QResear.ch

#21755052 at 2024-10-13 03:20:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 29
Australian Politics and Society - Part 5
>>21314105 Video: PM calls for Barnaby Joyce to be sacked over 'bullet' comment at wind farm protest rally - Anthony Albanese has called for Barnaby Joyce to be sacked from the shadow frontbench after insinuating voters should use their ballot papers as bullets to "say goodbye" to the prime minister and other senior Labor figures. The Nationals' frontbencher told protesters attending an anti-wind farm rally to "get ready to load that magazine" and vote out the prime minister, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen and local MP Stephen Jones. "The bullet you have is this little piece of paper, it goes in the magazine called the voting box and it's coming up," he said. "Get ready to load that magazine. Go, goodbye Chris. Goodbye, Stephen. Goodbye, Albo," he said. Mr Albanese said the gun analogy, which was made just two weeks after an assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump and amid concerns about increasing harassment and violent acts targeting MPs, was "completely unacceptable". The prime minister said he was concerned the language could incite violent behaviour.
>>21314238 Paris Olympics organisers apologise for opening ceremony's 'Last Supper' scene - The organisers of the Paris Olympics issued a brief apology on Sunday after coming under heavy criticism from religious groups and conservative politicians for including a bawdy scene in Friday night's Opening Ceremony that resembled Leonardo da Vinci's "Last Supper." The Catholic Bishops' Conference of France had decried it as a "mockery." "There was never an intention to show disrespect to a religious group," a Paris 2024 spokeswoman said. "If people have taken any offence, we are, of course, really sorry." The tableau in question, on the Debilly Footbridge across the Seine, involved a group of dancers and drag queens arrayed along one side of a banquets table, including DJ Barbara Butch - described by organisers as an "LGBT icon." The scene continued with a mostly naked figure, painted blue and portrayed by performer Philippe Katerine, singing a raunchy song in character as Dionysus, the Greek god of wine. Thomas Jolly, the creative director behind the extravaganza, stood by his vision for Friday's lavish festivities, which drew NBC's highest television ratings since London 2012. He had been given a free hand by Paris 2024 to create an unprecedented public spectacle as athletes paraded down the Seine on boats. His other vignettes for the ceremony included a cabaret performance by Lady Gaga, a tableau of decapitated Marie-Antoinettes set to heavy metal music, and the closing solo by Celine Dion on the Eiffel Tower. "The idea was not to be subversive - I wanted to send a message of love, of inclusion," Jolly said. "We wanted to include everyone, as simple as that."

>>21314271 Video: Paris Olympics organisers apologise for opening ceremony's Last Supper parody - Paris 2024 organisers have apologised to Catholics and Christian groups angered by a kitsch tableau in the Olympic Games opening ceremony that parodied Leonardo da Vinci's The Last Supper painting. The segment, which resembled the biblical scene of Jesus Christ and his apostles sharing a last meal before his crucifixion, featured drag queens and a singer made up as the Greek god of wine, Dionysus. This drew dismay from the Catholic church and the religious right in US. The creative director of the opening ceremony, Thomas Jolly, said: 'I did not intend to be subversive or to mock or shock ... In France we can believe or not believe, in France we have a lot of rights and I wanted to convey those values throughout the ceremony.' - Guardian Sport
>>21314281 Q Post #4461 - Only when evil is forced into the light can we defeat it. Only when they can no longer operate in the [shadows] can people see the truth for themselves. Only when people see the truth [for themselves] will people understand the true nature of their deception. Seeing is Believing. Sometimes you can't tell the public the truth. YOU MUST SHOW THEM. ONLY THEN WILL PEOPLE FIND THE WILL TO CHANGE. It had to be this way. This is not another 4-year election. GOD WINS. Q - https://qanon.pub/#4461

#21404209 at 2024-08-13 09:31:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21289111
>>21338817
>>21390233
'Not a problem': Spy boss says Hamas sympathy not a visa dealbreaker

Matthew Knott - August 11, 2024

The nation's top spy says Palestinians who have expressed rhetorical support for listed terror group Hamas will not necessarily be blocked from entering Australia, as the federal government prepares to announce a new visa pathway to help those fleeing the war in Gaza.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess also urged politicians to moderate their language, warning that inflammatory rhetoric could encourage aggrieved individuals to turn to violence.

Burgess, who last week raised the national terror threat level from "possible" to "probable", said that providing financial support or material aid to Hamas may be a problem for Palestinians undergoing security checks as part of their visa application process.

It is a different matter if people are expressing support for Hamas because they "want their homeland", he said.

"If it's just rhetorical support, and they don't have an ideology or support for a violent extremism ideology, then that's not a problem," Burgess told ABC's Insiders program on Sunday.

"If they have a support for that ideology, then that will be a problem."

Hamas, which has governed Gaza since 2007 and organised the October 7 attacks on Israel that led to an estimated 1200 deaths, is a listed terror organisation in Australia.

ASIO conducts security assessments on behalf of the government when assessing potentially risky visa applications.

Burgess' comments echoed those of former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson, who told this masthead that Palestinian refugees who support Hamas should not be automatically excluded from Australia.

"Because you have sympathy with the terrorist group [Hamas] doesn't mean to say that you will commit violence against someone," Richardson said.

The government is preparing to announce new avenues to permanent residency for 1300 Palestinians, some of whom are struggling to make ends meet as their temporary visas block them from work and social security.

The Coalition has accused the government of not applying tough enough tests to those fleeing the war in Gaza, suggesting that sympathy for Hamas should rule people out of receiving an Australian visa.

"How can they possibly assure themselves there is not one Hamas supporter among them?" Opposition home affairs spokesman James Paterson said in February of Palestinians fleeing to Australia from Gaza.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton last week said that "you can't be taking people out of a war zone" and insisted that Palestinian visa applicants be subject to biometric testing.

Burgess suggested on Sunday that biometric testing of visa applicants would be of no assistance to security agencies unless they were already registered in an Australian database.

"The critical point is: there are security checks," he said.

"There are criteria by which people are referred to my service for review and when they are, we deal with that effectively."

Burgess said that "politicians have to be care careful about their robust political debate" in an increasingly febrile and contentious climate.

Burgess said it was "unhelpful" for Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce to recently compare ballot papers to "bullets" at an anti-wind farm rally, adding that comments from Iran's ambassador to Australia about wiping Israel off the map were a "classic terrible example of inappropriate, unacceptable language that can actually drive violence in our society".

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/not-a-problem-spy-boss-says-hamas-sympathy-not-a-visa-dealbreaker-20240811-p5k1fc.html

#21390233 at 2024-08-11 11:43:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21148792 (pb)
>>21185679 (pb)
>>21354042
>>21360177
ASIO boss Mike Burgess warns friendly nations among countries interfering in Australian communities

Brett Worthington - 11 August 2024

Australia's domestic spy chief says people would be shocked to learn the identity of the countries his agency has caught actively interfering in diaspora communities.

ASIO director-general Mike Burgess said friendly nations were among the "three to four" nations detected actively working within Australian communities.

It prompted him to warn that he'll name them if the threat poses a significant risk to Australians.

"I can think of at least three or four that we have actually actively found involved in foreign interference in Australian diaspora communities," he told the ABC's Insiders program.

"Some of them would surprise you, some of them are also our friends."

Last month, the federal government unveiled plans to introduce several new measures to fight the growing threat of foreign interference.

The plans included making the Counter Foreign Interference Taskforce, which was established in 2020, permanent and expanded to include agencies such as the Australian Taxation Office.

In recent months it has emerged that national security agencies discovered a local public servant and a doctor had been recruited to help track down a critic of a foreign regime, which then offered thousands of dollars to its agents to do "whatever was necessary" to silence the dissident.

The ABC has also learnt that authorities recently uncovered a plot by an international intelligence service to lure an Australian resident, who was critical of a foreign regime, offshore where they could then be "eliminated".

Spy chief criticises Iran's ambassador

The comments by Mr Burgess come just days after the federal government lifted Australia's official terror alert level to "probable" amid heightened community tensions over the war in Gaza.

Security authorities believe the chances of a violent extremist act are now more likely than when authorities lowered the alert level to "possible" in November 2022.

Mr Burgess again rebuked Iran's ambassador to Australia, arguing the diplomat's comments could risk causing violence.

The federal government last week called in ambassador Ahmad Sadeghi over a social media post agitating for the violent removal of Israelis from "the holy lands of Palestine".

His post said he hoped "wiping out the Zionist plague out of the holy lands of Palestine happens no later than 2027".

Mr Burgess said the comment was "unacceptable".

"The Iranian ambassador to Australia, what a classic, terrible example of actually inappropriate, unacceptable language that it can actually drive violence in our society," he told Insiders.

"I don't normally comment on diplomats and what they say, but actually that one was an example that was worthy of being called out."

While reluctant to comment on individual politicians, Mr Burgess also conceded former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce's comments, in which he compared ballot papers to bullets, were unhelpful.

The Nationals' frontbencher was forced to apologise after telling protesters attending an anti-wind farm rally to "get ready to load that magazine" and vote out the prime minister, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen and local MP Stephen Jones.

"It's unhelpful if you're using analogies (with) weapons designed to hurt people," Mr Burgess said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-08-11/asio-boss-warns-friendly-nations-interfering-in-australia/104211120

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtjJ0Q6JCp8

#21314105 at 2024-07-29 10:39:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

>>21198957 (pb)
PM calls for Barnaby Joyce to be sacked over 'bullet' comment at wind farm protest rally

Courtney Gould and Tim Fernandez - 29 July 2024

Anthony Albanese has called for Barnaby Joyce to be sacked from the shadow frontbench after insinuating voters should use their ballot papers as bullets to "say goodbye" to the prime minister and other senior Labor figures.

The Nationals' frontbencher told protesters attending an anti-wind farm rally to "get ready to load that magazine" and vote out the prime minister, federal Energy Minister Chris Bowen and local MP Stephen Jones.

"The bullet you have is this little piece of paper, it goes in the magazine called the voting box and it's coming up," he said.

"Get ready to load that magazine. Go, goodbye Chris. Goodbye, Stephen. Goodbye, Albo," he said.

Mr Albanese said the gun analogy, which was made just two weeks after an assassination attempt on former US president Donald Trump and amid concerns about increasing harassment and violent acts targeting MPs, was "completely unacceptable".

The prime minister said he was concerned the language could incite violent behaviour.

"I am not sure what Barnaby Joyce has to do to lose his job," Mr Albanese told ABC's Afternoon Briefing.

"Peter Dutton has had four reshuffles already. There should have been a fifth today.

"This bloke goes along to a rally, he uses entirely inappropriate and violent language, including that myself and two others, ministers, should be gone.

"It is one thing to have extreme language on climate change that he has done in the past, such as Whyalla being wiped out and all the absurdities he has put forward, but this is a new low and it is unacceptable."

The former deputy prime minister has been criticised for the comments he made at the rally against offshore wind farms in Lake Illawarra, south of Wollongong.

He told the crowd their vote was a weapon in opposing the "turds" and urged attendees to turn up and cast their ballot against it.

Mr Joyce apologised for the remark during an earlier appearance on morning television.

"I said your ballot paper is ... the weapon you have. It shouldn't be a bullet. It should be the ballot paper and the ballot box," he told Channel 7.

"I apologise for using that metaphor."

Mr Dutton's office said the apology was appropriate.

Mr Jones, the local MP and federal Labor frontbencher, described his remarks as "dog whistling to political violence".

The newly minted special envoy for social cohesion, Labor MP Peter Khalil, described the remarks as "highly irresponsible".

"We've seen what's happened with other jurisdictions in the US and the polarisation and what's gone on with the attempted assassination in the US, so it's highly irresponsible," he told ABC's RN.

"We don't have to use that kind of violent rhetoric. It's really unnecessary and it's unacceptable and it should be called out."

Speaking later with ABC's Illawarra Mornings program, Mr Joyce again acknowledged the metaphor "probably wasn't appropriate" but said he stood by referring to the vote as "the most powerful thing you have".

"They are going offence hunting because they have come down here, they've stirred things up," he said.

"We won't talk about the wind towers, we'll just distract because that will get the people of the Illawarra thinking about something else and really they should be thinking about what is going to happen to your environment down here."

Deputy Liberal leader Sussan Ley said she wouldn't have used the same metaphor but noted "Barnaby does use colourful language".

"When it comes to promoting social cohesion everyone in their language and words should be lifting the debate to what brings people together not what pushes people apart and I think all of us do that," she told ABC's RN.

"By focusing and trying to interrogate individual comments at different times I don't think that's particularly helpful."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-07-29/Barnaby-Joyce-apologises-for-comparing-bullets-ballot-paper/104153964

#21252092 at 2024-07-20 14:19:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #37: EVERYTHING IS AT STAKE Edition

#36 - Part 62
Julian Assange: Indictment, Extradition and Plea Deal - Part 3
>>21083263 WikiLeaks Tweet - JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE - Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK. This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible. After more than five years in a 2x3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars. WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people's right to know. As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom. Julian's freedom is our freedom. [More details to follow]
>>21083271 Video: Stella Assange Tweet - Julian is free!!!! Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU- yes YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true. THANK YOU. tHANK YOU. THANK YOU. Follow @WikiLeaks for more info soon...
>>21083277 Mike Pence Tweet - Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration's plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families. There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever. - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna158695
>>21083286 Video: Anthony Albanese tells parliament he wants Julian Assange 'brought home to Australia' - Anthony Albanese has shared his thoughts on Julian Assange's release in parliament, saying, 'the case has dragged on too long'. 'There is nothing to be gained from his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia,' the prime minister said. Assange has been released from British prison and is expected to plead guilty to violating US espionage law, in a deal that would allow him to return home to Australia. - Guardian Australia

>>21083294 Video: Penny Wong nods to Julian Assange's supporters after plea deal sees WikiLeaks founder freed - Penny Wong, the foreign minister, acknowledges Julian Assange's supporters after a plea deal sees the Australian WikiLeaks founder released from prison. 'There are many here in parliament who have advocated for Mr Assange to come home, as have supporters in Australia and around the world,' says Wong. 'We have consistently stated that there is nothing to be said for the ongoing incarceration of Mr Julian Assange'. - Guardian Australia
>>21083298 Video: 'The end has not arrived': Barnaby Joyce on Assange plea deal with US justice department - The former deputy PM cautiously welcomed developments that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the US justice department that will allow him to walk free. Joyce was part of the delegation to lobby US law makers over Julian Assange. - Guardian News
>>21083318 Stella Assange Tweet - Julian calling into Sydney from Stansted airport last night (his day time). #AssangeJet #AssangeFree
>>21083318 WikiLeaks Tweet - Approaching Bangkok airport for layover. Moving closer to freedom. #AssangeJet

#21251490 at 2024-07-20 12:54:41 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

#36 - Part 62
Julian Assange: Indictment, Extradition and Plea Deal - Part 3
>>21083263 WikiLeaks Tweet - JULIAN ASSANGE IS FREE - Julian Assange is free. He left Belmarsh maximum security prison on the morning of 24 June, after having spent 1901 days there. He was granted bail by the High Court in London and was released at Stansted airport during the afternoon, where he boarded a plane and departed the UK. This is the result of a global campaign that spanned grass-roots organisers, press freedom campaigners, legislators and leaders from across the political spectrum, all the way to the United Nations. This created the space for a long period of negotiations with the US Department of Justice, leading to a deal that has not yet been formally finalised. We will provide more information as soon as possible. After more than five years in a 2x3 metre cell, isolated 23 hours a day, he will soon reunite with his wife Stella Assange, and their children, who have only known their father from behind bars. WikiLeaks published groundbreaking stories of government corruption and human rights abuses, holding the powerful accountable for their actions. As editor-in-chief, Julian paid severely for these principles, and for the people's right to know. As he returns to Australia, we thank all who stood by us, fought for us, and remained utterly committed in the fight for his freedom. Julian's freedom is our freedom. [More details to follow]
>>21083271 Video: Stella Assange Tweet - Julian is free!!!! Words cannot express our immense gratitude to YOU- yes YOU, who have all mobilised for years and years to make this come true. THANK YOU. tHANK YOU. THANK YOU. Follow @WikiLeaks for more info soon...
>>21083277 Mike Pence Tweet - Julian Assange endangered the lives of our troops in a time of war and should have been prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The Biden administration's plea deal with Assange is a miscarriage of justice and dishonors the service and sacrifice of the men and women of our Armed Forces and their families. There should be no plea deals to avoid prison for anyone that endangers the security of our military or the national security of the United States. Ever. - https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna158695
>>21083286 Video: Anthony Albanese tells parliament he wants Julian Assange 'brought home to Australia' - Anthony Albanese has shared his thoughts on Julian Assange's release in parliament, saying, 'the case has dragged on too long'. 'There is nothing to be gained from his continued incarceration and we want him brought home to Australia,' the prime minister said. Assange has been released from British prison and is expected to plead guilty to violating US espionage law, in a deal that would allow him to return home to Australia. - Guardian Australia

>>21083294 Video: Penny Wong nods to Julian Assange's supporters after plea deal sees WikiLeaks founder freed - Penny Wong, the foreign minister, acknowledges Julian Assange's supporters after a plea deal sees the Australian WikiLeaks founder released from prison. 'There are many here in parliament who have advocated for Mr Assange to come home, as have supporters in Australia and around the world,' says Wong. 'We have consistently stated that there is nothing to be said for the ongoing incarceration of Mr Julian Assange'. - Guardian Australia
>>21083298 Video: 'The end has not arrived': Barnaby Joyce on Assange plea deal with US justice department - The former deputy PM cautiously welcomed developments that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the US justice department that will allow him to walk free. Joyce was part of the delegation to lobby US law makers over Julian Assange. - Guardian News
>>21083318 Stella Assange Tweet - Julian calling into Sydney from Stansted airport last night (his day time). #AssangeJet #AssangeFree
>>21083318 WikiLeaks Tweet - Approaching Bangkok airport for layover. Moving closer to freedom. #AssangeJet

#21136522 at 2024-07-04 10:48:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21136515

2/2

'Nation founded on genocide'

One of the protesters on the roof, a young white man, read a statement from his phone to those gathered below.

"Australia is a nation founded on genocide," he said. "There has been a steady complicity of war crimes and genocide abroad."

The protester said government MPs were "genocide enablers" and "subservient to the US empire".

He said the government was selling arms to the "murderous Israeli regime".

Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Birmingham said the protesters demonstrated a scathing security breach that has sent shockwaves across MPs.

Mr Birmingham told Sky News he was bemused at the fact they were able to get there in the first place.

"We stand for freedom of speech, freedom of assembly. But that's got to be done in ways that don't put other people in danger and that don't create massive inconveniences for other Australians as well," Mr Birmingham said.

"Plenty of Australians have found themselves stuck in hours-long traffic jams or chaos, as extremist protesters have glued themselves to roads and done other things.

Shadow Veterans' Affairs Minister Barnaby Joyce called the protesters "contenders for the dipshit award"

"The issue is that we've had the desecration of the war memorials and now we have basically people managing to get through the security cordon of Parliament House," Mr Joyce said.

"What they can do from there is get into the Queens Cafe."

Independent MP Dai Le was also concerned about the breach in security, saying there should have been better checks in place.

Sky News political reporter Cam Reddin who was outside parliament when the protest unfolded said it was an extraordinary breach of parliament security.

"We can see that these four protesters have somehow got to the top of the very front facade of parliament, which is about 15 meters high," Reddin said.

The protesters, reportedly members of the Renegade Activists group, were arrested after they ended their demonstration from the top of the federal Parliament House after about an hour.

The group of four, who had flanked large banners from the roof, including a Hamas symbol, had to slowly climb down the glass top above the main entrance.

During the protest, members of the public were barred from entering the main entrance of Parliament House, though passholders were still permitted access.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/propalestine-protesters-climb-onto-parliament-roof/news-story/670a4a6574ac3e605daf2817a1404ffa

https://x.com/rosieslewis/status/1808672244807446875

#21089064 at 2024-06-26 10:12:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21083236
'He did the right thing': Assange's father ready for reunion

David Crowe - June 26, 2024

No matter what a United States court says about Julian Assange, one man wants all Australians to know the Wikileaks founder should be declared not guilty when he returns home.

Assange's father, John Shipton, arrived in Canberra on Tuesday night in the hope he could embrace his son on Australian soil for the first time in 15 years.

"He stood his ground, he did the right thing," Shipton says of the controversial work by WikiLeaks to reveal alleged war crimes, diplomatic cables and other secrets others wanted to hide.

"He stood in the icy, cold wind of truth and remained upright - he remained upright for 15 years. You've got to give a lot of credit to that man.

"And the smears, the lies, the calumnies, the double-dealing and the effort by certain members of the legacy press to climb up on his corpse, or at least attempt to, that was off-putting. But I don't care. The fight was to bring him home to Australia.

"I believed in my heart that Australians would respond to the call for righting an injustice and seeing a sense of justice being done. And I was not wrong in that."

Shipton last saw his son in Australia about 15 years ago, before Swedish authorities issued an arrest warrant over sexual assault allegations, the first legal step in what became a long effort by US authorities to extradite him to an American court to face espionage charges.

"Julian has been fitted up," he says. Shipton never believed the claims against his son and praises legal experts who, he says, picked apart the sexual assault accusations. (One of them, Nils Melzer, was the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture for six years.)

Shipton believes Assange was and is a journalist who revealed news others wanted to keep secret, and says he is just as deeply Australian as other expatriate journalists such as John Pilger or Phillip Knightley.

While he did not get involved in the formal negotiations over a plea deal, Shipton spent years campaigning for Assange on seven trips around Australia. He recalls the welcomes he received in places like Castlemaine in Victoria and Wagga Wagga in NSW.

He praises Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and others, including Foreign Minister Penny Wong and the two key diplomats involved, Kevin Rudd in the US and Stephen Smith in the UK. But he emphasises the cross-party support in federal parliament from Labor, the Liberals, the Nationals, the Greens and independents.

He names members of parliament ranging from Tasmanian independent Andrew Wilkie to Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson, former Nationals resources minister Matt Canavan and former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce.

"If you want to do something, here's the lesson: make it cross-party," he says.

"That's the lesson, because they're all Australians, these people, and they want to advance Australia. So make umbrella ideas the public can support and both sides of parliament can weld themselves around."

Shipton is seen by some as an apologist for Russia because they claim he has spoken at a pro-Russian rally after the invasion of Ukraine, but he denies this and says he was speaking about his son. "I was ambushed by Cossack people who surrounded me with Russian flags and took photographs," he says. Of the invasion, he says he is against all war.

The claim against him is another reflection of the concern that Assange used information from Russian hackers to release emails that undermined Democrat candidate Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential campaign. While Shipton was photographed in Canberra on Wednesday morning wearing a Russian hat, with an Assange badge on the front, he says he was given this during a New York winter.

Shipton saw Assange in Belmarsh Prison in the UK when he could, most recently last month, but still sounds stunned that he can see his son in Australia once more.

"I think it's staggering. Can believe that the entirety of the institutions of the United States - the Pentagon, the CIA, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the Department of State - all lined up against Julian Assange," he says.

"And the Australian government managed to unpick that Gordian knot and allow him to return. It's just astonishing."

There are challenges ahead for Assange. His wife, Stella, says the family is broke and will have to start a fundraising campaign to find about $750,000 to cover their costs, including the charter flight to bring him home.

Shipton says his son will at least be able to hear the call of a magpie in the morning and see and smell the Australian bush.

"He's got here just in time to see the wattle bloom," he says.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/he-did-the-right-thing-assange-s-father-ready-for-reunion-20240626-p5josa.html

https://x.com/mopeng/status/1805747571002064907

#21083298 at 2024-06-25 10:34:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

>>21083236
'The end has not arrived': Barnaby Joyce on Assange plea deal with US justice department

Guardian News

Jun 25, 2024

The former deputy PM cautiously welcomed developments that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will plead guilty to a felony charge in a deal with the US justice department that will allow him to walk free.

