Notables

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#29 - Part 1

Australian Politics and Society - Part 1

>>18670782 NATO calls Albanese to Lithuania summit - Anthony Albanese has been invited to attend NATO’s upcoming summit in Lithuania amid fears over China’s growing alignment with Russia and the authoritarian powers’ systemic threat to the international order.

>>18670815 US government facing compensation claim over Navy officer’s $150 sex with Melbourne teen - A former Melbourne sex worker has launched legal action against the US government over allegations a senior officer in the US Navy had sex with her in the 1990s - when she was just 15 and addicted to heroin. Lisa Harris, 39, will pursue compensation under an agreement between the US and Australia, which provides recourse for local victims of alleged misconduct by American military personnel.

>>18676786 Latitude refuses to pay hackers’ ransom demand - Consumer lender Latitude Financial Group has refused to pay a ransom demand from hackers who stole the details of 14 million consumers last month, but would not say if the criminals have threatened to release the data, which includes driver’s licence details.

>>18676802 Hiding in the Russian consulate for months, ‘Aussie Cossack’ demands a prisoner swap - “The Aussie Cossack”, Simeon Boikov, was on parole for breaching a suppression order when he was told by police he was wanted after the alleged assault of a pro-Ukrainian protester. Rather than face arrest on the eve of a planned trip to Moscow in December, he drove straight to the Russian consulate. The Herald understands diplomatic discussions are under way about how to get Boikov out of Australia.

>>18676820 Video: ‘Our soldiers’ new crush’: Ukraine enlists AC/DC in plea for Australian Hawkei military vehicles - The Ukrainian government has taken to social media to plead with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to donate protected mobility vehicles to help beat back invading Russian forces, describing the Australian-made four-wheel drives as its new military “crush”. In a Twitter message, Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence said: “Our soldiers absolutely love Australian Bushmasters. But now they have a new crush: the Hawkei. These two would be a perfect match on the battlefield. We would truly appreciate their reunion in Ukraine, @AlboMP!” The post was accompanied by a minute-long video, set to a soundtrack of AC/DC’s Back in Black, showing Hawkeis in action and describing them as a “perfect reconnaissance vehicle”.

>>18676841 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: Leaders of Marine Rotational Force Darwin meet with Ambassador Caroline Kennedy at the U.S. Embassy Australia. The annual rotation of Marines underpins the illustrious history shared between the United States and Australia. #AlliesandPartners #marines

>>18682169 Quarter of Tasmania’s population hacked by Russians, says Premier Jeremy Rockliff - Up to a quarter of Tasmanians may have had personal data stolen by Russian-linked hackers, the Premier has suggested. Jeremy Rockliff on Tuesday said the scale of the hack of Education Department data handled by third-party transfer system GoAnywhere MFT had emerged after a “very complex analysis”.

>>18682176 Crikey alleges Lachlan Murdoch morally culpable for Capitol riots - Online news outlet Crikey has alleged Lachlan Murdoch was “morally and ethically” culpable for the deadly 2021 US Capitol riots in its amended defence to the defamation suit filed by the elder son of Rupert Murdoch, in an escalation of the dispute between the parties. Murdoch junior, chief executive of Fox Corporation and co-chairman of News Corp, filed Federal Court defamation proceedings in August against Crikey over a June 29, 2022 article naming his family as “unindicted co-conspirators” of Donald Trump following the US Capitol riots in 2021.

>>18687374 Peter Dutton clashes with reporter after grim Alice Springs warning - Liberal leader Peter Dutton has warned “somebody is going to get killed” in Alice Springs and unleashed on an ABC reporter during a shocking account of the violence and sexual abuse in the town.

>>18687384 Pressure on Anthony Albanese to attend NATO summit - Anthony Albanese is under pressure to attend the upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania amid signs of European reluctance to take a firm stand against China’s growing assertiveness and disregard for international norms.

#29 - Part 2

Australian Politics and Society - Part 2

>>18687407 Video: ‘The worst of American politics’: Premier backs drag performers after cafe threats - Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews says the targeting of drag events is the worst of American politics creeping into the state after a Melbourne cafe cancelled a children’s craft and games event hosted by drag queens.

>>18693432 ‘Heads in sand’: Labor lashed over NT child sex abuse claims - The Coalition has dug in behind Peter Dutton’s assertion of widespread child sexual violence in central Australia, with Liberal senator Simon Birmingham and opposition deputy leader Sussan Ley calling on the federal government to stop playing politics and take action.

>>18693485 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese named in Time's 100 most influential people list - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people of 2023, alongside King Charles III, Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska, and model Bella Hadid. Mr Albanese joins former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and John Howard as the only other Australian leaders to have made the list, while Julia Gillard was shortlisted in 2013.

>>18693513 Ringleader of the ‘tinnie terrorists’ Robert Musa Cerantonio to be freed from jail in May - The leader of the so-called “tinnie terrorists”, self-styled preacher Robert Musa Cerantonio, will be back on the streets in May after completing a seven-year jail term for planning to overthrow The Philippines government. He is one of seven high-risk terrorist offenders due for release into the community this year, as the government and police prepare to abandon the continued detention orders that have allowed authorities to jail dangerous ­people beyond the end of their prison terms.

>>18696839 Video: ‘I’d stake my life on it’: Trump has ‘no chance’ of an election win - The recent arrest of Donald Trump “guarantees” the former US president a Republican nomination for president however he has “no chance” of scoring an election win in 2024, says Former Howard government minister Peter McGauran. “He has no chance whatever,” he told Sky News Australia. “I’d stake my life on it.”

>>18698609 Video: Kids return to the streets in Alice Springs to run amok - "The girl looks about 14. “I’m drunk, f_ck you,” she yells as we pass on the street. It’s 11.20pm on Thursday in Alice Springs, and the group of a dozen or so Indigenous children and early teens heads on towards the main drag of town. Most of the kids are around 15, with some closer to 10 or 11. Three months on from our first reports revealing the extent of kids running wild in Alice Springs and it’s clear little has changed. Perhaps nothing." - Liam Mendes - theaustralian.com.au

>>18698622 Linda Burney just metres from fatal stabbing of woman - Indigenous Australians Minister Linda Burney has expressed her heartfelt condolences to the family of a woman who died after being stabbed metres away from the federal cabinet minister in Darwin on Friday. Burney and her staff were in the foyer of the Doubletree Hilton just before 6pm when the woman ran into the hotel bleeding heavily. Police allege she was stabbed directly outside the hotel on the Esplanade. Some of Burney’s staff helped attend to the woman along with hotel staff, while the minister comforted members of the woman’s family. The woman was taken to the Royal Darwin Hospital but died a short time later.

>>18698686 Video: Wild night of violent crime in Darwin: Woman stabbed to death in CBD, man and woman stabbed at city's busiest shopping centre - A woman has died after being stabbed outside a CBD hotel in a wild night of crime in Darwin, while two others were allegedly set upon by knife-wielding attacker at Casuarina Square shopping centre. Sky News has also been sent video footage of a brawl at the shopping centre’s bus exchange earlier the same evening. A group of men can be seen chasing a man who then appears to be hit by a passing bus. The incidents come less than a month after 20-year-old Declan Laverty was stabbed to death while working at a Darwin bottle shop.

>>18698736 Labor under pressure for minimising sexual assault cases - The Fyles Labor government is facing claims it tried to minimise and even deny alarmingly high rates of child sex abuse in the Northern Territory when its Treasurer, Eva Lawler, told a radio station: “Children have been sexually abused in Australia since, bloody, the place was probably settled”.

#29 - Part 3

Australian Politics and Society - Part 3

>>18698909 Talisman Sabre 2023: Australian Defence Force leads largest ever military drill - Australia will host one of the largest military drills in the world with more than 30,000 personnel and dozens of ships, aircraft and armoured vehicles mobilising from across the region. Such is the size of the Talisman Sabre 2023 exercise, the “battlefield” has been extended from across the top of Australia to swathes of the Coral Sea down as far south to Jervis Bay in NSW and will even involve Norfolk Island. The biennial two-week exercise has long been one of the largest Australian Defence Force hosted exercises, run largely with the United States military and involving 17,000 troops.

>>18698909 Talisman Sabre - MAGIC SWORD - https://qanon.pub/?q=Operation%20Specialists - https://qanon.pub/?q=magic

>>18703552 Inside the Firm: How an international drug cartel plotted a ‘line to Australia’ - The inner workings of Swedish kingpin Maximilian Rivkin’s crime empire have leaked onto the internet, revealing a plan to target Australia’s insatiable drug market to make them rich beyond measure. The unprecedented glimpse inside transnational drug crime and the AN0M network comes on the eve of a court case that could decide dozens of AN0M-related prosecutions in NSW.

>>18708643 Video: Lidia Thorpe in clash outside Melbourne strip club - Lidia Thorpe has defended her behaviour outside a Melbourne strip club, after footage surfaced of her yelling profanities and telling men they had small genitalia. The former Greens turned Independent senator Thorpe claimed people were trying to “drag me down,” in a brief statement.

>>18708691 Twitter labels ABC and SBS ‘government-funded media’ - ABC and SBS will not quit Twitter, after the social media platforms labelled the public broadcasters’ news services “government-funded media”, lumping the two into a category previously used for government mouthpieces. Twitter moved on Monday to label ABC News’ account on its platform “government funded media”, in the wake of similar moves in recent weeks that earned the ire of users, leading some media groups to quit the site. SBS, which was also hit with the “government-funded media” label on Monday, told The Australian the broadcaster would push back on the move.

>>18708709 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post - MRF-D Marines and Army soldiers with 103 Battery, 8/12 Regiment, 1st Brigade - Australian Army conduct dry fire drills on the M777A2 lightweight 155mm howitzers at Robertson Barracks, Darwin, Northern Territory, April 6, 2023. Through increased training and exercises, MRF-D and Defence Australia are expanding our range of interoperability, further strengthening the historic Alliance. #MRFD #YourADF #AlliesandPartners #trainhard

>>18714027 Defence blames braking fault in Hawkei armoured vehicles for reluctance to supply Ukraine - Defence is blaming a braking fault affecting the army’s fleet of 1100 Hawkei armoured vehicles for its reluctance to supply war-torn Ukraine with the Australian-made four-wheel drives. The anti-lock braking system fault can undermine the vehicle’s stopping power at high speeds but does not affect its off-road performance. Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, Vasyl Myroshnychenko, said his country hoped to acquire an initial 30-60 Hawkeis to support the country’s coming counteroffensive against Vladimir Putin’s Russian forces.

>>18719453 IBAC finds Victorian government advisors put pressure on public servants to award contract to union - Senior staff in Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews's government interfered and pressured public servants to ensure lucrative contracts were awarded to a key Labor Party ally without competitive tender, the state's anti-corruption watchdog has found. The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) has slammed the premier, health ministers and the public service for the awarding of a contract in 2018 to the Health Workers Union (HWU) to deliver specialist training to deal with occupational violence. "The union was given privileged access and favourable treatment,'' IBAC's Operation Daintree found.

#29 - Part 4

Australian Politics and Society - Part 4

>>18719500 Video: U.S. Marines and Aussies Form an Unbreakable Bond Through Dry-Fire Drills - U.S. Marines with Kilo Battery, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marine Regiment (Reinforced), Marine Rotational Force-Darwin, and Australian Army soldiers with 103 Battery, 8/12 Regiment, 1st Brigade, conduct dry fire exercises, with M777A2 lightweight 155mm howitzers, at Robertson Barracks, Northern Territory, Australia, April 6, 2023. Through increased training and exercises, MRF-D and the Australian Defence Force are expanding their range of interoperability, further strengthening the Alliance. (U.S. Marine Corps video by Cpl. Gabriel Antwiler) - Defense Now

>>18719526 U.S. Marines Tweet: Col. Brendan Sullivan, commanding officer of @MRFDarwin, visits the Australian War Memorial alongside @AustralianArmy Maj. Todd O’Callaghan, Directorate of Army Operations, Australian Army Headquarters, April 6. #MRFD23 focuses on regional relationships with #AlliesAndPartners.

>>18723461 Foreign spies are aggressively seeking ‘disloyal’ insiders with access to Australia’s secrets, ASIO warns - Foreign spies are “aggressively seeking secrets across all parts of Australian society”, including trying to recruit “disloyal” government insiders to access classified information, ASIO has warned. The intelligence agency said “hostile foreign powers and their proxies” were seeking to test the Australian government’s security clearance system. In a submission to a parliamentary inquiry, ASIO argued in favour of legal changes to enable the agency to become centrally responsible for issuing the highest level of security clearances in Australia.

>>18723495 Anthony Albanese in ‘racist and misogynistic’ bid to silence me: Lidia Thorpe - Lidia Thorpe says Anthony Albanese’s suggestion she should “get some help” is a “continuation of a racist and misogynistic narrative” used to silence Indigenous people. The independent Indigenous senator also claimed she was “harassed by racists” last Sunday when she was filmed leaving a strip club at 3am, and the media had mischaracterised the incident.

>>18723554 Kevin Rudd downplays backlash over attacks on Donald Trump, meets Joe Biden - Kevin Rudd has brushed aside concerns his past attacks on Donald Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican nomination for president, will hinder Australia’s relationship with the US or Republicans in a short press conference in Washington DC after presenting his credentials to Joe Biden. Mr Rudd had unleashed on Mr Trump repeatedly in public, calling him a “a traitor to the West”, guilty of “rancid treachery” as recently as February last year. “The bottom line is I’ve been in this town on and off for 30 years, I have bucketloads of Republican friends and bucketloads of Democrat friends, working in foreign policy and national security,” he said.

>>18723554 Kevin Rudd Tweet: 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.

>>18723554 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

>>18723589 Video: Exercise Talisman Sabre: Dates released for Australia’s largest military training activity with US - More than 30,000 military personnel, mostly from the Australian Defence Force and US Armed Forces, are expected to converge on Queensland, parts of northern NSW and Darwin from June to early August for Exercise Talisman Sabre 2023 (TS23), a large-scale military training activity that culminates in a mock war between all military branches on land, sea and in the air. The peak of the training, which also incorporates crews in fighter jets and aircraft carrier ships, is scheduled to take place between July 21 and August 4.

#29 - Part 5

Australian Politics and Society - Part 5

>>18729080 Albanese to attend NATO summit - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has agreed to attend the NATO summit in Lithuania in July after coming under criticism when it appeared he would skip the high-powered gathering. Albanese attended last year’s NATO summit at the invitation of host country Spain, but The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age reported he did not intend to attend this year’s summit, in part because of a packed schedule of travel including the coronation of King Charles III in London next month. A spokeswoman for Albanese on Friday confirmed Albanese would attend the summit.

>>18729094 Lachlan Murdoch drops defamation case against Crikey publisher - Fox Corporation chief Lachlan Murdoch has dropped his defamation proceedings against the publisher of online news outlet Crikey and several of its editors and executives. Mr Murdoch sued Private Media in the Federal Court in August over an article published by Crikey, claiming it defamed him in referring to his family as "unindicted co-conspirators" in the US Capitol riots. On Friday his lawyers filed a notice to discontinue the case. It comes days after Fox settled a defamation case in the US brought by Dominion Voting Systems, for $1.17 billion.

>>18734262 Hambali lawyer seeks AFP records for pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo Bay - The Australian Federal Police have stonewalled repeated requests to provide access to their records on the accused Bali bombing mastermind known as Hambali ahead of his first pre-trial hearing next week, his US military lawyer says. Encep “Hambali” Nurjaman, who was once Southeast Asia’s most wanted terrorist, will face a military court in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, next week for just the second time since his arrest in Thailand 20 years ago.

>>18737067 Discovery Of WW2 Shipwreck Ends Australia’s ‘Tragic’ Maritime Chapter - Australia’s Defence Minister Richard Marles said on Saturday that the wreck of a Japanese merchant ship, sunk in World War Two with 864 Australian soldiers on board, had been found in the South China Sea, ending a tragic chapter of the country’s history. Marles said the SS Montevideo Maru, an unmarked prisoner of war transport vessel missing since being sunk off the Philippines’ coast in July 1942, had been discovered northwest of Luzon island. The ship was torpedoed en route from what is now Papua New Guinea to China’s Hainan by a U.S. submarine, unaware of the POWs onboard. It is considered Australia’s worst maritime disaster.

>>18744473 Australian ‘energy supply risk’ worries Japan: ambassador Shingo Yamagami - The outgoing and outspoken Japanese ambassador to Australia, Shingo Yamagami, has warned in a departure interview that “sovereign risk” is now an active concern among Japan’s corporates and energy companies which fear the reliability of Australia as an energy supplier.

>>18744677 Video: LIVE: Gallipoli Dawn Service | Anzac Day 2023 | OFFICIAL BROADCAST - ABC Australia

>>18744686 Video: Anzac Day Melbourne Dawn Service 2023 - ShrineMelbourne

>>18744705 Live: Anzac Day 2023 Sydney Dawn Service | April 25, 2023 from 4:25am AEST - 9 News Australia

>>18744714 Video: Anzac Day 2023: Currumbin Dawn Service and special Sunrise coverage - 7NEWS Australia

>>18744726 Video: LIVE: Melbourne March | Anzac Day 2023 | OFFICIAL BROADCAST - ABC Australia

>>18744759 Video: ANZAC Day 2023 - "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning We will remember them."Lest We Forget.

>>18749439 Powerful images as Aussies commemorate Anzac Day - Thousands of Australians across the country and the world are marking the most solemn day on the nation’s calendar. There were emotional scenes with young and old gathered to pay tribute to fallen servicemen and women.

#29 - Part 6

Australian Politics and Society - Part 6

>>18749463 ‘I was 20 going on 16’: Korean War veterans lead Anzac Day march in sombre reflection - For years, Lloyd Knight had nightmares about his time serving as a fighter pilot in the Korean War. “I was 20 going on 16, so it was pretty traumatic, thinking that you’re killing people,” said Knight, who flew 45 missions in Korea in 1953. On Tuesday, the 90-year-old was among the Korean War veterans leading Melbourne’s 2023 Anzac Day march to mark the 70th anniversary of the war’s armistice. Thousands watched veterans, relatives and community groups march down St Kilda Road from Princes Bridge to the Shrine of Remembrance.

>>18749478 ‘Absolutely disgusted’: Sydney statue defaced in Anzac Day protest - A community in Sydney’s north-west is angry after a statue was defaced with red paint ahead of a local Anzac Day dawn service. The Lachlan Macquarie statue in Windsor’s McQuade Park was doused in red paint and handprints alongside the phrases “here stands a mass murderer who ordered the genocide” and “no pride in genocide”. “We are a military community here in the Hawkesbury and to have this done on a day of such national and local significance to me is appalling,” Mayor Sarah McMahon said. Monument Australia, an organisation that records monuments throughout Australia, states on its website the statue was commissioned during the bicentenary celebrations in 1994 of European settlement in the Hawkesbury. “There is controversy around Macquarie’s treatment of Indigenous people,” the website states. “In April 1816, Macquarie ordered soldiers under his command to kill or capture any Aboriginal people they encountered during a military operation aimed at creating a sense of terror. At least 14 men, women and children were brutally killed, some shot, others driven over a cliff.”

>>18749527 Bali bomb mastermind Hambali appears at Guantanamo hearing - The terrorist mastermind behind the 2002 nightclub Bali bombings, which killed 202 people including 88 Australians, has appeared at a preliminary hearing in Guantanamo Bay where prosecutors proposed a formal trial date of early 2025, more than 21 years after his arrest in Thailand. Encep Nurjaman, 59, an Indonesian who is known as Hambali, sat calmly in a military courtroom in Guantanamo Bay during proceedings that became bogged down in legal debate about translator quality and the US government’s sluggish provision of documents.

>>18754977 Video: ‘Girls won’t go home … they’re worried about their uncles’ An Alice Springs school principal has revealed the horrifying extent of the crisis engulfing Indigenous children in central Australia, detailing incidents where children are sometimes returned to school in handcuffs or wearing ankle bracelets and one in which a 12-year-old and his mates led teachers on a wild pursuit through the town in a stolen minibus. In a dramatic video of the minibus chase obtained by The Australian a teacher can be heard screaming: “You little shits … pull over!” as she leans from the window of a pursuing car.

>>18755136 - Anthony Albanese reacts to Joe Biden's re-election bid ahead of US President travelling to Sydney for Quad meeting - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has described Joe Biden as "a friend of Australia" as he was quizzed on news of the United States President's re-election bid. Mr Biden announced on Tuesday he would be seeking another four-year term in 2024 "to stand up for democracy" and because it was "time to finish the job". The 80-year-old will visit Australia next month for the third in-person Quad Leaders' Summit, alongside Mr Albanese and the leaders of Japan and India. Mr Albanese told reporters in Sydney Mr Biden "will be a very welcome visitor" when he makes his first trip Down Under as President. "President Biden I regard as a friend and he's certainly a friend of Australia. I don't comment on the internal politics of the United States," the Prime Minister said. "That's a matter for the people of the United States. But can I say this: President Biden will be a very welcome visitor here in Australia."

>>18760659 Federal MP Marion Scrymgour backs ‘safe school’ for Indigenous children in Alice Springs - Northern Territory federal Labor MP Marion Scrymgour has backed moves by Alice Springs principal Gavin Morris to get Indigenous children off the streets and into the classroom by providing safe accommodation for them at school. Ms Scrymgour will meet Dr Morris as early as Saturday to work through issues needed to fast-track the groundbreaking proposal for a residential facility – part of it secure – for students and says she will push federal Education Minister Jason Clare to consider using funding earmarked for education in Central Australia.

#29 - Part 7

Australian Politics and Society - Part 7

>>18760753 ASIO backs federal push to ban Nazi symbolism - Australia's spy agency says a proposed bill outlawing Nazi symbols could help stop extremist radicalisation and recruitment. Federal shadow attorney-general Michaelia Cash introduced the bill last month following a protest in Melbourne which drew neo-Nazis, who used the sieg heil salute. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation says nationalist and racist violent extremists adopt specific imagery and terminology to signal their ideology, build belonging and provoke opponents. ASIO believes extremists are currently more focused on trying to attract new members rather than planning an attack and the legislation would help stop that. "(The bill) would assist law enforcement in early intervention," the agency said in a submission to a parliamentary inquiry.

>>18766061 Heat on ACT DPP Shane Drumgold over Bruce Lehrmann rape trial conduct - Pressure is mounting on ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold over his handling of Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial, with the terms of reference of the Sofronoff inquiry widened to include his conduct in the preparation of the proceedings and in the hearings. A key witness in the trial accused Mr 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 Ms Higgins.

>>18771278 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Tweet: Lest we forget - This week MRF-D Marines and Sailors celebrate Anzac day alongside @DefenceAust - Anzac Day commemorates Australian, New Zealand, and Allied service members for displaying discipline, courage, and self sacrifice in service to their country. #LestWeForget #AnzacDay

>>18771291 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post: LEST WE FORGET - This week, Marines with Marine Rotational Force Darwin alongside Defence Australia Allies, participated in Anzac Day celebrations across the Northern Territory. Anzac Day commemorates current and former Australian, New Zealand, and Allied service members for displaying discipline, courage, and self-sacrifice in service to their country. #lestweforget2023 #anzacday #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific - (U.S. Marine Corps photos by LCpl. Brayden Daniel and Royal Australian Air Force photos by Sgt. Pete Gammie)

>>18775267 Disgraced ex-lord mayor stripped of Order of Australia title - Former Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle has had his Order of Australia honour stripped by Governor-General David Hurley. Mr Doyle, who became embroiled in sexual misconduct allegations in late 2017, had his companion of the Order of Australia terminated last month according to a gazette notice published on Friday, 28 April 2023. An independent investigation conducted by Barrister Ian Freckleton reported Mr Doyle touched the breast of councillor Tessa Sullivan in 2017 in the mayoral car. It also upheld a complaint made by another councillor Cathy Oke, who said Mr Doyle inappropriately touched her thigh during a dinner in 2014.

>>18779626 Video: Wild brawl in Alice Springs as Northern Territory police chief Jamie Chalker exits - Shocking scenes of violence have played out on the streets of Alice Springs just as Northern Territory police commissioner Jamie Chalker exits his job, leaving the beleaguered Territory government hunting for a new police chief amid a fresh wave of alcohol-fuelled crime and racial tension. In one incident seen and filmed by The Australian from 2.42am on Saturday, officers were forced to storm a takeaway pizza shop with their Tasers drawn in pursuit of youths who had allegedly armed themselves with a kitchen knife after being ­involved in a wild street brawl with caucasian and Indigenous men. Indigenous senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said the footage was “plain and simple evidence” that the Northern Territory government “has lost complete control of law and order”.

>>18779687 Abbott attacks Voice as Indigenous leader pushes for compromise - Former prime minister Tony Abbott has told a parliamentary inquiry the Voice referendum will leave Australia embittered and divided and should be abandoned, while a key Indigenous leader has urged the government to consider changes to the amendment to shore up support among hesitant voters. A staunch opponent of the Voice, Abbott criticised the degree of public scrutiny given to the proposed Constitutional change as “altogether too abbreviated”, and argued the Voice would divide the country on the basis of ancestry and tie up government decision-making in High Court litigation.

#29 - Part 8

Australian Politics and Society - Part 8

>>18779781 Five Eyes: Departing Japanese ambassador flags ambition for nation to join intelligence alliance - Japan is hoping to join the Five Eyes international intelligence alliance as it stands on the front line of strategic challenges facing the region, the country’s top diplomat in Australia has said. Shingo Yamagami is also urging Australia to move urgently on defence, warning of growing security concerns from China in the Indo-Pacific.

>>18779870 Video: Why David Koch wore lipstick live on air on Sunrise - David Koch wore bright red lipstick on Sunrise this morning, all for a good cause. The breakfast TV host, affectionately nicknamed Kochie, rocked the striking colour while interviewing model Jett Kenny, the son of ironman champion Grant Kenny and former Olympian Lisa Curry. When he and his family suffered unimaginable loss three years ago when his sister, Jaimi Kenny, died from mental health issues, Jett vowed to raise awareness and funding for the cause. Now, on May 11, his dream turns to reality as he becomes the inaugural ambassador for the Lip-Stick It campaign, an initiative encouraging Aussie men to wear lipstick on the day to help raise funds for women’s mental health support services.

>>18779932 Video: Sunrise Facebook Post - Kochie joined Jett Kenny in wearing red lipstick as part of a new campaign to raise awareness for women's mental health issues.

>>18779870 ''Think logically. Ask yourself - is this normal? Conspiracy?''

>>18784863 ‘We need help’: Northern Territory community racked by violence as residents claim government has abandoned them - Residents of the remote Northern Territory community of Peppimenarti say they have been forced to flee their homes or endure violence, including stabbings and sexual assaults, amid claims the government has abandoned them. Last week’s planned visit from the NT police minister, Kate Wordern, to discuss the ongoing problems in the community was cancelled when her private plane had to be diverted due to unrest. About 200 people live Peppimenarti, six hours’ drive south of Darwin. Residents are increasingly fearful of violence, and lawyers recently took a claim of racial discrimination to the Australian Human Rights Commission over a lack of police resources in the remote Indigenous community.

>>18784890 Network Ten MasterChef judge Jock Zonfrillo dead at age 46 - Days before his death, Jock Zonfrillo filled his social media accounts with videos sharing his cooking secrets as he prepared pancakes, pasta dishes and homemade pickles. Yet on Monday afternoon his accounts shared news of his shock death to his hundreds of thousands of followers. The Scottish-born chef was found dead at a hotel apartment in Melbourne’s inner north at 2am on Monday after police were called to the Lygon Street, Carlton, address for a welfare check. His death is not being treated as suspicious. Zonfrillo had previously spoken of his battle with drugs, including being a heroin addict at as a teenager. “We were smoking pot behind the bike sheds at 12, we were crumbling up ecstasy tablets and speed and taking them at school … and smoking heroin at 15, 16 when I was an apprentice,” he said in a 2021 TV interview.

>>18784911 Spies seeking new defences for phone bugging and hacking - The Law Council of Australia has criticised proposed reforms to the national security legislation that will give spies extraordinary protections to interfere with facilities and modify telecommunications devices, saying the new laws need to be “reasonable, necessary and proportionate”. The amendment bill, which is currently being considered by the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, will grant intelligence agents legal defences to break into a target’s computer, track the geolocation of mobile devices and intercept messages and phone calls without a warrant.

>>18784922 Papua New Guinea backs an Albanese government push to embed Pacific island troops in Australian Defence Force - Papua New Guinea is backing an Albanese government push to embed Pacific island troops in the Australian Defence Force, opening the way for a new era of ­regional military co-operation to counter rising strategic threats. PNG Foreign Minister Justin Tkatchenko threw his support ­behind the plan as his country ­prepared to host Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi this month for a meeting of Pacific ­island leaders.

>>18784945 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Great to have presented credentials to President Biden. Just got the happy snaps back. President firing on all cylinders (as he was at the White House Correspondents’ dinner). And Therese looks stunning.

#29 - Part 9

Australian Politics and Society - Part 9

>>18789832 Video: Russian Orthodox choir denounces group of men wearing pro-war Z symbol shirts at Sydney Town Hall event - A Russian Orthodox choir has distanced itself from a group of men who wore "disgusting" pro-Russia symbols to attend a government-sponsored performance in Sydney. Several men wearing shirts with the letter Z - a symbol representing support for Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine - gathered at the front of Sydney Town Hall following a performance of the Russian Orthodox Male Choir. Photos and video of the event have been shared in a social media group run by pro-Putin YouTuber Simeon Boikov, known as "Aussie Cossack". Ukraine's Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko has condemned the group's attendance as a "disgusting public display". "Z stands for the Russian aggression in Ukraine, rape and murder," he said in a tweet.

>>18789864 How a T-shirt exposed a cultural rift in Sydney - Security agencies are being called to investigate a Russian choir concert, sponsored by a NSW government agency, after men wearing shirts supporting Russia’s invasion of Ukraine put on a show of force at Sydney’s Town Hall building. The choir is now severing links with ultranationalist groups in Australia. Men in black shirts, bearing the white “Z” symbol showing support for Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, were pictured walking into the performance on Friday night. The group of men posed in front of the stage as the crowd took their seats - one voice in the crowd was disgusted, others appeared supportive. One shook hands with the Russian consul-general.

>>18789901 Video: Albanese meets King, tells Piers Morgan he will pledge allegiance - Anthony Albanese has said he has no issues swearing allegiance to King Charles III during a public oath at this weekend’s historic coronation service and warned republicans that staging a vote on Australia’s future head of state was not imminent. The Australian prime minister met the King during a private audience at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday, in what was described as an “insightful and rewarding” meeting, where he reiterated there was an invitation for the royals to visit Australia next year. In an interview with controversial broadcaster Piers Morgan on Britain’s TalkTV, Albanese said he was certain that Australia would become a republic “at some stage in the future” but he preferred not to be a prime minister who “presides over just constitutional debates”.

>>18789935 Video: ‘What a stuttering mess’: Albanese’s response to controversial question slammed by trans-activists - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sparked backlash over his response to a controversial question posed by English journalist Piers Morgan. “What is a woman Prime Minister?” Morgan asked. “An adult female,” Mr Albanese replied instantly. In response, the British journalist proceeded to question: “how difficult was that to answer?” “Not too hard,” Mr Albanese said while slightly shrugging his shoulders and shaking his head. But his response quickly led to intense debate online, with some accusing the Prime Minister of not acknowledging transgender women in his statement. Trans activist and blogger Eleanor Evans said Mr Albanese used the question as an opportunity to “drop anti-trans dogwhistles while umming and ahhing about ‘respect’”.

>>18790019 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Great to catch up with California Governor @GavinNewsom. CA & (Australia) have a close economic & environmental partnership, & shared interests in climate, tech, & entertainment. 60k Aussies live in CA & 400+ (Australian) businesses active in this economy. You're always welcome down under Governor.

>>18790019 Q Post #2782 - [Example CA] - https://calmatters.org/articles/commentary/gavin-newsoms-keeping-it-all-in-the-family/amp/? - What ‘family’ runs CA? They are all connected. Wealth-Power-Influence - [RIGGED] - The More You Know…. - Q - https://qanon.pub/#2782

#29 - Part 10

Australian Politics and Society - Part 10

>>18794944 ‘Disappointing’: Monash Council cancels drag queen story time event - Monash City Council has cancelled a drag queen story time event after threats of violence against families, the performer, councillors and staff escalated to include intimidation from neo-Nazis following a tense protest at its offices. The south-eastern council’s meeting in Glen Waverley was derailed last week when almost 200 people attended, many protesting against its sold-out drag queen event planned for children and parents at Oakleigh Library on May 19. Monash chief executive Dr Andi Diamond said the decision to scratch the event was made in consultation with Victoria Police. “It is incredibly disappointing to have to cancel an event designed to celebrate the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, but we were left with no choice after Victoria Police advised council of the risks. In the end, we were unable to guarantee that we would be able to hold the event safely.”

>>18801113 Note from Washington: Forget Mr Ambassador -call him Kevin Everywhere - A new era of diplomacy began two weeks ago when Kevin Rudd presented his credentials to President Joe Biden at the White House, marking the official start of his term as Australia’s 23rd ambassador to the US. Since then, the former prime minister has wasted no time making his mark. “He’s been really aggressive - in a good way - in terms of reaching up to the Hill,” Democrat Congressman Joe Courtney said after he caught up with Rudd last week, when they discussed the AUKUS submarine pact and his “clear-eyed view of the challenge in the Indo-Pacific”.

>>18801116 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Great to catch up with @johnpodesta (senior adviser to @POTUS for clean energy innovation & implementation) ahead of President Biden’s visit to Australia in May. We need to maximise (Australia) & (United States) collaboration on climate solutions & the renewable energy transition

>>18824070 Donald J. Trump Truth: Bill Barr was a sloppy, lethargic mess as the Attorney General. He was lazy as hell, and petrified of the Radical Left Democrats, & the fact that they were going to impeach him. I wish they had, which would have meant that he was doing his job, which he wasn’t. Bad on Election Fraud & just about everything else he touched, Sloppy Bill is now a human sound bite, along with Karl Rove, Wacky Peggy “I hate Reagan” Noonan, & Paul Ryan, for Rupert Murdoch & his ANTI-TRUMP (just like 2016!) WSJ, Plus!

>>18824070 Donald J. Trump Truth: Rupert Murdoch, “Worst Republican Speaker ever” Paul Ryan, RINO KARL ROVE, The Wall Street Globalist Journal, and the rapidly disintegrating FoxNews, have gone all out, over the last 3 months, pushing and promoting Ron DeSanctimonious, a man who, without the help and Endorsement of President Donald J. Trump, would now be working at a McDonalds or, at a minimum, be far away from Tallahassee. Anyway, all of this RINO/GLOBALIST push from Election Undenier Murdoch has crushed DeSanctus in the Polls!

>>18835436 Security stoush erupts as Andrew Wilkie in frame for secretive committee - A rare stoush has erupted in parliament’s high-powered intelligence and security committee over a government push that could see whistleblower turned independent MP Andrew Wilkie return to the secretive body. The Parliamentary Joint Committee on Security and Intelligence has only had Labor and Coalition members throughout its history, besides a brief stint when Wilkie served on the committee during the minority Gillard government. The Labor majority on the committee, which receives classified intelligence briefings and oversees agencies such as ASIO and the Office of National Intelligence, is proposing to expand its membership from 11 to 13 MPs, extending membership to politicians outside the two major parties.

>>18835457 US Marine burned by exploding barbecue in Darwin sues US, Australian governments for millions - An ex-US Marine bomb technician set alight in a barbecue explosion while serving in Darwin is suing the governments of Australia and his home country for millions of dollars in damages. Evan James Williamson was on deployment in Darwin in 2019 as an aircraft ordinance technician at an Australian Army base in the Northern Territory city. The 25-year-old has claimed in court documents seen by the ABC that he received 30 per cent burns to his body after attempting to light a barbecue which officials knew had a gas leak.

#29 - Part 11

Australian Politics and Society - Part 11

>>18835473 US Army Chief backs tanks, armoured vehicles amid Australian cuts - The head of the US Army insists tanks and armoured vehicles remain indispensable for modern-day battlefields, amid criticism of the Albanese government for cutting the number of next-generation troop carriers following a top-level military review. “From an army standpoint, I was asked the same question and my response was ‘You don’t need tanks unless you want to win’,” US Army Chief of Staff James McConville told journalists during a media roundtable in Canberra

>>18840513 Two arrested as neo-Nazi group clashes with police at Victorian Parliament - Two people were arrested after neo-Nazis returned to the steps of Victorian Parliament and clashed with police and counter-protesters, almost two months after fascists gatecrashed an anti-trans rights rally on Spring Street. Victoria Police, which deployed more than 200 officers across the city on Saturday, denounced the group of about 25 neo-Nazis who arrived an hour early for a midday “anti-immigration protest”.

