaign on Thursday night in Adelaide, attended by hundreds of Indigenous and non-Indigenous people from community organisations, faith groups, unions, and businesses

>>18402260 Anthony Albanese ‘leveraging Indigenous voice for own political gain’, says Sussan Ley - Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley will say Anthony Albanese wants the voice referendum to succeed only “on his terms” and to use a Yes vote to boost his own political fortunes at an early election.

>>18402268 Sinodinos calls critical AUKUS role test for Australia - AUKUS will play a critical role in upholding the rules-based order in the Asia-Pacific and strengthen Australia’s capability to “project power” in the region to maintain stability, but it will be a “test” for the nation, Australia’s ambassador to the US says

>>18407792 Why the Indigenous voice is a bad idea on so many levels - "The Prime Minister is trying to impose on Australians a shadow government based on race. His preferred model for the voice says so." - Gary Johns, secretary of 'Recognise A Better Way (The Voice No Case Committee Incorporated)' - theaustralian.com.au

#27 - Part 19

Australian Politics and Society - Part 19

>>18407841 The Voice to Parliament yes campaign launches amid calls for the 'progressive no' to be heard - "We're not focusing on the day after the referendum, we're focusing on survival today," newly independent Senator Lidia Thorpe explained on Thursday, as she upped the ante on the debate over a constitutionally enshrined Voice to Parliament

>>18407884 Right wingers protest at Manly Library’s WorldPride Drag Queen Story Time event for kids - Right wing and anti-LGBQTI+ demonstrators turned up to protest at a Drag Queen story time event in Sydney, but were outnumbered by supporters at the event for kids - The demonstrators were far outnumbered by supporters of the WorldPride-linked “Drag Queen Story Time at Manly Library” with entertainer Charisma Belle

>>18408043 Space consultant’s visa cancelled over ‘potential security threat’ - A consultant working in the Australian space industry who boasted of close ties to the Russian government and who spent months cultivating Australian government and business contacts has been declared a potential national security threat by the nation’s spy chief - Sources have confirmed ASIO recently advised the federal government to expel Kazakhstan-born Marina Sologub more than two years after she travelled from her home in Ireland to Adelaide on a distinguished talent visa

>>18408103 ‘Australia a growing target’: Ex-US spy boss says Russian agents keener for our secrets - Australia’s support for Ukraine and its rise as a global player through partnerships such as AUKUS have transformed the nation into a prime target for Russian spying in a major change from just five years ago, a former American intelligence chief says - Mike Rogers, who headed the US National Security Agency and Cyber Command during the Obama and Trump administrations, warned that Australia would become an even more alluring honeypot for foreign spies when it acquired top-secret nuclear-powered submarine technology from the United States and United Kingdom - Rogers, a retired four-star US Navy admiral, said the AUKUS pact would require Australia to urgently fortify its cyber defence and intelligence-gathering capabilities

>>18408105 Q Post #585 - TRUST Adm R. He played the game to remain in control. Q

>>18413235 First public hearing announced for Bruce Lehrmann trial inquiry - The independent inquiry probing misconduct in the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins will hold its first public hearing on April 26, as Commissioner Walter Sofronoff, KC, continues to subpoena central figures in the case

>>18413243 An Australian’s message for those tempted to join Ukraine’s fight: ‘Don’t’ - For Felix Metrikas, joining the war in Ukraine was a lot easier than leaving it. After nine months providing training and supplies to Ukraine troops, a part of him is ready to return home to Geelong. Felix has a message for other Australians tempted to joint the fight: Don’t. “It is hypocritical, but I would not encourage more people to come. To anyone who is considering it, this is worse than I thought it could be,” he said. “I have had friends over here who have been killed. Guys with daughters of their own…..The reality of this war is much more chaotic than what is being portrayed. I wasn’t ready for this kind of thing. I wish it wasn’t happening to the Ukrainian people.”

>>18417998 US bestows honour on African American co-leader of Eureka Stockade - John Joseph, an African American man who was the first person tried and acquitted for the Eureka Rebellion and who was buried in an unmarked grave has been memorialised in central Victoria - The US ambassador to Australia, Caroline Kennedy, unveiled a plaque at White Hills Cemetery in Bendigo to honour John Joseph’s life

>>18418033 Caroline Kennedy visits Bendigo: US Ambassador to Australia lays plaque - America has “no closer ally” than Australia, US Ambassador Caroline Kennedy has said - She made the comment at the unveiling of a plaque at the White Hills cemetery to commemorate the life of US-born historical figure John Joseph

>>18418091 Anthony Albanese to establish a new agency to lead Australia’s fight against mass cyber attacks by state-sponsored hackers and criminal gangs under a seven-year strategy to strengthen defences

>>18418106 Federal police to blitz foreign interference in multicultural communities, amid concerns the problem is both under-reported and widespread - Federal police community liaison teams will meet community and faith leaders to raise awareness about the problem and urge people to report suspected foreign interference to police or community leaders

#27 - Part 20

Cardinal George Pell - Sexual Abuse and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations - Part 1

>>18052655 Cardinal Pell: Pope Benedict leaves a ‘mixed’ legacy - Cardinal George Pell remembers Pope Benedict as an inspiration to younger priests and one of the finest theologians, but says he leaves a mixed legacy and will be mostly remembered for his abdication

>>18057713 Pope Benedict: A Christian gentleman of the old school - Joseph Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI, is universally regarded as one of the finest theologians and writers in the papacy’s almost 2000-year history - CARDINAL GEORGE PELL - theaustralian.com.au

>>18057732 Cardinals Pell, Krajewski Reflect On Pope Benedict XVI’s Legacy - Two cardinals pleased to call Pope Benedict XVI a friend reflected on his death and what the pope emeritus brought to the life of the church - Paulina Guzik - osvnews.com

>>18057764 Video: Cardinal George Pell speaks to 7NEWS about the late Pope Benedict's legacy - Cardinal George Pell has defended the legacy of the late Pope Benedict. Speaking exclusively to 7NEWS, he rejected claims the former Pontiff didn't do enough to act on institutional abuse within the Catholic church - 7NEWS Australia

>>18057771 Video: Cardinal George Pell will attend Pope Benedict’s funeral - Australian Cardinal, George Pell, has praised the late Pope Benedict for his handling of sex abuse claims within the church. After his own conviction was overturned, Cardinal Pell is now living in Rome again and will attend the funeral for the Pope Emeritus later this week as Pope Francis continues to lead prayers at the Vatican - 7NEWS Australia

>>18071625 Video: Cardinal Pell: Benedict XVI was complete opposite of the caricatures of his enemies - CNA Newsroom

>>18121685 ''Cardinal George Pell dies, aged 81, after complications from hip surgery - A Requiem Mass will be held at the Vatican in the coming days to honour Cardinal George Pell, Australia’s most prominent Catholic cleric, who died from ''heart complications after hip replacement surgery at the age of 81 - The church announced Pell had died of ''cardiac arrest'' at Salvator Mundi hospital in Rome, days after attending the funeral of Pope Benedict XVI - Pell was a towering figure in the Catholic Church in Australia and internationally. He served as Archbishop of both the Melbourne and Sydney archdioceses and rose to become the treasurer of the Vatican in Rome

>>18121709 Q Post #2590 - [Cardinal Pell] - Dark to LIGHT. Q - https://qanon.pub/#2590

>>18121709 Q Post #2594 - >He was the vatican treasurer I'm sure that carries some weight - #3 in the pecking order. Define 'pecking' [animals]. Q - https://qanon.pub/#2594

>>18121709 'Q Post #2894 - Many more to come? Dark to LIGHT. Q - https://''qanon.pub/#2894

>>18121879 Cardinal George Pell dies in Rome aged 81 after hip surgery; former Vatican finances chief was Australia's top-ranking Catholic - Cardinal Pell, who was in charge of Vatican finances between 2014 and 2019, was jailed in Australia for child sexual abuse in 2019 but vigorously maintained his innocence and had his convictions quashed more than a year later - Archbishop of Melbourne Peter Comensoli said Cardinal Pell died "from ''heart complications'' following hip surgery"

>>18121966 Cardinal George Pell ‘a saint for our times’, says Tony Abbott - Tony Abbott has described the late George Pell as a “saint for our times” and says he’s confident his “reputation will grow and grow”, after the Cardinal died in Rome from complications during hip surgery

>>18121999 Civil case to continue against George Pell after cardinal’s death - The father of a former choirboy who prosecutors alleged was sexually abused by George Pell will continue his civil case against the cardinal after his death

>>18129008 Pope Francis praises the late George Pell for persevering “even in the hour of trial”, a reference to the year he spent in prison on child sexual abuse accusations before he was fully acquitted

>>18129027 No state funeral for George Pell in Victoria or NSW - There will be no state funeral for Cardinal George Pell in Victoria or NSW with Daniel Andrews arguing to do so would distress victims of institutional child sexual abuse - “I couldn’t think of anything more distressing for victim survivors,” the Victorian Premier said

>>18135955 Cardinal George Pell’s arch rival in the Vatican, Cardinal Angelo Becciu now on trial for financial corruption, has denied sending money to Australia to prop up the sex abuse charges against him and said he prayed God would “forgive” the Australian cleric

#27 - Part 21

Cardinal George Pell - Sexual Abuse and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations - Part 2

>>18135984 Bishops trading in the transcendent for a bigger tent - GEORGE PELL, JANUARY 13 2023 - Shortly before he died on Tuesday 10th January, Cardinal George Pell wrote the following article for The Spectator in which he denounced the Vatican’s plans for its forthcoming Synod on Synodality as a “toxic nightmare”

>>18136006 George Pell gives Francis’ papacy a kicking - Before he died, Cardinal George Pell called for the next pope to restore doctrinal clarity in faith and morals in an astonishing secret memo that was scathing of the “catastrophic” and “disastrous” papacy of Pope Francis - The 2000-word document, which was distributed to cardinals anonymously last Lent, spelt out how bad he believed the situation was under Francis, not only outlining moral and financial failings, but alleging Francis used his papal powers to interfere in the Vatican’s judicial processes

>>18136041 ‘We won’t shed tears’: Phil went to Rome to confront Pell, with mixed success - Abuse survivor Phil Nagle did finally get the opportunity to confront the man he held partly responsible for covering up sexual assault in Ballarat during the 1970s. It never satisfied him.

>>18136092 George Pell’s death lets misplaced recriminations fly - The prolific nature of offending against children by clerics within the Ballarat diocese and more broadly in Victoria could only thrive with multiple failures across religious, educational and welfare institutions, compounded by a wretched corruption within the criminal justice system - Jack The Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au

>>18142223 In a wooden casket, Pell lies in state as his posthumous attack on Pope overshadows funeral - A dark brown wooden coffin containing George Pell, the most polarising Australian Christian leader of his generation, was lying-in-state on Friday and even in death, the cardinal was fighting for the traditionalist cause

>>18142247 Cardinal George Pell’s coffin now lying in state in the church of Santo Stefano degli Abissini (St Stephen of the Abyssinians) in the grounds of the Vatican - Since its arrival there has been a steady stream of visitors keeping vigil and praying, many visibly distressed and grieving

>>18142328 Pope to give rites at funeral for Cardinal George Pell - Pope Francis has reorganised his schedule to “pop in” for the final moments of the funeral of George Pell, one of the Catholic church’s most controversial headline figures - Francis, 86, is in poor health, has been heavily criticised by Cardinal Pell, who called his papacy a “disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe”

>>18147472 Video: Cardinal George Pell's funeral held in St Peter's Basilica at the Vatican - Sky News Australia

>>18147599 EWTN Vatican Tweet: Video: This Saturday, the funeral Mass of Cardinal George Pell took place in St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, with the participation of Pope Francis. Catholics traveled from near and far to attend the funeral and extra chairs were added at the last minute to accommodate people

>>18147891 Pell's secret memo casts shadow at cardinal's funeral - Pope Francis gave a funeral blessing to Cardinal George Pell on Saturday as revelations that he wrote an anonymous memo branding the current papacy a "catastrophe" hung in the air along with the incense

>>18147910 A school principal gave up everything to blow the whistle on a paedophile priest. George Pell hung up on him - Graeme Sleeman resigned in disgust after complaining about Father Peter Searson in the 1980s and suspects he was then blacklisted

>>18153765 Video: Cardinal George Pell farewelled in Vatican City - Senior clergy from around the world have gathered at the Vatican for the funeral of Cardinal George Pell, one of the most divisive figures within the Catholic Church - 9 News Australia

>>18166785 ‘Most significant funeral’: George Pell to lie in state at Sydney cathedral before private burial - St Mary’s Cathedral dean, Father Don Richardson says thousands of mourners from Australia and overseas are expected to attend requiem mass on 2 February

>>18200941 The first of three major memorial masses for Cardinal George Pell in Melbourne will be held on Monday night, January 23 2023 - The cardinal’s close friend, former student and former Master of Ceremonies, Monsignor Charles Portelli, will lead a Requiem Mass at Saint Mary MacKillop church, Keilor Downs, at 7pm, featuring French composer Gabriel Fauré’s requiem, written in the late 1800s. It focuses on themes of consolation and eternal rest

#27 - Part 22

Cardinal George Pell - Sexual Abuse and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations - Part 3

>>18228528 Challenge me face-to-face, Pope Francis tells critics - The Pope has described the increasing criticism he faces from conservative Catholics as a “rash”, and demanded that his foes challenge him to his face as he defended his much-maligned dealings with the Chinese government - He also said he forgave Cardinal George Pell, who was jailed in Australia over sex abuse claims before being freed on appeal. “Even though they say he criticised me, fine, he has the right. Criticism is a human right,” he said, adding: “He was a great guy.”

>>18228552 ‘Unfinished business’: Ballarat abuse survivor to tie a ribbon at St Mary’s before George Pell funeral - Paul Auchettl says the cathedral should not cut ribbons down as they are a powerful voice for people who were silenced

>>18235531 Thousands expected. Preparations underway for Cardinal Pell’s Funeral - The Archdiocese of Sydney is pulling out all stops to remember and pray for Cardinal George Pell at a Solemn Pontifical Mass of Christian Burial at St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday 2 February, including a motet especially composed for the occasion

>>18252360 Ribbons tied by abuse survivors removed from Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral - Paul Auchettl, a Ballarat survivor of child sexual abuse says the repeated removal of ribbons from St Mary's Cathedral in Sydney won't deter him from putting a spotlight on clergy abuse endured by innocent people

>>18263812 Cardinal George Pell's body will lie in state at Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral, as ribbons symbolising the hurt caused by child sexual abuse are tied to its exterior - A dispute between NSW Police and LGBT activists over a rally coinciding with Cardinal Pell’s funeral has been resolved after the route of a peaceful march was altered

>>18263840 Top politicians, dignitaries to skip funeral of divisive Cardinal Pell - Former prime ministers Tony Abbott and John Howard are expected to join mourners at a funeral for Catholic Cardinal George Pell at St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday, to farewell Australia’s most senior and controversial cleric - But many of the country’s most senior politicians and dignitaries will not attend, including the governor-general, the NSW governor, the prime minister, the NSW premier, the NSW opposition leader and the Sydney lord mayor

>>18263845 Cardinal George Pell protest to take place at same time as Sydney funeral after compromise - A dispute between NSW Police and LGBT activists over a rally coinciding with Cardinal George Pell's Sydney funeral has been resolved after the route of a peaceful march was altered

>>18263947 Video: 11am Solemn Pontifical Funeral Mass for Cardinal George Pell at St Mary's Cathedral, Sydney - 2nd February 2023

>>18269213 Video: Pell ‘our greatest Catholic … a saint for these times’ - In his eulogy for George Pell, former prime minister Tony Abbott celebrates a wonderful life, a once-in-a-generation gathering and a rededication to the ideals the late Cardinal lived for

>>18269245 Video: Hundreds farewell Cardinal George Pell at Sydney funeral as police break up clash with protesters - Hundreds of mourners have packed into Sydney's St Mary's Cathedral for the funeral of Australia's most senior Catholic cleric, Cardinal George Pell - Meanwhile, LGBT groups, as well as survivors of child sexual abuse and their supporters staged a protest in Hyde Park against the funeral, opposite the cathedral

>>18269303 Protesters clash with Catholic faithful outside Cardinal George Pell’s funeral - Former prime minister Tony Abbott has praised Cardinal George Pell as a great hero who endured a “modern-day crucifixion”, as mourners and protesters clashed at the controversial Catholic cleric’s funeral in Sydney

>>18269359 Video: George Pell funeral: Protest exposes anger over legacy of controversial church leader - A requiem mass for the man who became the highest ranking Australian Catholic was held at Sydney’s St Mary’s Cathedral on Thursday at 11am - His handling of child sexual abuse by Catholic priests and brothers, homosexuality and abortion have angered many, prompting protesters to gather outside the church

#27 - Part 23

Cardinal George Pell - Sexual Abuse and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations - Part 4

>>18269401 Video: ‘Not a priest for the survivors’: Melbourne families grapple with Pell’s legacy - As the late Cardinal George Pell was laid to rest in Sydney, Chrissie Foster struggled to reconcile the eulogies with her memories of the man she once asked for help - Foster, who went to Pell with her husband Anthony when they discovered their two young daughters were being raped by parish priest Kevin O’Donnell, said the divisive cardinal was hardly a martyr or a saint - “The problem I have is people from on high like [former prime minister Tony] Abbott saying he’s like a saint, and someone else said he was martyred like Jesus was,” she said - “They obviously have not been to one royal commission session or read one of their reports on George Pell. Go to the funeral, yes, but don’t say those things. It’s just so not true.”