Joyce was part of the delegation to lobby US law makers over Julian Assange.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_SlBAL19Ec

#20886251 at 2024-05-19 08:11:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #36: BADGE OF HONOR Edition

Notables
are not endorsements

#35 - Part 1
Israel / Hamas Conflict - The Australian Perspective - Part 1
>>20550335 Jewish leaders back US's 'floating pier' Gaza aid plan, amid calls to fund UNRWA - Executive Council of Australian Jewry co-chief executive Peter Wertheim has urged Labor to support the United States' plan to build a "temporary floating pier" in Gaza to deliver aid, rather than restore funding to the UN's aid agency. Mr Wertheim said the Jewish community supported the provision of aid to civilians in Gaza who were in desperate need but remained "totally opposed" to using the United Nations Relief and Works Agency to deliver that aid.
>>20550344 Vietnam War memorial in Canberra defaced with Gaza message - The RSL National President Greg Melick has condemned pro-Palestine activists who vandalised the Australian Vietnam Forces National Memorial in Canberra by spray-painting slogans on the monument describing Israel as a "colony" and warning of "genocide" in Gaza. The protestors vandalised the memorial on Anzac Parade overnight on Sunday in a protest to highlight the situation in Gaza, with Mr Melick describing their actions as "contemptible" and Opposition veterans' affairs spokesman Barnaby Joyce warning they had undermined their own cause.
>>20555418 Video: Wong backs Biden, urges Israel to 'change course' - Foreign Minister Penny Wong has warned that Israel will lose further support from its traditional allies if it proceeds with further ground attacks in the Gaza Strip, backing similar remarks from US President Joe Biden at the weekend. "Unless Israel changes its course, it will continue to lose support," Ms Wong said at The Australian Financial Review Business Summit in Sydney

>>20570374 Australia to resume funding for UN aid agency - Australia will restore a $6 million funding pledge to the peak United Nations body that helps the Palestinian people in Gaza after a seven-week suspension due to claims that some of the agency's staff took part in the Hamas terrorist attack on Israeli civilians last October. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the funding would be released under "stringent conditions" in a new agreement with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency with tougher controls to ensure staff neutrality in the conflict between Hamas and Israel. "The best available current advice from agencies and the Australian government lawyers is that UNRWA is not a terrorist organisation, and that existing and additional safeguards sufficiently protect Australian taxpayer funding," she said.
>>20580396 'We are delighted': Government backflips on cancelled Gaza visas - Several Palestinians fleeing the war in Gaza who were devastated after their visas were cancelled while en route to Australia have again been granted permission to travel to the country, a move that has thrilled advocates in Australia. The Home Affairs Department had told applicants their visas had been cancelled because it believed they may wish to stay in Australia when their visas run out.
>>20617439 Australia out of step with US on UNRWA funding - The Albanese government has slipped further out of step with the US on Gaza after the Biden administration slapped a one year ban on support for UNRWA, just over a week after Australia resumed funding the Palestinian aid agency. Australian Jewish groups said the US move - in a bill to avert a partial government shutdown - should mark the beginning of the end for the "corrupt, inept" organisation whose employees have been accused of participating in Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel.
>>20628581 Jewish leaders file vilification complaints to AHRC against Sydney clerics - The country's peak Jewish body has formally lodged vilification complaints with Australia's human rights body against two Sydney Muslim clerics, after they gave sermons that described Jews as "monsters", "rats", "bloodthirsty" and "vile". The sermons also included parables about killing Jews and how if people "spat" on Israel "the Jews would drown", among anti-Semitic tropes about them having "hands everywhere in business" and "owning the majority of banks". The Australian can reveal the Executive Council of Australian Jewry has lodged vilification complaints to the Australian Human Rights Commission against cleric Abu Ousayd, also known as Wissam Haddad, and sheik Ahmed Zoud, for a December sermon at southwest Sydney's As-Sunnah Mosque.

#20231382 at 2024-01-12 15:54:55 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #34: UNITED AGAINST THE INVISIBLE ENEMY OF ALL HUMANITY Edition

>>20098545
Australia involved in strikes on Houthi rebels in Yemen

Tess Ikonomou - January 12 2024

Australia has supported strikes launched by the US and UK on Houthi rebels in Yemen who were blocking free maritime navigation.

The strikes were launched in response to the Iran-backed group blockading international shipping lanes in the Red Sea in support of Palestine.

Defence Minister Richard Marles said the government will continue to support any actions that assert the global rules-based order and freedom of navigation.

"These are very important actions," he told reporters in Geelong.

"The actions that have been taken today, supported by Australia, are about maintaining freedom of navigation on the high seas.

"They are about maintaining global trade, and that is completely central to Australia's national interest. This decision was not taken lightly."

Mr Marles would not confirm details of Australia's involvement, revealed by US President Joe Biden.

"US military forces - together with the United Kingdom and with support from Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands - successfully conducted strikes against a number of targets in Yemen used by Houthi rebels to endanger freedom of navigation in one of the world's most vital waterways," Mr Biden said in a statement.

"These strikes are in direct response to unprecedented Houthi attacks against international maritime vessels in the Red Sea - including the use of anti-ship ballistic missiles for the first time in history."

Australia's support of the strikes included Defence personnel in a non-operational role, who were in the operational headquarters.

The government considered a US request to deploy a warship to the region but instead sent a contingent of ADF members.

Meanwhile, former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce is urging the Albanese government not to back legal action accusing Israel of genocide.

The International Court of Justice is hearing South Africa's case against Israel for its actions in Gaza.

Mr Joyce said Australia should not support the case against Israel, while taking a swipe at South Africa for violence within its own borders.

Independent senator David Pocock has urged Labor to support the case, pointing to the "extraordinary scale" of human suffering in Gaza including the deaths of children, health workers and journalists.

War has raged for almost 100 days after more than 1200 Israelis were killed and 240 others taken hostage by Hamas on October 7.

More than 23,000 Palestinians have since been killed by the Israeli military, with the United Nations warning half of Gaza's 2.3 million residents are at risk of starvation.

Oxfam said Israel's military was killing Palestinians at an average rate of 250 people a day, far exceeding the death toll of any other major 21st century conflict.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/8484004/australia-involved-in-strikes-on-houthi-rebels-in-yemen/

https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-uk-military-strikes-yemen-houthi-rebels/1e499cd5-5cfc-4d3d-813f-2ea2fc2aeab9

#19822039 at 2023-10-29 04:47:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#32 - Part 23
Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition - Part 1
>>19493339 Parliamentary delegation will visit Washington to urge US to ditch extradition of Julian Assange - A multi-party delegation of federal MPs and senators will travel to Washington DC this month as part of the campaign to release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. The United States is seeking to extradite Mr Assange from the United Kingdom on 18 charges related to the publication of thousands of military and diplomatic documents. He has been detained in the Belmarsh Prison in London for more than four years, and is currently appealing the UK's decision to agree to his extradition. The parliamentary delegation will include former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, Liberal senator Alex Antic, independent MP Monique Ryan, and Greens senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson. The group will urge US politicians and officials to abandon their extradition efforts, when it travels to Washington on September 20.
>>19548542 Julian Assange: more than 60 Australian MPs urge US to let WikiLeaks founder walk free - More than 60 Australian federal politicians have explicitly called on the US to drop the prosecution of Julian Assange, warning of "a sharp and sustained outcry in Australia" if the WikiLeaks founder is extradited. With a small cross-party delegation due to fly to Washington next week, the Guardian can reveal the lobbying trip has won the open support of 63 members of Australia's House of Representatives and Senate. In a letter, the 63 MPs and senators said they stood in support of the trip to the US and were "resolutely of the view that the prosecution and incarceration of the Australian citizen Julian Assange must end". They said the matter had "dragged on for over a decade" and it was "wrong for Mr Assange to be further persecuted and denied his liberty when one considers the duration and circumstances of the detention he has already suffered.
>>19581618 Brazil's president says Julian Assange can't be punished for 'informing society' in a 'transparent' way - Brazil's President Luiz In?cio Lula da Silva said at the United Nations in New York City on Tuesday that it is "essential" to preserve the freedom of the press and that Wikileaks founder Julian Assange should not be prosecuted for informing the public. "It is essential to preserve the freedom of the press. A journalist like Julian Assange cannot be punished for informing society in a transparent and legitimate way," Lula said. The president's comments come a day before a cross-party delegation of Australian politicians meet in Washington, D.C., with U.S. officials, members of Congress and civil rights groups. The group is bringing a letter signed by more than 60 members of parliament calling on the U.S. to drop the prosecution against Assange, who is fighting against extradition to the U.S., where could be sentenced to as many as 175 years in an American maximum security prison. U.S. President Joe Biden will host Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in late October. Albanese has repeatedly called on the U.S. in recent months to end the prosecution of the Australian journalist.

#19816452 at 2023-10-28 09:21:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19493339
'Enough is enough': Albanese talks to Biden about Assange

David Crowe - October 27, 2023

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has raised the plight of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in talks this week with United States President Joe Biden, stepping up efforts to find a way to release the Australian from jail.

Albanese discussed Assange in his private talks in Washington DC after making public calls in recent months for a resolution to the US charges against him for releasing state secrets.

The talks came as Assange's brother, Gabriel Shipton, told this masthead that he feared for his brother's life because of the impact of the detention on his mental health.

Shipton joined protestors outside the White House this week to raise awareness of the case at the same time Biden hosted Albanese at the residence.

Albanese confirmed to this masthead that he raised his concern about Assange in his discussions with the president during meetings that included an informal dinner, a discussion in the Oval Office at the White House and a formal meeting with Biden and his cabinet secretaries.

While he would not discuss his private talks with Biden or the president's view of the matter, he made it clear he believed the detention had gone on too long.

"I've made it clear that enough is enough - that it's time it was brought to a conclusion," he said.

Shipton said Assange should be released because his work at WikiLeaks had been in the public interest.

The Wikileaks disclosures included the "collateral murder" video that showed US forces killing civilians in Iraq and the release of a trove of US diplomatic cables.

"We want the government to do more than just make representations to the Biden administration," Shipton said.

"Ideally, we would like the government to act as it does for other Australians who are imprisoned overseas."

Assange, who is currently in London's Belmarsh prison, is facing a maximum jail sentence of 175 years after being charged with 17 counts of breaching the US Espionage Act plus a separate hacking-related charge.

Shipton, who saw Assange last week, said a visit to his brother was always "full of anxiety" about his brother's condition.

"He's still fighting, he's hanging in there despite what he's been through and despite the adversary he's taken on," he said.

"He's not the same man he was a year ago or even before that -it's really taken its toll on him."

Shipton said it would be unacceptable for Assange to face trial in the US given the case is set down for a Virginia court where the community - and the jury pool - included defence and security workers.

"I don't believe that Julian would receive a fair trial in the United States," he said. "It's a bit of a fairytale, to be honest, this idea that Julian would receive a fair trial or a fair deal that wouldn't see him suffering more."

When Australian journalists asked US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby about the case this week, Kirby said it was an extradition matter for the Department of Justice.

Biden faces the risk of a domestic political blowback if he intervenes in the case to drop the extradition request, with conservatives such as former Donald Trump using it against the president at the next presidential election.

Former president Barack Obama commuted the sentence of another person involved in the WikiLeaks disclosures, Chelsea Manning, after she had faced trial and gone to jail.

A cross-party delegation of MPs, including Nationals' former leader Barnaby Joyce and Kooyong independent Monique Ryan, travelled to Washington in September to plead for Assange's liberty.

Shipton said people cared about the issue because it was becoming a sign of the "inequality" in the relationship between Australia and the US.

"Julian is an Australian - he's an Australian father, he's an Australian son," he said.

"He's an Australian citizen who's been unjustly imprisoned and it's up to the Australian government to defend their citizens overseas.

"People don't really understand what he even did wrong. He published truthful material," Shipton said in Washington.

"So the other aspect to it is our right to know what governments do in our name, and that is important when we are in such a close relationship with the power that is imprisoning Julian for publishing national defence information about what they are doing behind closed doors."

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/enough-is-enough-albanese-talks-to-biden-about-assange-20231027-p5efkd.html

#19686025 at 2023-10-07 15:31:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19686008

2/2

John Shipton, father of Assange and Gabriel, has been campaigning across Latin America and North America to encourage Washington's allies to put pressure on the US government to drop the espionage charges against his son.

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for Assange's release when speaking to the United Nations in September.

A full-page advertisement, signed by 64 Australian parliamentarians, calling for an end to Assange's prosecution and incarceration, appeared in the Washington Post on September 19.

Gabriel Shipton said he had been meeting with politicians across the US political divide.

He said he believed that there was an expectation from the Australian public that Albanese would discuss Assange when he is in Washington from October 23.

In August, US ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy flagged a potential plea deal between Assange and US authorities that could end America's pursuit and allow him to return to Australia.

Shipton said Assange would likely be open to such a deal.

"As principled as you are, at some stage you just want to go home to your family. If somebody's holding the key to your cell and says you can leave, you can go home to your family, be with your kids, go out and see some sunshine or touch grass again. Would you say no?

"It is hard to understand how long Julian's actually been detained. One of the changes that we deal with in our day-to-day lives, like self-checkout at the supermarket. Julian's never seen that."

Independent Kooyong MP Monique Ryan was one of six federal MPs who visited the US in a delegation last month to discuss Assange's case with lawmakers.

The bipartisan group also included former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, Liberal senator Alex Antic, Labor MP Tony Zappia and Greens senators Peter Whish-Wilson and David Shoebridge.

Ryan said many of the politicians they spoke to didn't realise Australians felt strongly about Assange's release.

"They thought that either we didn't care or some of them thought the issue had been resolved long ago," she said.

"Pretty much everyone that we spoke with agreed that they thought it was a reasonable thing to take action on, and that they would help us.

"We're in the process of entering into a hugely significant, long-term relationship with the commitment to AUKUS. This could be a potential irritant, the significance of which could increase over time if the situation doesn't get resolved.

"We said to them don't let this one individual issue get in the way of what is has been a very productive long-term relationship."

When asked if he would discuss Assange's case with Biden, Albanese's office referred to the prime minister's previous statements.

In May, Albanese told the ABC that he would not detail private discussions with leaders but said he had made his views clear to the US administration.

"A solution needs to be found that brings this matter to a conclusion and Mr Assange needs to be a part of that, of course, and so I'm hopeful that that will occur," he said.

"It has been too long and in my view, as I've said before, I see nothing is served from the further incarceration of Mr Assange."

Lifeline on 13 11 14. Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.

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

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

https://www.theage.com.au/national/united-in-the-states-assange-family-pins-hopes-on-albanese-biden-meeting-20231007-p5eafy.html

#19587750 at 2023-09-21 10:27:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19493339
Unlikely alliance pleads for Julian Assange's release in US

Farrah Tomazin - September 21, 2023

New York: The US-Australia alliance faces a fresh test after Canberra politicians descended on Washington to demand the immediate release of Julian Assange and warned that his extradition would spark a backlash from America's key AUKUS partner.

With the Wikileaks founder running out of options, Australian politicians from across the aisle have met with members of US Congress and officials from the State and Justice departments to call for the Australian citizen, who's being held in London's Belmarsh prison, to be sent home by Christmas.

"We've made it very clear that the continued prosecution of Julian Assange is not the action of a friend of Australia," said Greens Senator David Shoebridge, who added that extradition would be "a blow to the relationship between Australia and the United States".

"When you look at the charges that he faces, he's effectively been charged with being a journalist.

"He has shared information which was gathered by a third party.

"Bradley Chelsea Manning has already been prosecuted for that and is already free. Yet, the journalist who shared the information has been hounded across the earth by the US administration."

Shoebridge was joined in Washington by Nationals MP Barnaby Joyce, Liberal senator Alex Antic, Labor MP Tony Zappia, independent MP Monique Ryan and fellow Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson.

The trip was intended to raise the profile of Assange's plight in the weeks leading up to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's first prime ministerial trip to Washington next month, where he will be granted a state dinner by US President Joe Biden.

"This side of the AUKUS partnership feels really strongly about this and so what we expect the prime minister to do is that he will carry the same message to President Biden when he comes in October," said Ryan.

"It's a question of justice. These are political charges that are being pursued in a political way by the US government."

Assange is facing a maximum jail sentence of 175 years after being charged with 17 counts of breaching the US Espionage Act plus a separate hacking-related charge.

The charges relate to WikiLeaks' 2010 publication of cables detailing war crimes committed by the US government in the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Albanese and Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong have previously said the case against Assange had gone on too long and needed to come to a conclusion, and Opposition Leader Peter Dutton recently backed this position.

Although most Australians agree, the issue is likely to be politically sensitive for Biden as he heads towards an election next year, given many Democrats and Republicans believe Assange's actions had placed lives at risk and that he ought to be punished.

"I understand the concerns and views of Australians," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently told reporters. "I think it's very important that our friends here understand our concerns about this matter."

Members of Congress who are meeting with the delegation include Republican congressman Thomas Massie, Republican senator Rand Paul and Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar.

Asked if the Albanese would raise the issue with Biden in October, Wong, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, replied: "We have raised this many times … Secretary Blinken and I both spoke about the fact that we had a discussion about the views that the United States has and the views that Australia has.

"We are consistent in our view that we think this has gone on too long, and the breadth of political representation on this delegation, I think, demonstrates there are a great many people in Australia who would like to see this matter resolved," Wong said.

However, the minister rejected the notion that the alliance would be tested if Assange was not released.

"I think the alliance has survived and continued to be strong through many decades and it will continue so to be."

The Wikileaks founder also has an ally in Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who told the UN General Assembly that Assange should not be prosecuted for informing the public.

"It is essential to preserve the freedom of the press," Lula said. "A journalist like Julian Assange cannot be punished for informing society in a transparent and legitimate way."

https://www.theage.com.au/world/north-america/unlikely-alliance-pleads-for-julian-assange-s-release-in-us-20230921-p5e6ej.html

#19548522 at 2023-09-14 10:52:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

>>19548520

2/2

Price refused to condemn the views of No leaders Gary Johns, who has said Indigenous people should take blood tests for welfare payments, and David Adler, who accused journalist Stan Grant of artificially darkening his skin, but instead said she and fellow No campaigner Warren Mundine had been subjected to "horrible racial vilification", and that she did not support blood tests.

Many leaders, Price argued, had been scared to apply accountability to Indigenous communities because they were fearful of being marked as prejudiced.

"We are treating Aboriginal people differently. And we treat no other group of Australians in this manner. If I've got anything to do with it, we'll actually start treating Aboriginal people like Australian citizens."

Price received a standing ovation from a crowd that included No leader Mundine, Coalition MPs David Littleproud, Michaelia Cash, Bridget McKenzie, Kerrynne Liddle and Barnaby Joyce, and conservative commentators Tom Switzer and John Roskam.

She said, to the laughter and applause of her colleagues: "That would mean that those of us whose ancestors were possessed in their own country and brought here in chains as convicts are also suffering from intergenerational trauma, so I should be doubly suffering."

Price's comments were later condemned by Linda Burney, the Minister for Indigenous Australians, as "offensive".

"It denies the experience of so many First Nations families. We only have to look at the Stolen Generations and the impacts that has had, in terms of ongoing trauma and pain. Her comments are a betrayal of so many people's stories."

Roskam, an Institute of Public Affairs senior fellow, said Price's referendum campaigning was having a profound effect on centre-right politics in Australia.

He argued Price was proving the Coalition could win the culture wars and take on big business, which largely supports the Voice.

"This is a potentially transformational moment in Australian politics," he said.

After the speech, Central Land Council chief Les Turner said grassroots NT leaders had consistently said Price did not speak for them, according to Guardian Australia.

Liberal MP Keith Wolahan on Thursday pleaded for civility on both sides of the Voice debate, after a week of heated exchanges.

He urged Voice backers to avoid invalidating the outcome of the referendum by claiming the No campaign was based on "misinformation", a term he said was overused.

"When we stoke the fires on either side of this debate, there's consequences for that," he said.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/price-says-colonialism-has-been-good-for-indigenous-australians-20230914-p5e4lz.html

#19493339 at 2023-09-05 09:56:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

Parliamentary delegation will visit Washington to urge US to ditch extradition of Julian Assange

Patrick Bell - 5 September 2023

A multi-party delegation of federal MPs and senators will travel to Washington DC this month as part of the campaign to release WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The United States is seeking to extradite Mr Assange from the United Kingdom on 18 charges related to the publication of thousands of military and diplomatic documents.

He has been detained in the Belmarsh Prison in London for more than four years, and is currently appealing the UK's decision to agree to his extradition.

The parliamentary delegation will include former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, Labor MP Tony Zappia, Liberal senator Alex Antic, independent MP Monique Ryan, and Greens senators David Shoebridge and Peter Whish-Wilson.

The group will urge US politicians and officials to abandon their extradition efforts, when it travels to Washington on September 20.

"What we will be asking the US to do is to demonstrate their commitment to the First Amendment," Dr Ryan said.

Mr Joyce said the prosecution sets a dangerous precedent that a citizen can be sent to a third country for an offence they did not commit in that country.

"We hope that we are given a fair hearing, because we believe it is something that we need to park and move on from," he said.

Senator Shoebridge said Mr Assange was the subject of a "political prosecution" for "telling the truth" and it was incumbent on the delegation to advocate for his release.

In a statement, Mr Assange's brother Gabriel Shipton said Australians had "had a gut full" of his brother being left in detention, and wanted to see him returned to his family.

"The vast majority of Australians can't understand why the US continues to act in a way that keeps Julian locked up in one of the worst prisons in the UK," he said.

"Even Australians who didn't support Julian's actions believe he has suffered enough and should be set free immediately."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has previously expressed frustration that a diplomatic solution to the case has not been reached.

"This needs to be brought to a conclusion," Mr Albanese told the ABC earlier this year.

He is set to travel to Washington himself next month.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-05/federal-politicians-visit-washington-urge-release-julian-assange/102814298

#19487583 at 2023-09-04 10:25:55 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 69
Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 2
>>19321154 Donald Trump remains an existential threat to the survival of US democracy - "Donald Trump's orchestrated efforts to subvert the will of the voters and attempt to overturn the result of the 2020 US presidential election, to effectively instigate a coup d'?tat, is the most serious and egregious charge that can be made against anyone who believes in democracy, freedom and the rule of law. The prospect, though, of Trump being re-elected as president challenges the survival of this system. Trump has also shattered the norms and conventions of US politics; namely, the principle of the peaceful transfer of power embodied by George Washington, who retired after two terms. No previous US president, however upset at their defeat, sowed disinformation and discord like Trump. Trump remains a disgusting, disgraceful, dangerous individual. He is the first US president to be charged with a criminal offence. Trump's indictment for attempting to overturn the presidential election of 2020 will be one of the great trials of our time. It is imperative, for the survival of US democracy, that he is found guilty of these crimes and does not return to power." - Troy Bramston - theaustralian.com.au
>>19327086 Video: Senator says Uluru Statement 'confirmed' as 26 pages by NIAA, after Albo blasts claim as 'QAnon' conspiracy - Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Uluru Statement from the Heart has been "confirmed" as being 26 pages long by the agency that produced the documents under freedom of information, as she called on Anthony Albanese to "come clean" after the Prime Minister derided the claim as a "QAnon" style conspiracy theory on Tuesday. Mr Albanese used Question Time on Tuesday to blast the claims as a "QAnon" style conspiracy theory. "That is a conspiracy in search of a theory, Mr Speaker," the PM said. "It is something that has been out there, like a whole lot of the QAnon theories, we have all sorts of conspiracy stuff out there, but this is a ripper. That is the Uluru Statement from the Heart on an A4 bit of paper. That is it. But what we have here is the conspiracy theories colliding with each other. They're struggling to get their scares straight. I mean, what role did Marcia Langton play in the faking of the moon landing, Mr Speaker? What was the role of the Uluru Statement from the Heart in that?" He stressed it was "absolutely nonsense".
>>19333351 Why PM's backtrack on the Uluru Statement from the Heart won't wash - "This week in parliament, Anthony Albanese doubled down on his claim that the Uluru Statement from the Heart is just a simple one-page statement -- almost an Australian version, he's said, of the Gettysburg Address. He's doing this because he needs the Uluru Statement to be a benign, uplifting document in order to get his voice referendum passed by voters, and because he needs to deny that the voice is just the first step in "Voice, Treaty, Truth" - a lengthy and complex process that will lead to multi-?billion dollar reparations payments (on top of the near $40bn a year that's currently spent on Indigenous Australians) and the rewriting of our history as a story of shame. He's so keen to bluff people out of referencing the full statement that he denounced the claim that it's actually a 26-page document as a "conspiracy" worthy of QAnon." - Peta Credlin - theaustralian.com.au
>>19387408 A tale of two conferences: a choice between hope and despair - "CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp, a wealthy political adviser and lobbyist, will appear at the Australian conference this weekend alongside Matthew Whitaker, who served briefly as acting attorney-general to Trump, despite nine legal challenges to his appointment. Australians love to think of themselves as larrikins who thumb their noses at suits and sophisticates. But not the CPAC Australia mob. Among the current and former Coalition MPs scrambling to share a stage with the grizzled men of the Grand Old Party are Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie, Keith Pitt, Alex Antic, Ted O'Brien and Bronwyn Bishop. And, of course, Mundine and Price. This pair love to present themselves as champions of "average" Australians, squaring off against the "elites" of Canberra. But it's hard to imagine a more elite look in politics than sharing a stage in a ballroom at The Star with two Trump loyalists. That's the No campaign. Full of doublespeak and hyperbole, happy to trade in misinformation and outright lies, and to demonise their opponents when called out. Just like Donald Trump." Marcus Stewart, Nira illim bulluk man of the Taungurung Nation and a member of the Uluru Dialogue - theaustralian.com.au

#19487559 at 2023-09-04 10:17:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition

#31 - Part 56
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>19397639 Australia to spend $1.3bn on high-tech missiles - The former deputy prime minister has warned of China's ability to target Australia from the mainland after the government announced it will spend $1.7bn on long-range strike missiles. Barnaby Joyce flagged concerns after the defence minister finalised a major weapons deal with the US on Monday. "China has certainly got missiles that can hit Australia, make no mistake," Mr Joyce told Sunrise. Under the new deal, Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, making it only one of three nations to own the high-tech weaponry. "As we enter what many are calling the missile age, these will be vital tools for the Australian Defence Force to do its job of defending Australians," Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said. "We are buying these weapons now to deliver capability quickly -- but we are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities." Tomahawk missiles have a strike range of 1500km, and a ship-launched version will be deployed on the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.
>>19417267 Video: Plea for Australian help to quell brutal PNG fighting as Canberra and China struggle for influence - The governor of a remote Papua New Guinea province racked by tribal fighting has appealed for Australian help as the nation struggles to contain surging violence that has seen dead people dragged by four wheel-drives and a flood of automatic weapons into the country's Highlands. The Australian can reveal that multiple tribal conflicts have claimed the lives of an estimated 150 people this year, including two dozen lives in the past fortnight alone, and left thousands homeless.
>>19417281 Anthony Albanese restricted but ready to help troubled PNG and pro-Australia ally James Marape - Escalating tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's Highlands is a rolling human rights tragedy that the country's government has been unable to contain. It is also a difficult issue for federal Labor, which has remained ?silent on the fighting, despite an estimated 150 deaths this year. Anthony Albanese has forged a strong personal relationship with PNG counterpart James Marape, who is standing firmly with Australia on the need to keep China at arm's length. Marape is happy for his country to reap the economic benefits from China, but - unlike Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands - has rebuffed Chinese efforts to forge closer security ties.
>>19417627 James Marape mobilises elite squad to deal with PNG violence - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has vowed to mobilise a new joint force of heavily armed police and soldiers to stamp out tribal warfare in the country's remote Enga Province, condemning the surging violence as "domestic terrorism". The pledge came as Australia's Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy vowed Australian support for PNG's response, saying the Albanese government was "deeply committed" to the nations' policing and security partnership. Mr Marape declared on Wednesday he would not seek outside police support to deal with Enga's ongoing tribal wars, despite calls by the province's governor for Australian boots on the ground.
>>19446096 Australian fears he'll die in Chinese prison after doctors find huge kidney cyst - Detained Australian Yang Hengjun says he is increasingly fearful he will be denied medical treatment and die in a Chinese prison after medical authorities told him they had discovered a huge, 10-centimetre cyst on his kidney. Ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later this year, Yang's supporters are urging the federal government to demand the academic be given medical parole or access to Australian-supervised medical care outside his Beijing detention centre. "If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won't know the truth," Yang said in a message conveyed through his supporters. "That is frustrating. If something happens to me, who can speak for me?"

