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China accuses Australia of 'distorting facts' about helicopters' encounter

Tom Lowrey and Stephen Dziedzic - 6 March 2026

The Chinese government has accused Australia of "distorting facts" about an encounter between two naval helicopters over the Yellow Sea.

The Australian Defence Force (ADF) said an Australian Seahawk helicopter was forced to take evasive action after a Chinese helicopter moved dangerously close to it.

The helicopter launched from HMAS Toowoomba on Wednesday. The ship was sailing through international waters to take part in efforts to enforce UN sanctions on North Korea.

In a statement, the ADF said the Australian helicopter was approached by a Chinese military helicopter.

"The helicopter matched the ADF helicopter's altitude before closing in to an unsafe distance," it said.

"The helicopter moved slightly ahead, increased speed and then rolled towards the ADF helicopter, which required evasive action to maintain safe flight.

"This was an unsafe and unprofessional manoeuvre that posed a risk to our aircraft and its personnel."

There were no injuries or damage sustained during the interaction, and the ADF said HMAS Toowoomba and the Seahawk helicopter were operating in accordance with international law.

China's Ministry of National Defence refuted the ADF's claims that it acted unsafely and insisted they were in line with international law and practise.

At a press conference in Beijing, ministry spokesperson Jiang Bin condemned Australia's operations in the Yellow Sea claiming they were "endangering" China's national security.

"Recently, under the guise of implementing UN Security Council resolutions, Australia's frigate Toowoomba has repeatedly sent carrier-based helicopters to reconnoitre China in the Yellow Sea," he said.

"In response to Australia's infringement and nuisance the Chinese military immediately took measures to resolutely and forcefully respond to it."

Mr Jiang asked Australia to "stop spreading false information" and questioned whether Australia had authorisation from the UN Security Council to carry out operations in the Yellow Sea and its surrounding airspace.

"It should be emphasised that the UN Security Council resolution has never authorised any country to deploy military forces and carry out surveillance activities in the sea," he said.

Complaints lodged

The ADF said it had "expressed its concerns" to the Chinese government over the encounter.

The ABC has been told the government lodged complaints in Beijing through the Australian embassy, as well as with the Chinese embassy in Canberra.

It is the latest in a string of similar interactions in recent years.

In October Australia lodged diplomatic protests with China after a Chinese fighter jet released flares close to an Australian surveillance plane in the South China Sea.

In a statement, Defence Minister Richard Marles said he commended the ADF's "quick response to what was an unsafe and unprofessional interaction by the PLA-N [People's Liberation Army-Navy]".

"The work our ADF personnel do in asserting the global rules-based order is vitally important and Australia is committed to undertaking activities in our region, in accordance with international law," he said.

"Australia expects all interactions between defence forces to occur safely and professionally.

"Where that is not the case, we will express our concerns to the Chinese government and we will call these actions out publicly."

Not an isolated incident

The Chinese military has deployed flares and released chaff near Australian aircraft before, as well as deploying sonar when Australian navy divers were in the water.

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson said it was another "deliberate, dangerous and reckless manoeuvre by China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) that put Australian Defence Force personnel at risk".

"China must ensure its forces operate safely. Actions like this risk escalation and undermine stability in our region," he said.

"This is not an isolated incident. It is becoming a deeply concerning pattern of behaviour by the PLA.

"We expect the Albanese government to publicly condemn this incident and make Australia's views clear to their counterparts in the Chinese government."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-06/adf-helicopter-evasive-action-chinese-military/106426388

http://eng.mod.gov.cn/xb/News_213114/NewsRelease/DefenseSpokespersons/16386521.html

http://eng.mod.gov.cn/2025xb/P/16446838.html

https://x.com/MND_China/status/2030149263863459932

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Government considering request for military assistance from Gulf States attacked by Iran

Holly Tregenza - 8 March 2026

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The federal government is considering a request for military assistance from Persian Gulf States targeted by Iranian attacks as the war in the Middle East enters its second week.

All six Gulf States including Oman, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait and Qatar have been impacted by Iranian strikes since the war began, which have targeted civilian infrastructure including airports.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong told Insiders the government had received requests from some of those countries for protection against drone and missile attacks.

"Many countries who are non-participants have been attacked by Iran through this," she said.

"You would anticipate as a consequence, that we have been asked for assistance and we will work through that."

She would not provide details on the type of military assistance being considered, but said the government would be transparent if it accepted the request.

The minister maintained the government's position that it would not participate in offensive action against Iran.

Shadow Defence Minister James Paterson said he had sought a briefing about the potential deployment of defence force personnel to the Middle East in defensive roles.

"Australia had a proud record of standing with our allies and friends in times of crisis, and the Coalition will carefully consider any deployment proposals in the national interest once briefed," he said.

What military help could the government provide?

There are narrow options available to the government if they decide to answer the call for help.

Malcolm Davis, senior defence strategy analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, said it was likely the Gulf States' primary concern was the Iranian attacks on oil infrastructure by drones and missiles.

But he said Australia had limited capacity for counter-drone activity beyond a project called LAND156, which is still in early development.

The defence force does have a system called NASAMS, a short-range surface-to-air missile system, which could be deployed alongside a small detachment of soldiers.

"What they could do is deploy a small army detachment with NASAMS into the Middle East to protect critical targets," Dr Davis said.

"Theoretically they could deploy a naval vessel to help with that defence, but that would take longer. The warship would take time to get over there."

The alternative would be calling on Australian companies which have developed anti-drone products to sell to the Gulf States, which would not necessarily require support from the government.

Dr Davis said a small deployment with NASAMS to Gulf States would be the "limit" of what the government could do without an escalation to boots on the ground.

"We don't want a situation where we have Australians deployed in Iran itself, but this way they would be deployed into the Gulf States and not necessarily boots on the ground in terms of combat," he said.

