>>23978158

>>23990943

>>24013837

Naveed Akram seen for first time since alleged terrorist attack

JOANNA PANAGOPOULOS - 16 February 2026

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Naveed Akram has appeared in public for the first time since allegedly committing Australia’s worst terror attack.

Akram and his father Sajid are accused of opening fire on Jewish families celebrating the first night of Hanukkah at Bondi Beach on December 14, killing 15 people. Sajid was killed at the scene.

On Monday, Akram appeared on a screen at Downing Centre Local Court during a brief hearing.

He wore prison greens, had a shaved head and long stubble.

He was largely expressionless, looking around the room at times, following the proceedings and responding when spoken to.

“Did you just hear what has just occurred,” Deputy Chief Magistrate Sharon Freund said when he first appeared on screen.

The court had just heard that a non-publication on some of the victims’ names would be extended and the matter would return to court on March 9.

“Yeah,” he responded.

At the end of his matter, he was told he should remain in the audio-visual suite until his lawyer could call and explain what happened.

“Yep,” Akram responded.

Outside court, his lawyer Ben Archbold, whose firm Archbold Gittani has been assigned by taxpayer-funded Legal Aid, was asked if Akram had shown any remorse for the alleged terrorist attack.

“They’re not conversations I’ve had at this stage, it’s all about the law … at the end of the day there’s not much more he can say,” he said.

Mr Archbold also said he had visited Akram at Goulburn Supermax but had not “spoken to him about the attack in that regard”.

“He’s just a client, and he’s a client that needs to be represented and we don’t let our personal view get in the way of our professional obligations,” Mr Archbold said.

Police facts, previously released by the courts, allege that about two months before the attack, father and son Sajid and Naveed filmed themselves sitting in front of a wall plastered with an image of an Islamic State flag and outlined some of their plans.

They recited, in Arabic, a passage from the Koran and condemned the actions of “Zionists” while four long-arm firearms with ­attached ammunition rested behind them.

Late in October, the pair filmed themselves conducting firearm training in an unknown rural location, which police believe to be in NSW. Stills from the video show both men firing into the distance in a field and moving in a “tactical manner”.

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It is understood the pair left for a month-long trip to The Philippines in November. They arrived on November 1 and travelled to Davao City, in the south of Mindanao – a day’s drive to areas where remnants of Islamic militant groups are known to be based.

Immigration records show the two men flew out of Davao and back to Sydney via ­Manila on ­November 28.

“There is evidence that Naveed Akram and his father, Sajid Akram, meticulously planned this terrorist attack for many months through actions, including making an ISIS-inspired video,” the police fact sheet states.

Sajid’s wife, according to the fact sheet, told police on December 14 that she believed a week before the attack her son and husband had gone on a holiday in southern NSW.

She said her son had been calling from a payphone each day at 10.30am to discuss “what he planned to do that day”.

On December 12, two days before the alleged terrorist attack, the two men allegedly visited Bondi Beach to survey the area.

From 9.20pm to 10pm, the two men, in a silver Hyundai Elantra, pulled into a car park near Archer Park at Bondi Beach, where the Chanukah by the Sea 2025 festival would take place on the Sunday.

It was the same car in which they returned on the day of the attack.

CCTV images show the father and son walking along the footbridge from where the assault was staged. “Police allege this is evidence of reconnaissance and planning of a terrorist act,” the facts state.

In the early hours of December 14, Naveed and Sajid were captured on CCTV at an Airbnb they had rented for nearly the whole month. Naveed allegedly carried “long and bulky items wrapped in blankets” which, with his father, he placed into their car.

Police allege the items included two single-barrel shotguns, a Beretta rifle, four improvised explosive devices and two Islamic State flags. They then went back inside.

Just after 5pm, they left the Airbnb and drove towards Bondi.

About an hour later, they pulled over on Ocean Street, Woollahra, and remained there for about 20 minutes. The spot was almost directly across the road from a synagogue. Sajid opened the boot of the car and an Islamic State flag could be seen.

They then made a U-turn and travelled on Syd Einfeld Drive towards Bondi Beach.

The pair arrived at Bondi Beach carpark and parked at the base of the footbridge. The police fact sheet gives it a timestamp of 6.50pm but it is understood the attack began slightly earlier.

The ISIS flag was clearly visible in the their car.

Naveed and Sajid removed three firearms from the vehicle, as well as the bombs, and moved towards the footbridge.

“Investigators believe the three pipe bombs and tennis ball bomb were thrown towards the crowd of people in Archer Park,” the police facts state.

The men then began shooting towards the crowd.