#19487438 at 2023-09-04 09:35:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#31 - Part 56
Australia / China Tensions- Part 7
>>19397639 Australia to spend $1.3bn on high-tech missiles - The former deputy prime minister has warned of China's ability to target Australia from the mainland after the government announced it will spend $1.7bn on long-range strike missiles. Barnaby Joyce flagged concerns after the defence minister finalised a major weapons deal with the US on Monday. "China has certainly got missiles that can hit Australia, make no mistake," Mr Joyce told Sunrise. Under the new deal, Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, making it only one of three nations to own the high-tech weaponry. "As we enter what many are calling the missile age, these will be vital tools for the Australian Defence Force to do its job of defending Australians," Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said. "We are buying these weapons now to deliver capability quickly – but we are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities." Tomahawk missiles have a strike range of 1500km, and a ship-launched version will be deployed on the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.
>>19417267 Video: Plea for Australian help to quell brutal PNG fighting as Canberra and China struggle for influence - The governor of a remote Papua New Guinea province racked by tribal fighting has appealed for Australian help as the nation struggles to contain surging violence that has seen dead people dragged by four wheel-drives and a flood of automatic weapons into the country's Highlands. The Australian can reveal that multiple tribal conflicts have claimed the lives of an estimated 150 people this year, including two dozen lives in the past fortnight alone, and left thousands homeless.
>>19417281 Anthony Albanese restricted but ready to help troubled PNG and pro-Australia ally James Marape - Escalating tribal fighting in Papua New Guinea's Highlands is a rolling human rights tragedy that the country's government has been unable to contain. It is also a difficult issue for federal Labor, which has remained ?silent on the fighting, despite an estimated 150 deaths this year. Anthony Albanese has forged a strong personal relationship with PNG counterpart James Marape, who is standing firmly with Australia on the need to keep China at arm's length. Marape is happy for his country to reap the economic benefits from China, but - unlike Manasseh Sogavare in Solomon Islands - has rebuffed Chinese efforts to forge closer security ties.
>>19417627 James Marape mobilises elite squad to deal with PNG violence - Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape has vowed to mobilise a new joint force of heavily armed police and soldiers to stamp out tribal warfare in the country's remote Enga Province, condemning the surging violence as "domestic terrorism". The pledge came as Australia's Minister for the Pacific Pat Conroy vowed Australian support for PNG's response, saying the Albanese government was "deeply committed" to the nations' policing and security partnership. Mr Marape declared on Wednesday he would not seek outside police support to deal with Enga's ongoing tribal wars, despite calls by the province's governor for Australian boots on the ground.
>>19446096 Australian fears he'll die in Chinese prison after doctors find huge kidney cyst - Detained Australian Yang Hengjun says he is increasingly fearful he will be denied medical treatment and die in a Chinese prison after medical authorities told him they had discovered a huge, 10-centimetre cyst on his kidney. Ahead of a planned trip to Beijing by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese later this year, Yang's supporters are urging the federal government to demand the academic be given medical parole or access to Australian-supervised medical care outside his Beijing detention centre. "If something happens with my health and I die in here, people outside won't know the truth," Yang said in a message conveyed through his supporters. "That is frustrating. If something happens to me, who can speak for me?"

#19397639 at 2023-08-21 09:53:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19231951
>>19382314
Australia to spend $1.3bn on high-tech missiles

ELEANOR CAMPBELL - AUGUST 21, 2023

The former deputy prime minister has warned of China's ability to target Australia from the mainland after the government announced it will spend $1.7bn on long-range strike missiles.

Barnaby Joyce flagged concerns after the defence minister finalised a major weapons deal with the US on Monday.

"China has certainly got missiles that can hit Australia, make no mistake," Mr Joyce told Sunrise.

"They've got hypersonics. They've parked a spy ship off our coast. They've put shards of foil into one of our planes causing massive problems to one of our Orion aircraft.

"They've had fixed military lasers on our aircraft from ships that were floating in our exclusive economic zone. We want the world to be peaceful but we've got to be strong enough to defend ourselves."

Mr Joyce's comments come after the defence industry minister announced Australia will invest in "the most powerful and technologically advanced" weapons the country has ever seen."

Under the new deal, Australia will acquire more than 200 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, making it only one of three nations to own the high-tech weaponry.

"As we enter what many are calling the missile age, these will be vital tools for the Australian Defence Force to do its job of defending Australians," Defence Industry Minister Pat Conroy said.

"We are buying these weapons now to deliver capability quickly - but we are also considering options to manufacture missiles domestically because of the importance of building sovereign Australian defence manufacturing capabilities."

Tomahawk missiles have a strike range of 1500km, and a ship-launched version will be deployed on the Royal Australian Navy's Hobart-class destroyers.

Defence Minister Richard Marles told Labor's national conference last week that China would have 21 nuclear submarines and 200 major warships in the water by 2030.

"This is the world in which we live and it is our unavoidable obligation to navigate our way through it," Mr Marles said.

"Our government is planning to replace six diesel-electric submarines with eight conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarines over the course of the next 30 years. Given what we face, it is a modest step."

China issued an official warning to Australia on the weekend arguing that defence agreements should be "conducive to world peace, and not target any third party or harm others interests."

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australia-to-spend-13bn-on-hightech-missiles/news-story/187546668bb9367c4ecfdf46060c1ce6

#19387439 at 2023-08-19 13:59:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19222755
>>19382273
Inside the conservative forum rallying troops against the Voice

Lisa Visentin - August 19, 2023

1/2

Coalition firebrand senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price was treated to a rock star's welcome as she strode onto the stage at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Sydney and rallied the crowd to do everything they could to oppose the Voice to parliament referendum.

The Voice was a central theme of this year's CPAC Australia event on Saturday, as the who's who of the No campaign rubbed shoulders with hundreds of conservative voters who paid up to $600 to attend the two-day conference. For those chasing the VIP experience and access to the after party, it was $7000.

Wearing a "Vote No" T-shirt, Price told attendees that while the polling was trending in the direction of a referendum defeat, they should not get complacent.

"We need every single one of you to sign up … to talk to your friends and family and your community. We need every single one of you to be relentless in your opposition to this dangerous, divisive referendum," Price said.

In a speech that criticised the Yes campaign and Labor, Price said Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had "surrounded himself with the likes of Thomas Mayo and Teela Reid", Aboriginal activists who served on the government's referendums advisory panels.

The No campaigners have seized on tweets from Mayo and Reid calling for reparations and other demands to suggest there is a hidden agenda behind the Voice.

Price continued: "They don't want the best for Indigenous Australians. They want the rent paid. They want to pay their respects to the elders of the communist party. They want to abolish Australia Day. They want reparations."

There was no mention of the revelations this week that Australian Jewish Association head David Adler, who sits on the advisory board of top No outfit Advance, had repeatedly suggested on X (formerly Twitter) that Indigenous journalist Stan Grant had artificially darkened his skin, and had questioned Independent senator Lidia Thorpe's Aboriginal heritage. Price is the spokeswoman for Advance's anti-Voice campaign Fair Australia.

CPAC Australia organisers had no comment to questions about its sponsor Give Send Go, a Christian crowdfunding website appearing to host fundraising efforts for the legal costs for Australian neo-Nazi leader Thomas Sewell who was convicted last year of assaulting a Nine security guard. The site was also used to fundraise for medical costs for far-right leader Blair Cottrell.

This masthead does not suggest that the No campaign or CPAC Australia share the views of extremists who have used Give Send Go to fundraise.

The conference, held at Sydney's The Star casino, is modelled on the American CPAC that has in recent years become aligned with former US president Donald Trump and his allies in the Republican Party.

The Sydney event was attended by a rollcall of conservative politicians, including former prime minister Tony Abbott, current Coalition MPs Ted O'Brien, Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie and Alex Antic, who gave speeches or appeared on panels. Media were welcomed to cover the proceedings, but their lanyard passes granting them entry were emblazoned with Trump's "fake news" epithet.

(continued)

#19387408 at 2023-08-19 13:52:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

>>19222755
>>19382273
A tale of two conferences: a choice between hope and despair

MARCUS STEWART - AUGUST 19, 2023

1/2

Allow me to borrow an idea from the great author Charles Dickens and tell you a tale of two political conferences. Both are occurring over the next week - and neither is the ALP national conference, which kicked off on Thursday in Brisbane and is already gaining plenty of attention.

But in Sydney, a very different meeting of political minds is occurring this weekend with CPAC Australia's conference at The Star. Headlining the CPAC program are Warren Mundine and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price - so no prizes for guessing the No campaign against a voice to parliament will be a focus this year.

Then on Thursday, Uluru Youth Dialogue will launch its Hands On Heart conference at Barangaroo, with more than 100 young delegates expected to attend to learn more about the referendum and how they can educate and motivate others to vote yes.

There could be no better illustration of the differences between the Yes and No campaigns than these two contrasting conferences.

CPAC stands for Conservative Political Action Conference, which has been hosted by the American Conservative Union for almost 50 years. That's right - the American Conservative Union. CPAC's presence in Australia is a much more recent phenomenon, with the Americans only establishing a franchise here in 2019.

When CPAC was founded in America in the 1970s, it was known as a thoughtful gathering for Republicans; Ronald Reagan gave the inaugural address, his now famous "A Shining City Upon A Hill" speech. While conservative, the conference was nevertheless known for welcoming a variety of views from that end of the political spectrum, especially in the run-up to the presidential elections, when any Republican hoping to score the nomination would make an appearance.

More recently, however, CPAC has morphed into an unabashedly pro-Trump circus. This year, Donald Trump was the only potential Republican presidential candidate to show up - and the only one welcome, apparently. News reports documented sparse audiences gathering amid garish stands selling Trump paraphernalia. Meanwhile, the CPAC website spruiks a range of ultra-right campaigns, from opposing "socialised medicine" (to those of us in Australia, that's the sort of public healthcare we enjoy with Medicare) to "stopping woke companies".

CPAC chairman Matt Schlapp, a wealthy political adviser and lobbyist, will appear at the Australian conference this weekend alongside Matthew Whitaker, who served briefly as acting attorney-general to Trump, despite nine legal challenges to his appointment.

Australians love to think of themselves as larrikins who thumb their noses at suits and sophisticates. But not the CPAC Australia mob. Among the current and former Coalition MPs scrambling to share a stage with the grizzled men of the Grand Old Party are Tony Abbott, Barnaby Joyce, Bridget McKenzie, Keith Pitt, Alex Antic, Ted O'Brien and Bronwyn Bishop.

And, of course, Mundine and Price. This pair love to present themselves as champions of "average" Australians, squaring off against the "elites" of Canberra. But it's hard to imagine a more elite look in politics than sharing a stage in a ballroom at The Star with two Trump loyalists.

That's the No campaign. Full of doublespeak and hyperbole, happy to trade in misinformation and outright lies, and to demonise their opponents when called out. Just like Donald Trump.

(continued)

#19188852 at 2023-07-16 09:20:20 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition

#30 - Part 1
Australian Politics and Society - Part 1
>>18928925 Video: Mark McGowan resigns as WA Premier - 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". "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 said. 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.
>>18928944 Video: Mark McGowan stands down as WA premier in shock announcement, citing exhaustion - 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. 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".
>>18928950 WA Premier Mark McGowan's shock departure puts Labor seats at risk - 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.
>>18928954 Exit door: 'Premier's legacy a weakened federation' - 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.
>>18934236 Kevin Rudd AC Tweet: Great to see @SenSchumer at the Capitol. It was a busy day for the Majority Leader, but we found time to talk about the proliferation of Aussies and (Australian) coffee shops in NYC, and the passage of necessary legislation to support AUKUS.
>>18934236 https://qalerts.pub/?q=schumer - https://qalerts.pub/?q=[CS]

#18046103 at 2022-12-31 08:51:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#26 - Part 22
Australia / China Tensions - Part 8
>>17879059 Beijing says Australia is 'playing with fire' over Taiwan visit - Beijing has warned a bipartisan visit to Taiwan by a group of Australian politicians will undermine efforts to repair Australia-China ties, accusing the delegation of spreading "plague and pestilence" and declaring Australia is "playing with fire"
>>17879065 With lawmakers' Taiwan visit, Australia should stop playing with fire before the fire starts to burn - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>17879078 Albanese criticized for insincerity on improving ties with Beijing amid his attempts to distance himself from Taiwan-visiting delegation - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>17906062 Japan joins US and Australia to counter China's 'dangerous and coercive actions' - Australia and the United States will integrate Japan into their joint military activities in Australia, a significant deepening of the relationship as the three nations work increasingly closely together to push back on China
>>17906065 Military conflict would lead to an almost total collapse of China: Morrison - Scott Morrison says military conflict between the US and China over Taiwan would deliver "mutually assured destruction" but would devastate the Chinese economy more than the west and lead to an almost total collapse of the country
>>17906070 Video: Australia's Role in the China Struggle: A Conversation with Scott Morrison - Thirtieth Prime Minister of Australia Scott Morrison and Hudson Institute China Center Director Miles Yu discuss Australia's role in combatting the threat to a free and open Indo-Pacific - Hudson Institute
>>17906072 Chinese FM urges Australia to stop official exchanges with Taiwan island; delegation visit 'doomed to end with nothing substantive' - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>17906072 Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Mao Ning's Regular Press Conference on December 6, 2022
>>17906310 Australia warned not to become US' 'spearhead', as '2 2' meeting goes beyond hyping 'China threats' - Wang Qi - globaltimes.cn
>>17922495 Growing uncertainties as Japan, Australia strengthen strategy coordination with US - GT staff reporters - globaltimes.cn

>>17934103 Former US pilot held in Australia accused of breaking US arms controls by training Chinese pilots - Australian pilot Daniel Duggan, a former US Marine Corps aviator, has been accused of breaking American arms control laws by training Chinese fighter pilots to land on aircraft carriers, according to an indictment now unsealed by a US court
>>17934310 As Xi's sun turns up heat, we'd do well to smarten up - "There can be only one sun in the sky and the new dynastic form of leadership in China under Xi Jinping believes that heavenly body is Beijing." Barnaby Joyce - theaustralian.com.au
>>17939818 U.S. lawmakers unveil bipartisan bid to ban China's TikTok - Republican Senator Marco Rubio announces bipartisan legislation to ban China's popular social media app TikTok, ratcheting up pressure on owner ByteDance Ltd amid U.S. fears the app could be used to spy on Americans and censor content
>>17946334 Vanuatu security treaty leaves China out in cold - Australia has outplayed China to secure a legally binding security treaty with Vanuatu, paving the way for intelligence sharing and faster deployment of defence, ?humanitarian and cyber support to the small Pacific nation in times of crisis
>>17960832 Former fighter pilot's wife defends 'angel and patriot' against charges of training Chinese military - Saffrine Duggan said her husband Dan Duggan was a patriotic Australian who was being used as a "geo?political pawn'' by the US in an attempt to stop other pilots from working in China
>>17972561 China contact raises hopes for imprisoned Australian citizens, journalist Cheng Lei and writer Yang Hengjun - "The Chinese have that kind of mentality to show their goodwill by releasing political prisoners"
>>17980326 Foreign Minister Penny Wong to make first ministerial visit to Beijing since China froze diplomatic relations with Australia
>>17980334 Penny Wong to visit China for historic meeting with her counterpart Wang Yi on Wednesday 21st December - the 50th anniversary of Australia-China relations
>>17985372 China's sanctions on Australian exports could be dropped in a month's time following Foreign Minister Penny Wong's "significant" visit to the country, according to Allan Behm, head of thr international and security affairs program at The Australia Institute
>>17985452 Talks break the ice but PM won't bow to China - Anthony Albanese says Australia won't bow to Beijing and will continue to call for Chinese leaders to respect global rules as Penny Wong prepares to depart for the first official visit to China by an Australian government minister in four years

#18046102 at 2022-12-31 08:51:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition

#26 - Part 21
Australia / China Tensions - Part 7
>>17800492 Anthony Albanese meets Xi Jinping at G20 summit in Bali, telling the Chinese President Australia wants to work with China in the interests of both countries and regional peace
>>17800511 Open up to Chinese trade, Xi tells Albanese - Beijing has said the "most difficult time for China-Australia relations has passed", but told Canberra to improve the relationship the Albanese government needs to reduce hurdles on Chinese businesses.
>>17800514 GT Voice: China-Australia summit may herald new turn in relations - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>17800515 Australian business leaders welcome talks between Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and China's President Xi Jinping, but cautious about expecting any immediate outcomes
>>17800518 Xi-Albanese meeting at G20 injects thawing potential to frayed ties - Australia still needs to show 'sincerity, diplomatic autonomy free from US' - Deng Xiaoci - globaltimes.cn
>>17800527 Australia reaps reward for standing ground on China - China's intimidation campaign against Australia has failed, says White House Indo-Pacific Co-ordinator Kurt Campbell, who congratulated the Albanese government on its "strong, purposeful diplomacy"
>>17800537 Albanese says Australia is unlikely to support Taiwan's push to join Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
>>17800544 Anthony Albanese throws Taiwan's trade pact entry into a diplomatic spin - Australian diplomats scrambling to reassure key partners the nation remained open to Taiwan's entry into one of the world's biggest trading blocs
>>17800547 Taiwan seeks answers from Anthony Albanese over CPTPP comments at APEC - Taipei sought an urgent explanation from Anthony Albanese's office after the prime minister made comments which suggested Australia could reject Taiwan's bid to join the CPTPP because it was not a "recognised" nation state
>>17803999 China warns AUKUS deal an ongoing 'threat to peace' and bilateral relations - AUKUS partnership is "clearly a threat" to regional peace and security, and undermines any improvement to the two countries' bilateral relationship

>>17804004 Fraught AUKUS impedes momentum of better China-Australia ties - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>17804019 Coalition calls for sanctions on Chinese officials over Uyghur human rights abuses in Xinjiang, after foreign minister Penny Wong declined to meet prominent Uyghur advocates in Canberra
>>17804028 Torture survivors' plea for Australia not to abandon them after China reset - Omar Bekali, who spent seven months in 2017 in internment camps in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, fears that as Australia seeks a closer relationship with China after years of hostility, the plight of persecuted ethnic minorities will fall off the Albanese government's agenda
>>17827652 Video: Chinese cry for freedom in biggest anti-government protests since Tiananmen - Crowds have chanted "down with the Communist Party" and "Xi Jinping, step down" in an extraordinary wave of protests across China sparked by anger at draconian Covid restrictions
>>17832714 Video: Beijing boils as BBC journalist arrested amid national anti-government protests - BBC journalist Ed Lawrence arrested, beaten and kicked by Chinese police as China's biggest anti-government protests since Tiananmen in 1989 surged into Beijing
>>17832778 Daniel Duggan, Australian pilot with China links fights extradition to US, slams 'unprecedented' treatment
>>17850394 PDF: "The Enemy Is Inside the Gate - The CCP is involved in the QLD elections. Criminal elements within the Australian Government have enabled CCP access to all of Australia's institutions over decades and communist ideology is being forced on the Living Men-Women-Children of this land without their knowledge or consent."
>>17853206 Video: Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson's awkward silence to pointed question as Beijing cracks down on COVID protests - Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian left dumbfounded when asked about the anti-government protests which have engulfed the country, as the Chinese Communist Party begins a brutal crackdown on those involved
>>17869631 Government and opposition MPs to visit Taiwan as part of Australian parliamentary delegation - Six federal politicians from both Labor and the Coalition will travel to Taiwan next week, in the first visit from an Australian parliamentary delegation in years
>>17869647 MPs fly to Taiwan for secretive bipartisan talks - The first group of sitting Australian parliamentarians to visit Taiwan since 2019 will include former deputy prime minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce, two Labor members of the Albanese government, Meryl Swanson and Libby Coker, Liberal National Party members Scott Buchholz and Terry Young, and Liberal Gavin Pearce

#16701763 at 2022-07-10 01:24:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition

#23 and #24 - Part 21
Australia / China Tensions - Part 5
>>16430199 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Ambassador Xiao Qian meets with Premier of Western Australia McGowan, 2022-06-11
>>16430199 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Ambassador Xiao Qian Meets with Bishop, Chancellor and Former Foreign Minister of ANU, 2022-06-11
>>16434639 Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles meets with China's Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe in diplomatic breakthrough
>>16434646 Australia's Defence Minister meets Chinese counterpart, marking the end of a two-year diplomatic freeze
>>16439000 Richard Marles and Wei Fenghe take first step to Beijing thaw - Beijing has ended its diplomatic deep-freeze of Australia after a breakthrough meeting in Singapore between Richard Marles and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe
>>16439068 Barnaby Joyce urges caution after Richard Marles breaks silence with Beijing - "They are a threat if they want to set up military bases near us and put lasers on to our Royal Australian Air Force patrols"
>>16439082 Video: China Australia relations on the mend after new meeting - 7NEWS Australia
>>16439598 AUKUS settlement reveals Australia being unrealistic about China ties - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16439627 Australia urged to show real actions to reset China ties amid confusing messages at key security meeting - Deng Xiaoci and Wan Hengyi
>>16439658 China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, says relations between the two countries are at a "new juncture" with the election of a new Australian government and the first minister-to-minister talks in more than two years

>>16439658 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Review the Past, Look into the Future, Open a New Chapter for China-Australia Relationship - Speech at the National Conference of Australia China Friendship Society by Ambassador XIAO Qian, 2022-06-11
>>16443924 Marles vows to continue flying over the South China Sea and the disputed Paracel Islands, increase military exercises with Japan
>>16443944 Australia-China relations: Albanese says Beijing must lift sanctions on exports to reset ties
>>16443970 Chinese FM confirms receiving of appreciation letter from Aussie Prime Minister - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16443970 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 13, 2022
>>16444020 Chinese Consulate General in Sydney Tweet: Video: Chinese FM spokesperson: It is hoped that the Australian side can look at China and China-Australia relations in a sensible and positive way, work with China in the same direction in the spirit of mutual respect and seek common ground while putting aside differences.
>>16444036 Albanese government needs to open up new path, resetting relations with China - Wen Sheng - globaltimes.cn
>>16444065 We needed China deal to protect 'domestic security', says key Solomon Islands official Collin Beck, permanent secretary of foreign affairs
>>16446109 Former Sydney councillors received 'bags of cash' in bribes from Chinese developer, ICAC told - Georges River councillors Vincenzo Badalati and Constantine Hindi
>>16449726 Penny Wong to visit New Zealand, Solomon Islands amid concern over climate change, China security pact

#16655194 at 2022-07-07 08:48:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #24: TRUMP CARD COMING Edition

#23 - Part 20
Australia / China Tensions - Part 5
>>16430199 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Ambassador Xiao Qian meets with Premier of Western Australia McGowan, 2022-06-11
>>16430199 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Ambassador Xiao Qian Meets with Bishop, Chancellor and Former Foreign Minister of ANU, 2022-06-11
>>16434639 Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles meets with China's Defence Minister General Wei Fenghe in diplomatic breakthrough
>>16434646 Australia's Defence Minister meets Chinese counterpart, marking the end of a two-year diplomatic freeze
>>16439000 Richard Marles and Wei Fenghe take first step to Beijing thaw - Beijing has ended its diplomatic deep-freeze of Australia after a breakthrough meeting in Singapore between Richard Marles and his Chinese counterpart, Wei Fenghe
>>16439068 Barnaby Joyce urges caution after Richard Marles breaks silence with Beijing - "They are a threat if they want to set up military bases near us and put lasers on to our Royal Australian Air Force patrols"
>>16439082 Video: China Australia relations on the mend after new meeting - 7NEWS Australia
>>16439598 AUKUS settlement reveals Australia being unrealistic about China ties - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16439627 Australia urged to show real actions to reset China ties amid confusing messages at key security meeting - Deng Xiaoci and Wan Hengyi
>>16439658 China's ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, says relations between the two countries are at a "new juncture" with the election of a new Australian government and the first minister-to-minister talks in more than two years

>>16439658 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Commonwealth of Australia - Review the Past, Look into the Future, Open a New Chapter for China-Australia Relationship - Speech at the National Conference of Australia China Friendship Society by Ambassador XIAO Qian, 2022-06-11
>>16443924 Marles vows to continue flying over the South China Sea and the disputed Paracel Islands, increase military exercises with Japan
>>16443944 Australia-China relations: Albanese says Beijing must lift sanctions on exports to reset ties
>>16443970 Chinese FM confirms receiving of appreciation letter from Aussie Prime Minister - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>16443970 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on June 13, 2022
>>16444020 Chinese Consulate General in Sydney Tweet: Video: Chinese FM spokesperson: It is hoped that the Australian side can look at China and China-Australia relations in a sensible and positive way, work with China in the same direction in the spirit of mutual respect and seek common ground while putting aside differences.
>>16444036 Albanese government needs to open up new path, resetting relations with China - Wen Sheng -
>>16444065 We needed China deal to protect 'domestic security', says key Solomon Islands official Collin Beck, permanent secretary of foreign affairs
>>16446109 Former Sydney councillors received 'bags of cash' in bribes from Chinese developer, ICAC told - Georges River councillors Vincenzo Badalati and Constantine Hindi
>>16449726 Penny Wong to visit New Zealand, Solomon Islands amid concern over climate change, China security pact

#16487945 at 2022-06-22 12:28:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16460849
Government right to avoid megaphone diplomacy on Assange, Joe Hockey says

Matthew Knott and Katina Curtis - June 22, 2022

Australia's former United States ambassador Joe Hockey says Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is wise not to engage in "megaphone diplomacy" in a bid to persuade the Biden administration to drop espionage charges against Julian Assange.