>>18386830 School stares down bid to restore George Pell’s name - Cardinal George Pell’s alma mater is resisting moves by his supporters in Ballarat to have his name reinstated at St Patrick’s College in country Victoria

#27 - Part 24

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

>>18180377 Video: War crimes investigators narrow focus to three key targets, including Roberts-Smith - Three former SAS soldiers and their associates have emerged as the key targets of the secretive agency investigating war crimes by Australian soldiers, which aims to lay its first criminal charges this year - The Office of the Special Investigator has focused on the “SAS three”: Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith and two former SAS three-squadron members, including a soldier allegedly seen in helmet camera footage shooting an apparently unarmed Afghan man in a wheat field

>>18293647 SAS veteran pleads guilty to hindering AFP after giving evidence in Ben Roberts-Smith lawsuit - A former SAS soldier who testified in the defamation trial of Ben Roberts-Smith has pleaded guilty to hindering Australian Federal Police after they confronted him in a Sydney hotel - Police were there to execute two warrants on Person X, one for his phone and the other for his hotel room

#27 - Part 25

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition

>>18046505 Julian Assange to ask for prison release to attend Vivienne Westwood’s funeral - Stella Assange says her husband, Julian Assange, will apply to British authorities for leave from Belmarsh Prison to attend the funeral of their dear friend, Dame Vivienne Westwood

>>18064748 Edward Snowden Tweet: Free Julian Assange. - https://qalerts.app/?q=snowden - https://qalerts.app/?q=roadmap

>>18097124 The year Assange walks free? Why there are cautious hopes - “We can feel that the momentum is building,” Assange’s brother Gabriel Shipton says

>>18115350 Assange denied request to leave UK prison to attend the funeral of his friend and supporter Vivienne Westwood

>>18153898 CIA Pushes For Dismissal Of Lawsuit Against Alleged Spying On Assange Visitors - The Central Intelligence Agency and former CIA director Mike Pompeo notified a federal court in New York that they intend to push for the dismissal of a lawsuit that alleges that they were involved in spying against attorneys and journalists who visited WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in Ecuador’s London embassy

>>18221245 Assange a scoundrel who raped America: Pompeo - The former secretary of state says he’ll be ‘delighted’ to see Julian Assange in a US prison, revealing the WikiLeaks founder made him ‘as mad as I have ever been in my life’ - Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, a likely Republican contender for president in 2024, has slammed Julian Assange as a “scoundrel” who “raped America”, revealing he would be “delighted” when the Australian founder of WikiLeaks was “thrown into an American federal Penitentiary” - Mr Pompeo, in Never Give an Inch: Fighting for the America I Love, widely seen as laying the groundwork for a presidential bid, wrote he was “as mad as I have ever been in my life over the exposure of some of the CIA’s most sensitive espionage tools”, mocking the idea Mr Assange was a journalist but rather “a useful idiot for Russia to exploit”

>>18247142 My drunken night with Julian Assange, by Pamela Anderson - "My friendship with Julian Assange has been invigorating, sexy, and funny. Though his circumstances are not funny at all. Ten years incarcerated, in one way or another"

>>18263761 Penny Wong dashes hopes of Julian Assange breakthrough - She said the rule of law prevails in regards to the Assange case, dashing immediate hopes that direct entreaties by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese with American officials could result in any breakthrough

#27 - Part 26

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>18046802 Video: NetEase News 2022 Recap - On this very last day of the year, we decided to continue NetEase News‘s 2022 legacy recap which now has been 404ed in China. We hope that everyone can really reflect the year 2022 and live better in 2023. - The Great Translation Movement

>>18064786 PDF: Pilot Daniel Duggan paid $116,000 to train Chinese aviators, US claims - A former US military pilot arrested in Australia was paid more than $116,000 to train People’s Republic of China pilots to take off and land on aircraft carriers, the US government alleges

>>18079456 US security vs Aussie citizenship in Duggan case - The arrest of Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, and a subsequent US extradition request on charges Duggan allegedly engaged in several counts of providing unauthorised military services to Chinese pilots, gives some clues as to what Australia’s AUKUS legal criminal security framework may look like

>>18079534 Five things Australia has wrong on China and COVID-19 - For a start, it’s nonsense that Beijing is hiding the true extent of infections across the country, writes the Chinese government’s consul general in Sydney - Zhou Limin, the Chinese government’s consul general based in Sydney - afr.com

>>18079537 Vicky Xu Tweet: Shame on @FinancialReview for printing this garbage - If you want to get the Chinese POV, at the very least send a journalist to talk to the consul general and ask questions that will challenge the lies somewhat - What's the point of straight up printing Beijing's propaganda?

>>18086696 US sending delegation to Taiwan for trade talks led by Terry McCartin, assistant US trade representative for China affairs, in a move sure to anger China

>>18102843 60 Minutes ‘Chinese spy’ Liqiang Wang refused asylum in Australia - He stunned Australians across the country when he made bold claims of espionage on prime time television, but now Liqiang “William” Wang is facing deportation back to China

>>18102846 (2019) WORLD EXCLUSIVE: Chinese spy spills secrets to expose Communist espionage - A Chinese spy defects to Australia. His shocking revelations are guaranteed to infuriate Beijing. How China conducts questionable activities around the world, including its attempts to infiltrate the Australian government - 60 Minutes Australia

>>18108849 WeChat and Tiktok: Social media key Beijing weapon in war of information - By building the Great Fire Wall from the global internet, and exploiting freedom of communication in the West with billions spent on external propaganda to enhance its “international discourse power”, China brings a bazooka to the ideology fight, while we debate whether to ban WeChat and Tiktok. - Han Yang, former Chinese junior diplomat living in Sydney - theaustralian.com.au

>>18115403 Australian fighter pilot Daniel Duggan accused of providing military training to Chinese pilots, now fighting extradition to the US - Vows to contest all allegations in an American court if necessary, lawyer Dennis Miralis says

>>18115520 ‘Beware the sting in China’s tale’ - Ahead of a key address by China’s ambassador today, his Japanese counterpart, Shingo Yamagami warns Australia to remain ‘vigilant’ amid Beijing’s continued aggression in the Pacific

>>18115546 Worry about Japan not China, says Beijing’s top envoy in Australia - China’s ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian has launched an extraordinary attack on Japan, warning Australians against becoming too trusting of their former World War II adversary and declaring Japan is a greater military threat than China

>>18115570 Chinese ambassador invokes WWII in quarrel with Japanese counterpart, suggests trade bans may lift - China's ambassador Xiao Qian has criticised his Japanese counterpart, Shingo Yamagami, accusing him of not doing his job properly and suggesting Tokyo may once again launch a military attack on Australia in the future

>>18115594 ‘Wolf warrior’ Zhao Lijian given a ‘lateral demotion” by Chinese Foreign Ministry - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian has been given a “lateral demotion” to a nearly invisible bureaucratic role, ending his time as China’s most infamous “wolf warrior” diplomat - Mr Zhao, who caused a diplomatic dispute when he posted a doctored photo depicting an Australian soldier threatening to slit a child’s throat, has been relocated to the Foreign Ministry’s Department of Boundary and Ocean Affairs

>>18128976 Australia Denies Asylum to Defecting Chinese Spy Wang Liqiang - 'Real and chilling impact' and 'setting a very bad precedent,' says Jennifer Zeng, Australian Chinese writer and YouTuber

#27 - Part 27

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>18135894 Taiwan cannot be sacrificed to China, says Japan’s ambassador to Australia - Japanese ambassador Shingo Yamagami says democracies such as Australia must not allow China to dominate the Asia-Pacific, warning the carnage in Ukraine could be repeated if Beijing attempted to seize control of the self-governing island of Taiwan

>>18135926 With F.B.I. Search, U.S. Escalates Global Fight Over Chinese Police Outposts - Beijing says the outposts aren’t doing police work, but Chinese state media reports say they “collect intelligence” and solve crimes far outside their jurisdiction

>>18142172 Time To Ban It: TikTok Isn’t Just Viral Videos, It’s a Dangerous Chinese Communist Party Virus - "TikTok is not a harmless app for sharing short videos; it is a tool embedded in the phones of roughly 100 million Americans, more than 30 million of them being minors, that constitutes a real threat to each user’s personal data privacy and is likely used to propagate outright propaganda and influence operations." - Mike Pompeo - aclj.org

>>18142196 UK accuses China of ‘deliberately flouting’ human rights in Hong Kong - Human rights promised to the people of Hong Kong have been deliberately flouted by the former British colony and Beijing, according to a Whitehall report presented to parliament by foreign secretary James Cleverly, a claim that has been vehemently refuted by the territory

>>18153781 Beijing praises Anthony Albanese’s “pragmatic approach” with China amid signals the black-listing of Australia’s $750m live lobster trade may soon end - China’s propaganda machine welcomed comments by the Australian Prime Minister, saying he wanted to see “further improvement” in the relationship with Australia’s biggest trading partner

>>18153788 GT Voice: Positive signals from Canberra bode well for improving ties - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Saturday that Australia aims to continue to boost relations with China as it seeks to fully restore trade ties with its largest export market - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>18153791 Regaining their lost trade momentum in interests of both Australia and China: China Daily editorial - The latest remarks from Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on boosting relations with China are a welcome signal that Canberra is willing to join hands with Beijing to continuously inject positive energy into bilateral ties so that Sino-Australian cooperation can regain steam and bring greater benefits to both sides - chinadaily.com.cn

>>18166729 China’s future ‘still uncertain’, Kevin Rudd says, as he casts doubt on its economic figures - Former prime minister Kevin Rudd has questioned whether China’s economic growth figures reported for 2022 are accurate

>>18173363 Detained Australians in China will have to wait longer to learn their fate - Australian writer Yang Hengjun and journalist Cheng Lei have had their sentencing dates extended by another three months after several delays following their closed-door hearings on national security charges

>>18173371 Wong ‘deeply troubled’ by ongoing delays for Australian jailed in China - Foreign Minister Penny Wong says she is deeply troubled by the ongoing delays in the case of jailed Australian Yang Hengjun after the pro-democracy writers’ sentencing was extended by another three months by Chinese authorities

>>18173375 Alvin Chau, a triad-linked gambling boss suspected of having laundered billions of dollars in and out of Australia has been sentenced to 18 years jail in Macau, ending his global gambling empire that embroiled casinos across the country

>>18187101 Jacinda Ardern’s China policy weakened the Five Eyes alliance - On her watch the Chinese Communist Party weakened New Zealand’s security and its position in the “Five Eyes” intelligence-sharing framework. Under Ardern, New Zealand has at best been a free-rider on these efforts, and at worst a foot-dragger. It made little effort to help its biggest and closest neighbour, Australia, when it was hit by Chinese sanctions in 2020 - Edward Lucas - thetimes.co.uk

>>18187115 Australia and China agree to discuss ending trade ban - The first meeting of Chinese and Australian trade ministers since 2019 is expected to take place within weeks, offering the Albanese government a clear opportunity to secure progress in easing Beijing’s trade sanctions regime - The breakthrough was reached on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, as Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres held a 45-minute meeting with China’s Vice Minister of Commerce, Wang Shouwen

#27 - Part 28

Australia / China Tensions - Part 3

>>18201574 Australia buys ‘potent and powerful’ sea mines to deter China - Australia will make its first major investment in sea mines since the Vietnam War, spending up to $1 billion on high-tech underwater weapons to deter China and other potential adversaries from sending ships and submarines into the nation’s waters

>>18218678 Australia Speeds Up Purchase of ‘Smart’ Sea Mines to Deter China - The Australian government is looking to speed up the purchase of a new generation of sea mines to protect its ports amid growing concern over China’s military build-up and expanding influence in the Pacific

>>18221196 Fiji’s new leader muscles up to Beijing - China’s push for dominance in the South Pacific has hit a major stumbling block as newly elected Fijian Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka moves to strengthen military and diplomatic ties with Australia and rules out Chinese military training for Fiji’s army or police forces

>>18235426 Darwin Port lease remains under scrutiny as PM's department seeks input from national security agencies - The federal government has asked national security agencies for assessments of the Darwin Port as part an ongoing review into the leasing of the facility to Chinese-owned company Landbridge

>>18252314 Solomons Islands centre of battle for influence - Australia is expanding its strategic footprint in Solomon Islands, accelerating works on a new $65m fit-for-purpose multi-storey high commission and $120m logistics hub that will oversee foreign aid delivery and help Western nations compete with China

>>18259789 TikTok flip-flop: Government department bans, then unbans, social media app over spy fears - The Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA) has reversed a ban on TikTok on work phones after just one day despite the department’s fears the Chinese-owned social media app could be used to gather intelligence

>>18263869 Australia calls for peace after China war warning - Canberra will continue to pursue peace in the Indo-Pacific after a top US general warned Western allies will need to use all possible measures to avoid a war with China - Marine Corps Commandant David Berger said Washington and Canberra would need "everything in the cupboard to prevent a conflict"

>>18263873 AUKUS represents outdated political ideology, won’t have extensive appeal - Fei Xue - globaltimes.cn

>>18263878 Change of tone on Taiwan island at France-Australia 2+2 a 'worrying trend' to Asia-Pacific - Zhang Han - globaltimes.cn

>>18263891 Visiting US Marine Corps chief warns 'everything in the cupboard' needed to prevent war with China - United States Marine Corps Commandant General David Berger believes the US and allies such as Australia will need to use "everything in the cupboard" to avoid a conflict over Taiwan

>>18269101 Solomon Islands: US reopens embassy in push to counter China - The US has reopened its Solomon Islands embassy in a move widely seen as shoring up influence in the Pacific to counter China's push into the region - Last year Washington and its allies were blindsided when the tiny nation signed a security deal with Beijing - The Solomons PM did not attend the embassy's opening on Wednesday

>>18269128 Beijing bristles over AUKUS expansion plan - Beijing has denounced a proposal to add Japan and India to the AUKUS defence technology pact, accusing Washington, Canberra and London of “fuelling military confrontation through military collaboration”.

>>18269151 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on February 1, 2023

>>18275498 Top trade officials of China, Australia to meet virtually next week: MOFCOM - Critical turning point paves way for improved relations - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>18275530 Property grab: AFP smashes alleged $10 billion Chinese money laundering operation - Federal agents have dismantled an alleged Chinese-Australian money laundering organisation that moved an estimated $10 billion offshore while amassing a blue-chip property portfolio comprising Sydney mansions, a luxury city building and hundreds of acres of land near Sydney’s second airport

>>18282700 AUKUS plan reportedly to be unveiled, but analysts remind Australia 'cautious of being utilized' - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>18282805 Video: Donald J. Trump Truth - As President, I took the most dramatic action of any administration to curtail China’s ability to conduct espionage in the United States — and when I’m back in the White House, those efforts will be expanded in a very, very big way. Instead of hunting down Republicans, a reformed FBI and Justice Department will be hunting down Chinese spies!