Naveed Akram was comatose after a shootout with police that also killed Sajid. Once he regained consciousness, police charged him with 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder and one count of committing a terrorist act.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/naveed-akram-seen-for-first-time-since-alleged-terrorist-attack/news-story/f88c5e163958de66781061eae7cfd78c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HoyrV5LZjSY

>>23978158

>>24235929

>>24240141

Jewish group urges organisers to cancel Grace Tame’s appearance at Bendigo event

LILY MCCAFFREY - 16 February 2026

A Jewish group is urging organisers to cancel Grace Tame’s upcoming appearance at an International Women’s Day event in Bendigo, claiming that hosting the former Australian of the Year would send a message that “incitement is tolerated” and lead to Australian Jews feeling unwelcome in the regional city.

Ms Tame was criticised by multiple politicians last week – including NSW Premier Chris Minns – after she led controversial chants of “from Gadigal to Gaza, globalise the intifada” at a Sydney pro-Palestine rally held in protest against the state visit of Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

On Monday, Australian Jewish Association chief executive Robert Gregory wrote to Be.Bendigo – the chamber of commerce for greater Bendigo – to urge it to cancel Ms Tame’s appearance at its event.

“At a time when antisemitism is surging, elevating rhetoric associated with violence sends the wrong message not only to Jewish Australians, but to the broader community,” Mr Gregory wrote in a letter to Be.Bendigo’s chairman, Nick Carter.

“Hosting and honouring Grace Tame would send a message that incitement is tolerated and would lead Australian Jews to feel unwelcome in Bendigo.

“When planning this event, you could not have foreseen this controversy. However, with 11 days remaining before the event, there is still an opportunity to reconsider. International Women’s Day should unite communities, not divide them or make any Australians feel unsafe.”

The sold-out February 27 event is advertised as offering Bendigo’s regional community “a rare opportunity to engage with a speaker more often seen on major city stages”.

“This event represents a significant moment for our region, reinforcing Women Connect and Be.Bendigo’s commitment to equity, empowerment, and ensuring regional communities have access to world-class speakers and conversations,” the event advertisement reads.

In his letter, Mr Gregory said Ms Tame’s call to “globalise the intifada” had caused “profound distress” within the Australian Jewish community, who he said understood the phrase as a direct threat on their safety and lives.

“That reality has been reinforced in the wake of the Bondi antisemitic terrorist attack, which showed how such rhetoric can translate into real-world violence,” Mr Gregory wrote.

This comes as Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission records show Ms Tame’s foundation – which campaigns for reform and provides support to victims of sexual abuse – is behind on its reporting to the charity watchdog.

The Grace Tame Foundation’s 2025 financial report and annual information statement are both listed as “overdue” as of this month.

In a social media post this week, Ms Tame defended her actions at the Sydney rally.

Ms Tame said she had spent more than half her life fighting for the rights and safety of children and did not advocate violence, antisemitism, Islamophobia, or “hatred of any kind”.

“We’re at the point where a federal MP has called for me to be investigated by police, another two have called for my Australian of the Year Award to be rescinded, and the premier of NSW has linked me to the Bondi massacre – all because I said a phrase that isn’t illegal, whilst addressing a peaceful protest,” Ms Tame wrote.

“Meanwhile, our leaders are entertaining Isaac Herzog, the president of a state facing allegations of genocide in Gaza at the International Court of Justice, who himself stands credibly accused of war crimes. If the political and media classes are genuinely committed to ensuring that language doesn’t lead to violence, perhaps they should start with him.”

Be.Bendigo and Ms Tame have both been contacted for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/jewish-group-urges-organisers-to-cancel-grace-tames-appearance-at-bendigo-event/news-story/94f48e0afcef5fe62bdfa8419b9709ba

>>24105483

>>24119741

Revealed: Outlawed neo-Nazis urge followers to form secret cells

WILL SEITAM and JAMES DOWLING - 15 February 2026

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Racist hate groups are openly plotting ways to escape a post-Bondi antisemitism crackdown, as neo-Nazis direct recruits into new syndicates and radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir came out of hiding last week and was accepted as a legitimate part of the pro-Palestine movement.

The Australian can reveal the country’s largest neo-Nazi network is devising “legally permitted” ways to regroup and is directing its supporters to join the March for Australia movement and “stand back and stand by” despite claims it “fully disbanded” before last month’s hate reforms.

Key figures linked to the banned organisation urged followers to build networks, draft propaganda and be “ready and waiting” for further directions.