>>18840746 The biggest takeaways from the Disability Royal Commission after four years of hearings - "Sexual assaults in the home and by carers. Children being removed from their mothers immediately after birth. Forced sterilisation. Getting paid $2.50 an hour for manual work. These are just some of the many disturbing accounts heard by the Royal Commission into Violence, Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation of People with Disability over the last four and a half years. For many in the disability community, these stories did not come as a surprise - they're well aware of the violence, abuse, neglect and exploitation they face. But with the four-year inquiry wrapping up its final public hearing this week, they want the wider Australian community to know about it, too. And they want everyone to know these situations are not confined to history - they are still happening today." - Nas Campanella and Evan Young - abc.net.au

>>18855229 Video: US special counsel slams FBI probe of Trump-Russia collusion sparked by Alexander Downer - The FBI has been blasted for launching a bombshell investigation of Donald Trump’s Russia links based on Australian intelligence which its lead agent admitted had “nothing to this”. Former Australian foreign affairs minister Alexander Downer inadvertently sparked the extraordinary saga during the 2016 presidential election when he wrote a diplomatic cable about a conversation he had with a junior official in Mr Trump’s campaign. New details of his role have been laid bare in a report by Trump-appointed special counsel John Durham, who spent four years investigating the FBI’s handling of the collusion probe and concluded it was “seriously flawed”.

>>18855354 Video: Ukraine enlists Eurovision stars to lobby Australia for Hawkei fighting vehicles - Ukraine's Eurovision stars Tvorchi have called on Australia for more help to fortify the country's "heart of steel", renewing calls for Australian-made Hawkei fighting vehicles. In a slick new social-media campaign from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the two artists used their profile to make a personal plea to Australia for the additional support.

>>18860427 Joe Biden cancels Australia trip, Quad meeting in doubt - US President Joe Biden has cancelled his upcoming visits to Australia and Papua New Guinea in a blow to Anthony Albanese and to America’s standing in PNG as China looks to expand its influence in the country. Mr Biden was due to arrive in Sydney next week for the Quad leaders summit, which is now in doubt with the offices of both Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Japanese PM Fumio Kishida confirming they were reconsidering their own travel plans. The cancellation comes amid intractable negotiations between Democrats and congressional Republicans over a looming US debt ceiling deadline.

>>18860803 Donald Trump Jr to bring ‘voice of Trumpism’ to Australia - Look out Australia - Donald Trump Jr is coming to town. The son of the 45th president of the United States, who has been described as “the voice of undiluted Trumpism”, said he will be making a three city speaking tour of Australia this July to talk about the “disease of woke identity politics and cancel culture … that has clearly taken hold (in Australia).” Organisers said they expected that the tour, which will run from July 9-11 and hit Sydney, Melbourne, and Brisbane, would draw “significant” attention due to Mr Trump’s “polarising” reputation and “divisive, anti-politically correct stances”.

#29 - Part 12

Australian Politics and Society - Part 12

>>18865983 Video: ‘Kids love drag’: Drag queen icon Shane Zenek on storytime scandal - After weeks of drag queen storytime events being cancelled over abuse and threats one of Australia’s most famous drag queens has issued an emotional tribute to those under attack. Shane Jenek, better known under the stage name Courtney Act told The Project that he recognised it was a difficult time for the “queer community when we are being discussed like this”. “But to love someone of the same gender or express your gender differently means you have to step outside the status quo and understand something of yourself,” he said. “Queer people are hear to save the world, to show we can think differently about the old decaying systems and we can make them better and celebrate that diversity.”

>>18871739 Former AFLW player El Chaston opens up on life-changing breast removal surgery to find their true self - "El Chaston is at peace. With life. With their gender identity. And after years of internal struggle, their body. It’s taken 21 years to get here. But just weeks before their 21st birthday, Chaston became their truest self, undergoing a removal of their breast tissue – essentially a double mastectomy, or “top surgery” – to reflect their non-binary identity. After years of pain, physical and mental, it “all just washed away”." - Lauren Wood, AFL and AFL Women's reporter for the Herald Sun and CODE Sports - theaustralian.com.au

>>18873902 Should doctors be banned from surgically ‘correcting’ intersex traits in children? - Clitorectomies, phalloplasty and gonadectomies on intersex children will be illegal without an urgent clinical justification, under draft ACT laws. Chief Minister Andrew Barr says doctors have performed inappropriate interventions, and the legislation - the first in Australia - is necessary to protect children from harm. It would ban significant deferrable surgeries affecting a child’s sex characteristics until the intersex child had capacity to consent, with potential penalties of up to $22,000 in fines or two years’ imprisonment.

>>18875192 Kevin Rudd defends Joe Biden over cancelled trip to Australia - US ambassador Kevin Rudd has rejected suggestions Joe Biden’s decision to cancel his trip to Australia and Papua New Guinea is a blow to America’s standing in the region, saying the diplomatic snub is a “very small thing”. “I think we need to take a step back to pull out our smelling salts and say, look, the postponement of a presidential visit in the scheme of all this is quite small,” Dr Rudd told National Public Radio in the US.

>>18875639 Marine Rotational Force - Darwin Facebook Post - Ambassador Caroline Kennedy, 27th U.S. Ambassador to Australia, visits Marine Rotational Force – Darwin, in the midst of Exercise Crocodile Response at Darwin, Australia, May 17, 2023. During her visit, Ambassador Kennedy experienced a ride in the MV-22B Osprey over the city of Darwin, met with key leaders of Marine Rotational Force Darwin, Defence Australia, and Indonesian National Armed Forces, and received an exercise overview briefing. Exercise Crocodile Response seeks to extend shared interoperability with partners throughout the Indo-Pacific region, increasing efficiencies in responding to Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief. #USEmbassy #FreeandOpenIndoPacific #AlliesandPartners

>>18875704 Video: Obama Praises Australia For Confiscating Citizens’ Guns - Former President Barack Obama praised Australia’s gun confiscation following a mass shooting during an interview that aired Tuesday morning. “We are unique among advanced, developed nations in tolerating, on a routine basis, gun violence in the form of shootings, mass shootings, suicides,” Obama told “CBS This Morning” co-host Nate Burleson. “In Australia, you had one mass shooting 50 years ago and they said, ‘No, we’re not doing that anymore.’ That is normally how you would expect a society to respond when your children are at risk.”

>>18876521 At G7 Summit, Biden apologises to Albanese for scrapping Sydney Quad meeting - US President Joe Biden will ask Congress to empower Australian manufacturers as a domestic source for arms manufacturing, binding the two countries’ defence production together as they confront the growing military might of China. Biden was due to travel to Australia for a Quad meeting in Sydney after the G7, but the summit was cancelled due to the US debt crisis. Biden apologised to Albanese for cancelling his trip to Australia and said negotiations with Republicans were “in their closing stages”. “I’m sorry I’m not taking a plane to Australia,” said Biden as the pair signed a climate and critical minerals’ pact. “All politics is local, but friendship is permanent.”

#29 - Part 13

Australian Politics and Society - Part 13

>>18876675 Donald Trump Jr. Tweet: Video: Donald Trump Jr. Live In Australia July 2023 with Turning Point Australia - https://trumplive.com.au

>>18885225 Vacuous Quad joint statement sets off warning bells - "What has made the Australia/US alliance so successful has been a record of practical defence and intelligence co-operation, decisions that put boots on the ground and bullets in the armouries of our defence forces. There was very little of that on display in Albanese’s engagement with Biden. A joint statement of the Quad leaders was released following a short meeting shoe-horned between the end of the G7 and a formal dinner. It’s a disappointing piece of work with a lot of bureaucratic verbiage and distressingly little substance." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au

>>18885235 PM goes soft on Russia, China as other leaders step up to the mark in support of Ukraine - "Australia’s attendance at the G7 and Quad leaders meetings in Japan helps Anthony Albanese back home. It portrays him as a respected, influential international leader. But the price of sitting at these tables isn’t smiling and participating in photo opportunities, it’s action - and that’s where the problems can often start. On Ukraine, Australia has moved from an active, front-foot supporter of President Volodymyr Zelensky and his military to a country desperate not to be asked what it has done lately. And on China, the clear Australian government objective is to not create a ripple in the monster’s pond. Its approach is that nothing can be allowed to disturb the glacial lifting of Beijing’s coercive trade restrictions. Even more importantly, nothing must get in the way of the headline: “Albanese meets Xi”." - Michael Shoebridge, director of Strategic Analysis Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>18890161 Indian PM Narendra Modi wants ‘next level’ friendship with Australia - Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has declared he wants to take the relationship with Australia to the “next level”, including closer defence and security ties to help ensure an “open and free” Indo-Pacific. Mr Modi said the growing strategic challenges in the region made India’s partnership with Australia more critical than ever.

>>18890184 Controversy dogs Donald Trump Jr’s upcoming tour - Australians are calling for Donald Trump Jr to be banned from the country before his planned speaking tour. Donald Trump’s eldest son will embark on a tour in July with dates in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, presented by Turning Point Australia. However, not all of the “amazing people” in Australia want Mr Trump Jr to enter the country. A petition that calls for him to be banned is gaining traction. At 9.30pm on Monday, an online petition calling for his ban has more than 3400 signatures.

>>18895116 ASIO warns neo-nazi groups are seeking to recruit more members - Right-wing terror threats make up roughly 30 per cent of ASIO's current counter-terror caseload, as the head of the agency warns they are growing in prominence to try and recruit more members. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess was questioned during a Senate Estimates hearing whether recent public demonstrations signalled a growing threat from Neo-Nazi groups. Mr Burgess suggested while the demonstrations are becoming more brazen, they are primarily aimed at driving recruitment, and do not necessarily indicate a growing terror threat from Neo-Nazi groups.

>>18895125 Video: US Marines join Aussie and Indonesian troops for training in the Northern Territory - The Marine Rotational Force in Darwin has begun its first training for the year - Exercise Crocodile Response. Partnering with the ADF and the Indonesian National Military, the trilateral operation sharpens the groups' skills in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. - ABC News (Australia)

>>18895147 Video: Donald Trump Jr says it is important to fight for freedoms as he calls out radical left ahead of his Australian speaking tour - Donald Trump Jr has urged Australians to fight back against the rise of the radical left, as other nations are "laughing" at the West over its "stupidity". The eldest son of former United States president Donald Trump told Sky News Australia it was important to fight for freedoms and democracy to preserve traditional values of society, which he claimed had been lost in recent years.

#29 - Part 14

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 1

>>18708667 Relations between ACT Police and DPP ‘beset by tension’ over Brittany Higgins’ rape claim - An explosive complaint from the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions about police conduct before and during Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial lit the match that sparked the Board of Inquiry into the capital’s criminal justice systems. Walter Sofronoff KC, who is conducting the inquiry, held the Board’s first public hearing in Canberra this morning where it was revealed that the inquiry was established after DPP Shane Drumgold wrote to ACT Chief Police Officer Neil Gaughan on November 1, 2022 alleging his officers had conducted 18 months of “inappropriate interference” in Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecution.

>>18723515 Man charged over threatening to kill Brittany Higgins, David Sharaz and their pet cavoodle - A NSW man has been charged after allegedly threatening to kill Brittany Higgins, her fiance and their pet cavoodle over social media. David William Wonnocot, 49, allegedly told Ms Higgins’ partner David Sharaz he would “kill you both when you least expect it” and that he was planning to “chop Kingston [pet dog] up into little pieces”, according to messages seen by The Australian. Terrorism squad detectives arrested the man at 10am on Wednesday in Tweed Heads on the NSW north coast and charged him with using a carriage service to make threats to kill and menace, harass and offend.

>>18734316 DPP Shane Drumgold complicit with Brittany Higgins’ bid to prejudice case, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer claims - The chief prosecutor in Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial was “complicit” in a bid by Brittany Higgins to prejudice the case against him, according to an extraordinary draft submission to the ACT ­Supreme Court prepared by Sydney barrister Arthur Moses SC. The explosive 36-page document obtained by The Australian sheds new light on developments in the Lehrmann case that have been shrouded in secrecy because of suppression orders imposed by ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum.

>>18766047 Bruce Lehrmann given go-ahead by Federal Court to sue journalists and media outlets over Brittany Higgins interviews - The Federal Court has given the go-ahead to former Liberal Party adviser Bruce Lehrmann's plan to sue media outlets over interviews they conducted with Brittany Higgins. In the interviews - which Mr Lehrmann argues identified him - Ms Higgins alleged she was raped in a parliamentary office in 2019. Mr Lehrmann had to ask the court for permission to lodge a defamation claim against Network Ten and News Life Media because the usual 12-month deadline for these claims had expired. Their stories about Ms Higgins aired and were published in February 2021. He also filed a separate claim against the ABC, which broadcast a speech Ms Higgins gave to the National Press Club in February 2022.

>>18814626 ACT top prosecutor Shane Drumgold takes the stand on first day of Board of Inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann's trial - An inquiry into how criminal justice agencies handled the case against former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has heard journalist Lisa Wilkinson alleged she'd been treated unfairly by the ACT's top prosecutor. There were calls in some media reports for Wilkinson to face criminal proceedings for contempt of court over a speech she gave at the Logie Awards a week before Mr Lehrmann's trial was due to begin. Mr Drumgold accepted today that he did not fully comprehend the potential impact of Wilkinson's speech, should she win. "In hindsight it was not an unlikely hypothetical … I should have paid closer attention at the time," he told the inquiry.

>>18814642 Bruce Lehrmann attends first day of public hearings at Board of Inquiry into ACT’s criminal justice system - Shane Drumgold has told the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system that he is a “prosecutor, not a publicist” over his refusal to publicly clear Lisa Wilkinson of contempt after her Logies acceptance speech delayed Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial. Under intense examination from Counsel assisting Erin Longbottom KC, Mr Drumgold conceded he did not give the issue adequate attention and believed Ms Wilkinson had brought up her nomination, in part, to brag about it. “I thought it was more about pointing out she was up for a Logie Award rather than seeking genuine advice,” he said. “In hindsight I should have taken a different approach.”

#29 - Part 15

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 2

>>18819307 Day one: The DPP may be in a world of pain over disclosure - "On day one of the Sofronoff inquiry, material before it - and now made public – suggests the ACT Director of Prosecutions may be in a world of pain. In his incendiary November letter to ACT chief police office Neil Gaughan, DPP Shane Drumgold said he wanted a public inquiry into the police handling of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations against Bruce Lehrmann. He’s got that, and so much more than he surely bargained for. Drumgold is central to this inquiry for reasons that will soon become clearer to all Australians. The most serious issues facing Drumgold, by a country mile, concern disclosure. Did the DPP disclose all material he was duty-bound to disclose to Lehrmann’s defence to ensure there was a fair trial?" - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18819337 Bombshell police dossier of Higgins’ ‘inconsistencies’ raises stakes - Shane Drumgold has sensationally claimed investigating police tried to sabotage the rape case against Bruce Lehrmann by heightening Brittany Higgins’ emotional distress in the hope she would be too traumatised to appear as a witness. The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions’ extraordinary attack on the Australian Federal Police officers was made in an 81-page statement to the Sofronoff inquiry, which has made public an explosive police dossier outlining inconsistencies in Brittany Higgins’ statements about her alleged rape. The police briefs, known as the Moller Reports, have been at the heart of the dispute between the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions and the Australian Federal Police

>>18819377 Video: DPP Shane Drumgold worried police opinions would ‘crush’ Brittany Higgins - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold did not want a document containing a senior police officer’s “gratuitous stereotyping” of Brittany Higgins’ credibility to fall into the hands of Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyers because of the “crushing” impact it would have on her. In a dramatic second day of testimony to the Sofronoff inquiry, the Director of Public Prosecutions conceded he may have “unintentionally” misled the ACT Supreme Court over an affidavit seeking to prevent the so-called Moller Report being given to Mr Lehrmann’s defence team.

>>18819394 Sofronoff inquiry: Shane Drumgold accused of withholding crucial documents - In a damning submission to the Sofronoff inquiry, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer has accused chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold of withholding crucial police documents that exposed discrepancies in Brittany Higgins’s rape claims and of alleging political interference and cover-up by Liberal ministers when there was no evidence of it. Mr Whybrow’s 75-page statement to the inquiry claims that Drumgold withheld a key police document from the defence that detailed “many inconsistencies in (Brittany Higgins’) evidence” and should have been disclosed.

>>18824011 Shane Drumgold SC feared conspiracy in Bruce Lehrmann rape case - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold SC has accused police who investigated rape allegations made by Brittany Higgins of “feeding inaccurate information” in a bid to derail the case against Bruce Lehrmann. Mr Drumgold told the Sofronoff inquiry he became concerned because there had been “significant problems” and investigators had “displayed a passionate interest in not proceeding”. Mr Drumgold said he expressed concern to investigators that a second AFP interview would traumatise Ms Higgins.

>>18824025 Senators reject DPP’s suggestion of political conspiracy in Lehrmann trial - Extraordinary allegations by the top prosecutor in the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial that there could have been a political conspiracy to derail the case have been vehemently denied by former Coalition ministers Michaelia Cash and Linda Reynolds. In explosive evidence delivered before an inquiry into the abandoned trial of Lehrmann - a former Liberal Party staffer - ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold SC said a series of “strange events” throughout the case led him to believe there was federal interference in the politically charged case.

#29 - Part 16

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 3

>>18824039 How often can a Director of Public Prosecutions fall short of his duties? - "There is no doubt this was a high-profile, high-pressure investigation and trial. It occurred in the glare of the media, given Higgins’s choice to speak first to the media before proceeding with a formal complaint. It was coloured by activists who saw Higgins as the face of the #metoo movement, forgetting this was an allegation only. There was a vulnerable complainant at the centre of it. Government ministers and their staff were being impugned. Sofronoff will have to determine whether Drumgold, who, by his own admission, has said he did not turn his mind to a range of matters that he should have considered, lost objectivity, meaning he failed to exercise his extraordinary powers in line with his duties. In short, did a form of zealousness that is dangerous to justice set in at some point during this fiasco?" - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18829366 ACT's top prosecutor says he was wrong to suspect federal political interference in Bruce Lehrmann case - In a dramatic about-face, the ACT's top prosecutor, Shane Drumgold has told an inquiry he was mistaken to suspect political interference in the investigation of former Liberal Party adviser Bruce Lehrmann. "Your suspicions about the existence of political interference to prevent the case properly going ahead were mistaken?" inquiry chair Walter Sofronoff asked. "I do accept that," Mr Drumgold replied.

>>18829386 Shane Drumgold’s bizarre CCTV claim claim causes rift with police investigating Brittany Higgins rape allegation - A bizarre allegation of “disappeared” CCTV footage showing Brittany Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann at Parliament House on the night of her alleged rape caused a serious rift between the chief prosecutor and police investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation. The Australian understands police were furious that ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold seemed to be suggesting they had deliberately destroyed or deleted video that could have been used in Mr Lehrmann’s rape trial.

>>18829468 Sofronoff inquiry: Lisa Wilkinson refutes DPP claims over Logies speech - TV presenter Lisa Wilkinson has sensationally refuted claims by ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold that he warned her that her Logies speech could result in a delay in Bruce Lehrmann’s upcoming rape trial. Mr Drumgold claimed he told The Project host in a pre-trial conference days before the Logie Awards that the defence team could make a stay application “in the event of publicity”. In a statement to the Sofronoff Inquiry Ms Wilkinson says Mr Drumgold “did not at any time” give her the warning he claimed.

>>18835239 Sofronoff inquiry: ACT DPP Shane Drumgold’s future ‘hangs by a thread’ - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold’s future is hanging by a thread after a week before the Sofronoff inquiry in which he ­admitted serious professional ­errors and did an about-face on claims of a political conspiracy by former Liberal ministers to stop a police investigation of Brittany Higgins’s rape claims. On Friday, ACT Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury declined an invitation to express confidence in his Director of Public Prosecutions, after a fifth day of evidence in which Mr Drumgold again conceded “unintentionally” misleading the judge presiding over Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial.

>>18835288 Lehrmann DPP targets media in grilling by Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer - Lisa Wilkinson’s lawyer has accused the ACT’s top prosecutor, Shane Drumgold, SC, of providing irrational responses to her questions during a lengthy exchange in which he claimed every media outlet misreported Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial. Defamation lawyer Sue Chrysanthou, SC, told an inquiry into authorities’ handling of the case that her client, a high-profile journalist, suffered “utter destruction” at the hands of the media for a Logies speech about Lehrmann’s accuser, Brittany Higgins, that caused the trial to be delayed.

>>18849860 AFP detective inspector ‘traumatised’ at prospect of Bruce Lehrmann rape conviction - One of the lead investigators in the case against Bruce Lehrmann was distressed and morally traumatised by the prospect of the former ministerial staffer being convicted over the rape of Brittany Higgins. Steven Whybrow SC, who represented Mr Lehrmann in the since-aborted trial, said Australian Federal Police Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman told him he believed the former ministerial staffer was innocent, and that if Mr Lehrmann was found guilty he would resign after the jury had retired to deliberate.

#29 - Part 17

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 4

>>18849877 The Project ignores the Sofronoff inquiry into the handling of Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial - Channel 10’s flagship prime time news and a current affairs program, The Project, has completely ignored the Sofronoff inquiry into the handling of the rape case against Bruce Lehrmann, despite the network being the first media outlet to air an interview with the complainant Brittany Higgins. The weeknight show, predominantly hosted by Sarah Harris and Waleed Aly, last week did not make a single mention of the high-profile inquiry which has dominated newspaper front pages and TV and radio bulletins headlines all over the country since it began last Monday.

>>18855298 ‘Outrageous’: prosecutor’s texts over Higgins leak - A heated text message exchange between Bruce Lehrmann’s defence barrister Steven Whybrow and prosecutor Skye Jerome about revelations published in The Weekend Australian last year have been made public at the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system. Mr Whybrow’s communications show that on December 3 last year Ms Jerome contacted him just after 7am demanding to know whether he had leaked the AFP’s investigative review document, now known as the Moller Report, to The Weekend Australian after an article detailing its contents was published that Saturday morning.

>>18855326 Secret court transcript reveals rogue juror ‘deeply sorry’ after causing Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial to be aborted - The confession of the juror who caused Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial to be sensationally aborted late last year can now be revealed, after the Sofronoff Inquiry released the transcript of a secret Supreme Court hearing. During the closed-court hearing on October 27 the juror, who cannot be identified, told Chief Justice McCallum they were “deeply sorry” for taking prohibited material into the jury room.

>>18860707 Did Shane Drumgold succumb to #MeToo zealotry in the Bruce Lehrmann case? - The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions has made some wild claims about political conspiracies between the Morrison government and the Australian Federal Police, between senior ministers and Bruce Lehrmann’s defence team, and between the AFP and defence lawyers. What on earth explains the long list of rash and ill-conceived decisions by the DPP? Was it #MeToo zealotry? Did political pressures ensnare him? Incompetence? Any mix of these possible factors is a dangerous concoction in the hands of a DPP who exercises the power and authority of the state against individual citizens.

>>18865851 DPP Shane Drumgold ‘on leave’ after Lehrmann inquiry evidence - The ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold has taken sudden leave from his position after five days of bruising evidence about his handling of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation at the Sofronoff inquiry last week. Mr Drumgold has been replaced as DPP while the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system is underway.

>>18865869 Thanks for the break Shane Drumgold, now please don’t come back - "Shane Drumgold KC has done the right thing. He deserves credit for taking four weeks’ leave as Director of Public Prosecutions of the ACT. He would deserve more credit if he never returned. If he remains the territory’s top prosecutor, there is a risk that criminal justice will suffer. The evidence before Walter Sofronoff’s inquiry into the handling of the Bruce Lehrmann rape trial shows Drumgold sits at the centre of a network of dysfunctional professional relationships." - Chris Merritt, vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>18875053 ABC to rely on ‘public interest’ defence in Bruce Lehrmann defamation case - The ABC will rely on a new public interest defence in its defamation battle against Bruce Lehrmann, arguing the broadcast of Brittany Higgins’ National Press Club address was of importance to Australians because it concerned the “safety of persons in Parliament House”. The public broadcaster’s defence also argued Mr Lehrmann had no grounds for defamation as he was not named during the broadcast.

>>18875089 Punching up: Will Bruce Lehrmann’s prosecutor survive his latest fight? - Shane Drumgold, SC, has been throwing punches all his life. Those he’s landed have won him gold medals for boxing at the national Masters Games, and the distinction of being the first Indigenous person to become a director of public prosecutions. Last week he threw some haymakers, against politicians, the media, and the police. But now the ACT’s top prosecutor is on the ropes for his part in the abandoned Parliament House rape trial of former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann, which has been described in the inquiry as the most talked about case since Lindy Chamberlain.

#29 - Part 18

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 5

>>18876298 Video: ‘Verdict first, trial later’: rule of law under threat, says Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer Steven Whybrow SC - The presumption of innocence and the right to due process have been dangerously warped by the #MeToo movement, Bruce Lehrmann’s lawyer Steven Whybrow SC has claimed, in his first interview since Mr Lehrmann went on trial over Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations. “This was ‘Alice in Wonderland’. Sentence first or verdict first, trial later,” Mr Whybrow says of the pre-trial publicity around the case.

>>18876460 Lisa Wilkinson’s Logies speech about Brittany Higgins ‘kept Bruce Lehrmann out of jail’, says lawyer Steven Whybrow - Many people were aghast at Wilkinson’s speech in mid-June 2022. Her public praise of Brittany Higgins, who she had interviewed on The Project, and the implied celebration of the truth of her rape complaint against Lehrmann, within days of the commencement of the trial, would up-end the court process. “If Ms Wilkinson had not said the things she said at the Logies, and the trial judge had not adjourned the trial for three months, I genuinely believe Bruce would have been convicted,” Whybrow says.

>>18885147 Brittany Higgins ‘had to do media as face of #MeToo movement’: Victims advocate told cop - A senior police officer says when he asked that Brittany Higgins stop doing media that could prejudice Bruce Lehrmann’s rape trial, Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates told him: “She can’t, Scott - she is the face of the movement now.” In a submission to the Sofronoff inquiry, Detective Superintendent Scott Moller says Ms Yates was “more interested in Ms Higgins pushing the ‘#metoo’ movement than being committed to the upcoming trial”.

>>18885169 DPP Shane Drumgold’s CCTV evidence tampering claim ‘vexatious’ - The senior police officer who led the investigation of Brittany Higgins’s rape allegations has slammed Shane Drumgold for suggesting that police deliberately destroyed or deleted CCTV footage of Ms Higgins and Bruce Lehrmann, claiming the chief prosecutor had embarrassingly confused a Four Corners re-enactment with the real thing. Detective Superintendent Scott Moller has in a statement told the Sofronoff inquiry that the inference of corrupt or dishonest behaviour was “vexatious, without any merits and offensive to an extremely committed, hardworking and competent investigation team”.

>>18885211 Video: Pressure to ‘progress’ Bruce Lehrmann rape allegation forced police into medical leave, inquiry told - The senior police officer who oversaw the investigation of Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation against Bruce Lehrmann said that detectives were under so much pressure to progress the matter against their professional beliefs that many went on medical leave. Detective Superintendent Scott Moller, who is giving evidence at the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system on Monday, told chair Walter Sofronoff KC that on August 5, 2021 Commander Michael Chew told him to have a summons served on Mr Lehrmann due to the “significant pressure” on police to charge the 29-year-old.

>>18890066 Sofronoff inquiry: Police ‘acted hour after boyfriend’s call’ - The police officer in charge of the investigation into Brittany Higgins’s rape allegations has revealed the immense pressure investigators were under to charge Bruce Lehrmann, culminating in a direct phone call from her boyfriend, David Sharaz, to a senior detective threatening to publicly condemn the time being taken. Detective Superintendent Scott Moller gave evidence to the Sofronoff inquiry on Monday that within an hour of Mr Sharaz calling Detective Inspector Marcus Boorman, he was given ­instruct­ions to serve a summons on Mr Lehrmann for one count of sexual intercourse without consent.

>>18890091 Shane Drumgold lost objectivity in Bruce Lehrmann rape case, Sofronoff inquiry told - The senior police investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation got the impression that Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold was determined to prosecute the case, “no matter what” and was “dismissive” of investigators’ views, an inquiry has heard. During his second day of evidence at the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system, Detective Superintendent Scott Moller said that Mr Drumgold had been verbally expressing his view that there was sufficient evidence to charge Mr Lehrmann “for months” before he had read the brief of evidence.

#29 - Part 19

Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 6

>>18895060 Brittany Higgins’ ‘drive to be in media’ made work difficult: top cop - The senior police officer who oversaw the investigation into Brittany Higgins’ rape allegation says the complainant’s “drive to be in the media” made their work “difficult”, and that the case impacted their relationship with the Victims of Crime Commissioner, Heidi Yates. During cross examination of Detective Superintendent Scott Moller, Heidi Yates’s lawyer, Peggy Dwyer, asserted that the Victims of Crime Commissioner was “well within her rights” to become Ms Higgins’ support person and act as a conduit between the complainant and police who were investigating her rape claim against Bruce Lehrmann.

>>18895074 Police officer who led investigation into Brittany Higgins's rape allegation reveals he is sexual assault survivor - The head investigator into Brittany Higgins's allegation that she had been raped has revealed he is a survivor of sexual assault. Detective Superintendent Scott Moller disclosed the information on his third day of giving evidence to an ACT board of inquiry, which is examining the conduct of criminal justice agencies in the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann. Wrapping up his time providing evidence, Superintendent Moller's lawyer, Matt Black, asked him what life experience he brought to his role with ACT police. Superintendent Moller told the inquiry that 45 years ago he was sexually assaulted. "I'm a survivor," he said. "That has driven my desire to make sure [other victims are supported]."

>>18900712 Brittany Higgins ‘naked and asleep’ on sofa not enough to charge Bruce Lehrmann with rape, Sofronoff inquiry told - A police officer investigating Brittany Higgins’ rape allegations has told the Sofronoff inquiry that investigators had not established all three legal requirements necessary to charge Bruce Lehrmann with sexual assault. In evidence to the Board of Inquiry into the ACT’s criminal justice system on Thursday, Senior Constable Emma Frizzell rejected a suggestion by Mark Tedeschi KC, who is representing the Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold, that the first requirement was satisfied, namely, that there was “corroboration” that sexual intercourse took place.

>>18906031 Case against Bruce Lehrmann ‘very weak’: AFP Commander Michael Chew at Sofronoff inquiry - A high-ranking federal police officer says he believed the case against Bruce Lehrmann for the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins was “very weak”, but he directed officers to push ahead because he was concerned that the media was compromising the former staffer’s right to a fair trial. AFP Commander Michael Chew, deputy chief of ACT Police between August 2018 and 2021, said he had had almost daily conversations with detective Superintendent Scott Moller about the strength and weakness of the evidence against Mr Lehrmann.

>>18906057 Media pressure behind timing of Lehrmann charge: police commander - An ACT deputy chief police officer who oversaw the Lehrmann rape investigation said the intense media pressure hanging over the police motivated him to direct the former Coalition staffer be charged in late 2021. Commander Michael Chew told his subordinate Detective Superintendent Scott Moller in early August “let’s just get it served and move on” against the backdrop of increasing public scrutiny and perceived delays in the investigation.

#29 - Part 20

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 1

>>18670474 Donald Trump winning 2024 US election will not change Aukus plans, Australia’s Albanese says - Australia is confident its agreement with the US to purchase a fleet of nuclear submarines for delivery in the early 2030s will go ahead no matter who wins the 2024 election, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said.

>>18670521 Anthony Albanese dismisses fears Australia-US ties will suffer if Trump reclaims White House - The AUKUS security pact will remain strong regardless of who ends up in the White House after the 2024 US election, the Prime Minister says. Anthony Albanese said he isn’t concerned for the future of the alliance with the US and the UK, despite the possibility of Donald Trump returning as president following next year’s election.

>>18670549 Anthony Albanese Tweet: (7 January 2021) Democracy is precious and cannot be taken for granted - the violent insurrection in Washington is an assault on the rule of law and democracy. Donald Trump has encouraged this response and must now call on his supporters to stand down.

>>18670549 Video: (7 January 2021) Anthony Albanese blames Donald Trump for US Capitol violence - sbs.com.au

>>18682151 Video: Go inside one of the most powerful warships in the world - CNN's Will Ripley reports exclusively from one of the most powerful warships on the planet, the USS Mississippi, a U.S. nuclear submarine that's on high alert for threats from China.

>>18698843 Ignore the AUKUS hand-wringers, we need these subs for sea-bed battles: Navy chief - The nation’s navy chief has urged Australians to ignore “hand-wringing” doubters of the AUKUS pact, arguing a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines is necessary to fortify Australia against a potential attack on vital undersea cables. In his first interview since Prime Minister Anthony Albanese unveiled the details of the submarine plan last month, Vice Admiral Mark Hammond forcefully rejected claims the vessels could draw Australia into a war over Taiwan or that technological advances will render them obsolete before they arrive.

>>18708612 ‘He diminished his legacy’: Penny Wong, Paul Keating escalate feud - The feud between two of Labor’s most beloved figures has escalated, with Foreign Minister Penny Wong accusing Paul Keating of diminishing his legacy and the former prime minister attacking Wong for speaking in platitudes and lacking policy ambition. In an appearance at the National Press Club, Wong hit out at critics who take “self-satisfied potshots” at the United States, arguing America continues to play an indispensable role in promoting peace and security in the Asia-Pacific as it jostles with rival superpower China for influence. Wong said: “On Mr Keating, what I would say is this: I think in tone and substance he diminished both his legacy and the subject matter.” Keating responded to Wong’s speech by doubling down on his criticisms of both her and the government, saying in a statement: “Never before has a Labor government been so bereft of policy or policy ambition … I never expected more than platitudes from Penny Wong’s press club speech and as it turned out, I was not disappointed.”

>>18714036 China ‘a danger’ to accused AUKUS information seller Alexander Csergo - The Bondi businessman alleged to have sold AUKUS information to Chinese spies could be in danger from “people very interested in him not giving evidence against the Republic of China”, according to a magistrate who ruled that keeping him detained would help ensure his safety. Alexander Csergo was denied bail on the grounds he was a flight risk after a court heard he sold information about the AUKUS security agreement, lithium mining and iron ore to alleged Chinese agents in exchange for envelopes of cash.

>>18719406 Chinese-Australians ‘more wary of AUKUS’, Lowy survey finds - Chinese-Australians are significantly less supportive of the AUKUS alliance and the prospect of Australian military involvement in a US war against China than the broader Australian population, a new survey suggests. The Lowy Institute’s Being Chinese in Australia Poll also reveals a big jump in the proportion of Chinese-Australians expressing concern at “foreign interference” by the US in Australia’s political processes, from 36 per cent in 2021 to 62 per cent in the latest survey. They are less concerned about foreign interference by Beijing, with 54 per cent identifying it a problem compared with 50 per cent in 2021. The poll shows Chinese-Australians have much more confidence in Anthony Albanese (60 per cent) than they did his ­predecessor Scott Morrison (49 per cent), reflecting the Labor Prime Minister’s efforts to dial-down the friction between Canberra and Beijing.

#29 - Part 21

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 2

>>18734520 AUKUS has opened a Pandora's box - "Under the painted veil of AUKUS lies the bad precedent set by the nuclear submarine cooperation among the US, the UK and Australia, in which a nuclear weapon state will transfer weapons-grade highly enriched uranium to a nonnuclear weapon state. This constitutes severe nuclear proliferation risks, runs counter to the purposes and goals of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and will create endless troubles." - Ruan Zongze, consul-general of the People's Republic of China in Brisbane, Australia - chinadaily.com.cn

>>18744491 Kiwis join clan as Hipkins backs AUKUS - New Zealand Prime Minister Chris Hipkins has reassured Australia that his country remains firmly behind AUKUS, endorsing the move to acquire nuclear-powered submarine capabilities as necessary to protect the Indo-Pacific against emerging threats to a global rules-based order.

>>18749496 Retired US admiral who has previously advised Australia on shipbuilding to lead fresh review of navy's warship fleet - A former US admiral, who has previously chaired Australia's expert shipbuilding advisory panel, has been handed a new job leading another review of the navy's warship fleet to ensure it "complements" the new AUKUS nuclear-powered submarines. Retired US Vice Admiral William H Hilarides will conduct the fresh analysis with Australia's former finance secretary Rosemary Huxtable, and former Australian fleet commander, retired Vice-Admiral Stuart Mayer.

>>18749505 US senator warns AUKUS faces ‘significant’ workforce hurdles - The US politician who warned that AUKUS could push America’s shipbuilding yards to breaking point has renewed concerns about the pact, saying that a shortage of skilled workers was still a “significant impediment” to producing enough submarines on time. Democrat senator Jack Reed, who chairs the powerful Senate Armed Services Committee, said that while US shipyards had made some progress in recruiting workers and boosting production lines, it would be “a long, long process” to ensure the industry could keep pace with demand.

>>18760729 Retired US admirals charging Australian taxpayers thousands of dollars per day as defence consultants - A cavalcade of retired senior American military officers have landed high-paying advisory contracts with Australia's Department of Defence. Retired Admiral John Richardson, who headed the US Navy from 2015 to 2019, receives $US5,000 a day as a part-time consultant under a contract with Australia's defence department, struck last year. Details of the arrangements have been disclosed by the Pentagon for the first time, revealing how senior American officers have leveraged their military service over the past decade to obtain work from foreign governments, including in Australia. One of the more intriguing revelations from the Pentagon records is that the former US director of National Intelligence James Clapper, who resigned after Donald Trump's election as president in 2016, was then paid to work for Australia's new Office of National Intelligence. In 2017, the United States Air Force veteran - who had served as under secretary of defence for Intelligence - was appointed as a visiting Distinguished Professor at the Australian National University and addressed the National Press Club in Canberra. According to the newly released Pentagon records, Mr Clapper then in 2018 received an undisclosed sum to work with the Office of National Intelligence (ONI) in Canberra, which was formally established in December of that year. During his 2017 visit Mr Clapper had praised then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull's decision to create ONI as a single point of intelligence coordination which would bring Australia into line with its Five Eyes partners the US and UK.