#27 - Part 29

Australia / China Tensions - Part 4

>>18286863 Video: US fighter jet shoots down China spy balloon - China has mounted “the largest intelligence operation in the history of the human race” against the US and Australia, a former top US intelligence official has warned, as the US military shot down a Chinese spy balloon as it neared the Atlantic coast above the Carolinas

>>18288431 Fiji 'unlikely' to reduce economic cooperation with China: Local businessmen - The new Fiji government is reportedly planning to suspend a police training agreement with China, a move that comes amid ramped-up efforts by the US and Australia to develop ties with South Pacific Islands to ostracize China - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>18293655 Beijing invites trade minister to China, says it won't back down on 'principled' issues - Trade Minister Don Farrell will soon travel to China to try and convince Beijing to unwind trade sanctions on Australian goods after holding a virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Commerce Minister Wang Wentao

>>18299824 Australian and New Zealand prime ministers meet to talk about China’s importance to their national economies, resolving to voice their disagreements with their most important trading partner that is becoming more assertive in their region

>>18299834 ‘Temperature dramatically reduced’: China will lift trade bans, Turnbull says - Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said that China will lift its trade bans on Australia as Beijing is looking for a way to climb down from the unsuccessful sanctions

>>18306076 Chinese-made security cameras to be removed from Australian War Memorial due to spyware concerns - Almost a dozen Chinese-made surveillance cameras are set to be removed from the Australian War Memorial in Canberra over concerns the devices could be used for spying - The surveillance equipment in question was manufactured by Hikvision, which is partly owned by the Chinese government, and is one of the world's largest suppliers of CCTV cameras

>>18306079 Australia should be wary of 'Ukraine Trap' set by US - The US has fortified Australia through so-called industrial integration and military deployment, turning Australia into an outpost of confronting China - Xu Shanpin - globaltimes.cn

>>18312134 Marles acts: Chinese cameras watching our top secret sites - Richard Marles orders his defence department to remove CCP-linked security cameras as it’s revealed 1000 of the devices are in government buildings - Almost 1000 Chinese Communist Party-linked surveillance cameras and other recording devices, some banned in the US and Britain, have been installed across Australian government buildings, leading to calls for their urgent ­removal amid fears data could be fed back to Beijing

>>18312142 First shipment of coal to China in more than two years arrives, raising hopes other sanctions could be dropped - Beijing's mouthpiece The Global Times reported Chinese steel firm Baosteel has resumed purchasing Australian coal

>>18312151 Australian coal arrives in China after a 2-year lapse, Beijing ready to restart trade with Canberra - Beijing ready to restart exchanges with Canberra to bring bilateral ties back to normal: FM - Ma Jingjing and Yin Yeping - globaltimes.cn

>>18312151 Video: Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on February 8, 2023

>>18312186 Exercise Red Flag 2023 - U.S., UK and Australia carry out China-focused air drills - The United States, Britain and Australia carried out joint air drills over the Nevada desert and beyond as part of an effort to simulate high-end combat operations against Chinese fighter aircraft and air defenses

>>18318298 Beijing cyber warriors ‘use social media lies’ - Chinese cyber warriors are engaging in political warfare by using a co-ordinated network of social media accounts to spread disinformation aimed at destroying trust in Australian political leaders and the federal parliament - The 'Spamouflage' disinformation and propaganda network has been targeting the Australian parliament since late last year, spreading lies and disinformation in a bid to undermine democracy - The operatives have previously attacked prominent women of Asian heritage living in Western democracies, including Vicky Xu, an Australian ­researcher and journalist who infuriated Beijing with a 2020 ­report highlighting the plight of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang province in China

>>18318326 Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says - A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system, according to researchers at Canberra-based defence thinktank, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute

#27 - Part 30

Australia / China Tensions - Part 5

>>18318347 Chinese-owned surveillance cameras operational in Australia since 2018 - The federal government has called for an end to politicking as it reveals Australia was first made aware of Chinese-owned surveillance technologies operating in the country’s defence buildings as early as 2018 - The opposition has put pressure on the Albanese government after a Liberal-sanctioned audit revealed more than 900 Hikvision and Dahua devices were operational across departmental offices

>>18318363 Chinese government-linked security cameras installed in Tasmanian parliamentary offices; Greens call for removal - The federal government plans to remove cameras and security gear made by Hikvision and Dahua after they were banned in the United States and the United Kingdom amid fears they may contain spyware - It is feared data collected by the cameras may end up going to China, a claim the two companies say is not possible - Tasmanian Greens leader Cassy O'Connor said she had been raising concerns about Hikvision surveillance systems in Tasmania's Parliament since 2020

>>18318398 Beijing says Australia’s removal of cameras an ‘abuse of state power’ - China’s Foreign Ministry has accused the Australian government of abusing state power after it ordered the removal of security cameras linked to Chinese companies from government offices - China’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning accused the Australian government of discriminating against Chinese products - “We oppose erroneous practices of over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to discriminate against and suppress Chinese companies”

>>18318424 Australia urged to create fair climate for Chinese firms - China's Foreign Ministry on Thursday urged Australia to create a fair environment for Chinese companies and do more things conducive to mutual trust and cooperation, in response to questions about Australia's removal of China-made surveillance cameras from the defense department - Qi Xijia - globaltimes.cn

>>18318424 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning’s Regular Press Conference on February 9, 2023

>>18324824 With China looming, U.S. signs MoU with another Pacific island state - The United States has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Federated States of Micronesia, reflecting a shared understanding on future U.S. assistance to the Pacific island country that Washington is anxious to keep out of China's orbit

>>18324841 Australia-Indonesia pact likely to raise Beijing concerns - Australia and Indonesia will negotiate a legally binding defence treaty to strengthen the interoperability of the nations’ military forces in a move likely to raise concerns in Beijing - The agreement would enable reciprocal access of each nation’s forces to the other’s training ranges, streamlining joint training between the ADF and Indonesia’s 400,000-personnel military

>>18330580 Former marine held in Australian prison says US making him a ‘political example’ - A former military pilot who has been imprisoned in Australia for more than 100 days has accused the United States government of trying to make a political example of him, questioning why he has been classified as an extremely high security risk resulting in his arms and legs being shackled - Australian citizen Daniel Duggan was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of US authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets

>>18338089 Chinese cameras stripped out of Defence sites - Forty-two suspect Chinese-made cameras have been stripped out of Defence sites across Australia, including from highly sensitive locations such as the submarine base at HMAS Stirling, the Air Warfare Centre at RAAF Base Edinburgh, and the home of Australia’s Special Air Service Regiment, the Campbell Barracks

>>18338112 Canberra should cherish new positivity in China-Australia economic ties - "Without any evidence to prove that those "particular cameras" pose threat to national security, those devices shouldn't be treated unequally just because they come from Chinese companies - Canberra should resist the pressure from Washington, try to manage irrational voices domestically, and continue to push China-Australia relations back on track" - Hu Weijia - globaltimes.cn

#27 - Part 31

Australia / China Tensions - Part 6

>>18338130 Former fighter pilot to fight extradition to US - A former US fighter pilot will fight his extradition to the US, following allegations he was providing the Chinese military with air traffic training, in what is set to be a lengthy court battle - Australian citizen Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, has been in custody for more than 100 days over allegations he received 12 payments of more than $116,000 from a Chinese-based business which was responsible for acquiring military training, equipment and technical data for China’s government and military, for “personal development training”

>>18344205 Chinese-made cameras found in 88 MP offices - Eighty-eight Chinese-made surveillance cameras have been found in the offices of federal parliamentarians, with the Department of Finance racing to remove them - The government has confirmed 122 Hikvision or Dahua devices – mainly surveillance cameras and intercoms – have been installed in 88 federal electorate offices, where members of the public come to meet their elected representatives

>>18344255 Ex-marine fights extradition from 'inhumane' prison - The wife of a former US fighter pilot claims he has been locked up in "inhumane conditions" as he fights extradition to the United States to face allegations he aided the Chinese military - Saffrine Duggan said her husband Daniel Duggan had already been kept 115 days in a "tiny cell" in Sydney's Silverwater prison based on US charges that had yet to be tested in court

>>18350532 Australia will tighten laws to stop leaking of military secrets - The federal government will develop new laws to ensure it is illegal for current and former Australian Defence Force personnel to provide military secrets to foreign powers such as China - The new laws come after Australian citizen Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine pilot, was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of US authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets

>>18363023 Punish China’s human rights atrocity: Morrison - Scott Morrison has called on the Albanese government to consider sanctions against Chinese government officials over human rights abuses against Uighur minorities under the same Magnitsky-style laws used to sanction Russian officials over the invasion of Ukraine

>>18363029 Scott Morrison, in Tokyo, to warn China would start war with ‘bits and bytes’ not bullets - Former prime minister Scott Morrison has warned that any war started by China would not begin with bullets, but with “bits and bytes”, and that Beijing would first disable military systems and civil infrastructure

>>18374615 Govt departments removing China-linked CCTV and recording devices - The federal government is quietly stripping out every one of the almost 1000 Hikvision and Dahua devices found in government buildings across the country, as the extent of the links between the two companies and the Chinese Communist Party is revealed

>>18374624 Leaked documents from Canadian spy agency reveal Chinese election interference operation - Australia has been put on alert by Canada’s spy agency after it uncovered a Chinese plot to interfere in Justin Trudeau’s 2021 election victory

>>18380460 US is spying on you, China tells New Zealand - China has sent a letter to New Zealand MPs accusing the US of “massive, non-discriminate wire-tapping and secret theft operations globally, including against its allies”, arguing Washington had used the downing of a Chinese spy balloon as an excuse to impose sanctions on Chinese companies

>>18386784 China is carrying out ‘blatant’ influence operations in Australia, Malcolm Turnbull says - Australian security agencies know China is carrying out “blatant” influence operations despite the lack of listings on the country’s transparency register, the former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has told an inquiry - Turnbull said he was “puzzled” the legislation his government introduced was not more rigorously enforced and that officials should not treat it as a “robotic box-ticking exercise”

>>18386818 Federal government blocks access to Darwin Port advice given to Prime Minister's office, citing national security risks - Following Labor's election victory last year, Anthony Albanese announced a fresh review into the circumstances surrounding the 99-year lease of the port to Chinese company Landbridge in 2015 - The federal government has refused to release advice given to the prime minister's office about possible "paths forward" for the Darwin Port on the grounds it could "cause damage to the defence of the Commonwealth"

#27 - Part 32

Australia / China Tensions - Part 7

>>18386924 Chinese billionaire Jack Ma jets out of Australia after ‘personal trip’ - Elusive Chinese tech billionaire Jack Ma has left Australia after a “personal trip”, the Alibaba founder’s first visit in six years to a country he has credited with changing his life

>>18386964 Alibaba founder Jack Ma visits old friends in Australia - Jack Ma, the founder of Alibaba and one of China’s richest men, has made a personal visit to Australia to see the family that befriended him before he founded his multibillion dollar e-commerce empire

>>18386981 Ma spotted Down Under visiting mentor's family - Jack Ma Yun, the founder of the world's largest e-commerce platform Alibaba, is said to have visited the family of his late friend Ken Morley, who Ma said changed his life, in Australia - Ma met Morley, an engineer, in 1980 when Morley and his family visited Hangzhou. Ma was 15 at the time - Ma, who later became an English teacher before founding Alibaba, came up to Morley's son, David, and asked if he could practice English with him - Morley senior has since been Ma's friend, teacher and mentor. The family helped Ma with his English through years of correspondence - In 1985, Morley invited Ma to Australia for his first overseas trip. Ma said the trip to Newcastle opened his eyes to the world and inspired him

>>18392865 Security boss pulls no punches on growing national threats - Australia’s balancing act in the great power competition between the US and China means it is now a primary target for espionage and foreign interference - This was now the greatest security threat facing the nation, according to ASIO director-general Mike Burgess - And not enough Australians were taking it seriously enough

>>18392901 Australian spy chief says veterans training rivals are 'top tools' not 'top guns' - Australia's spy chief has hit out at former military pilots who turn to working for authoritarian regimes, describing them as "lackeys, more 'top tools' than 'top guns'" in his annual security threat assessment - A former U.S. marine pilot, Daniel Duggan, is fighting extradition from Australia to the United States, where he faces charges of training Chinese military pilots to land on aircraft carriers - He has denied breaking any law

>>18392938 Victoria prepares for potential purge of Chinese-made CCTV cameras - The Andrews government is conducting an audit of all security cameras at government-owned sites in Victoria to determine if any have links to Chinese state-owned companies and need to be replaced

>>18392962 Whatever it takes on Defence: Anthony Albanese - Anthony Albanese will deliver his strongest endorsement of the AUKUS security pact, pledging to fund the Australian Defence Force to ‘deter aggressors’ - Amid unprecedented geostrategic competition between China and the US in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Albanese will say AUKUS presents a “whole-of-nation opportunity: for new jobs, new industries and new expertise in science and technology and cyber”

>>18401566 Victoria Police to replace all Chinese-made cameras by end of 2024 - Victoria Police has confirmed it will replace all Chinese-made cameras by the end of next year amid a growing debate about how best to counter foreign intelligence gathering - The force said a number of cameras were still operating across the state and despite being deemed low risk, would be progressively replaced

>>18402299 Pacific Islands Forum 'one big family' as leaders meet and select new leader amid intense US-China competition - Former Nauru president Baron Waqa — who famously clashed with a Chinese diplomat and accused Beijing of bullying smaller countries — will take the reins of the Pacific's peak regional body next year, after a special Pacific Islands Forum meeting in Fiji

>>18407970 Australia holding former ‘top gun’ pilot in ‘inhumane’ conditions, UN told - Australia has breached an international treaty on human rights by holding a former US military pilot in degrading conditions next to convicted violent offenders, his lawyers claim in a complaint to the United Nations - The UN Human Rights Committee is being urged to investigate the treatment of Daniel Duggan in a NSW prison after he was arrested by the Australian Federal Police in October at the request of American authorities who accuse him of helping to train Chinese military pilots to fly fighter jets

>>18407998 FreeDanDuggan Tweet: Great sentiment from @PaulKeatingPM about Australian sovereignty. Locking up Australians in NSW max security at the behest of the US, without conviction is not okay @Dom_Perrottet @MarkDreyfusKCMP @GeoffLeeMP @AlboMP #FreeDanDuggan

#27 - Part 33

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

>>18046525 Australia to resist international moves to test Chinese tourists for COVID - Australia is resisting moves by a number of countries to impose mandatory COVID tests and quarantine on travellers from China after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he would rely on medical advice, which is to keep the borders open

>>18046578 War of words erupts between medical leaders over how Australia should handle visitors entering the country from Covid-stricken China - Victorian president of the Australian Medical Association Dr Roderick McRae attracted the ire of industry peers after calling for arrivals from China to be quarantined at Victoria’s Mickleham facility for seven days

>>18046597 ‘The scale, speed … it’s unbelievable’: millions of Chinese now infected - Covid-19 has not spread as fast as it is in China right now. At its current rate, more than a billion Chinese citizens may catch the coronavirus by March 2023

>>18052595 Australia mandates Covid test for arrivals from China - Travellers from China heading to Australia must submit evidence proving they have tested negative to Covid before boarding their flight, Health Minister Mark Butler has announced

>>18052610 COVID test to be required for travellers from China - Travellers from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau will need to take a COVID-19 test and get a negative result before flying to Australia from Thursday January 5, 2023

>>18052631 Taiwan offers China help with COVID surge - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has offered to provide China with "necessary assistance" to help it deal with a surge in COVID-19 cases, but says Chinese military activities near the island are not beneficial to peace and stability

>>18057814 China’s COVID wave a ‘key risk’ for Australian economy - Treasurer Jim Chalmers has warned the surge of coronavirus cases triggered by the Chinese government’s abrupt removal of tough restrictions poses a major risk to the Australian economy this year and is already disrupting local supply chains

>>18057824 'Infect us all': Wild claim as Chinese tourists to return to Australia - The US's former secretary of state Mike Pompeo has accused China of attempting to infect the entire world with a new strain of Covid-19

>>18064671 Chinese travellers to test for COVID under doctor’s eye to be let into Australia - The Albanese government is forging ahead with mandatory COVID-19 testing for arrivals from China, even as Beijing labelled the move unnecessary and the opposition accused the government of creating “chaos and confusion” by overruling the advice of the nation’s chief medical officer

>>18064709 China hits back at entry restrictions enforced by Australia and other countries on Chinese travellers, saying any COVID-19 control measures need to be "proportionate" and "science-based"

>>18071573 China warns it will retaliate against nations that have imposed “discriminatory” Covid-19 testing requirements on travellers leaving the communist nation, arguing the policy is political and lacks a scientific basis

>>18071595 COVID-19 subvariant wreaking havoc in US reaches Australia - XBB.1.5 - A new COVID-19 subvariant that is spreading fast in the US and leading to increasing hospitalisations has been detected in Australia, where high transmission rates have also led to the country’s first homegrown strain, BR.2.1 in New South Wales

>>18079491 China ‘hypocritical’ on Covid testing requirement - Australians will need to take a PCR test ahead of going to China when its borders reopen next week, prompting accusations the communist nation was being hypocritical for condemning countries that are adopting the exact same requirements on Chinese travellers

>>18079534 Five things Australia has wrong on China and COVID-19 - For a start, it’s nonsense that Beijing is hiding the true extent of infections across the country, writes the Chinese government’s consul general in Sydney - Zhou Limin, the Chinese government’s consul general based in Sydney - afr.com

>>18079537 Vicky Xu Tweet: Shame on @FinancialReview for printing this garbage - If you want to get the Chinese POV, at the very least send a journalist to talk to the consul general and ask questions that will challenge the lies somewhat - What's the point of straight up printing Beijing's propaganda?