"They might be able to get away with that, but I think that would be the limit. I don't see Australian troops going in Iran."

He also said it was unlikely Iran would respond beyond issuing diplomatic notes if Australia was to send a small deployment to the region in a defensive capacity.

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Senator Wong said Australia's support for the US and Israel offensive in Iran was in the national interest, but would not extend to troops in Iran.

"This is not Iraq, and we are not the Howard government. We are not asking Australians to accept Australian men and women to be deployed in a ground war. We have made very clear the basis of the decision and the basis of our engagement," she said.

The foreign minister also pointed to failures of the UN Security Council in preventing the war, and said offensive action would not have been necessary had the council held Iran to account in regard to its nuclear program.

"Of course we would have preferred UN Security Council authority for the action that has been taken, but the UN Security Council has not been able to hold Iran to account," she said.

Future of Iran must be decided by its people, says Wong

American President Donald Trump has suggested that the US should be involved in choosing the next leader of Iran.

But Senator Wong said it was impractical for the future leader of Iran to be decided by anyone other than the Iranian people.

She would not discuss whether Mr Trump's comments were appropriate, but said regime change without the support of the population was unlikely to succeed.

"The future for Iran and its governance is a decision for the Iranian people. That's not just a values judgement, it is a pragmatic judgement," she said.

"I think we all know that for there to be sustainable change of regime, it has to be something that the people of that nation back and seek."

Thousands register to return home

Dubai airport was closed last night after an Iranian drone strike and has now partly re-opened.

As many as 11,000 Australians stranded in the region have now registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs seeking to return home.

The government confirmed nine flights had left Dubai and landed in Australia, with two more expected to leave today.

Australians are also able to take chartered buses from Doha across the Saudi border to the city of Riyadh, where more commercial flights are available.

Official advice remains that the best way for Australians to get home is via commercial flights.

Shadow Finance Minister Clare Chandler told Sky News she believes the government is doing "everything it can" to bring Australians home.

"I think all Australians have to have confidence that the government is doing everything it can to get Australians home at this point in time," she said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-03-08/government-request-military-asset-gulf-states-iran-war-/106429450

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TGA in the dark on use of puberty blocker drugs

BERNARD LANE - February 23, 2026

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Australia’s medicine safety officials have warned the government they are flying blind on the use of puberty blocker drugs for gender-distressed minors.

The country’s first safety assessment of the drug use – now revealed in documents obtained under Freedom of Information law – followed news of the 2024 UK decision to impose an indefinite ban on routine use of puberty blockers outside a proposed clinical trial. This prompted federal Health Minister Mark Butler to seek urgent advice on the safety of transgender puberty suppression used by state children’s hospitals.

But Australia has no official data to show how many children identifying as trans have been given these drugs to suppress natural sex hormones and interrupt their normally timed puberty, according to the April 22, 2025 report from the medicine safety regulator, the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

This is because these drugs, known as gonadotrophin-releasing hormone analogues (GnRHa), are used “off-label”, meaning they have not been tested for efficacy or safety in the treatment of gender dysphoria or incongruence.

For the same reason, the TGA noted on January 24, 2025 that it was “not possible to assess the risk-benefit profile [for this drug use] in the absence of efficacy data [and] it is not possible to calculate rates of adverse events for this indication as we do not have usage information from off-label prescriptions”.

“The efficacy and safety of GnRHas in gender-affirming care has not been assessed by the TGA as the TGA has not approved GnRHas for this indication,” it said.

The TGA safety report noted that the UK ban on routine provision of blockers for gender dysphoria rested on independent expert advice from the UK’s Commission on Human Medicines of “an unacceptable safety risk in the continued prescription of puberty blockers to [gender-distressed] children”.

If the TGA were to discover a new safety concern with puberty blockers for gender distress, it said it could require updating of the warnings in public product information for the drugs, but it could not suspend or cancel this use, because such use lacks approval in the first place.

Off-label use of medicines is not illegal, but “should always be in the setting of informed consent with consideration of the risks and benefits for that individual patient”, the TGA said.

The TGA-approved indications for these GnRHa drugs include prostate cancer, where suppression of the sex hormone testosterone may retard tumour growth, and the condition of central precocious puberty, when premature sexual development begins in very young children and the hormone suppression drugs are used until they are old enough to enter puberty in sync with their peers.

The use of puberty blockers for the psychological distress of gender dysphoria was pioneered in a small-group experiment in The Netherlands starting in 2000, then adopted internationally as routine treatment in children’s hospitals with low-quality treatment guidelines and no proper clinical trials.

On Friday, The Times of London broke the news that the proposed clinical trial of puberty blockers in the UK had been paused before it could start, after the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) raised ethical and safety concerns about “long-term biological harms” to children who are expected to progress from blockers to cross-sex hormones. The risks cited by the MHRA included sterilisation, irreversible bone damage, and interference with normal brain development.

Queensland has stopped new hormonal treatment of gender-distressed minors in its public health sector on safety grounds until the UK clinical trial reports its results, which without the current pause were not expected before mid-2032. Up to 250 girls and boys as young as 10 were due to be recruited for the UK trial, which was recommended by pediatrician Hilary Cass following her four-year review of gender dysphoria treatment.

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The future of the trial is now unclear, with the MHRA suggesting radical restrictions, including a minimum age of 14 and withdrawal of children from the research if brain scans show any adverse cognitive effects. The trial also faces potential litigation and public criticism as unethical and poorly designed.

Asked about the continued routine use of puberty blockers in Australia, Mr Butler’s spokeswoman said it was “imperative there is community confidence that Australian children, adolescents and their families are receiving the most appropriate care”.