Days later, Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia was included by the country’s largest Muslim community groups on a co-statement demanding NSW Premier Chris Minns, Police Minister Yasmin Catley and NSW police leadership apologise for the disruption of Muslim prayer during the rally at Sydney Town Hall last week.

It was the group’s first publicity since it was explicitly targeted in a new tranche of federal anti-hate laws, and a sign that mainstream organisations such as the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils intend to keep up their support of Hizb ut-Tahrir in the face of a ban.

Labor passed new hate laws with the partial support of the ­Coalition after the devastating Bondi Beach terror massacre, intending to prohibit the rise of extremist organisations that sat below the threshold to be deemed terrorist groups.

Labor has named Hizb ut-Tahrir and the National Socialist Network as two organisations that could be branded “prohibited hate groups” under its new legislation, meaning their leaders risked up to 15 years’ jail if found to be members or directing activities, trying to recruit followers or raise funds.

Being a member of a prohibited hate group is an offence punishable by up to seven years’ imprisonment. But the laws are not retrospective and federal law enforcement agencies are closely monitoring the two hate groups and gathering evidence to ban them.

Earlier this month, prominent NSN and March for Australia movement leaders hosted a “tight-lipped” Q&A-style discussion attended by about 200 individuals on an online live chat forum.

The Australian learned of plans made between co-hosts, former NSW branch leader Jack Eltis, MFA organiser Bec Walker – who goes by the moniker Bec Freedom – deported NSN member Matt Gruter and other anonymous figures concealed behind aliases.

In the meeting, Mr Eltis revealed he and neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell – who did not attend – were both “hard at work on what comes next” and looking “to resume in whatever organised fashion (they) can”.

“If you were … looking to join the formal organisation, or if you’re an ex-member of the organisation, or if you’re just an individual nationalist and you’re wondering what to do now, the best thing that people can do at this stage is to … network and build community and build contacts,” Mr Eltis said.

“The ex-members of the former organisation … they’re able to keep in contact with … friends that they’ve made through the organisation. I’m sure groups of two and three … more than that, are still training and working out together and staying in touch.”

Mr Eltis said he and Ms Freedom were in active discussions at least a week before the online session and had agreed to advise ex-NSN members and non-affiliated nationalists to merge into local chapters of the MFA movement.

“If you’re new to the fold, I would just say, talk to Bec and talk to … genuine nationalists in your area,” he said. “Get in touch with whoever your local MFA co-ordinator is, and just make contacts for now and start working towards meeting in real life, and stand back and stand by. Start cooking up some ideas on how to … propagandise and spread national sentiment. Then if the time is right to coalesce into a more formal structure … people are just ready and waiting.”

Ms Freedom said she agreed “100 per cent”.

“I think a lot of people feel kind of lost at the moment, but there’s always something that can be done,” she said.

“We will get you in the right direction,” one anonymous MFA co-ordinator added.

Mr Eltis suggested “rely(ing) on internationals” and swinging behind overseas far-right organisations, believing the domestic nationalist movement is “adaptable” and able to “pivot” in a way that aids the spread of bigotry in the country.

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South African national Mr Gruter spoke briefly and joined the call from overseas. Mr Eltis described him as a longtime contact and one of his “best friends outside the organisation”.

Believed to have joined the NSN Sydney chapter in 2023, Mr Gruter’s Australian visa was cancelled in November after he was photographed as part of an NSN demonstration outside NSW parliament.

The panellists also discussed the imprisonment of Joel Davis and NSW man Brandan Koschel, who was arrested and charged with publicly inciting hatred on the grounds of race after he told the crowd at a March for Australia Rally on January 26: “Jews are the greatest enemy to the nation.”

Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia was among dozens of signatories on a joint statement released on Tuesday alleging police abused protesters and Muslim worshippers at Monday’s anti-Herzog rally in Sydney, despite the group wiping its online presence last month to comply with the federal anti-hate laws.

It previously vowed to challenge the laws in the High Court and blamed the laws on Israel and “Zionists”. Despite this, it quickly dismantled its online presence.

Hizb ut-Tahrir Australia is the local branch of a global Islamic fundamentalist movement advocating for the enforcement of sharia law and establishment of a caliphate in place of democratic government.

Its website and affiliated media platforms were taken down within hours of the bill passing parliament in late January. It is understood the take-down was voluntary and not the result of government intervention.

Hizb ut-Tahrir’s presence on the joint statement condemning NSW police marks the group’s first public action under threat of the legislation.

The statement was co-signed by the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils, Australian Muslim Advocacy Network and political advocacy group Muslim Votes Matter.