>>18097093 ‘The Kraken’ Covid variant ripping through Australia - XBB.1.5 - A new Covid variant has been identified in Australia, just days after it was confirmed as the most transmissible form of the virus yet

#27 - Part 34

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

>>18102831 XBB. 1.5 Covid sub-variant: How worried should Australians be about new ‘Kraken’ strain - While life has nearly returned to normal after two years of living with a pandemic, the new XBB. 1.5 sub-variant of Covid has threatened to derail our progress - The new Omicron strain, nicknamed the Kraken, is believed to be more transmissible and evade protection from vaccines and former infection

>>18108877 Video: ‘Return our money’: Chinese COVID test-kit workers clash with police as curbs lifted - Chinese police have clashed with hundreds of workers at a COVID test kit factory after numerous staff were allegedly sacked and denied their pay following the lifting of restrictions

>>18108877 Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng Tweet: Jan 7, at #Chongqing city, #CCPChina, workers clashed with #CCP police whn they protested against their employer, ZY Bio‘s sudden announcement that some 10K employees would be laid off. #ChinaProtests #China #ChinaUprising

>>18115361 Almost everyone in China's third most populous province has been infected with COVID - Almost 90 per cent of people in central Henan, China's third most populous province, have been infected with COVID as the country battles an unprecedented surge in cases - With a population of 99.4 million, the figures suggest about 88.5 million people in Henan have been infected

>>18115380 Western Australia's uptake of fourth COVID-19 booster second-lowest in the country - Federal data reveals Western Australia has the country's second-lowest rate of fourth-dose vaccinations for COVID-19, prompting calls for better public education to stop a spike in more severe cases

>>18200961 ‘We need new antivirals’: Australia’s ‘Omicron soup’ is blunting our best COVID treatments - Infectious diseases experts are warning that almost all available antiviral medications are increasingly ineffective against the “soup” of Omicron descendants now circulating in Australia - Many of Australia’s best treatments were no longer effective against XBF, the dominant subvariant in Victoria, accounting for about a third of all infections, and BQ.1.1, which is also circulating widely

>>18201546 Pandemic preparedness lacking: Bill Gates - Tech multi-billionaire Bill Gates says that when future pandemics hit, stronger political cooperation is needed, even among foes - He told an audience at the Lowy Institute think tank in Sydney on Monday that he wouldn't say that any country got their COVID-19 response totally right - Mr Gates praised Australia's policies in helping keep infection rates low before vaccines were rolled out

>>18201550 Video: Preparing for Global Challenges: In Conversation with Bill Gates - In a special in-person conversation with Lowy Institute Executive Director Dr Michael Fullilove, Mr Gates will talk about global health, pandemic preparedness, food security and climate change, January 23 2023 - Lowy Institute

>>18252335 Enthusiasm for COVID-19 vaccine slows as fifth jab nears - Australians are being urged to consider a further vaccination against the coronavirus as federal authorities prepare to recommend a fifth dose, while an exclusive survey shows many adults are reluctant to get another jab despite thousands of new infections each day

>>18258365 Bill Gates complained to tech companies about 'laughable' COVID-19 conspiracy theories - Conspiracy theories circulated on social media by anti-vaccination campaigners included that Mr Gates was using COVID-19 vaccines to control people, some even claiming he wanted to insert microchips in people - Myles Wearring and Sarah Ferguson - abc.net.au

#27 - Part 35

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

>>18258388 Video: Bill Gates complained to tech companies about 'laughable' COVID-19 conspiracy theories - ABC News (Australia)

>>18306120 Australian adults will be able to get fifth dose of COVID-19 vaccine, after the federal government accepted advice from its expert vaccine advisory body - The Australian Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (ATAGI) has recommended all people aged 18 and over, who have not had either a COVID-19 vaccine or confirmed coronavirus case in the last six months, can get their latest shot from February 20 2023

>>18318512 Flinders University to sever ties with ‘refusenik’ vax developer Nikolai Petrovsky - Vaccine developer Nikolai Petrovsky is set to lose his academic affiliation at Flinders University after a meeting late last year of its senior executive resolved to end its relationship with the professor

>>18338146 Former health minister wants focus back on COVID as he embarks on new job - Pandemic-era health minister Greg Hunt is urging a national rethink on COVID-19’s threat level, calling for a new vaccine push heading into winter and renewed focus on the volume of people dying from the disease

>>18338186 Unmasked: the failure of Covid mandates - A new, rigorous study that found masks did nothing to slow Covid-19 might have made the news. But no; a 305-page Cochrane analysis published globally on January 30 that assessed 78 high-quality scientific studies that included more than 610,000 participants has yet to rate a single mention in The Washington Post, The New York Times or on CNN - Cochrane found that surgical masks, the kind doctors wear in operating theatres to avoid accidentally sneezing into an open wound, did nothing to stop Covid-19

>>18401579 China to ASEAN: Don’t pick sides - China’s new foreign minister has warned Southeast Asian nations against engaging in “group politics and bloc confrontation”, just hours after Defence Minister Richard Marles announced Australia and The Philippines were exploring possible joint military patrols in the South China sea - Qin Gang delivered the message in a joint press conference with Indonesian foreign minister Retno Marsudi, his first visit to the region as Beijing’s new foreign envoy, where he also counselled Jakarta to “make independent judgments and choices”

>>18418081 Lab leak most likely origin of Covid-19 pandemic: US Energy Department - The US Energy Department has concluded that the Covid pandemic most likely arose from a laboratory leak, according to a classified intelligence report recently provided to the White House and key members of Congress

#27 - Part 36

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

>>18046697 Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre sues his ex-girlfriend Rina Oh over defamation case - Jeffrey Epstein accuser Virginia Giuffre claims a defamation suit filed against her by the dead pedophile’s ex-girlfriend is “a sham” - an attempt to silence and punish Giuffre for Twitter posts protected under her constitutional right to free speech

>>18052691 Prince Andrew braced as accuser Virginia Giuffre to be freed from gagging clause - Agreement signed by Duke of York will come to an end in February 2023, which could mean allegations resurface once more

>>18142145 Actor Kevin Spacey pleads not guilty to seven further sex offences in Britain, bringing the number of charges the Hollywood star faces in the United Kingdom to 12

>>18142145 Q Post #4590 - https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/kevin-spacey-accuser-dies-by-suicide-day-after-actor-posts-kill-them-with-kindness-video - "This marks the third Spacey accuser to die in 2019." - At what point does it become painfully obvious? Q - https://qanon.pub/#4590

>>18201108 LEGAL U-TURN: Prince Andrew plotting sensational bid to overturn £3m settlement with accuser Virginia Giuffre and even force apology - Duke of York consulting US lawyers Andrew Brettler and Blair Berk and hopes to force a retraction or even an apology, which may clear the way for a return to royal duties

>>18201170 In a dramatic move that will enrage his critics, Prince Andrew consults his lawyers in the hope of ending his royal exile - The Duke of York is hoping to overturn his sex abuse deal, inspired to act after Ms Roberts dropped her lawsuit against another man she accused of sexual assault, American lawyer Alan Dershowitz, admitting that she 'may have made a mistake' in identifying him

>>18201222 Ghislaine Maxwell claims infamous Prince Andrew photo is 'fake' and has 'no memory' of it - The convicted sex offender claims that the infamous photo of Prince Andrew with his arm around Virginia Roberts, in which Maxwell can be seen grinning in the background, is not real

>>18208590 ‘Can’t believe Virginia Giuffre’: Ghislaine Maxwell refutes Andrew picture - Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed Virginia Giuffre kept changing her story over claims she was forced to have sex with Prince Andrew; and the night when a now infamous photograph was taken of the three of them never happened - “Well, it’s a fake. I don’t believe it’s real for a second. In fact I’m sure it’s not … There’s never been an original. Further, there’s no photograph; I’ve only even seen a photocopy of it.”

>>18208607 Ghislaine Maxwell says Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in US jail - Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has claimed the disgraced late US financier Jeffrey Epstein was murdered in prison, in an interview with a British broadcaster TalkTV

>>18208658 Video: Ghislaine Behind Bars - Full Prison Interview: Prince Andrew picture with Virginia Giuffre is 'fake' - British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell wishes she “never met” disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and also believes Epstein was murdered - TalkTV

>>18221357 Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Giuffre signs memoir deal worth ‘millions’: sources - Virginia Giuffre is publishing her memoir, a year after agreeing to a multimillion-dollar settlement with Prince Andrew in her sex-abuse lawsuit against the royal, The New York Post can reveal - Giuffre (née Roberts), who has long alleged she was trafficked and abused as a teenager by the late Jeffrey Epstein, has signed a book deal believed to be worth millions, multiple sources confirm - It’s not yet known which publisher has won the rights

>>18241815 Ghislaine Maxwell’s Family Stages Insane Prince Andrew Bath Sex Photo - Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother, Ian Maxwell staged a photo with two models wearing masks of Prince Andrew and Virginia Giuffre to “prove” a bathtub was too small for sex - It proves no such thing

>>18241846 Exclusive: The photo that ‘clears Prince Andrew’ over bath sex - Maxwell lawyers claim ‘frolicking’ with Duke of York could not happen because there was not enough room

>>18241856 The bath that could get Prince Andrew out of hot water - Ian Maxwell says innocuous piece of porcelain could help his sister Ghislaine – and the Duke of York

>>18241861 Q Post #3152 - Prince Andrew is deeply connected. Q

#27 - Part 37

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

>>18247191, >>18247201, >>18247206, >>18247217 EXCLUSIVE Proof Prince Andrew photo is not a fake: Watch video that shows how image of royal with his sex abuse accuser Virginia Giuffre is real - after Duke and his allies spent years trying to discredit it

>>18258381 Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he shouldn’t have spent time with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein - An uncomfortable Gates, who is in Australia, was asked by ABC 7:30 host Sarah Ferguson whether he regretted maintaining a relationship with the now dead Epstein “against Melinda’s wishes” - “I will say for over the 100th time, I shouldn’t have had dinners with him,” he answered

>>18263917 Video: Ghislaine Maxwell's brother Ian claims it's 'ludicrous' that 'a prince of the realm' would have had 'a grand old sex-time' in a 'very, very small' bath - after picture was released in bid to prove Andrew's 'innocence'

>>18263927 Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother Ian: ‘Ludicrous’ to accuse Andrew of bath sex - He tells Times Radio he believes a staged photograph could help to overturn his sister’s conviction - Ian Maxwell released a staged photo over the weekend of two people wearing masks in the bath where the Duke of York was alleged to have abused Virginia Giuffre, allegations the prince denies

>>18275568 ‘I won’t be cowed’: Ghislaine Maxwell’s brother doubles down on defence of Prince Andrew after bizarre bathtub photo - Ian Maxwell says allegations against Prince Andrew are ‘ludicrous’

>>18275627 Video: Interview with Prince Andrew’s ex is cut short as she launches tirade against Virginia Giuffre - Good Morning Britain host Susanna Reid shuts down angry exchange after Victoria Hervey claimed Prince Andrew accuser was a ‘con artist’

>>18312249 PDF: Deutsche Bank claims that a settlement agreement signed by a Jeffrey Epstein survivor insulates them from a lawsuit accusing them of “complicity” with the predator’s sex trafficking crimes - Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell pointed to the expansive and controversial non-prosecution agreement Epstein reached with federal prosecutors in 2008, which purported to shield any possible co-conspirator

>>18325225 EXCLUSIVE: Naming the names. Final batch of documents containing 'salacious' allegations related to Jeffrey Epstein associates - including Prince Andrew - will finally be made PUBLIC after dozens of John and Jane Does agree to unsealing

>>18337980 'Fraud and a fake': Ghislaine Maxwell's claim about infamous Prince Andrew photo - Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell has made outrageous claims the infamous photograph with Prince Andrew's arm around Virginia Giuffre, then 17, is in fact "fake"

>>18337984 '''Video: Sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell's extraordinary claims from prison - When Ghislaine Maxwell, the one-time madam of billionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, was convicted last year of sex crimes against underage girls, her many victims hoped a jail cell would silence her. Turns out they were wrong. As well as currently appealing her 20-year sentence, she has now also begun a concerted campaign to rewrite history. As Tara Brown reports, Maxwell has given an audacious and strangely compelling interview from prison. In it she makes some extraordinary claims, including that the disgraced Prince Andrew is the victim of a malicious hoax. She also rails against those who think she’s cruel, horrible, and guilty of heinous crimes - 60 Minutes Australia

>>18401644 PDF: Deutsche Bank officials went to Jeffrey Epstein’s home for meetings ‘when victims were present’: Court docs - Deutsche Bank officials attended meetings inside Jeffrey Epstein’s home “when victims were present,” lawyers for those survivors alleged in a blistering legal brief - The brief, written by prominent attorney David Boies, names the names of the Deutsche personnel whom he claims interacted with the victims and raised questions about Epstein’s sex trafficking

#27 - Part 38

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

>>18046630 How sexual assault victims may soon make claims on paedophiles’ superannuation - Large lump sums of superannuation tucked away by paedophiles will soon be open to compensation claims by sex assault victims - Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones has signalled loopholes quarantining the money would be closed, a stance supported by the Opposition

>>18071684 The Wiggles slammed for hinting at ‘new collab’ with Lil Nas X: ‘You betrayed us’ - The Wiggles have been blasted on social media after hinting at a “new collab” with US rapper Lil Nas X - The popular children’s music group posed for a picture with the controversial American rapper, who was holding a purple Wiggles shirt, at Falls Festival in Melbourne - “Such a shame, my daughter loved The Wiggles. I don’t see how someone who lap dances the devil in their music videos is a good candidate for working in the children’s music industry,” one infuriated mother wrote

>>18071688 Fans criticise The Wiggles for posing with Lil Nas X at Australian music festival - The Wiggles have sparked outrage after posing with controversial rapper Lil Nas X - One outraged Twitter user wrote: "You're riding Satan in your new music video. You're proud of that?" - Another said: “Lil Nas X new music video ‘Call Me By Your Name…..if that doesn’t scream I sold my soul to the devil than idk.”

>>18115434 University of Wollongong lecturer granted bail amid child rape allegations - University of Wollongong lecturer released from custody after he allegedly raped a seven-year-old girl in 2020

>>18128911 “Satan clubs” stir debate at schools - Meanwhile, Christian clubs aim to win the hearts and minds of children - “We’re not demons,” After School Satan Club campaign director June Everett told the Chesapeake School Board in December. “We do not believe in demons……Our beliefs are not evil.” At its headquarters, the temple displays a cloven-hoofed, winged, horned devil figure with a pair of young children gazing upon his goat head.'

>>18128925 Video: Parents, community members pack Chesapeake school board meeting to talk about 'Satan Club' - There were some tense moments at the Chesapeake School Board meeting Monday night as parents and community members voiced their opinions about a new club called the 'After School Satan Club.' - WTKR News 3

>>18147975 Young people turning to Satanism instead of ‘stuffy’ Christianity - Leaders of the religion claim its opportunities for people to engage in activism on issues such as gender and sexuality is appealing - “With our rituals, there’s never any murder, there’s never any sacrifice, there’s never any blood rites to Satan. We don’t worship the devil. We don’t cast magic spells…” - Chaplain Leopold, Global Order of Satan UK

>>18173396 Video: ‘Repulsive’: Naked pics of toddler son swapped for US child abuse videos - A Queensland man has been jailed for 12 years after being found guilty of exchanging child porn, using images of his own son

>>18187134 ‘No one wants to talk to us’: victims of child sexual abuse from Victoria state schools fight for justice - ‘We believe you, we support you,’ Daniel Andrews said after George Pell’s death, but those abused in the state’s government schools are still waiting for an apology - Glen Fearnett has been fighting for recognition from the government for the abuse he says he and other children suffered at the hands of paedophile teachers at state schools in the 1970s

>>18221326 Lavish lifestyle of Hillsong megachurch pastor Brian Houston comes crashing down as he sells off his mansion - and his wife Bobbie Houston offloads their clothes on Instagram after revealing a horrific facial injury - 'Took a wee tumble yesterday,' she wrote online - 'Fell down my stairs.' - 'I could almost pretend I’m a pro boxer with a boxer's eyebrow.' - 'Never a dull moment eh. Feel like we’ve been in the landscape of war this year - spirit, soul and body - yet we persevere.'