>>18760729 https://qalerts.pub/?q=clapper - https://qalerts.pub/?q=JC - https://qalerts.pub/?q=J+C

>>18760742 AUKUS safe under Trump, says top US diplomat - One of the United States’ most experienced diplomats says AUKUS is likely to prosper if former president Donald Trump is re-elected. The comments were made to the Delphi Economic Forum, under way in Greece, by Richard Haass, who served four former presidents, including George W. Bush, and former secretary of state Colin Powell, and is now the outgoing head of the non-aligned Council of Foreign Relations. “I don’t think it would be particularly problematic in the sense that one of the, I would argue, contributions of the Trump foreign policy was to introduce a more realistic assessment of China,” Haass said. “And I would think that arrangements like AUKUS are consistent with that … I would think that arrangements like that would be likely to continue and to even prosper regardless [of who is in the Oval Office].”

#29 - Part 22

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 3

>>18771201 Australia’s AUKUS partner red-faced after sub files found in pub’s toilet - Australia’s partner in the $368 billion AUKUS defence deal has been left red-faced after official documents about one of its Astute-class submarines were found in the toilets of a local pub. Files carrying details about HMS Anson were left in the Furness Railway in Cumbria, alongside a Royal Navy lanyard, and showed the inner workings of the nuclear-powered submarine and were used by submariners learning how to isolate and depressurise elements of its system.

>>18771231 TORPED’OH - Secret plans from £1.3billion nuclear submarine found in toilet cubicle at Wetherspoons pub - SECRET nuclear sub plans were found in a toilet cubicle at a Wetherspoons pub. Classified files on £1.3billion HMS Anson had been dropped in The Furness Railway in Barrow, Cumbria. A source said: “It was lucky a Russian spy didn’t find them.” The files showed the inner workings of the torpedo-loaded vessel. Key detail on HMS Anson’s hydraulics, which control torpedo hatches, steering and buoyancy, were in the dossier. It was found in the boozer with a Royal Navy lanyard from the new £1.3bn vessel.

>>18794919 AUKUS as much about jobs as it is national security, Albanese says - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says Australia’s contentious new joint nuclear submarine program with allies Britain and the United States is as much about providing domestic jobs and economic prosperity as it is about national security. Albanese, in the UK ahead of King Charles III’s coronation on Saturday, spoke after joining British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace on a tour of BAE Systems’ shipyard in Cumbria, where nuclear submarines will be built as part of the AUKUS agreement announced earlier this year alongside US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.

>>18819462 Canada seeks to join non-nuclear pillar of AUKUS alliance - The Canadian government is seeking to join the non-nuclear component of AUKUS, a security pact between Australia, Britain and the United States that was struck to counter China’s rising military might in the Indo-Pacific region, according to two government sources. Canada was conspicuously absent when AUKUS was first announced in September, 2021. The three member countries are among this country’s closest allies, and like Canada they are members of the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing partnership. National security experts feared Canada, a laggard on defence spending, was being excluded from a new “Three Eyes” group. Canada’s reason for wanting to join now is not to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, like Australia, but rather to participate in the second pillar of the AUKUS agreement, the two sources, both senior government officials, said. This non-nuclear part of AUKUS provides for information-sharing and close co-operation on accelerating development of cutting-edge technologies, including undersea defence capabilities, artificial intelligence, quantum technology and hypersonic warfare.

>>18875135 Joe Biden is skipping the Quad meeting over the US debt ceiling - but our underwhelming Defence Strategic Review will not have gone unnoticed, says Peter Jennings - "After promising the biggest defence shake-up in decades, the government’s mocked-up version of a public Defence Strategic Review delivered no new funding in the next four years, yet another review of the navy’s surface fleet and a botched redesign of the army aimed at saving money rather than modernising the force. Washington is constantly assessing whether Australia is really up to the demands that AUKUS co-operation implies. Failing to back our defence rhetoric with funding will have been noted. That type of complacency garners no presidential visits when other priorities are pressing." - Peter Jennings - theaustralian.com.au

>>18875491 US warship to honour Canberra, cement AUKUS deal - For the first time in its 229 year history, the US Navy will commission one of its warships in a foreign country and name it after our capital Canberra in what will be a significant show of goodwill. The future USS Canberra will join the US fleet after its commissioning in what the US promises will be “a celebration it deserves” before it takes part in ADF exercise Talisman Sabre 2023. The Royal Australian Navy is understood to be preparing a fleet to welcome it to Australia ahead of its unique commissioning.

#29 - Part 23

AUKUS Security Pact and Nuclear Submarine Program - Part 4

>>18875585 USS Canberra Will Join the U.S. Fleet in Australia to Honor Namesake - The future USS Canberra (LCS 30) will join the U.S. Navy active fleet on July 22 with the U.S. Navy’s first international commissioning ceremony at the Royal Australian Navy Fleet Base East in Sydney, Australia. Canberra is the first U.S. Navy warship to be commissioned in an allied country. It is the second U.S. Navy ship to bear the namesake of Canberra. Australian Chief of Navy, Vice Adm. Mark Hammond said this historic event encapsulates both the depth of the historical ties, and modern day partnership between the Royal Australian Navy and the U.S. Navy. “This is a unique demonstration of respect by the U.S. for the Officers and Sailors of the Royal Australian Navy,” said Hammond. “It is an opportunity to reflect on our shared history, and on a friendship forged while fighting side-by-side. On August 9, 1942 the RAN heavy cruiser HMAS Canberra was severely damaged off Guadalcanal (Solomon Islands) while protecting the U.S. Marines fighting ashore. In a surprise attack by a powerful Japanese naval force, Canberra was hit 24 times in less than two minutes and 84 of her crew were killed including Captain Frank Getting”

>>18890139 ASIO agents embedded in Defence to protect AUKUS secrets from foreign spies - ASIO officers are being embedded within the Defence Department to help prevent foreign spies from stealing the highly prized nuclear-powered submarine secrets Australia plans to acquire under the AUKUS pact with the United States and United Kingdom. ASIO Director-General Mike Burgess described AUKUS as a “great shiny example of something that foreign intelligence services would like to get insights on”, raising the importance of ensuring the Australian Defence Force has the best possible security protections as the nuclear-powered submarine plan advances.

#29 - Part 24

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

>>18682161 Defence chief Angus Campbell warns of 'uncomfortable days' ahead on Afghanistan war crimes action - Australia's Defence chief has declined to say how many senior officers have faced punishment over the damning findings of the Afghanistan war crimes inquiry, but has warned of "uncomfortable days" ahead as more disciplinary action is taken.

>>18744643 Ben Roberts-Smith seeks access to military watchdog’s diary entries - War veteran Ben Roberts-Smith is locked in a legal fight with the Defence Force watchdog over access to diary entries that he alleges may reveal meetings with high-profile investigative journalist Chris Masters, who is at the centre of his defamation case. At a hearing of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal in Sydney, Roberts-Smith’s lawyers urged Justice Thomas Thawley to overturn a decision blocking his freedom of information request for diary entries belonging to the head of an inquiry into alleged misconduct by Australian soldiers in Afghanistan. The inquiry was conducted by the military watchdog, the Inspector-General of the Australian Defence Force.

>>18824052 Roberts-Smith still barred from Defence diary entries - Former soldier Ben Roberts-Smith will not receive access to diary and calendar entries showing possible meetings between a war crimes inquiry head and a journalist after nearly six years and multiple appeals. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) upheld that disclosing the diary entries and the calendar entry would involve unreasonable disclosures of personal information and would be contrary to the public interest.

>>18900749 Ben Roberts-Smith war crimes defamation verdict to be delivered on Thursday 1 June - Ben Roberts-Smith, Australia’s most decorated living soldier, will learn next Thursday if he has won his defamation case against three Australian newspapers over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan. The judgment, to be delivered by Justice Anthony Besanko in Sydney on 1 June, will be the culmination of a near five-year legal process, after one of the most dramatic and consequential trials in Australian legal and military history.

#29 - Part 25

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 1

>>18675306 Video: Populist Queensland Australian Senator, Pauline Hansen, gifted a document ‘left behind’ at a Canberra coffee shop by workers for the Voice referendum, details intentions to legislate incredible advantages to Aborigines.

>>18676743 Julian Leeser quits over Liberals’ stance on Indigenous voice to parliament - Julian Leeser has resigned from shadow cabinet and has vowed to campaign Yes ahead of the Indigenous voice referendum, after the Liberal Party opposed a national voice enshrined in the Constitution. In a press conference to announce his resignation, Mr Leeser said he had resigned on a “point of principle” and that he wanted to tell his children he stood up for something he “believed in”.

>>18676748 We must find common ground on the voice - "We must all understand the risk to our country, and the risk to our shared national reconciliation project, if the referendum fails. An all or nothing approach could deliver nothing. That’s why we must find common ground." - Julian Leeser - theaustralian.com.au

>>18676756 The risk for Peter Dutton: will Julian Leeser’s departure have a domino effect? - Julian Leeser’s resignation from the Coalition frontbench has dealt a damaging blow to Peter Dutton and his ability to maintain a unified party position in opposing the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government. The risk for Dutton is whether Leeser’s protest triggers a falling of the dominoes.

>>18682130 Anthony Albanese runs serious risk of dividing instead of uniting the nation, warns former Liberal frontbencher Julian Leeser - Julian Leeser has issued a stark warning to Anthony Albanese that his government risks dividing the country by failing to “seriously engage” with Coalition voters who want to support an Indigenous voice but have concerns over the model, after he quit the opposition frontbench and vowed to back the Yes campaign during the referendum.

>>18682138 Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sacrificed nothing in debate of principles - "Leeser has worn much conservative criticism over the voice. He has been accused of being soft, wet, incapable and a closet leftie. But the nastiest barbs were delivered by Anthony Albanese during the past fortnight as the Coalition limped towards its position. Yet Albanese has not shed one drop of blood for the voice. He has not been abused by political allies. He certainly has not sacrificed any advancement. Rather, he has bathed in worship as a future Labor hero. It is Leeser, not Albanese, who has suffered for the courage of his convictions. The Prime Minister might privately admit to shame." - Emeritus professor Greg Cravenl, constitutional lawyer - theaustralian.com.au

>>18682146 Voice to parliament report exposes plenty of flaws, but no real solutions - "The voice is predicated on an assumption of wholesale failure and crisis in Aboriginal communities. It’s true some communities are in crisis, but the suggestion a voice could have prevented problems like those we’ve seen recently in Alice Springs is just plain wrong. A national voice couldn’t respond adequately even in a preventive manner. And, fundamentally, those problems stem from too many Aboriginal people not participating in the real economy. Being so tied to the public purse, the voice won’t have the first clue how to tackle that. The voice as articulated by the Calma-Langton report is fatally flawed: flawed in its claim this is what Aboriginal people want, flawed in its proposed structure and flawed in its approach to representation." - Warren Mundine, businessman and advocate for Indigenous economic participation - theaustralian.com.au

>>18687363 Leeser v Dutton v Albanese: the rival voice models explained - "A referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament will be held by the end of this year. So far, three models been put forward in a bid to achieve Constitutional recognition for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We explain them here." - Rosie Lewis - theaustralian.com.au

#29 - Part 26

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 2

>>18693450 AFL great Eddie Betts backs the Voice: ‘It’s a small step, but the right step’ - AFL great Eddie Betts has thrown his support behind an Indigenous Voice to parliament, describing the proposal as a pathway to inclusion and respect in decision-making. The former Carlton and Adelaide Crows small forward and three-time All Australian said he had canvassed a range of views from within First Nations communities before coming to the decision. “It’s a small step, but I think the right step, to have a Voice and be heard.”

>>18698752 Real voices in referendum debate gagged by grand gesture to absolve white guilt - "In the lead-up to this year’s Indigenous voice to parliament referendum, you’ll hear repeatedly that Aboriginal people overwhelmingly want the voice. I don’t believe it. I meet a lot of Aboriginal people from all over the country and I always ask them what they think of the voice. Without fail, the response I hear is they oppose it, don’t understand it, or think it will just cement the monopoly of a small minority who already advise government. The entire concept of the voice is based on a false assumption of the homogeneity of Aboriginal people across the nation, as one race. This is something Indigenous Australians have tried to counter for decades. Now we find a government striving to entrench this in the Constitution. It won’t end well." - Nyunggai Warren Mundine - director of Indigenous Forum, Centre for Independent Studies and president of Recognise a Better Way - theaustralian.com.au

>>18703504 ‘Domino effect’: Liberal supporters of the Voice preparing formal Yes campaign - Liberal supporters of the Voice are mobilising to launch the party’s formal Yes campaign once a parliamentary inquiry settles on the wording of the referendum next month, hoping to double support inside the federal party room.

>>18708538 Raging moral coercion on the Indigenous voice to parliament is failing - "For the sake of the nation and its most vulnerable people, Julian Leeser and others attempting to sway Albanese and his Indigenous voice advisers should be encouraged. Australians should be given the opportunity to vote on a referendum they could support safely knowing it would not damage the country. The present strategy built on moral coercion is failing. National polling is clear in its ebbing support for the referendum." - Chris Mitchell - theaustralian.com.au

>>18713968 Jacinta Price promoted to shadow cabinet in Peter Dutton’s reshuffle - Northern Territory Country Liberal senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has been promoted to shadow cabinet in the Indigenous Australians portfolio in a reshuffle designed to strengthen Opposition Leader Peter Dutton’s campaign against the Voice to parliament.

>>18713975 ‘Dramatic increase’ in false Aboriginality claims: Jacinta Price - Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has warned of a “dramatic increase” in people falsely claiming to be Aboriginal because of the newly legislated voice in South Australia, as she leads the Coalition’s No campaign and is charged with delivering better outcomes for Indigenous people.

>>18713995 Video: The rapid rise of Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, Peter Dutton’s anti-Voice champion - In her first speech in the Senate last July, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price railed against what she described as pointless virtue signalling, saying nothing would help Indigenous children facing the “nightmare of terror” posed by sexual violence. Pitching the Voice as a vain proposal that would drive a wedge between black and white Australia, the firebrand new senator in a traditional Warlpiri headdress made the Canberra establishment sit up and take notice of her sharp rhetoric. Fast-forward 10 months and Price, still loudly prosecuting the same arguments, has vaulted to become one of the most prominent Indigenous figures in the country as the opposition’s Indigenous Affairs spokeswoman and a leader of the campaign to defeat the Voice referendum.

>>18714015 Indigenous voice to parliament yes vote is the first step to true equality of citizenship - "The absence of any protection of citizenship rights has affected the quality of Australian citizenship for all Australians and most profoundly for Indigenous Australians. Constitutional change to ensure the voices of Indigenous Australians are directly heard on laws affecting them is not only important for the recognition of First Nations Australians but necessary to enable equality of Australian citizenship. A Yes vote in the forthcoming referendum is the first step towards a commitment to an equality of Australian citizenship and should be supported by all Australians no matter what their political leanings." - Kim Rubenstein, professor in the faculty of business, government and law at the University of Canberra - theaustralian.com.au

#29 - Part 27

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 3

>>18719335 Video: Voice will ‘divide our family’: Price and husband front ‘No’ campaign ad - The Coalition’s newly appointed Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Voice to parliament will divide her family, in a new campaign funded by right-wing lobby group Advance Australia launching on Wednesday night. Price and her Scottish-Australian husband Colin Lillie appear in a video, a portion of which was released on Wednesday by a new campaign outfit called Fair Australia, which describes itself as “a grassroots movement of Australians” but is run and paid for by Advance Australia. “Later this year they want to establish a so-called Voice to parliament. This is a really big deal,” Price says in the advertisement. “The Constitution is the rule book for governing the country, and they want the rules to change. This will divide us.”

>>18719348 Video: One, Together - Full Documentary - Warlpiri woman and mum of four, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price shares her story of being part of a blended family in Australia and her lived experience in remote Indigenous communities. "What's important to me is that we don't divide ourselves along the lines of race in this country. I don't want my family to be divided by race because we are a family of human beings and that's the bottom line." - www.fairaustralia.com.au - #VoteNOAustralia

>>18719352 So many clashing voices, so little of worth achieved, writes Nyunggai Warren Mundine - "This year Australians will vote at a referendum for a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous voice. But the Albanese government refuses to discuss the details, pointing us to the 2021 Indigenous Voice Co-design Process report by Tom Calma and Marcia Langton. At 270 pages long the report makes for impenetrable reading. All for a supposedly advisory body with two dozen members. No other Australian government body or agency takes this long to explain. That’s because the voice is not an advisory body. It is a vast, expensive new bureaucracy that will interface at every level of government." - Nyunggai Warren Mundine, director of Indigenous Forum, Centre for Independent Studies, and president of Recognise a Better Way - theaustralian.com.au

>>18719359 Noel Pearson says Queensland must lead the push for Yes in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum - Noel Pearson says Queensland must be at the forefront of the Yes campaign for the referendum as he appealed to the state Liberal National Party to support the Indigenous voice to parliament. “I am very confident we are going to get five of the six states, I just wouldn’t like my home state to be the exception. I really want the government and opposition to really think seriously about how we can make Queenslanders vote for the right thing.”

>>18723374 Torment of the past demands voice for future, says Thomas Mayo - "For most Indigenous Australians, we seek constitutional recognition because of the love we have for our children and our country. After all, if this referendum fails, it will have detrimental impacts on the health and wellbeing of our families and communities for generations. If it succeeds, we know they will enjoy better lives. We must beat the tactics of confusion being deployed by the No campaign. We should share with fellow Australians that at this referendum we will be considering a simple proposition: to recognise Indigenous Australians by accepting a generous offer to share their history and culture as part of who we are as a nation, and to do it in a way that provides the practical means to improve outcomes in Indigenous communities." - Thomas Mayo - Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man, and board member of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition - theaustralian.com.au

#29 - Part 28

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 4

>>18723387 OPINION: The Voice, as proposed, is flawed and insulting to First Nations - "I am Australian. I’m a member of the Bundjalung First Nation of Australia, from my father’s side, and the Gumbaynggirr and Yuin First Nations of Australia from my mother’s side. And I oppose the Voice to parliament. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s proposed new chapter of the Constitution is stated to be “in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia”. This is not recognition of Australia’s First Nations. All it does is recognise Aboriginal people as a homogenous race. Race can sometimes be convenient descriptor. But it’s a flawed, and insulting, basis for recognising Australia’s First Peoples in the Constitution. And history shows it’s a fraught basis on which to differentiate people’s rights. Race and nationhood are different. Don’t believe the spin. The Voice is not constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Nations. It will not - and cannot - represent First Nations and will more than likely be used as a tool to undermine them." - Nyunggai Warren Mundine, Activist and former politician - theage.com.au

>>18723399 Video: Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says Queensland Indigenous population key to No campaign - Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says Queensland’s large Indigenous population could be key to carrying the state to a No vote in the voice to parliament referendum. Days after being elevated to Peter Dutton’s front bench, the Northern Territory senator visited Queensland parliament on Wednesday to meet with Liberal National MPs, whose party is yet to officially adopt a position on the voice. Queensland is shaping up as a crucial battleground in the referendum after an exclusive Newspoll conducted for The Australian this month showed it was the only state without majority support for enshrining a voice in the Constitution, with 49 per cent in favour and 43 per cent in the No camp.

>>18723408 Central Land Council attacks Jacinta Price over her commentary on Alice Springs crisis and stance on voice - The land council representing Aboriginal people of Alice Springs and surrounding communities has attacked opposition Indigenous affairs spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price over her commentary on the Alice Springs crisis and her stance on the voice, saying: “she needs to stop pretending we are her people”. Yuendumu man Warren Williams, deputy chair of the council of 90 elected Aboriginal women and men from central Australia, was highly critical of the Alice Springs Senator in a media statement issued by the Central Land Council on Thursday. “We are tired of her playing politics with grass roots organisations our old people built have built to advocate for our rights and interests,” Mr Williams said. “Her people are the non-Aboriginal conservatives and the Canberra elite to which she wants to belong.”

>>18723421 Indigenous voice 'will paralyse parliament' - A former Supreme Court judge predicts the Indigenous voice will paralyse the Australian parliament and "in many cases the approval of the advisory body will have to be obtained before a bill can be enacted". Nicholas Hasluck KC, who retired from the West Australian Supreme Court in 2010, describes the proposal to entrench the Indigenous voice in the constitution as contrary to democratic ideals. In his written submission to the joint select committee inquiry into the voice, Mr Hasluck criticises one of the justifications offered for the advisory body offered by Anthony Albanese. Mr Albanese has said consulting Indigenous people about matters that affect them is good manners. "To say, as some have said in recent months, that the voice should be enshrined simply as a matter of ‘good manners’ is a shallow and misleading line of argument," Mr Hasluck writes in his submission to the voice Senate inquiry. "An emotive plea of this kind seeks to shame people into voting for the voice. A profound change to the structure of government by constitutional amendments should only be made in response to well reasoned debate on both sides of the question."

>>18728969 Video: Majority of voters in Queensland and South Australia oppose Voice to Parliament as support falls across all jurisdictions, according to Roy Morgan poll - Support for the Voice to Parliament has fallen across all six Australian states, with only one jurisdiction showing a majority would vote "Yes" in the referendum. New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania recorded single to double figure falls, according to the Roy Morgan poll. The largest drop in support was in Tasmania, with backing for the independent advisory body falling a massive 30 points down to 38 per cent.

#29 - Part 29

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 5

>>18728985 Voice to Parliament would be an 'enhancement' to constitution, according to solicitor-general - The government’s top lawyer insists the proposed Indigenous Voice to Parliament would "enhance" Australia's system of government, arguing he does not believe it would "pose any threat" to the nation's parliamentary democracy. Solicitor-general Stephen Donaghue KC has also dismissed suggestions the creation of the advisory body, enshrined in the constitution, would lead to a deluge of legal challenges. The federal opposition has been demanding the solicitor-general’s advice to cabinet, provided during the drafting process, be published. That advice has not been provided to the committee.

>>18734240 Indigenous voice to parliament is solution looking for problem to solve and will only divide - "This year Australians will vote to introduce a constitutionally ­enshrined, vast and expensive new bureaucracy called the Indigenous voice to parliament. The voice will interface with every level of the commonwealth government apparatus, with every decision and policy subject to delay and/or judicial challenge if it is not paid proper homage. It’s inherently undemocratic for parliament, ministers, the public service and every government agency to be beholden to an unelected body. But even within the Aboriginal population, the voice won’t be a democratic instrument. Its members won’t be elected; but chosen by committee. The voice is a solution looking for a problem, demanded by a minority of Aboriginal elites. It will not help communities. And it will not reconcile our nation. It may well help tear those communities and our nation apart." - Nyunggai Warren Mundine, director of Indigenous Forum, Centre for Independent Studies, and president of Recognise a Better Way - theaustralian.com.au

>>18744291 Lidia Thorpe’s mum and allies in Victorian Voice bid - Lidia Thorpe’s mother, cousins and political allies are angling for control of the Victorian body that will act as the state’s Indigenous Voice and interact with a national Voice to parliament, generating unrest among some Victorian Indigenous leaders who fear the maverick senator’s influence.

>>18754991 Indigenous voice to parliament inquiry submissions are more petition than sound legal analysis - Over the next few weeks I plan to bring you some submissions from the joint parliamentary inquiry into the Indigenous voice to parliament proposal. The first point is that not all submissions are equal. Let’s start with the dumbest. For the crib note version of what has gone wrong with universities, read the submissions from the University of Sydney law school and Adelaide Law School. Each is a one-pager saying they are allies of the voice, describing it as legally sound and signed by a gaggle of academics. These are petitions, not submissions. This is groupthink meets sandstone arrogance: legal academics with nothing of substance to say, offering no legal analysis. It’s apparently enough that they say Yes. Seriously, what is the point of these law schools? - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au

>>18755008 Top jurist Terence Cole slams Albanese government’s Voice proposal - One of Australia’s leading jurists has blasted the Albanese government’s proposed Voice to Parliament referendum, saying it is “wrong in principle” and will “split the Australian people permanently into two groups based on race.” Terence Cole, a former judge on the NSW Court of Appeals who presided over two royal commissions, made the claims in a bombshell submission to a joint parliamentary committee on the Voice. In the submission Mr Cole noted that the voice is just one part of the broader program of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which calls for “treaty” and “truth telling” as well as a Voice to parliament, and which the Albanese government has accepted in its entirety. “The voice is critical to the objectives made clear in the Uluru Statement … that Aboriginals wish to establish … sovereignty over Australian territory, ownership of Australian land and surrounding waters … monetary and other compensation … (and) truth telling,” he wrote. “To achieve (these) objectives, it is necessary to split the Australian people permanently into two groups based solely on race … this is wrong in principle.”

#29 - Part 30

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 6

>>18760676 Indigenous voice to parliament Yes campaign launches advertising blitz as support softens - The Yes campaign will launch an advertising blitz this week amid falling support for Anthony Albanese’s referendum to constitutionally enshrine an Indigenous voice to parliament. SEC Newgate Mood of the Nation tracking polling reveals a further softening in voter support for a voice to parliament, dropping from a 59 per cent high ahead of last year’s May federal election to 52 per cent this month. While the survey of 1200 voters, conducted between April 13 and 18, shows a slim majority in favour of the voice, there has been a hardening in opposition to the Indigenous advisory body. The poll, which did not reference the constitutional amendment wording that a voice advisory body would also make representations to the executive government, found opposition against the referendum had risen from 16 to 27 per cent.

>>18760683 Video: Join Us - ‘Join Us’ is just the first step in a many months-long conversation with Australians between now and the referendum, which will include more national commercials and talking to everyday Australians about the opportunity to be part of a successful referendum. - www.yes23.com.au/joinus - #yes23

>>18760697 Indigenous voice referendum results may not be known on voting day, AEC commissioner warns - The result of the Indigenous voice referendum may not be known on voting day or for some time afterward, with the electoral commissioner warning people “may be disappointed” if they expect a definitive answer on the night. The Australian Electoral Commission (AEC) is also concerned about dangerous mis- and disinformation circulating ahead of the referendum, already stamping out voting-related conspiracy theories imported from the US. Polling workers will also get more training and security after what the commissioner, Tom Rogers, called “disturbing” incidents at recent elections, including staff being filmed and accused of stealing ballot papers, and online threats of violence. The AEC is still debunking claims about Dominion voting machines, an electoral technology at the centre of conspiracy theories around the 2020 US election, but which Australia has never used.

>>18766026 Barrister Clive Steirn won’t have a bar of Indigenous voice to parliament support - A barrister has fired criticism at the NSW Bar Association for issuing its public support for the proposed Indigenous voice model and lambasted the Bar president for speaking on behalf of members without consultation, claiming the voice could open the floodgates to High Court challenges. Clive Steirn SC has joined barrister Louise Clegg in lashing the Bar council for essentially claiming it has a mandate from its members to support the voice in the absence of debate.

>>18770882 Pearson slams ‘weak’ Dutton, former Liberal PMs on Indigenous recognition - Voice architect Noel Pearson has delivered a stinging condemnation of contemporary Coalition leaders, accusing them of being too weak to embrace the task of changing the Constitution to acknowledge Indigenous Australians. Lamenting what he claimed were lies stemming from the No campaign, Pearson said Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who is campaigning against the Voice, was defined by his right-leaning party room. “He’s too weak to have shifted them and shown the necessary leadership to move his party out of the rut that it’s in,” Pearson said.

>>18775333 Victorian Coalition frontbenchers speak out in push for free vote on Voice - Senior state Coalition MPs will push for a free vote on the Indigenous Voice to parliament, putting them at odds with their federal counterparts who will campaign against constitutional change. The Victorian parliamentary Liberal Party hasn’t reached a formal position on the Voice to parliament, but leader John Pesutto has so far refused to back federal leader Peter Dutton’s opposition to a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice.

>>18775344 Yes vote for the Voice is leading in every state and territory: Poll - The Yes campaign to enshrine an Indigenous Voice within Australia’s constitution is ahead in every state and territory, the most comprehensive poll conducted on the proposal has revealed, placing it on course to deliver the first referendum to pass in four decades. The first dedicated state-by-state poll on the Voice to parliament has recorded the Yes vote on 51 per cent across the nation, while 34 per cent said they would vote No and 15 per cent were undecided. It would also reach the critical benchmark of support in a majority of states, while the Yes side was ahead in Queensland and Western Australia but fell short of 50 per cent support. The YouGov poll of 15,060 Australians was commissioned by the group behind the Uluru Statement from the Heart and is the largest poll conducted on the upcoming referendum.

#29 - Part 31

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 7

>>18779729 ‘Very important issue’: Victorian Liberals granted free vote on Voice, at odds with federal counterparts - Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto will allow all his MPs a free vote on the Indigenous Voice to federal parliament, saying his members value the freedom to make their own choices on significant national issues. Pesutto confirmed on Monday afternoon that his shadow cabinet had agreed to give MPs the right to campaign and vote Yes or No, rather than forcing them into a party position. This puts the state Coalition at odds with federal leader Peter Dutton, who has forced his frontbench to campaign against constitutional change.

>>18779763 Brisbane Labour Day march 2023: Overwhelming support for Voice - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, visiting Brisbane, recommitted his government to the implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in full, starting with the Voice. “We will give Australians the opportunity to vote yes for a better future in the last quarter of this year.”

>>18784833 Splinter group emerges among Liberals refusing to reveal how they will vote in the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum - A splinter group of Liberal MPs is refusing to declare its position on the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government, with five confirming they will not participate in either the Yes or the No campaign. In a sign of deepening division in the party, analysis by The Australian reveals at least 10 per cent of Liberal backbenchers, shadow ministers and shadow assistant ministers will abstain from the referendum campaign trail, while 12 per cent are refusing to say how they’ll vote on polling day.

>>18784850 Cricket Australia set to brief Pat Cummins, Meg Lanning and other senior stars ahead of ‘The Voice’ referendum - Pat Cummins, Meg Lanning and other senior Australian cricketers are set to be given a special briefing about The Voice before they head off for the Ashes. Cricket Australia plans to come out publicly with a position on The Voice in the coming weeks and wishes to consult with its stars beforehand and provide an opportunity for players to ask questions.

>>18789757 Scars of rejection will run deep if the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum fails, says historian Henry Reynolds - "If the referendum is lost, a new, younger generation may return to the streets with campaigns of direct action. Others could well conclude that their campaign for self-determination and treaties will gather strength by taking the struggle offshore to Geneva and New York, where they would find that Australia had few friends in the erstwhile colonial world." - Henry Reynolds, historian of Australia’s frontier conflict - theaustralian.com.au

>>18789782 Video: Indigenous voice to parliament Yes ad campaign is ‘misleading’ claims Advance Australia - The Yes campaign’s video advertisement urging viewers to vote in favour of constitutional recognition of an Indigenous voice to parliament is “misleading”, right-leaning ­activist group Advance Australia has claimed. Executive Director Matthew Sheahan said the advertisement’s claim that a Yes vote at the referendum would give Australians “a real say” was misleading because “there is no guarantee what a future voice will make representations on and how the parliament of the day will respond”.

>>18789803 West Coast Eagles join the Collingwood Magpies in supporting Voice to Parliament - The West Coast Eagles have become the latest AFL club to come out in support of the Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The Perth-based team issued a statement on Tuesday revealing its backing for the constitutional change that Australians will vote on between October and December. West Coast's decision was made public about a month after the Collingwood Magpies confirmed its board was in support of the Voice.

>>18794875 Victorian Bar’s Indigenous voice to parliament comment ‘exceeds its power’ - A Victorian barrister has told the state Bar Council it would “exceed its powers” if it made a public statement on the Indigenous voice to parliament, as rumours swirl that the institution is tilting in favour of supporting the proposed model. Former Victorian Bar councillor Lana Collaris, who is adamant the state Bar would undermine its independence if it announced a position on the voice, also labelled Bar president Sam Hay “weak” for failing to state his personal view on the matter.

#29 - Part 32

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 8

>>18794901 Video: Liberal MP accused of ignoring Aboriginal voices at community forum on the Voice - An Aboriginal elder claims she and other Indigenous people were ignored at a community forum on the Voice to parliament hosted by Liberal MP for Hughes Jenny Ware, and featuring former prime minister Tony Abbott and journalist Joe Hildebrand as its main speakers. The panel event, streamed live on Ware’s official Facebook page, was drawing to a close after Abbott and Hildebrand had debated for an hour and half and fielded four questions from the audience when an Indigenous man interrupted to say an Aboriginal perspective was needed. The man’s intervention was preceded by another audience member, who is associated with the Yes campaign, interjecting during Ware’s final remarks to say: “Can we please hear from a First Nations person before we go?” Ware responded: “We simply do not have the time.” As Ware pressed ahead, a man who identified himself as Dhungutti and Gumbaynggirr from the NSW mid-north coast, walked onto the stage and took over the lectern, saying: “Maybe you should hear it from an Aboriginal side.”

>>18819428 Bar councillors vote on voice ‘conflict of interest’ - The Victorian Bar Council will vote on whether three councillors who signed a motion urging the Bar issue its public support for the Indigenous voice should remove themselves from any discussion on the referendum moving forward. The Victorian Bar Council vice-president Elizabeth Bennett SC, councillor Colin Mandy SC and councillor Fiona Livingston-Clark put their names to a motion proposing the Bar back Anthony Albanese’s proposed voice model, as the NSW Bar Association have done. However, some Bar members believe that by attaching their names to the motion, the three councillors have compromised their independence.

>>18819440 Victorian Law Institute vows to back the Indigenous voice to parliament - The Law Institute of Victoria has vowed to back the Indigenous voice despite conceding some of its members may hold an opposing view. Its support comes as infighting persists at the Victorian Bar Association over the issue, and all 2200 members gear up to vote on whether the association should release a unified position. The Law Institute of Victoria, which represents 18,000 lawyers across the state, released a media statement on Tuesday declaring its “public support to enshrine an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice in the Constitution”. “We believe that establishing a constitutionally enshrined Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice is a long-overdue constitutional recognition of Australia’s First Nations peoples,” Institute President Tania Wolff said.

>>18829336 Should you vote for the voice? - "It is clear that the voice model was designed in a rush and not cognisant of the complexity that exists in Aboriginal affairs. The Voice would change the nature of our democracy that is predicated on the value of equality of all citizens. It threatens to reintroduce segregation to Australian society via the Constitution and the parliament. We have already seen the division this model has caused, the race hate that has emerged weirdly from the proponents of the YES vote when they accuse NO vote proponents of racism." - Victoria Grieves Williams is Aboriginal, Warraimaay from the midnorth coast of NSW, and an historian - theaustralian.com.au

>>18829360 Key 'No' camps merge to form Australians for Unity to strengthen referendum campaign - The two campaigns pushing for a No vote to the forthcoming Voice to Parliament referendum have merged, in a move that is aimed at unifying their message and strengthening their campaign. Until now, the two main groups were the Warren Mundine-led Recognise a Better Way, and Fair Australia, the group with the backing of shadow Indigenous Australians Minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price. The joint campaign will be called 'Australians for Unity', and Senator Nampijinpa Price and Mr Mundine will be campaign spokespeople.

>>18835099 Altered Indigenous voice to parliament out of question, says inquiry - Australians will be asked to vote for an Indigenous voice to parliament and “executive government” after a Labor-dominated parliamentary committee endorsed Anthony Albanese’s proposed constitutional amendment without change, deepening the political battle over the referendum process. The Liberals and Nationals, who made up less than a third of committee members, issued dissenting reports attacking as insufficient the six-week time frame given to the inquiry.

#29 - Part 33

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 9

>>18835159 Video: Google AI chatbot Bard thinks Lidia Thorpe is ‘a role model’, backs an Indigenous voice to parliament and labels Peter Dutton ‘controversial’ Google’s new AI chatbot backs the Indigenous voice to parliament as a “positive step”, praises Anthony Albanese as a “man of the people”, and labels Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison as “controversial”, sparking concerns over political bias and “propaganda” from Big Tech. Bard is Google’s answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which launched in November last year and reportedly set off a “code red” within the search giant. The service, still in an experimental state, was made publicly available in 180 countries. While Google says its chatbot does not set out to have political opinions, experts said the digital titan had rushed its chatbot, the new AI system “confidently declares untruths and opinions” and chatbots need more regulation.

>>18840240 Voice myths debunked: Thomas Mayo - "I have recently seen a full-page advertisement filled with false statements under the guise of a minor political party. The advertisement, in big bold letters stated, “It’s OK to say NO”. You can expect more advertisements like it. And some politicians, as usual, are seeking to make this constitutional moment about them. But the referendum is about us, as Australians, not the politicians. I decided to write this article for your reference, to debunk the false statements in the “No” campaign advertisement." - Thomas Mayo, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander man, national Indigenous officer of the Maritime Union of Australia, and director on the board of Australians for Indigenous Constitutional Recognition.

>>18840266 Australian sport ‘should stay out of the voice debate’ urges former prime minister John Howard - Former prime minister and renowned cricket tragic John Howard is urging sporting organisations to keep politics out of sport and not publicly declare a position on the referendum campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament. “Sporting bodies should not get involved in partisan political debates. They should stay out of the voice debate. For a national or state body to take a position on the voice is potentially divisive and disturbing to fans and followers,” Mr Howard told The Weekend Australian.