A spokeswoman for Queensland Health Minister Tim Nicholls told The Australian the safety concerns raised by the MHRA in the UK validated his state’s decision to restrict new treatment.

In the UK and several other nations since 2018, gold-standard systematic reviews have shown the evidence base for hormonal treatment of gender distress to be very weak and uncertain, meaning there is no firm basis for claims of mental health benefits from puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones. Known risks include infertility, sexual dysfunction and cardiovascular disorders.

Puberty blockers have been promoted variously as affording a child time to think about their “gender identity”, an escape from what is perceived as the “wrong puberty” and, especially for males, as a means to “pass” better as the opposite sex in adulthood. According to international data, almost all children begun on blockers, which are started as young as ages nine to 11, proceed to cross-sex hormones meant to be taken lifelong.

On December 12, 2024, UK Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting announced the end of this routine use of puberty blockers, noting that the landmark Cass review “made it clear that there is not enough evidence about the long-term effects of using puberty blockers to treat gender incongruence to know whether they are safe or beneficial”.

“That evidence should have been established before they were ever prescribed for that purpose. It is a scandal that medicine was given to vulnerable young children, without proof that it was safe or effective, or that it had gone through the rigorous safeguards of a clinical trial,” he said.

The following day, according to FOI documents, Mr Butler sought urgent advice from health officials on puberty blockers, including their safety, the evidence for a pause or ban, and the option of an evidence review or new treatment guidelines.

On January 31 last year, Mr Butler announced he had commissioned the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) to develop new guidelines for youth gender dysphoria and to review the existing de facto national guidelines issued in 2018 by the gender clinic of the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne. Interim advice on puberty blocker use is scheduled to be issued by the NHMRC by the middle of this year.

The April 2025 report of the TGA’s Medicines Surveillance and Signal Investigation Section underscores the gaps in data on usage, safety and efficacy confronting the NHMRC guideline developers, who were to be briefed on the limited nature of TGA oversight.

For serious “adverse events” with puberty blockers, the TGA is reliant on notifications; reporting these events is mandatory for drug companies but voluntary for health professionals. Puberty blockers have been talked up by gender clinicians and activists as a low-risk, no-regrets option with reversible effects should trans-identifying children decide to re-embrace their birth sex.

Among 65 “adverse events” documented between 1998 and 2025 with these hormone-suppression drugs in patients under 18, none were reported as gender-related, although many notifications to the TGA do not specify the indication for which the drugs were prescribed. Diagnoses cited by gender clinics internationally for hormonal interventions are sometimes falsified to secure insurance coverage or to “validate” a patient’s trans identity.

The most commonly reported adverse events were injection site reactions, including pain, swelling, infection and abscess; most notifications fell within the two to 11 age group, consistent with the medicine being used to treat central precocious puberty.

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The TGA safety report noted special warnings already found in product information for puberty blockers, including convulsions; psychiatric symptoms such as anger, aggression and depression; vaginal bleeding; intracranial hypertension; loss of bone mineral density; life-threatening haemorrhage of the pituitary gland; and risk to future fertility.

In 2022, the US Food and Drug Administration added a product warning on intracranial hypertension – with symptoms such as headache, blurring or loss of vision, dizziness and nausea – to the labelling of puberty blockers.

In 2024, the TGA considered the intracranial hypertension issue and decided that the product information “adequately described the risks”.

Given the lack of adverse event reports specifically tied to gender dysphoria, the 2025 TGA report concluded that a full literature review on the safety of trans puberty suppression was “not warranted at this stage”.

The TGA identified a dozen relevant studies in the scientific literature, but not the much-discussed 2024 review paper by British neuropsychologist Sallie Baxendale, who found no evidence for the reassuring claim that puberty blockers are “reversible” and warned it was possible that these drugs interfere with a critical window in cognitive development for the adolescent brain.

The TGA report cites the 2018 Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne treatment guidelines, which are still in use around the country and which make the claim that puberty suppression is “reversible”.

Towards the end of 2024, the webpage of the RCH Melbourne gender clinic was quietly changed, abandoning the unqualified claim of reversibility and substituting the statement that blockers are “largely reversible”, without further explanation.

The TGA report also hedges, reciting the claim that puberty blockers are “generally reversible upon discontinuation”.

The RCH treatment guidelines do not mention the potential cognitive risks of blockers, although the Melbourne gender clinic belatedly acknowledged to patients and parents in a 2022 newsletter that the effects of these drugs on brain development were unknown.

This contradicted a public claim in 2015 by then gender clinic director Michelle Telfer that blockers “don’t stop growth generally, or your brain from maturing emotionally and cognitively, they just stop the sexual characteristics from developing”.

Of the 70 adolescents in the original Dutch gender experiment, one male died as an indirect consequence of puberty suppression. The blockers stunted the growth of the penis and testicles, the inverted tissue of which is relied on by surgeons to fashion a neo-vagina. Instead, a section of colon was used, and this 18-year-old, who identified as a woman, died after an E. coli infection.

The Australian Society of Plastic Surgeons, briefed by the gender medicine lobby, has a live application before the federal government for universal Medicare funding of the full suite of trans surgeries from age 18, including the risky colon-as-vagina procedure and creation of a pseudo-penis from a section of the forearm.

According to FOI data, per capita use of taxpayer-subsidised puberty blockers in Australia’s major children’s hospital clinics appears to be higher than it was at England’s national Tavistock service, which was the world’s largest pediatric gender clinic before it was shut in March 2024 as a result of the damning findings of the Cass review.