The federal government's behind-the-scenes efforts to secure the WikiLeaks founder's freedom have divided the Coalition, with Opposition Leader Peter Dutton arguing Australia should let the US legal process play out without trying to influence the outcome.

Former Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce disagreed, saying that allowing Assange to be extradited to the US would set a dangerous precedent.

Hockey, who served as Australia's US ambassador from 2016 to 2020, said Australians should not underestimate how sensitive the Assange issue is with both Democrats and Republicans in Washington.

"Megaphone diplomacy doesn't work well at all with the US," Hockey said.

Asked about the government's strategy of lobbying the Biden administration privately to secure an outcome, he said: "This judgment is right."

Herve Lemahieu, an expert in diplomacy at the Lowy Institute think tank, agreed, saying: "Once you pick up the megaphone it could backfire and have the unintended consequence of hardening the existing positions of the US or UK.

"The government will have to exert all options in terms of backroom diplomacy before it escalates the requests in the public sphere … This is definitely a sensitive issue."

The British government has ordered Assange be extradited to the US to face charges relating to the theft and publication of secret diplomatic cables a decade ago.

If convicted, Assange could face decades in jail.

Dutton said on Tuesday the government should provide regular consular assistance to Assange but not otherwise seek to intervene in his case.

"I think people should conduct themselves according to the law and I think they should be answerable to their conduct according to the law," he told 2GB.

"We're not talking about a country where they don't have a developed legal system."

Dutton said that in a similar situation, Australia would expect to let its own legal system operate "without international interference".

"I think Mr Assange has protracted this particular issue for years and years and years through his own conduct," he said.

Joyce said he believed Assange was a "total ratbag" but he should not be extradited to the US because he was not in the country when he was accused of breaching the Espionage Act.

"I am talking about this on the premise of principle," he said. "That is, if we believe that it is right to stand back and let an Australian citizen be extradited to a third country of which they are neither citizen nor were they there when an offence was committed, where are we going to draw the line?"

Joyce, who first spoke out against extraditing Assange last year, urged the government to be more transparent about what it wanted from the Biden administration.

"You've told us you're talking behind the scenes. So you might as well tell us what you're talking about," he said.

Walkleys Foundation chair Adele Ferguson, an investigative journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, said Assange had been languishing for years and it was time for him to be brought home.

"Press freedom and human rights are vital to our society and what is happening sets a very dangerous precedent at a time when press freedom in this country is being chipped away," she said. "This is the time for the government to stand up for press freedom."

https://www.smh.com.au/national/government-right-to-avoid-megaphone-diplomacy-on-assange-joe-hockey-says-20220621-p5avdk.html

#16476698 at 2022-06-20 11:49:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16460849
>>16476675
Fairweather foe: Bob Carr changes tack on Assange

Bob Carr now lauds Julian Assange for "delivering on our right to know". But when he could do something about Assange's treatment, he had a very different view.

BERNARD KEANE - OCT 14, 2019

Here's one for the "if only they'd ever been in a position to do something about it" files: former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce and former foreign minister Bob Carr expressing concern about the United States trying to prosecute Julian Assange for Wikileaks' exposure of war crimes and misconduct in Iraq and Afghanistan.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/Barnaby-Joyce-joins-calls-to-stop-extradition-of-assange-to-us-20191013-p53080.html

Assange currently faces extradition to the US from the UK for Wikileaks' publication of material exposing US crimes provided by Chelsea Manning, under charges of conspiring with Manning to obtain and publish classified information.

Bob Carr described Assange as "in trouble because he delivered on our right to know". "We have an absolute right to know about American war crimes in a conflict that the Australian government of the day strongly supported - we wouldn't know about them except for Assange," Carr said.

That marks quite a turnaround for Carr from his position when he was foreign minister under Julia Gillard. Back then, Carr argued Assange hadn't delivered on our right to know. In 2012, he accused Assange of releasing "secrets ... for the sake of being released without inherent justification".

https://www.crikey.com.au/2012/06/25/bob-carr-in-full-flight-from-the-facts-on-assange/

In dismissing any public interest in what Wikileaks revealed, Carr also attacked comparisons of Assange with Daniel Ellsberg. It was "not like Daniel Ellsberg's Pentagon Papers which revealed huge American deception, huge deception by the American government of the American public". Too bad Ellsberg himself disagreed.

https://web.archive.org/web/20210328030343/https://www.ellsberg.net/public-accuracy-press-release/

That was the time when Carr also derided - in the face of extensive evidence - the idea that the Americans would try to extradite Assange, saying "there's not the remotest evidence that that's the case. There was one allegation that appeared somewhere of something called a sealed indictment. No US figure has confirmed that to us."

Evidently Carr has had a change of heart since he actually boasted in his memoir Diary of a Foreign Minister about trolling Assange. In his entry for June 2, 2012, Carr writes:

"Another consular issue rears its head: Julian Assange. And I decide to take this one head-on. Fed up with complaints from his family suggesting he hasn't been supported by Australia and the opposition spokesperson saying the same thing, I stride out of an Estimates Committee in the morning-tea break to do a press conference and point out that he has had more consular support in a comparable time than any other Australian. Strictly speaking, I don't know whether this is the case. But it is a broad, healthy truth that I don't think anyone could disprove. I do it to needle his self-righteousness. Let him go to Sweden and face questioning for sexual assault and rape.... Sure enough, my needling has an effect."

Funnily enough, Carr doesn't mention that the Manning material outed him as a US intelligence source in the 1970s.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/bob-carr-washingtons-man-in-australia-20130408-2hgut.html

https://www.crikey.com.au/2019/10/14/fairweather-foe-bob-carr-changes-tack-on-assange/

#16471693 at 2022-06-19 11:43:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16460849
Australia won't conduct 'megaphone diplomacy' on Julian Assange amid calls to intervene

Labor government urged to do more to stop Australian WikiLeaks co-founder's extradition to US from UK

Sarah Martin - 19 Jun 2022

The Albanese government insists it will not conduct "diplomacy by megaphone" as it faces calls to do more to prevent the extradition of WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US.

On Saturday, the British home secretary, Priti Patel, approved the extradition of Assange to the US, where he is charged with breaching the US Espionage Act and faces up to 175 years in jail if convicted. He has 14 days to appeal the decision.

Supporters of the Australian citizen, including on Labor's backbench, have urged the new prime minister, Anthony Albanese, to do more to pressure the United States to drop the case, which has been running since 2010, when WikiLeaks published a trove of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars along with diplomatic cables.

The minister for employment and workplace relations, Tony Burke, said the government's view was that the case had gone on too long and that conversations were happening.

"We're not going to conduct diplomacy by megaphone. This case has gone on for far too long. We said that in opposition, we've repeated that in government," Burke told Sky News on Sunday.

"The issue needs to be brought to a close. Australia is not a party to the prosecution that's happening here [and] each country has its own legal system.

"The days of diplomacy being conducted and conversations with government being conducted by megaphone, text messages being exposed - that was the way the previous government behaved. We've been building constructive relationships again with our allies and they're conversations that happen government to government."

Labor MP Julian Hill, who has been a vocal advocate for Assange, described Patel's decision to approve the extradition as "appalling", and compared his plight with army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning, who was the source of the leak.

"Manning, who leaked classified material exposing US war crimes, has been pardoned, yet Assange who published it (a journalistic activity), is facing an effective death sentence," he said on Twitter on Saturday.

"There can never be a legal solution to this case. It is inherently political. Political cases should never be the subject of extradition. We should speak up for our fellow Australian and request these charges be dropped and he not be extradited."

Manning was released in 2017 after Barack Obama commuted her 35-year military prison sentence in one of his final acts as president.

Independent MP Andrew Wilkie called on Albanese to make an immediate and direct appeal to the US president, Joe Biden, and the UK prime minister, Boris Johnson, on behalf of Assange.

"I have no doubt that Anthony Albanese has enough influence over the British prime minister to bring this to an end if he picks up the phone and says, 'end this madness'," Wilkie said on Saturday.

"I have no doubt that Anthony Albanese has a good enough relationship with Joe Biden to pick up the phone to the US president and say, 'end this madness'."

Karen Percy, the federal president of the media division of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance, said the potential extradition of Assange to the US was "a dangerous assault on international journalism".

"We urge the new Australian government to act on Julian Assange's behalf and lobby for his release," Percy said.

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, who was also a vocal supporter of Assange, said the new government needed to pressure the US to drop the case, saying he did not believe a soft diplomatic approach would be sufficient to secure his release.

"The new government has to make a clear statement, because if you speak in riddles, you are saying nothing at all," Joyce told Guardian Australia.

He said that while he had attempted to rally support for Assange, "I had a different position to the previous government".

In a joint statement on Friday, the foreign minister, Penny Wong, and the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, issued a response to the extradition ruling.

"We will continue to convey our expectations that Mr Assange is entitled to due process, humane and fair treatment, access to proper medical care, and access to his legal team," the statement said.

"The Australian government has been clear in our view that Mr Assange's case has dragged on for too long and that it should be brought to a close.

"We will continue to express this view to the governments of the United Kingdom and United States."

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2022/jun/19/australia-wont-conduct-megaphone-diplomacy-on-julian-assange-amid-calls-to-intervene

#16439068 at 2022-06-13 05:30:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

>>16434639
Barnaby Joyce urges caution after Richard Marles breaks silence with Beijing

ELLEN RANSLEY - JUNE 13, 2022

Former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce has urged caution after Australia's first ministerial contact with China in more than two years.

His successor, Defence Minister Richard Marles, had a "frank" discussion with his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Singapore on the weekend.

It's the first time since early 2020 there has been any such high-level interaction between Canberra and Beijing.

Mr Marles said he raised the controversial attack on an Australian aircraft by a Chinese jet last month as well as broader issues in the Pacific.

"They are a threat if they want to set up military bases near us and put lasers on to our Royal Australian Air Force patrols and if they want to put aluminium chaff into the engines, which could have brought down that P8 Poseidon aircraft with the death of the crew on-board, then that's a threat," Mr Joyce told Channel 7.

"I like the words, but let's see the actions.

"The actions are that they stepped down from this forward push into our area, that they stop their military might that they're using as a mechanism to put a foot on our throat - I'll be as frank as that - to intimidate us.

"We've seen this before. We've seen the discussions, we've seen that everything is going to get better and at the same time they continue on with their plan in the background ... (which) remains absolutely and utterly targeted, which is the domination of the South Pacific and the intimidation of us to work under their terms."

Mr Joyce held firm against accusations his government had made a mistake in putting diplomatic distance between Beijing and Canberra, saying the Morrison government had "stood up" for Australia.

"You have to stand up for Australia and you have to be honest," Mr Joyce said.

His co-panellist, Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, said Mr Marles' discussions with China had been a step in the right direction.

"Talking is always better than not talking. It was a very important meeting," Ms Plibersek said.

"It gives us the opportunity to raise some of these issues."

On Sunday, Mr Marles said his discussion with Mr Wei - a side talk at the Shangri-La Dialogue ministerial conference in Singapore - had been a "critical first step".

"It was an opportunity to have a very frank and full exchange in which I raised a number of issues of concern to Australia, including the incident involving Australia's P-8 aircraft on May 26 and Australia's abiding interest in the Pacific and our concern to ensure that the countries of the Pacific are not put in a position of increased militarisation," Mr Marles said.

Earlier in the day, he had delivered a speech to the conference in which he called on China to be transparent about its military build-up and criticised Beijing's actions in the South China Sea.

"Australia and China's relationship is complex, and it's precisely because of this complexity that it is really important that we are engaging in dialogue right now," he said.

Former ASIO boss Dennis Richardson said he did not expect a major breakthrough in Australia's relationship with Beijing.

There are still a lot of fundamental differences between China and Australia which the new government is fully aware of," Mr Richardson told ABC Radio.

"I don't think they will be looking for any startling breakthrough anytime soon."

Mr Richardson said it was "nonsense" that Australia had not been able to talk at a ministerial level with China, considering other countries had maintained such communication.

"A lot of that has been because of what China has done, and not done it. I think it's a very good thing that were at least able to communicate," he said.

"The easiest part of any government is at the beginning. It is over time that the complexities and the difficulties emerge and the compromises you make start to catch up with you."

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/Barnaby-Joyce-urges-caution-after-richard-marles-breaks-silence-with-beijing/news-story/d1364f640129edd45f27c3886289727f

#16366805 at 2022-05-30 08:22:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition

David Littleproud elected to lead the Nationals in opposition after post-election leadership vote

Kath Sullivan and Jake Evans - 30 May 2022

David Littleproud will lead the federal Nationals in opposition after a partyroom vote in Canberra.

Senator Perin Davey has been elected as deputy leader of the Nationals.

Mr Littleproud defeated incumbent leader Barnaby Joyce and former minister Darren Chester in a three-way contest to lead the party.

The leadership was determined at the first meeting of Nationals senators and MPs since the Coalition's election loss.

Mr Littleproud said it had been his dream to lead the party since he joined it as a six-year-old boy, 40 years ago.

"I believe passionately in the National Party ... we are the conscience of rural and regional Australia right here in this parliament," he said.

"The National Party today starts its journey towards 2025, with a vibrant team, ready to articulate the policies that are important to regional and rural Australia, but also to draw on the experience of two former deputy prime ministers in Barnaby Joyce and Michael McCormack, to build that bridge of unity and purpose, to make sure that regional and rural Australia isn't forgotten."

Deputy leader Senator Davey said the Nationals would act in the interest of regional Australia from opposition.

"We've got three years to make sure we hold the new government to account, and to make sure they don't forget the regions, and they don't sell us short by doing deals with other parties and other interests," she said.

"So, my focus with David is eyes on the future, and we will continue to build and continue to be a very strong voice for the regions."

In a statement, Mr Joyce congratulated the new leadership team, saying they had "a mighty task ahead of them".

"I suppose you think I am sad. Not really," he said.

"Now, I have a chance to get back to my second greatest love, after my family, and that is my beloved people of New England, where I will have more time to get around my electorate and to be a person of service to them."

Nationals won't abandon 'net zero' climate commitment

The Coalition saw swings against it in urban centres and across regional Australia, amid perceptions that the Nationals were reluctant to embrace action on climate change.

Former leader Mr Joyce was previously a vocal opponent of a 2050 goal for net-zero emissions, but led the Nationals into a net-zero agreement with the Liberal Party.

Mr Littleproud said the leadership vote was not about "lurching" left or right, but finding the "sensible centre", and he would uphold the net-zero commitment.

"We have made a sensible decision to be part of the global community; the global community asked us to sign up to net zero by 2050," he said.

The Nationals party room spills the leadership positions after every election.

It kept all 16 of its lower house seats at the election, but the majority of its MPs suffered swings against them.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-05-30/Barnaby-Joyce-out-david-littleproud-elected-to-lead-nationals/101109494

#16259800 at 2022-05-12 10:45:01 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16259797
China's co-operation with Pacific 'no threat' to Australia: envoy

Andrew Tillett - May 12, 2022

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Beijing's growing co-operation with the South Pacific is not a threat to Australia's security, China's local ambassador says, amid regional alarm a security pact with the Solomon Islands could pave the way for a military base.

In a further conciliatory sign from Ambassador Xiao Qian, he said common interests between Australia and China should outweigh differences that had fractured diplomatic and trade ties between the two countries.

"China and Australia are important countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and our bilateral relations have important impacts on both our countries and the wider region," Mr Xiao wrote in an opinion piece for The Australian Financial Review.

"To ensure the healthy and stable development of China-Australia relationship, it is of vital importance to properly handle our differences while expanding consensus and strengthening co-operation."

But as Mr Xiao attempts to strike a soothing tone on the eve of the federal poll after the security pact with the Solomon Islands emerged as a major election issue, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce accused China of "encircling" Australia, with Beijing's military expansion the biggest issue confronting the region.

A senior Solomon Islands legislator has also expressed alarm that an expected visit by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to Honiara within days to cement its security pact will be turned into a propaganda tour de force for China and the Solomon Islands' polarising Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

Mr Xiao was dispatched to Canberra in January, charged with attempting to reset the bilateral relationship after Beijing imposed a freeze on ministerial dialogue, targeted more than $20 billion of Australian exports with bans and punitive tariffs and issued a 14-point list of demands for policy concessions.

But there has been little sign of China changing its stance substantively, while Mr Xiao's efforts suffered a setback after the secretly negotiated security agreement between China and Honiara was revealed in March.

Australian and other intelligence agencies fear the agreement could be the launchpad to a permanent Chinese military presence in the south-west Pacific, and ultimately a base.

However, Mr Sogavare and China's Foreign Ministry have denied the agreement would allow a base, maintaining it involves the Solomon Islands' domestic security following anti-government riots last year in Honiara.

Mr Xiao did not explicitly mention the security agreement in his opinion piece but defended China's efforts to build ties in the Pacific.

"The co-operation between China and the South Pacific island countries is conducive to people's wellbeing of both sides and regional prosperity and stability, and will by no means threaten Australia's security," he said.

Mr Xiao said China was committed to a policy of peace, having been the victim of aggression in the past.

"China's rise should not be seen as a threat to Australia. The nature of relations between countries is not determined by their respective size or strength, but the policies they adopt towards each other," he said.

(continued)

#16246724 at 2022-05-10 09:30:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047076
>>16246718
Will Michael Gunner's resignation come too late for federal Labor?

DENNIS SHANAHAN - MAY 10, 2022

There is a crucial federal election element to Michael Gunner's surprise resignation as Labor's Northern Territory Chief Minister and that is the threat of his poor personal standing handing the Coalition one if not two seats on May 21.

The question is whether it's come too late to help Labor's vote in the federal seats.

There has been speculation Gunner was going to resign and had been considering his future for some time but the shock resignation coming after delivering the NT Budget took most by surprise - perhaps even his mother.

Gunner has declared he resigned to spend more time with his family and denied he was the subject of any corruption investigations so the most interesting aspect of the resignation is the timing.

For months both sides have conceded that Lingiari, after being held by retiring Labor MP, Warren Snowdon, for more than 20 years, is at risk for Labor with a popular Alice Springs-based former mayor, Damien Ryan, running for the CLP.

Scott Morrison, Anthony Albanese and Barnaby Joyce have all campaigned in Lingiari because of the potential change of hands. But, there is also a risk that Gunner was dragging down Labor's vote in the city seat of Solomon and threatening to provide crucial gains to the Prime Minister.

Certainly,in 2019, Bill Shorten's campaign was seen to be weighed down by Gunner although Labor retained both seats.

But after re-election and another 18 months of government Gunner is proving once again to be a weight on Labor's federal chances.

Joyce, as Nationals' leader has campaigned in the Territory, believes that if the resignation of Gunner is meant to help federal Labor "it's too late".

"Throughout the Territory people are desperate about law and order and Gunner's lack of capacity to deal with it," Joyce told The Australian online.

"It's too late for his resignation to help federal Labor," Joyce said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/will-michael-gunners-resignation-come-to-late-for-federal-labor/news-story/78573f1348cb0b8a8d56ad4f1f2993af

#16207271 at 2022-05-04 09:05:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16104792
Not Russia's fault: Sogavare's chilling remarks in defence of China security deal

BEN PACKHAM - MAY 4, 2022

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare says his country has been threatened "with invasion" by opponents of its security agreement with China as he chillingly declared Russia was not the aggressor in the Cuban missile crisis.

In an extraordinary address to parliament in defence of the controversial security agreement, Mr Sogavare said his country had been treated by critics of the pact like "kindergarten students walking around with Colt .45s in our hands".

He pushed back, without naming the US or Australia, at both nations' warnings that a Chinese military presence in Solomon Islands would not be tolerated.

"We deplore the continual demonstration of lack of trust by the concerned parties, and tacit warning of military intervention in Solomon Islands if their national interest is undermined in Solomon Islands," Mr Sogavare said.

"What is more insulting, Mr Speaker, in this attitude, and therefore totally unacceptable, is we are being treated as kindergarten students walking around with Colt .45s in our hands, and therefore we need to be supervised. We are insulted."

The attack followed Scott Morrison's warning that a Chinese base in Solomon Islands would be a "red line" for Australia, and US Indo-Pacific co-ordinator Kurt Campbell's declaration that the US would "respond accordingly" to Chinese a Chinese military presence in the country.

Echoing Chinese and Russian talking points, Mr Sogavare said there were "two sides" to the story of the Cuban missile crisis and the war in Ukraine.

"The full story of the Cuban missile crisis was never told to the public," he told the Solomon Islands parliament on Tuesday.

"You know why? Because it is not good for the Integrity of some people.

"We understand that there is at least two sides to every situation we see happening in the world today, including the Ukraine crisis that the Western world is trying to get every nation to condemn.

"Russia was not the aggressor in the Cuban missile crisis. No.

"It was in response to the presence of American Jupiter ballistic missiles in Italy and Turkey and the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961, Soviet secretary Khrushchev agreed to Cuba's request to establish nuclear missiles on the island to deter future invasion."

Australia's Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce earlier warned the security pact would result in "our own little Cuba off our coast", in a reference to the October 1962 crisis in which Russia positioned ballistic missiles in the territory of America's communist neighbour.

The Solomon Islands-China security agreement has raised the prospect - denied by the Sogavare government - of the development of a Chinese base within easy striking range of Australia.

The fiery Pacific leader, whose country is almost universally Christian, condemned nations which proclaimed "Christian values" but had waged "some of the bloodiest wars in the history of our planet".

He also attacked references in Australia of the Solomon Islands being in Australia's "backyard".

Mr Sogavare said backyards were "where rubbish is collected and burned", and "where we relieve ourselves".

Former Australian Strategic Policy Institute head Peter Jennings said Mr Sogavare's rhetoric was "as unhinged as Fidel Castro's".

"Sogavare should remember that the Cuban missile crisis ultimately left Cuba isolated from its neighbours in the Caribbean, with a mouldering economy, and its youth fighting Russia's proxy wars in Africa," he said.

Mr Jennings said Mr Sogavare's reaction to Australian and US concerns over the China agreement showed "Australian politicians have been pandering to Pacific leaders with soft soap rhetoric about the Pacific family".

"When a genuine crisis comes along sometimes we need to remind the region that Australia has security interests that need to be respected," he said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/not-russias-fault-sogavares-chilling-remarks-in-defence-of-china-security-deal/news-story/aed61903539561c3bfeaf214b9ba4ea1

#16187528 at 2022-05-01 09:55:00 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16187527

2/2

With hundreds of Labor supporters gathered at the Optus stadium in Perth, Albanese made a direct pledge to voters to offer a better government and highlighted two Labor premiers in the room - South Australia's Peter Malinauskas and WA's Mark McGowan - as examples of strong Labor government.

"Australia: if we stand still we will be left behind. If we don't shape the future, the future will shape us," he said.