>>18840422 Google quietly changes progressive AI chatbot Bard on Indigenous voice to parliament, Coalition calls on government response - Following accusations of overt political bias, Google has quietly changed its new AI chatbot to stonewall questions that mention the Indigenous voice to parliament, after the tech giant was heavily criticised for saying the voice would be “a valuable addition to our democracy”. On Friday 12 May, The Australian’s front-page story quoted Bard on Thursday as saying the voice was a “positive step towards reconciliation between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the rest of Australia. I believe that the voice to parliament would be a valuable addition to our democracy,” it said. But on Friday, Bard’s opinions had mysteriously vanished and instead it simply replied: “I’m a language model and don’t have the capacity to help with that.”

>>18849787 Victorian Bar: ‘We backed same-sex marriage, we can back the voice’ - The Victorian Bar has firm ground to support the Indigenous voice parliament because it once supported same-sex marriage in the face of the plebiscite, a leaked memorandum urging Bar members to vote Yes in a poll deciding if the association publicly backs the voice suggests. The 20-page memorandum, sent to all 2200 Bar members, comes as the association gears up for a poll on whether or not it should support the Indigenous voice, and opposing camps start work to convince members to vote their way.

>>18849819 Treaty settlements could cost hundreds of millions and depend on size of massacres - Treaty deals between Aboriginal Australians and state governments are likely to be worth hundreds of millions of dollars apiece and factor in the number of Indigenous people killed in historic local massacres, as Queensland looks to New Zealand and Canadian agreements to guide its new reconciliation laws. Days after passing a treaty process touted as “setting the standard” in Indigenous-government relations, Queensland cabinet minister Craig Crawford told The Australian the amount of land taken by British colonial forces and the impact of massacres could be key considerations in formulating the value of each deal made with local Aboriginal groups.

#29 - Part 34

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 10

>>18855233 Indigenous treaty negotiations to include mine veto in Queensland - Indigenous corporations will push for the power to veto mines in environmentally and culturally sensitive areas as part of landmark treaty negotiations with the Queensland government. Joshua Gorringe, the general manager of the Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation in western Queensland, says a priority for a future Mithaka treaty with the state would be the right to block resources projects on their traditional land.

>>18855259 AFL Commission set to work on league’s position on Voice to Parliament - The Australian Football League has asked all clubs to form a position on the Voice and has also liaised with its National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council. The league seems likely to support the Voice given the large number of Indigenous players who bless the game, with AFL champion Eddie Betts already throwing his support behind a yes vote for the referendum.

>>18855269 Richmond FC Tweet: Empowering and listening to Indigenous voices has made Richmond a better Club. We are richer for it, a more connected and culturally safe Club. It has strengthened us on and off the field. We recognise and respect people's right to form their own views, but the lived experience of our Football Club means we fully support the proposed Voice to Parliament and a Yes vote.

>>18860464 Voice support slides again as debate rages over model - Support for the Indigenous Voice has tumbled from 58 to 53 per cent over the past month in the crucial “yes or no” question that will decide a referendum on the issue later this year, deepening the risk of defeat after furious disputes on the change. The sharp fall in support includes pivotal shifts against the Voice in big states such as Queensland and volatile swings in smaller states that challenge assumptions that Australians will cast a majority vote for the contentious change to the Constitution.

>>18860464 Voice support slides again as debate rages over model - Support for the Indigenous Voice has tumbled from 58 to 53 per cent over the past month in the crucial “yes or no” question that will decide a referendum on the issue later this year, deepening the risk of defeat after furious disputes on the change. The sharp fall in support includes pivotal shifts against the Voice in big states such as Queensland and volatile swings in smaller states that challenge assumptions that Australians will cast a majority vote for the contentious change to the Constitution.

>>18860523 US-style treaties in Australia will only entrench racial turmoil - "Treaties with Indigenous nations are being explored by every state government, often trained in the task by academics. But what model does this activism follow? What “settler” nation has a reconciliation plan worth emulating? Progressive activists variously advocate a hybrid of Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. None is particularly suited to Australian conditions. People of colour have endured horrific prejudice in the respective histories of Australia and the US, from massacres to slavery. But this white-on-black narrative - once vital - is increasingly a caricature that elides the more widespread problem of intra-racial crime. In US cities and Australian outback communities, black-on-black violence now dwarfs that which may have a racist, “white supremacist” motivation." - Timothy J Lynch, professor of American politics at the University of Melbourne - theaustralian.com.au

>>18860597 Indigenous man condemns voice no campaign for claiming he is Vincent Lingiari’s grandson - An Indigenous man incorrectly identified by the voice referendum no campaign as “Vincent Lingiari’s grandson” says he is not related to the land rights leader and feels “humiliated” by the way his image has been used. No voice leader Warren Mundine has stood by his campaign’s claims, claiming that Stewart Lingiari had described himself as Vincent’s grandson in a “cultural kinship” sense, rather than directly.

>>18860644 ‘Why be divisive?’ Rugby wrestles with the Voice to parliament - Rugby Australia is facing pressure from within to take a neutral stance on the Indigenous Voice to Parliament, with at least one Super Rugby club urging the governing body not to mix sport and politics. Brumbies chairman Matthew Nobbs said the ACT Rugby board had taken the unanimous view that the club should not take a position on the matter and hoped RA would do the same.

#29 - Part 35

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 11

>>18860648 I was wrong on Indigenous voice to parliament: Brumbies rugby boss Matthew Nobbs apologises - ACT Brumbies chairman Matthew Nobbs, who says politics and sport don’t mix, has apologised after failing to consult key stakeholders, including the rugby club’s playing group, before commenting on the Indigenous voice to parliament. Mr Nobbs released an apology statement after he publicly said the Brumbies board had taken the unanimous view that the club should not take a position on the voice and hoped Rugby Australia would do the same. The Super Rugby club chair said he should not have made the comments without consulting the players and the club’s Indigenous cultural advisory group on the issue of constitutional recognition for Indigenous Australians.

>>18865735 As the penny drops, so does support for the Indigenous voice to parliament - "The campaign for an Indigenous voice to be entrenched in the Constitution is now in deep trouble. The latest Resolve polling shows the Yes vote has dropped from 64 per cent late last year, to 58 per cent earlier this year, to just 53 per cent now. This will get only worse as more questions emerge that voice proponents can’t (or won’t) answer. And while just about everyone would be happy to see Indigenous people formally recognised in the Constitution as the First Australians, it’s far from clear that a super-majority of voters are prepared to give the government what amounts to a blank cheque for a change that’s so much more than that." - Peta Credlin - theaustralian.com.au

>>18865753 ‘I’m terrified we’ll lose’: Voice advocate pleads for compromise to save referendum - Eminent Indigenous leader Mick Gooda says he is terrified the Voice to parliament referendum will fail, and Professor Tom Calma, one of the architects of the proposal, has conceded support for change is not high enough. But leading referendum backers are calling for calm on the path to winning the battle for Indigenous recognition, following results of a poll, conducted by Resolve Strategic that showed a dramatic tightening in the referendum race.

>>18865788 AFL announces support for First Nations Voice to Parliament - The Australian Football League has officially declared its support for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The league said while it encouraged “everyone to seek the information they need to form their own views on the referendum, the AFL proudly supports the recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the Australian Constitution through the Voice to Parliament”.

>>18865807 ‘Let’s get it over the line’: Rugby Australia and AFL back Indigenous voice to parliament - The AFL and Rugby Australia have become the latest Australian sporting codes to declare support for the yes vote, with both organisations making clear their positions on the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum on Thursday. In a full-page advertisement taken out in the Nine newspapers, a statement endorsed by RA’s board said it was time to institute a “level playing field” for First Nations people.

>>18865820 OPINION: Has Albanese misjudged the Voice of the Australian people - Yes or No? - "The campaign for the Indigenous Voice is in dire need of more time to rethink its strategy in light of growing evidence it is falling behind in the race to a referendum later this year. Time, however, is running out. A critical point is coming in the next few weeks when parliament must decide the reform proposal to put to the Australian people. This is not an election campaign when policies can be altered at the last minute and revealed a few weeks before polling day. It is a referendum that asks voters to endorse a proposal that is released months earlier and cannot be easily changed. The danger for the Yes camp is that it cements a reform model in June that loses majority support by August and is a smoking ruin by November, with untold damage to reconciliation." - David Crowe, chief political correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age - theage.com.au

>>18874922 ‘Bedwetter’: Noel Pearson rubbishes Mick Gooda’s voice suggestion - Cape York Indigenous leader Noel Pearson has rubbished renewed calls to remove from the voice to parliament proposal the power to advise executive government. “Mick Gooda’s wrong,” Mr Pearson told ABC’s RN. Mr Pearson said Mr Gooda’s intervention was akin to “wetting the bed”. “He was opposed to the voice. He only wanted symbolic recognition. So he has form in relation to the position that he’s taken. But, you know, this early bed-wetting just when we’re yet to start the campaign proper is not right. He does not represent Indigenous people in the position he’s taken.”

#29 - Part 36

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 12

>>18874989 Video: Liberals marshall No campaign on Voice wording as Yes side dispute erupts - A bitter dispute has broken out in the Yes camp over the wording of the Voice to parliament referendum as the Liberal Party takes a leap in its effort to convince Australians to reject the constitutional change. Voice architect Noel Pearson on Friday launched a personal attack on Indigenous leader Mick Gooda, who had spoken of his fears the referendum would fail, labelling him a “bed-wetter” who had done little for Indigenous people. Gooda, a former social justice commissioner and royal commission leader, fought back by warning Pearson his bullying undermined the referendum, echoing the private concerns of some Voice advocates who worry Pearson’s regular invective is unhelpful.

>>18875023 Indigenous voice to parliament: Liberal MP Aaron Violi could be swayed by change in wording - Liberal MPs with concerns over the Indigenous voice to parliament would consider backing the Yes campaign if Labor removed “executive government” from the constitutional amendment due to be debated in parliament next week. Casey MP Aaron Violi said the legal challenges presented by the voice being allowed to advise executive government was one of his key sticking points. “If the government made a meaningful attempt to modify the risk … it would alleviate one of the significant concerns I have with the proposal,” Mr Violi said.

>>18880143 OPINION: Now is a good time for the Yes campaign to panic - "When polling commissioned by this masthead showed that support for the Voice had slipped by five points down to just 53 per cent, powerful people on the Yes side decreed that the poll was a “bit of an outlier”. Any campaigner can tell you that polls sometimes bounce around. But minimising the trend, which the most recent track of polling continues, is foolish. The Voice referendum is on track to fail. Now is a good time for the Yes campaign to panic, before it’s too late to change the trajectory. Conservative Yes supporters are panicking strategically. They are on a mission to save the Voice. They believe that the current wording will fail at referendum and that changing it is the only way to save the Voice. They face a closing window of opportunity." - Parnell Palme McGuinness, Managing Director, Strategy and Policy at award-winning campaigns firm Agenda C. - theage.com.au

>>18885076 Greens and Pocock give Leeser hope of achieving a compromise on the Aboriginal voice - Liberal MP Julian Leeser is making a last-ditch attempt to get crossbench MPs and Indigenous leaders to support a compromise on the Indigenous voice, buoyed by the fact the Greens and independent senator David Pocock are yet to form a position on his plan to strip back the proposed new chapter to the constitution.

>>18885095 A watered down Indigenous voice to parliament would still be an affront to the ideal of constitutional equality, writes former prime minister Tony Abbott - "We don’t give a special voice to women, or to migrants, or to people with disabilities, even though the parliament sometimes passes laws that particularly refer to them, and even though they, too, have sometimes not had the fair go from our system that they deserve. Likewise, we can’t give a special voice to the First Australians without establishing a hierarchy of descent; or indeed, a pecking order among all the victims of history. Seeking an 11th-hour compromise will hardly allay people’s misgivings, just reinforce them, and confirm the Liberal Party was always right to say no." - Tony Abbott, 28th prime minister of Australia, 2013-15. - theaustralian.com.au

>>18885110 Parliament erupts over Dutton’s claim Voice will ‘re-racialise’ Australia - Bitter divisions over the Voice to parliament have descended into a feud over whether the proposal will unite or “re-racialise” Australia, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton denouncing it as a regressive and radical threat to Australia’s democracy. But Voice architect Noel Pearson says a successful referendum will lead to “plurality, not apartheid” in Australia and that constitutional recognition will finally bring Indigenous Australians in from the margins of society.

>>18890046 Indigenous voice to parliament battlelines have been drawn and there is no nuance and very little goodwill on both sides of the debate - Anthony Albanese has gone “all in” on the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government referendum and offered nothing, not a crumb of consolation, to those with genuine concerns seeking some compromise. The debate is set, the battlelines, drawn so long ago, are unchanged and there is a fateful air of a bruising and bitter debate to come.

#29 - Part 37

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 13

>>18890054 A strong Indigenous voice to parliament is a sign of ‘healthy democracy’ - "There are people who disagree with the idea of the voice, and who will disagree with representations the voice might make. That is nothing to fear. A healthy democracy relies on the ability of people to be able to express their views, particularly on matters which affect them. The voice to parliament merely facilitates Indigenous Australians expressing their views on laws that affect them. It does not prevent others from expressing their views." - Professor Paula Gerber and Dr Katie O’Bryan, experts in human rights law at Monash University, specialists in Indigenous legal rights - theaustralian.com.au

>>18890059 Why I believe First Peoples will thrive with an Indigenous voice to parliament - "When Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have a say in the matters that affect our communities, we get better outcomes. We are but months away from the referendum for a voice. It is a pivotal moment. This referendum holds the promise of recognition and the potential of real practical change for communities. We must embrace this opportunity. The voice is our great next chapter, our hope for a better future." - Tom Calma, member of the referendum working group and co-author of the Calma-Langton report - theaustralian.com.au

>>18894995 Scott Morrison rejects ‘ill-defined, risky’ Indigenous voice to parliament with ‘no limits’ - Scott Morrison has denounced the Albanese government’s proposal for an Indigenous voice to parliament, warning it will have unconstrained and untested constitutional powers that will permanently create different rights for Australians based on race. In his first public comments outlining his position in detail, the former Liberal prime minister delivered a complete rejection of the government’s voice model, saying it created “significant” constitutional risk, had been poorly constructed and was ill-defined.

>>18895004 Leeser pleads for Coaliton voters to vote for Voice as Morrison criticises ‘ill-defined’ body - Liberal MP Julian Leeser has appealed to Australians to vote for the Voice to parliament, saying it will help transform remote Indigenous communities by tackling entrenched problems, as former prime minister Scott Morrison made a rare public intervention to urge a No vote. In a heartfelt speech that addressed Coalition voters specifically, Leeser - the Liberal Party’s leading Voice advocate, who quit Peter Dutton’s frontbench so he could campaign for a Yes vote – said the body would eliminate the economic and social differences between Indigenous and other Australians, rather than creating two classes of Australian, as Dutton and other No advocates claim.

>>18895012 A national Indigenous voice to parliament is the first step towards a better future as equals - "As a proud Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation, I want to see the Yes vote get up, and I will campaign my hardest to make sure it has the best possible chance at the ballot box. A change in our lives requires a change in the existing systems that have continually failed us. We’ve heard a lot of promises in our time, most of which have turned out to be empty ones. But enshrining a voice in the Constitution guarantees we will always have a seat at the table. For those who want to see a fairer future, where our voices are valued and respected, I urge you to walk with us and vote Yes to the voice to parliament." - Marcus Stewart, member of the Referendum Working Group and co-chairman of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria - theaustralian.com.au

>>18895018 Lidia Thorpe in senate estimates row with Indigenous minister Malarndirri McCarthy: ‘You’re a disgrace to your people’ - Indigenous Senator Lidia Thorpe has stormed out of senate estimates after a shouting match with Labor MP Malarndirri McCarthy, who told the Greens-turned-independent Senator: “You are a disgrace to your people”. Senator Thorpe and Senator McCarthy were yelling over each other during an exchange about $14.2m for community safety initiatives in the Northern Territory. After Senator Thorpe had established the money went to police, she shouted at Ms McCarthy: “How dare you”.

>>18900626 Video: Be on ‘right side of history’ on Voice, PM urges Australians - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has appealed to Australians to walk in the shoes of their Indigenous brothers and sisters as they weigh up how to vote in the Voice referendum as he accused Opposition Leader Peter Dutton of amplifying misinformation in his bid to sink the proposal. Speaking on the referendum bill in the House of Representatives, Albanese sought to dismantle the arguments of the Coalition and the No campaign while aiming to deliver a high-level pitch to Australians to be on the “right side of history”.

#29 - Part 38

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 14

>>18900636 Voice wording won’t change: Albanese - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has confirmed the current wording of the constitutional amendment to enshrine an Indigenous Voice to Parliament will not change. It comes as debate on the constitutional alteration bill continued in the nation's capital, with Mr Albanese imploring MPs to support the Indigenous Voice, suggesting it was a simple proposal that would provide meaningful action.

>>18900647 Anthony Albanese’s powerful speech doesn’t change the facts on the Indigenous voice to parliament - Anthony Albanese has formalised Labor’s position of not changing the wording of the referendum on the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government and rejecting any suggested compromise from supporters of the Voice aimed at ensuring its success. The Prime Minister’s parliamentary speech on the referendum bill was explicit - there would be no change to the proposed wording and he sought to blame Peter Dutton and the Coalition for the intransigence.

>>18900665 Video: Peter Dutton: The Voice will 're-racialise our nation' - Peter Dutton has delivered a full-scale denunciation of the Voice proposal in parliament. His speech on the legislation to enable the Voice referendum went much further than many were expecting. The Liberal leader warned the "referendum on the Voice will undermine our equality of citizenship". He said it will "have an Orwellian effect where all Australians are equal, but some Australians are more equal than others." Dutton even suggested "the Voice will re-racialise our nation".

>>18900677 Opposition leader Peter Dutton is right to defend our history during the Indigenous voice to parliament debate - "Earlier this week Peter Dutton made his best speech so far as Opposition Leader. But it hardly received any attention. At the heart of Dutton’s speech was a plea to recognise that Australia was a historical success, made possible, at least in part, by a Constitution that should not lightly be changed. In his words, “nowhere else in the world is there a success story like ours, one of Indigenous heritage, of British inheritance and of migration and multicultural success - three threads woven together brilliantly and harmoniously”. Such success was “not something to be toyed with lightly”, he said, yet now we were being urged to change the nation’s rule book without a constitutional convention, with just a “4½-day committee, a kangaroo court” manipulated by a government that was always trying to steamroll the process because, as Dutton said, it “wants you to vote for the voice on a vibe”." - Peta Credlin - theaustralian.com.au

>>18900698 NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell scolds Justice Ian Harrison’s Indigenous voice to parliament email to Nationals MP Pat Conaghan - Nationals MP Pat Conaghan says he will not “walk back” from comments opposing the Indigenous voice to parliament that prompted NSW Supreme Court judge Ian Harrison to label his views “disgusting”, and says he is “proud” of his speech to the lower house this week. NSW Chief Justice Andrew Bell scolded Justice Ian Harrison for sending a highly critical email to Mr Conaghan in which he described the federal MP’s opposition to the voice as racist. Chief Justice Bell issued a statement on Thursday criticising Justice Harrison’s behaviour, and urging judges to steer away from controversy.

>>18905818 Noel Pearson reveals he prays Australians ‘will support the Indigenous voice to parliament by a majority of voters in a majority of the states’ - "The boomer readership of this paper is of course antipathetic to recognition. They are mostly obscurant and borderline casual racists in their views. Just read the comments at the bottom of this piece. If the referendum relied on these readers then we would have no chance. But Australia is moving on. The change that is needed to secure recognition of Australia’s First Peoples is happening beyond that group of boomers who want this to be about the culture wars. The problem is that too many party activists and parliamentary candidates and members of the Liberal and National parties want to recreate America in Australia. The extreme polarisation of politics in the US is sought to be imported to this country. There are Australians who would like Trump and MAGA-style politics to become the politics of Australia." - Noel Pearson, director of Cape York Partnership and Good to Great Schools Australia - theaustralian.com.au

#29 - Part 39

Indigenous Voice To Parliament Referendum - Part 15

>>18905833 Name-calling Noel Pearson misses the point about shifting support - "Last weekend, Noel Pearson added my name to his naughty list. My offence from his perspective has been to change sides on the proposed Indigenous voice to parliament and the executive. He wrote in this newspaper that I had become a “shrill” opponent “whose lurid denunciations of the voice proposal stand directly at odds with his previous support”. We are being asked to constitutionalise a race-based lobby group, paid for by taxpayers, that could involve itself not just in debates on Indigenous affairs, but in debates about all matters of public policy, all proposed laws and all administrative decisions. That extended scope means we are being asked to constitutionalise a system of racial preference. Equality of citizenship is fundamental to what it means to live in a democracy. We should never vote for its abolition." - Chris Merritt, vice-president of the Rule of Law Institute of Australia - theaustralian.com.au

>>18905902 ‘Secret weapon’ Noel Pearson’s vitriol only helps the ‘No’ campaign in the Indigenous voice to parliament debate - "When No voters say their evening prayers they must surely be throwing in a request to God to let Pearson go on Patricia Karvelas’s radio show the next morning to let rip at his enemies or, even better, his friends. No campaigners know that every piece of epic abuse Pearson showers on them is worth its weight in gold when it comes to campaign donations and voting intentions. Australians hate polysyllabic insults of any kind but particularly despise a walking encyclopaedia like Pearson dumping on an idealistic woman such as Jacinta Price or an amiable and well-intentioned one-time friend such as Mick Gooda." - Janet Albrechtsen, opinion columnist with The Australian - theaustralian.com.au

>>18905989 Video: Australia’s sport codes unite in support of Indigenous voice to parliament - Australia’s sport codes have united in an extraordinary show of support for the Indigenous voice to parliament, advocating for a nation that “values equity and fairness”. Twenty-one organisations, including all the major sports, have signed an open letter to Australians expressing support for the voice. The letter was followed on Friday morning with a historic gathering of sporting royalty at separate events in Sydney and Melbourne.

>>18911259 Peter Dutton says reconciliation ‘may be set back’ if referendum fails - Peter Dutton has conceded ­reconciliation may be set back if the referendum on an Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government fails, but declares it will be the fault of Anthony Albanese who has “starved” Australians of detail. As the Prime Minister and Opposition Leader set out political battlelines for the Yes and No campaigns in speeches to parliament, Mr Dutton told The Weekend Australian he didn’t believe the country was ready for the voice and voters weren’t “going to be strongarmed into a position”.

>>18911295 Linda Burney hits back at Dutton’s claim Labor risking reconciliation with Indigenous voice referendum - The minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, has hit back at comments from Peter Dutton and accused the opposition leader of “playing politics” with the Indigenous voice to parliament referendum and dividing Australians. “This referendum will be determined by the Australian people, not politicians, and I have great faith in the Australian people,” Burney said.

>>18915092 Wesfarmers boss Michael Chaney says foreign investors will question if Australia’s a ‘fair place’ if voice referendum fails - Wesfarmers chairman Michael Chaney, a prominent supporter of the Indigenous voice to parliament and executive government, has warned international investors are watching the referendum closely and will question if Australia is a “fair place” if it fails. Mr Chaney said opposing the referendum would betray Wesfarmers’ Indigenous employees, customers and suppliers, as well as the Australian people. The business veteran, who has also led the boards of NAB and Woodside Energy, said chief executives of other big companies universally shared the same view.

#29 - Part 40

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 1

>>18676828 Dozens of Australian politicians urge US to abandon Julian Assange extradition - Australian federal politicians from across the political spectrum have jointly asked the US attorney general, Merrick Garland, to abandon attempts to extradite Julian Assange from the UK. The 48 MPs and senators, including 13 from the governing Labor party, warned that the pursuit of the WikiLeaks founder “set a dangerous precedent” for press freedom and would damage the reputation of the US.

>>18676832 UK MPs implore US Attorney-General to drop Assange extradition - A letter to the US attorney-general has been signed by 35 British parliamentarians calling for extradition proceedings to be dropped against Julian Assange, on the fourth anniversary of his detention at Belmarsh prison. Richard Burgon, Labour MP for Leeds East, organised the letter, which has been given the support of MPs and members of the House of Lords from six parties.

>>18708618 Assange imprisonment has gone on for too long: Wong - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has called for the extradition case against Julian Assange to come to an end. Senator Wong said the legal case and imprisonment of the WikiLeaks co-founder has been going on for too long. Australian high commissioner to the UK Stephen Smith visited Mr Assange in Belmarsh Prison earlier in April, the first time an Australian official had visited him in the facility since his arrest. The foreign minister said it would be good to continue consular assistance to the Australian while he remained in prison.

>>18729066 WikiLeaks Tweet: Imprisoned WikiLeaks publisher and journalist Julian Assange's father and brother meet with the President of Mexico who reaffirms his support for the publishers' immediate release following renewed calls by parliamentarians worldwide

>>18729066 Andrés Manuel @lopezobrador_ Tweet: (Google Translation:) I received John and Gabriel Shipton, father and brother, respectively, of Julian Assange, whom we will continue to defend, since he is a political prisoner and his case is an unacceptable insult to freedom of expression.

>>18800673 Australia PM says 'frustrated' over continued detention of Julian Assange - Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Friday he was frustrated for not yet finding a diplomatic fix over the continued detention of Julian Assange and that he remained concerned about the mental health of the WikiLeaks' founder. "I know it's frustrating, I share the frustration," Albanese told ABC television from London where Assange is being held pending a U.S. extradition case. "I can't do more than make very clear what my position is and the U.S. administration is certainly very aware of what the Australian government's position is. There is nothing to be served by his ongoing incarceration."

>>18800699 Assange backers buoyed as PM says 'enough is enough' - Bipartisan backing for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has buoyed supporters' hopes the Australian's prison stint will end, as the prime minister declares "enough is enough". In his strongest comments on the case since his election win, Anthony Albanese said there was no benefit to the 51-year-old's ongoing detention in the UK. His position was backed by Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, who said he was concerned for the Australian's fate and the case had gone on for too long.

>>18800731 ‘It’s incredible’: Julian Assange supporters thrilled by Dutton remarks - Supporters of Julian Assange feel buoyed by the emergence of bipartisan support for the case against the WikiLeaks founder to be brought to a close after a significant change in rhetoric from Opposition Leader Peter Dutton. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Friday expressed frustration with his government’s inability to convince the Biden administration to drop its extradition request for Assange, saying he had left United States officials with no doubt about his position on the matter. Dutton - who had previously been highly critical of Assange – said on Friday that Assange’s case had gone on for too long and should be brought to a conclusion.

#29 - Part 41

Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 2

>>18819512 Caroline Kennedy meets Assange supporters, fuelling breakthrough hopes - A cross-party delegation of Australian politicians has met United States ambassador Caroline Kennedy to increase the pressure on the Biden administration to drop its pursuit of Julian Assange and warn the WikiLeaks founder’s ongoing incarceration risks undermining the US-Australia alliance. Assange’s supporters feel heartened by Kennedy’s decision to hold the meeting and are cautiously optimistic that momentum is building for a breakthrough on Assange’s case as he continues to languish in London’s high-security Belmarsh Prison. The highly sought-after meeting comes at a pivotal moment, just a fortnight before Prime Minister Anthony Albanese hosts Joe Biden for his first presidential visit to Australia, and days after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton significantly shifted his rhetoric on Assange’s case.

>>18829484 WikiLeaks Tweet: Video: Australian Prime Minister reiterates calls for release of journalist/publisher Julian Assange: "A solution needs to be found that brings this matter to a conclusion…nothing is served from the further incarceration of Mr. Assange" @abc730 #FreeAssangeNOW

>>18860685 Video: Julian Assange’s father speaks on his battle to free his son - For supporters of Julian Assange, the planned visit next week by President Biden is an opportunity to focus attention on Assange's continued imprisonment in the UK and potential extradition to the US. John Shipton is Julian Assange's father, and he speaks to Sarah Ferguson about his fight to free his son - 7.30 / ABC News In-depth

>>18885050 ‘We are considering all options’: Assange supporters open to a plea deal with US - Supporters of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange are open to a plea deal with United States authorities that might clear the way for his release from a British prison, with his wife declaring his freedom had to be the priority. Urging the Australian government to press the case for his release, Stella Assange said her husband was being detained for revealing the truth and must never be extradited to face charges in the US.

>>18885057 Video: IN FULL: Stella Assange, Jennifer Robinson address National Press Club on Julian Assange - Stella Assange was part of Julian Assange's legal team since his confinement in the Ecuadorian embassy and they got Married in 2022. Jennifer Robinson has been advising Julian Assange and Wikileaks since 2010. Julian Assange has been confined in Belmarsh prison since April 2019. - ABC News (Australia)

>>18885064 Video: Prime Minister dodges Stella Assange meeting - “Prime Minister you would be aware that Stella Assange is in Parliament House, and in fact is in the gallery right now. Prime Minister why are you not meeting with Stella today? Will you meet with Stella tomorrow? And why won’t you do more to see Julian Assange reunited with Stella and their young sons Gabriel and Max?” - Andrew Wilkie MP, May 22, 2023

#29 - Part 42

Cardinal George Pell - Sexual Abuse and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations

>>18682194, >>18682198 Cardinal George Pell: A Reminiscence - "Since his unexpected death on 10 January 2023 in Rome, there have been many words written about Cardinal George Pell. Some of those assessments have been very positive and attested to his extraordinary input into the Church in Australia and internationally, and others have been highly critical and, in some instances, quite derogatory. There is little doubt that Cardinal Pell could be a polarising figure and anecdotally you either fell in the camp of being “for” or “against.” My intention here is not to add to the body of opinion, which is now accumulating at a prodigious rate, but rather to reflect on my own encounters with Cardinal Pell given that I worked closely with him during the preparations and the execution of World Youth Day in Sydney in 2008." - Very Rev Peter G. Williams AM - catholicoutlook.org

>>18855396 Cardinal Pell Showed Us What Interior Freedom Really Looks Like - "Cardinal Pell is a man who remained sane despite the insanity of being imprisoned on false, horrific charges. He is a model for our times and a man to remember always in our prayers." - Maryella Hierholzer - ncregister.com

#29 - Part 43

Australia / China Tensions - Part 1

>>18676766 Video: Federal government says agreement reached with China to resolve barley dispute - The federal government has agreed to suspend its appeal to the World Trade Organization over Chinese government tariffs on Australian barley just before the international body was due to hand down a finding over the dispute. Foreign Minister Penny Wong announced that China had promised to conduct an "expedited review" of the tariffs over the next three months and that, in return, Australia would "temporarily suspend" its WTO action over the same period.

>>18676772 Chinese Vice FM to visit Australia, Fiji amid signs of warming ties - Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu will visit Australia and Fiji this week at their invitation, the Chinese foreign ministry confirmed at a regular press briefing on Monday, saying Ma will hold the new round of political consultation between the officials of the foreign ministries of China and Australia. Experts said Ma's visit to Australia, following talks between the two countries' foreign, defense and commerce ministries, showed that China and Australia are resuming communication channels in different areas and levels. - Zhang Changyue - globaltimes.cn

>>18676779 China’s military strategy in the Pacific and how Australia can avoid being beaten - China is playing a 2500-year-old strategy board game to win over the region and Australia needs more than just submarines and missiles to play, one of our top security analysts has warned. Australian National University professor of international security and intelligence and defence studies Professor John Blaxland said Australia’s secret weapon was in greater regional engagement as much as new military hardware.

>>18682151 Video: Go inside one of the most powerful warships in the world - CNN's Will Ripley reports exclusively from one of the most powerful warships on the planet, the USS Mississippi, a U.S. nuclear submarine that's on high alert for threats from China.

>>18693611 Video: NSW man charged with selling Australian defence secrets to two foreign spies - A man has been charged with selling Australian defence, economic and national security secrets to two foreign spies working for the People’s Republic of China. Alexander Csergo, 55, was arrested by Australian Federal Police at Bondi in Sydney’s eastern suburbs late on Friday and charged with one count of reckless foreign interference, a charge that carries a 15-year jail term.

>>18708561 Call for audit as Chinese DJI drones join Australian Defence Force war games - The Australian Defence Force is using Chinese drones from a company black-listed by the US, prompting calls for a government-wide policy on the use of technology from high-risk suppliers. Hundreds of drones from Chinese company DJI are in use across the ADF, mainly for training, and some will be used in a three-week military exercise off the Queensland coast in coming weeks.

>>18708573 Bondi man sold info on AUKUS and lithium mining to alleged Chinese spies, court hears - Bondi businessman Alexander Csergo sold information about the AUKUS agreement, lithium mining and iron ore to alleged Chinese spies, a court has heard, as he is denied bail and his actions are deemed “highly suspicious”. Mr Csergo fronted the Downing Centre District Court on Monday for a bail hearing via video link, after he was arrested by the AFP on Friday and charged with one count of reckless foreign interference. While Mr Csergo‘s defence lawyer said his actions were “nothing sinister”, Magistrate Michael Barko said his decision to meet with alleged spies, using the anglicised names Ken and Evelyn, in cafes in Shanghai was “highly suspicious”.

>>18714036 China ‘a danger’ to accused AUKUS information seller Alexander Csergo - The Bondi businessman alleged to have sold AUKUS information to Chinese spies could be in danger from “people very interested in him not giving evidence against the Republic of China”, according to a magistrate who ruled that keeping him detained would help ensure his safety. Alexander Csergo was denied bail on the grounds he was a flight risk after a court heard he sold information about the AUKUS security agreement, lithium mining and iron ore to alleged Chinese agents in exchange for envelopes of cash.

#29 - Part 44

Australia / China Tensions - Part 2

>>18714044 Video: 2 NY residents allegedly ran secret Chinese police station: 'Significant national security matter' - The FBI and federal prosecutors announced Monday the arrests of two New York residents who allegedly ran an undisclosed Chinese government police station in Manhattan's Chinatown neighborhood. Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping have each been charged with conspiring to act as agents of China's government, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

>>18714060 Video: Confusion as ‘Chinese police’ car spotted on street in Melbourne’s southeast - A car modified to look like a Chinese police vehicle has been spotted on a road in Melbourne’s southeast. A photo of a grey Nissan with Chinese characters on its bonnet and side reading “police” and “special police” appeared on Reddit on Sunday. The car also featured a purple shield logo used on official police cars in China. The user who posted the photo said they had reported the car to local police, who indicated they had received five calls in 90 minutes about the same vehicle. The poster also said the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation had contacted them about the location of the vehicle.

>>18719406 Chinese-Australians ‘more wary of AUKUS’, Lowy survey finds - Chinese-Australians are significantly less supportive of the AUKUS alliance and the prospect of Australian military involvement in a US war against China than the broader Australian population, a new survey suggests. The Lowy Institute’s Being Chinese in Australia Poll also reveals a big jump in the proportion of Chinese-Australians expressing concern at “foreign interference” by the US in Australia’s political processes, from 36 per cent in 2021 to 62 per cent in the latest survey. They are less concerned about foreign interference by Beijing, with 54 per cent identifying it a problem compared with 50 per cent in 2021. The poll shows Chinese-Australians have much more confidence in Anthony Albanese (60 per cent) than they did his ­predecessor Scott Morrison (49 per cent), reflecting the Labor Prime Minister’s efforts to dial-down the friction between Canberra and Beijing.

>>18719425 Video: Live mic picks up WA premier badmouthing shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie at Beijing lunch - On day one of a historic Chinese trade mission, West Australian Premier Mark McGowan has unwittingly reignited a feud with shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie after a microphone picked up his disparaging comments made about Hastie’s views on China. “The other Western Australian who was senior, well, there was a few of them actually - Hastie. He swallowed some sort of Cold War pills back … when he was born, and he couldn’t get his mindset out of that.” Mr. Hastie criticised the premier for inserting himself in foreign policy debates and said he wished he would focus on domestic issues like fixing the Peel Health Campus in Hastie’s WA Canning electorate rather than trying to do Foreign Minister Penny Wong’s job.

>>18719485 Video: TikTok ban backlash: China thinks it’s foolish - Anyone who cares to search will undoubtedly find some very amusing TikTok videos made about the very uproar TikTok has been causing lately. Last week it was banned from Australian government phones and devices. It’s deemed to be a risk to our national security because of the Chinese ownership of its parent company. The decision has upset the local arm of TikTok who maintain their app is harmless fun, not a spy tool. As Amelia Adams reports, it has also outraged the Chinese Communist Party, which is once again warning us not to treat Beijing as the enemy. - 60 Minutes Australia

>>18723436 Mark McGowan’s China trade mission: WA Premier calls for National Cabinet to be held in Beijing - Premier Mark McGowan has called for National Cabinet to be held in China in an unprecedented pitch to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese aimed at rebuilding relations between the two nations. The bold proposal to host all State and Territory leaders came on the second day of the Premier’s five-day trade mission in Beijing. “The Prime Minister, hopefully, will come to China sometime in the next six months and meet with President Xi Jinping,” Mr McGowan said. “One of the things he could do is, invite all the Premiers and Chief Ministers to come with him.”