Bernard Lane publishes Gender Clinic News.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/tga-in-the-dark-on-use-of-puberty-blocker-drugs/news-story/b76238e612aae6a760597539c2f99056

https://www.genderclinicnews.com/

https://qresear.ch/?q=Hilary+Cass

https://qresear.ch/?q=Tavistock

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At least 2300 children given puberty blockers as states refuse to release data

RACHEL BAXENDALE - 8 March 2026

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Six of Australia’s eight states and territories have refused to release any data on the number of children prescribed puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria, maintaining a veil of secrecy that prevents proper oversight of the highly controversial treatment.

Experts warn the lack of information wouldn’t be countenanced for “any other medical condition”, and is allowing claims of good outcomes to go “completely unchecked”, with little monitoring of the long-term impacts of medicalised gender therapy.

The refusal of most Australian jurisdictions to release any data stands in contrast with the position of UK Labour Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who in recent weeks put before parliament an order requiring previously unco-operative adult gender clinics to link data for patients who received puberty blockers as children, to assist researchers in assessing the long-term safety and efficacy of the drugs.

As The Australian revealed last month, documents obtained under Freedom of Information reveal the Therapeutic Goods Administration – Australia’s medical safety regulator – is unable to assess the risk-benefit profile of puberty blockers as it does for other medicines.

This is both because public gender clinics and the health departments and governments that fund them have chosen not to collate official data about their use, and because the drugs are used “off label” in the treatment of gender dysphoria, meaning they have not been tested for efficacy or safety when used for this purpose.

Ironically this means that while there is significant regulatory oversight when the same drugs are used to treat conditions such as prostate cancer and precocious puberty, no such oversight exists of their use to treat gender dysphoria in children.

Because their use for gender dysphoria often involves years of treatment in patients who never go through puberty, at least 90 per cent of whom go on to cross-sex hormones, the health risks to this group – which include almost certain infertility, reduced bone density and cognitive impacts – are much greater than those to patients being treated for other conditions.

Puberty blockers continue to be prescribed for gender dysphoria through the public health system in every Australian jurisdiction except Queensland and the Northern Territory, where they remain available privately.

This compares with bans or heavy restrictions in the UK, New Zealand, Scandinavian countries and more than half the states of the US.

The Australian contacted the offices of every and territory health minister and/or health department, and federal Health Minister Mark Butler, asking them to confirm the number of children in their jurisdiction who have been prescribed puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria.

If they were unable to provide these figures, they were asked to provide an explanation.

They were also asked whether it was appropriate for these drugs to be prescribed in a manner that makes it impossible for the TGA to monitor their safety and efficacy given the health risks they pose.

Queensland Health, in the only state that has banned the prescription of puberty blockers to treat gender dysphoria in the public system, revealed that between 2020 and October 2025 (when the ban was reinstated after briefly being quashed by a court decision), 491 children were prescribed puberty blockers for gender dysphoria.

This included 471 Queensland Children’s Gender Service patients, and 20 at the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service.

Western Australia did not provide any historic data, but confirmed that between January 1 and October 31, 2025, 20 patients had commenced puberty blocker treatment at the WA Child and Adolescent Health Service’s Gender Diversity Service.

No other states or territories provided data.

The only other way of obtaining this data is through the lengthy and sometimes imprecise process of making Freedom of Information requests to public gender clinics.

Using the information received from Queensland and WA, as well as FOI requests to Victoria’s Royal Children’s Hospital, and a large dataset spanning 2014-2023 that was collated by Queensland psychiatrist Andrew Amos using figures obtained via FOI requests made by NSW Labor MP Greg Donnelly, The Australian has sought to build as complete a picture as possible of the extent of puberty blocker prescription to treat gender dysphoria in Australia.

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The Australian’s analysis of the incomplete data shows that between 2014 and 2025, at least 2387 Australian children were prescribed puberty blockers for gender dysphoria.

Given the gaps in these numbers and the fact that they do not account for the puberty blockers administered by GPs or private clinics, the real number is thought to be hundreds more.

It compares with about 2000 UK children who received puberty blockers through what was then the country’s only pediatric gender clinic, Tavistock, between 2009 and 2020. Australia’s population is about 40 per cent of the UK’s.

Also of note in the data is the very high number for Queensland, where at least 1000 children were prescribed puberty blockers for gender dysphoria between 2014 and 2025, compared with 376 in Victoria and 546 in NSW over the same period, noting that numbers are missing for the latter state for the most recent two years.

Curiously in NSW, the Newcastle-based Maple Leaf House, which opened in 2021 to cater for rural and regional patients, provided puberty blockers to 95 and 91 children in 2022 and 2023 respectively, compared with 56 and 61 in the same years for all other clinics in the state, and 49 statewide in 2021.

University of Sydney Emeritus Professor of Psychology Dianna Kenny, who treats gender dysphoric young people, said the data available on gender medicine “would not pass muster in any other discipline of medicine”.

“It is a disgrace and scandal that no proper data is collected, analysed and used to inform further practice,” said Dr Kenny, who is the author of the recently published book, inTRANSigence: Gender Ideology, Social Contagion and the Scandal of Youth Gender Medicine.

“There is no other medical condition known that does not keep very detailed epidemiological data on the characteristics of illnesses and the outcomes of certain treatments.

“We’ve got these Messianic saviours purporting to save a generation of young people born in the wrong body, and they’re not interested in how they fare long term.”

Psychiatrist Jillian Spencer, who has been suspended from Queensland Health since 2024 after questioning the gender-affirmation model used to treat children at the Queensland Children’s Hospital, said the lack of publicly available data “allows the gender clinics to continue to claim positive outcomes from gender interventions without having their claims tested by reality”.

“Australian pediatric gender clinics start children on puberty blockers and cross sex hormones and then refer them on to other health services to maintain the throughput of children through the gender clinic,” Dr Spencer said.

“They never see the longer-term outcomes of the hormonal interventions they initiate. Without data, their claims of good outcomes go completely unchecked.”