"Because, make no mistake, climate change is here now. Our region is changing now. The jobs and skills and infrastructure that will grow our economy are needed now. There is a crisis in aged care, right now. Families need lasting help with rising costs, right now. Australia does not have three more years to waste."

In a speech heavy with criticism of Morrison for shifting blame to others, Albanese promised cheaper electricity, child care, mortgages and medicines as a result of Labor policies including a climate change policy meant to create 604,000 jobs while reducing prices under modelling by economics firm RepuTex.

A Labor government would also spend $39.3 million - matched by the NRMA - to build a national network of electric vehicle charging stations at an average interval of 150km in a promise Albanese would mean that "for the first time people will be able to truly drive around Australia in an EV".

In a key statement, he also promised "better pay" under a Labor government.

While Morrison has campaigned for three weeks with a message to voters that they know who he is and should not leap into the unknown by installing Albanese in power, the Labor leader sought to turn this to his advantage.

"I reckon people know all about Scott Morrison," he said.

"They've worked him out. Australians understand we can't bet our future on three more years of a Prime Minister who looks at every challenge facing our country and says: 'that's not my job'."

He also highlighted Coalition ministers Alan Tudge, Peter Dutton and Barnaby Joyce as "the unspeakable and the unthinkable [and] the inexplicable".

Albanese also promised better governance to make sure taxpayer funds were put into national infrastructure, taking aim at Morrison for promising $660 million for commuter car parks at the last election but not completing most of the projects.

"For a decade now, the Liberals and Nationals have treated governing as an inconvenience and public money as a political slush fund," he said.

"If you vote Labor, we will change this. A Labor government will restore trust and accountability in politics with a national anti-corruption commission."

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/australia-can-do-better-anthony-albanese-lays-out-his-vision-at-labor-party-campaign-launch-20220501-p5ahjk.html

#16169529 at 2022-04-28 11:20:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16169527

2/2

The OAIC has in the past month ordered the PMO to process three other similar FOI requests it had previously refused.

The prime minister's office must issue a decision on two requests for text messages from Barnaby Joyce's time as drought envoy to the prime minister, as well as for a request from Labor for documents relating to the scandal surrounding the doctored documents Angus Taylor used to attack the City of Sydney's climate record. Taylor has always maintained that the document was not altered or forged by his office.

In each instance, the OAIC found the PMO could not argue the demands on the office of the prime minister were such that narrowly-focused FOI requests could be refused.

A potential appeal of Wednesday's decision would mean another lengthy wait for the OAIC to make a decision. FOI law expert Peter Timmins has previously said if the government changed after the 21 May election the messages in question would probably not be retained by an incoming Labor government.

"If ... we have a different prime minister there by the time this issue is moved ahead, it's very unlikely that records of [that kind] will be passed to the new prime minister, which would mean that you've run into a dead end," he said.

Stewart claimed in messages on Signal to fellow QAnon supporters that he was passing on letters and information to the prime minister, Crikey and the ABC reported after the Guardian's initial story.

The Four Corners program in mid-2021 raised questions as to why Morrison had used the term "ritual sexual abuse" in his apology to survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, revealing messages reportedly sent by Stewart referring to his attempts to get the words "ritual abuse" into the apology.

The term had been prominent in QAnon circles.

A spokesperson for the prime minister previously said the term "ritual" was "one that the prime minister heard directly from the abuse survivors and the National Apology to Victims and Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse Reference Group he met with in the lead-up to the apology and refers not just to the ritualised way or patterns in which so many crimes were committed but also to the frequency and repetition of them."

In 2019, Stewart denied to Guardian Australia that he had sought to influence the prime minister on policy, and said that he had not communicated with him about the QAnon conspiracy. At the time the Four Corners program aired, Morrison said the program was "pretty ordinary" and he did not support the QAnon conspiracy theory.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/27/pms-office-wont-release-any-texts-with-qanon-friend-arguing-they-would-not-be-official-documents


>Our reach is a direct threat to their control.
>Would the largest news co's in the world attack us (daily) if we weren't a threat to their narrative/control?
>You attack those who threaten you the most.

#16142833 at 2022-04-24 10:27:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047076
>>16104792
Labor flags more aid and diplomats to combat China's Pacific rise

Katina Curtis - April 24, 2022

Labor has flagged it will increase Australia's diplomatic heft in the Pacific and boosting foreign aid in a bid to combat China's growing influence while Prime Minister Scott Morrison warns the superpower is seeking to exploit vulnerabilities in the region.

The opposition accused the government of a substantial national security failure after Solomon Islands signed a new security deal with China that experts warn could lead to Chinese ships and planes being based some 2000km from Australia's east coast.

Opposition foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was vital to approach relationships with Pacific nations by continually demonstrating that you were engaging in the issues they cared about, such as climate change.

"You don't just respond to [increased competition by China] by telling people not to go elsewhere. You respond to it by becoming and being and staying the partner of choice," she told Sky News.

Labor will announce within days its policy to rebuild trust and diplomatic relations with Pacific nations.

Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers flagged that would include increased foreign aid and a stronger diplomatic capacity, saying the country had to re-earn the trust and friendship of Pacific neighbours.

"Part of that relies on being credible partners on climate change and part of that relies on being meaningful partners when it comes to development assistance," he said.

The Coalition cut aid spending in real terms for six budgets in a row after it took office in 2013. Aid spending jumped during the pandemic, but the March 29 budget showed it would flatline over the next few years, although there was a separate pool of money allocated to infrastructure projects in the Pacific.

Morrison said on Sunday there were always "ebbs and flows" in development support programs but the projects his government had funded in Solomon Islands were "economy-supporting investments".

"All I can tell you is the Chinese government does not play by the same rules. And there are lots of vulnerabilities within our region to that type of influence," he said.

Defence Minister Peter Dutton said China has changed over recent years, resorting to aggressive tactics and underhanded behaviour such as making "corrupt payments" to get the deals it wants.

He said if China's recently struck security deal with Solomon Islands has happened in isolation, "that would be bad enough" but it followed a pattern seen in Sri Lanka and African nations.

Asked if corrupt payments had been made in the Solomons case, Dutton said "it's not something that I can comment on".

"China's incredibly aggressive, the acts of foreign interference, the preparedness to pay bribes to get outcomes and to beat other countries to deals. That's the reality of the modern China," he told Sky News.

But Chalmers said the government had dropped the ball.

"For all the government's chest-beating about China, the net result of that is a region which is less secure and a nation which is less safe," he told ABC's Insiders.

"This is a prime minister that went to the wrong island, went to Hawaii during the bushfires when his focus should have been on the Solomon Islands."

Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare reiterated in a statement from his office on Saturday the security agreement was not about China establishing a military base in his country.

"It is not directed at any external security interest," the statement said.

Morrison said he had received similar reassurances previously.

"[Sogavare] was very clear in his latest communication with me, not that long ago, that he has no intention of putting a naval base there on the Solomon Islands," he said.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said he had no doubt Solomons believed that but equally, he was certain Beijing's eventual goal was to set up a military base close to Australia.

"The Chinese government works to a long-term plan, and this is just another form of island-hopping, which is part of the strategic process used by the United States and Japan and now China to get a presence," he told Insiders.

"Obviously for the Solomons, I take their word, but I say, be really careful inviting a totalitarian power into your country because it is going to affect your sovereignty."

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/labor-flags-more-aid-and-diplomats-to-combat-china-s-pacific-rise-20220424-p5afom.html?js-chunk-not-found-refresh=true

#16142816 at 2022-04-24 10:22:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16142809

2/2

Solomons sovereignty at risk, Joyce says

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has also warned Solomon Islands it has put its sovereignty at risk by signing a security agreement with China.

Mr Joyce said he had taken the Solomon Islands' word that it would not allow China to establish a naval base on the island, but that, if it did, it would be "obviously an intimidating tactic" for Australia.

"[China wants] to. There's no doubt about that because we see what they did in the South China Sea where they said they weren't going to militarise," he said.

"Obviously for the Solomons, I take their word but I say be really careful to invite a totalitarian power into your country because it's going to affect your sovereignty."

Mr Joyce again defended the Prime Minister and the government's attempts to engage with Solomon Islands leadership before the deal was signed.

However, he also would not say how Australia would respond if China did begin to build a military base because the country had said it would not happen.

When asked what a re-elected Liberal and Nationals Coalition would do to stop China from encroaching further into the pacific, the Deputy Prime Minister pointed to projects - such as the nuclear submarine deal, AUKUS, the Quad alliance between Australia, India, Japan and the US - as examples of things the government was doing to prevent that.

The government has faced sustained criticism from the opposition about the deal, with Labor arguing that the Coalition should have done more to prevent it, including sending Foreign Minister Marise Payne to Solomon Islands when concerns about the pact first arose last year.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-24/scott-morrison-china-naval-base-solomon-islands-red-line/101011710

#16121527 at 2022-04-21 17:26:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16111294
Australia won't interfere in Assange case

Dominic Giannini - April 21 2022

The Australian government will not make any representations to the British home secretary after a UK court approved the extradition of whistleblower Julian Assange to the US.

A British court has sent Mr Assange's extradition order to Home Secretary Priti Patel, but the whistleblower can try to challenge the decision by judicial review if signed.

Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the government maintained confidence in the UK's justice system.

"We trust the independence and integrity of the UK justice system. Our expectation is that, as always, it operates in the proper and transparent and independent way," he told the ABC.

"It, of course, has appeal processes built into it as well. This is the legal system upon which our own has been built on and established and we have confidence in the process."

Labor foreign affairs spokeswoman Penny Wong said it was ultimately a decision for the UK home secretary.

"I do understand why not only Mr Assange's personal supporters but many Australians more generally are worried about this. It has dragged on a long time," she told the ABC.

"As an Australian citizen, he is entitled to consular assistance. We also expect the government to keep seeking assurances from both the UK and US that he's treated fairly and humanely."

But Senator Wong stopped short of saying a Labor government would make specific representations about the case.

"Consular matters are regularly raised with counterparts, they are regularly raised and this one would be no different," she said.

The development comes 10 days after Mr Assange surpassed the three-year anniversary of his arrest.

The 50-year-old Australian was dragged from London's Ecuador embassy on April 11 in 2019 to face extradition to the United States on espionage charges over WikiLeaks' release of confidential US military records and diplomatic cables.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has previously called for an end to Mr Assange's extradition.

Mr Joyce said Mr Assange didn't steal secret US files but only published them, which did not breach any Australian laws at the time, and he was not in the US when leaks were put online.

The Greens have criticised the extradition of Mr Assange, with senator Peter Whish-Wilson saying the US Espionage Act wasn't intended to be used against publishers.

"We must support press freedoms and those who hold the powerful to account," he said.

"Julian Assange's prosecution has always been political. It needs political intervention of the highest order from our government to get justice for him."

Assange Australia campaign adviser Greg Barnes says it's important the matter has moved back into the political realm.

"Previously the Australian government has said we can't even intervene because the matter is before the courts. It is no longer before the courts in that sense," he told Sky News.

"This is a political decision that will be made by Priti Patel and it's a decision which the Australian government, and of course in this context the opposition, could influence."

The Greens, crossbenchers such as Andrew Wilkie, and Liberal and Labor backbenchers had expressed support for Mr Assange, which could potentially influence a hung parliament in May, Mr Barnes said.

"That's also an interesting factor as to what pressure is going to come on whoever gets elected in May to bring this Australian home."

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7707599/australia-wont-interfere-in-assange-case/

#16121492 at 2022-04-21 17:23:34 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16111294
Liberal MP calls for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange's return to Australia

A British court has approved Assange's extradition to the US, after having spent three years in Belmarsh Prison, prompting calls for his return to Australian shores.

KISHOR NAPIER-RAMANAPR - APR 21, 2022

A government backbencher has called for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to be brought back to Australia, after a British court formally approved his extradition to the United States.

Liberal MP Jason Falinski, a moderate facing an independent challenge in his Sydney Northern Beaches seat of Mackellar, told Crikey that while he respected the British court's ruling, he hoped the Morrison government could negotiate for Assange to be returned to Australia.

"My hope would be instead of getting extradited he'd be sent back to Australia - the sooner the better," Falinski said.

"For him and for his family, this is an awful situation to be in."

Following a brief hearing yesterday, the Westminster Magistrates Court made an order approving Assange's extradition, after his legal team was denied permission to appeal it by the UK Supreme Court last month. If extradited, Assange faces 17 espionage charges and one related to computer misuse. His legal team say he could face up to 175 years in prison.

Assange's fate now lies in the hands of British Home Secretary Priti Patel. His legal team's final remaining avenues are to make submissions to Patel, or appeal to the British High Court.

But independent MP Andrew Wilkie, who chairs the Parliamentary Friends of the Bring Julian Assange Home Group, said that while the decision was disappointing, one positive dimension was how the issue had become "intensely political" now that court processes were finished.

"No longer can British and Australian politicians hide behind the excuse that it's a matter for the courts," he told Crikey.

"It's entirely appropriate now for Scott Morrison to pick up the phone to Boris Johnson and Joe Biden, and, for that matter, Anthony Albanese, to say what he would do if he became PM in four weeks' time."

With a few notable exceptions, support from the government has been tepid. Facing questions on RN Breakfast this morning, Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said the Australian government wouldn't challenge the ruling.

"There remain appeal rights for Mr Assange, depending on decisions that have [been] made and we'll continue to provide, where it is taken up, appropriate consular assistance," he said.

But Falinski is one of a growing number of government MPs who've publicly opposed Assange's extradition. Last year Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce used an opinion piece in the Nine newspapers to call for Assange's return to Australia.

"They [Britain] should try him there for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil or send him back to Australia, where he is a citizen," Joyce said.

Tasmanian backbencher Bridget Archer, who holds the Coalition's most marginal seat of Bass, also supports diplomatic action to bring Assange to Australia.

Assange's parliamentary support also unites both ends of the political spectrum. His Parliamentary Friends group includes nine Greens, but is also co-chaired by hard-right former Coalition MP turned One Nation Senate candidate George Christensen.

Last month, Assange, who has been incarcerated at Belmarsh Prison since 2019, married his long-term partner Stella Morris. Wilkie said Assange's long, very public ordeal has drawn more parliamentarians to the whistleblower's cause.

"I've detected in the last year or two, a lot of people who were happy for him to rot in jail have changed their mind," he said.

https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/04/21/liberal-mp-julian-assanges-return-to-australia/

#16111287 at 2022-04-20 10:07:05 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047076
Change of government would present 'great opportunity' in fight to free Julian Assange, his father says

John Shipton, father of the WikiLeaks founder, says 'of course things would change' if Labor were elected in May

Caitlin Cassidy - 20 Apr 2022

The father of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has touted the possible election of a Labor government as a "great opportunity" for the movement to free the WikiLeaks founder from imprisonment.

Speaking at a Sydney Q&A screening of documentary Ithaka, which documents his efforts to free Assange, John Shipton said a groundswell of parliamentarian support was growing for his son's plight and he was buoyed up by the prospect of an incoming Labor government.

"Of course things would change [if Labor were elected] ... this is a great opportunity for us," he said.

"A fresh parliament has a lot of room to move ... I speak to many of them. They don't want this hanging around their neck like an albatross."

Shipton said he had had several lunches with Anthony Albanese, and had been assured the opposition leader would do "whatever he can" to free his son and "enough's enough".

The 76-year-old said when he began advocating for Assange in 2019, two parliamentarians supported him - independent MP Andrew Wilkie and Greens senator for Tasmania Peter Whish-Wilson.

"Now there are 29 and peripherally, there are other supporters," he said.

"The deputy prime minister while in the US ... said publicly ... that Julian ought to be charged if he's done anything in the UK ... other than that, send him home.

"There's a core in the Labor party, there's a core in the National party, the Greens are all supporting [Julian] ... it's a popular concern and parliamentarians recognise that."

In December, Liberal backbenchers Jason Falinski and Bridget Archer called for diplomatic action to secure Assange's return to Australia after Barnaby Joyce said it was unfair the US wanted to extradite him to face prosecution over actions allegedly not committed inside the US.

There are currently 25 members of the Assange parliamentary group, including nine Greens, eight Labor, four independents or crossbench and four from the Coalition: Joyce, Bridget Arthur, Jason Falinski and Nationals MP George Christensen.

Appearing alongside Assange's brother and producer of Ithaka, Gabriel Shipton, and director, Ben Lawrence, Shipton said the Australian government had "no leverage" on an international scale while Assange remained imprisoned.

"They want to be able to say to people when they travel overseas that they look after Australians, they repaired the problems of Julian Assange's persecution," he said.

"He's morally destroyed, physically destroyed ... the continuation of policy which might merely be acquiescence over the unfolding of time becomes complicit. It's inescapable, and cruel, and demotes ourselves, but we can fix it."

Filmed across the UK, Europe and the US, Ithaka follows the two-year struggle of John Shipton, a retired builder, and Assange's wife, Stella Moris, to free Assange from US government efforts to try him in connection with WikiLeaks' publication of hundreds of thousands of leaked documents about the Afghanistan and Iraq wars, as well as diplomatic cables.

Shipton began seriously advocating for Assange at 73 years of age, after expressing initial unease at interacting with the media. He has a well-documented, complicated relationship with his son, absent from Assange's life after the age of three and reconnecting with him in his 20s.

Ithaka - the name of the film - comes from the title of Greek poet C.P. Cavafy's epic poem which evokes the first step of a meaningful, lifelong journey.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2022/apr/20/change-of-government-would-present-great-opportunity-in-fight-to-free-julian-assange-his-father-says

https://documentaryaustralia.com.au/project/ithaka/

#16111221 at 2022-04-20 09:19:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047451
>>16104792
The China-Solomon Islands security deal is a failure that goes back years

Anthony Galloway - April 20, 2022

Labor's Penny Wong was correct when she accused the government of the "worst failure of Australian foreign policy in the Pacific" in almost 80 years, after the Solomon Islands signed a security pact with China.

An agreement that could pave the way for Beijing to establish a military presence in a country less than 2000 kilometres from Cairns is a national security failure on Scott Morrison's watch.

A lot of criticism has been levelled at Morrison and Foreign Minister Marise Payne for their apparent inaction. Wong on Wednesday criticised the government for sending Minister for the Pacific Zed Seselja, who she labelled a "junior woodchuck", to the country last week.

Morrison hit back at the criticism, saying sending a high-profile minister such as Payne would not have been appropriate and that "we were very aware of where that agreement was up to".

If we read between the lines, Australia in recent weeks knew the security deal was going to be signed no matter what, and did not want to again look like it had failed despite efforts by Payne or even Morrison.

It was only last November when Australia helped keep Solomons Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare in power by sending ADF personnel to quell demonstrations and violent riots. That followed 15 years of Defence presence on the ground to help restore law and order and good governance during the RAMSI mission.

Some Australian officials are now asking themselves whether they should have bothered to prop up a corrupt government which has long disliked Canberra and had at the same time been cosying up to Beijing.

The Solomons' decision to sign a pact with China is a failure of Australian soft power that goes back years, starting with Tony Abbott's cynical and disastrous decision to rip billions of dollars out of foreign aid in 2014.

As Australia stepped back, Beijing went on an infrastructure blitz throughout the Pacific.

By the time Canberra realised the national security failure on our doorstep in around 2017, it was a case of too little, too late.

The multi-billion-dollar Pacific "Step Up", which includes the $2 billion Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), has shown dividends. Australia is providing a genuine alternative to funding large infrastructure projects in the region without saddling countries with debt.

But just as we were stepping back up in 2019, both the Solomon Islands and Kiribati switched their allegiance from Taiwan to Beijing.

Australia's total diplomatic and development contribution is still significantly lower than similar countries. It sits at about 1.3 per cent of the federal budget, well behind comparable countries such as Canada (1.9 per cent) and the Netherlands (4.3 per cent).

The federal government spends 10 times more on defence than it does on foreign aid, compared to a defence-to-aid spending ratio of five-to-one in 2013-14.

Morrison deserves credit for his genuine engagement with the Pacific and his government's commitments under the Step Up program, which includes a multi-billion-dollar undersea cable for the Solomon Islands.

But the government was all over the shop in its reaction to the pact. At a press conference on Wednesday, Morrison said it was a "false claim" to suggest the deal would result in a Chinese base being built in the Solomons.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said just the opposite: "They've decided to have a pact with China - dual purpose - which means China is able, if they follow this through, to set up a military base there … That's a very bad day for Australia. We don't want our own little Cuba off our coast."

We do need to be careful not to extrapolate too much from the security deal when assessing the rest of the region. Nearly all Pacific island nations are just as alarmed as Australia over the news.

Morrison on Wednesday suggested other Pacific island nations were facing the same level of coercion from China but had not yielded.

"Do you think there's not the same pressure going on in Papua New Guinea that there is in the Solomon Islands? Of course there is. You don't think the same pressure is … in Fiji or Samoa?"

Let's hope Morrison is right, and the Solomons is an outlier.

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/the-china-solomon-islands-security-deal-is-a-failure-that-goes-back-years-20220420-p5aeqr.html

#16111196 at 2022-04-20 09:09:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16065990
>>16104792
Morrison defends Payne's absence from Solomons as 'strategic decision'

Eryk Bagshaw - April 20, 2022

Foreign Minister Marise Payne was at a private business dinner in Sydney on the night Pacific Minister Zed Seselja was sent to the Solomon Islands in a failed attempt to stop a landmark security deal with Beijing from being signed.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said it was a strategic decision to dispatch the junior minister to the Pacific Island nation despite a draft agreement revealing plans that could give the Chinese navy access to a base less than 2000 kilometres off the Australian coast.

"The judgement was made not to engage at a Foreign Minister level … to ensure that Australia's views were communicated very clearly and very respectfully," Morrison said on Wednesday.

"One of the things you have got to be very, very cognisant of is there is a long history of, frankly, countries like Australia and even New Zealand and others coming around and treating Pacific Islands like they should be doing what the big countries should tell them to do."

The deal puts national and regional security at the centre of the Australian federal election campaign. Labor leader Anthony Albanese on Wednesday said it was "one of the greatest policy failures that we've seen from this government". Payne said she was "deeply disappointed" the deal had been signed.

The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have confirmed that Payne was at a private business dinner at PwC Barangaroo on April 12, the night Seselja flew to Honiara. The dinner was not a fundraiser but was attended by business people who donate to the Liberal Party. Payne had earlier that day spoken with US lawmakers Bob Menendez and Lindsey Graham as part of a lobbying push to get the US to take a stronger stance against the Solomons deal.

On Tuesday night, when China's Foreign Ministry announced the deal had been signed, Payne was attending a Liberal Women's networking forum in South Australia after earlier campaigning in Boothby. During an election campaign, senior ministers have to manage fundraising, campaigning and governing while the government remains in caretaker mode. The Morrison government says it has had more than 100 exchanges with Solomons ministers and Pacific Islands' forum members since the draft agreement was leaked in March, but that lobbying failed to sway the Solomons government.

Albanese said on Wednesday that he would go to Honiara if elected to meet defiant Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare to relay Australia's concerns. Former foreign minister Julie Bishop said on Wednesday that Payne should be on her way to Honiara. "I believe our foreign minister should be on the next plane to Solomon Islands," she told Channel 10.

The agreement will give Beijing its first major security stake in the Pacific and give it the power to protect its investments in the region.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the "pact with China was dual purpose, which means that China is able - if they follow this through - to set up a military base there".

"That is a very bad day for Australia," he said. "We don't want our own little Cuba off our coast."

'Our eyes wide open'

Sogavare told parliament in Honiara on Wednesday the deal had been signed to protect critical national infrastructure in the poor and divided country. Chinese armed forces will now be allowed to protect Chinese investments by force if necessary. The deal is the first one of its kind for billions of dollars worth of Chinese investment abroad.

"We entered into an arrangement with China with our eyes wide open guided by our national interest," Sogavare told parliament.

Sogavare said he would dispatch foreign minister Jeremiah Manele to countries in the region to allay their fears about a Chinese naval base in the Pacific.

The Australian government, which was initially blindsided by the details of the draft agreement, said it had made its concerns clear.

"Our consistently stated view, including from the perspective of Australia's national interests, remains that the Pacific family is best placed to meet the security needs of the region," Payne and Seselja said in a joint statement.

Labor attacks 'blunder'

Albanese used his morning's campaign press conference in Brisbane to condemn what he described as Australian government inaction.

"This deal between China and the Solomons was foreshadowed last August, the government was warned. Yet, only in recent days did the government bother to send a junior person across to the Solomons," he said.

Albanese confirmed he would visit the Solomons if elected. Morrison's first trip abroad as Prime Minister was to Honiara in 2019. "The problem is those relationships aren't ones that can be done just during when there's a crisis," he said.

(continued)

#16104696 at 2022-04-19 09:07:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

>>16047076
Stay calm but think beyond the leader's gaffes

TROY BRAMSTON - APRIL 19, 2022

1/2

As Anthony Albanese has joined his 6.15am daily phone hook-up with senior Labor shadow ministers, party officials and staff, it has been somewhat awkward as they review the media coverage, assess the state of the campaign and confirm their strategy, key lines and program for the day ahead.

Labor frontbenchers, backbenchers, candidates, staff and campaigners spoken to for this column have expressed deep concern and alarm about the Opposition Leader's campaign per?form?ance. It has been disastrous and some fear it is going to get only worse as they scale back expectations for seats they can win.