>>18258381 Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says he shouldn’t have spent time with sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein - An uncomfortable Gates, who is in Australia, was asked by ABC 7:30 host Sarah Ferguson whether he regretted maintaining a relationship with the now dead Epstein “against Melinda’s wishes” - “I will say for over the 100th time, I shouldn’t have had dinners with him,” he answered

#27 - Part 39

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

>>18269183 Probe into botched pedophile response inches closer - The Anglican Church’s inquiry into whether to defrock former governor-general Peter Hollingworth over his mishandling of the child sex abuse issue is due to meet next week but survivors are questioning whether further delays will be added to the glacial, five-year process

>>18288442 Push to have disgraced former governor-general Peter Hollingworth defrocked to be heard by Anglican Church panel - Five years ago, an Anglican church investigator said there was enough evidence on the public record to defrock the disgraced former Archbishop for his failure to act on evidence of sexual abuse in the church - Yet Dr Hollingworth remains a bishop and the 87-year-old draws a vice-regal pension worth hundreds of thousands of dollars a year - Victim-survivors of Anglican abuse hope that will change after this week — when the church's special independent investigator, Kooyoora, finally hears the case against Dr Hollingworth

>>18288457 Outcry as Melbourne’s Anglican Church sexual abuse reviews drag on - A judge-led review of the Anglican diocese of Melbourne’s professional standards framework that investigated whether its response to sex abuse and other complaints was quick enough has been quietly warehoused by the church at the same time as it is embroiled in a messy five-year delay over whether to defrock former governor-general Peter Hollingworth

>>18288470 Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews set to formally apologise to child sexual abuse survivors in parliament - Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews is set to make a formal apology to survivors of institutional sexual abuse, including that which occurred in state government schools - The government said the historic apology will be delivered in parliament later this year

>>18299656 Peter Hollingworth’s sex abuse hearing shut to the public - Potentially damaging evidence of former governor-general Peter Hollingworth’s handling of the child sex abuse crisis will be kept secret despite attempts by a survivor to have the Anglican Church-inspired proceedings made open to the public

>>18299680 Abuse survivor tells of pain at Peter Hollingworth tribunal - Child abuse survivor Beth Heinrich has stared down former governor-general Peter Hollingworth in an emotional statement read to the tribunal that must decide whether to defrock the veteran Anglican

>>18299768 Australian football legend Barry Cable named as the accused in a long-running child sex abuse case - North Melbourne champion and Indigenous Team of the Century member Barry Cable has never been charged over the alleged incidents but will face a civil trial over the psychological damage caused when he allegedly sexually abused a girl at the peak of his playing career

>>18299786 2 years after extradition from Israel, Malka Leifer’s trial commences in Australia - Closed session at Victoria County Court held to select jury; proceedings against ex-principal accused of abusing her students expected to last roughly six weeks - The trial of Malka Leifer, a former Haredi girls’ school principal accused of sexually abusing her students in Melbourne, commenced two years after she was extradited to Australia from Israel, where she fled in order to evade prosecution 15 years ago

>>18306065 Australia hosts the eighth Bali Process Ministerial Conference in Adelaide - Australia will host key Southeast Asian and Pacific partners to tackle people smuggling, human trafficking and modern slavery - Foreign Minister Penny Wong will be joined by Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus and Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil, businessman Andrew Forrest and Pak Garibaldi Thohir, chief executive of major coal exporter Adaro Energy

>>18306149 Barry Cable sexual assault civil trial hears witness will also allege football star abused her - Lawyers for a woman who alleges she was sexually abused by football champion Barry Cable say they intend to call evidence from another woman who also claims she was abused by the now 79-year-old in the 1980s and 90s

#27 - Part 40

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 3

>>18306169 Trial of former Melbourne principal Malka Leifer begins in County Court of Victoria - A Victorian court has heard allegations school principal Malka Leifer told a former student "this will help you for your wedding night" while sexually assaulting her at a school camp - Mrs Leifer is facing 29 charges at the County Court of Victoria, including rape, sexual penetration of a child aged 16 or 17 and indecent assault

>>18312195 Video: Former Melbourne principal Malka Leifer faces Victorian court for first day of sexual assault trial - Prosecutors told Victoria's county court Ms Leifer misused her position of authority to gain the trust of three sisters before abusing them - ABC News (Australia)

>>18318551 Woman alleges Barry Cable attempted to rape her at Perth Football Club, court documents reveal - A woman who alleges football legend Barry Cable sexually abused her says he attempted to rape her in the change room of the Perth Football Club in the early 1970s

>>18318557 Second woman levels sexual abuse allegations against former Australian rules football great Barry Cable - A second woman who alleges she was sexually abused by Australian rules football legend Barry Cable says when she confronted him about it years later, he told her he was dealing with it by "going to church"

>>18318567 Paedophile tradie Bryan Grange appeals jail sentence after assaulting infant children - A “callous” paedophile who filmed himself raping a newborn baby and sexually assaulted two preschool-aged children in the vicinity of oblivious family members has failed to cut down his 30-year jail sentence

>>18324904 Cricket ACT confirm membership of National Redress Scheme as victims of childhood sexual abuse take other legal avenues - Through the 1970s and 80s, the WACA's elite junior squads were infiltrated not just by pedophile Ian King, but other prolific child abusers in David Harkess and long-time WACA junior development officer Roy Wenlock, the latter of whose offending was the subject of a West Australian parliamentary inquiry

>>18325066 Peter Hollingworth’s long fall from grace - Critics say the Anglican Church is on trial as much as the former governor-general, who is still fighting to protect what is left of his reputation - Hollingworth this week faced the Anglican Church in Melbourne’s Professional Standards Board, which must decide whether to punish the former archbishop of Brisbane for his at times grievous mistakes and decision-making

>>18330678 Second woman tells court about sexual abuse by Cable - A second woman has detailed ­alleged sexual abuse she suffered at the hands of Australian football legend Barry Cable, telling a Perth court how her family talked her out of pursuing police charges because of his high profile

>>18369821 Video: After School Satan Club holds first meeting at Chesapeake primary school - After being put on hold for months, an After School Satan Club held its first meeting Thursday night at B.M. Williams Primary School in Chesapeake, Virginia

>>18380558 Twitter has axed Australian team that eSafety regulator contacted to report child abuse material - The online safety regulator says it has no Australian staff at Twitter that it can contact to take down child exploitation material, after mass firings by Twitter's CEO Elon Musk shut down the team

>>18386847 Jacqui Munro: NSW Treasurer Matt Kean’s endorsed candidate’s progressive past - NSW Treasurer Matt Kean’s endorsed candidate for the upper house vacancy declared she loved “the devil”, supported legalisation of drugs and celebrated the victory of former Labor prime minister Julia Gillard - The historical social media posts of Jacqui Munro, the Liberal Women’s Council president and former adviser to Wentworth independent Kerryn Phelps, reveal a progressive streak that opposed the NSW Liberal Party’s lockout laws and criticised Tony Abbott

>>18386865 ‘I will never forgive you’: Sexual abuse victim confronts Jeffrey ‘Joffa’ Corfe in court - A man who was sexually abused as a child by Jeffrey “Joffa” Corfe has confronted the Collingwood Football Club identity in court, saying he carried the impact of his crime for more than 15 years - Corfe last year pleaded guilty to abusing the then-14-year-old after inviting him to his home in 2005, when Corfe was 44

#27 - Part 41

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 4

>>18401557 A Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania school district is opening its doors to an After School Satan Club. It says its hands are tied by the law - Saucon Valley’s superintendent defended a decision to allow a newly approved After School Satan Club to rent space at the district’s middle school, saying in a letter sent Monday night the district legally can’t discriminate against the group

>>18401628 Twitter, TikTok and Google ordered to explain efforts to crack down on child abuse trade - Twitter, TikTok and Google have been hit with legal threats from Australia's eSafety commissioner, who is demanding information on what they are doing to combat the vile trade in child exploitation material on their platforms - Legal notices were issued to the companies, as well as Twitch and Discord, along with a deadline of 35 days to respond or face daily fines of up to $700,000

>>18402307 Abuse survivors complain of being shut out of church hearing into former governor-general Peter Hollingworth - Two weeks ago, former governor-general Peter Hollingworth walked into the hearing that will decide if he should be stripped of holy orders over his handling of child sex abuse cases as Anglican archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s - But only one of his accusers, Beth Heinrich, was there and says she was told she would only have the opportunity to read a victim impact statement - Most of those who brought complaints against Dr Hollingworth, who remains a bishop in the church, say they were not invited to take part at all

>>18417946 Malka Leifer was a 'replacement mother' to alleged victims, sex abuse trial hears - Former school principal Malka Leifer was spoken about in "glowing terms" and was considered a "replacement mother" for three sisters who came from a broken home, the County Court of Victoria has heard

>>18417971 AFP using digital forensics, online investigative techniques to catch Aussie offenders in Cambodia - Australian Federal Police are investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in new technology — and training police internationally — to track down Aussies involved in child exploitation rings - New online tactics by AFP officers and police on the ground in Cambodia are being used to support victims and identify, arrest and prosecute child abusers before they leave Australian shores

>>18418109 What life was really like inside the doomsday cult run by the paedophile known as 'Little Pebble' - His devotees call him Little Pebble; his victims know him as a paedophile - William Costellia Kamm is the self-appointed leader of a notorious doomsday cult that formed its headquarters in 1987, based in a secure compound in Cambewarra, just outside Nowra on the NSW South Coast - He declared his compound the Holy Ground, a new promised land for his followers for when the apocalyptic second coming of Christ would wipe out most of mankind

>>18418116 Video: Why self-described prophet Little Pebble is an evil menace - "He likes to be called Little Pebble and he wants people to believe he’s a man of God. But he’s not. His real name is William Costellia Kamm. And he’s evil. Back in the 1980s he set up a doomsday cult, claiming to his followers he could speak to the Virgin Mary. He then spun the lie that God wanted him to have multiple wives so he could repopulate the earth. This very creepy man’s real ambition was to have sex with underage girls. When he was caught, he went to prison for a decade. Now he’s out, and there are substantial fears he’s up to his old tricks." - 60 Minutes Australia

#27 - Part 42

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide

>>18046171 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): This is a physical attack on the institutions of democracy by a far right mob.All because of extremist statements by political leaders attacking the legal results of a democratic election,echoed faithfully by a cancerous far right media.This affects us all

>>18046171 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Unbelievable that Murdoch media would publish this outrageous cartoon of President Biden calling him “Creepy Joe” - and for what reason? Then suggesting he’s controlled by a non-existent organisation - “Antifa”. All QAnon crap. #MurdochRoyalCommission

>>18046179 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Murdoch has zero interest in stopping dangerous far-right extremism. He sees QAnon as just another marketing tool to sucker people into his parallel universe where he can take their money and tell them how to vote. #MurdochRoyalCommission

>>18046179 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Video: In America, the Murdoch media continues to support a QAnon congresswoman who is notorious for her racist, antisemitic nonsense. The lesson for Australia? Murdoch will back bigger fruitcakes than Craig Kelly if he thinks there’s money and power to be gained

>>18046186 Chris Bowen Tweet (2021): Video: Qanon is a conspiracy driven cult. And the Prime Minister has serious questions to answer. Watch my brief speech in Parliament

>>18046186 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Great speech by Chris Bowen on Morrison and his close personal relationship with an activist from QAnon - the far right, extremist, religious conspiracy group that stormed the US Capitol.

>>18046189 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Morrison has questions to answer on his personal relationship with a leading activist of the same extremist religious/conspiracy group that stormed the US Capitol. His wife worked for Morrison.His family have reported him to the National Security Hotline

>>18046189 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Video: Could you imagine any other Australian PM refusing to answer questions about inviting an extreme, far-right religious cultist to Kirribilli House? What about accepting his help to write a speech to parliament? His own family reported him to the National Security Hotline.

>>18046192 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2021): Premier Andrews is right to call out Morrison's offensive courting of political extremists at the expense of ordinary law-abiding Australians. Whether it's far-right radicals, anti-vaxxers or the QAnon cult. Just appalling.

>>18046199 Kevin Rudd Tweet (2022): Donald Trump is a traitor to the West. Murdoch was Trump’s biggest backer. And Murdoch’s Fox Television backs Putin too. What rancid treachery.

>>18046199 Q Post #2576 - Those with the most to lose are the loudest. Those who 'knowingly' broke the law in a coordinated effort [treason] are the most vocal. Crimes against Humanity. Q - https://qanon.pub/#2576

>>18128939 Twitter Reinstates QAnon Kingpin Ron Watkins - What little progress was made in curbing the spread of extremism on the platform is being obliterated by Elon Musk - Nikki McCann Ramirez- rollingstone.com

>>18258365 Bill Gates complained to tech companies about 'laughable' COVID-19 conspiracy theories - Conspiracy theories circulated on social media by anti-vaccination campaigners included that Mr Gates was using COVID-19 vaccines to control people, some even claiming he wanted to insert microchips in people - Myles Wearring and Sarah Ferguson - abc.net.au

>>18258388 Video: Bill Gates complained to tech companies about 'laughable' COVID-19 conspiracy theories - ABC News (Australia)

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>>18142172 (pb)

White House gives federal agencies 30 days to purge TikTok

AFP - FEBRUARY 28, 2023

The White House has given US federal agencies 30 days to purge Chinese-owned video-snippet sharing app TikTok from all government-issued devices, setting a deadline to comply with a ban ordered by the US congress.

Office of Management and Budget director Shalanda Young in a memorandum called on government agencies within 30 days to “remove and disallow installations” of the application on agency-owned or operated IT devices, and to “prohibit internet traffic” from such devices to the app.

The ban does not apply to businesses in the US not associated with the federal government, or to the millions of private citizens who use the hugely popular app.

However, a recently introduced bill in congress would “effectively ban TikTok” in the US, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“Congress must not censor entire platforms and strip Americans of their constitutional right to freedom of speech and expression,” ACLU senior policy counsel Jenna Leventoff said on Monday.

“We have a right to use TikTok and other platforms to exchange our thoughts, ideas, and opinions with people around the country and around the world.”

Owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, TikTok has become a political target due to concerns the globally popular app can be circumvented for spying or propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party.

The law signed by US President Joe Biden last month bans the use of TikTok on government-issued devices. The law also bans TikTok use in the US House of Representatives and Senate.

National security concerns over alleged China spying have grown over the past month after a Chinese balloon traversed US airspace and was eventually shot down.

The Canadian government on Monday banned TikTok from all of its phones and other devices, citing fears about how much access Beijing has to user data.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/world/white-house-gives-federal-agencies-30-days-to-purge-tiktok/news-story/95b215d77bb065d9cd464d8c994a4556

>>18408103 (pb)

>>18408105 (pb)

Former US National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers warns WA mining industry’s cybersecurity at risk

Bethany Hiatt - 28 February 2023

China poses a “significant” cybersecurity threat to WA’s mining industry, former US National Security Agency chief Michael Rogers has warned.

The retired admiral — whose visit to Perth came as the Federal Government held a roundtable with cybersecurity industry leaders on Monday — said espionage activity directed against Australia had surged as it took on a broader regional and global role.

Historically, he said, nations such as Russia and China had not been significantly interested in Australia.

“But you look at how Australia’s global and regional presence and set of activities has expanded in the last five years,” he said.

“So look at AUKUS, look at the Quad. Look at Australia’s participation with NATO, even though it’s a non-NATO member.

“You can see that nations like Russia are asking themselves, ‘What are Australia’s objectives? We need to better understand their military, their political process, we need to understand some of the personalities of their leadership’.

“So one of the ways you’d do that is espionage.”

Admiral Rogers, who also headed US Cyber Command under presidents Barack Obama and Donald Trump and is now a global adviser for cybersecurity firm CyberCX, named mining as a key focus of interest.

“Mining is a Chinese target,” he said. “I think it’d be very significant in terms of them trying to understand: ‘So what are the dynamics in the mining industry, how does the mining industry view China, what’s the mining industry’s long term economic strategy?’

“Those are all things to me that China would be very interested in. Because they count on their ability to acquire the products of WA, particularly in the sense of minerals and iron ore.”

Admiral Rogers said that he would expect China, as WA’s biggest trading partner, to also be interested in the State’s political processes.

“You’re the economic engine for Australia, you have the commodity that the Chinese care the most about,” he said.

“You will be very interesting to the Chinese for a variety of reasons. Some of them that are very reasonable and some should be of concern.”

Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director-general Mike Burgess revealed last week that the spy agency was facing an unprecedented spike in cybersecurity threats and foreign interference from multiple sources.

Admiral Rogers noted that China’s attitude to Australia had changed in the past 20 years.

“You didn’t see China engaged in some of the practices that they are now,” he said.

“So that’s something we need to be mindful of, we should be concerned about and we have to ask ourselves how do we position ourselves to better defend ourselves and how do we also show China that those are unacceptable behaviours.

“We’re not going to let you just penetrate our parliamentary system. We’re not going to let you attempt to systematically influence our political process.

“As nations, we’ve all got to figure out what’s the best way to deal with it.”

On a global level, the state actors most often cited in cyberattacks are China, Russia, Iran and North Korea.

But Admiral Rogers said that “cyber is a great equalizer” because nation-states did not need massive budgets or a big cyber espionage force.

“The reality is almost every nation today … is trying to develop cybersecurity capability, both from a defensive standpoint but many are also interested in it offensively,” he said.