Dr Spencer attributed the level of secrecy to the “celebration of the gender transitioning of children” becoming “part of the brand” of left-wing governments in Australia.

“They do not want anyone to hear about the harms of gender interventions as it might taint their brand,” Dr Spencer said.

“They don’t want to admit they are wrong and that children are being harmed. They are a band playing on in the hope that no one will notice the ship is sinking.”

Dr Spencer said the “exceptionally high” level of puberty blocker prescription in Australia “should ring alarm bells with the medical community, the medical colleges, health and medicines regulators and health ministers”.

“But the alarm seems to be falling on wilfully deaf ears,” she said, highlighting the case of her friend and colleague Dr Amos, who was last week ordered by the Medical Board of Australia and the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency to stop making online statements about gender issues, and barred from having direct clinical contact with any patients.

Due to the restrictions placed on his practice, Dr Amos was unable to comment.

However, in 2024 he wrote a peer-reviewed article for the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatry publication Australian Psychiatry, titled, “Rapidly expanding gender-affirming care based on consensus instead of evidence justifies rigorous governance and transparency”.

In the article, Dr Amos analysed the data NSW MP Mr Donnelly had obtained via FOI, concluding: “The lack of a high-quality evidence base for the diagnosis of gender dysphoria and the interventions recommended by the (gender-affirming model of care) suggests this model requires a higher-than-usual standard of clinical governance and transparency.”

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“However, as demonstrated by this research, even with the aid of FOI requests, it is impossible to draw any strong conclusions about the nature, quality, or outcomes of the (model) in Australia, other than its rapid expansion in the absence of transparent oversight,” Dr Amos wrote.

“The uncertain foundations of the (model) and the vulnerability of gender-diverse patients demand a high level of external scrutiny.

“At a minimum, public gender services … should routinely publicly report the number of new referrals and ongoing patients, relevant clinical characteristics such as natal sex and gender identity, and number of newly initiated and ongoing treatments by type.

“In addition, gender services should be required to define how they measure successful treatment and common harms such as side effects and detransition and report aggregate patient outcomes.”

A Victorian psychiatrist who wished to remain anonymous, partly as a result of Dr Amos’s treatment by AHPRA, referred to the Royal Children’s Hospital Trans 20 study, which commenced in 2017.

“In 2019, in the protocol for this study, the RCH clinicians stated there was an urgent need for more evidence to support the use of medical interventions in gender dysphoric youth and guide clinical practice, yet over six years later they have published no data that I am aware of regarding numbers of youth commencing puberty blockers and their mental health or physical wellbeing outcomes in the short to medium term,” the psychiatrist said.

“Internationally, there are reports of other studies into puberty blockers for gender dysphoria, that did not find in favour of their benefits, being delayed in publication, which is a violation of research ethics.”

The Australian put detailed questions to the Australian Professional Association for Trans Health but received no response.

A Victorian government spokeswoman did not directly address any of The Australian’s questions, stating: “Decisions about puberty blockers are made by experienced, specialist clinicians who assess each young person’s individual needs and circumstances.”

“All decisions follow clinical guidelines and are based on careful, case-by-case judgment,” she said.

A NSW Health spokeswoman provided a lengthy statement which noted that “puberty suppression treatment” was clinically appropriate for a minority of clients seen by the NSW Health Trans and Gender Diverse Health Service.

“Given the small volumes, data on the number of patients prescribed puberty suppression treatment is not made publicly available,” the spokeswoman said.

“If gender-affirming medical treatment is considered for individuals under the age of 18, multidisciplinary diagnosis and assessment is required over time.

“This occurs in close consultation with the patient, parents and carers, and clinical teams, who must all agree treatment is in the patient’s best interest.”

The South Australian Women’s and Children’s Health Network’s statement similarly included the information that of 328 young people currently being treated for suspected or diagnosed gender dysphoria in that state, “only a small number … will go on to receive puberty blockers”.

The Tasmanian and ACT health departments both said that due to the small numbers involved, providing data on puberty blocker prescriptions in their jurisdictions “would risk identifying individual patients”.

NT Health said it “does not collect data on the numbers of children prescribed puberty blockers for any cause, including gender dysphoria”.

Most jurisdictions made reference to a National Health and Medical Research Council review and revision of Australia’s guidelines for treating trans and gender diverse children and adolescents which is currently under way, with interim advice on the use of puberty blockers due in the middle of this year.

The review was ordered by federal minister Mr Butler, after the world’s largest systematic review of pediatric gender medicine, the UK’s Cass review, prompted the Starmer Labour government to legislate a puberty blocker ban in December 2024.

A spokeswoman for Mr Butler declined to comment in response to questions about whether it was good enough for the federal government to devolve responsibility for collecting data on the use of puberty blockers to the states and territories.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/at-least-2300-children-given-puberty-blockers-as-states-refuse-to-release-data/news-story/2ab4093087b0d00fe1dffab1c337f5a3

https://qresear.ch/?q=Jillian+Spencer

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Trump officials ‘asked why Australian Jews aren’t carrying guns’

Michael Koziol - March 8, 2026

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Washington: Trump administration officials asked a visiting Australian Jewish leader whether Jews were seeking to be armed following the Bondi Beach terrorist attack, as the White House continues to take a significant interest in the spread of antisemitism in Australia.

Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Alex Ryvchin met US officials, including President Donald Trump’s antisemitism envoy, Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, during a visit last week, and briefed staff at the National Security Council, the State Department and Congress.

He said he received several questions in meetings about gun ownership in Australia and whether the Jewish community was proactively looking at taking up arms.

“I had to say to them, ‘Look, that’s just not part of our culture’,” he said in an interview in Washington. “Australians don’t think, ‘I better arm myself’. We’re not Second Amendment people; it’s not part of the mindset.”