There is no panic yet, but there is real worry over Albanese's campaign preparation and readiness, the capacities of his personal staff and the experience of Labor's campaign team in Sydney. Some Labor figures say they are not surprised while others have been shocked at the series of blunders.

The anxiety level in Labor was elevated on day zero, the day Scott Morrison announced the election date, when Albanese appeared at an afternoon press conference. He did not have a clear message or theme and rambled his way through an opening statement as if it was not rehearsed, and he did not have sharp responses to questions.

Labor has had "on your side", "build back better" and now "a better future". Not exactly consistent, coherent or cut-through.

The gaffes began on day one of the campaign: not being able to name the unemployment rate or Reserve Bank cash rate; repeated mistakes over asylum-seeker policy; saying Labor's urgent care clinics were costed by the Parliamentary Budget Office, then clarifying they were not; promising to answer media questions, then cutting short press conferences. There was the claim Albanese had been an economic policy adviser to the Hawke government. He was an electorate officer to junior minister Tom Uren, who did not hold an economic portfolio. If Albanese did offer economic advice, it was ignored because he was a persistent critic of the economic reforms of the Hawke-Keating government.

The Coalition should be on the mat and down for the count. The past nine years have been marked by a revolving-door Liberal and Nationals party leadership, internal division, policy backflips and broken promises, and a chaotic parliament. The Prime Minister is unpopular. Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is a national joke. But, with the economy booming, they just may pull off another miracle election victory.

Albanese's stumbles have reinforced to many in Labor that his office and the party's national secretariat have been running the wrong strategy for the past three years. Albanese is still not well known and his small-target policy approach means voters are struggling to find reasons to vote Labor. The opposition does not have a bold, animating, compelling agenda that speaks to its values and presents as a clear and convincing alternative to the government.

(continued)

#16047076 at 2022-04-10 05:26:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

Scott Morrison calls federal election for May 21, setting up battle with Labor's Anthony Albanese

Brett Worthington and Georgia Hitch - 10 April 2022

Australians will get to decide who leads the country for the next three years when they go to the polls in a federal election on May 21.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison locked the date in today after visiting the Governor-General in Canberra.

It sets up a six-week campaign that will pit Mr Morrison's Liberal-National Coalition against a Labor Party led by Anthony Albanese.

Mr Morrison said he did not think his government was "perfect" but that the public would judge it on what it had done over the last term.

"Our government is not perfect - we've never claimed to be, but we are up-front and you may see some flaws but you can also see what we have achieved for Australia in incredibly difficult times," he said.

"You can see our plan. Our plan will deliver more and better jobs and the lowest unemployment seen in some 50 years."

The Prime Minister was asked how he was feeling about the upcoming election, given the recent attacks on his personal character.

Mr Morrison has been accused of being a bully and a liar by members of his own party, including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce - claims he has denied.

"This election, others will seek to make it about me [but] it's about the people watching this right now," Mr Morrison said.

"It's about them. What we've demonstrated over these past three years is the ability to make those decisions that has ensured that Australia's recovery is leading the world."

In calling the election, Mr Morrison becomes the first prime minister since John Howard - more than 14 years ago - to serve a full term as the nation's leader.

The Coalition is seeking its fourth term in office, while Mr Albanese hopes to return Labor to government for the first time since 2013.

Mr Morrison said voters would face a choice when they walked into the voting booth.

He urged them to stick with a government they knew amid uncertain times, listing war in Ukraine, a deadly pandemic and an economy recovering from recession as the biggest issues Australia was facing.

Mr Albanese has claimed underdog status as he seeks to return Labor to government.

Labor's platform centres on policies like lifting childcare subsidies, placing more nurses in aged care homes, and providing nearly half a million fee-free TAFE places.

"Australians deserve better," Mr Albanese said.

"This government doesn't have an agenda for today, let alone a vision for tomorrow. They demonstrated that in their budget, which was nothing more than a ploy for an election campaign."

Mr Albanese, the infrastructure minister when Labor was last in power, briefly served as deputy prime minister when Kevin Rudd returned to the prime ministership in 2013.

He said he expected a Coalition scare campaign about his credentials to lead the nation.

"Fear can be a powerful emotion," he said.

"I imagine there will be quite a bit over the next few weeks but I want to appeal to your sense of optimism and desire for a better future."

The battle ahead

Mr Morrison's Coalition begins the election notionally with 76 seats - the bare minimum for a majority government.

Labor notionally has 69 seats, thanks to the creation of a new seat in Melbourne.

The Opposition needs four seats to get ahead of the Coalition and seven seats for a bare majority.

The ABC has tracked the travel of the leaders of Labor and the Coalition since late last year.

It offers a snapshot of where the campaign will likely be fought. Labor hopes to make gains in Western Australia, Queensland and Northern Tasmania, while the Coalition is seeking gains in New South Wales and the Northern Territory.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-10/may-21-election-scott-morrison-anthony-albanese-coalition-labor/100903580

#16040669 at 2022-04-09 05:23:13 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

#21 - Part 20
Australia / China Tensions - Part 6
>>15994756 China-Solomon Islands security pact has no military connotation: Chinese FM - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>15994770 Australia plays victim of 'economic coercion' to attack China, obstructs cooperation: Chinese FM - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>15994781 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on April 1, 2022
>>15994793 Video: The current difficult situation in China-Australia relations. - SpokespersonCHN
>>16002473 Solomon Islands, China military deal: What it means for Australia
>>16002540 Japan's ambassador to Australia, Yamagami Shingo warns Australia against 'too many eggs in one basket' with China trade
>>16008518 Millionaire Chinese property developer Zheng Jiefu quietly expelled from Australia for 'harming security interests'
>>16014957 Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Samuel J Paparo lashes 'concerning' Solomon Islands security pact with China
>>16021998 China reacts to AUKUS hypersonic missiles deal as Barnaby Joyce says weapons pose 'existential threat'

>>16022043 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Solomon Islands - Media Release of the Chinese Embassy on China-Solomon Islands security cooperation
>>16022045 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Solomon Islands - Q&A on China-Solomon Islands Security Cooperation by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy
>>16028308 China denounces Australia and New Zealand for their "colonial mentality" in Beijing's most detailed defence of its security agreement with the Solomon Islands
>>16028339 Australian spy chiefs meet with Solomon Islands PM Sogavare over draft security deal with China - Paul Symon, head of overseas spy agency the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), and Andrew Shearer, Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence
>>16028349 Solomon Islands Govenment Statement - Positive Outcome to Dialogue between PM and Australian Envoy
>>16028406 China accuses US, UK and Australia of trying to build Asia-Pacific NATO
>>16028409 AUKUS plans hypersonic weapons to confront China as US speeds up NATO, Asian allies' coordination - Liu Xuanzun and Liu Xin - globaltimes.cn
>>16028413 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on April 6, 2022
>>16028421 Video: AUKUS is an Anglo-Saxon clique, a child of the Cold War mentality & bloc politics. - SpokespersonCHN
>>16034829 Security pact puts heat on Solomon Islands - Foreign Minister Marise Payne and US counterpart Antony Blinken express concern about China's draft security agreement with the Solomon Islands

#16040666 at 2022-04-09 05:22:20 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition

#21 - Part 18
Australia / China Tensions - Part 4
>>15939923 Video: ScoMo responds to leaked security deal between China and Solomon Islands - Sky News Australia
>>15939947 Solomons confirms a security deal coming with China; Australia and NZ concerned
>>15939983 Solomon Islands Govenment Statement - SOLOMON ISLANDS BROADEN SECURITY COOPERATION WITH MORE PARTNERS
>>15940010 Australia, NZ warn Solomons over 'destabilising' the Pacific with China deal
>>15940039 PM Scott Morrison declined to meet new Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian
>>15945974 US-Australia economic pact to fight China sanctions - Australia and the US will elevate economic coercion by China in the Indo-Pacific to a third pillar of the strategic partnership alongside defence and foreign affairs
>>15946023 Video: 'Extremely irresponsible': China hits back at Australia over Solomon Islands deal - Sky News Australia
>>15946042 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on March 25, 2022
>>15947631 Video: Scott Morrison rules out meeting with Chinese ambassador until Beijing's diplomatic freeze starts to thaw
>>15947641 Australian journalist Cheng Lei to be tried in Beijing on state secrets charges next week - 25 March 2022

>>15947654 Australian government says it expects basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment when Australian citizen Cheng Lei goes on trial in Beijing next week.
>>15955076 Video: Prime Minister Scott Morrison: Solomons-China pact bad for the region - Sky News Australia
>>15962100 China's Solomon Island naval base security draft agreement designed to 'intimidate' Australia, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says
>>15962119 Morrison declines to meet new Chinese envoy, continues anti-China rhetoric to boost re-election bid - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>15962188 China Freaked: B-2 Bombers, F-35s And F-22 Stealth Fighters Are In Australia - Stavros Atlamazoglou - 19fortyfive.com
>>15962188 7NEWS Australia Tweet: Video: A US B-2 stealth bomber has flown into Australia, landing at RAAF Base Amberley today. The defence force says the visit is part of talks between Australia and the US.
>>15968672 Star Entertainment let billionaire Chinese property developer Phillip Dong Fang Lee gamble, prioritising 'making money', despite money laundering suspicions
>>15968700 'Insulting': Solomon Islands lashes out at Australia, New Zealand over China deal
>>15968710 Video: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare 'insulted' by reaction to security treaty with China

>>15968716 Solomon Islands close to security deal with China, alarming neighbors - Michael E. Miller and Frances Vinall - washingtonpost.com
>>15968722 Defiant Solomon Islands PM says deal with China is 'ready to sign'
>>15968726 'Utter nonsense': Solomon Islands PM says China is not a threat to regional stability - Guardian Australia
>>15968732 'Bully' Australia coerces Pacific island countries, smears China's role in the region - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>15968763 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on March 28, 2022
>>15968770 To stop Chinese bases, Australia must lead in the Pacific - Peter Jennings - aspistrategist.org.au
>>15975118 Australia deporting students because of military training, says China - Michael Smith - afr.com
>>15975126 China lodges representations with Australia over repatriation of Chinese students - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>15975131 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on March 29, 2022
>>15975146 Australian Border Force stands firm on Chinese claims of unfair visa cancellations for students at airports - Bill Birtles - abc.net.au

#16040595 at 2022-04-09 05:08:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

#21 - Part 20
Australia / China Tensions - Part 6
>>15994756 China-Solomon Islands security pact has no military connotation: Chinese FM - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>15994770 Australia plays victim of 'economic coercion' to attack China, obstructs cooperation: Chinese FM - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>15994781 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on April 1, 2022
>>15994793 Video: The current difficult situation in China-Australia relations. - SpokespersonCHN
>>16002473 Solomon Islands, China military deal: What it means for Australia
>>16002540 Japan's ambassador to Australia, Yamagami Shingo warns Australia against 'too many eggs in one basket' with China trade
>>16008518 Millionaire Chinese property developer Zheng Jiefu quietly expelled from Australia for 'harming security interests'
>>16014957 Commander of the US Pacific Fleet, Admiral Samuel J Paparo lashes 'concerning' Solomon Islands security pact with China
>>16021998 China reacts to AUKUS hypersonic missiles deal as Barnaby Joyce says weapons pose 'existential threat'

>>16022043 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Solomon Islands - Media Release of the Chinese Embassy on China-Solomon Islands security cooperation
>>16022045 Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Solomon Islands - Q&A on China-Solomon Islands Security Cooperation by the Spokesperson of the Chinese Embassy
>>16028308 China denounces Australia and New Zealand for their "colonial mentality" in Beijing's most detailed defence of its security agreement with the Solomon Islands
>>16028339 Australian spy chiefs meet with Solomon Islands PM Sogavare over draft security deal with China - Paul Symon, head of overseas spy agency the Australian Secret Intelligence Service (ASIS), and Andrew Shearer, Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence
>>16028349 Solomon Islands Govenment Statement - Positive Outcome to Dialogue between PM and Australian Envoy
>>16028406 China accuses US, UK and Australia of trying to build Asia-Pacific NATO
>>16028409 AUKUS plans hypersonic weapons to confront China as US speeds up NATO, Asian allies' coordination - Liu Xuanzun and Liu Xin - globaltimes.cn
>>16028413 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian's Regular Press Conference on April 6, 2022
>>16028421 Video: AUKUS is an Anglo-Saxon clique, a child of the Cold War mentality & bloc politics. - SpokespersonCHN
>>16034829 Security pact puts heat on Solomon Islands - Foreign Minister Marise Payne and US counterpart Antony Blinken express concern about China's draft security agreement with the Solomon Islands

#16040587 at 2022-04-09 05:07:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

#21 - Part 18
Australia / China Tensions - Part 4
>>15939923 Video: ScoMo responds to leaked security deal between China and Solomon Islands - Sky News Australia
>>15939947 Solomons confirms a security deal coming with China; Australia and NZ concerned
>>15939983 Solomon Islands Govenment Statement - SOLOMON ISLANDS BROADEN SECURITY COOPERATION WITH MORE PARTNERS
>>15940010 Australia, NZ warn Solomons over 'destabilising' the Pacific with China deal
>>15940039 PM Scott Morrison declined to meet new Chinese ambassador Xiao Qian
>>15945974 US-Australia economic pact to fight China sanctions - Australia and the US will elevate economic coercion by China in the Indo-Pacific to a third pillar of the strategic partnership alongside defence and foreign affairs
>>15946023 Video: 'Extremely irresponsible': China hits back at Australia over Solomon Islands deal - Sky News Australia
>>15946042 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on March 25, 2022
>>15947631 Video: Scott Morrison rules out meeting with Chinese ambassador until Beijing's diplomatic freeze starts to thaw
>>15947641 Australian journalist Cheng Lei to be tried in Beijing on state secrets charges next week - 25 March 2022

>>15947654 Australian government says it expects basic standards of justice, procedural fairness and humane treatment when Australian citizen Cheng Lei goes on trial in Beijing next week.
>>15955076 Video: Prime Minister Scott Morrison: Solomons-China pact bad for the region - Sky News Australia
>>15962100 China's Solomon Island naval base security draft agreement designed to 'intimidate' Australia, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says
>>15962119 Morrison declines to meet new Chinese envoy, continues anti-China rhetoric to boost re-election bid - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>15962188 China Freaked: B-2 Bombers, F-35s And F-22 Stealth Fighters Are In Australia - Stavros Atlamazoglou - 19fortyfive.com
>>15962188 7NEWS Australia Tweet: Video: A US B-2 stealth bomber has flown into Australia, landing at RAAF Base Amberley today. The defence force says the visit is part of talks between Australia and the US.
>>15968672 Star Entertainment let billionaire Chinese property developer Phillip Dong Fang Lee gamble, prioritising 'making money', despite money laundering suspicions
>>15968700 'Insulting': Solomon Islands lashes out at Australia, New Zealand over China deal
>>15968710 Video: Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare 'insulted' by reaction to security treaty with China

>>15968716 Solomon Islands close to security deal with China, alarming neighbors - Michael E. Miller and Frances Vinall - washingtonpost.com
>>15968722 Defiant Solomon Islands PM says deal with China is 'ready to sign'
>>15968726 'Utter nonsense': Solomon Islands PM says China is not a threat to regional stability - Guardian Australia
>>15968732 'Bully' Australia coerces Pacific island countries, smears China's role in the region - Xu Keyue - globaltimes.cn
>>15968763 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on March 28, 2022
>>15968770 To stop Chinese bases, Australia must lead in the Pacific - Peter Jennings - aspistrategist.org.au
>>15975118 Australia deporting students because of military training, says China - Michael Smith - afr.com
>>15975126 China lodges representations with Australia over repatriation of Chinese students - Global Times - globaltimes.cn
>>15975131 Transcript - Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Wang Wenbin's Regular Press Conference on March 29, 2022
>>15975146 Australian Border Force stands firm on Chinese claims of unfair visa cancellations for students at airports - Bill Birtles - abc.net.au

#16028346 at 2022-04-07 08:44:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>16028339

2/2

Solomon Islands firm on position

The statement pointedly says that China remains an "important trading partner for both countries" and makes it clear that the government is not prepared to abandon efforts to strike security pacts with more countries.

"Prime Minister Sogavare assured Australia, Solomon Islands will continue to roll out the implementation of its National Security Strategy and uphold its Foreign Policy of "Friends to all and enemies to none," it reads.

Several Australian government ministers have publicly raised concerns about the pact since it was leaked online last month.

It has since been "initialled" by top officials from China and Solomon Islands, but not yet signed and formalised by their foreign ministers.

Last month, Mr Morrison said the agreement showed the "constant pressure" being placed on Pacific states, and earlier this week a top US admiral labelled the security negotiations between Honiara and Beijing "very concerning."

Mr Sogavare lashed out at critics of the pact during a fiery address to parliament last week, insisting there was no prospect of a Chinese military base in Solomon Islands, and saying it was "insulting" to suggest his country couldn't navigate its relationship with Beijing.

China's government has also berated Australia for publicly criticising the deal, accusing it of paranoia and trying to undermine the sovereignty of Solomon Islands.

Some Pacific neighbours uneasy about deal

Mr Morrison and the Pacific Minister Zed Seselja have rung several Pacific counterparts to try and coordinate a united regional response to the development.

Some Pacific Island nations are also uneasy about the agreement and the prospect of China striking its first bilateral security deal in the region, although few Pacific leaders have waded into the public furore.

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea James Marape told the ABC earlier this week that other states in the region were "conscious" of events in Solomon Islands and wanted to discuss the matter at the Pacific Islands Forum leaders meeting this year.

Samoa's Prime Minister Fiame Naomi Mata'afa also did not criticise the security pact but said Pacific Island countries had to hammer out a collective response to growing geopolitical competition in the region.

"That is why we from Samoa have been pushing for the Forum to quickly come together and to be looking at these issues growing and deepening in our region," she said.

The controversy over the agreement has also stoked domestic political controversy in Australia.

The government has denied Labor's declaration that Australia was "blindsided" by the leaked deal, with Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce saying Australian intelligence agencies were "all over" what was happening.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne also told Senate Estimates that Australia had been aware of security negotiations between China and Solomon Islands for quite some time, although she conceded she only learned about the specific agreement when the draft was leaked publicly.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-07/australian-intelligence-officials-meet-with-solomon-islands-pm/100972282

#16021998 at 2022-04-06 08:09:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>16021989
China reacts to AUKUS hypersonic missiles deal as Barnaby Joyce says weapons pose 'existential threat'

As Australian, UK and US leaders commit to co-operate on hypersonic weapons, the deputy prime minister has highlighted the nature of the threat, while China's United Nations envoy has warned against measures that could fuel conflict.

AAP / SBS - 6 April 2022

Hypersonic and counter-hypersonic weapons are crucial to Australia's defence with a Chinese missile able to strike Australia in under 15 minutes, according to the deputy prime minister.

The United Kingdom, the United States and Australia have agreed to co-operate on hypersonic weapons under the trilateral AUKUS alliance.

Barnaby Joyce said the country needs to build its defences as quickly as possible to counter an increasingly aggressive China, with hypersonic weapons creating an "existential threat" for Australia.

"They can change path, which makes them very hard to detect and even harder to hit," Mr Joyce told Sky News on Wednesday.

"This gives an existential threat to Australia.

"(In) probably about 14 minutes after they launched they would be able to reach here … so we have to make sure that we are right at the top of our game."

Mr Joyce said Australia needs to be part of the United States' hypersonic developments.

"This shows the strength of AUKUS and also gives big clear flashing lights that we have to become as strong as possible, as quickly as possible."

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg denied Australia was playing catch-up on defence, with China and Russia already having developed hypersonic weapons.

"These are the latest and high-tech missiles that we're talking about. It's not like they've been in operation for a decade or so," he told the Nine network.

The missiles are able to travel 2,000 kilometres and five times the speed of sound.

But Mr Frydenberg was unable to put a timeframe on the missiles, saying they would arrive "as soon as is practical".

"But the key point is we're getting in with the US and the UK, two very significant military partners for Australia."

A less stable region has prompted the need for increased defence spending with autocratic countries like Russia ignoring the international rules-based order in place since the end of World War Two, Mr Frydenberg said.

"The AUKUS arrangement … is a broad-ranging agreement. It's everything from nuclear-powered submarines to also having artificial intelligence and cyber security preparedness," he said.

"Also accessibility to these hypersonic missiles … (will) help secure Australia in a pretty uncertain international environment."

US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin is working to expedite hypersonic weapons systems as America races to keep up with China and Russia.

Russia has recently deployed hypersonic missiles in its invasion of Ukraine.

In a joint statement, Prime Minister Scott Morrison, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US President Joe Biden committed to expanding information sharing and deepening co-operation on defence innovation, including hypersonics and counter-hypersonics capabilities.

The US and Australia already have a hypersonic weapon program called SCIFiRE (Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment).

Asked about the hypersonic cooperation under AUKUS, China's United Nations ambassador Zhang Jun warned against measures that could fuel conflict.

"Anyone who does not want to see the Ukrainian crisis should refrain from doing things which may lead the other parts of the world into a crisis like this," Mr Zhang said.

"As the Chinese saying goes: 'If you do not like it, do not impose it against the others'."

What are hypersonic missiles?

- Hypersonic missiles can travel at more than five times the speed of sound - or 6,200 kilometres an hour - and reportedly up to eight times the speed of sound.

- Current missiles have a range of around 2,000 kilometres.

- Hypersonic weapons are highly manoeuvrable and can fly under radar, making them hard to detect and almost impossible to intercept.

- The US confirmed China tested a nuclear-capable hypersonic weapon last year and Russia used a hypersonic missile a fortnight ago in Ukraine.

- The US is developing long-range hypersonic missiles that can strike targets in excess of 2,775 kilometres away and will reportedly be capable of speeds of 17 Mach - or almost 21,000km/h.

https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/china-reacts-to-aukus-hypersonic-missiles-deal-as-Barnaby-Joyce-says-weapons-pose-existential-threat/rdz8wawst

#15982091 at 2022-03-31 10:51:45 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

Australia's big new move on China: Major announcement expected

COURTNEY GOULD - MARCH 31, 2022

The door has been left open to building a new port facility in Darwin port amid concerns over a Chinese company leasing the existing port.

A Defence review found there was no national security grounds to recommend the Morrison government to overturn the port's 99-year agreement with China's Landbridge Group.

Buried in a media release from Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was the inclusion of $1.5bn for "new port infrastructure" in Darwin.

Asked if it was for a new Darwin port, to be announced as an election commitment, Defence Minister Peter Dutton did not rule it out.

"There's a massive commitment from the government into the Northern Territory and that does look at port development and ways in which we might be able to look at support through contracts in defence for example," Mr Dutton told reporters in Canberra.

"We will have more to say about that in due course."

The new infrastructure could allow for a bypass of the Chinese-owned port.

But Finance Minister Simon Birmingham said it would be built outside of the geographical area leased by Landbridge.

Department officials told an estimates committee on Thursday the funding would be used for port infrastructure, such as offloading facilities and dredging of the shipping channel.

It would be partially funded as part of the government's wider regional investment package.

The plan is still subject to ongoing business case and feasibility studies.

Senator Birmingham also skirted questions about whether the decision to fund the new port facilities was made before or after the Department of Defence review.

But he said defence was not the primary consideration in the matter.

"This port is for economic development," Senator Birmingham said.

"It may also have benefits for defence, they're not to be discounted."

"It helps with regional development aspects of the territory, it is very much about providing jobs and exports in that region."

During the estimates hearing, the prime minister's department was quizzed about the Solomon Islands' planned security deal with China.

Officials declined to say when they were first made aware of the agreement but did confirm Scott Morrison was in communication with Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare via text message about Australia's concerns.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/latest-news/australias-big-new-move-on-china-major-announcement-expected/news-story/7dfdd564798873f3e2dc3c2605b6f749

#15981988 at 2022-03-31 10:25:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
Federated States of Micronesia calls on Solomon Islands to reconsider security treaty with China

Evan Wasuka and Toby Mann - 31 March 2022

The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) has called on Solomon Islands to reconsider its plans for a controversial security treaty with China, becoming the first Pacific country to voice its opposition to the deepening of ties.

The treaty would put the Pacific at the centre of a geopolitical conflict between China and the US, FSM President David Panuelo warned.

"The US and China are increasingly at odds with one another," Mr Panuelo wrote in a letter to Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare.

"This presents an issue because the Federated States of Micronesia is a friend to the people and government of China, but we are also a sincere friend, even an ally, of the people and government of the United States of America."

FSM had "grave security concerns" about the "unprecedented" agreement, Mr Panuelo said as he noted further fears about what "the larger countries are privately preparing for".

"Is it within the realm of plausibility that, as more Pacific Islands seek security arrangements with larger countries, that we could see a sovereign and peaceful Pacific become fragmented, and become tools for these larger countries' spheres of power and influence," Mr Panuelo wrote.

"Isn't it plausible that our islands could become collateral damage once again, such as we saw occur in Guadalcanal in your country, and Chuuk in my country, during World War II?"

The draft document, leaked last week, specifically provided a framework for Chinese forces to come to Solomon Islands to "protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects" as well as "preserve social order".