“Whether they want to use it for traditional espionage and spying — to penetrate government systems or extract classified or sensitive information — but you’re seeing nation-states not only do that but now they’re looking at cyber as ‘what if I could steal economically sensitive information’.”

Countries about to enter negotiations might consider penetrating a company’s networks to get a sense of their negotiating position or minimum price point.

Nation-states were also using cyber as part of misinformation campaigns designed to influence, disrupt and divide countries.

https://thewest.com.au/business/mining/former-us-national-security-agency-chief-michael-rogers-warns-was-mining-industry-a-cyber-target-c-9873025

https://archive.md/CgU25

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>>18418081 (pb)

Censorship, PC agendas block fact-checking on Covid-19’s origins

SHARRI MARKSON - FEBRUARY 27, 2023

Censorship and political posturing in the US has irreparably damaged our understanding of how the Covid-19 pandemic began.

Social media giants expunged content querying whether the virus escaped from a Wuhan laboratory.

Distinguished medical journals refused to publish scientific papers that examined whether the SARS-Cov2 virus may be a man-manipulated construct.

And purportedly trusted media outlets, such as the ABC in Australia, labelled the suggestion that a Wuhan laboratory might be responsible for the outbreak a conspiracy theory.

They did so as early as May 2020, misleading viewers, discouraging scientific debate and hosing down journalistic inquiry.

Media Watch host Paul Barry ridiculed our reporting at News Corp on the gain-of-function experiments scientists at the Wuhan Institute of Virology were undertaking prior to the pandemic.

“So, how likely is it that the virus escaped from that Chinese lab? Well, in short, it’s not,” he said authoritatively, on-air.

“So why did the lab escape theory still dominate the story, especially when virus experts had dismissed it three days earlier in The Sydney Morning Herald? Sharri must have missed that bulletin.”

Yet now two US intelligence agencies have concluded that Covid-19 most likely leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

They are the FBI and the Department of Energy.

Another two agencies, including the CIA, are undecided while four say it’s more likely that the virus arose naturally.

None of these agencies has a high degree of confidence in their position.

As the President’s National Security Adviser, Jake Sullivan, told CNN on Sunday the intelligence community was divided on the question of how the pandemic began.

We might be able to answer this question with more confidence had censorship and political correctness not stymied research on this topic three years ago.

It’s stunning to think there has still not been a thorough, bipartisan investigation in the style of the 9/11 Commission, which interviewed over 1200 people in 10 countries, reviewing half a million pages of documents.

This is an action US President Joe Biden could take immediately which could help us come to a definitive view about how the pandemic began.

The National Institutes of Health, which funded coronavirus research at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, is still refusing to hand over documents. It is going to court rather than disclose information that could implicate it further in the dangerous research that was underway in Wuhan.

It’s nonsense to say there is no evidence to suggest the virus leaked from a laboratory.

The evidence is not definitive, it is not conclusive, but it is overwhelming.

Consider the research Wuhan scientists were undertaking to make bat coronaviruses more lethal and more transmissible, the concerns over safety protocols held by its own laboratory director, the cover-up at the laboratory itself in November 2019 and the way the CCP reacted when the virus began to spread.

There’s certainly more evidence linking the Wuhan Institute of Virology to the start of Covid-19 than there is evidence to support the theory that the most infectious virus in a century simply arose naturally.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/censorship-pc-agendas-block-factchecking-on-covid19s-origins/news-story/b37ac05d7ba57d6c64d121c08814313f

>>18418081 (pb)

>>18422955

‘Stop rehashing the lab leak narrative’: Beijing responds to Department of Energy’s coronavirus origin claims

Beijing has dismissed recent developments that point to COVID-19 leaking from a laboratory, calling for “certain parties” to stop smearing China.

Joseph Huitson - February 28, 2023

Beijing has urged “certain parties” to stop rehashing the coronavirus lab leak theory, which it claims is smearing China’s reputation.

The virus, which emerged in late 2019 in the Chinese city of Wuhan, has killed almost seven million people and its origins have been the subject of heated debate.

However the United States Department of Energy on Sunday changed its position on the origins of the virus, now saying it most likely came from an accidental laboratory leak.

The conclusion was made with “low confidence” in an intelligence report which was recently provided to the White House and several members of the US Congress.

China’s Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning rejected the claims made, and said virus should not be used as a political weapon.

“The origins-tracing of SARS-CoV-2 is about science and should not be politicised,” she said at a press conference on Monday.

“China has always supported and participated in global science-based origins-tracing.”

Mao Ning noted a “science-based” conclusion reach by a World Health Organisation team that visited China in 2021 that reached the conclusion that the lab leak was considered to be “extremely unlikely”.

The team spent four weeks in Wuhan, which included a visit to the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the Huanan market, working alongside Chinese researchers.

However questions were raised about the level of transparency and cooperation from the researchers and government officials, with members of the WHO team voicing their frustrations at the time.

The WHO has since acknowledged it was premature to rule out the lab leak theory.

Pointing to the 2021 report, Mao Ning said it was accurate and that the theory should stop being recirculated for political gain.

“It was accurately recorded in the mission’s report and has received extensive recognition from the international community,” she said.

“Certain parties should stop rehashing the lab leak narrative, stop smearing China and stop politicizing origins-tracing.”

The Department of Energy is not the only agency supporting the theory, with the FBI claiming it likely resulted from an accidental leak out of the Wuhan Institute of Virology.

Not all intelligence agencies are on the same page about the origins however.

Four other agencies, which have declined to be identified, state with low confidence that COVID-19 came via natural transmission from an infected animal.

US National Security advisor Jake Sullivan reaffirmed there was a “variety of views in the intelligence community” when asked about the new developments over the weekend.

“A number of them have said they just don’t have enough information,” he said.

https://www.skynews.com.au/australia-news/coronavirus/stop-rehashing-the-lab-leak-narrative-beijing-responds-to-department-of-energys-coronavirus-origin-claims/news-story/6c62b0c8ccd2fa5a8ac270824fc9dc05

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202302/t20230227_11032204.html

>>18386750 (pb)

>>18401561 (pb)

Through the looking-glass of Keating policy

GREG SHERIDAN - FEBRUARY 28, 2023

1/2

China’s peace plan for Ukraine is a nakedly pro-Russian formula that nonetheless betrays interesting Chinese diplomatic ambition. The peace plan would allow Moscow to keep the Ukrainian territory it has won by military invasion, and end Western sanctions on Russia, while negotiations took place and everyone avoided a “Cold War mentality”.

Beijing’s effective alliance with Moscow is real and deep. Both US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and NATO leaders warn Beijing is considering supplying Russia with lethal drones and artillery ammunition. The Albanese government has urged Beijing not to do this.

Chinese leaders are presumably appalled at Russian military incompetence but they know whose side they are on: Russia’s.

Despite rhetoric about national sovereignty, Beijing has made it clear it accepts, ethically, morally and ideologically, the right of big powers to invade smaller neighbours.

The most grievous outcome of this world view is likely to be in Taiwan. The autonomy and peaceful freedom from invasion for Taiwan is a vital national interest for Australia. This is for four reasons.

The first is humanitarian and principled. We cannot acquiesce in democracy being crushed, much less people being needlessly slaughtered in unprovoked wars of conquest.

Second, Taiwan’s location is critical geo-strategically. Possessing Taiwan, Beijing would be vastly more powerful militarily, threatening Japan, threatening critical sea lanes and probably pushing the US back to Hawaii.

Third, the US alliance system in Asia, on which we depend, could unravel if the US and its allies can’t help an old friend such as Taiwan, where the US has deep security commitments.

Fourth, Taiwan dominates semiconductor production. Its occupation by Beijing would massively increase China’s economic power.

It’s thus essential to have a stable, credible deterrence structure.

One of the chief figures arguing Australia has no strategic interest in Taiwan is former prime minister Paul Keating. In an interview published recently in Australian Foreign Affairs, Keating said: “Remember this, Taiwan’s democracy started in 1996, not 1906, 1996. When Lee Teng-hui (Taiwan’s then president) decided, ‘oh, look, what we should have is a bunch of municipal elections’ … And for those municipal elections, we have World War III, is that the proposition?”

This is factually wrong, strategically obtuse and morally bankrupt. Taiwan’s democrats struggled for decades to win full democracy from a government that started out in 1949 harshly authoritarian. They secured progressively more democratic elections through the 1980s. In 1991 Taiwan held a fully democratic election for the National Assembly and in 1992 for the Legislative Yuan, the parliament. Taiwanese democracy didn’t begin with the first direct presidential election in 1996.

It’s dangerous, and offensive, to hold Taiwanese democracy in contempt. Australia should passionately defend the principle that mid-size democracies should not be militarily crushed.

Taiwan is a brilliantly successful, peaceful, democratic nation of 24 million people. Power frequently rotates at elections. Only Chinese Communist Party propaganda dismisses its democracy with a cant term such as “municipal elections”. Even if you’re bending over backwards to please Beijing, why insult the Taiwanese people? If Taiwan is just a municipality, enemies might in due course characterise Australia the same way.

Keating has problems with facts about the strategic environment. Last week he wrote that if Australia acquired nuclear-powered submarines – specifically US Virginias – these would fire only “conventional torpedoes, the same as the existing Collins-class submarines”.

It seems tedious to point out Keating’s factual errors, but they are numerous and distort debate. The Virginias have vertical launch systems, which Collins boats don’t have. These can fire types and numbers of missiles far beyond “conventional torpedoes – the same as the existing Collins – class submarines”.

Nuclear attack subs, like the Virginias, aren’t designed to carry nuclear weapons. These are deployed on ballistic missile submarines, which no government has ever contemplated for Australia. Nuclear attack subs have vastly greater range, lethality, stealth, depth, persistence and speed than conventional subs. To suggest they “do the same job” as conventional subs and nothing more is just wrong.

(continued)

>>18422988

2/2

Keating seldom has a kind word for a democracy. Britain, he says, “is just a joke” and he has made disparaging remarks about India and Japan. Only the splendid Stalinist dictatorship in Beijing seems to warm his heart.

Thus, last week Keating suggested I should register as a foreign agent because my appreciation of the value of the US alliance makes me more loyal to the US than to my own country. To accuse a fellow Australian of disloyalty to his own country is contemptible, and in this case baseless, or as well based as most things Keating says. I have on thousands of occasions criticised US administrations, presidents and politicians, of both parties, and written at length about problems in American culture. I don’t need to prove my patriotism to someone as confused as Keating.

Let’s turn the question around. How often has Keating criticised CCP policy? Mike Green, author of the definitive study of US grand strategy in Asia, has commented that the Obama administration was surprised to see Keating, a former prime minister, “apparently taking China’s case to the Australian people”.

Certainly the CCP comes up with remarkably similar talking points to Keating’s. At the 2019 election, Keating said our national security agencies had “gone berko” on China, were led by “nutters”, and Labor should sack their leadership if it gained office. Trying to discredit national security agencies is one of the most irresponsible interventions any former Australian leader has ever made, but one surely welcome in Beijing.

I certainly would never suggest Keating should register as a foreign agent. I’m sure he’s the author of all his own misunderstandings. But compared with how often I’ve criticised the Americans – while still unashamedly admiring their democracy, appreciating their strategic leadership and, perversely perhaps, thinking that being allied with the most powerful nation on earth is actually useful for Australia – how often has Keating ever criticised Beijing?

Did he lend his grandeur to condemning the rape of Hong Kong, the persecution of Uighur Muslims, the imprisonment of human rights lawyers, the imprisonment of Australians on trumped-up charges, the persecution of Christians or of independent trade unionists? Has he ever expressed opposition to Beijing’s aggression in the South China Sea? Is he at all worried about Beijing’s massive military build-up, its program to build nuclear weapons faster than any other nation, the continuous cyber attacks on Australia, the relentless efforts to interfere in Western politics as recently revealed by the security agencies of the government of that well-known right-wing extremist, Justin Trudeau, and so on?

If Keating really wants to find someone who routinely argues another nation’s case against the Australian strategic mainstream, he need look no further than the mirror.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/through-the-lookingglass-of-keating-policy/news-story/b1aa4c9ef8dbe7c570bf62055850165c

Malka Leifer protested her innocence in tears as she was stood down, County Court trial hears

Kristian Silva - 28 February 2023

Malka Leifer was in tears and protesting her innocence after being stood down as school principal amid child sexual abuse allegations in 2008, Victoria's County Court has heard.

Warning: This story contains details of allegations of sexual abuse.

Mrs Leifer, 56, has pleaded not guilty to abusing three sisters while she was principal of the ultra-Orthodox Adass Israel Jewish School in Melbourne's south-east.

Esther Spiegelman, a former department head at the school, told the County Court trial she attended a board meeting when Mrs Leifer was stood down.

During cross examination, Ms Spiegelman agreed Mrs Leifer was in tears at the meeting.

"Did she say 'I did nothing wrong'?" defence lawyer Ian Hill asked, "and what was happening was unfair?".

Ms Spiegelman answered "yes" to both questions.

Prosecutors allege Mrs Leifer, now 56, abused the sisters in staff offices, on camps and at her home.

Sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper allege the offences occurred while they were students of the Adass Israel School, and when they worked there as junior religious studies teachers.

During the trial, prosecutors claimed the sisters had little understanding about sex when the alleged offences occurred, due to their strict religious upbringing.

On Monday, Ms Erlich's ex-husband said she initially spoke of Ms Leifer "in glowing terms" and considered her a trusted confidante.

He said Ms Erlich's attitude towards Ms Leifer changed in 2008, when she made disclosures about Ms Leifer to a counsellor in Israel.

Staff describe how Mrs Leifer closely mentored student teachers

Three years later the campus underwent renovations, Adass Israel School's executive head Jennifer Measey told the court.

She said a window was installed in the door of the principal's office and two walls were knocked down, meaning part of the office could be combined with a classroom.

Ms Measey said the door handles were changed, and large cloth dividers were removed from some rooms.

"We took a lot of measures," Ms Measey said.

During her tenure as principal, Ms Measey said Mrs Leifer's duties included looking after "the welfare and education of the girls" at the school.

"She would make sure any materials given to the students were appropriate, according to the ethos and philosophy of the school," Ms Measey told the court.

Another staff member, Sharon Bromberg, said sex education was not taught at the school, and agreed a "typical family" from the Adass Israel community would not have access to things like televisions or newspapers.

Ms Bromberg said Mrs Leifer's role meant she closely mentored student teachers, meeting them at her home and in private in her office, sometimes on Sundays.

Ms Bromberg said Mrs Leifer was a busy mother of eight children, and agreed with defence lawyer Ian Hill that she was a "particularly hard-working teacher".

When asked by Mr Hill whether Ms Leifer "led by example", Ms Bromberg took a deep sigh and paused.

"I'm not 100 per cent comfortable with that phrase," she said.

The trial continues.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-02-28/malka-leifer-trial-sexual-abuse-trial-protesting-innocence/102031686

>>18208658 (pb)

>>18337984 (pb)

EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell was thrown in SOLITARY confinement - a tiny, grim cell where inmates are fed through a slit in the door - for 48 hours after being accused of profiting off her jailhouse interview last month

BEN ASHFORD - 28 February 2023

1/2

Ghislaine Maxwell was handcuffed and slung into solitary confinement for 48 hours after prison authorities accused her of profiting from a media interview, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Maxwell, 61, appeared on UK TV last month in a series of taped video and audio calls in which she grumbled about life behind bars and blamed pedophile ex-lover Jeffrey Epstein for her downfall.

The footage raised eyebrows at Federal Correctional Institute Tallahassee because inmates are only allowed 'video visits' from a closely-vetted list of friends, family and lawyers.

Insiders say bosses at the low-security Florida lockup launched an investigation to determine whether Maxwell had breached the terms of her 20-year federal sex trafficking sentence by selling her story to a journalist.

She protested her innocence but was marched off to the Special Housing Unit (SHU) – a 'prison within a prison' comprising tiny, grim cells where inmates are locked up for 23 hours at a time and fed through slits in the door.

'About two weeks after the show was on TV, Max was just minding her own business when they came in, turned her around and handcuffed her,' a source told DailyMail.com.

'She got really upset, she was crying, she was yelling that she hadn't received any money, but nobody saw her again for three days.

'The SHU is not a nice place. You go in there if you're suicidal, if you fail a drug test or you get in a fight.

'It's like a little box and you're only allowed out to shower once a day. There's no contact from anyone, no privileges, they slide your meals through a slot.

'Normally people stay there for at least two weeks but she was out in about 48 hours because there was no evidence she was guilty.'

Maxwell will be nearly 80 by the time she's freed unless she can overturn her convictions for procuring girls for warped financier Epstein, who hanged himself in 2019.