However, the Minns Labor government in NSW is examining whether it should allow the Community Security Group, a non-profit Jewish security provider, to carry additional arms following the December 14 massacre, in which 15 people were killed at a Hanukkah celebration.

Under the group’s licence, personnel are allowed to carry pistols when protecting schools and synagogues, but not at public events.

Ryvchin said the Trump administration officials showed a lot of interest in whether the Bondi Beach event was sufficiently resourced and whether it had been “left vulnerable” by being unarmed.

“The American approach, being a very individualistic society, is: What are you guys doing? Rather than waiting for the police to protect you,” he said.

“But [it] makes you think: Are we still living in an old world, thinking that threats are contained and police and ASIO have everything under control when they clearly don’t?

“I’m not saying the solution is for Jews to arm themselves, but I think we need to modernise our thinking about the threats and how to meet those threats.”

Kaploun, who was confirmed as Trump’s antisemitism envoy just days after the Bondi massacre, says the US president is closely watching how Australia responds to the worst-ever terrorist attack on its soil.

In January, he told The Australian there were concerns within the administration that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had turned a blind eye to antisemitism. “There was a level of apathy and just no interest to deal with it until a tragedy occurred,” Kaploun told the newspaper.

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Ryvchin said Kaploun continued to follow the issue intensely. “He’s extremely animated by what he perceived as failures on the part of the government to protect the Jewish community,” Ryvchin said.

The federal government has called a royal commission into antisemitism, as well as a review by retired public servant Dennis Richardson into potential failures by Australia’s intelligence and law enforcement bodies.

It also passed some of the most significant changes to Australian gun laws since the 1996 Port Arthur massacre, including enhanced background checks, tougher importation laws and a new national gun buyback scheme.

Another part of the government response enacted new laws against extremism, antisemitism and hate speech. Parts of the draft bill attracted criticism from the Trump administration; Under Secretary of State Sarah Rogers said it was “clumsy” and could have let extremists off the hook while banning legitimate criticism of Islam.

Ryvchin said that US officials did not raise concerns about free speech during their meetings, but the issue came up when he met with the United Nations in New York.

“Some of the missions to the UN were very curious about that question, about how you repress violent speech and incitement without limiting legitimate free speech,” he said.

“To me, it’s not complicated … Street chants about Zionists being terrorists is not a form of free speech, in my opinion. It’s a clear form of incitement and demonisation.”

Asked whether restricting speech – such as banning phrases like “globalise the intifada” – might lead to violence as an act of rebellion, Ryvchin said he didn’t believe that was how extremists thought.

“I think that they go as far as they’re allowed to go,” he said. “We’re not talking about legitimate gatherings to express a political position. We’re talking about gatherings to burn flags and threaten the Jewish community.

“If there’s a permissive attitude towards that, or if people say ‘it’s just a critique of Israeli policy, it’s just the expression of a political position’, they go further and further and further.”

Ryvchin, who was invited by the World Jewish Congress, said his mission in the US was not to criticise the Albanese government, but to relay that there were warning signs ahead of the attack.

“This wasn’t a spontaneous attack. This wasn’t isolated. This wasn’t two lone individuals. They came from an ideology. They were radicalised,” he said.

An interview was sought with Kaploun.

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/trump-officials-asked-why-australian-jews-aren-t-carrying-guns-20260308-p5o8fb.html

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Accused Bondi gunman Naveed Akram wants a gag order to protect his family

JAMES DOWLING - 9 March 2026

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Alleged Bondi gunman Naveed Akram has sought a suppression order to protect his mother, brother and sister from public scrutiny, claiming he fears for their safety.

Barrister Richard Wilson SC appeared for the younger of the two alleged perpetrators behind the Bondi Beach terror massacre, pushing for non-publication and suppression orders that would shield the identities and address of the 24-year-old’s family.

The proposed order would also cover school and work addresses for the Akrams.

The order was opposed by News Corp Australia, the parent company of this masthead, with provisional orders granted in the interim by Magistrate Greg Grogin and a hearing set down as a ­priority for Tuesday next week.

Mr Grogin said “on first sight” there was no reason Mr Akram’s family should be drawn into the “arena” of a trial drawing international headlines, but questioned whether it was too late to protect their privacy given the extensive reporting already in the public ­domain about the family.

“To use a colloquialism, hasn’t the horse bolted on that?” he asked.

“The application is made on the basis of safety of the applicants, not only their mental safety but also for their physical safety. There is – it would appear at first sight – absolutely no reason why the relatives of the accused, Naveed Akram, should have their lives put in the arena both within Sydney, NSW, Australia, and in fact as it is now – the world.”

News Corp counsel Benjamin Regattieri said media would likely oppose the order because of its “futility”, and the “very high threshold” for safety concerns required to grant it.

Mr Wilson, a public defender provided to Mr Akram, cited the “considerable ongoing interest” in the case as a concern. He declined to comment further outside court.

A court-mandated suppression order on the identities of non-fatal victims in the Bondi Beach terror shooting was also extended, protecting wounded bystanders who had not spoken publicly about their injuries or been identified by the press.

Mr 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.

Naveed was charged after waking from an induced coma in December with 15 counts of murder, 40 counts of attempted murder, committing a terrorist act, discharging a firearm with intent, displaying a prohibited terror symbol and causing explosives to be placed in or near a public place.

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Mr Akram’s lawyer Ben Archbold – assigned by Legal Aid – last month stayed quiet on how his client would plead, saying the pair had met at Goulburn Supermax where Mr Akram is being held.

He was asked whether Mr Akram felt remorse for his alleged extremism. “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. “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.

Police facts released by the courts in December after media successfully fought a suppression application allege the father and son filmed themselves sitting in front of a wall plastered with an image of an Islamic State flag and outlined some of their plans two months before the attack.