The draft agreement will be "cleaned up" before being signed by the foreign ministers of Solomon Islands and China, the Office of the Prime Minister of Solomon Islands said in a statement released on Thursday.

"Solomon Islands reiterate that the Framework of Cooperation is to respond to Solomon Islands' soft and hard domestic threats," the statement said.

"Solomon Islands continue to roll out the implementation of its National Security Strategy and uphold its Foreign Policy of 'friends to all and enemies to none'.

"The country will work with all partners in providing a safe and secure nation where all people are able to co-exist peacefully."

Other regional leaders will weigh in

Australia, New Zealand, and the US have raised concerns that the treaty gives China military access to the Pacific, and could lead to it establishing a military base in Solomon Islands.

Mr Sogavare said he had spoken with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, saying while his country's traditional security partners were always important, Solomon Islands needed to diversify its partners to "achieve our security needs".

Mr Sogavare declared that there were no plans to allow China to build a naval or military base in his country, saying the suggestion was "misinformation."

"We are not pressured in any way by our new friends," he said.

Mr Morrison did not directly criticise Solomon Islands for pursuing the agreement, but Australia's Minister for the Pacific, Zed Seselja, was more forceful.

He said Australia did not want to see an authoritarian regime coming into the Pacific's "security environment", and predicted significant pushback from other Pacific Island nations.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has suggested China may want a naval base in Solomon Islands to "intimidate" Australia.

James Batley, Australia's former high commissioner to Solomon Islands and a research fellow at ANU, told the ABC it was a bit surprising for the Solomon Islands government to claim they hadn't anticipated such a strong reaction.

"Perhaps the Prime Minister did not get good advice, because I think the sorts of reactions that we are seeing would or should have been entirely predictable," he said.

Mr Batley said he expected other regional leaders to weigh in.

"It may be just the first of similar sorts of messages that he [Mr Sogavare] receives," he said.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-31/federated-states-micronesia-solomon-islands-china-security/100955650

#15968732 at 2022-03-29 08:59:07 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
'Bully' Australia coerces Pacific island countries, smears China's role in the region

Xu Keyue - Mar 28, 2022

While hyping rumors and creating fear that China is aggressively expanding its military in the South Pacific region, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison is lobbying Pacific Island countries against a draft security agreement between China and the Solomon Islands, desperately trying to maintain its role of "South Pacific bully" under its hegemonic and colonialist mentality.

However, any attempt to disrupt the mutually beneficial cooperation between China and the island nation will never succeed, Chinese Foreign Ministry said.

Media reported on Monday that Morrison held talks with counterparts from Fiji and Papua New Guinea over the Solomon Islands' cooperation with China.

Since the draft deal leaked last Friday, Western media has been saying that the agreement sparked alarm in Canberra, Wellington and Washington, at the same time circulating rumors that the deal could "pave the way for China's ships to be based in the Pacific and to have a naval base."

Australian Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce suggested China was pursuing a base because it was "trying to restrict our capacity of movement and intimidate us."

The normal law enforcement and security cooperation between China and Solomon Islands is sincerely welcomed by the two governments and two peoples, Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, reiterated at a press conference on Monday.

"Why are there concerns [of some countries]? Who has been sending military aircraft and warships to other countries' doorsteps all year round, posing a serious threat to the sovereignty and security of relevant countries? Who created the militarized clique that brought nuclear proliferation risks to the Pacific? Who is deliberately stoking tensions, creating confrontation and casting a shadow over regional peace and stability?" Wang asked.

China and the Solomon Islands are two independent sovereign states, and the normal cooperation between the two countries is in line with international law and practice, conducive to social stability and enduring peace and stability, which will contribute to the common interests of countries in the region, Wang stressed.

He urged relevant countries to earnestly respect the sovereignty of the Solomon Islands and the decisions it has made independently, rather than assuming that they are entitled and privileged to define what other countries should and should not do from a condescending position.

For a long time, it has been Australia that has acted as a bully and arbitrarily coerced South Pacific island countries, said Chen Hong, president of the Chinese Association of Australian Studies and director of the Australian Studies Center at East China Normal University.

In recent years, Australia, on the one hand, obediently serves the "Indo-Pacific strategy" of the US to suppress China's development and tries to help maintain the hegemony of the US on the global and regional levels. On the other hand, Australia regards the South Pacific region as its own backyard, Chen told the Global Times on Monday.

Australia is one of the largest aid donors to South Pacific island nations, but most of the aid was aimed at essentially forcibly transplanting the Western political system and social governance model to the island countries, and supporting pro-Australian politicians in order to control the policymaking process of some of the countries' governments, especially in their foreign policies, Chen said.

In contrast, since the establishment of diplomatic ties, China and the Solomon Islands have rapidly advanced mutually beneficial cooperation through project assistance, investment and trade, and high-quality Belt and Road Initiative cooperation. China has continued to provide economic and technological assistance with no political strings attached, and the two countries have conducted win-win cooperation, with encouraging results.

https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202203/1257034.shtml

#15962100 at 2022-03-28 08:41:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15939896
China's Solomon Island naval base security draft agreement designed to 'intimidate' Australia, Joyce says

Stephen Dziedzic - 28 March 2022

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has suggested China may want a naval base in Solomon Islands to "intimidate" Australia or "restrict our capacity of movement".

Mr Joyce has also denied the government was caught by surprise when a draft security agreement between the two countries leaked last week, saying Australian intelligence agencies were "all over" the development.

The Opposition Leader in Solomon Islands, Matthew Wale, has criticised Australia's response to growing security cooperation between China and the incumbent government of Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare, and said he first warned the federal government about nascent security negotiations last year.

But Mr Joyce said it was wrong to suggest Australia had been caught unaware, or that its response had been flat-footed.

"I think they'd be highly naive to think the Australian government is not completely over this issue. The Prime Minister, the national security community, they are not fools," he said.

The draft agreement between Solomon Islands and China would provide a broadly worded framework which could be used to authorise a future for a Chinese military presence in the Pacific Island nation just north of Australia.

However, it's not clear whether the version which was leaked online is the most recent one, or whether it represents an early "ambit claim" by China.

Mr Joyce said the federal government had ploughed enormous effort and resources into building its ties with Pacific Island nations.

"We are engaged because we are not blind to the tactics of other people who are going through the process of trying to restrict our capacity of movement and intimidate us," he said.

He also questioned why China would want a military base in Melanesia, and suggested it might well be aimed directly at Australia.

"I think what Australia has to do is say well, what is the point of the Chinese having a naval base in Solomon Islands?" he said.

"I mean, they are not under threat from the Antarctic and New Zealand."

Mr Joyce said the episode demonstrated why Australia had to build up its military muscle and economic resilience in order to "become as strong as possible, as quickly as possible".

Australia has also begun to lobby other Pacific Island nations against the draft agreement.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to his Papua New Guinea and Fijian counterparts James Marape and Frank Bainimarama today, while the Minister for International Development Zed Seselja last week predicted "significant pushback" in the region.

This morning, Mr Morrison said the agreement was "not a surprise" to Australia, and a "reminder of constant pressures and threats that present in our region to our own national security".

He also defended the government's Pacific Step Up, saying Australia had put huge resources into security cooperation, development and vaccine distribution across the region.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern also weighed in this morning, saying the agreement being negotiated by Solomon Islands and China was "gravely concerning" to her country.

"We see such acts as the potential militarisation of the region," she told Radio NZ.

"We see very little reason in terms of Pacific security for such a need and such a presence."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-28/china-solomon-island-naval-base-intends-to-intimidate-Joyce-says/100944228

#15916736 at 2022-03-22 08:17:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15916734

2/2

Political enemies set their differences aside to mourn her loss. On the Liberal side, Mr Abbott, Defence Minister Peter Dutton and other Liberal party members including Andrew Hastie, Amanda Stoker, James Paterson and Dave Sharma attended.

Victorian Liberal powerbroker Michael Kroger, Mr Abbott's former chief of staff Peta Credlin and columnist Andrew Bolt all turned up to celebrate the senator's life.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce attended along with Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie.

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson also came to the service.

From Labor, the Opposition Leader went to the funeral as did Richard Marles, Tony Burke, Tanya Plibersek, Don Farrell, Mark Dreyfus and Michelle ?Rowland.

CFMEU boss John Setka attended the service, as did Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and state Opposition Leader Matthew Guy.

Mr Landeryou took aim at a "cantankerous cabal" of Labor Party members who treated his wife poorly before her death at 52.

"Of course there is a lot I could say about the unpleasantness of a cantankerous cabal - not all of them in parliament - that was aimed at Kimba," he said.

"And the intensity of it did ?baffle and hurt her.

"But I hope it is sufficient to say she deserved so very much better. The truth is that the vast ?majority of the Labor family was welcoming and supporting and encouraging and admiring of Kimberley, and they told her so often."

After commending Senator Kitching's moral courage and describing her "big plans" to one day be Australia's defence or foreign minister, Mr Landeryou said he did not intend to lecture the many MPs in attendance about being nice in politics.

"I'm not going to stand here in this place and blame any one person, or any one meeting or any campaign of unpleasantness," he said.

"Her friends and ferociously loyal staff are angry about how she was treated. I have no quarrel with them about that. They know what they saw with their own eyes."

There was an extraordinary show of bipartisan support for the senator of just six years at her ?funeral, after she died suddenly.

Labor senators Penny Wong, Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally all attended the funeral despite facing allegations they ostracised Senator Kitching from the party which friends later said exacerbated her health issues and stress.

She referred to the three women as the "mean girls", and made two bullying complaints in the second half of last year.

One was to deputy Labor leader Richard Marles and another to external consultants.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/kimberley-kitching-stood-apart-from-the-useful-idiots/news-story/3c054d52049e36ec00005e8773674954

#15909936 at 2022-03-21 09:37:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15873706
Kitching's husband takes aim at Labor's 'cantankerous cabal' at funeral

Paul Sakkal - March 21, 2022

1/2

Kimberley Kitching's husband has told a roll call of Australian politicians at her funeral in Melbourne that his wife deserved to be treated better than she had been by a group of Labor figures he described as a "cantankerous cabal".

Senator Kitching, who was 52, died on March 10 from a suspected heart attack. There has been turbulence in the party since her death, with her supporters claiming she had been ostracised and bullied by some Labor colleagues who were from different factions. These claims have been denied.

Scores of current and former politicians from across the political spectrum attended Senator Kitching's funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne on Monday afternoon.

One of Senator Kitching's closest friends, former opposition leader Bill Shorten, used his eulogy to urge Labor figures to "move onwards" from her death and channel their energy to the task of winning the upcoming federal election. However, her husband, Andrew Landeryou, suggested he could not forget the way she had been treated by the party machine.

"There's a lot I could say about the unpleasantness of a cantankerous cabal, not all of them in Parliament, that was aimed at Kimba," Mr Landeryou told the mourners.

"I hope it's sufficient to say she deserved so very much better ... Her friends and ferociously loyal staff are angry about how she was treated."

He added that he did not blame any one person or any one meeting for her death - a reference to a Right faction meeting a day before her death at which her Senate preselection was not guaranteed.

The atmosphere was solemn and tense before the funeral as a large media pack waited alongside the cathedral entrance.

Politicians' funerals tend to be straightforward affairs filled with praise for past deeds, but Monday's was an event of political intrigue in its own right because of speculation about whether Senator Kitching's alleged adversaries would attend, and whether friends such as Mr Shorten would use the pulpit to criticise them.

The service, held in the cathedral where the Senator was married, was punctuated by speakers failing to hold back tears. It was also interspersed with moments of laughter, such as when Mr Shorten noted that Senator Kitching's language skills could come in handy given Australia's parlous diplomatic relationship with France.

Labor leader Anthony Albanese attended as did the party's senate leadership team of Penny Wong, Kristina Keneally and Katy Gallagher - who supporters of Senator Kitching believed had isolated the politician - along with about 30 senators and 25 members of the House of Representatives.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Senator Pauline Hanson were among the most prominent of a large group of conservative politicians.

Premier Daniel Andrews, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy and a group of senior Victorian state politicians including Treasurer Tim Pallas, Employment Minister Jaala Pulford and Trade, Tourism and Sport Minister Martin Pakula also made an appearance.

(continued)

#15903351 at 2022-03-20 09:09:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15903349

3/3

During Britain's COVID lockdowns, the couple didn't see each other for several months but were able to talk. Assange wasn't able to hug Gabriel - now four and bearing a striking resemblance to his father according to Moris - and Max, three, for over a year.

"When he could, it was this huge thing," she says. Moris explains that her partner is "fascinated by knowledge and by exploring knowledge and ideas, and one of the things he loves about being with the kids is how they learn".

"He's very affectionate with the kids," says Moris.

She says that "when you start experiencing restrictions on your life...the small things become everything".

"You're thankful for being able to hold his hand - something like this becomes enormous," says Moris.

They're now limited to one or two weekly visits.

"You adapt," says Moris. "But when you look at it objectively, it's just completely outrageous. It's horrific - he's alone in his cell for over 20 hours a day." She says Assange cannot properly receive mail.

In October Assange, who has Asperger's syndrome, suffered a mini-stroke. Independent doctors have warned it could be a precursor for something much more devastating.

"For every new health problem, he's receiving more medication which also carries its own risks," says Moris.

"I'm really worried that [Julian] is deteriorating to such a degree that the damage will be irreversible."

The UK's High Court late last year overturned a January 2021 ruling that the Australian was at risk of taking his own life and could not be sent to the United States, adding that assurances by the US that Assange would not be held in solitary confinement and could serve his sentence in Australia if convicted had been guaranteed.

In a February 18 briefing with journalists, Nils Melzer, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, said that Assange had not committed any serious crime and there was no legal basis for his incarceration. But he was "not very optimistic" that he'd be freed through British courts.

Assange's plight has captured the attention of figures around the world from Pamela Anderson to Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who in December through the Herald and The Age called for Assange to be tried in the UK or brought home. In a recent poll conducted by this masthead, 71 per cent of people supported calls for Assange, who has won dozens of journalism prizes including a Walkley award, to be released to Australia.

A transient who grew up in the bush, Moris says that Assange loves hiking and misses nature.

"I want the kids to see Australia but I want them to have their father showing them Australia. They're Australian."

She is in the process of sorting out their Australian citizenship for the country, which they have a huge map of on a wall at home. Max also has a much-treasured plastic cup with a koala on it.

"One of (the boys') favourite films on Netflix is called Back to the Outback," says Moris. "They have to get to know Australia."

It may not be realistic, but making plans beyond the confines of Belmarsh prison is a way of coping, says Moris.

"It's fine to be in the moment," she says. "But you also have to think beyond the moment and to remind ourselves and each other this is temporary and that he will be free someday, and to imagine what that might be like."

https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life-and-relationships/i-want-the-kids-to-see-australia-meet-stella-moris-julian-assange-s-fiancee-20220317-p5a5ms.html

#15859797 at 2022-03-14 08:06:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

Australia and Netherlands seek millions from Russia in global aviation tribunal over MH17 attack

GEOFF CHAMBERS - MARCH 14, 2022

1/2

Australia and the Netherlands have launched legal action against the Russian Federation seeking millions of dollars in reparations for the 2014 missile strike on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over east Ukraine, which killed 298 people, including 38 Australians.

Joint legal proceedings were lodged with the International Civil Aviation Organisation on Monday on behalf of Australian and Dutch families who lost loved ones after a Russian Buk-TELAR surface-to-air missile system shot down MH17 on July 17, 2014.

As international pressure builds on Russian President Vladimir Putin over his bloody invasion of Ukraine, the office of international law in the Attorney-General's department will prosecute Australia's case in the ICAO, arguing that the downing of MH17 was a "breach for which Russia bears responsibility".

The action, announced by Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, Attorney-General Michaelia Cash and their Dutch counterparts on Monday night, comes after more than seven years of evidence was "collected, examined and verified through painstaking investigations".

In a joint statement from Scott Morrison, Barnaby Joyce, Senator Payne and Senator Cash, the government said "while we cannot take away the grief of those whose loved ones died as a result of Russia's actions, (we) will pursue every available avenue to ensure Russia is held to account so that this horrific act never happens again".

"Russia's unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine and the escalation of its aggression underscores the need to continue our enduring efforts to hold Russia to account for its blatant violation of international law and the UN Charter, including threats to Ukraine's sovereignty and airspace," the statement said.

"The Russian Federation's refusal to take responsibility for its role in the downing of Flight MH17 is unacceptable and the Australian government has always said that it will not exclude any legal options in our pursuit of justice."

The statement said the case lodged with the ICAO, a specialised UN agency falling under the International Court of Justice, was a "major step forward in both countries' fight for truth, justice and accountability for this horrific act of violence".

"Today's joint action under Article 84 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation is in addition to the Dutch national prosecution of four suspects for their individual criminal responsibility in the downing of Flight MH17," the statement added.

Senator Payne on Monday announced fresh sanctions targeting 33 Russian oligarchs, prominent business identities and immediate family members who have "facilitated, or directly benefited, from the Kremlin's illegal and indefensible actions in Ukraine since 2014".

High-profile Russian billionaires targeted by the new sanctions, which brings Australia in line with Britain and the US, include Chelsea Football Club owner Roman Abramovich, Gazprom chief executive Alexey Miller, Rossiya chair Dmitri Lebedev, Rostec chair Sergey Chemezov and Transneft chief executive Nikolay Tokarev.

(continued)

#15819101 at 2022-03-09 08:01:50 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

>>15819099

2/2

Earlier, Labor senator Murray Watt backed a national emergency declaration, saying the NSW government had been overwhelmed by the disaster.

But he noted the funding would need to be generous and reflect the scale of destruction.

"If he turns up with a couple of hundred million dollars or something like that, it's just not going to do the job," Senator Watt said.

The NSW government has not yet declared a state of emergency - Mr Perrottet said yesterday it was deemed unnecessary to do so.

"The advice we have received is that is not necessary at this stage and it is something we discussed on a daily basis," Mr Perrottet said.

"We believe that the coordination that we have in place between the Commonwealth and the state and all of our agencies has the capacity to deal with the situation in front of us."

NSW SES commissioner Carlene York agreed yesterday that there was no need to declare a state of emergency at that stage.

But the Prime Minister's Office insisted the national emergency declaration was necessary to ensure nothing would stand in the way of flood assistance.

First time national emergency trigger has been pulled

The Prime Minister's national emergency declaration will suspend some red tape hurdles and allow financial assistance to be sent to communities faster.

The idea of declaring a national emergency emerged out of the royal commission into natural disasters in the wake of the Black Summer bushfires.

It suggested a national emergency would preferably be called early in a disaster, signalling to communities the seriousness of the incident and putting government agencies and defence forces on high alert.

The royal commission suggested the declaration "should be the catalyst for a more 'coherent, pre-emptive and expeditious' mobilisation of Australian government resources".

Though the federal government had the power to intervene earlier than today, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said NSW should have made the request for help sooner.

"[Defence Minister] Peter Dutton had the Defence Force personnel ready - and any asset that they wanted was ready at their disposal," Mr Littleproud said.

"This is a simple solution - this is about the states simply saying 'bring them in' sooner - and I think that's the lesson that the NSW government and other state governments need to learn and understand."

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, who also plans to visit the region tomorrow, said he expected people would be angry at the government.

"I am fully aware of what I am about to walk into, and the Prime Minister, and other people," Mr Joyce said.

"You are not going to meet happy people. You are going to meet people whose lives have been turned upside down.

"They want to be heard and that's the main thing you do ... you try your best to listen to them."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-03-09/scott-morrison-floods-national-emergency-funding-billions/100894056

#15592254 at 2022-02-10 08:42:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

#20 - Part 6
Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition
>>15175394 Video Julian Assange verdict: US government wins appeal to extradite WikiLeaks founder
>>15175395 Prime Minister Scott Morrison under pressure to end Assange 'lunacy'
>>15180115 Julian Assange suffers stroke during court appeal, his fiancee Stella Moris says
>>15180124 Julian Assange has a stroke in Belmarsh prison: Fianc?e blames extreme stress caused by US extradition battle
>>15180131 Stella Moris Tweet: Australia's foreign minister @MarisePayne is meeting with the US government who is literally torturing her citizen Julian #Assange to death, right now. What is she going to do about it? She must put a stop to this. Now. Before it's too late.
>>15190138 Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Assange shouldn't be extradited to US
>>15190141 OPINION: I have never met Julian Assange and I presume I would not like him, but he's entitled to justice - Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and National Party leader - theage.com.au
>>15195698 Julian Assange's mother, Christine Assange, describes 'unending pain' over her son's possible extradition to the United States
>>15201141 Video: 'I'm not going to put up with it': Julian Assange's father vows to keep fighting for his freedom

>>15201207 Secret Epstein settlement with Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre to be made public
>>15235776 PDF: Barnaby Joyce urged to intervene in Julian Assange case by hundreds of doctors - doctorsforassange.org
>>15241413 Donald Trump Says He Was Close to Pardoning Julian Assange or Edward Snowden
>>15241415 Video: Trump On Not Pardoning Julian Assange | Candace Owens Interviews Donald Trump - Deliverance
>>15247145 Julian Assange launches bid to appeal extradition to United States
>>15306217 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 'urged Trump Assange pardon', repeats his offer of asylum for the WikiLeaks founder
>>15318198 Julian Assange's fiancee says she wants to wed the Wikileaks founder behind bars this year as he spends his 1,000th day in jail
>>15448007 UK court to rule on Assange extradition case
>>15455925 Video: Julian Assange granted permission to seek appeal against extradition to US

#20 - Part 7
Cardinal George Pell and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations
>>15206766 Cardinal Pell Has One Question for Cardinal Becciu: 'Will He Just Tell Us What the Money Was Sent for?'
>>15241409 Cardinal Angelo Becciu, open letter to Cardinal George Pell - Controversy between the two cardinals over the use of Vatican funds: "You know more than anyone else the pains of an unjust accusation"
>>15241409 Bree A Dail Tweet: Cardinal Angelo Becciu has issued an open letter in response to Cardinal George Pell's recent interviews questioning his alleged involvement in money transfers to Australia. - "I will not respond to any of your reconstructions, the groundlessness of which are manifest"
>>15251400 Cardinal George Pell casts doubt on Vatican finance trial
>>15256276 Disgraced cardinal Becciu sends hostile note to George Pell
>>15256282 Vatican defends finance trial, says rights being respected
>>15318225 Cardinal Pell's three-volume prison journal is a spiritual classic - Monsignor Richard Antall - angelusnews.com
>>15325338 Cardinal Pell: "Maintain the Purity of the Apostolic Tradition"
>>15542120 Cardinal George Pell blesses former PM Tony Abbott's new CBD offices

#15592244 at 2022-02-10 08:41:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition

#20 - Part 2
Australian Politics and Society - Part 2
>>15243071 US to put nuclear submarines on fast track - Defence Minister Peter Dutton reveals Australia is set to get its first nuclear submarine at least five years ahead of schedule after Washington agrees to help fast-track the project
>>15247159 Free-trade deal to speed exports to India - Australian wine, coal and grain producers targeted by Chinese sanctions are on track to have greater access to Indian markets from next year
>>15251521 Australian Federal Police Tweet: During his recent visit to the United States, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw presented @FBI Director Christopher Wray with the AFP Partnership Medal. The medal is in recognition of the close working relationship between the AFP and the FBI.
>>15264936 Barnaby Joyce questions future of US's global mission
>>15264954 JFK's legacy is strong, but Americans are wary - Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals - theaustralian.com.au
>>15306365 Japan and Australia to sign landmark defence agreement, upgrading military co-operation, joint exercises and military deployments - The Reciprocal Access Agreement
>>15312135 Joint air operations to flow from 'historic' defence pact between Australia and Japan
>>15312136 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Kishida @JPN_PMO and PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP to meet virtually tomorrow and sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a landmark defence agreement between (Japan) & (Australia). PM Kishida said "I embark upon summit diplomacy in earnest" in 2022. This starts here.
>>15312266 Imam of Peace Tweet: My friends, Happy New Year, May the Almighty grant you whatever is in your hearts, and may you have a safe, blessed and meaningful 2022. Thank you for your warm messages and comments during my absence. As you well know, there's a silence before every storm. Notifications on!
>>15325248 Australia and Japan sign security pact to respond to 'challenging' Indo-Pacific environment

>>15325267 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Kishida @JPN_PMO and PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP have signed the RAA during their virtual summit, increasing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. (Japan) & (Australia) will strengthen its cooperation as vanguards of the rules-based order in the region.
>>15325267 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP, your leadership and dedication were the No.1 driving force behind the RAA, ushering in a new chapter for (Japan and Australia) Special Strategic Partnership.
>>15325478 The oldest living American veteran of World War II, Lawrence Brooks, dies at 112 - Served with the largely African American 91st Engineer Battalion, stationed in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines
>>15342236 Opinion: New agreement with Japan a historic step for Australia in South-East Asia - Christopher Pyne - adelaidenow.com.au
>>15342288 Australia commits to $3.5 billion tank purchase from the US
>>15348724 US needs to step up more for Pacific allies: White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell
>>15380490 Video: Tsunami warning issued for parts of NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania following the eruption of an underwater volcano
>>15385203 Video: An underwater volcano off Tonga has erupted, triggering a tsunami warning for parts of Australia's east coast
>>15385210 Video: Tsunami warnings are in place across the Pacific after an underwater volcano eruption caused tidal waves to hit Tonga.
>>15385218 Video: Analysis: Tsunami warnings issued amid underwater volcano eruption