#29 - Part 45

Australia / China Tensions - Part 3

>>18723446 Calls for decoupling 'now in the past,' Western Australian Premier says, as Australia seeks to boost trade ties with China - Premiers of Australian states have been visiting China in droves amid thawing bilateral relations, eyeing to further deepen trade and economic cooperation with its largest trading partner, while the ongoing visit of Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan being the latest representation despite some voices hyping about "decoupling." In an interview with the Global Times on Wednesday, McGowan highlighted a strong and beneficial bilateral relationship, stressing the calls for "decoupling" "are now in the past" and now there is "an appetite for a better relationship with China" after the new federal government took office. - Xiong Xinyi, Yu Jincui, and Xing Xiaojing - globaltimes.cn

>>18723453 In New Caledonia, Australia urges Pacific island unity amid China, U.S. competition - Australia's foreign minister urged Pacific island countries on Thursday to stay united in the face of great power competition as she visited New Caledonia, where the president raised concerns about Australia's AUKUS nuclear submarine programme. Foreign Minister Penny Wong's visit to the French territory coincides with a push by a China-backed group for several Pacific island nations, including New Caledonia, to sign a splinter security pact.

>>18729148 ‘The king of WA’: McGowan moves closer to Beijing - Between glasses of Australian wine under golden chandeliers at the China World Summit Wing in downtown Beijing, captains of industry, embassy officials and mining moguls gathered to hear West Australian Premier Mark McGowan speak. “The King of WA,” his Chinese hosts reportedly called him this week. McGowan had returned to Beijing after four years of COVID-induced absence, $20 billion in trade strikes and years of division between Perth and the former Coalition government in Canberra on China policy. In the Chinese capital, he predicted the relationship between Australia and China would become “a harmonious and productive one” and announced China’s version of Davos would be heading to Perth this year as WA’s annual exports to China hit a record $146 billion. “Perhaps above any other state in Australia, Western Australia understands the importance of the relationship with China,” he said on Tuesday.

>>18729172 Lawyers for ‘Top Gun’ pilot write to US ambassador asking to halt extradition - Lawyers for former US military pilot Daniel Duggan have written to the US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy and her Australian counterpart Kevin Rudd urging for the extradition of the father-of-six to be withdrawn. Duggan, 54, an Australian citizen, has been in custody since October accused of training Chinese military pilots in South Africa in 2012 without seeking permission from the US Department of Justice – an allegation he denies.

>>18734375 McGowan ‘has lost respect’ after gaffe-marred China visit - WA Premier Mark McGowan’s gaffe-marred visit to China may have hurt his standing not just at home but also in Beijing. While Mr McGowan’s visit was designed to help restore relations that had been strained in recent years, Kevin Carrico - a senior lecturer in Chinese studies at Monash University - said it may have actually diminished his standing in the eyes of Beijing. “Leaders in Beijing will be laughing at his gullibility because what he’s showing is a willingness to essentially do anything to please Beijing,” he said. “In one sense, of course, that makes Beijing happy. In another sense, there’s no chance of the leaders in Beijing respecting him.”

>>18734455 ‘No sense of safety’: Australian citizens reveal extraordinary lengths Chinese Communist Party will go to silence dissent - Two Australian citizens have detailed the extraordinary lengths the Chinese government will go to silence foreign dissidents and the harrowing experiences of those subject to the intimidation and harassment campaigns. An Australian parliamentary committee has heard about the harrowing experiences of two Chinese-Australians subject to extraordinary harassment campaigns by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Journalist Vicky Xu and artist Badiucao spoke to the senate committee on foreign interference through social media, detailing the CCP lengths the Chinese government will go to silence foreign dissidents. Ms Xu, a journalist and senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI), said the Chinese government had been trying to “to silence, intimidate and harass” for her entire six to seven year career. Like Ms Xu, Badiucao said he had also been subject to a smear campaign, detailing multiple attempts to create fake versions of his website with slightly different domain names.

#29 - Part 46

Australia / China Tensions - Part 4

>>18739389 Video: Conflict over Taiwan isn’t ‘inevitable’, Defence Minister Richard Marles says - Defence Minister Richard Marles says he doesn’t think a war over Taiwan is “inevitable” as he continues to defend Australia’s multi-billion dollar nuclear submarine plans. Speaking on the eve of the release of a landmark review of Australia’s military capability, Mr Marles said the government remained optimistic a China-Taiwan conflict could be avoided. “I have a sense of optimism. But having said that, we live in a very complex and difficult world. And we need to be alive to that,” he said.

>>18744386 Defence Strategic Review calls for a more lethal military to handle China expansion - The Australian Defence Force will be transformed into a more agile, lethal force, capable of mounting missile strikes and amphibious ­assaults far from the mainland under an ambitious blueprint to respond to China’s unprecedented military expansion. The government’s Defence Strategic Review, released on Monday, warns Australia’s strategic circumstances have “radically” worsened, to the point that “we now face as a nation the prospect of major conflict in the region that directly threatens our national ­interest”.

>>18744438 Defence Strategic Review: Beijing accuses Canberra of hyping ‘China threat arguments’ to increase military budget - Beijing has accused Australia of hyping “Chinese threat arguments” as an “excuse” to expand its military power. In the first response to the Albanese government’s Defence Strategic Review, Beijing said China had always pursued a purely “defensive” national defence policy. “We are committed to maintaining peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific and the world, and do not pose a threat to any country,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said.

>>18744498 Video: WA Premier Mark McGowan raised cases of detained Australians during China trip - Western Australia Premier Mark McGowan said he raised the cases of two detained Australians while he was on a five-day trip in China. Journalist Cheng Lei has been detained in China since August 2020 and is accused of leaking state secrets, while writer Yang Hengjun was arrested in January 2019 and the case against him has never been publicly disclosed.

>>18749483 Defence Strategic Review: Neighbours tipped to support new posture - As Australia prepares to broaden out its defence posture from a focus on protecting our own borders to one that contributes to regional security and a balance of power, a key question to ask is; Will our neighbours welcome this development? The review, which explicitly names China’s claims over the South China Sea as the biggest threat to Australia and its neighbourhood, will inevitably touch some nerves in a region already highly attuned to any activity that could further inflame tensions.

>>18749519 NT prepares for increase in military spending, US Marines after Defence Strategic Review - The Northern Territory is poised to play a key role in Australia's future missile defences, according to NT Chief Minister Natasha Fyles, as the region prepares for an influx of soldiers and defence force spending. A major defence force review released on Monday by the Albanese government, touted the need for immediate upgrades and developments to bases across northern Australia. The Defence Strategic Review pinpointed a "network of bases, ports and barracks stretching in Australian territory from Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the north-west, through RAAF bases Learmonth, Curtin, Darwin, Tindal, Scherger and Townsville" for urgent and comprehensive upgrades.

>>18755020 Time running out to prevent war over Taiwan, Japanese ambassador warns - Time is running out for Australia and other democracies to deter China from launching an invasion of Taiwan, Japan’s departing ambassador to Australia has warned. Shingo Yamagami, whose Canberra posting ends this weekend after almost 2½ years, accused his Chinese counterpart of launching a character assassination against him and rejected suggestions in the diplomatic community he had been called back to Tokyo early because of his outspoken style. Describing a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan as an increasing concern, Yamagami said: “My point is: time is running out. Time is quite limited because our response has been slow. So rather than letting our counterpart think they see a window of opportunity to resort to military action, we have to do our best to narrow or even close that window of opportunity.”

#29 - Part 47

Australia / China Tensions - Part 5

>>18766087 Challenge to AFP raid over Chinese pilot training fails - A former fighter pilot suspected of helping train Chinese People's Liberation Army pilots has failed in a court challenge to the validity of an Australian Federal Police raid on his home. The AFP executed a search warrant and seized items from the home of Keith Hartley, chief operating officer of the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), in November. The warrant said Hartley was suspected of breaking commonwealth law by organising and facilitating training to PLA pilots "in regard to military aircraft platforms and military doctrine, tactics and strategy". In a judgment delivered in Sydney on Friday (April 28, 2023), Justice Wendy Abraham said Mr Hartley had not established the warrant was invalid. The sole ground of the invalidity claim was the allegation that the warrant did not sufficiently state an offence. "It states conduct capable of constituting an offence, and it does so with a reasonable degree of precision," she said, in dismissing his application.

>>18766108 Daniel Duggan’s family protest outside US embassy in Canberra - The wife of imprisoned Australian Daniel Duggan, the former US marine pilot wanted for extradition by America, has led a protest outside the US embassy in Canberra demanding her husband be released and his extradition abandoned. Saffrine Duggan told protesters on Friday morning: "I am determined to fight this terrible injustice, and to demand that Australian sovereignty is respected. Today Dan has been gone for 191 days - without any Australian charges, convictions, or history of violence – on the say-so of the United States government."

>>18766129 Daniel Duggan’s case to return to court on Monday, 1 May 2023 - Lawyers have argued the request for Daniel Duggan’s extradition is politically motivated - catalysed by the US’s deepening geopolitical contest with China, and invalid under Australia’s extradition treaty with the US. The US alleges Duggan, a former US citizen now a naturalised Australian, trained Chinese fighter pilots to land fighter jets on aircraft carriers, in defiance of arms trafficking laws, and engaged in a conspiracy to launder money. Those claims have not been tested in court.

>>18770941 ‘I’m not a bot’: Melbourne scholar behind pro-Beijing Twitter account plans to ‘debunk’ Xinjiang claims. To many online, Maureen A Huebel almost doesn’t seem like a real person. The vociferously anti-American Twitter account posts a constant stream of pro-China - and more recently, pro-Russia - messages to her 3000 followers, with an unusual focus on debunking claims of Uyghur repression in Xinjiang. In one viral tweet that sparked particular backlash, Mrs Huebel - whose bio lists a series of academic qualifications from universities including Monash - claimed she was planning to travel to the troubled northwestern region to study the “happiness” of the local population.

>>18770981 Chinese academic centers welcome Australian scholar who has come under attack after announcing plans to visit Xinjiang - Two academic centers in China on Friday expressed a warm welcome to Maureen A Huebel, an Australian scholar, who has been under attack from anti-China forces after announcing her plan to visit China's Xinjiang region in 2024, saying they are willing to work with the Australian scholar and assist her in conducting research in the region. - Liu Xin - globaltimes.cn

>>18770996 Attacks won't scare me off from Xinjiang research: Australian scholar - Maureen Huebel, a Melbourne-based scholar who has been the target of online harassment for debunking Western mainstream narratives about the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, said she would not back down in her research. "The more opposition I got, the more determined I became to complete my project," Huebel said in article published on Global Times. One post that has sparked particular backlash was published on March 4. "I am travelling to Xinjiang in 2024 to study how the Uygurs have contributed to the substantial growth in the Xinjiang GDP and look at their population growth," she wrote, adding "Analyse their happiness and expression through dancing." Since announcing her plans, Huebel had been hounded by trolls, with some even sending her death threats. Some accused her of being a "sophisticated Chinese bot". - Ma Chi - chinadaily.com.cn

#29 - Part 48

Australia / China Tensions - Part 6

>>18771047 Melbourne scholar smeared as 'bot' as she tries to debunk false Xinjiang claims - A Melbourne scholar was accused of being an elaborate fake account after she posted a series of pro-China messages to her over 3,000 followers. Some of her posts are focused on debunking claims of the "Xinjiang Uygur genocide," a false narrative that has been repeated by Western politicians and media outlets for years out of political reasons. She believes that her Twitter suffering is an example of the result of growing U.S. fears as China's growth trajectory is set to overtake the American economy in a few years and Australia is experiencing pressure from the U.S. in every aspect of their lives. She said that the major challenge of the Australian government is striking a balance between what the U.S. wants Australia to do and what Australia wants to do. She suggested that Australia should stop acting like a U.S. follower and become an "adult" acting in its own interests. "China is not a threat, but an opportunity," Huebel said. "We should get involved in cooperation with China." - CGTN - chinadaily.com.cn

>>18771116 Malicious attacks can't stop my research about Xinjiang - "I joined Twitter to do preliminary research, but I did not expect the outrage that I would receive from Western people. A backlash blew up even before I started the project. The West is convinced that China is bad, so I couldn't be a critical thinker and say anything good about China, despite the fact that I am an established scholar in Australia and Britain with many published papers. Australia experiences pressure from the US in every aspect of our lives. At this point in history, the US is seriously threatened by the amazing economic growth of China. China's growth trajectory is set to overtake the US economy in a few years. American hegemony, with its international power and control, is now weakening." - Maureen Huebel - globaltimes.cn

>>18779820 Alleged illegal conduct by ASIO could stymie extradition of Daniel Duggan to US on charges of arms trafficking - Alleged illegal conduct by Australia’s spy agency could halt a US effort to extradite a former fighter pilot accused of training Chinese military aviators. Lawyers for Daniel Edmund Duggan, 54, will argue to temporarily stay a request from the US to extradite him to America while Australia’s Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) conducts a formal investigation into the conduct of Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) agents in regards to Duggan’s case. Duggan will spend at least another 86 days in prison before his case comes back to court in July. He has already been incarcerated, much of it in isolation, for 191 days.

>>18784903 Australian police searched pilot's home for China fighter jet records - Australian police searched the home of a British former test pilot for documents related to China's J-16 strike fighter, Australia's intelligence partners, and China's biggest aviation company, a court judgment shows. The search in November was part of an investigation into Western military pilots training China's military at a time of growing tension between China and the United States and its allies. Keith Hartley, chief operating officer of the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA), has not been charged. Federal police searched Hartley's home on suspicion he had broken the law by providing military style training directed or funded by China between 2018 and 2022.

>>18794926 Banning WeChat would ‘damage’ democracy, experts say - Banning WeChat in Australia risks causing “emotional, psychological and practical harm” to the country’s large Chinese-speaking community, experts have told a Senate inquiry. Dr Wanning Sun, from the University of Technology Sydney, and Dr Haiqing Yu, from RMIT, on Thursday made a late submission to the inquiry in which they argued banning the Chinese social media app would cause more harm than good. WeChat, they say, is essential for communication between Chinese Australians and their families, friends, and business partners in China given other social media apps including WhatsApp and Facebook are banned. The platform was even used, in some cases, to farewell dying relatives while China’s borders were closed during the pandemic. “WeChat is a necessity, not a choice for many Chinese Australians,” Dr Sun and Dr Yu said. Seth Kaplan, a lecturer at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies, last month told the inquiry into foreign interference through social media he would support banning WeChat, which he described as a “narrative machine for the CCP” that is “worse than TikTok”.

#29 - Part 49

Australia / China Tensions - Part 7

>>18800562 Rishi Sunak says China is Britain’s greatest threat to economic security - China is the single greatest threat to Britain’s economic security, according to British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. In an exclusive interview in his Downing Street office, Mr Sunak also hailed the AUKUS agreement with Australia, the US and the UK as “the most significant multilateral defence partnership in generations”. In comments on China that are stronger than any others he has made since becoming Prime Minister, Mr Sunak characterised China’s behaviour as “increasingly authoritarian at home and assertive abroad”.

>>18800625 China challenge ‘epoch-defining’, Rishi Sunak warns as Xi Jinping vows PLA ‘wall of steel’ - Xi Jinping has declared China will build the People’s Liberation Army into a “great wall of steel” to protect the rising giant’s “national sovereignty” on the eve of ­Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak unveiling their monumental AUKUS submarine deal. British Prime Minister, Mr Sunak, warned China posed an “epoch-defining systemic challenge” as he headed to San Diego in the US to meet Mr Albanese and Mr Biden to lay out their AUKUS plans to deter an increasingly assertive Beijing.

>>18800905 Inside the US Marine Corps training mission in Australia - The US Marines are helping the Australian Army sharpen its amphibious warfighting capability during a six-month mission down under that is preparing both countries to respond to Chinese military aggression. The Army’s 1st Brigade, based in Darwin, is tapping into the expertise of up to 2500 Marines as the unit is redesigned to specialise in littoral combat in coastal areas that will be crucial in any Indo-Pacific conflict.

>>18810246 ‘Missing her kids’: Aussie journalist Cheng Lei reaches 1000 days in Chinese jail - For almost 1000 days Australian journalist Cheng Lei has woken up inside a Chinese cell, cut off from her two young children in Melbourne and her friends in Beijing. Each day she wakes up still unaware of the crime she is alleged to have committed, in a country that she had devoted her professional life to, that now only gives her two hours a day of fresh air. “The 1000 days [milestone] is going to be really tough for her,” said Cheng’s partner Nick Coyle. “She misses her children enormously.”

>>18814604 Australia accused of undermining Fiji-China relationship, amid uncertainty over police agreement - China has accused Australia of trying to sabotage its relationship with Fiji as questions swirl over whether the Pacific Island country will cut security and law enforcement ties with Beijing. The relationship between Beijing and Suva has cooled ever since Sitiveni Rabuka won power late last year, particularly after the new prime minister reversed a decision forcing Taiwan to downgrade the official title of its diplomatic mission in Fiji. Mr Rabuka has also repeatedly said that he will scrap a 2011 police cooperation agreement which Fiji signed with China under former prime minister Frank Bainimarama, saying he wanted to limit law enforcement ties to countries with "similar systems." Late last week the Chinese embassy in Fiji issued its sharpest statement yet on the issue, saying it hoped "relevant parties" would "abandon ideological prejudice, and view the law enforcement and police cooperation between China and Fiji objectively and rationally".

>>18814613 Australian Border Force called to suspend Chinese DJI drones in-line with ADF - A Chinese-made drone grounded by Defence and black-listed by the US military is still being used by the Australian Border Force sparking fears the high-risk technology could compromise the agency’s “sensitive” operations. The Coalition is calling for the ABF to follow the Australian Defence Force in suspending the use of drones and other products manufactured by controversial Chinese company Da Jiang Innovations (DJI) pending a security audit.

>>18819524 Exclusive: China-Australia economic and trade relations are facing an important window period: Chinese Ambassador - China-Australia economic and trade relations are facing an important window period. The two sides have important consensus on jointly maintaining the positive momentum of bilateral relations, Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian told the Global Times in a written interview. The recent resumption of exchanges and cooperation between China and Australia in various fields fully demonstrates that despite some differences, the two sides have a strong desire for communication and exchanges and share broad and profound common interests. This year is crucial for the steady and sound development of China-Australia relations, said Xiao. - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

#29 - Part 50

Australia / China Tensions - Part 8

>>18829502 Death of Manasseh Sogavare’s right hand man threatens to destabilise Solomon Islands - Solomon Islands’ Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s nephew and political fixer has died of a heart attack in a development that could destabilise the Pacific’s most pro-China government. Multiple Solomon Islands’ sources said Robson Djokovic, Mr Sogavare’s longtime chief of staff, died of a heart attack on Wednesday. A local political source said Mr Djokovic provided the backroom strength underpinning Mr Sogavare’s hold on power.

>>18829502 Untimely Passing of Government’s Chief of Staff Shocks Many - The untimely passing of the government’s chief of staff, Robson Djokovic, has shocked many, particularly within government circles, where he has been a long-time confidant and trusted advisor of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare. Multiple sources say that Mr. Djokovic died of a suspected heart attack. Mr. Djokovic has been a key figure in Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare’s government, often seen as a formidable operative during the lobbying period.

>>18835358 Trade Minister Don Farrell given surprise Forbidden City tour, China's foreign minister to visit Australia - Trade Minister Don Farrell has been given a surprise tour of Beijing's Forbidden City by a senior Chinese Commerce Ministry official, in an encouraging sign ahead of talks later on Friday with his counterpart, Wang Wentao. Senator Farrell was hosted on the tour by the ministry's deputy director-general, Peng Wei. The unexpected invitation came about 4 hours ahead of Senator Farrell's scheduled sit-down meeting with Mr Wang. As he entered the Forbidden City, Senator Farrell said he was "very privileged to be invited here to this iconic site".

>>18835386 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin’s Regular Press Conference on May 11, 2023 - "China and Australia are both important countries in the Asia-Pacific with highly complementary economies and mutually beneficial business ties. To improve and maintain the sound growth of bilateral ties serves the fundamental interests of both countries and peoples."

>>18835396 China trip: Don Farrell firm on national security - Trade Minister Don Farrell will push back on Chinese calls for Australia to relax its foreign investment rules, declaring ahead of high-level talks in Beijing that the Albanese government reserves its right to block stakes in critical companies on national security grounds. Senator Farrell, who will meet Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on Friday, said he felt “the weight of responsibility on my shoulders” to negotiate an end to Chinese trade bans on Australian companies.

>>18835410 Australian trade minister visits China to seek cooperation as ties face ‘important window’ - Despite Australia's keenness to boost trade with China, more concerted efforts are needed to further improve ties, analysts noted. China's core concerns must be respected and addressed by the Australian side, in order to further promote bilateral cooperation, Chinese officials and analysts said. "It is hoped that the Australian side will earnestly abide by the one-China principle, an important prerequisite and political basis for improving, upholding, and further developing China-Australia relations, and earnestly respect each other's core interests and major concerns," Chinese Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said. - Wang Cong, Yin Yeping and Song Lin - globaltimes.cn

>>18835427 GT Voice: Finding pragmatic balance key for Australia to recover China trade - Despite the increasing positive signs for the thawing of China-Australia economic and trade relations, whether bilateral trade is really heading toward "a warm spring" is still up to whether Canberra can find a pragmatic point in balancing its economic and political imperatives. The further improvement of bilateral relations requires Australia's realization that China is Australia's partner and did not and will not pose a security threat to Australia. - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>18840338 China trip: Don Farrell returns without trade concessions, touts ‘positive momentum’ - Trade Minister Don Farrell is returning from a two-day trip to China without concessions from Beijing on a raft of trade bans against Australian exports, but says there is “positive momentum” in the countries’ relationship. Senator Farrell said he and Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao agreed during high-level talks on Friday night to “step up dialogue” to resolve the trade issues. He said Mr Wang had agreed to visit him in South Australia to build on their discussions.

#29 - Part 51

Australia / China Tensions - Part 9

>>18840352 Resumption of high-level economic talks sends encouraging signs on thaw of China-Australia relations - Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell's visit to Beijing witnessed multiple encouraging signs in the stabilized recovery of China-Australia cooperation, including the resumption of a landmark high-level economic meeting and the minister's tour of Beijing's iconic Forbidden City. But Canberra needs to understand that actions that harm China's core interests and provoke China's red lines could undermine the improvement of bilateral relations. It is crucial for Australia to have the political wisdom and strategic confidence to cherish the hard-won recovery of China-Australia ties, instead of pursuing the strategic interests of the US at the expense of its own interests. - Wang Jiamei - globaltimes.cn

>>18840385 Fired TikTok exec says Chinese government had access to app user data - A former executive fired from TikTok’s parent company ByteDance made a raft of accusations against the tech giant, including that it stole content from competitors like Instagram and Snapchat, and served as a “propaganda tool” for the Chinese government by suppressing or promoting content favourable to the country’s interests. The allegations were made in a complaint on Friday in the US by Yintao Yu, the head of engineering for ByteDance’s US operations from August 2017 to November 2018, as part of a wrongful termination lawsuit filed earlier this month in San Francisco Superior Court. Yu claims he was fired for disclosing “wrongful conduct” he saw at the company. In the complaint, Yu alleges the Chinese government monitored ByteDance’s work from within its Beijing headquarters and provided guidance on advancing “core communist values”. Yu said government officials had the ability to turn off the Chinese version of ByteDance’s apps, and maintained access to all company data, including information stored in the United States.

>>18844628 China hails ‘substantial progress’ on trade ties with Australia - China says “substantial progress” has been made on stabilising trade ties with Australia during high-level ministerial talks and the country is willing to work towards “more positive results”. But Beijing continues to push for improved investment access in key areas, including critical minerals, and wants Australia’s support to gain entry to the trans-Pacific trade partnership.

>>18844640 Trick of the trade? China ‘ramping up the pressure’ - The truth is we don’t know when, or even if, China will remove tariffs and imposts on Australian imports. In January, China’s top diplomat in West Australia visited Geraldton Fishermen’s Co-operative. Rumours raced around the industry: were the fat years about to return? Five months on and not only has the unofficial black-listing not ended, China’s customs officials have clamped down on what had been a roaring illicit trade smuggled through Hong Kong and Taiwan. If normal market access is returned, the Albanese government will deserve much praise, but we should hold the applause until the Chinese follow through.

>>18849888 China, Australia resume high-level economic dialogue as bilateral ties improve under Albanese government - China and Australia are expected to see marked improvement in their trade ties with the two countries ramping up efforts to shore up economic cooperation following the recent resumption of high-level visits and dialogues, experts said. It could be considered as a starting point for the reset of their bilateral relations, which hit a very low point due to the anti-China policy by the previous Australian government. - Zhang Hongpei and Wang Jiamei - globaltimes.cn

>>18849904 Fishing boss sanctioned by the US for human rights abuses backs powerful Chinese-Australian group - A Chinese fishing magnate recently blacklisted by the US government for human rights abuses is a top donor and ‘permanent honorary chairman’ of an influential China-Australia organisation with suspected links to the Chinese government. Zhuo Xinrong has been a donor and senior office-holder with the Sydney-based Australia China Economics Trade and Culture Association (ACETCA) for more than eight years, and the organisation refuses to say it has cut ties with him.

>>18860436 Biden’s 11th hour Quad snub a disappointment, a mess and a gift to Beijing - Anthony Albanese’s disappointment is Xi Jinping’s victory. Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of next week’s Quad leaders’ summit in Sydney is a personal blow for the prime minister, who was preparing to bask in the glow of hosting three of the world’s most powerful leaders in his home town. China’s president-for-life, meanwhile, will be giddy with delight at the summit falling into disarray.

#29 - Part 52

Australia / China Tensions - Part 10

>>18860441 Joe Biden skips Australia, PNG when ‘turning up is half the battle’ - Joe Biden’s cancellation of his Australian trip and the scrapping of next week’s Quad meeting in Sydney will be deeply disappointing for Anthony Albanese. The optics of a presidential visit, and of hosting the US, Indian and Japanese leaders together at the Opera House, would have capped-off a remarkable year of diplomacy for Albanese, who has proven to be a surprisingly capable international statesman.

>>18860738 How 'dark underbelly' and forced labour is helping to fuel Australia's love affair with cheap solar - Ramila Chanisheff is an ethnic Uyghur hailing from the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang, or East Turkistan as she calls it. Xinjiang is one of the world's biggest producers of polysilicon, a crucial ingredient in modern-day solar panels. About 45 per cent of the world's supply comes from the province, where metallurgical grade silicon is crushed and purified in huge factories. But researchers and human rights activists claim those factories are also home to the widespread use of forced Uyghur labour.

>>18860751 Eleven Chinese institutes welcome Australian scholar’s planned Xinjiang visit in joint letter - Eleven Chinese academic institutes jointly released a letter of support to Maureen A Huebel, an Australian scholar, who has come under attack from anti-China forces after announcing her plan to visit China's Xinjiang region in 2024. In an article Huebel wrote to the Global Times in March, she stated reasons for her interest in the Xinjiang region when she noticed rising levels of Australian poverty and homelessness. Xinjiang was identified as among the fastest GDP growth of all Chinese provinces and regions. - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>18860771 West's 'academic freedom' only a myth - What Australian scholar Maureen A. Huebel experienced recently is an example of how all talk of academic freedom in the West is just a myth. Huebel said on her Twitter handle that she planned a trip to the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to "study how the Uygurs have contributed to the substantial growth in Xinjiang GDP and look at their population growth", but was bombarded with criticism, with some commenting her account was "fake" and others accusing her of spreading "propaganda". - Zhang Zhouxiang - chinadaily.com.cn

>>18865928 Video: Anthony Albanese visit to China on the table after Aussie timber ban lifted - Beijing’s top diplomat in Australia has revealed that talks are under way for Anthony Albanese to visit China “as quickly as possible”, amid improving trade relations between the countries after the lifting of punitive trade bans on $600m-a-year worth of Australian timber. China’s ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian said there was “good momentum” in stabilising bilateral ties, and Chinese officials were working with their Australian counterparts to find “a time of mutual convenience” for the Prime Minister’s trip.

>>18865944 ‘China is not a threat': Ambassador Xiao Qian attacks Quad and AUKUS alliances as not in best interest of 'peace' in region - The Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian has declared that Beijing is “not a threat to Australia” as he condemned both the Quad and AUKUS alliances in the region. The first meeting of the Quad leaders of Australia, India, Japan and the US to be held in Sydney was scrapped on Wednesday after President Joe Biden was forced to cancel his trip. Mr Xiao has labelled the alliance a “bad idea” and urged for the nations to “look at China objectively”.

>>18875151 Biden skips two legs of trip, erodes US credibility - The US President Joe Biden decided to curtail his upcoming trip to the Asia-Pacific by canceling a visit to Australia and Papua New Guinea due to the ongoing debt ceiling negotiations in Washington, which, some Chinese experts said reflects that Washington only treats its so-called allies and partners as chess pieces and instrument, and when its domestic issues override its political agenda, it easily turns back on its commitment. - Chen Qingqing and Xie Jun - globaltimes.cn

>>18875320 Chinese mouthpiece Global Times says Quad been dealt ‘fatal blow’ and is in crisis - The future of the Quad has been dealt a “fatal blow” and is in decline, China says, and it sets the stage for other “US-led anti-China cliques” to suffer the same fate. “If Western observers still believe in Quad, their analyses should be full of content about innovative ways to contain China and make the West great again,” the Global Times article stated. “There is no such wording, but only disappointment in the US.”

#29 - Part 53

Australia / China Tensions - Part 11

>>18875329 Cancellation of Sydney summit an omen of Quad's future fate - The planned Quad summit in Sydney, scheduled for May 24, has been canceled as Biden is busy putting out the financial fire of a possible debt default at home. The leaders will meet later this week on G7 sidelines in Japan instead. But, even though the gathering continues, it won't be the same. The cancellation of the Sydney summit is an omen of Quad's fate. - Global Times - globaltimes.cn

>>18875383 Playing the long game on China trade - "There were high hopes, but Trade Minister Don Farrell arrived back from China empty-handed. Conversation was apparently amicable. We were given assurances Chinese review of tariffs against Australian barley imports is on track. That’s effectively Beijing telling us it will remove restrictions on Australian exports in its own good time and according to its own opaque priorities and principles. As usual, China is playing a longer game. We need to as well." - John Lee, non-resident senior fellow at the Hudson Institute in Washington and former senior adviser to the Australian foreign minister, 2016 to 2018 - afr.com

>>18875410 Albanese confirms Beijing invite, says China must remove trade bans - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has sharpened his calls for China to remove all remaining trade restrictions on Australia as he prepares to meet world leaders at the G7, where Beijing’s use of economic coercion will dominate key forums. Confirming for the first time that he has officially been invited to Beijing and that a Quad meeting has been scheduled in Hiroshima, Albanese said it was important “that any of the impediments to trade between China and Australia be lifted”.

>>18875476 Former defence chief Angus Houston hits out at China, warns of 'miscalculation' leading to possible military conflict - One of the co-authors of Labor's Defence Strategic Review has sharply criticised Beijing's growing military activity in the South China Sea, accusing the emerging superpower of undermining Australia's national interest. Just weeks after the release of the DSR, former defence chief Sir Angus Houston has also expressed concern about the lack of lethality with the Royal Australian Navy's surface fleet and blasted the slow progress in producing missiles locally.

>>18876559 Video: ‘Illegal, malign’: China’s state-sponsored crime stretches across Pacific - Australia’s key law enforcement partners have launched a blistering attack on the Chinese government, saying the state actor poses the gravest threat to the security of Australia and its allies, while alleging that Beijing is also green-lighting organised crime bosses as agents of influence in Pacific Island nations. The FBI has described US and Australian efforts to ramp up the Western law enforcement presence in the Pacific, marked most recently by the Albanese government’s $317 million “Pacific expansion” funding package for the AFP, as aimed in part at countering China’s own efforts in the Indo-Pacific.

>>18876597 OPINION: There is a reason why the AFP won’t call out China - "Kershaw’s careful language needs to be viewed in the prism of maintaining a flow of intelligence from Chinese authorities about drug shipments from triad syndicates that arrive on Australian shores every other week. His is an unenviable juggling act. Kershaw’s federal agents have run exhaustive investigations into espionage and foreign interference allegedly conducted by Beijing’s security services in Australia. At the same time, the AFP relies on information from these same security services to stop Australians dying of drug overdoses." - Nick McKenzie - theage.com.au

>>18880112 Albanese ‘to travel to China’ but opposition warns trade sanctions should be lifted first - Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has told world leaders he intends to travel to China, signalling he will push ahead with stabilising the relationship with Beijing despite ongoing trade sanctions and the arbitrary detention of two Australians. Albanese has not publicly confirmed a date for the trip, but the 50th anniversary of Gough Whitlam’s first visit to China as prime minister in October is looming as a symbolic marker for Canberra and Beijing after years of disputes over human rights, national security and trade.

#29 - Part 54

Australia / China Tensions - Part 12

>>18880118 ‘Ours must not be an era of war’: Quad leaders pledge investment in Asia Pacific - The Quad will build undersea cable systems and fund infrastructure development and telecommunications across the Asia Pacific in an expansion of its remit designed to blunt China’s growing influence in the region. The announcement by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Joe Biden was coupled with a pledge to put south-east Asian nations and the Pacific Islands at the centre of its plans after a campaign by Beijing to paint the four nations as elite and out of touch with developing countries.

>>18880124 ‘Unspeakable consequences’: Kevin Rudd’s warning on China war - Kevin Rudd has painted a grim picture for Hong Kong’s future as an increasingly “Leninist and Marxist” Chinese Communist Party erodes the island’s freedoms and a US-led coalition seeks to counteract Beijing’s growing military and economic might. In one of his first public remarks as ambassador to the US, Mr Rudd also said the US, Australia and other democracies were united in an “active campaign of expanded deterrence to cause Xi Jinping to think twice and thrice about whether [China] could get away with any unilateral military action against Taiwan”.

>>18890103 Maturity on China boosts our global status: Richard Marles - Australia is being treated “more seriously as a country” since the Albanese government ended the nation’s “shrill” political debate over China and began stabilising relations with Beijing, Richard Marles has declared. Mr Marles, branded by Scott Morrison a “Manchurian candidate” prior to last year’s election, said the previous government issued “gratuitous and inflammatory comments” about China without regard for the interests of the Australian people.

>>18890113 Foreign Minister Penny Wong says prime minister won't visit China unless 'progress' is made - Australia's Foreign Minister Penny Wong has indicated Prime Minister Anthony Albanese won't travel to China unless "continued progress" is made to resolve trade and consular disputes. The invite from Chinese officials was made earlier this year and follows clashes between the two countries, which have in particular severely hindered Australian exporters.

>>18890116 DJI drone fleet grounded by Border Force amid links to Chinese military - The Australian Border Force has stopped using drones from a Chinese manufacturer under review by the Defence Department and black-listed in the US, Home Affairs chief operating officer Justine Saunders has told Senate estimates. “We have actually suspended the use of that capability,” she said in response to questioning from opposition home affairs spokesperson James Paterson.

>>18890171 Concerns secret classification of detainee blocked bail - Senior lawyers argue the conditions faced by a former US fighter pilot accused of aiding the Chinese military are impeding his case for bail. Daniel Duggan is facing extradition to the United States, where he will face charges of violating arms export laws and money laundering, which he denies. The Australian section of the International Commission of Jurists wrote to the NSW Corrective Services Commissioner raising concerns about how Mr Duggan was classified as a high-risk detainee, with documents about the classification withheld. The letter said without the information about why he was classified as high-risk, he couldn't properly prepare a bail application.

>>18895087 Forrest group Walk Free warns of slavery threat in Australia's solar panel supply chains - A human rights group funded by mining magnate Andrew Forrest has warned of the rapidly rising risks of modern slavery and forced labour in the world's renewable energy supply chains. Walk Free, an arm of Mr Forrest's Minderoo Foundation, will today release a report outlining how Australia imports $US17.4 billion [$26 billion] of products that may have used coerced labour. And it is warning that renewable energy products led by solar are increasingly susceptible to the risks, particularly those made in China.

>>18900821 Australia, Five Eyes partners blame China for malicious hacking campaign - Australia and its fellow Five Eyes security partners have called out China for a major state-sponsored hacking operation targeting critical infrastructure networks in the United States. Technology giant Microsoft, which uncovered the hack, said the campaign had been active since the middle of 2021 and targeted critical infrastructure assets in Guam, an island in the west Pacific Ocean that is home to some of America’s most important military bases. Guam would be expected to play an important role in any future conflict between the US and China over the self-governing island of Taiwan.

#29 - Part 55

Australia / China Tensions - Part 13

>>18900833 Video: Five countries secretly sharing intelligence say China is the No.1 threat - Showing off deadly weaponry in massive war games is a tactic China and the United States both use to try to avoid full-on combat. But the truth is the two countries, as well as other nations including Australia, are already battling it out in an invisible war. There are no frontline soldiers but there are significant skirmishes. Until now these conflicts have been kept quiet, but key members of a secretive alliance of top cops from Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and New Zealand are about to change that. In exclusive interviews with Nick McKenzie, the group known as the “Five Eyes” disclose startling information about the trouble they’re seeing. - 60 Minutes Australia

>>18906146 Video: China hits back over Five Eyes blame for US infrastructure cyber attack - China has hit back after Australia and other Five Eyes cyber agencies blamed it for recent cyber attacks targeting "critical infrastructure" in the United States. "Obviously, this is a collective disinformation campaign by the United States to mobilise the Five Eyes countries for geopolitical purposes," China's foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said.