They allegedly 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. According to the police facts, released by the court, they undertook firearm training at a land holding in the Southern Tablelands and travelled to the southern Philippines in November, with police suspecting they were drawn to the region’s notorious Islamist militarism.

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

CCTV images show the men 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. They parked by the same footbridge overlooking Archer Park, unfurled an ISIS flag over their car and opened fire at 6.47pm.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/accused-bondi-massacre-gunman-naveed-akram-demands-gag-order-for-his-family/news-story/4833e7372b1b58a622b6aa3b16f39849

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Australians reach for VPNs, find porn sites blocked as online age-restrictions take effect

Byron Kaye - March 9, 2026

SYDNEY, March 9 (Reuters) - Australians were downloading virtual private networks (VPNs) in droves, while one of the world's largest porn distributors said it was blocking users from its platforms as the country rolled out sweeping online age restrictions on Monday.

Last December, Australia became the first country to impose a nationwide ban on teenagers using social media. A separate law now requires AI-powered chatbot services to keep certain content - including pornography, extreme violence and self-harm and eating disorder material - from minors or face fines of up to A$49.5 million ($34.5 million).

The country also joined Britain, France and dozens of U.S. states requiring websites which disseminate pornography to verify users are over 18. App stores must also run age checks before allowing downloads of software labelled 18+.

The country's eSafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant said the measures aimed to afford children the same protection online as the world expected offline.

"A child today can't walk into a bar and order a drink, they can't stroll into a strip club or browse an adult shop or sit down at a blackjack table in a casino," she told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

"This just really brings … those protections that we put for kids in place to the digital realm."

Three of the 15 most downloaded free smartphone apps on Monday were VPNs, a chart published by iPhone maker Apple showed. The most downloaded VPN, called VPN - Super Unlimited Proxy, ranked ahead of any social media platform, the chart showed.

VPN - Super Unlimited Proxy did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. All internet-connected devices carry an individual code which discloses their location, and VPNs hide the user's location by assigning a new code to the device.

Canada-based Aylo, owner of a large network of pornography websites, meanwhile blocked Australians from accessing the platforms RedTube and YouPorn, while presenting a version of Pornhub without explicit content.

All the websites carried a banner saying it was "not currently accepting new account registrations in your region".

Aylo said in an email it had "restricted access to our platforms in a number of locations, including the UK, France, and a number of US states, due to ineffective and haphazard age verification laws".

Tom Sulston, deputy chair of advocacy group Digital Rights Watch, said it was unsurprising that people were reaching for VPNs.

"My hope is that, not only will they discover that this works for looking at spicier internet sites, but that it's just generally a good idea to use VPNs when you're traversing the internet, because they do offer you some privacy protections."

($1 = 1.4351 Australian dollars)

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/vpns-up-porn-websites-down-australia-brings-new-online-age-restrictions-2026-03-09/

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‘Some of the worst’: Dozens charged as police bust online paedophile ring

Melissa Cunningham - March 7, 2026

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Warning: distressing content

Thirty-five men across Victoria and NSW are facing more than 1000 criminal charges after police spent a year infiltrating and dismantling a secret paedophile network in one of Australia’s most significant online child sexual abuse investigations.

Members of the online encrypted group allegedly shared collections of child sexual abuse material and texted each other about depraved fantasies, including their desire to find children and infants in real life.

The material depicted the sexual abuse, torture and murder of infants and young children and bestiality.

Twenty-six men have been arrested and charged as a result of the investigation in Victoria, and another nine have been arrested in NSW.

Police said no newly generated material involving Australian children was identified during the investigation, and it was believed the offending in the material being shared occurred offshore.

The year-long undercover investigation by the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police’s Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team (JACET) began in late 2023 after Queensland police shared intelligence about the group.

Police examined more than 300 hours of distressing video footage and 65,000 unique images as part of the operation.

Investigators said the men mistakenly believed the app’s encryption would shield them from detection by authorities.

As part of the operation, a team of investigators went undercover posing as members of the group so they could infiltrate the online network and gather evidence to identity and arrest the men.

Victoria Police Detective Sergeant Jason Regan worked on the operation, and has been a police officer in the child exploitation space for more than eight years.

“It was very horrific sex offending,” he said. “It was some of the worst stuff we’ve ever dealt with.”

“It was a group that we were able to infiltrate, but also in that space, we also had to speak like them.”

Regan said the undercover investigators faced the difficult task of maintaining conversations with the members for almost a year, while trying to identify the offenders.

“You’re just trying to get some little piece of information … any snippet of their life that you can to work on and try and identify them,” he said.

The investigation also sparked a major international manhunt. Nineteen referrals were made to Australian and international agencies.

“We had so many offenders identified, not just in Victoria, but also in NSW and overseas as well,” Regan said.

He said that after every arrest, an offender’s devices would be searched.

Investigators would find out who they were talking to and sharing material with. Police then arrested those alleged offenders and examined their devices, triggering a cascade of arrests.

“It’s like a pyramid scheme that just starts with one person and then just spreads out,” he said.

“We’re getting a lot more offenders based on the information or intelligence we’re able to gather from people’s devices.”

Dozens of police from investigations, covert operations, digital forensics and victim identification worked on the operation known as Jac Beau.

More than 30 search warrants were executed all over Melbourne and homes were raided in suburbs including Ascot Vale, Flemington, Greenvale, Wollert, Reservoir, Kingsbury, Chirnside Park, Cranbourne West, Clyde, Kew, Richmond, South Melbourne, Williamstown and Footscray.

Search warrants were also executed in Bendigo. Police seized about 100 electronic devices during the raids.

The 35 men were charged with a range of offences including possession, accessing, transmission, solicitation and production of child sexual abuse material.