Her high-powered lawyer Arthur Aidala, who represented disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, has until tomorrow (Tuesday) to lodge an appeal which will be funded by the proceeds from Maxwell's recent multi-million dollar divorce from ex-husband Scott Borgerson.

The disgraced socialite used her January 23 interview with TalkTV's Jeremy Kyle to complain about her 6am starts and boring prison diet of tofu and beans.

She also sparked controversy by claiming without evidence that the now-notorious photograph of Prince Andrew with Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre was a fake.

'Ghislaine Maxwell agreed to be interviewed for the very first time in a series of taped audio and phone calls from behind bars,' crowed Kyle, introducing his interview as a bombshell world exclusive.

'During that call Maxwell told our interviewers and her brother Kevin, who was also present, that she's suffering from depression, having lost everything.'

The TV host directly addressed the question of whether Maxwell was paid for the exclusive chat, saying: 'How much did we pay Maxwell for this interview?

'Let me tell you categorically, not a damn penny and nor would we.'

Federal inmates can schedule 25-minute video calls with an approved list of family and friends via the federal prison network's CorrLinks system.

Prison pals say Maxwell insists she didn't break any rules because she was speaking to a genuine, longtime friend, the filmmaker Daphne Barak, who was asking the questions on Kyle's behalf.

Barak has interviewed Maxwell on several previous occasions for newspaper articles and has even distributed a photo of her behind bars without pushback.

'What upset Max most was that they threw her in the SHU before they knew the facts,' our insider added.

'She hasn't been the same since then, it's made her very down and depressed. She thinks they are being intentionally cruel and mean to her.'

(continued)

>>18423030

2/2

In a further blow for the shamed British national, DailyMail.com can reveal Maxwell – federal prisoner 02879-509 – was denied a cushy new job at a government-owned call center.

The Oxford graduate passed a literacy test with 'flying colors' and was looking forward to selling TV, phone and internet bundles for Unicor, which pays inmates up to 69 cents an hour as part of a Department of Justice labor scheme.

Prison authorities decided, however, that the sought-after role should not go to a convicted sex offender so Maxwell will stay in her current job, working at the facility's law library.

Despite her complaints, Maxwell has daily access to an enviable array of sporting facilities at FCI Tallahassee, including the 400-meter running track where DailyMail.com snapped her going for an hour-long jog in November.

She's also teaching an array of classes, including yoga, Pilates and etiquette lessons for the jail's 753 inmates.

Prior to her 2019 arrest, jet-setting Maxwell's long list of high society pals included disgraced UK royal Prince Andrew and former President Bill Clinton.

Behind bars she hangs out with conwoman Linda Morrow, who helped her plastic surgeon husband bilk insurers out of $44 million by pretending cosmetic procedures such as tummy tucks, breast augmentations and 'vaginal rejuvenations' were medical necessities.

Morrow fled to Israel but was deported to the US in 2019 and jailed in July for more than eight years when a judge said the 70-year-old Coachella Valley-native's 'greed knew no bounds'.

Another pal is Narcy Novak, a 65-year-old Florida woman serving life without parole for hiring hitmen to murder her hotelier husband Ben Novak Jr. and his elderly mother Bernice in a grab for their family estate.

Bernice was battered to death with a plumber's wrench at her Fort Lauderdale home in April 2009. Three months later Novak, a former stripper, let the assassins into her husband's New York hotel suite where they slashed his eyes and clubbed him to death with dumbbells.

Maxwell, daughter of disgraced UK newspaper magnate Robert Maxwell, was convicted in December 2021 of five counts of grooming minors for longtime confidante Epstein.

The disgraced Brit expressed a sliver of remorse as she was handed down a 240-month sentence, telling her victims: 'I hope my conviction and harsh incarceration brings you closure.'

However Maxwell has since signaled that she will appeal her conviction and sentence, her spokesman telling DailyMail.com in recent remarks: 'Her spirits are holding up well as you might expect of an innocent woman.'

A spokesman for Maxwell said he didn’t know anything about the incident.

A spokesman for the Bureau of Prisons said: 'For privacy, safety, and security reasons, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) does not release information regarding the conditions of confinement for any inmate, nor do we discuss whether a particular inmate is the subject of allegations, investigations, or sanctions.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11799189/Ghislaine-Maxwell-thrown-solitary-confinement-jailhouse-interview.html

>>18422955

FBI Director Says Covid Pandemic Likely Caused by Chinese Lab Leak

MICHAEL R. GORDON and WARREN P. STROBEL - MARCH 1, 2023

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday that the Covid pandemic was probably the result of a laboratory leak in China, providing the first public confirmation of the bureau’s classified judgment of how the virus that led to the deaths of nearly seven million people worldwide first emerged.

“The FBI has for quite some time now assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan,” Mr Wray told Fox News. “Here you are talking about a potential leak from a Chinese government-controlled lab.” Mr Wray added that the Chinese government has been trying to “thwart and obfuscate” the investigation that the Federal Bureau of Investigation, other parts of the US government and foreign partners have been carrying out into the origin of the pandemic, but that the bureau’s work continues.

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that the FBI had come to the conclusion with “moderate confidence” in 2021 that the Covid-19 pandemic was likely the result of an accidental lab leak and still holds to this view.

The US Department of Energy, the Journal also reported, now also judges the pandemic was most likely the result of an unintended lab leak. The Energy Department reached that assessment with “low confidence” as a result of new intelligence and it represents a shift from its previous position in 2021 which was undecided.

The FBI and Energy Department’s assessments are included in a classified report that was provided to the White House and some politicians earlier this year.

Four other intelligence agencies that officials haven’t named and the National Intelligence Council, which conducts long-term strategic analysis, still favour the theory that the virus emerged when it leapt from an animal to a human, though with “low confidence.” The Central Intelligence Agency and another agency that officials haven’t identified remain undecided between the lab-leak and natural-transmission theories, people who have read the classified report said.

There is a consensus among the agencies that the virus wasn’t the result of a biological-weapons program, people familiar with the classified report said.

China has disputed that the virus could have leaked from one of its labs and has suggested it emerged outside China.

“The origin of the novel coronavirus is a scientific issue and should not be politicised,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said at a press briefing Monday.

“The bottom line is we’ve got to get to the bottom of this,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. “The Biden administration is committed to it. They have all kinds of people looking at it, and we’ll wait to see their results.” The FBI employs microbiologists, immunologists and other scientists. It funds and manages the National Bioforensic Analysis Center, which was established at Fort Detrick, Md., in 2004 to analyse possible biological threats.

Mr Wray in his television interview said that among the array of potential dangers, these scientists, along with bureau agents and analysts, “focus specifically on the dangers of biological threats, which include things like novel viruses like Covid, and the concerns that in the wrong hands — some bad guys, a hostile nation state, a terrorist, a criminal — the threats that those could pose”. The Energy Department oversees a network of U.S. national laboratories, some of which conduct advanced biological research. The “Z Division” of the department’s California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory conducts analysis of adversaries’ nuclear, biological and chemical weapons programs, and supports the U.S. intelligence community.

The new report from the intelligence community updates a 2021 assessment that was led by the office of Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

Some scientists have argued the virus, as with other previously unknown pathogens that have infected humans, must have emerged from nature, likely as a result of China’s extensive, largely unregulated wild-animal trade.

As more time has gone by, however, and no animal host has been found, there has been greater focus among scientists on the potentially risky nature of the coronavirus research in Wuhan and the possibility of an unintended leak.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Monday President Biden supports ” a whole-of-government effort” to try to unravel what led to the pandemic.

“We’re just not there yet,” he said. “If we have something that is ready to be briefed to the American people and the Congress, we will do that.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/the-wall-street-journal/dj-fbi-director-says-covid-pandemic-likely-caused-by-chinese-lab-leak/news-story/6f217511846ac0c656a43d78a016c4d8

>>18422759

‘Fearing young person’s app’: US-China TikTok clash escalates

Seung Min Kim - March 1, 2023

Beijing: China says the United States is overstretching the concept of national security, abusing state power to suppress foreign companies after the White House gave government agencies 30 days to remove Chinese-owned app TikTok on federal devices.

“We firmly oppose those wrong actions,” said Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning at a regular news briefing on Tuesday.

“How unsure of itself can the US, the world’s top superpower, be to fear a young person’s favourite app to such a degree?”

The White House has given all federal agencies 30 days to wipe TikTok off all government devices.

The Office of Management and Budget calls the guidance, issued Monday, a “critical step forward in addressing the risks presented by the app to sensitive government data.” Some agencies, including the Departments of Defence, Homeland Security and State, already have restrictions in place; the guidance calls on the rest of the federal government to follow suit within 30 days.

The White House already does not allow TikTok on its devices.

“The Biden-Harris administration has invested heavily in defending our nation’s digital infrastructure and curbing foreign adversaries’ access to Americans’ data,” said Chris DeRusha, the federal chief information security officer.

“This guidance is part of the administration’s ongoing commitment to securing our digital infrastructure and protecting the American people’s security and privacy.”

Congress passed the “No TikTok on Government Devices Act” in December as part of a sweeping government funding package. The legislation does allow for TikTok use in certain cases, including for national security, law enforcement and research purposes.

This week TikTok spokesperson Brooke Oberwetter said: “The ban of TikTok on federal devices passed in December without any deliberation, and unfortunately that approach has served as a blueprint for other world governments. These bans are little more than political theatre.”

House Republicans are expected to move forward on Tuesday with a bill that would give Biden the power to ban TikTok nationwide. The legislation, proposed by Representative Mike McCaul, looks to circumvent the challenges the administration would face in court if it moved forward with sanctions against the social media company.

If passed, the proposal would allow the administration to ban not only TikTok but any software applications that threaten national security. McCaul, the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee, has been a vocal critic of the app, saying it is being used by the Chinese Communist Party to “manipulate and monitor its users while it gobbles up Americans’ data to be used for their malign activities”.

“Anyone with TikTok downloaded on their device has given the CCP a backdoor to all their personal information. It’s a spy balloon into your phone,” the Texas Republican said in a statement on Monday.

Senator Bob Menendez, his counterpart in the Senate, did not shut down the idea of the chamber taking up a proposal that would empower Biden to take action against TikTok, saying it was “certainly something to consider”.

Oberwetter said: “We hope that when it comes to addressing national security concerns about TikTok beyond government devices, Congress will explore solutions that won’t have the effect of censoring the voices of millions of Americans.”

TikTok, owned by ByteDance, remains extremely popular and is used by two-thirds of teens in the US. But there is increasing concern that Beijing could obtain control of American user data that the app has obtained.

The company has been dismissive of the ban for federal devices and has noted that it is developing security and data privacy plans as part of the Biden administration’s ongoing national security review.

Canada also announced Monday that it is banning TikTok from all government-issued mobile devices. The European Union’s executive branch said last week it has temporarily banned TikTok from phones used by employees as a cybersecurity measure.

https://www.smh.com.au/world/asia/wrong-actions-us-china-tiktok-clash-escalates-20230301-p5codl.html

https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/mfa_eng/xwfw_665399/s2510_665401/2511_665403/202302/t20230228_11032907.html

>>18422759

National security chiefs focus on TikTok risks

Dominic Giannini - March 1 2023

The Australian government is looking to the nation's top security agencies to determine if any actions should be taken against popular social media app TikTok.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers says the government and security agencies are aware of the White House's actions, with a new directive giving all US federal agencies 30 days to wipe the app off government devices.

Questions have been raised about the Chinese-owned social media app's data collection methods.

TikTok has previously stated it has never shared Australian data with the Chinese government, and that its security teams minimise the number of people who have access to data.

The department of parliamentary services has asked MPs to carefully consider security advice before installing apps such as TikTok on mobile devices.

Dr Chalmers said the government hasn't yet been advised to take the same action as its US counterparts, but it would act on the recommendations of security agencies.

"We'll take the advice of our national security agencies," he told ABC TV.

"But the advice to us hasn't yet changed."

Home Affairs Minister Clare O'Neil last year ordered her department to investigate how TikTok harvests data following concerns China can access the personal information of Australians.

Ms O'Neil has asked national security agencies to provide a range of options to tackle data collection by social media giants.

The report is expected to hit her desk in the coming weeks.

However, she has previously stated the government was not considering a national ban like that operating in India.

Opposition cyber security spokesman James Paterson says the government needs to act on the national security risks posed by TikTok.

Senator Paterson said the government needed to explain why it hasn't followed bans by the European Union, Canada and US who "regard the risks posed by TikTok as so unacceptable they cannot be mitigated by any other means".

"We are now falling behind our like-minded friends and allies who are taking concrete action to protect their citizens and their government users from these very serious security risks," he told AAP.

"If TikTok is not safe to be on the phone of an American or Canadian bureaucrat, the government needs to explain why it is safe on an Australian's."

China has hit back at the US, saying it firmly opposed the action.

"How unsure of itself can the world's top superpower be to fear a young people's favourite app like that?" foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

"The US has been over-stretching the concept of national security and abusing state power to suppress foreign companies.

"The US government should respect the principles of market economy and fair competition … and provide an open, fair and non-discriminatory environment for foreign companies."

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8104622/national-security-chiefs-focus-on-tiktok-risks/

Japan ups military ties with UK and Australia, worsening Asia-Pacific security

Zhang Han - Mar 01, 2023

Japan's Cabinet on Tuesday approved the previously signed reciprocal access agreements (RAA) with the UK and Australia, signaling Japan's ambition to diversify its defense partnership and expand militarily.

According to the Nikkei newspaper, the RAAs will simplify entry procedures for personnel and ammunition during Japan's joint military exercises with the two countries. Japan signed the agreements in January 6, 2022 with Australia and on January 11, 2023 with the UK.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the agreements would ensure convenient entry to each other's military bases and facilitate military cooperation and coordination.

The Financial Times reported in November 2022 that Japan is in the preliminary stages of considering a similar pact with the Philippines.

The agreement may pave the way for Japan's participation in US-Philippines joint patrols in the South China Sea which the UK and Australia would reportedly participate, forming an actual military bloc, Song said, adding that this type of intertwined military pact reflects a dangerous trend of AUKUS expansion, Song said.

AUKUS, a trilateral security pact among Australia, the UK and the US, will reportedly unveil a submarine plan in mid-March. The three could discuss joint operations in Asia-Pacific considering the US' strong push for its Indo-Pacific Strategy, and on intelligence sharing, according to experts.

Japan, through the two RAAs, is taking a substantial step toward the AUKUS alliance, which could engage more countries in the future to become AUKUS+, Song said.

Though the newly approved RAAs do not involve the US, the strategic layout has a strong US will in it.

Song noted that in comparison with NATO's expansion in Asia, which Japan is also actively pushing forward, the trend of AUKUS+ constitutes a bigger threat to stability in the region. The expert named Canada as a potential member in the future according to the US' strategic blueprint.

According to Nikkei, Japan is seeking to buy 400 US Tomahawk missiles to acquire a long-range deterrent. The deployment could start in fiscal 2026.

Japan, besides coordination with the US as an obedient ally, is desperately attempting to diversify its defense relations, Da Zhigang, director of the Institute of Northeast Asian Studies at Heilongjiang Provincial Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times. Japan has long dreamed of expanding sphere of influence in the political and military aspects, he said.

The RAAs and possibly more agreements of its kind, Japan's policy shift from its war-renouncing pacifist constitution, the revision of security documents to allow counterstrike capabilities, and a bold 26 percent increase in military budget for 2023 are all dangerous steps Japan took to soothe its strategic anxiety, analysts said.

However, Japan's introduction of more external forces into the Asia-Pacific and becoming increasingly aggressive will only further complicate the already tense security situation and aggravate the geopolitical environment for all in the region, including Japan itself, they said.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202303/1286401.shtml

>>18064786 (pb)

Former Top Gun pilot refuses to be sent to infamous prison among paedophiles

A detained former US fighter pilot has refused to be moved to the notorious “bone yard” prison, claiming his incarceration is excessively harsh.

Lauren Ferri - March 1, 2023

A former US marine pilot fighting extradition from Australia has refused an offer from NSW Corrective Services to move to the “bone yard” among convicted paedophiles, asking to be moved closer to his family.

Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, has been held at the maximum security Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre in Sydney’s western suburbs since his arrest in October last year.

Mr Duggan was arrested in Orange in central NSW, where he had been living with his family since renouncing his US citizenship, at the request of the US Federal Bureau for Investigation.

US authorities are attempting to extradite the former marine pilot to face charges he allegedly breached money laundering and arms export control laws more than a decade ago.

It is alleged he trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers through a flying academy in South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

Mr Duggan has repeatedly denied the allegations and maintains his innocence.

NSW Corrective Services this week offered to move Mr Duggan to the infamous bone yard at Silverwater Correctional Centre, which is home to paedophiles and other convicted criminals who need to be “protected” from other inmates.