AFIC, its president, Rateb Jneid, and MVM organiser Ghaith Krayem previously signed another statement opposing the listing of Hizb ut-Tahrir, refusing to resile from its rhetoric and providing it a support network among mainstream Muslim leadership.

“The statement was a collective response supported by over 200 organisations. AFIC’s decision to sign was based solely on the substance of the statement itself, not on the identity of every other signatory,” Mr Jneid told The Australian. “We do not comment on, or take responsibility for, the positions of other organisations that chose to endorse it.”

Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke was contacted for comment.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/revealed-outlawed-neonazis-urge-followers-to-form-secret-cells/news-story/e125d984111a0b21cb4f9069ae67d1ea

>>23959445

>>23968588

Workforce shortages to bite AUKUS projects amid $55bn spend

BEN PACKHAM - February 15, 2026

Taxpayers will fork out more than $55bn for AUKUS-related infrastructure amid fresh warnings that skills shortages will pose extreme challenges to rolling out the generational nuclear submarine project.

Anthony Albanese pledged a $3.9bn down payment on Sunday towards a $30bn plan for a massive nuclear submarine construction yard in Adelaide, saying the investment would support nearly 10,000 jobs.

The move follows a $12bn government commitment last year towards a $25bn upgrade at Western Australia’s Henderson shipbuilding precinct, which will support nuclear submarine maintenance works.

Billions more will be needed to develop an east coast submarine base, which the federal government has deferred for at least a decade, as part of the $368bn AUKUS project.

The funding comes as Infrastructure Partnerships Australia warns skills shortages and high ­labour costs pose a major threat to AUKUS works, with the sector facing a shortfall of 300,000 workers by the middle of next year.

The think tank’s chief executive, Adrian Dwyer, said labour shortages were particularly acute in Adelaide – traditionally a “one-project city” – which was already building a massive north-south transport corridor and a new women’s and children’s hospital.

“It would be a challenge ­anywhere in Australia and (will be) extremely challenging in ­Adelaide,” Mr Dwyer told The Australian.

“With the Olympics in Queensland, the largest road project South Australia has ever tackled by an order of magnitude, and defence and energy everywhere – Adelaide will be competing for talent.

“The government needs to go into this with eyes wide open in the way they approach the market. Be flexible on timing and delivery models and meet the market as it is, not as they’d like it to be.”

According to Infrastructure Australia’s 2025 Market Capacity Report, the sector faces a shortfall of 126,000 engineers, scientists and architects by mid-2027, along with a similar deficit of tradespeople and labourers, and a shortage of nearly 60,000 project managers.

The government’s initial $3.9bn investment includes money already earmarked but not disclosed in the budget, which will be fully expended by 2028-29.

The Prime Minister said funding would flow “continuously” to the Adelaide precinct, “just like the jobs”.

“This is a driver not just of our national security and how we’re going to defend our nation into the future, it’s also a driver of our economic prosperity,” he said.

“Just to give some idea, there will be a thousand apprentices graduating every year from the skills and training centre here, when it’s up and running, as part of this extraordinary facility here in Adelaide.”

The decades-long Osborne project will support an estimated 4000 construction jobs on top of about 5500 ongoing positions building AUKUS-class submarines.

South Australian Premier Peter Malinauskas said the plan represented “the most structurally significant contribution to our economy that we will ever see”.

“This infrastructure alone, $30bn before a single widget on the submarine is built, is something that will set our economy up well and truly for the next decade and beyond,” Mr Malinauskas said.

The Osborne construction yard will comprise three major components, including a 420m-long fabrication hall and areas for submarine outfitting, testing and launching.

It will also include a new skills and training academy, worth about $2bn.

The Prime Minister said the prospect of a “job for life” would help deliver the necessary workers for the project.

“This represents an extraordinary opportunity for people to have good, secure, well-paid jobs,” he said.

“What this provides here is an opportunity for people to say, ‘This is what I am going to do. For the rest of my life, I will have a secure job’. It will be highly paid and it will be rewarding as we go ­forward.”

The investment will be well received in the US after Donald Trump last year declared “full steam ahead” on the AUKUS project, which includes the sale of at least three US Virginia-class submarines to Australia, and American and British support to build the new AUKUS-class boats in Australia.

Concerns remain that a future US president could veto the project amid signs it will leave the US short of nuclear-powered submarines for its own needs.

US production of Virginia-class subs is running at just 1.2 boats a year compared to the 2.33 the US needs to produce to provide Australia’s subs without undermining its own undersea force.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/workforce-shortages-to-bite-aukus-projects-amid-55bn-spend/news-story/be62afa0517cb64639dab34967e4f92a

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcZJw0bSDJM