#29 - Part 56

Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide

>>18670801 Video: China health officials lash out at WHO, defend search for source of COVID-19 virus - Chinese health officials have defended their search for the source of the COVID-19 virus and lashed out at the World Health Organization after its leader said Beijing should have shared genetic information earlier. The director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's, Shen Hongbing, said the WHO comments were "offensive and disrespectful."

>>18703519 Thousands left waiting for compensation after claims of COVID-19 vaccine injury - Thousands of people are still waiting to learn whether they will receive compensation for injuries they believe they incurred when receiving a coronavirus vaccine, as claimants and lawyers say delays are causing unnecessary distress to people with serious illnesses. The COVID-19 Vaccine Claims Scheme covers losses or expenses of $1000 or more from injury resulting in hospitalisation or death from specific severe reactions to the COVID-19 vaccine.

>>18800871 Ivermectin ban ended by Australian regulator amid warning it should not be used as Covid treatment - The Therapeutic Goods Administration has ended a ban on off-label prescriptions of anti-parasitic drug ivermectin, nearly two years after floods of people attempted to procure the drug in the mistaken belief it would treat Covid-19. The TGA announced on Wednesday it would remove the ban for off-label prescriptions of the drug from 1 June. Off-label prescriptions had been limited to specialists such as dermatologists, gastroenterologists and infectious disease specialists since September 2021. The decision was made due to what the TGA said was “sufficient evidence that the safety risks to individuals and public health is low” in the “current health climate”.

>>18875725 Australian school imposes a mask mandate after a Covid outbreak among students - sparking outrage from parents and top doctor: 'No child should be compelled to wear one' - A high school has brought back a Covid mask mandate more than six months after they were entirely scrapped across the country, sparking backlash. Liverpool Girls' High School in Sydney's southwest announced on Tuesday that Year 9, 10 and 11 students would have to work from home immediately, while all staff and students still in school would have to wear masks. Dr Nick Coatsworth, who is well known as the face of the government's Covid vaccine rollout, told Daily Mail Australia that mask rules being reintroduced at the school was worrying. 'That is a problem. No child at an Australian school should be compelled to wear a mask,' the former Australian deputy chief health officer said.

>>18880132 Warning winter could mark arrival of fifth Covid wave across Australia - A prominent epidemiologist says it is “obvious” Australia is heading into its fifth wave of Covid. Over the last week, 38,226 cases were reported across Australia, with an average of 5461 cases per day. University of South Australia Professor Adrian Esterman said it is already very clear a new wave is coming in South Australia, where infections are forecast to double in the next fortnight.

#29 - Part 57

Virginia Roberts Giuffre, Prince Andrew, Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell

>>18795043 Billionaire Investor Buys Jeffrey Epstein’s Private Islands For $60 Million - A private equity mogul, who says he never met Epstein, plans to develop a luxury resort on the infamous property. After more than a year on the market, Jeffrey Epstein’s infamous Caribbean islands have finally found a buyer: Stephen Deckoff, founder of private equity firm Black Diamond Capital Management, has purchased the two islands for $60 million, less than half of their initial asking price of $125 million. Deckoff plans to develop a 25-room luxury resort on the property, he said Wednesday, adding that he never met Epstein and never set foot on the islands until they were marketed following Epstein’s 2019 death.

>>18795043 Q Post #1001 - Where do roads lead? Each prince is associated with a cardinal direction: north, south, east and west. Sacrifice. Collect. [Classified]-1 - [Classified]-2 - Tunnels. Table 29. D-Room H - D-Room R - D-Room C - Pure EVIL. 'Conspiracy' - Q

>>18805504 'God save Virginia Giuffre': Protesters wave placards on Coronation route - Protesters stood shoulder to shoulder with royal supporters - the former dressed in yellow waving placards with slogans including “king parasite” and “abolish the monarchy”, while the latter were bedecked in Union flags. One placard read: "God save Virginia Giuffre", a reference to the alleged sexual abuse case involving Prince Andrew, who settled a case with Giuffre in February last year.

>>18805504 Q Post #4923 - https://twitter.com/VRSVirginia/status/1319071346282778624 - Dearest Virginia - We stand with you. Now and always. Find peace through prayer. Never give up the good fight. God bless you. Q

>>18810233 Frozen-out Andrew gets an equally chilly reception from crowd - As the King travelled to Westminster Abbey in a golden carriage, to huge cheers and the drumbeat of a military procession, his brother, Prince Andrew, was driven down the Mall in a car alone - and booed by crowds. Andrew was reportedly “left in the dark” until the last moment about whether he would be allowed to wear his ceremonial Knight of the Garter robes - and was “furious”. In the end, the late Queen’s second son got his way, walking into the abbey in a floor-length velvet robe, red sash and gold tassels. In 2015, Virginia Giuffre claimed she was forced to have sex with Andrew when she was 17 and he was a guest of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Andrew has always denied the allegations. An out-of-court settlement was reached with Giuffre in March last year - a reported pounds 3 million - in which he accepted no blame.

>>18810233 Q Post #3152 - Prince Andrew is deeply connected. Q

>>18824096 Count Inland Vampire Tweet: Nothing is beating this today. Nada. Whoever owns this placard, I love you with all my heart. #notallheroeswearcapes #GodSaveVirginiaGuiffre @VRSVirginia - https://twitter.com/InlandEmpire777/status/1654831159941971969

>>18824096 Virginia Roberts Giuffre Tweet: Humbled ♥️

>>18875740 Deutsche Bank to pay $US75m to settle Jeffrey Epstein accusers’ suit - Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $US75m ($113m) to settle a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging the financial institution facilitated Jeffrey Epstein’s sex-trafficking ring, said lawyers who sued the bank on behalf of alleged victims. A woman who is listed anonymously as Jane Doe in court papers filed the suit last year in New York on behalf of herself and other accusers of the disgraced financier. She alleged Deutsche Bank did business with Epstein for five years while knowing that he was using money in his bank accounts to further his sex-trafficking activity.

>>18885246 Epstein threatened to reveal Bill Gates’ ‘affair’ with young Russian - Jeffrey Epstein threatened to expose Bill Gates over an alleged affair with a Russian bridge player in her 20s, according to reports in the US. Convicted paedophile Epstein, who killed himself in jail in 2019, wanted Gates to support a charity he had set up. Gates, 67, refused to do so, and Epstein threatened to expose the alleged affair unless he co-operated, The Wall Street Journal reported.

#29 - Part 58

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

>>18693432 ‘Heads in sand’: Labor lashed over NT child sex abuse claims - The Coalition has dug in behind Peter Dutton’s assertion of widespread child sexual violence in central Australia, with Liberal senator Simon Birmingham and opposition deputy leader Sussan Ley calling on the federal government to stop playing politics and take action.

>>18698736 Labor under pressure for minimising sexual assault cases - The Fyles Labor government is facing claims it tried to minimise and even deny alarmingly high rates of child sex abuse in the Northern Territory when its Treasurer, Eva Lawler, told a radio station: “Children have been sexually abused in Australia since, bloody, the place was probably settled”.

>>18744576 Ex-governor-general Peter Hollingworth 'fit for ministry' despite misconduct, Anglican Church board finds - An Anglican Church investigation has found former governor-general Peter Hollingworth committed misconduct by knowingly allowing paedophiles to remain in the church when he was Brisbane archbishop, but is "fit for ministry" if he apologises to two victim-survivors. The Professional Standards Board of the Anglican Church has been considering whether Dr Hollingworth, who remains a bishop, should be defrocked over his handling of abuse cases while he was archbishop in the 1990s. It found that Dr Hollingworth committed misconduct by allowing two priests he knew had sexually abused children to remain in the church.

>>18749555 Abuse survivors slam Anglican Church ruling of ex governor-general Peter Hollingworth amid calls for re-investigation - Survivors of church abuse have slammed the finding of an Anglican Church investigation into former governor-general Peter Hollingworth and called for him to be re-examined by an independent body. Dr Hollingworth resigned as governor-general in 2003, following a series of revelations that he allowed paedophile priests to keep working while he was the Archbishop of Brisbane in the 1990s. On Monday (24 April 2023), an inquiry by the Professional Standards Board of the Anglican Church ruled Dr Hollingworth should not be stripped or defrocked of his holy orders, despite finding he committed misconduct by allowing two priests to remain in the church who he knew had sexually abused children.

>>18749567 Peter Hollingworth: ‘Ex-governor-general not fit to function as priest’, say lawyers - Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth should have been stripped of his permission to officiate as an Anglican minister due to serious misconduct and deficiency of character, according to lawyers for the internal investigation into his wrongdoing. Counsel for the church-created Professional Standards Committee submitted that Dr Hollingworth’s failings were so deep that he should not be able to function as a priest and that if his mission were ratified it would erode trust in the vocation. But the Anglican-inspired tribunal that judged Dr Hollingworth ultimately decided that, despite finding multiple counts of misconduct, the former Archbishop of Brisbane had been ignorant of the needs of child sex abuse victims rather than wilfully negligent.

>>18755037 Convicted pedophile teacher Malka Leifer to seek leniency in sentencing - Convicted pedophile teacher Malka Leifer is set to argue “hardship” she has experienced in prison and the threat of deportation to try to get a more lenient sentence. Leifer will face a two-day pre-sentencing hearing in June after she was found guilty earlier this month of 18 rape and sexual assault charges against students at the Adass Israel School in Elsternwick.

>>18760774 Video: ‘Paedophiles’: Protesters opposed to drag queen event hurl abuse at councillors - Protesters opposing a planned drag story time event have called councillors paedophiles and derailed a Monash City Council meeting on Wednesday after the south-eastern Melbourne council refused to give in to abuse and pressure to scrap the family-friendly activity. Key groups, such as My Place and Reignite Democracy Australia, which espouse views often associated with alt-right or conspiracy theory thinking and can be hostile to the LGBTQ community, rallied supporters to descend on Monash Council’s offices in Glen Waverley on Wednesday night to demand the cancellation of its sold-out drag queen event. The council-run event, planned for May 19 at Oakleigh Library, will involve drag queen Sam Thompson reading books and singing songs to children and parents to mark International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.

#29 - Part 59

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

>>18784957 We must still stand strong against those who betray our kids - "Imagine discovering your 14-year-old child had suffered childhood sexual assaults by the parish priest at primary school; that the previous year of self-destructive behaviour and suicide attempts were a result of those ongoing assaults. Imagine the rage. Imagine discovering 20 months later that a second child of yours had been sexually assaulted by the same priest, then that the priest had been sexually assaulting children since the 1940s. And that, through many complaints over the years, the hierarchy, bishops and archbishops, knew all about his history of offending but had not stopped him, which led to your children being sexually assaulted almost 50 years later. We then learned that he was not the only pedophile clergyman of whom they were aware and protected. It caused a group of us parents to rage against the hierarchy for their deception, betrayal and culpability. On October 22, 2018, I had the great honour of sitting on the floor of Parliament House in Canberra with Julia Gillard on one side and my daughter Katie on the other to hear the national apology. It hit a spot deep inside many of us, as the broken sobbing of one woman proved when her cries echoed through the parliamentary chamber. The national apology was a triumph for all victims; it was recognition of what victims had suffered as defenceless children at the mercy of bishops, clergy and other heartless people who cared nothing for them. The people who knowingly harboured child rapists were wrong, vile and criminal, and the apology proved it to the nation. The carnage we experienced with our daughters must stop. It is every adult’s duty to be forever vigilant in protecting the children in their lives and beyond." - Chrissie Foster, author of 'Hell on the Way to Heaven' and 'Still Standing'. Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to children, particularly as an advocate for those who have suffered sexual abuse. - theaustralian.com.au

>>18784972 Righteous rage - The Catholic Church’s betrayal of children - Still Standing' by Chrissie Foster, with Paul Kennedy.' - "This is a book about rage, as Chrissie Foster says in her opening sentence. It is motivated and driven by rage and, if this is not an oxymoron, it is a panegyric to rage. Few people could have more cause for rage than Foster, two of whose three daughters were raped at primary school in Melbourne by Catholic priest Kevin O’Donnell, a paedophile monster about whom the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne knew for fifty years yet did nothing. One of Chrissie’s daughters, Emma, took her own life, while the second, Katie, who turned to drink to cope, was left in a wheelchair after a car crash. As religion reporter for The Age, I often sat alongside the Fosters in the 2013 Victorian Parliamentary Inquiry into how institutions responded to child abuse, which they attended throughout. I knew the rage must be smouldering inside - it would be impossible not to be - but I was constantly impressed by their quiet, stoic dignity and the calm, rational way their passion was expressed. Three decades after first taking up the cudgels, she is still furious that the high-ranking clergy who enabled and prolonged the sex crimes ‘of adult holy men against the small bodies of children for an average of 2.2 years each child’ have not been held to account. ‘Justice has not yet been served. How can our criminal law allow the Church hierarchy to just walk away from what it heartlessly orchestrated for decades, for centuries?’ It is the bishops (and bureaucrats) who emerge as the worst villains in this story. What could be more shameful or sad; what could more justly inspire rage?" - Barney Zwartz, Australian Book Review, May 2023 - australianbookreview.com.au

#29 - Part 60

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

>>18775283 ‘Jesus won’t forget this’: Catholic Church sued over alleged abuse by late Father Joe Doyle - The Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne is being sued over the alleged sexual abuse of two school students in the 1970s and ’80s by a priest who was found by the church to be a paedophile in 2005 and continued to perform clerical duties for more than a decade. Father Joseph Doyle, who died in 2021, has been accused of sexual abuse by two former students of Our Lady of Lourdes Primary School in Bayswater, where he served as parish priest for 37 years until his abrupt departure in 2005. Doyle allegedly molested and raped an 8-year-old boy in 1979 after promising to make him captain of the school’s football team, according to a writ filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria against the church late last year.

>>18784952 Video: Hillsong Church Global Investigation | 7NEWS Spotlight Full Documentary - From Hillsong to Hellsong, shocking new revelations about Brian Houston’s megachurch. Victims speak out in Spotlight’s season return, in this full length documentary. It was once hailed as one of the most influential religious organisations in the Western World, a global megachurch, preaching a rock’n’roll brand of modern Christianity. But just as quickly as Hillsong and its controversial leaders became superstars and super powerful, child sex abuse scandals would bring down its founder, Frank Houston, implicate his son, Brian, and dirty the faith’s squeaky-clean image. Now, in an explosive season return of 7NEWS Spotlight, guest reporter Tom Tilley lifts the lid on shocking new allegations of abuse and corruption that will shake the church to its core.

>>18800846 Marist Brothers lose bid to use paedophile’s death as shield against child abuse claims - A Catholic order has lost its latest attempt to use the death of a known paedophile clergy member to shield itself from allegations of child sexual abuse after a judge found that allowing such a course would “bring the administration of justice into disrepute”. In recent months, the Guardian has revealed how the Catholic church, in particular its Marist Brothers and Christian Brothers orders, is increasingly using the deaths of clergy members to argue for permanent stays of cases brought by abuse survivors in the civil courts. The Marist Brothers argued that the death of notorious paedophile Brother Francis “Romuald” Cable rendered it unable to fairly defend itself from a civil claim by a survivor known by the pseudonym of Mark Peters, because it can no longer call Cable as a witness. The NSW supreme court rejected the church’s attempts to use Cable’s death to justify a permanent stay. “The defendant should not, in my view, have the benefit of its own inaction,” justice Nicholas Chen found.

>>18804767 Saucon Valley must allow After School Satan Club to meet, judge rules - Federal judge John Gallagher ruled Monday (May 1, 2023) the After School Satan Club can begin holding meetings at Saucon Valley Middle School. The long-awaited decision said the Saucon Valley School District violated the First Amendment when it revoked the club's approval. In his opinion, Judge Gallagher recognized the difficulty Superintendent Jaime Vlasaty faced following a shooting threat related to the Satan Club, calling her position "unenviable." But the judge also said the suppression of the club's speech was not "Constitutionally permissible." Now, more than two months after its approval was revoked, the club is planning to hold its first meeting as early as next week.

>>18804793 Video: Boston SatanCon-goers shred Bible, pro-cop flag during opening ritual: ‘Hail Satan!’ - A group of Satanists cheered as two leaders opened SatanCon 2023 on Friday with a formal ceremony renouncing "symbols of oppression" by ripping up a Bible and a "Thin Blue Line" flag representing police. "We stand here today in defiance of their siege and destroy their symbols of oppression," a female leader told the crowd before ripping pages out of the Bible and throwing them on the floor, video showed. A male leader joined her in then tearing a "Thin Blue Line" flag in two, which they also tossed on the floor while the crowd cheered. Satanists in attendance later picked some of the ripped pages off the floor and posed with them for pictures.

#29 - Part 61

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

>>18804800 Video: Un-Baptism Ceremony Held at "Biggest Satanic Gathering" at Boston SatanCon - An Un-Baptism ceremony was held at The Little Black Chapel of Satanic Temple during the 10th anniversary SatanCon event in Boston on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the day a satanic naming ceremony was held at the Marriott in Boston for the 10th annual SatanCon. Individuals walked up to a center altar where they chose a name to be identified by and the group chanted, "hail Satan." The individuals then received an upside-down cross on their foreheads before making devil horns with their hands and walking toward a cheering crowd.

>>18804816 Q Post #4627 - One party discusses God. One party discusses Darkness. One party promotes God. One party eliminates God. Symbolism will be their downfall. The Great Deceiver(s).

>>18804816 Q Post #4429 - The Armor of God - Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Have faith in Humanity. Have faith in Yourself. Have faith in God. The Great Awakening. Q

>>18804816 Q Post #4396 - God wins. Q

>>18814655 Surge in sex abuse cases drives Catholic Church insurer to seek bailout - The Catholic Church’s insurer is considering winding down its ­operations unless another substantial bailout is made by dioceses and religious orders to plug the hole caused by sex abuse cases. Catholic Church Insurance is discussing closing its new and renewal general insurance business amid a continuing surge in abuse claims as well as the liability ­impacts of factors such as Australia’s erratic weather. The church hierarchy has been told the capital injection is needed about 18 months after shareholders pumped $170m into CCI to help cover sex abuse claims, amid significant losses.

>>18819570 Video: Victims of paedophile Rolf Harris, 93, speak out as new documentary shows the moment pervert jokes with Jimmy Savile about keeping little girl 'safe' - A new ITVX documentary has unearthed disturbing footage of Rolf Harris joking with Jimmy Savile about leaving a little girl 'safely in his arms'. The popular TV hosts - who, unbeknownst to audiences, were both prolific sex offenders - were filmed together in an episode of Savile's BBC series Jim'll Fix It in 1976. The clip shows Savile reading a letter submitted by a little girl named Lynn, requesting to watch Harris as creates one of his famous paintings. The young girl is then seen on stage with the pair as Savile jokingly asks Harris if he may 'leave her in your charge?' Harris pipes back: 'Safely leave her in my capable hands here…'

>>18835321 Peter Hollingworth surrenders permission to officiate as Anglican minister - Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth will surrender his church authority to officiate after another wave of condemnation over his mishandling of child sex abuse cases, saying the move was to alleviate survivor suffering and heal divisions in the Anglican Church. Dr Hollingworth told the Anglican Archbishop of Melbourne, Philip Freier, this week that he was returning his Permission to Officiate, just weeks after an internal church-instigated legal board found him guilty on multiple misconduct charges while running the church in the Diocese of Brisbane between 1990 and 2001.

>>18840662 ‘It’s probably easier to stay in the anger than to be vulnerable’ - Chrissie Foster, 67, fought the Catholic Church with her late husband Anthony for two decades after two of their three daughters were raped by their priest. Their youngest, Aimee, 38, escaped the abuse but not the fallout.

>>18844670 Former Melbourne Demons footballer Daniel Hayes serves Supreme Court writ on AFL and junior coach Mark Heaney - In a Victorian Supreme Court writ served on the AFL and former Eastern Ranges' assistant coach Mark Heaney this week by Daniel Hayes's lawyers, Arnold Thomas Becker, Hayes alleged that, following a boozy post-game barbecue at the home of Heaney, he was "raped" by Heaney after other guests had left. The court documents allege that: "As a result of the abuse, [Daniel Hayes] self-medicated with drugs and alcohol. He has made three suicide attempts" and "but for the abuse, [Daniel Hayes] would have continued with the Melbourne Demons". In response to questions from the ABC about Hayes's allegation, Heaney said: "I deny that. I had a professional relationship with him as a trainee and player."

#29 - Part 62

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 5

>>18844722 Court documents reveal coach accused of raping former Melbourne player Daniel Hayes was a long-time AFL employee who coached Sydney Swans academy teams - A former elite junior football coach has been accused by former AFL player Daniel Hayes of rape back in 2005 and a writ has been lodged in the Victorian Supreme Court seeking damages. Mark Patrick Heaney was a senior AFL employee who played a crucial role in the code's expansion into New South Wales and coached Sydney Swans academy teams for three years. Heaney, who was the AFL's Northern New South Wales regional manager between 2009 and 2013, lost his job with the league in 2014 when he was convicted and jailed for grooming a 13-year-old junior footballer in 2013.

>>18844736 Video: Former Demon Daniel Hayes accused assistant coach of rape - Our next story may distress some viewers. A former Melbourne Demons rookie is suing the AFL and a former employee claiming in a Victorian Supreme Court writ that he was raped as a 17-year-old in 2005 by his assistant coach at the Eastern Ranges, Mark Heaney. A standout junior Daniel Hayes was drafted by the Demons the following year but never played a game after being cut from the club's list for repeatedly missing training. The writ, which was lodged this week, details his spiral into drug and alcohol abuse and his mental health struggles in the years since his AFL dream ended. - ABC NEWS (Australia)

>>18844758 Video: Former Melbourne Demons recruit Daniel Hayes suing AFL, coach over alleged rape as club junior - A former Melbourne Demons recruit is suing the AFL and a former coach of his from a junior football league, who he alleges sexually assaulted him after a game when he was a teenager. Daniel Hayes alleges that his former assistant coach of the Eastern Ranges, Mark Heaney, got him drunk and then raped him while Hayes was at a barbeque at Heaney's house when he was 17. "I put a lot of trust into Mark," Hayes told 9News. Heaney has publicly denied the claims and no charges have been laid.

>>18875613 Former Joondalup Health Campus CEO Kempton Cowan pleads guilty over child sex abuse videos - The former head of one of Western Australia's largest hospitals is facing a jail term after pleading guilty to accessing, soliciting and transmitting child abuse material. Kempton Cowan, 56, the one-time chief executive officer of the Joondalup Health Campus, appeared in the Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to a total of 11 charges.

>>18875625 Peter Hollingworth’s decision to cease practising as a priest not enough, abuse survivors say - Abuse survivors are maintaining a push for Peter Hollingworth to be defrocked despite the former archbishop’s decision to cease practising as a priest, urging the Anglican church to “finally do the right thing”. In deciding to hand back his permission to officiate, Hollingworth acknowledged his continuing role in the church was a “cause of pain to survivors” and said he wanted to end the distress. But Beth Heinrich, an abuse survivor whose complaint against Hollingworth was central to the church’s internal complaints process, has written to the church’s professional standards committee, warning it against considering the decision as a “satisfactory outcome”.

>>18875802 Pennsylvania gets its first after-school Satan Club this week. In Hellertown. - The club, for kids 5-12, promises science and community service projects, nature activities, and tons of fun. “Educatin’ with Satan,” as they say. - This week, kids in the Lehigh Valley will get to join in a different kind of after-school program. You could say it had a hell of a time getting there. A federal judge has ordered that the Saucon Valley School District - located, ironically, in Hellertown - must allow the After School Satan Club, sponsored by The Satanic Temple, to meet on its property. It will be the first After School Satan Club in Pennsylvania. New Jersey and Delaware currently have no After School Satan Clubs. So far, six students have signed up for the club and more are expected.

#29 - Part 63

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 6

>>18875811 After School Satan Clubs gain popularity amid legal victories - After School Satan Clubs have been steadily increasing in popularity and are not likely to slow as their supporters rack up media attention and legal wins fighting for free speech. The clubs, associated with the Satanic Temple and offered only in primary schools, began at the beginning of 2020 and quickly gained attention from parents who wanted an alternative to religious clubs, according to June Everett, campaign director of the After School Satan Club. “That’s kind of when things started blowing up. And I anticipate that every year moving forward is going to get busier and busier,” Everett told The Hill.

>>18875822 'Big plans for next school year': After School Satan Club looks to expand to high schools - An after-school club connected to the Satanic Temple is looking to expand to high schools, and the club's campaign director, June Everett said it has "big plans" for next school year. A new partnership between the club and the nonprofit group Secular Student Alliance could help expand the club's availability to other schools, including high schools. The Secular Student Alliance states on its website that it is the only national organization dedicated to atheist, humanist, and other nontheist students.

>>18875825 Video: 'After School Satan Club' holds first meeting - In the Lehigh Valley, the "After School Satan Club" held its first meeting following a court battle between the Satanic Temple and the Saucon Valley School District. The Satanic Temple was given the green light by a federal court earlier this month that it is the club's constitutional right to use Saucon Valley School District's middle school as its meeting place to gather. - WNEP-TV Pennsylvania

>>18875853 Satanists Sue Chicago For Not Allowing Them To Say ‘Hail Satan’ At City Council Meetings - Local Satanists are raising hell with a new lawsuit alleging the city is barring them from saying “Hail Satan” at City Council meetings. The lawsuit, filed this month by the Satanic Temple, says the city violated the religious group’s First Amendment rights by “excluding disfavored minority faiths” from giving an invocation at the start of City Council meetings. The Satanic Temple is a federally recognized religion with congregations across the United States and more than 14,000 members in Illinois, and it should be allowed to solemnize City Council just like any other religion, Minister of Satan Adam Vavrick, said.

>>18875856 Q Post #4942 - https://time.com/collection/great-reset/ - This is not about R v D. This is about preserving our way of life. If America falls, the World falls. Patriots on guard. Q

>>18894975 Video: Rolf Harris, disgraced former entertainer and convicted paedophile, dies aged 93 - The family of disgraced former entertainer and convicted paedophile Rolf Harris has revealed he died nearly two weeks ago at the age of 93. Harris's death was listed as both neck cancer and "fragility from old age". The 93-year-old died at his home in Berkshire on May 10, but the death was only registered in the UK on Tuesday. Once one of Australia's most famous celebrity exports - renowned as a television presenter, musician and painter - Harris was prosecuted in 2013 for indecent assault against girls and young women between 1968 and 1986.

>>18894986 Convicted paedophile Rolf Harris’ death may unleash new wave of allegations - The multimillion-dollar estate of disgraced entertainer Rolf Harris is bracing for a flood of new claims and allegations against the Australian after his family announced his death from cancer in Britain. Fresh allegations against the sex offender have been aired as recently as March, when a Melbourne woman claimed she was assaulted 40 years ago after he performed at a camp at Mount Eliza on the Mornington Peninsula.

>>18895074 Police officer who led investigation into Brittany Higgins's rape allegation reveals he is sexual assault survivor - The head investigator into Brittany Higgins's allegation that she had been raped has revealed he is a survivor of sexual assault. Detective Superintendent Scott Moller disclosed the information on his third day of giving evidence to an ACT board of inquiry, which is examining the conduct of criminal justice agencies in the prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann. Wrapping up his time providing evidence, Superintendent Moller's lawyer, Matt Black, asked him what life experience he brought to his role with ACT police. Superintendent Moller told the inquiry that 45 years ago he was sexually assaulted. "I'm a survivor," he said. "That has driven my desire to make sure [other victims are supported]."

#29 - Part 64

Child Sexual Abuse, Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and Satanism Investigations - Part 7

>>18900789 Melbourne couple allegedly kept domestic slave at Point Cook home - A couple have been charged with modern-day slavery offences after they allegedly kept a woman as a domestic slave at their home in Melbourne’s south-western suburbs for about 10 months. A healthcare worker raised the alarm with authorities last October after noticing the woman was “exhibiting indicators of human trafficking”. Australian Federal Police alleges the woman was kept in domestic servitude at the Point Cook home from January and until October 2022, when federal officers swooped on the property following the tip-off. Officers allege the 44-year-old man and 29-year-old woman exercised coercive control over the victim, limited her movements and physically assaulted her.

>>18900794 Point Cook couple faces court accused of harbouring a slave - A Point Cook couple has faced court accused of keeping a slave in a western suburbs home after medical staff contacted police with concerns a woman may have been a victim of human trafficking. Angie Yeh Ling Liaw, 29, and Chee Kit Chong, 44 - also known as Max Chong - faced Melbourne Magistrates’ Court on Thursday charged with three slavery-related offences. They include allegations the married couple possessed a slave and used coercion and threats to control the female at their home in Melbourne’s west.

>>18900811 Peter Hollingworth will never officiate in Australia as Anglican church body dumps plans to appeal inquiry findings - Former governor-general Peter Hollingworth will never officiate in the Anglican Church anywhere in Australia after investigators threatened to appeal a board decision to allow him to have a limited role in services. The Anglican diocese of Melbourne’s Professional Standards Committee has revealed it was preparing to appeal the board findings that would have paved the way for Dr Hollingworth to officiate in a qualified way in Melbourne. But on May 12, Dr Hollingworth announced his intention to return his permission to officiate and this was accepted by the church on May 19.

>>18906203 Video: Pain lingers for victims of Puffing Billy child abuser - Twelve-year-old Sam* stood watching level crossing railway works on a busy Camberwell road the day he first met by chance the man who would become his abuser. Child sex offender Anthony John Hutchins, then aged 33, struck up a conversation with the boy and discovered they both loved railways, asking the child if he wanted to join him as a volunteer at tourist attraction Puffing Billy in 1975. Within weeks, Hutchins began collecting the child and driving him to and from the Belgrave railway, before repeatedly sexually abusing the boy in an engine shed, his car and even the child’s own home over the following four years. On Friday May 26, an 81-year-old Hutchins appeared in the County Court of Victoria after pleading guilty to sexual offending against two boys. “Looking back I feel cheapened by the memories I now realise was in effect grooming. The vulnerability I had as a child, the common interest I had in trains … made me an easy target,” Sam said.

#29 - Part 65

Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide

>>18714072 Tarnished Trump may hand Biden a new term - "Joe Biden has always been underestimated and his political obituary written and rewritten. But Biden, with a string of accomplishments and almost certain to face Donald Trump, has as good a chance of re-election as any president despite his advanced age. Trump was a criminal businessman and criminal president who committed high treason against the US when he sought to undermine and then overturn the 2020 election. Trump was a terrible president who diminished US global standing by weakening alliances and disastrously managed the pandemic response. (Anyone for an injection of bleach?)" - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au

>>18755069 Video: Lachlan and Rupert Murdoch face another giant legal claim over Fox News 'disinformation' - The lawyer representing voting technology company, Smartmatic, says Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are key to the $US2.7 billion ($4.05 billion) case they have brought against Fox News and Fox Corporation. The US cable news network is accused of spreading disinformation in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, in support of Donald Trump's false claims the election was stolen. "Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch, from our perspective, are front and centre to the decision making that was done at Fox Corporation that allowed and encouraged this type of disinformation," Erik Connolly told 7.30.

>>18795008 Rupert’s our ‘deadliest export’, Trump’s an egomaniac bully, says Turnbull - Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has described Rupert Murdoch as Australia’s deadliest export, saying no one has done more to damage American democracy than the US-based media mogul. And as Donald Trump’s campaign to return to the White House builds momentum, Turnbull also gave his frank assessment of the former president, branding him a “shameless showman” and a “bully” whose lies about the 2020 election being stolen constituted “gaslighting on an epic scale”. Speaking at an event hosted by Heather Ridout, Australia’s new consul-general in New York, and titled “Defending Democracy”, Turnbull told the audience: “What we saw in this country was a government that was nearly overthrown in a coup promoted by the president - and in an environment that was enabled by Fox News and other right-wing media. I say this without any sense of hyperbole: I do not believe that there is any individual alive today that has done more damage to American democracy than Rupert Murdoch. You might say [he’s] Australia’s deadliest export.” - Farrah Tomazin - smh.com.au

>>18855376 OPINION: Trump’s ‘evil charisma’ menaces the US, and Australia - "A resurrected Trump would feel emboldened to follow his instincts, making him more unpredictable and dangerous than his first term. America would again become a climate laggard and its support for Ukraine’s fight against Russia would be in doubt. The implications for Australia would be especially profound given how tightly enmeshed the two nations have become in response to China’s rise to superpower status. A Trump tantrum about handing over America’s precious Virginia-class submarines would unravel the AUKUS pact and leave Australia’s maritime security badly exposed. An increasing number of Australians would question the long-term value of the US alliance. A Trump victory in 2024 would be an almighty cataclysm. It’s happened before and can happen again." - Matthew Knott - theage.com.au

>>18885282 Biased FBI, complicit media failed US democracy in pursuit of Donald Trump and Russia election hoax - "The release of the much-anticipated Durham report in the US has laid out in shocking detail how a conversation between former Australian foreign minister Alexander Downer and Trump campaign volunteer George Papadopoulos, in a London wine bar in 2016, led to the greatest case of election interference in US history. A highly politicised FBI seized on a vague paragraph, provided by the Australian government, that indicated Papadopoulos had said Russia could help the Trump campaign with the release of information damaging to Hillary Clinton. Whatever Trump’s flaws and his later misdeeds, he didn’t deserve this, and his supporters are right to be furious." - Adam Creighton - theaustralian.com.au

PREVIOUSLY COLLECTED NOTABLES

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CURRENT DOUGH

https://controlc.com/21028468

Indigenous Voice to Parliament: There has never been a political alignment like this

An alliance of elites is urging the Yes campaign for an Indigenous voice to parliament upon a wary and suspicious Australian public. Reconciliation cannot be achieved by division.

PAUL KELLY - May 27, 2023

1/4

In post-war Australia there has rarely, if ever, been a political alignment like this. Our elites have come together – political, corporate, financial, university, media, sporting, trade union and religious – to persuade and intimidate the Australian people to put an Indigenous voice to parliament into the Constitution.

They invoke the injustice, dispossession, intolerable disadvantage and the torment of Indigenous powerlessness in the cause of a new Indigenous institution with vast representative powers to be inserted into the Australian Constitution with transforming consequences for our governance.

In an impassioned and defiant speech this week Anthony Albanese has dismissed any further modifications to the constitutional amendment to arrest the decline in the Yes vote though most polls still have the Yes case in front. The Prime Minister is convinced the tide of history is with him and that Australia will empower Indigenous people in a vote that is about “recognition and listening”.

An architect of the voice, Noel Pearson, has made clear the Indigenous leaders behind the concept will accept no retreat – and Albanese cannot promote a referendum the Indigenous leaders won’t endorse. In effect, he seems to be an enthusiastic political hostage, passionately embracing his mission.

The majority report of the parliamentary committee with its absurdly inadequate six-week review of the proposed referendum found “no basis” for concerns. The dissenting report from Liberal MPs recommended radical surgery on the bill, warning its “uncertainty and risk” – including the risk that government could become “unworkable” – constitute permanent dangers if the referendum is adopted unamended.

Albanese’s calculation and gamble is that the mass endorsement of the Yes cause by elite institutions and bodies backed by financial power in the advertising campaign will deliver the public.

The nation confronts an unparalleled contest between an alliance of elites and a public that is wary and suspicious, increasingly resentful of the pressure to do the “polite” thing. Many Australians see the Yes campaign as well-intentioned deception. They feel they are not being levelled with but patronised, their goodwill exploited. The more the Yes campaign is scrutinised, the more the scale of serial deception is apparent.

This is a government that refused to convene a constitutional convention, refused to authorise a full-scale parliamentary assessment at the outset, made no early effort to achieve bipartisanship, declined to legislate the voice first to test its viability and decided the details of the voice would be released after the referendum, not before.

There have been 44 referendums since Federation. Labor has sponsored 25 for one success. Albanese with the voice has broken every rule in the book about winning referendums in the belief Australia has changed fundamentally and that past norms are obsolete. If the referendum fails it will be Albanese’s responsibility given the astonishing and dogmatic tactics he has pursued.

In its 2017 final report the Referendum Council identified the principles to guide the referendum, the first being to contribute to “a more unified and reconciled nation”. Father Frank Brennan, whose calls to modify the amendment have been spurned, said a decisive test was whether it united Australians. We know the answer. The polls, the policy and legal disputes, the formal opposition of the Liberal and National parties show the voice singularly fails that test. This is a deeply divisive proposal.

Reconciliation cannot be achieved by division. It cannot be achieved by Labor demanding people fall into line. It cannot be achieved by elites, assuming their superior morality, lecturing the people about how their country must be changed in perpetuity – that is the guaranteed path to backlash. Yet it is now rife throughout Australia.

(continued)

>>18928670

2/4

The 2018 Dodson-Leeser jointly chaired parliamentary committee reported “no fewer than 18 different constitutional amendment” variations, but Labor is putting a radical model of the voice that divides the nation on principle, morality and equality. In his Thursday speech on the referendum bill Albanese was aggressive and political, with any hope of a shared approach now long gone and the country heading into a destructive struggle over a fundamental change to its Constitution.

At heart, Albanese’s speech was an emotional appeal based on the unacceptable plight and shocking disadvantage of Indigenous people – he argued that after “100 years of expensive well-intentioned failure by governments” it was overdue to grant Indigenous people the proposed voice.

Emotion is justified at this time. But it is a mistake for the country to make such a defining constitutional change – probably the most far-reaching in our history – on emotion. The vibe is designed to deceive and dodge the pivotal question: what is the meaning of the power being created? This is the issue.