From prison, Mr Duggan said he was visited by prison officials including the Governor in response to recent media articles about the “harsh” conditions of his incarceration.

Mr Duggan is currently held in a 2m x 4m maximum security cell.

“Where I am now is worse than a supermax … But I don’t want to be in with convicted paedophiles and others,” the former US fighter pilot said.

“They want me to put that in writing, so I have. I have requested to be moved to home detention or back to Bathurst close to my family.”

He is claiming his treatment and imprisonment is “inhumane and unjust”, with his wife on the weekend calling him a “shadow” of his former self.

Mr Duggan is currently in solitary confinement and has no access to exercise facilities.

He is also forbidden from visits with his lawyers and children, and only rarely sees his wife.

The “inhumane” conditions have been detailed in a complaint to the United Nations Human Rights Committee.

Over the weekend, Mr Duggan’s wife, Saffrine, said the pair remain resolute to fight the “injustice” of the extradition order.

“I was shocked when I saw Dan recently; he’s a shadow of himself,” she said.

“They are trying to break him and they should be ashamed.

“This is unprecedented and an affront to Australia’s rule of law and manipulation of the Australian legal system by the United States, at the expense of the Australian taxpayer.”

Mr Duggan’s arrest on October 21, 2022 coincided with warnings from Australian authorities over the practice of former military pilots being offered lucrative contracts to train foreign pilots.

In November, Defence Minister Richard Marles ordered his department to review laws governing the conduct of retired military personnel.

The move came amid reports former members of the ADF have been approached to provide training to China.

In January, a Sydney court heard Attorney General Mark Dreyfus had accepted an extradition request for Mr Duggan the previous month.

https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/former-top-gun-pilot-refuses-to-be-sent-to-infamous-prison-among-paedophiles/news-story/0af33cc4a2d087cb75956888c7786ec9

Australia should not buy British nuclear subs: Dutton

BEN PACKHAM - MARCH 1, 2023

Peter Dutton has declared Australia should not buy a British nuclear submarine in comments branded as “irresponsible” by the Albanese government.

The Opposition Leader said a British boat would be plagued by problems, and the government should choose the “proven” US Virginia-class sub.

The dramatic intervention comes amid speculation the planned next-generation British submarine, dubbed the SSN(R), will emerge as the favoured option when the government’s “optimal pathway” to acquire nuclear subs is revealed this month.

Mr Dutton said he had the “greatest of respect for the Brits”, but was advised as defence minister there were a range of problems with choosing a British submarine, including a long development timeline and limited capacity within the UK supply chain.

“As anybody in the defence space can tell you, going with the first in class is difficult because there are production mistakes, there are design mistakes and by the second or third or fourth or fifth that rolls off the production line, whether it’s a tank or a ship or a submarine, you get it right by then,” he said at the Avalon Airshow on Wednesday.

“The beauty in my mind with the American model of the Virginia class was that it was a proven design.

“It gave us interoperability with the Americans, and there’ll be more American subs in the Indo-Pacific than there will be British submarines.”

Mr Dutton said he was briefed ahead of the May 2022 election that Rolls-Royce, which makes reactors for British nuclear submarines, had no available production capacity, while the UK’s submarine production facility at Barrow on Furness “didn’t have the ability to scale up”.

Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy accused Mr Dutton of undermining confidence in the submarine program, and suggested he had misused classified information he received as minister.

“Those comments from Peter Dutton are incredibly irresponsible,” Mr Conroy said.

“He’s either being mischievous or he’s not privy to the latest information. I’ve just come back from Barrow in the United Kingdom where I’ve got a full briefing on what the United Kingdom is doing. I stay in regular contact with the US Navy, and we’ll make announcements very shortly about the optimal path forward on our nuclear propelled submarines.”

Mr Dutton’s comments followed a June 2022 opinion piece by the Opposition Leader in The Australian revealing that he believed as minister that the US government would sell Australia two Virginia-class boats off its Connecticut production line by 2030, while a further eight of the US subs would be built in Adelaide.

Anthony Albanese is expected to travel to the US this month to make a joint statement with Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Australia’s chosen nuclear submarine.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/australia-should-not-buy-british-nuclear-subs-dutton/news-story/39f1aa17a26fd0d3a684f3cac0456a6d

>>18252267 (pb)

Court in the act: what else is voice lobby not telling us?

JANET ALBRECHTSEN - MARCH 1, 2023

1/2

Has there ever been a more flagrant attempt to deceive the Australian people than the Albanese government’s effort to force-feed the voice into our Constitution?

Aided and abetted by an army of activist advisers and cheerleaders, Anthony Albanese and Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney lead what can only be described as the great deception. The root cause of this deception is that the objective of this campaign is to enact a massive change to our constitutional arrangements, namely to begin the process of replacing our long-treasured sole and exclusive sovereignty of the crown with the form of co-sovereignty between the crown and Indigenous Australia demanded by the Uluru Statement from the Heart. This, in turn, is a first step to treaty and self-determination. This radical step could be implemented only by pretending the change was modest, encasing it with feel-good atmospherics, backed up with frequent browbeating.

What, for example, is law professor Megan Davis doing by demanding universities, including the peak body, Universities Australia, sing from her Yes song sheet? Universities are meant to encourage free thought, not foisted views, aren’t they?

The gamble by Yes activists that we would not look too hard at the proposed wording and its consequences, or stand up to bullying, has manifestly failed – to the point where even some voice supporters are now coming clean.

The result: the Yes campaign is now falling apart under the weight of its internal inconsistencies, dishonesties and division.

Who could forget that the Prime Minister’s much-quoted Calma-Langton report promised us, in section 2.9, that their Yes model would “reflect the need to respect parliamentary sovereignty and avoid causing unintended consequences. As a result, all elements would be non-justiciable, meaning that there could not be a court challenge”?

There was a time when many voice supporters recognised that non-justiciability was critical: to avoid opening a massive hole in parliamentary supremacy and creating a huge transfer of power from our elected parliament to unelected courts.

Not so any more. Now, Langton admits the voice is a matter for the courts. On ABC radio recently she said: “Why would we restrict the voice to representations that can’t be challenged in court?” Asked about whether High Court challenges could be used to delay government decisions until the voice had deliberated on the matter, Langton said, “That’s a possibility … why wouldn’t we want that to be the case?”

Many curiously minded and in some instances legally trained commentators have consistently warned the voice would be able to use leverage extracted by lawsuits to gum up the processes of government, and thereby hand vast negotiating power to the voice and its supporters. We were naysaid and insulted by a phalanx of activist lawyers. Constitutional lawyer Greg Craven said “this legal fright-fest is bizarre” as he assured us that the High Court would not, for example, impose legal obligations around consultation with the voice.

The gap between then and now is remarkable and of concern. Since then, former High Court justice Kenneth Hayne admitted the voice could be the subject of litigation, but he told us to trust the courts. Then fellow former High Court justice Ian Callinan confirmed the voice could be the subject of a decade of litigation. He appeared less trusting of the courts. Now, even ardent voice supporter George Williams has admitted what he should have told us upfront. “Courts will play a role in the operation of the voice,” he said recently.

Last December, Williams wrote: “There is no requirement the voice be listened to before a decision” was made. Last week, Williams admitted: “Courts may be asked to rule on the … the consequences of a minister failing to listen when the voice has spoken.”

(continued)

>>18427819

2/2

Other leading figures in the Constitutional Expert Group such as constitutional lawyer Davis, as well as Craven, have also recently acknowledged what was long denied or dismissed – namely that the courts will play a significant role in determining the powers, processes and functions of the voice.

Why didn’t all these lawyers tell us this earlier? Why did this entirely logical consequence of a constitutionally entrenched voice have to be effectively flushed out of them? What else are they not telling us? Are they saving future surprises for us, to be revealed only if a Yes vote is successful?

Craven is at least honest about the political power handed to the voice by the possibility of lawfare. He now publicly admits to the legal issues rising from the voice. “Politically and practically, delay (from litigation) often means death to proposed action,” he conceded recently.

It’s high time the PM came clean, too, and admitted what Williams, Davis, Craven, Langton and a couple of High Court judges now tell us: the power of the voice, at law, to delay, hinder and litigate gives it a potent veto in practice.

Given the sudden shifts from high-profile voice activists saying one thing last year, then another more recently, we have every reason to ask: when will the con job on the Australian people end?

For many years, constitutional lawyer and academic Shireen Morris has assured us that “a First Nations voice was specifically designed to be non-justiciable”.

That became a fiction the moment the Prime Minister released the words of his Albanese amendment at Garma last July. Surely it is time that Morris too admits that non-justiciability is a myth.

Likewise, we could ask the well-regarded constitutional lawyer and academic Anne Twomey whether she has done enough to ensure the Australian people are fully informed about the legal impact of the voice on parliamentary sovereignty.

Perhaps most disappointing among this cast of Yes lawyers is opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser. If Noel Pearson is right that Leeser, along with Craven and other so-called constitutional conservatives, agreed the earlier wording on which the Albanese amendment is modelled, then Leeser has been guilty of naivety – at best.

Pearson is entitled to be miffed, and so are Liberals who are deeply opposed to a race-based constitutionally entrenched body that would up-end our governance.

Let’s return to the fundamental problem. This is no “modest proposal” but a carefully crafted attempt to replace crown sovereignty, the sovereignty of all of us, with the co-sovereignty demanded by the Uluru statement. Armies of activists and academic lawyers have been beavering away for years trying to find ways of inserting into our Constitution the wedge that leads to this co-sovereignty. Either Leeser is a fool or he understands this.

It has become crystal clear that deception, dissembling and intimidation have been key to the whole campaign. Now, with significant parts of the great deception exposed, unwittingly, by these same voice activists, we are entitled to ask: what more haven’t they told us?

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/court-in-the-act-what-else-is-voice-lobby-not-telling-us/news-story/f279b11b87c561cd199291232b513aa4

>>18423004

Alleged paedophile principal complained of ‘unfair’ sacking after abuse allegations: court

A school principal alleged of paedophilia complained to a friend about her “unfair” sacking, telling her “I did nothing wrong” a court has heard.

Liam Beatty - March 1, 2023

Alleged paedophile principal Malka Leifer complained to a friend about her “unfair” sacking, telling her “I did nothing wrong”, a court has heard.

Ms Leifer, 56, is facing trial in the Victorian County Court after three sisters accused her of sexual abuse while she was principal at Adass Israel School in Melbourne’s southeast.

She has pleaded not guilty to 29 charges, including rape, sexual penetration of a child aged 16 or 17 and indecent assault, which allegedly occurred between 2003 and 2007.

The sisters, Nicole Meyer, Dassi Erlich and Elly Sapper, have each given NCA NewsWire permission to be named.

The Israeli mother of eight, who first moved to Australia in 2001 to take a teaching position at the school, has denied she did anything wrong.

“She had a proper and professional interaction with them as students,” her barrister Ian Hill KC previously told the jury.

On Tuesday, Esther Speigleman, the former head of general studies at Adass Israel School, took to the witness stand and told the jury she had many interactions with Ms Leifer as a colleague and friend.

She agreed she thought of Ms Leifer as a “devoted and hardworking principal” and said she spoke to her two days after she was stood down by the school board.

The jury heard Ms Leifer told her she felt what was happening was “unfair”, saying “I did nothing wrong”.

The court previously heard Ms Leifer left the school in March 2008 after a social worker in Israel, Chana Rabinowitz, allegedly contacted the school, who then referred the matter to police.

The jury was told Ms Rabinowitz had begun having counselling sessions with Dassi Erlich the year before, who disclosed that she had allegedly been sexually abused.

“She (Dassi Erlich) told her she was so naive, she had no idea what was happening at the time,” prosecutor Justin Lewis alleged.

On Monday, the court heard from Ms Erlich’s ex-husband, Joshua Erlich, who said he overheard his ex-partner on the phone with Ms Meyer in January 2008.

“She was saying she’s spoken to Rabinowitz; she had to disclose something about Ms Leifer,” he said.

“Ms Rabinowitz was taken aback and asking her more questions.

“She doesn’t understand why Rabinowitz is making a big deal about it and blowing it up out of proportion.”

Prosecutors have alleged the ultra-Orthodox principal took advantage of the sisters’ “vulnerable” home lives and their strict cultural upbringing.

She would allegedly tell each girl she “loved” them and explained the abuse as “help” for their wedding night.

But Mr Lewis told the jury the evidence would allegedly show she had a “tendency” to have a sexual interest in girls.

“The case is, we submit, she has a tendency to have a sexual interest in girls when they were teenage students and later when they worked at the school,” he alleged.

“She would (allegedly) take advantage of their vulnerability and her position of authority.”

The trial, before Judge Mark Gamble, continues.

https://www.news.com.au/national/victoria/courts-law/alleged-paedophile-principal-complained-of-unfair-sacking-after-abuse-allegations-court/news-story/bee12ff79b591353502e919b6123e6d1

Ghislaine Maxwell seeks to throw out sex trafficking conviction in Epstein case

Jonathan Stempel - March 1, 2023

NEW YORK, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Ghislaine Maxwell has asked a U.S. appeals court to throw out her conviction for helping Jeffrey Epstein sexually abuse teenage girls, saying a slew of errors marred her trial and prosecutors made her a scapegoat because the financier was dead.

"The government prosecuted Ms. Maxwell as a proxy for Jeffrey Epstein" to satisfy "public outrage" over the case, making the British socialite the target of unprecedented "vilification," Maxwell's lawyers said in a Tuesday night filing with the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan.

Maxwell's lawyers offered several arguments for dismissing the case or granting a new trial, including that she was immune from prosecution, prosecutors waited too long to charge her, and one of her jurors was biased.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Damian Williams in Manhattan declined to comment.

Maxwell, 61, is serving a 20-year prison sentence after a Manhattan jury convicted her in December 2021 on five charges for recruiting and grooming four girls for abuse by Epstein between 1994 and 2004.

Epstein killed himself at age 66 in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019, one month after being charged with sex trafficking.

Maxwell's trial team had tried to discredit her accusers and claimed that prosecutors made her case a legal reckoning that Epstein, a registered sex offender, never had.

At Maxwell's trial, the accusers said Maxwell and Epstein at first made them feel welcome in their orbit before subjecting them into giving Epstein sexualized massages.

Hundreds of women claimed to be victims of Epstein's abuse, and famous people, most notably Britain's Prince Andrew, who were friendly with him have seen their reputations tarred or destroyed.

Maxwell, the daughter of late British media mogul Robert Maxwell, retained for her appeal a new legal team led by Arthur Aidala, who in 2020 represented the disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein at his first sex crimes trial.

'DISORIENTED AND DIMINISHED'

The appeal contains some arguments that mirrored arguments that Maxwell's previous lawyers had made unsuccessfully before, during and after her trial.

They include a contention that Epstein's 2007 non-prosecution agreement with federal prosecutors in southern Florida, arising from alleged abuse at his Palm Beach mansion, also immunized her by shielding "potential co-conspirators" from prosecution.

Epstein, in exchange for immunity, pleaded guilty in 2008 to a Florida state prostitution charge and served 13 months in jail. That arrangement is now widely considered too lenient.

Maxwell's lawyers also said the charges were barred by a five-year statute of limitations, and that U.S. District Judge Alison Nathan, who oversaw the trial, made multiple errors.

The lawyers said Nathan should have corrected juror confusion about what prosecutors needed to prove, and voided the conviction after one juror failed to disclose before trial that he had been sexually abused as a child.

"Ample evidence" showed that the juror known as Scotty David or Juror 50 "harbored actual bias," including his inability to separate his past from the evidence, and his statement that the verdict was "for all the victims," Maxwell's lawyers said.

Maxwell's appeal also highlighted other factors that allegedly made her trial unfair.

Prosecutors were accused of having "joined forces" with lawyers representing accusers who were seeking damages in civil litigation "to develop new allegations" against Maxwell.

Maxwell's lawyers also said her "deplorable" jail conditions - including claims of raw sewage, sleep and water deprivation, and hyper-surveillance - left her "so disoriented and diminished" that she could not meaningfully aid her defense.

Prosecutors are expected to respond to Maxwell's filing before the appeals court hears oral arguments.

Maxwell is imprisoned in Tallahassee, Florida. She is eligible for release in July 2037, with credit for good behavior and the two years she spent in jail.

https://www.reuters.com/legal/ghislaine-maxwell-ask-appeals-court-throw-out-sex-trafficking-conviction-2023-02-28/

https://www.realghislaine.com/

https://www.realghislaine.com/_files/ugd/ba2454_319a6ddb21754c349414d326e04109f7.pdf

https://www.realghislaine.com/_files/ugd/ba2454_6d2c1c3dc91a4b6eb8ea54709e1b8b42.pdf

https://www.realghislaine.com/_files/ugd/ba2454_336057e0afe34ad288b64d3391877192.pdf