A 46-year-old Melbourne man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was identified as the group’s creator and administrator. He was sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment in September 2024 at the Victorian County Court.

A Central Victorian man, who also cannot be named, was charged with more than 250 offences including transmitting, accessing, producing and soliciting child abuse material.

He was sentenced to six years imprisonment in December last year.

Several other alleged perpetrators are still being prosecuted, while others have been sentenced and jailed.

(continued)

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After years policing organised crime, Regan said moving into child exploitation investigations had been challenging, but he was motivated to protect children through investigations such as Jac Beau.

He recalled that at the end of a different investigation, a mother had asked to take a photograph of him so when her son was old enough she could show him the person who had saved his life.

“Those sort of things stay with you forever,” he said.

Australian Federal Police Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason said the material uncovered in the operation was “so abhorrent and extreme” it had shaken even the most seasoned child protection investigators.

“This investigation has stopped people sharing violent abuse material and disrupted an online market of misery, but there is a tidal wave of this material on the internet and constant demands for more,” he said.

“Each of the men charged during this investigation likely thought they were cloaked and hidden behind layers of encryption. Let this be a reminder that law enforcement is everywhere.”

Australian Federal Police Sergeant Cassandra Barlee, who also worked on the investigation, said the material was among the worst she had ever seen in her years working in victim-based crime.

“The victims are extremely vulnerable, being young children,” she said.

“As an investigator in that space, I feel extremely passionate about it because we are protecting children, and we’re providing those children with a voice.”

Investigators continue to assist global efforts to identify the children in the videos and images, and all material that was uncovered has been added to the International Child Sexual Exploitation database.

This will help overseas law enforcement to piece together clues, which could identify victims, their locations and offenders.

Barlee said the rapid evolution of technology, including end-to-end encryption, has increased risks of child exploitation and expanded the reach of offending.

She urged parents to closely supervise their children’s use of social media and understand who they were communicating with and which platforms or applications they were using.

They should also familiarise themselves with the safety features and built-in protections available on those platforms.

Extra welfare measures were introduced to support police who shared the workload of operation Jac Beau.

Barlee said the toll of working on such a harrowing operation never left investigators.

After the completion of Jac Beau, she decided to take a break from working in the Joint Anti-Child Exploitation Team.

“When you work in crime types like this, you lose a sense of the innocence of the world,” she said.

Investigators have completed their investigation and the online group has been shut down.

More information and resources on how parents and guardians can protect children is available on the eSafety website.

https://www.esafety.gov.au/

The Australian government has funded an expanded child sexual abuse prevention service by Jesuit Social Services called Stop It Now! It offers free, anonymous support – including a helpline and online resources – for anyone concerned about sexual thoughts involving children.

https://www.stopitnow.org.au/

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline (13 11 14), the Suicide Call Back Service (1300 659 467), Beyond Blue (1300 22 4636) and Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800).

https://www.1800respect.org.au/

https://www.lifeline.org.au/

https://www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au/

https://www.beyondblue.org.au/

https://www.kidshelpline.com.au/

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/some-of-the-worst-dozens-charged-as-police-bust-online-paedophile-ring-20260226-p5o5n1.html

https://www.police.vic.gov.au/26-charged-1000-offences-major-covert-op-targets-offenders-sharing-violent-child-abuse-material

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More than two dozen men charged with more than 1000 child abuse material offences

Patrick Brischetto - Mar 8, 2026

Warning: This story contains references to child sexual assault.

An online group in which more than 65,000 images of child abuse material were shared has been shut down, resulting in the arrest of 26 Victorian men.

In an investigation lasting over two years, police allege the men were part of a group using encrypted messaging to share text and image-based material, as well as sourcing children to sexually abuse.

In a statement released this morning, the Australian Federal Police and Victoria Police claimed images and videos depicted the sexual abuse, torture and murder of infants and young children, as well as bestiality.

No newly generated material involving Australian children was identified during the investigation.

Several of the men have already been charged, convicted and imprisoned, while others remain before the courts.

However, police could only go public with the findings now as the investigation using a covert operation has concluded.

In addition to the tens of thousands of photos recovered, police also found more than 300 hours of child abuse videos.

AFP Detective Superintendent Bernard Geason said the investigation uncovered a "sad reality" lurking in corners of the online world.

"Our society has many individuals who will exploit children for their own perverse desires," he said.

"The contents of this chat group are among the worst of the worst. This investigation has stopped people sharing violent abuse material and disrupted an online market of misery. But there is a tidal wave of this material on the internet and constant demands for more."

The 26 men who were charged were located in Victoria, and most were not previously known to police.

A Melbourne man, 46, was charged with creating and administering a group on the encrypted messaging application for the sharing of child abuse material.

He was sentenced to 12 years' imprisonment in September 2024.

A Central Victoria man was charged with more than 250 offences relating to transmitting, accessing, producing and soliciting child abuse material through various individuals he met in the group.

He was sentenced to five years' imprisonment at the end of last year.

Detective Superintendent Tim McKinney from Victoria Police said some of the material was among the worst police had ever seen.

"Our investigators faced the distressing task of combing through 300+ hours of material," he said

"There were also written conversations where these participants expressed their desire to find children and infants in real life."

AFP Detective Acting Inspector Scott Amjah said he was stunned by the "volume and depravity" of the material his team uncovered during the investigation.

"[It] will stay with all of us," he said.

"I think members of the public would be absolutely horrified by the content of the material that is circulated online these days."

https://www.9news.com.au/national/two-dozen-men-charged-with-more-than-1000-child-abuse-material-offences-australia-victoria/270772a1-4291-49cc-83e2-ee54db76daca

>Children are being kidnapped, tortured, raped, and sacrificed in the name of PURE EVIL.

>Stay the course.

>We are FIGHTING a deeply entrenched enemy.