The heart of this proposal ties recognition and the voice together. Recognition could be achieved in many ways. But it is the voice that matters in this referendum. Most opponents of the referendum support recognition but they cannot support the voice. The tactics of the Yes campaign so far are to run on recognition and downplay, even ignore, the voice, the essence of the constitutional change.

It is an effort to deceive the public on the fundamental question. Labor and the elites supporting the referendum need to be held to account. A campaign based on significant deception needs to be rejected at the first stage.

The voice is a group rights body, a political body, being enshrined in an entirely new chapter of the Constitution – the first referendum to create a new chapter – but given the power to make representations across the entire range of parliament and government, cabinet, ministers, public servants, not just on laws and policies that mainly relate to Indigenous people but laws and policies of general applications since Indigenous people are part of the overall community.

There has never been any concept like this before. As the recently departed barrister David Jackson, of immense High Court experience, said: the amendment means “we become a nation where, whenever we or our ancestors first came to this country, we are not all equal”.

The notion of an equal citizenship is terminated. This is the consequence of implanting in the Constitution a group rights body that represents one group of Australians for the specific purpose of giving this body unique access to advise, influence and determine public policy across the board.

Don’t be fooled by constant assurances, reminiscent of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, that there’s nothing to see here. There’s everything to see. The voice is about power. Only one thing counts: the words of the amendment and the powers being created. This penetrates to the far more serious deception of the Yes case – the pretence, as maintained by the Prime Minister, that this is merely about courtesy, that it’s just about the people accepting the “gracious” invitation by Indigenous Australians to give them a voice.

What does the voice mean in power and constitutional terms? It means a new constitutionally sanctioned entity that functions as an extra stream of advice and influence on virtually any issues it chooses to the parliament and government above and beyond the advice and influence enjoyed by all other Australians through existing constitutional processes – this distinction being based on race.

People employed by the elite institutions that campaign for Yes have every right to ask questions of their bosses. What is your justification for supporting this? How is this not divisive? How is this consistent with equality? What is the moral rationale of your position?

One answer is that Indigenous leaders are asking for this. It is a valid answer. But as Jackson said in his brief submission to the joint committee: “The issue is what the people of Australia want.” The Constitution does not belong to any group. It belongs to all Australians regardless of race. This is not just what Indigenous people want; it is what all Australians want.

(continued)

>>18928671

3/4

Pivotal to this issue is the determination of the Yes camp that the voice exists in perpetuity. This is not a ministerial decision that can be made and unmade at the stroke of a pen, not about a law that can be modified or repealed, not about voting for Liberal or Labor for a parliamentary term. It’s entirely different – it’s forever. Cross this constitutional threshold and there’s no return.

In his submission, Jackson asked: “Why should there be, in perpetuity, a voice entrenched constitutionally?” If it’s to rectify disadvantage it should be temporary since we assume the gap will be eventually closed. The implication is apparent: the First Nations people have a sovereign right to a voice and the voice is the first stage leading to a treaty and truth-telling that will raise questions about sovereignty.

The real intent is revealed in having a new chapter of the Constitution – chapter 1X – created for the voice. It sits with the institutions of nationhood: parliament (chapter one), executive (chapter two), judiciary (chapter three). The voice is enshrined as a core institution of state and that must influence High Court interpretation. The expectation is obvious: the voice is expected to change the way Australia is governed, with former chief justice, Robert French seeing it as a “significant institution in our representative democracy”.

The Yes advocates dismiss the idea of the voice as institutional separation based on race. Highly respected legal figures French and Geoffrey Lindell in their joint submission say “the voice is not about race” but “about our First Peoples as the Indigenous people of Australia”. It is a critical distinction but unpersuasive for most people. Surely the voice is both: it is about the First Peoples and it is about race. How can it not be?

Australian Human Rights Commissioner Lorraine Finlay said of the proposal: “It inserts race into the Australian Constitution in a way that undermines the foundational human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination.”

In terms of institutional operations the most alarming aspect of the voice is its virtually unlimited scope. The voice can make representations on welfare, law and order, human rights, incarceration rates, health, education, resources and mining, climate change, employment, the National Disability Insurance Scheme, foreign policy, sexual abuse, defence facilities and finance, to name just some. This is not to say the voice won’t do many good things and make many good recommendations. Of course it will. But that’s not the issue.

The issue – and it needs to be repeated – is the power being created and how that power changes our system of government.

“The scope of the voice is its strength,” said one of its Indigenous architects, Megan Davis, in a joint article with Gabrielle Appleby published in this paper. They were explicit. The voice “is not limited to matters specifically or directly related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples”. The wide scope for the voice is designed to maximise its power.

The Indigenous leaders are honest. The message from Davis is that parliament will not be able to “shut the voice up”. The parliament can only legislate for the voice consistent with the constitutional amendment that empowers the voice. The parliament is not in full control. It cannot, as Peter Dutton said, “out-legislate the Constitution” – it cannot limit or wind back the powers of the voice. There is no “buyer’s remorse” option once the voice is approved.

Davis and Appleby said the voice would speak to “all parts of government” statutory offices and agencies. This could include the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Centrelink, the Ombudsman and the Reserve Bank. The voice can be proactive. It won’t wait to be asked. How long, do you imagine, before it advises on a change to Australia Day? How long before it delivers advice on what should be taught in schools?

People shouldn’t be intimidated by elites saying this is running a scare campaign. It isn’t. Such warnings are justified by the power being created. The Yes campaign has no basis to argue that powers being created won’t be used and, if it tries, that’s another deception.

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The dilemma of the Yes campaign is obvious. It needs to disguise and deny the power it seeks to enshrine in the voice. This was apparent from Albanese’s speech when he mocked the No campaign for its “wild claims” about “what the voice will concern itself with”.

Albanese’s problem is that the public might grasp that this is a group rights body with its core functions constitutionally untouchable but able to give advice across the entire ambit of government. If the public grasps that core point it will vote No.

The French-Lindell submission is aware of this sensitivity when it says the voice can cover a broad range of matters but its limits are “likely to be defined by common sense and political realities”. The point is, they don’t know. The voice will have its own views about common sense and political realities. Is Labor fool enough to think Indigenous politicians won’t press to the limit the powers granted by popular vote?

Sadly, much of the discussion about the voice is conducted in a fog of utopian unreality generated by a media that prefers not to ventilate a robust, open-ended discussion. Assessing the scope for the voice, former High Court judge Ian Callinan went to the drafting: “It should be carefully noted that the proposed amendment is unqualified; it does not say core matters, or matters wholly, predominately, substantially, partially, exclusively, essentially, basically, largely, entirely, currently, broadly, especially, or even beneficially related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People. Everything is at large.”

Dutton has been attacked for opposing the voice. The reality is that the Coalition parties have never had ownership in the voice project. It has been opposed by Tony Abbott, John Howard, Malcolm Turnbull (as prime minister), Scott Morrison and now Dutton.

The Opposition Leader’s objections this week were in terms of principle and workability, and to a large extent they remain unanswered. Dutton rejects Albanese’s claims the voice is a modest proposal and calls it “the most radical and consequential change” to our democracy in history. This might be debatable but there can be no doubt this is not a modest proposal.

The process has been flawed, the model is surrounded by legal disputes and there are legitimate concerns it will vastly complicate our governance and undermine classical liberal principles of citizenship equality that are fundamental to our society.

Once created, the voice would be a functioning political body vested with a moral mandate. It will become enmeshed with policy both in early stages and final stages. Any notion it will agree on everything is fatuous. How representative it becomes of Indigenous views is unknown.

As a political institution it will be involved in negotiations, dealing-making and public disputes. It will be a focus of media attention and obviously exploit the media for its ends. As Albanese once conceded, when the voice takes a strong stand it will be difficult for government to resist it. Just imagine the coverage the ABC would provide when the voice challenges the government or parliament? The voice will be a new arm in our governance system.

The upshot is that Australians will have different democratic rights based on race and ancestry. Our governance will increasingly incorporate separatist debates based on Indigenous and racial views put across parliamentary and executive decision making. Whether we possess the restraint and wisdom to manage this defies prediction.

There is no question that Indigenous recognition and consultation are imperatives for Australia. If the referendum is defeated, that will cause not insignificant harm in the country – and alternative responses will be essential. But defeat of the voice would be a genuine expression of Australian democracy, based on extensive, documented and legitimate concerns and it would represent a judgment by the people not to be beguiled by elites in their quest, conducted by deception, to change the country and alter fundamental principles of our Constitution and society.

Paul Kelly is Editor-at-Large on The Australian. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of the paper and he writes on Australian politics, public policy and international affairs.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/division-is-no-path-to-reconciliation-via-the-indigenous-voice-to-parliament/news-story/b48c599822686f80098a83d05722b57f

Brittany Higgins is the wrong face for #MeToo

JANET ALBRECHTSEN - MAY 27, 2023

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Just before lunch on Wednesday, the lawyer acting for ACT Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates reminded Detective Superintendent Scott Moller of something important he said earlier in the witness box.

“You take every opportunity to learn from a case, including this one?” Peggy Dwyer SC put to Moller.

Moller agreed. How could he not? It is hard to imagine any person involved in this scandal coming out the other end – if there is an end – without learning something about their own behaviour.

The board of inquiry into the ACT justice system’s handling of the Higgins-Lehrmann spectacle has the potential to provide some useful markers, but only if the inquiry asks every person in this saga what they have learned about their own behaviour. If they have learned nothing, or not enough, then it will fall to inquiry chairman Walter Sofronoff KC to tell us what he has learned about the behaviour of those he has heard from.

Last week, it was about the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions. This week was all about the cops. Next week, it will be Yates.

In Moller’s statement to the inquiry, he recalled that during his first meeting with Yates and Higgins, he asked Higgins to stop speaking with the media.

Moller said words to the effect that “if you’re going speak to the media, and this (the prosecution) can’t go ahead, it’ll all be for nothing”.

Moller says Yates responded on Higgins’s behalf: “She can’t, Scott – she is the face of the movement now.”

Yates’s lawyer this week claimed that Yates said something different, “something like, ‘excuse me, Scott, I’m just going to intervene here … I’d just like to note that the criminal justice system is just one thing that we are dealing with. And Ms Higgins has already undertaken a great deal of advocacy at a national level to bring attention to the difficulties of sexual assault survivors making disclosures and seeking support and calling for improvements across a range of areas.’ ”

In other words, not much different. Yates’s version was a long-hand way of saying that Higgins was the face of the #MeToo movement in Australia.

With the board of inquiry into its third week of public hearings, it is becoming increasingly clear that Higgins is, and was, the wrong face for the #MeToo movement. Decisions by her, and those around her, to air her allegation in the media have undermined key features of our criminal justice system.

Putting it another way, if Higgins is the right face for the #MeToo movement then heaven help the proper administration of justice in this country.

Higgins, of course, has every right to go to the media first and police second. That was her strategy from the start. But that strategy, bolstered daily by her media supporters, came at a high cost to the police investigation, to the workings of the Office of the DPP, to the trial in the ACT Supreme Court and to subsequent events.

We can try to tally up the financial costs of this saga another day. Here we are talking about the costs to the administration of justice when Higgins became the face of the #MeToo movement.

Start with the police investigation. If Higgins is portrayed as a role model for other women, then her tactic of going to the media first may be mimicked by other women. If so, the same problems that police confronted in this investigation may be repeated more frequently.

We need to understand the reasons police were concerned with Higgins’s media strategy. First, police were concerned that, by speaking to the media, a complainant might risk raising inconsistencies that could undo a successful prosecution.

The more times Higgins gave her version of events to the media, the more likely there might be new inconsistencies in what she said happened. That’s not a criticism of Higgins, more a reflection on human nature, that we don’t always repeat something in precisely the same way. That happened here. During her interview with Network Ten’s The Project, Higgins made several claims that later were shown to be wrong. That necessarily had the ability to undermine her credibility.

The “media first, police second” strategy posed another risk to our justice system. Bruce Lehrmann has always maintained his innocence, yet the media attention on Higgins and her unsubstantiated allegation necessarily undermined Lehrmann’s right to the presumption of innocence.

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Those who showed scant regard for this principle in this case may change their tune when it hits close to home, when they, or someone they know, is accused of rape and faces a media onslaught akin to what Lehrmann faced.

The police made mistakes in this case. For example, Moller conceded this week that police should never have handed Higgins’s counselling notes to the DPP and Lehrmann’s first defence lawyer, John Korn. Was this error, compounded when the DPP read the notes, the result of pressures arising from the febrile atmosphere surrounding a woman touted as the face of the #MeToo movement? The normal tension between advocating a victim-centric approach and ensuring the proper administration of justice was ramped up to dangerous when Higgins became the face of the #MeToo movement.

On more than a few occasions, the normal rules, and sound judgments, appear to have been discarded for Higgins. Moller told the inquiry that during an earlier case not involving Higgins, prosecutor Skye Jerome told police officers that prosecutions would not be progressed when alleged victims didn’t hand over their mobile phones.

When police investigators told Jerome, during a briefing about the Higgins case, that Higgins had not handed her phone over, “Jerome dropped her head into her hands in what appeared to be frustration and alarm”. This wasn’t the only time there appeared to be one set of rules for Higgins and a different set for other complainants.

Moller recounted that police allowed Higgins to view CCTV footage of her and Lehrmann at Parliament House on the night of the alleged rape, after she kept insisting she wanted to see it.

Showing her that footage went against their better judgment. The normal rule is not to show this sort of footage to a complainant as they may rely on it to change their story if they remember things differently, or if they can’t remember things at all.

Last week, DPP Shane Drumgold also admitted to several errors of judgment. The impact of these mistakes is serious. It’s not just that the DPP sought to keep from Lehrmann’s defence lawyers information that might have helped them in formulating their defence. Misjudgments by the DPP have the potential to undermine our trust in the administration of system.

Moller also gave evidence this week that he thought the DPP decided to proceed with a prosecution before reading the full brief of evidence. The DPP was determined to prosecute Lehrmann no matter what, Moller said, despite concerns among senior AFP officers that there was not enough evidence.

If Yates is right that Higgins became the face of the #MeToo movement, did that impair the DPP’s judgment?

So many people in positions of power who were caught up in the hype of the Higgins media storm appeared to have made poor decisions. Those who caused the original trial to be delayed should be asking themselves how that fits with seeking a victim-centric outcome.

Similarly, Yates – who will be in the witness box next week – should be asked whether her judgment was adversely affected by Higgins’s position as the face of the #MeToo movement.

Yates, who was described by her lawyer at the inquiry this week as a highly professional, compassionate and caring support person for victims of sexual assault, should be asked whether she gave Higgins advice about the inherent dangers of her chosen media strategy.

Did Yates gently suggest to Higgins that being the face of the #MeToo movement might bring much adulation, and many magazine covers, but media attention might undermine a prosecution?

Looking at her own conduct, did Yates consider the possible consequences for the presumption of innocence, and the potential impact on the jury, of her decision to accompany into court the woman who had become the face of the #MeToo movement, with the attendant press coverage that brought every day?

As Lehrmann’s lawyer, Steven Whybrow SC, told The Weekend Australian last week, that conduct carried a less-than-subtle and a less-than-subconscious inference that Higgins was in fact a victim.

“It was about as subtle as if Yates had walked in wearing a T-shirt saying ‘Bruce is guilty’,” Whybrow said.

With two more weeks of public hearings to go, mistakes by police appear to be small compared with misjudgments by other people who chose to become personally involved with Higgins. We will have to wait until July to hear whether Sofronoff agrees that Higgins’s notoriety as the face of the #MeToo movement came with significant costs for justice.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/inquirer/brittany-higgins-is-the-wrong-face-for-metoo-writes-janet-albrechtsen/news-story/832d12be82c01a7d031cb4f4ee55b4fb

Survivor of former Townsville paedophile priest Neville Creen reveals toll the abuse took on her life

Baz Ruddick - 27 May 2023

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As a child Megan was full of promise. She did well at high school. She was liked and people used to tell her she should be a comedian.

She was vivacious, quick-witted and was a devoted teen athlete.

This story contains content that readers may find distressing.

But when the 59-year-old was five, a predator entered her life and his actions would eventually stamp out all that made her who she was — her sense of humour, her confidence and her pride.

Former Catholic priest Neville Creen was jailed in the early 2000s for abusing 22 other children.

Yesterday he was sentenced to 12 months' prison, to be suspended after serving three months, for his abuse of Megan.

He pleaded guilty to four charges, including indecent assault and treatment, and maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child.

Megan says when she was growing up Creen ingratiated himself into her family and didn't leave her life for more than 30 years.

His crimes have left behind terrible scars that affected her relationships and defined much of her adult life.

Attacked in bed

Megan's first memory of Creen was in the late 1960s.

She remembers him climbing the stairs of her family home, wine in hand, in the Townsville suburb of Palleranda.

The house was not off limits to the priest, whose guise was that he "loved the view" from the verandah looking across the water out toward Magnetic Island.

"That's all Creen used to go on about to convince my parents. 'Oh what a beautiful house, what a beautiful view'. That's the reason he got away with coming up the stairs with the alcohol," she said.

Later he convinced her mum that he needed to bath and feed her as this was his only chance to know what it would feel like to have a family.

With no extended family around they could rely on after moving from Toowoomba, he became the family's babysitter, minding the kids on a Friday night to give their mother a break after her battle with rheumatic fever.

It was in their childhood beds that Creen attacked Megan and her little sister.

"I have a clear memory of his black hairy arm coming over me while I lay there," she said.

"I can remember him standing over me and see one arm touching me whilst I lay in the bed. I can still remember the sound of him rattling the brown paper bag to drink the wine."

To this day, the crinkling sound of the bottle in a bag takes her back to the horror she experienced, and the smell of alcohol on someone's breath brings her to panic.

The horror is not hers alone.

From the late 1960s, Creen abused children at homes, in swimming pools, in school yards, on church grounds and on school camps across the Townsville Catholic Dioceses.

Much of his abuse was carried out at Mount Isa and Townsville, but statements seen by the ABC suggest he abused in Charters Towers as well.

Creen was removed from service in 1994 and moved to Sydney. Records from the Townsville Diocese show he resigned as a priest in July 1994.

The church claims it had no knowledge of his abuse until that year.

The ABC has seen statements from survivors of Creen's abuse that claim at least 30 members of clergy and education staff either had knowledge or were told of his abuse in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.

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Creen 'conned the family'

Megan said as Creen's abuse continued, it took a toll on her emotional and mental health.

She began to wet the bed and was often hysterical when trying to sleep.

His presence in her house had intensified and he began taking her for swimming lessons, another guise to abuse her.

He would take her down to the netted swimming area and molest her as he taught her to float on her back.

"Father Creen would take me to the swimming area every Saturday for approximately two months. He would then take me home and have lunch with my mother," she said.

"He would say 'close your eyes and float against my arm. Relax and trust me you're safe'."

He often forced her to sit on his lap, digging his hands into her ribs, telling her not to squirm and threatening to get her in trouble with her parents.

"He used to face the chair toward the kitchen. My mum would walk into the kitchen to make tea and that's when he'd be molesting us," she said.

"I'd try and jump off his lap and he'd go 'oh, I gotta control this one. She fidgets'."

She said he'd often "flick her parents away" asking for cups of tea so he could get time alone with Megan and her sister.

For a few years in later primary school, the family took a break from the church and the children went to a public school.

Megan said her mother had a falling out with the church over the use of the contraceptive pill and her and her sister left St Joseph's Primary School.

It was one of the few happy periods she remembers, but it wasn't long before Creen was back in their lives.

She thinks her place in the family as the mischievous sibling was what attracted him to her.

Megan played practical jokes and got a kick out of making adults laugh.

The house next door had a large coconut tree that would often drop fruit. She once rearranged their sign which read "Beware of coconuts" to read "Nuts live here".

She also remembers embarrassing her dad in the supermarket by jokingly asking him "can we please not have dog food again for dinner tonight?", loudly enough so that other shoppers could hear.

"If you were born with a bit of character and had a bit of spunk about you, that was his turn on," she said.

She thinks Creen effectively "conned the family" into thinking he was helping keep her in line and to ingratiate himself in the household.

"He used his position of power to control my family," she said.

'I knew I was stuffed'

Creen's abuse continued into high school.

The priest was a regular at school camps around the dioceses and while at one at Paluma, north of Townsville, he abused her during a "meditation session" he was running.

With the lights dimmed and everyone instructed to keep their eyes closed, he sat behind her, slid his hands up her top and onto her breasts.

She asked him if he should be touching her like that, to which he responded that it was a normal way for people to relax.

He asked her the next day if she had "enjoyed the massage".

It was after this that he began a "smear campaign", trying to convince her parents she was promiscuous and had been flirting with him.

She decided to tell her mother, but by the time she had returned home from the camp, Creen had beat her home.

"My mother did not believe me and told me the reason Father Creen had come out was to warn her that I had been flirting with him at camp," she said.

"After his visit that night, my mother told me to stop flirting with him."

She said she knew as soon as she saw him at her home that she would not be believed.

"I knew I was screwed the way he was looking at me. The smug look on his face," she said.

"He took a chair out of the table and sat it on the left side of him and patted the top of the chair, 'come and sit here'."

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He tried to further discredit her to people in the church, and to her parents.

He told her she couldn't wear jeans to church because they were "too sexy" and told her she needed to wear a bra.

When she returned to Townsville after going to a university ball as the date of a friend, he made sure he was there to pick her up from the airport.

He began telling her that having sex outside marriage was sinful, and rubbing her leg.

"I hadn't even kissed the boy," she said.

When she refused to go to church for confession with him, he told her parents she had sinned and that she would go to hell.

Despite serving as a priest in Mount Isa, Creen returned to visit the family and the abuse would continue.

In sentencing on Friday, Judge Craig Chowdury told the Beenleigh District Court Creen's offending showed a "shocking break of trust".

"A Catholic priest in those days, and even still to this day, is in a position of esteem and authority and some power in the Catholic community," Judge Chowdury said.

"You took advantage of that."

He also said Creen manipulated Megan's mother with a "pre-emptive strike".

"You told the mother that the complainant had been behaving inappropriately and flirting with you, which was a disgraceful and disgusting thing to have said."

'He acted like a rock star'

When Megan left home to live in Sydney, he maintained a stranglehold on her life through the close relationship with her mother.

"My mother thought he was Elvis Presley. He acted like a rock star. He had an irritating giggle. He was like my mother's best friend," she said.

He performed the ceremony at Megan's wedding and christened her children.

"Not only did he do the ceremony, but he also gate crashed my wedding [reception]. I hated that guy and he offered to give a speech," she said.

In 1987 Creen, who was then a chaplain with the army in Sydney, insisted he would baptise her daughter.

He insisted he "re-baptise" her other children who were christened by another priest.

Megan said the last time she had any direct contact with Creen was in 2000.

A lifetime of scars

Megan said her abuse by Creen and his hold on her mother affected her in many ways.

As a teenager she became withdrawn and did not reach her academic potential.

Even now noises wake her up in the middle of the night and cause her to become hysterical with night terrors.

She said she has become resistant to many forms of therapy and experiences intense anxiety.

"I spend a lot of time at home alone. My husband does our shopping for us, so I do not have to leave the house," she said.

"I do not care for myself. My daughter tells me to brush my hair and put make up on. I hate looking at myself in the mirror."

She said she has trouble trusting men and she dislikes people who are "over the top" friendly.

"He just used to prime us and have us ready, waiting," she said.

"He was supposed to be God's shepherd, but instead he was a wolf in shepherd's clothes, waiting to prey on our innocence and devour us," Megan said.

"We had no power to fight him, that's how I feel. I felt I was trapped."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-27/neville-creen-paedophile-priest-townsville-sentence-queensland/102382894

Taskforce Argos arrest 71yo Redbank Plains man at fast food restaurant for child sex offences

Shayla Bulloch - May 27, 2023

An elderly man who brought condoms and chocolates as gifts for a “young girl” he believed to be meeting for sex has been arrested by undercover detectives.

The 71-year-old Redbank Plains man was taken into custody on Thursday afternoon at a Brisbane fast-food outlet where he thought he was meeting a school-aged girl.

Instead, he was met by detectives from Argos who had been posing as the child online.

Police will allege the man used an online chat forum to communicate with the “child”, sent naked photographs of himself and started engaging in behaviour police will allege constitutes grooming.

It will be alleged he was communicating with the “child” for a number of days.

It is alleged the man then asked the “child” to meet him for sex at the location, where he also brought chocolates and condoms as gifts which were seized at the scene.

Detectives then searched the man’s home where they allegedly found child exploitation material on his devices.

He’s been charged with two counts of grooming a child under 16, and one count each of use internet to procure child under 16 and intentionally meet, and possessing child exploitation material.

He faced Brisbane Magistrates Court on Friday and was released on bail with conditions.

He will reappear at court on June 5.

Argos Detective Inspector Glen Donaldson said undercover officers were working around the clock online to detect those who try to harm children.

“Every day, day and night – to those predators, expect the next ‘child’ you message, to be a member of Argos,” Detective Inspector Donaldson said.

“This arrest is a reminder to parents of the dangers of online predators, and how crucial caregivers and trusted loved ones are in teaching children about online safety.

“Young people need to believe that nothing is too embarrassing or serious that they can’t come to you for support, advice or to report behaviour that makes them uncomfortable.

“Supervision and communication are crucial to prevention – have the conversation with your children about how to stay safe online and the dangers of engaging with online ‘friends’ who they have never met face-to-face.

“Even if an app tells you a social media picture ‘disappears’, everything you do online leaves a footprint and could be seen by people and predators across the world.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-qld/taskforce-argos-arrest-71yo-redbank-plains-man-at-fast-food-restaurant-for-child-sex-offences/news-story/5fc76db5c342b7181e887e43139e5479

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Queensland Argos detectives give insight into harrowing task of catching sex offenders online

Under cover of darkness, a group of covert police officers lay in wait for a Queensland man who was trying to auction off his infant child to the highest bidder. Meet the officers responsible for bringing down some of the worst sex offenders in the country.

Shayla Bulloch - May 27, 2023

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Under cover of darkness, a group of covert police officers lay in wait for a Brisbane man who was trying to auction off his two-year-old child for exploitation to the highest bidder.

They got the tip-off 12 hours earlier from a law enforcement agency overseas, and within three hours the Queensland Police Argos team knew who he was and where he lived.

Before the sun rose, the man was arrested and a child rescued from the grips of his abuse, leading to him serving 22 years in jail.

It’s one of the jobs that stands out most in the mind of Argos Covert Online team leader Michelle – not her real name – during her four-year tenure with the world-leading child protection agency.

Michelle is one of a select few officers in a close-knit team whose job it is to catch sex offenders online, and has given an insight into what it’s like to hunt some of the worst criminals in the country.

Officers pose as either an adult offender or an innocent child to extract information from online predators and lure them to arrest.

They trawl through encrypted chat rooms and social media platforms for leads, as well as chat directly with paedophiles, all clueless they are speaking with a police officer.

They adopt different “profiles” best suited to different perpetrators, and usually have a handful of suspects on their “task list” at any given time.

Some suspects offend within hours, while others draw out communication for months.

But, more than anything, it’s a harrowing task.

Officers are exposed to countless images of child abuse, forced to communicate with rapists and paedophiles, and have to stay in character in spite of it all if there’s any chance of saving a child.

“It is very difficult,” another covert officer, Jacob – not his real name -, said.

He’s been in the team for about 18 months, and said the horrific photos of child abuse were sometimes not even the most confronting part of the job.

“If you see a horrific image of a child or something happening, it’s the praise and communication of all these paedophiles talking about it that’s probably harder than the image itself.”

“Acting like someone saying these horrific things about children can be quite hard, but you’ve always got the knowledge that you’re doing it to potentially save a child or get an offender off the street.”

It’s this immense dedication to child protection that has resulted in 417 children saved, 29 sex offenders arrested and 279 others referred to interstate or international agencies just in the last financial year.

The team, set up in 1996, are responsible for undoing some of the biggest paedophile networks in the world, including the arrest of South Australian child protection worker Shannon McCoole, who was the administrator of a paedophile chat board with 45,000 members. He was sentenced to 35 years jail for abusing children in his care and running the global site.

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In 2019, the arrest of the Brisbane man trying to auction off his child was also a “big one”, says Michelle.

“That came through late in the afternoon, so the team worked together to identify where the child was, located the address of the offender, we were ready to go, however they weren’t home.”

They stayed there for hours, waiting for him to appear, but eventually Michelle decided to let her troops go home and rest.

But she couldn’t stop thinking about the little boy.

“Not often do I not sleep with a job, but all I was doing (that night) was thinking ‘please don’t touch him’.”

They reassembled before 5am and went through the door, finding the offender back online trying to get international offenders to fly into Queensland to abuse his infant.

“As soon as we walked in the door … you just see everything from those images.”

The child was rescued and the man charged with 35 offences.

Earlier this year, the team also helped in the arrest of a man who they will allege was about to abduct a child interstate.

They found him online, alerted interstate authorities, and he was promptly arrested allegedly in possession of a rape kit.

In another incident this year, Argos covert officers found a Queensland man – who worked with children – online who they claim had filmed the abuse of a child and shared it.

They swooped in, started talking to him, and figured out he was also a carer who had embedded himself in the community in order to get easy access to kids.

Within 24 hours of engaging with the man, he was arrested and charged.

“It’s all the time though, this is basically every day,” Jacob said.

A crucial part of their operation is Hamish – not his real name – a victim identification specialist who sorts through millions of child abuse images to save the children at the centre of these insidious crimes.

Hamish finds clues in every image, whether it’s items in the room, where it came from or where it was posted, to complete the puzzle of finding the victims and removing them from harm.

“It’s actually quite rewarding,” Hamish said.

“I am constantly trying to be a champion for the children. There’s so many victims, so many offenders, so few investigators … I still have to be the champion for that as the likelihood anyone else is going to be is really low.”

What stands out is the speed in which these officers are closing in on these offenders.

“It’s so important to all of us, we are all working hard on that until it’s done,” Michelle said.

“Whether I’m getting overtime or not, I’m going to stay and do my part to save this child.”

But social media companies and platforms are dismantling their progress, and the rise of AI is becoming a new threat.

Hamish said predators will be able to generate fake child abuse images using just a juvenile’s face.

“It doesn’t matter how hard we run ourselves into the ground … if industry sites don’t pull their weight, we’re just going to drown under the amount of victims,” Hamish said.

“They really do have an obligation to make their platform safe and some really need to lift their game, that’s pretty clear.

“You’re going to see the abuse spiral out of control (with AI).”

But parents and guardians have the most significant part to play in keeping children safe.

“It’s scary. Parents need to have an active role in monitoring their social engagement,” Michelle said.

“You don’t just give your kids a Ferrari and go ‘here you go’, but we seem to do that with cell phones,’ said Hamish.

“This device is putting an offender, anywhere in the world, in your kids bedroom.”

https://www.couriermail.com.au/truecrimeaustralia/police-courts-qld/queensland-argos-detectives-give-insight-into-harrowing-task-of-catching-sex-offenders-online/news-story/f263a8c0bc7b525e90097091124a1477

>>18804767 (pb)

>>18804793 (pb)

The Satanic Temple: Think you know about Satanists? Maybe you don't

Rebecca Seales - 19 May 2023

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This may be the world's largest ever gathering of Satanists - and it's about to begin at a Marriott hotel in downtown Boston.

In a candle-lit room set aside for Satanic ceremonies, a neon sign welcomes you to The Little Black Chapel. A raised altar stands at one end, a white pentagram on the floor in front of it.

The ritual being performed here is an "unbaptism", in which participants symbolically reject religious rites performed when they were children.

"No names," says a Satanist who agreed to let me witness their ceremony, as long as they aren't identified.

They wear a floor-length, hooded cloak and a black face mask. Their hands are bound with rope, which is then cast off to represent liberation. Pages are torn out of a Bible to symbolise overturning their Christian baptism.

It's clear the experience was powerful for them.

"As a gay child, being told you are an abomination and should be destroyed, warped a lot of my thinking. Finding The Satanic Temple has really helped me embrace logic and empathy."

The Satanic Temple is recognised as a religion by the US government, and has ministers and congregations in America, Europe and Australia.

More than 830 people snapped up tickets for its late April convention, dubbed SatanCon.

Members say they don't actually believe in a literal Lucifer or Hell. Instead, they say Satan is a metaphor for questioning authority, and grounding your beliefs in science. The sense of community around these shared values makes it a religion, they say.

They do use the symbols of Satan for rituals - for example when celebrating a wedding or adopting a new name. That might include having an upside-down neon cross on your altar while shouting: "Hail Satan!"

For many Christians, this is serious blasphemy.

"That's not wrong," agrees Dex Desjardins, a spokesperson for The Satanic Temple. "A lot of our imagery is inherently blasphemous.

"We've got folks who wear inverted crosses. And our opening ceremony did have the ripping up of a Bible as a symbol of oppression, especially oppression of LGBTQ folk and women, and also the BIPOC community, and pretty much anybody who's grown up with religious trauma, which is a tremendous number of our members."

The Satanists say they respect everyone's right to choose their faith, and they're not trying to upset people.

But Christian protesters from many denominations have gathered outside the hotel, carrying signs warning of damnation.

"Repent and believe the Gospel," urges one. "Satan rules over all the children of pride," says another - the letters of "pride" shaded in the rainbow colours of the LGBTQ Pride flag.

"We are hoping to show God that we do not accept this blasphemy, and that we Catholics have not abandoned the public square to Satanists," says protester Michael Shivler, from a conservative Catholic group.

Convention-goers in the lobby eye the protest outside. "They called us 'dope-smoking masturbators'," one man reports. "Oooh, sky daddy is mad with me!" someone else jokes.

(continued)

>>18928705

2/3

Hellbillies, horns, and Satanic self-pleasure

The event takes up the whole fourth floor of the hotel. The Satanists fill it with androgynous goth chic, flamboyant robes, hand-painted horns, diabolical tattoos, and high-maintenance moustache choices.

Most people here are old enough to be parents, and several are. I spot at least one pushchair.

Presentations are given, including one called "Hellbillies: Visible Satanism in Rural America", and a seminar on Satanism and self-pleasure.

Political activism is a core part of The Satanic Temple's identity. It believes religion and the state should be kept separate, and frequently files lawsuits in the US to defend the distinction. Their point is serious, but they relish bringing satire and outrageousness to the fight.

In Oklahoma, for example, they asked to erect an 8ft (2.4m) Satanic statue at the state capitol when a monument of the Ten Commandments was put up, noting that the First Amendment requires all religions to be treated equally. (The Commandments were ultimately removed after a court battle.)

The Temple also advocates for abortion access, arguing that everyone should have autonomy over their own body.

Earlier this year, it opened an online clinic based in New Mexico, which provides abortion pills by mail.

It has also developed an abortion ritual for people terminating a pregnancy - which is designed to be comforting and involves reciting an affirmation before the abortion - and argues its members must be religiously exempt from abortion bans that would stop them performing it.

That rationale has drawn criticism from some quarters, including in Catholic newspaper the National Catholic Register which called the ritual "nothing more than a grotesque parodying of religious rituals and symbols".

The Yellowhammer Fund, which finances low-income people seeking abortions, declared that "putting your dollars and trust in grassroots organisations that have been doing this work for decades" was a better way to support abortion access.

In a hall packed with supporters, the directors of TST's campaigns present updates on their work. Successes are greeted with whoops, applause, and the sign of the horns.

Another project drawing headlines is After School Satan Clubs - slogan: "Educatin' with Satan". The Temple would rather keep religion out of schools, but wants to counter faith groups coming in to evangelise to pupils.

So where local people have asked it to, it tries to launch an After School Satan Club, focused on community service, science, crafts and critical thinking.

Opponents say it's frightening children, but TST says its content is demon-free. They have a kids' song - My Pal Satan - with a bopping animated goat, and the lines: "Satan's not an evil guy, he wants you to learn and question why. He wants you to have fun and be yourself - and by the way there is no hell."

'Satan loves you!'

Dozens of artists and vendors have set up stalls to sell Satanically inspired crafts. They have everything from "Satan Loves You!" beanies, to crocheted toys modelled on the Baphomet - a goat-headed Satanist symbol with wings.

The Satanic Temple is selling its own T-shirts too. The group doesn't take membership fees, and is kept running largely off donations and merch sales.

A newly launched children's book, titled Goodnight Baphomet, draws coos from bystanders.

The Satanic Temple's code of guiding principles - the Seven Tenets - prioritises empathy, control over one's own body, and respect for other people's freedoms, including the freedom to offend.

Translate that into a kids' book, and it includes rhymes like: "Respect everyone's right to be, especially when they disagree. If their words make you mad, set them free - don't be sad!"

Araceli Rojas, who flew from California to be here, finds the tenets relatable and easy to apply.

"I feel like I've always been quote-unquote a Satanist, I just didn't know it."

She says she first learned about TST through TikTok in 2020. "At that point I looked into it. A little scared, I think, like most would be. And I really wanted to make sure that they weren't sacrificing babies! Then I started getting into the culture, and the scene, and I started to join meetings… and eventually I realised no, they're not, it's just a symbol that they use and it's genuinely really good people."

(continued)

>>18928707

3/3

Chatting around the merch stalls, many people say their intro to The Satanic Temple came from the 2019 documentary Hail Satan?, directed by Penny Lane, which explores the Temple's principles and early activism.

TST says it boosted membership from perhaps 10,000 in 2019, to more than 700,000 today.

Those gathered in Boston include local government staff, medics, engineers, artists, people in finance, a social worker, a therapist, and a circus performer. Many belong to the LGBTQ community. Plenty are married to Christians - or at least to non-Satanists.

Members tend to lean to the left politically, but there's no political test to join and the Temple will not endorse any party or candidate.

Lucien Greaves, The Satanic Temple's co-founder, arrives with personal security, dressed in black and carrying a Thermos. "English breakfast tea. I got it from a shop that sells British stuff." He smiles when I accidentally say "bless you!"

Greaves (a pseudonym) started the movement a decade ago with a friend, Malcolm Jarry (also a pseudonym). They shared a commitment to religious freedom, and opposing what they see as Christianity encroaching on legislation.

News outlets, especially in the US, often present The Satanic Temple as attention-seeking pranksters pretending to be a religion, something he strongly objects to.

"People are hesitant to take anything we say at face value, but I feel like everything we say is pretty straightforward and we're not misrepresenting ourselves at all."

If you're trying not to look like trolls, was it wise to name your abortion clinic "Samuel Alito's Mom's Satanic Abortion Clinic", after the Supreme Court judge who backed the decision to remove the federal right to abortion? And then put it on a T-shirt?

"Part of the consideration was refusing to yield to this idea that everything must be sober and humourless to be authentic at all," says Greaves.

"My thinking on that was - nothing could be more serious than us opening a telehealth clinic. I just would hate to see us lose any sense of humour." Greaves has had to adjust his life to deal with the personal risks he faces as America's most prominent Satanist.

"I moved at some point within the past four years and I don't even have people over, because I don't want to have to move again."

Some TST members feel unable to acknowledge openly that they're involved, citing risks to their safety. Members who have been outed have lost their jobs, lost their children in custody battles, and found fake bombs under their cars.

Chalice Blythe, spokesperson for the Temple's religious reproductive rights campaign, received online harassment in the middle of SatanCon, after footage went viral of her tearing a Bible during the opening ceremony.

It's not the first time she's been threatened. In 2016, a family member leaked her details online and a gunman turned up at her home.

The gunman "said 'this is what I'm here to do - I have this gun with that bitch's name on it.' I know they went to jail.

"Legally changing my name, I've had to do that."

As far as she's concerned, it's worth it. "If my enemies are people of a crazy evangelical mindset who want to take my rights away - those are the kind of enemies I'm proud to have."

Typhon Nyx, in his 30s, is one of many TST members who uses an alternative name in the community - a "Satanym", as they call it. He says he moved from atheism to Satanism only recently.

"Satanism stands for everything I believe in," he says. "Including bodily autonomy, compassion, respect, science. And Satan represents those who were cast out, those who think differently.

"I never found my friends being accepted in the Christian circles. The appeal of Satan is that he is the accepting one, the inclusive one, and someone I can more identify with.

"Although, I don't believe he actually exists."

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65549975

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

>>18928705

Q Post #4627

Aug 26 2020 12:23:33 (EST)

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1297521970813317121

One party discusses God.

One party discusses Darkness.

One party promotes God.

One party eliminates God.

Symbolism will be their downfall.

The Great Deceiver(s).

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader being Patriotic [exhibiting National Pride (love of Country)]?

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader 'speak out against' the riots [violence in the streets]?

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader support those who took an oath to protect and defend?

When was the last time you witnessed a [D] party leader support and call for UNITY across our Nation?

ALL ASSETS DEPLOYED.

INFORMATION WARFARE.

INFILTRATION.

DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA.

Have Faith in Humanity.

Have Faith in Yourself.

UNITED WE STAND.

GOD WINS.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#4627

—

Q Post #4429

Jun 6 2020 13:32:28 (EST)

https://s3.amazonaws.com/lifesite/Open_Letter_President_Donald_Trump.pdf

The Armor of God

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Have faith in Humanity.

Have faith in Yourself.

Have faith in God.

The Great Awakening.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#4429

https://web.archive.org/web/20211102220931/https://s3.amazonaws.com/lifesite/Open_Letter_President_Donald_Trump.pdf

—

Q Post #4396

Jun 3 2020 01:44:26 (EST)

God wins.

Q

https://qanon.pub/#4396

>>18928670

An Indigenous voice to parliament is our chance to grasp history and create change, says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

ANTHONY ALBANESE - MAY 28, 2023

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The 1967 referendum was powerfully symbolic, a moment of national idealism. In that year, 90 per cent of Australians voted to remove a harmful, discriminatory relic. In 2023, our generation can go one better.

Instead of removing a provision that no longer speaks for who we are, we can make a positive change that speaks for the future we seek to build. This can be a moment of Australian unity. An extraordinary opportunity for every Australian to be counted and heard – to own this change and be proud of it, and truly live the spirit of the fair go.

After the tumult of colonisation, we have lived through a silence, a long tide of denial gnawing away at the shores of our spirit. And an entire people have been kept so long in the margins, surviving against the odds, surviving even against misguided good intentions.

We have to come to grips with the past because a country that does not acknowledge the full truth of its history is burdened by its unspoken weight. But we learn. We acknowledge. And bit by bit, as we each admit each truth into our midst like a shaft of light, we are easing that burden. Moments of truth that include the Freedom Rides, the 1967 referendum, Mabo, Wik, the Redfern Speech, the Apology to the Stolen Generations and the red sand captured in a photo on that brightest of days, forever flowing from Gough Whitlam’s hand into Vincent Lingiari’s.

None stands as an answer in itself, but each step forward sees us narrowing the distance between reality and our perception of ourselves – and the people we aspire to be. We sometimes speak of ourselves as a young nation, but we are one of the world’s oldest democracies. Our continent is home to the world’s oldest continuing culture, which we are at last coming to recognise as the great source of pride that it must be.

Even from a geological perspective, Australia is home to the oldest continental crust on Earth, with parts of Western Australia’s Gascoyne region clocking in at 4.4 billion years old. So perhaps it’s only fitting that we are not a nation given to acting in haste.

Last Friday, it was the sixth anniversary of the Uluru Statement from the Heart, which emerged from the First Nations National Constitutional Convention, whose delegates were all selected by their communities.

If you want to reach back a little further, it is nine decades since William Cooper – that great Yorta Yorta man and trade unionist – began drawing up the petition that constituted the first call for something akin to a voice to parliament.

To those who keep saying now isn’t the time, I ask: When is?

This hasn’t been rushed into. There have been no shortcuts. Nor is this something that began in Canberra. This has been a grassroots movement, the culmination of years of discussion, consultation and hard work by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. And what shines so brightly at the very core of its gracious request is the desire to bring us all closer together as a people reconciled – and to lift our great nation even higher.

(continued)

>>18928883

2/2

This will be about recognition of this continent’s first people in the nation’s birth certificate, providing a people what Marcia Langton and others have termed “a rightful place in the nation”.

The voice won’t be a funding body. It won’t run programs. It won’t have a power of veto. We know that from the Solicitor-General’s opinion, we know from former High Court judges. We know it from leading legal academics. And we know it from constitutional experts, including Megan Davis and George Williams.

It will be about consultation, an ongoing conversation. It will be about listening. A body that will be representative of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, and chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. A body made up of representatives from every state and every territory. Representatives from towns and remote communities and everywhere between.

When it’s been tried on a smaller scale, it’s clear that when decisions are made after listening to the people on the ground, the results are positive. Look at the Indigenous-led community health clinics extending life expectancy and improving the experience of people having to undergo dialysis or treatment for rheumatic heart disease.

Look at the Indigenous Ranger Programs that have tapped into a great well of wisdom, cutting feral animal numbers and boosting protection for our unique natural environment by employing local people to work on country. And look at justice reinvestment programs that are reducing incarceration rates. If you want to see that in action, look at Bourke, where the community-led Maranguka Project is delivering results.

If you want to break that down into dollar terms, the Maranguka Project saves the NSW economy five times what it costs to operate. The difference it makes to people’s lives, though, is beyond measure.

Amid the fog of fiction and misunderstanding these past few months, it’s important to spell it out again. This isn’t about politics. This isn’t about politicians. This is about people. People striving to make themselves heard across our great nation. In the regions and beyond in the remotest corners of our vast continent.

All those voices rising across Australia like the headwaters of a thousand creeks and rivers joining into a mighty and wonderful current that will converge around each one of us as we step into the booth on referendum day.

Amid it all, there’s another echo of the 1967 referendum – the voice to parliament is supported by nearly 90 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.

We are fortunate to be here in this moment in history, where we have within our hands the chance to make a positive change that will last for generations.

A change that will outlast us.

This is an excerpt from Anthony Albanese’s Lowitja O’Donoghue Oration, which will be delivered in Adelaide on Monday.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/an-indigenous-voice-to-parliament-is-our-chance-to-grasp-history-and-create-change-says-prime-minister-anthony-albanese/news-story/fd052daa30458eba4d3c795c8df105ed

Mark McGowan resigns as WA Premier

Alex Blair - May 29, 2023

Western Australia’s Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is stepping down as the state’s leader, admitting his many years serving has left him “exhausted”.

The Premier made the announcement at a press conference at 12.45pm (2.45pm AEST).

“Today I‘m announcing I will be stepping down as Premier and as member for Rockingham. I was elected as Premier of Western Australia in March 2017, more than six years ago,” he said.

“I served as Opposition Leader for five years, I have held the privileged position of WA Labor leader for around 11 and a half years.”

“I have served in Parliament for 26 years as either Premier, Opposition Leader, Minister Shadow Minister Parliamentary Secretary and of course, as the member for Rockingham.”

McGowan said he was “exhausted” by the “all-consuming” position, admitting the Covid years had “taken it out of him”.

“I just don‘t have the energy or drive that is required to continue in the role as Premier. Or to fight that election which would have been my eighth election as a Member of Parliament,” he continued.

“This job is like no other, after seven elections across nearly three decades, now is the right time to step away from the job that I have loved. Therefore, I will be resigning as Premier and member for Rockingham.

“This week will be my final week. It is not a decision I have taken lightly, I’ve been considering it for quite a while. But I needed to hand down a state budget before a made a final decision.”

McGowan said there wasn’t a particular “lightbulb moment” that prompted his decision, citing the ongoing pressure of the state’s top job eventually pushing him past his limit.

“It’s sort of built up over time. I worked out that I did not want to fight the next election 20 months away,” he said.

“I wanted to give my successor, whoever that is, the opportunity to cement themselves and create their own way and their own agenda and enough time to bid themselves in.”

McGowan refuted claims his announcement would hurt the Labor party in the next election, placing faith in the people behind him to secure re-election.

However, he warned his eventual successor to be wary of the “all consuming position”, hoping that “they’ll do a better job than me”.

“It is not a road normal role, being a minister is not a normal role, it is all consuming,” he said. “I can’t give advice on that, because I haven’t been very good at balancing things. I hope whoever my successor is, is better at it than me.”

The outgoing Premier said he doesn’t have any plans after he leaves office, only that he wishes to continue to work.

McGowan led Labor back to government with an overwhelming victory over the Liberal government in March 2017, and again at the 2021 election.

He enforced some of the toughest Covid-19 restrictions on travel during the pandemic.

He was also Treasurer of WA and handed down a budget earlier this month.

https://www.news.com.au/national/western-australia/mark-mcgowan-to-resign-as-west-australian-premier-report/news-story/5213188a118e3f846aee27707be5386c

>>18928925

Mark McGowan stands down as WA premier in shock announcement, citing exhaustion

Cason Ho and Jake Sturmer - Mon 29 May 2023

1/2

WA Premier Mark McGowan has announced he is retiring from politics in a bombshell announcement.

In a press conference held with just 45 minutes' notice, Mr McGowan said he would step down as premier and member for Rockingham at the end of the week.

"The truth is I'm tired, extremely tired. In fact, I'm exhausted," he said.

Under Mr McGowan’s leadership, WA Labor swept to power in 2017, winning with a huge swing against a Liberal Party led by long-time premier Colin Barnett.

The 55-year-old was re-elected for a second term in 2021 in an extraordinary landslide, winning 53 of the 59 seats in the state's lower house.

He also appointed himself as the state's treasurer following that election. Both that role, and his job as premier, will now need to be filled.

The next WA election is not due until March 2025.

"It has been an honour and privilege to serve the people of the state in my community over this time," Mr McGowan said.

"It is way beyond what I could ever have imagined my career would amount to."

Deputy Premier Roger Cook and Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson are considered likely frontrunners to succeed Mr McGowan as premier, with Mr Cook confirming he had put himself forward for the role.

Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson did not say whether she would run for the party leadership, but in a statement praised Mr McGowan as "an extraordinary, once-in-a-generation leader".

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr McGowan called him on Monday morning to notify him of his resignation.

"I want to pay tribute to Mark McGowan. My friend, my confidante, but also an extraordinarily successful premier of Western Australia," Mr Albanese said.

"Mark McGowan has, through social, environmental, and economic policy, built a stronger WA, and I wish him all the very best for the future."

'Relentless' pressure of the job

Surrounded by his cabinet at the press conference, Mr McGowan said the "relentless" pressures of political life had worn him down.

"I've loved the challenge of solving problems, making decisions, getting outcomes, and helping people," he said.

"It comes with huge responsibility that is all consuming each and every day. And, combined with the COVID years, it's taken it out of me.

"I'm not naturally confrontational. But every day I have to engage in argument and debate, and confrontation one way or another. And I'm kind of tired of it."

Mr McGowan said he still believed in the Labor party, and had confidence it would win the next state election.

'I'm convinced WA Labor can win, and will win … but I just don't have the energy or drive that's required to continue in the role as premier," he said.

A 'political juggernaut'

Mr McGowan said he would officially step down by the end of the week, but had no plans for the future.

"I'm going to have a break for a while. Once I'm rested and recuperated, I'll look for something to do," he said.

ABC elections analyst Antony Green said few could have predicted the dominant place the "mild" Mr McGowan would occupy in WA politics after his election defeat in 2013.

"I don't think anybody who met him when he had his first election as opposition leader would think a decade later he would be so dominant across Western Australia," Mr Green said.

"He turned out to be a juggernaut, politically."

WA Opposition and Nationals leader Shane Love said Mr McGowan's resignation would "come at a cost to the Labor party brand".

"There's no doubt that the McGowan name was very much the brand of this particular Labor government," he said.

Both Mr Love and WA Liberal leader Libby Mettam acknowledged the workload that came with Mr McGowan's decision to take on the treasurer role after winning the last election.

"We have always questioned why the premier had undertaken the role of treasurer as well, given the significant size of the caucus that WA Labour has enjoyed," Ms Mettam said.

She said his resignation made no difference to her party's plans at the next election.

"The Liberals have always seen the next state election as contestable," she said.

(continued)

>>18928944

2/2

The 'rock star' premier

Mr McGowan enjoyed overwhelming popularity in his second term throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, enacting the nation's strictest border policies.

The approach came with its critics, with some arguing it was heavy-handed, and prompting then-deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce to describe WA as a "kind of hermit kingdom".

Criticism was even harsher when Mr McGowan postponed his initial border opening date.

However, he consistently argued his approach helped keep West Australians safe and bolstered WA's economy while the rest of the country struggled.

Mr McGowan was allegedly targeted with threats on several occasions by people who were opposed to his hard stance on border controls and mandatory vaccinations.

He also engaged in a legal stoush with mining magnate Clive Palmer that cost WA taxpayers $2 million, centred around a war of words over WA’s border controls and one of Mr Palmer's mining projects.

The premier said the stress of the political battleground throughout the pandemic played a significant role in his decision to resign.

"The COVID experience, basically three years … having to deal with all that, and all the pressure that was associated with that, that drained me a lot," he said.

WA has enjoyed huge budget surpluses throughout Mr McGowan's second term off the back of iron ore royalties and GST payments.

The state is set to record a $4.2 billion surplus this year – a figure that rivals the federal surplus but falls short of the even bigger purses of $5.7 billion and $5.6 billion recorded in the years before.

The Metronet legacy

Outside his role as a pandemic premier, Mr McGowan also took on the challenge of overhauling WA's transport infrastructure with his flagship Metronet election promise in 2017.

The project has been bogged down by delays and thrown off its initial rollout schedule, with the McGowan government pointing at COVID-19 and the state's heated construction market as unavoidable causes.

The most recent major progression was the opening of a rail link from the airport to Perth CBD in October 2022, with other major milestones due in coming years.

"I'd like to open some of the new rail lines, I'd like to see the passing of some of our legislative reform … equal opportunities laws, and the gun laws, and the planning laws, and a whole range of other social reforms that will make the state stronger and better," he said.

"I'll be able to see it. I just won't be at the press conference. That's all."

In recent years, the McGowan Government has faced strong criticism over its management of WA's only juvenile detention centre, Banksia Hill, with ongoing legal action claiming mistreatment in detention.

Mr McGowan has been steadfast in taking a tough-love approach to resolving issues in youth crime, but has been rebuked by some medical professionals, judges, and advocates.

No regrets

On a whole, the Premier said he believed he had achieved what he set out to do when he first entered politics.

"When I was elected as premier I had ambitions for our state. I wanted Western Australia to become the strongest, most successful state in the nation," he said.

"To be become more economically diversified, and have the strongest public finances. To be socially reformist, with landmark achievements in conservation and environmental protection as well. To provide our citizens with quality public services and long term infrastructure, for our long term future.

"I'm not leaving with any regrets."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/wa-premier-mark-mcgowan-resigns-from-politics/102406610

>>18928925

WA Premier Mark McGowan’s shock departure puts Labor seats at risk

GEOFF CHAMBERS - MAY 29, 2023

Mark McGowan’s shock departure from politics inflicts a ­massive blow to the Labor Party’s prospects at the 2025 state and federal elections.

Western Australia’s most popular leader in its history – whose landslide 2021 state election victory left the Liberal and National parties in ruin – played a huge hand in delivering Anthony Albanese majority government.

Albanese had to wait for the red wave in Perth – where results rolled in two hours behind those on the east coast – to deliver Labor the Liberal seats of Swan, Hasluck, Tangney and Pearce, before claiming majority government on election night.

McGowan’s “X-factor” significantly boosted federal Labor’s stocks in Western Australia, and ALP strategists are concerned that losing his popular appeal in the west will make it tougher to ­retain seats.

But peel away the veneer of popularity and McGowan’s legacy is mixed.

He benefited from bumper mining royalties, a close relationship with the billionaire owner of The West Australian newspaper, Kerry Stokes, popular local support for draconian Covid-19 restrictions, and a weak Coalition.

However, the 55-year-old leaves behind questionable records on crime, health, infrastructure, China and social ­housing.

McGowan’s loyalties to Beijing undermined national efforts for unified resistance against ­Chinese coercion, foreign interference and cyber attacks.

Labor’s dominance in a state where the Coalition had carved-out a stronghold at recent federal elections is unlikely to stick.

West Australian voters, who were fiercely loyal to McGowan, have traditionally differentiated between state and federal politics.

While the historic trend was reversed in 2022, few believe that Labor will maintain its lead of nine seats to five over the Liberals.

McGowan’s importance to federal Labor was on show at last year’s ALP campaign launch held in Perth, where he took centre stage and introduced Albanese as the “next prime minister of Australia”.

Adding to the loss of McGowan, WA ALP director and federal campaign mastermind Tim Picton quit shortly after the May election to take up a job with Mineral Resources.

The saving grace for Labor at both federal and state levels is that their political opponents remain in disarray.

As WA Premier, McGowan was unashamedly parochial and cast a long shadow over the state, serving in the top job for six years and as opposition leader for five.

To the delight of Sandgropers, McGowan took on Queensland billionaire Clive Palmer, waged war with eastern states over tough pandemic restrictions, and secured a GST windfall for WA.

Ironically, it was Scott Morrison’s formation of national cabinet in March 2020 that made McGowan a powerful and prominent figure on the national stage.

McGowan’s exit from politics leaves Daniel Andrews and Annastacia Palaszczuk as the only survivors of Morrison’s founding national cabinet.

McGowan, a career politician who used the national cabinet to wage his WA-centric ideology, adopted the most extreme Covid-19 restrictions, shut WA off from the rest of the country and repeatedly disrupted national efforts to adopt an Australia-wide pandemic recovery plan.

The radical approach was lauded in WA, where locals avoided lockdowns throughout the bulk of the pandemic, continued working and enjoyed their freedom.

Albanese, who picked up an additional Senate seat on the back of the McGowan-inspired red wave, will need to channel the WA Premier’s centrist and populist approach to stem bleeding of votes.

The Prime Minister risks facing a harsh reception in WA if he goes too far on industrial relations reforms, prosecutes his social agenda too aggressively and pushes too hard on taxing the resources sector.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/wa-premier-mark-mcgowans-shock-departure-puts-labor-seats-at-risk/news-story/0876d0723706e3b2875b64e9b21f64b0

>>18928925

Exit door: ‘Premier’s legacy a weakened federation’

Mark McGowan was the first state leader to take a strong alternative approach in foreign policy, setting a precedent for a lack of cohesion, particularly on China, experts say.

SARAH ISON - May 29, 2023

Mark McGowan was the first premier to take as strong an alternative approach to a federal government in foreign policy and “revelled” in stepping out from the commonwealth particularly on the relationship with China, foreign policy experts say.

The outgoing Western Australian leader frequently called out the former Coalition government and its handling of the relationship with Beijing, which he labelled “insane”, and demanded Scott Morrison end the damaging rhetoric against Australia’s biggest trading partner.

During a visit to China last month – the first in four years – Mr McGowan said it was “unfounded” to have a “fearful relationship” with Beijing after 50 years of fostering a close economic relationship.

Australian National University emeritus professor of strategic studies, Hugh White, said Mr McGowan and had been offering up “an alternative take” for some time on the relationship with China compared to Canberra.

“This is completely new in my experience. I don't think we’ve seen a state government taking such a high profile and such a well-developed alternative view on such a significant foreign policy question before,” he said.

“McGowan has been striking in the consistency and clarity with which he has articulated a different view on this key foreign policy question from federal politicians are both sides of politics.”

ANU international security and intelligence studies professor, John Blaxland, said Mr McGowan had changed the face of the federation forever, but not necessarily for the better.

“What he demonstrated was a very fragility of the Federation. Ever since the Second World War, we’ve had this sense that the federal government is pre-eminent and omnipotent, but McGowan proved that wrong and he kind of revelled in it,” he told The Australian.

“His actions have set a precedent for a lack of cohesion in the federation. Would-be adversaries now have a much better understanding of the fracture lines of the federation.”

Strategic Analysis Australia director, Michael Shoebridge, said the Premier had “discounted the need for a coherent national approach to China” and prioritised the economic interest of WA instead.

“I think he just he saw his role as premier as about purely about jobs and growth and saw that he had no responsibilities for national security or strategy,” he said.

“He contributed to Beijing‘s program of trying to divide Australian jurisdictions on China.”

Co-lead for the Defence Strategic Review, Peter Dean, said while Mr McGowan was “entitled to his views”, the need for cohesion across all jurisdictions had never been so important considering the strategic circumstances facing the country.

“One of the things about the federation is the interests between Commonwealth and states don’t always align … but the DSR talks about the need for integrated statecraft, which is a whole of government and whole of nation approach,” he said.

“Given the risks we face in the contemporary Indo-Pacific strategic environment, it would be highly beneficial if international state craft was enacted at all levels of government and we can get agreement of what is in overall national interest rather than what is in the interest of specific states or regions.”

Perth USAsia chief executive Gordon Flake said while there was “no question” that there was tension between Mr McGowan and the former federal government, the premier’s approach to foreign policy was “not as different as you think”.

He argued Mr McGowan’s legacy would instead be wrapped up in the state’s Covid policies – pointing to the decision to close the border to the rest of the country.

“What WA did was protect our international engagement,” he said. “In order to keep the economic engine of Australia running, to keep the iron ore mines running, to keep the LNG projects running, and thus to keep the exports going and keep the national economy running, Western Australia could not pursue Covid policies like you saw in New South Wales.”

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/wa-premier-mark-mcgowan-revelled-in-stepping-out-from-commonwealth/news-story/195576331b0d35f14212f20d8ec6bcc8

Australian citizen Daniel Duggan is accused of training Chinese military pilots by the US. His wife alleges he's caught in a 'political power play'

Angelique Donnellan and Xanthe Kleinig - Mon 29 May 2023

1/3

October 21 last year started like any other for Saffrine Duggan. Her husband Daniel dropped off their kids at school and went to the supermarket. He then planned to meet his wife for coffee but never showed up.

"Probably 15 minutes after that is when Dan called me and he told me that he was at the police station," she told 7.30.

"He said, 'I've been arrested.' I was in shock. He was in shock. It didn't feel real."

Daniel Duggan was born in the United States and served as a pilot in the Marines between 1989 and 2002. He's been an Australian citizen since 2012.

He's now in custody in Lithgow Correctional Centre in NSW pending extradition to the US on charges of conspiracy, arms trafficking and money laundering.

"He 100 per cent denies all accusations," Ms Duggan told 7.30.

"He is in a cage-like set-up. He does not have any access to the outside at all … there are no windows, his cell is approximately two by four metres long.

"He's a good man — and he's in isolation."

Key to the US government's pursuit of Mr Duggan is his time as a contractor with the Test Flying Academy of South Africa between 2010 and 2012.

Mr Duggan says he provided training to civilian aviators.

But in its indictment, the US government alleges the flying school had a contract with a state-owned entity in China to deliver training to military pilots.

The indictment alleges Mr Duggan provided services including "the evaluation of military pilot trainees, testing of naval aviation related equipment and instruction on the tactics, techniques and procedures associated with launching aircraft from and landing aircraft on a naval aircraft carrier".

Mr Duggan is alleged to have made a number of trips to China and conspired to conceal $182,570 in "prohibited transactions and services from detection by the United States Government as to avoid penalties".

The indictment alleges unnamed co-conspirators, not Mr Duggan, bought a former US Navy training aircraft, a T2-Buckeye, to "enhance the training" being provided.

'He's the soft target'

In her first sit-down interview, Saffrine Duggan has told 7.30 her husband denied ever training members of the Chinese military or divulging any military secrets.

"He was 100 per cent told that he was training civilian pilots. Everything was open sourced. He was working with some very credentialed other pilots. He had no reason to think that he wasn't doing anything but what he was told," she said.

"There's been many, many tears. He's still very confused as to how this could happen.

"I can't believe that it's been able to come this far.

“The reality is he's with all of these trumped-up charges, he's facing 65 years imprisonment."

(continued)

>>18929002

2/3

The US State Department declined 7.30's request for an interview but the indictment alleges Mr Duggan knew he needed the government's written permission to train a foreign air force.

Australian army veteran and Duggan family advocate Glenn Kolomeitz claimed permission was not needed because of the nature of the work.

"Nothing about this job said that Dan was working for the military of another country. It was contracting to a civilian company," Mr Kolomeitz said.

Mr Kolomeitz said Mr Duggan trained Chinese civilian pilots in South Africa but not in their homeland.

"Let's look at the context at this time. China was booming. They were developing airports. They were drawing a lot of Western expertise to develop their aviation industry," he told 7.30.

He says the former marine visited China on his own behalf during the period in question to deliver a motivational speech to small businesses called "The Fighter Pilot's Guide to Mission Success" which did not contain any classified information and had been presented a number of times in Australia.

In a statement, the Test Flying Academy of South Africa (TFASA) said Mr Duggan undertook one contract over a decade ago. It said none of its training involved classified methods nor any frontline activities or defence services and Mr Duggan has "never worked on a TFASA overseas training mandate".

Mr Kolomeitz said the indictment referred to co-conspirators from South Africa, the United Kingdom and China but none of them had been charged in relation to this matter.

"Dan was a US citizen at the time of the conduct as alleged at the time he was working. He's the soft target here," Mr Kolomeitz said.

Fractious relationship between US and China

In the background of this story is a changing geopolitical landscape. Saffrine Duggan claims her husband is being pursued because of increasing hostility between the United States and China.

"Dan has been caught up in something that is political and he shouldn't be. He's a person, an individual that they're trying to use in a political power play," she told 7.30.

Defence Analyst Ben Herscovitch from Australian National University said the relationship between the United States and China was very different around the time Mr Duggan was alleged to have committed the offences.

"New President Xi Jinping travelled to the United States in 2013, and had sunny, warm positive photo ops with President Obama," he told 7.30.

"In those early years of President Xi Jinping's tenure there was optimism about his potential role as a reformer in China."

He said tensions between the two countries ratcheted up after Donald Trump's election in 2016.

"US policy on China shifted in a really fundamental way," Mr Herscovitch said.

"China plans to operate something on the order of five aircraft carriers by roughly the 2030s and then potentially up to six or seven out to 2040-2050.

"It makes sense that the United States would be deeply troubled by this kind of story in light of the fact that … they could be going to war over the course of the next few years, or the next few decades."

The US indictment against Mr Duggan was filed in 2017. Mr Kolomeitz has questioned the timing of the indictment.

"This reeks of politics," he claims.

"It's interesting that Dan was working over there in that 2010-2012 period; suddenly, in 2017 the US change their emphasis on China, they start referring to China as the strategic threat [competitor] and all of a sudden, there's this indictment."

It was only after Mr Duggan's arrest that the indictment was made public and he learned of the charges against him.

Mr Kolomeitz points out former British air force pilots known by the UK government to have trained Chinese pilots have not been charged with any crime.

"The UK position is quite appropriate. They've identified that there were no breaches of their national security laws, there were no offences applicable," he told 7.30.

Mr Duggan's legal team is trying to halt his extradition through Australia's courts.

Mr Kolomeitz claimed the former marine should not be sent back to the US because of what's known as the double criminality requirement.

"The conduct as alleged must constitute an offence, a crime in both countries. So in the requesting country, the US, and in the requested country, Australia.

"These offences, based on the alleged conduct … did not, to my view, constitute a crime in Australia," he told 7.30.

(continued)

>>18929010

3/3

'An uncertain future'

Mr Duggan first came to live in Australia in the early 2000s.

Saffrine met Mr Duggan in 2011 and he became an Australian citizen in 2012 to commit to Australia, his wife, and his kids.

Ms Duggan and the children returned to Australia, after living in China, at the start of the pandemic. Her husband returned last September. He was arrested weeks later.

Mr Kolomeitz said a complaint had been raised with the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security (IGIS) as to whether ASIO acted appropriately in the lead-up to Mr Duggan's return to Australia and arrest.

"Dan had a job offer in Australia flying for a contractor to defence, that job required a security clearance and required an Aviation Security Identification Card (ASIC). To get an ASIC you need a security clearance. ASIO told him that his security clearance was successful," he said.

"The extradition most certainly should not go ahead whilst this Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security inquiry is on foot."

A spokesman for ASIO said the organisation "operates within the letter and the spirit of the law, acting in a targeted, proportionate and ethical way" but couldn't comment further.

Ms Duggan and her children recently travelled to the US Embassy in Canberra to call for the case against her husband to be dropped. She fears he won't get a fair trial in the United States and could die in jail if he's found guilty.

"I'd like to offer a plea to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Mark Dreyfus, our Attorney-General, to let him go," she told 7.30.

The Commonwealth Attorney-General's Department said it couldn't comment on Mr Duggan's case to avoid compromising "ongoing investigations or matters in a foreign country".

Mr Duggan will remain in a NSW prison until at least late July, when the court next considers the case to stay his extradition.

Mr Kolomeitz said under the extradition act, Mr Duggan isn't eligible for bail unless there are special circumstances.

"Dan poses no flight risk. The government could very readily take away his passport. He has six kids, he has a wife, Australian, he has strong community ties. All the tests for a normal bail application, under normal circumstances independently of this extradition act are met," he said.

"We've taken a proud military man with a history of proud service, put him in a green tracksuit with … an uncertain future."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/daniel-duggan-extradition-arrest-china-united-states-730/102378956

>>18929002

Wife of former US Marine accused of training Chinese military pilots by the US speaks out | 7.30

ABC News In-depth

May 29, 2023

Last October Australian authorities, acting on a request from the United States, arrested former Marine pilot Daniel Duggan for allegedly training pilots from the Chinese military. Duggan is being held in a maximum-security prison while he fights extradition to America. This report by Angelique Donnellan and Xanthe Kleinig.

Read more here:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-05-29/daniel-duggan-extradition-arrest-china-united-states-730/102378956

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5-TN1qGKHSc

Better the Devil You Know! Conspiracy theorists make shock claims that Kylie Minogue is part of a Satanic cult: 'The Illuminati has a new toy puppet'

J. PETERSON - 31 May 2023

Kylie Minogue is embroiled in a bizarre and baseless Satanic conspiracy theory.

The Australian pop star, who is currently in the midst of a major career comeback thanks to her new single Padam Padam, has been accused of pushing satanic messaging in her music videos and album artwork.

God-fearing conspiracy theorists have pointed out that the cover of the 55-year-old's upcoming album Tension features an Illuminati pose.

The Illuminati are a group that conspiracy theorists assert controls the world's affairs and economy, and its members come from the worlds of politics, business and entertainment.

In the Tension cover image, Kylie holds one hand over her eye, which conspiracy theorists believe is a reference to the 'evil eye'.

'I don't know who told you to pose like this but it is a symbol of Satanism,' one fan tweeted.

'The hand gesture represents 666 and covering one eye is a well known satanic gesture. I certainly do not believe you knew,' they added.

'Truly SATANIC, Kylie,' remarked another, while one wrote: 'So the illuminati has a new toy puppet, and she’s a pop princess!'

Another fan said that they could no longer continue making excuses for the Better The Devil You Know hitmaker.

'I loved #KylieMinogue. I made excuses for her. But her latest album is in-your-face Illuminati symbolism from one-eye cover to dancing in devil red on the debris of Western Civilization in the Padam Padam video,' they wrote.

'Looking back, it was there from the start, on "I Should Be So Lucky",' they finished.

Kylie is far from the first A-list celebrity to be accused of being part of the Illuminati.

In 2018, Elizabeth Hurley, Boy George, Robert Downey, and former US President George W. Bush were all accused of being part of the Satanic underground club when they were all pictured sporting black eyes.

According to some conspiracy theorists, the black left eye is part of an Illuminati high-level initiation ritual during which the pledger is said to be forced to 'eat pain' in a quest to become more powerful.

Author and internet radio show host Sherry Shriner - who wrote the book Interview With The Devil, in which she claimed to converse with Lucifer - has spoken of the link between these black eyes and 'soul scalping'.

According to Shriner, government leaders, people on TV with their own shows and hundreds of popular entertainers have sold their souls to Satan.

'You cannot be on TV now, without signing on the dotted line. The bizarre recurrence of facial bruises on Illuminati politicians and entertainers has resulted in speculation that their souls have been replaced in a satanic ritual called "soul scalping",' she said.

Meanwhile, Kylie is currently in the middle of a huge comeback with her new single Padam Padam.

The addictive dance track has gone viral on social media and become her highest-charting hit in over a decade in both Australia and the UK.

Kylie addressed her chart comeback on social media this week, thanking fans for their support.

'It has been an incredible week topped off by being my birthday today and I can’t thank you enough. My heart is bursting with joy so thank you so so much,' she gushed.

'What an incredible, another wild turn in my life and my career. Thank you so much for all of your love and support, everyone who has got onto Padam Padam and made this possible for me. I love you, thank you so so much.'

In Padam Padam's bizarre music video, Kylie sizzles in a series of red bodysuits and a billowing cape as she dances hypnotically in a junk yard.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-12142385/Conspiracy-theorists-claim-Kylie-Minogue-Satanic-cult.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6Cnazi_Fi0

>>18929116

>a bizarre and baseless Satanic conspiracy theory.

Q Post #3906

Mar 28 2020 14:18:02 (EST)

>Decide for yourself (be free from outside opinion).

>Decide for yourself (be objective in your conclusions).

>Decide for yourself (be true in your own beliefs).

>Decide for yourself (be open to following the facts).

>Decide for yourself (be strong in defending your beliefs).

>Decide for yourself (be resistant to blindly accepting fact-less statements).

Those who attack you.

Those who mock you.

Those who cull you.

Those who control you.

Those who label you.

Do they represent you?

Or, do they represent themselves (in some form)?

Mental Enslavement.

The Great Awakening ('Freedom of Thought’), was designed and created not only as a backchannel to the public (away from the longstanding ‘mind’ control of the corrupt & heavily biased media) to endure future events through transparency and regeneration of individual thought (breaking the chains of ‘group-think’), but, more importantly, aid in the construction of a vehicle (a ‘ship’) that provides the scattered (‘free thinkers’) with a ‘starter’ new social-networking platform which allows for freedom of thought, expression, and patriotism or national pride (the feeling of love, devotion and sense of attachment to a homeland and alliance with other citizens who share the same sentiment).

When ‘non-dogmatic’ information becomes FREE & TRANSPARENT it becomes a threat to those who attempt to control the narrative and/or the stable.

When you are awake, you stand on the outside of the stable (‘group-think’ collective), and have ‘free thought’.

"Free thought" is a philosophical viewpoint which holds that positions regarding truth should be formed on the basis of logic, reason, and empiricism, rather than authority, tradition, revelation, or dogma.

When you are awake, you are able to clearly see.

The choice is yours, and yours alone.

Trust and put faith in yourself.

You are not alone and you are not in the minority.

Difficult truths will soon see the light of day.

WWG1WGA!!!

Q

https://qanon.pub/#3906