#15592181 at 2022-02-10 08:22:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

#20 - Part 6
Julian Assange Indictment and Extradition
>>15175394 Video Julian Assange verdict: US government wins appeal to extradite WikiLeaks founder
>>15175395 Prime Minister Scott Morrison under pressure to end Assange 'lunacy'
>>15180115 Julian Assange suffers stroke during court appeal, his fiancee Stella Moris says
>>15180124 Julian Assange has a stroke in Belmarsh prison: Fianc?e blames extreme stress caused by US extradition battle
>>15180131 Stella Moris Tweet: Australia's foreign minister @MarisePayne is meeting with the US government who is literally torturing her citizen Julian #Assange to death, right now. What is she going to do about it? She must put a stop to this. Now. Before it's too late.
>>15190138 Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Assange shouldn't be extradited to US
>>15190141 OPINION: I have never met Julian Assange and I presume I would not like him, but he's entitled to justice - Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and National Party leader - theage.com.au
>>15195698 Julian Assange's mother, Christine Assange, describes 'unending pain' over her son's possible extradition to the United States
>>15201141 Video: 'I'm not going to put up with it': Julian Assange's father vows to keep fighting for his freedom

>>15201207 Secret Epstein settlement with Prince Andrew accuser Virginia Roberts Giuffre to be made public
>>15235776 PDF: Barnaby Joyce urged to intervene in Julian Assange case by hundreds of doctors - doctorsforassange.org
>>15241413 Donald Trump Says He Was Close to Pardoning Julian Assange or Edward Snowden
>>15241415 Video: Trump On Not Pardoning Julian Assange | Candace Owens Interviews Donald Trump - Deliverance
>>15247145 Julian Assange launches bid to appeal extradition to United States
>>15306217 Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador 'urged Trump Assange pardon', repeats his offer of asylum for the WikiLeaks founder
>>15318198 Julian Assange's fiancee says she wants to wed the Wikileaks founder behind bars this year as he spends his 1,000th day in jail
>>15448007 UK court to rule on Assange extradition case
>>15455925 Video: Julian Assange granted permission to seek appeal against extradition to US

#20 - Part 7
Cardinal George Pell and Vatican Financial Scandal Allegations
>>15206766 Cardinal Pell Has One Question for Cardinal Becciu: 'Will He Just Tell Us What the Money Was Sent for?'
>>15241409 Cardinal Angelo Becciu, open letter to Cardinal George Pell - Controversy between the two cardinals over the use of Vatican funds: "You know more than anyone else the pains of an unjust accusation"
>>15241409 Bree A Dail Tweet: Cardinal Angelo Becciu has issued an open letter in response to Cardinal George Pell's recent interviews questioning his alleged involvement in money transfers to Australia. - "I will not respond to any of your reconstructions, the groundlessness of which are manifest"
>>15251400 Cardinal George Pell casts doubt on Vatican finance trial
>>15256276 Disgraced cardinal Becciu sends hostile note to George Pell
>>15256282 Vatican defends finance trial, says rights being respected
>>15318225 Cardinal Pell's three-volume prison journal is a spiritual classic - Monsignor Richard Antall - angelusnews.com
>>15325338 Cardinal Pell: "Maintain the Purity of the Apostolic Tradition"
>>15542120 Cardinal George Pell blesses former PM Tony Abbott's new CBD offices

#15592175 at 2022-02-10 08:20:30 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

#20 - Part 2
Australian Politics and Society - Part 2
>>15243071 US to put nuclear submarines on fast track - Defence Minister Peter Dutton reveals Australia is set to get its first nuclear submarine at least five years ahead of schedule after Washington agrees to help fast-track the project
>>15247159 Free-trade deal to speed exports to India - Australian wine, coal and grain producers targeted by Chinese sanctions are on track to have greater access to Indian markets from next year
>>15251521 Australian Federal Police Tweet: During his recent visit to the United States, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw presented @FBI Director Christopher Wray with the AFP Partnership Medal. The medal is in recognition of the close working relationship between the AFP and the FBI.
>>15264936 Barnaby Joyce questions future of US's global mission
>>15264954 JFK's legacy is strong, but Americans are wary - Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals - theaustralian.com.au
>>15306365 Japan and Australia to sign landmark defence agreement, upgrading military co-operation, joint exercises and military deployments - The Reciprocal Access Agreement
>>15312135 Joint air operations to flow from 'historic' defence pact between Australia and Japan
>>15312136 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Kishida @JPN_PMO and PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP to meet virtually tomorrow and sign the Reciprocal Access Agreement (RAA), a landmark defence agreement between (Japan) & (Australia). PM Kishida said "I embark upon summit diplomacy in earnest" in 2022. This starts here.
>>15312266 Imam of Peace Tweet: My friends, Happy New Year, May the Almighty grant you whatever is in your hearts, and may you have a safe, blessed and meaningful 2022. Thank you for your warm messages and comments during my absence. As you well know, there's a silence before every storm. Notifications on!
>>15325248 Australia and Japan sign security pact to respond to 'challenging' Indo-Pacific environment

>>15325267 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Kishida @JPN_PMO and PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP have signed the RAA during their virtual summit, increasing deterrence in the Indo-Pacific. (Japan) & (Australia) will strengthen its cooperation as vanguards of the rules-based order in the region.
>>15325267 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: PM Morrison @ScottMorrisonMP, your leadership and dedication were the No.1 driving force behind the RAA, ushering in a new chapter for (Japan and Australia) Special Strategic Partnership.
>>15325478 The oldest living American veteran of World War II, Lawrence Brooks, dies at 112 - Served with the largely African American 91st Engineer Battalion, stationed in Australia, New Guinea and the Philippines
>>15342236 Opinion: New agreement with Japan a historic step for Australia in South-East Asia - Christopher Pyne - adelaidenow.com.au
>>15342288 Australia commits to $3.5 billion tank purchase from the US
>>15348724 US needs to step up more for Pacific allies: White House Indo-Pacific Coordinator Kurt Campbell
>>15380490 Video: Tsunami warning issued for parts of NSW, Victoria, Queensland and Tasmania following the eruption of an underwater volcano
>>15385203 Video: An underwater volcano off Tonga has erupted, triggering a tsunami warning for parts of Australia's east coast
>>15385210 Video: Tsunami warnings are in place across the Pacific after an underwater volcano eruption caused tidal waves to hit Tonga.
>>15385218 Video: Analysis: Tsunami warnings issued amid underwater volcano eruption

#15412494 at 2022-01-19 09:09:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15412119
'A decision of my own making': Christensen quits plum role after vaccine slap down

Cameron Atfield and Dana Daniel - January 19, 2022

1/2

Rogue backbencher George Christensen will resign from his paid role on a key parliamentary committee after Prime Minister Scott Morrison revealed high-level discussions had taken place within the government about the MP's future.

Mr Christensen, the retiring LNP member for Dawson who sits in the Nationals party room as part of the federal Coalition, on Tuesday called for parents not to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, sparking widespread condemnation and increasing pressure on both Coalition leaders to deal with his undermining of crucial government health messaging.

Earlier on Wednesday when asked about Mr Christensen's role as chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth - for which he is paid $23,238 on top of his $211,250 parliamentary salary - Mr Morrison said: "That's a matter I'm discussing with the deputy prime minister."

But in a Facebook post on Wednesday afternoon, Mr Christensen said he would inform the Speaker of his decision to resign when he returns to Parliament on February 7.

"[This is] a decision of my own making and not a demand or request from any third party," he said.

The Prime Minister had brushed off calls to remove Mr Christensen from the Coalition party room, saying the MP "has no important views", while seeking to distance him from the government.

"He is not a candidate for the government at the next election," he said.

Mr Morrison issued a written statement on Tuesday evening urging parents to disregard Mr Christensen's "dangerous" message. On Wednesday, he stressed again that people should "simply ignore him".

"Don't go off to things that are people just rabbiting on Facebook and social media and all the rest of it, you're not going to find answers there," he said.

"Go to the credible sources' information on vaccines, and George Christensen is not one of them.

"Don't listen to him. He is not a doctor, he can't tell you what to do with vaccines … He is allowed to speak his mind, but Australians shouldn't be listening to it."

Mr Morrison said people should not "amplify" Mr Christensen's anti-vaccination views by drawing attention to them.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, the Nationals' leader, told journalists in Brisbane he had spoken to Mr Christensen on Tuesday and Wednesday, but would not reveal details of the conversations.

"I don't intend to go on a tirade about Mr Christensen because it serves no purpose," he said. "The only thing that serves a purpose is to talk one-on-one with Mr Christensen."

Mr Joyce said Mr Christensen's views "are not backed up by the medical evidence".

"I've been double vaccinated," Mr Joyce said. "I've got no problems if children are vaccinated, because people who are vastly wiser than me and have studied immensely in that field have given me the confidence."

Deputy Nationals leader David Littleproud labelled Mr Christensen's comments "irresponsible and inappropriate", tweeting: "The only advice parents should take on vaccinating their children is from a doctor".

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack described Mr Christensen as a conspiracy theorist "who should be pulled into line".

Darren Chester, the Nationals MP for Gippsland, tweeted: "Mr Christensen's comments are reckless, irresponsible and ill-informed … just more of the same conspiracy theory crap."

The Queensland MP, who has announced he will not contest the next election, released a podcast on Tuesday under the title "Do NOT vax your children", accompanied by an interview with Dr Robert Malone, whose views on COVID-19 vaccinations have been debunked.

LNP Senator Gerard Rennick, who has said COVID-19 vaccinations amount to "experimenting" on children, is also on the joint standing committee with Mr Christensen.

(continued)

#15412119 at 2022-01-19 07:25:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

PM tells Australians to disregard George Christensen over 'dangerous' vaccine advice

Cameron Atfield - January 18, 2022

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has urged parents to ignore George Christensen, a member of his own government, after labelling the member for Dawson's calls for them not to immunise their children as "dangerous".

The Queensland MP, who has announced he will not contest the next election, released a podcast on Tuesday morning under the title "Do NOT vax your children" accompanied by an interview with Dr Robert Malone, whose views on COVID-19 vaccinations have been widely debunked.

Dr Malone has been permanently suspended from Twitter for spreading COVID-19 misinformation.

"I strongly disagree with the message sent out by Mr Christensen regarding children's vaccinations," Mr Morrison said in a statement.

"It is contrary to the official professional medical advice provided to the government, and I urge parents to disregard his dangerous messages in relation to vaccines."

Mr Morrison said vaccinations were "our primary weapon against this virus" currently sweeping through the Australian population.

The statement, issued on Tuesday afternoon, made no mention of any action the government might take against Mr Christensen.

Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese said the inaction was a "failure of leadership" on the part of the Prime Minister.

"Scott Morrison has just presided over a circumstance, which has been watched by the whole world, of the deportation of Novak Djokovic," he told Sydney radio 2SM.

"At the same time that, eventually, there was action taken, there's been no action taken whatsoever against [South Australian Liberal Senator] Alex Antic, George Christensen, and [Queensland Nationals Senator] Matt Canavan at various times.

"They have said some rather extraordinary things. These are people who are out there promoting ideas that are based upon conspiracy theories, which, if listened to, would have a bad health outcome for people who would follow their advice."

Mr Christensen's Nationals partyroom colleague Darren Chester went further than the Prime Minister, calling out the "reckless" claim, which he described as "just more of the same conspiracy theory crap".

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack, meanwhile, seemed to suggest Mr Christensen needed to be "pulled into line" in a Twitter post on Tuesday night.

But the Nationals' leader, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, has long said Mr Christensen had a right to express his views.

"We've got anti-vaxxers, certainly, but they're not from overseas," Mr Joyce told this masthead earlier this week.

"What can [we] do? As much as [Immigration Minister Alex] Hawke would like, he can't send any of our politicians to Serbia."

But Mr Albanese said that as government MPs, they had extra responsibility.

"As Australians, they can say whatever they like, but these are government members," he said. "They shouldn't say whatever they like as members of the Australian government."

Earlier, Health Minister Greg Hunt said he had not heard about Mr Christensen's comments.

"Vaccinations save lives and I would flatly, plainly disagree with anyone who said that," he said.

"Anti-vaxxers aren't just losing the debate, they've lost the debate.

"We're at a 95 per cent national 16-plus vaccination rate. That's beyond the conception of almost any commentator or observer through the course of the pandemic, and yet we pushed through."

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pm-tells-australians-to-disregard-george-christensen-over-dangerous-vaccine-advice-20220118-p59pa6.html

https://www.georgechristensen.com.au/podcast

#15331294 at 2022-01-08 10:17:48 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15175352
Australia treasurer tests positive for COVID-19 as daily cases soar past 100,000

Byron Kaye - JANUARY 8, 2022

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said he tested positive to COVID-19, joining other top government officials in contracting the disease as the daily infection rate surpassed 100,000 for the first time amid an outbreak of the Omicron variant.

"Like thousands of Australians, I tested positive today to COVID-19," Frydenberg wrote in a short message which he posted to Twitter and Facebook late on Friday.

"I have the common symptoms and am isolating with my family," he added without elaborating or disclosing which variant he had.

Other high-ranked Australian lawmakers including Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Defence Minister Peter Dutton have contracted and overcome the illness.

Under current Australian COVID-19 guidelines, people who return a positive test and those deemed "close contacts" must isolate for seven days.

Australia has been posting successive record numbers of new daily infections, with another surge on Saturday.

The country reported 116,025 new cases, smashing the previous day's record of just over 78,000. Nearly 100,000 of the new cases were in the most populous states Victoria, which is home to the upcoming Australian Open tennis tournament in Melbourne, and New South Wales.

Victoria noted that its daily caseload, which more than doubled the previous day's to 51,356, included the results of rapid antigen tests taken up to a week before that could only be tabulated after being submitted on a website starting from Friday.

The country reported 25 new COVID-19 related deaths, its highest since the peak of the Delta wave in October 2021.

Australian leaders, including Frydenberg, have been urging the country to move on from a strategy of stop-start lockdowns now that more than 90% of the population aged over 16 is fully vaccinated.

But state leaders have been reintroducing restrictions amid exploding case numbers, mostly of the highly transmissible Omicron variant. Several states have reintroduced mask mandates and suspended non-urgent elective surgery, while New South Wales on Friday resumed bans on dancing and drinking while standing up in bars.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-australia/australia-treasurer-tests-positive-for-covid-19-as-daily-cases-soar-past-100000-idUSKBN2JH1RN

https://twitter.com/JoshFrydenberg/status/1479382526032429065

#15264976 at 2021-12-28 00:44:02 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15264954

2/2

When we rely on the US, we believe their faith in Kennedy's legacy is stronger than their dire needs elsewhere in a budget getting strangled by debt. I still believe that to be the case but I would never take it for granted.

Today the US represents about 20 per cent of global GDP, and the US response to the military threat of China is being hampered by the lack of guard rails on astronomical stimulus packages in an economy now dealing with a dangerous escalation in inflation and an insurmountable debt.

I would never doubt the capacity of the US economy to reinvent itself. It has done this so many times before that only a fool would back against it. I would never buy a ticket against the US in any conflict they put their mind to - they have never lost a war that truly threatened them. I would never underestimate the capacity for the economy to morph quickly into the most formidable fighting machine the world has known.

But, in US bars and lounge rooms as Americans watch their favourite team on TV, are they focused on the outside world as they once were? They need a good reason to have more of their sons and daughters buried at Arlington.

I was talking to a friend in Washington who told me of a dinner with five members of congress where not one had heard of the new AUKUS military arrangement. In Australia you would be living under a rock if you hadn't. When Australian interests are vitally and inseparably intertwined with US interests, then it is the US national destiny that they take action. But the US will be more inclined to stay out of problems that are for another country to solve.

Americans on the street overwhelmingly have no knowledge of AUKUS, ANZUS, Five Eyes or the Quad. They do see Australia in the broad as a good country and a solid ally. They hold a far greater knowledge of the wars we have fought together in the past rather than the treaties we are in now.

This is critical: we are judged by our actions, and our actions are those of a nation that supports the freedoms that we both aspire to.

The new year is going to have us reminiscing about the time of Pax Americana, but 2022 will demand that as Australians we be prepared with our eyes wide open about our future. What is the price of what we wish to protect? And who has the skill sets and the plan to do it?

Barnaby Joyce is the Australian Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Nationals.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/commentary/jfks-legacy-is-strong-but-americans-are-wary/news-story/15f08a2946a4306fd67b20fdee4fb1ab

#15264954 at 2021-12-28 00:41:39 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15264936
JFK's legacy is strong, but Americans are wary

Barnaby Joyce - DECEMBER 27, 2021

1/2

When jet-lagged at 3.30am, how do you fill your time? They say you should write down the concerns you have on tumble-dry in your mind so that catharsis will clear the blockage and return you to the better slumber of the cooler, dark hours.

Reflections from Santa Monica, California, have come home with me. In my brief time outside quarantine lodgings I saw two Americas: the undisputed power of the 1960s where 40 per cent of global GDP was US; and a world of homeless people's tents and people asleep on concrete paths on the main road into Santa Monica. The US shows an example of its awe-inspiring best at Arlington, Virginia. Around the former residence of Confederate general Robert E. Lee lie 400,000 war graves, just a portion of those who made the supreme sacrifice for the love of their country and the values that underpin that love.

Among this lawn cathedral of solemnity is the grave of a slain returned serviceman and president, John F. Kennedy. About 500m from the flame marking his grave lies the resting place of the only Australian in Arlington: Pilot Officer Francis D. Milne, shot down in New Guinea, where he lay with his US brothers-in-arms in the wreckage of the Dakota they served in. Their remains were indistinguishable from each other when discovered in 1989 so they were buried together.

The US is at its mightiest at the change of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier above fields of headstones, all with a Christmas wreath, looking over Washington. The drill is so disciplined that when terrorists flew a plane into the Pentagon within sight, the soldiers never missed a step, never stopped and never looked sideways. The drill ignores and makes no exception, whether the soldiers are men or women, black, white, Hispanic or any other part of humanity.

At Kennedy's grave is written: "Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to assure the survival and the success of liberty." They said it and by God they meant it.

While in quarantine I watched C-Span, which broadcasts a live view of the house and the Senate. Two speeches, one after the other, stuck in my head. Texan Charles Eugene "Chip" Roy asked fellow congressmen whether the world believed the US would follow through on Kennedy's affirmation today. Congressman David Schweikert of Arizona asked whether, with the nation's $US30 trillion debt, they could pay for it. As inflation seriously takes off in the US, more Americans will lose on their standard of living; some will be forced on to the streets. Some of that tragic group will go where living on the street is drier and warmer - like some of the homeless in sunny Santa Monica - than cold and wet northern cities.

(continued)

#15264936 at 2021-12-28 00:39:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

Barnaby Joyce questions future of US's global mission

JOE KELLY - DECEMBER 27, 2021

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce has questioned the future of America's global mission and whether it will have the capacity to uphold liberty and defend its allies to the same extent in the 21st century.

The Nationals leader warns that the US will look to Australia to solve more of its own problems where its interests remain distinct from those of its great and powerful ally, declaring that Australians must have their "eyes wide open about our future".

Mr Joyce - who has recently returned from Britain and the US where he met with senior ?government members on infrastructure, trade and defence - said he would never "under?estimate the capacity for the (US) economy to morph quickly into the most formidable fighting machine the world has ever known".

But after witnessing the "homeless asleep on concrete paths on the main road into Santa Monica", Mr Joyce raised the prospect of America's capacity to act being compromised by its economic woes, including a "dangerous escalation in inflation and an insurmountable debt" of nearly $US30 trillion.

"When Australian interests are vitally and inseparably intertwined with US interests, then it is in the US national destiny that they take action. But the US will be more inclined to stay out of problems that are just for another country to solve," Mr Joyce writes in The Australian.

Mr Joyce argues that the historic mission of the US captured by president John F Kennedy in his 1961 inaugural address - to "pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty" - faced new challenges.

"When we rely on the US, we believe that their faith in ?Kennedy's legacy is stronger than their dire needs elsewhere in a budget getting strangled by debt. I still believe that to be the case but I would never take it for granted," Mr Joyce writes.

"I would never buy a ticket against the US in any conflict they put their mind to - they have never lost a war that truly threatened them.

"But in the US bars and lounge rooms as they watch their favourite team on TV, are they focused on the outside world as they once were? They need a very good reason to have more of their sons and daughters buried at Arlington (cemetery).

"Americans on the street overwhelmingly have no knowledge of AUKUS, ANZUS, Five Eyes or the Quad. They do see Australia in the broad as a good country and a solid ally. They hold a far greater knowledge of the wars we have fought together in the past rather than the treaties we are in now."

The comments from Mr Joyce come after Scott Morrison secured in September the AUKUS trilateral security partnership with Britain and the US aimed at deepening defence co-operation, integration and intelligence sharing between the three nations.

Under the deal, Australia will receive a new nuclear-powered submarine fleet and strengthen co-operation in critical areas including artificial intelligence, cyber warfare and quantum ?computing.

Last month, Joe Biden's ?national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, said that the AUKUS agreement represented a "big bet" by the US on Australia, with the bilateral relationship being grounded on a bedrock of trust.

He also provided a reassurance that Washington was keen on "getting this thing (AUKUS) into place" despite the deal ?igniting a diplomatic row with French President Emmanuel Macron after Australia cancelled its $90bn future submarine contract with France's Naval Group to sign up to the new three-way agreement.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has also been critical of the ?agreement, warning that the region is backsliding into a new cold war, while Chinese Foreign ?Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said earlier this month the ?partnership "poses serious risks of nuclear proliferation and violates the object and purpose of the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty".

Mr Zhao said there was "no way" to ensure that Australia would not build nuclear weapons under the trilateral partnership, with China urging the International Atomic Energy Agency to launch a special committee to probe the political, legal and technical issues with the AUKUS agreement.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/Barnaby-Joyce-questions-future-of-uss-global-mission/news-story/34ff9075c2dc9dfb95e91276b348c26a

#15235776 at 2021-12-22 07:59:51 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15190138
>>15190141
Barnaby Joyce urged to intervene in Julian Assange case by hundreds of doctors

Hundreds of doctors from around the world have called for urgent moves to save Julian Assange's life.

Andrew Koubaridis - December 22, 2021

Doctors from around the world have made an extraordinary direct appeal to deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce, urging him to intervene in the Julian Assange case.

More than 300 doctors added their names to the letter to Mr Joyce, asking him to seek Mr Assange's immediate release from a United Kingdom jail because they feared for his life.

"We are concerned that Mr. Assange's apparent mini stroke may be the tip of a medical iceberg. Indeed his symptoms suggest as much. It is therefore imperative that Mr Assange be released from prison, where his health will otherwise continue to deteriorate and where his complex medical needs cannot be met," the letter read.

The doctors said his life was at risk if he wasn't released.

The letter said: "Perhaps our concerns were previously dismissed by your colleagues as hyperbolic. They are not. On the issue of cardiovascular pathology, we have been proven right. We do not wish to be proven right on the issue of Mr. Assange's survival."

The United States wants to put Assange on trial for WikiLeaks' 2010 publication of thousands of top-secret military documents about the US wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Assange's lawyers have previously raised concerns about the effects of his lengthy incarceration on his physical and mental health in a bid to halt the extradition.

Assange spent seven years in Ecuador's London embassy until 2019, after jumping bail in connection with sexual assault allegations in Sweden.

He was then jailed for 50 weeks for breaching bail in that case but detained ever since on the grounds he was a flight risk.

The letter was accompanied by previously unreleased correspondence with the federal government where they warned of Mr Assange's heart problems.

The authors said they had previously cautioned the Foreign Affairs Minister, Marise Payne, "should Mr Assange die in a British prison, people will want to know what you, Minister, did to prevent his death."

In their letter the doctors reject US assurances, accepted by the UK High Court, prison conditions in the US would be humane. They note that the US "retains the power to impose Special Administrative Measures on Mr Assange, and to assign him to ADX Florence, two of the harshest, most brutal prison conditions in the US. Both facilities violate the Convention Against Torture, to which Australia is a party."

"We implore you, as Deputy Prime Minister, to intervene with the UK Government to seek Mr Assange's immediate release on urgent medical grounds. We reiterate that he is an Australian citizen innocent in the eyes of the law, and guilty of and charged with nothing in the UK," the letter concluded.

Mr Joyce wrote in an editorial earlier this month Mr Assange should be tried for crimes committed on British soil or returned to Australia.

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/Barnaby-Joyce-urged-to-intervene-in-julian-assange-case-by-hundreds-of-doctors/news-story/70db02255b0fc4ad8400e7344eaa3175

https://doctorsforassange.org/letter-to-Barnaby-Joyce-mp-deputy-prime-minister-of-australia/

https://twitter.com/Doctors4Assange/status/1473428202643148802

#15206674 at 2021-12-17 06:42:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15201173
Australia more exposed to cyber attack after AUKUS: Karen Andrews

ADAM CREIGHTON - DECEMBER 17, 2021

Australia is more exposed to a major cyber-attack after joining the AUKUS security pact with the US and the UK, home affairs Minister Karen Andrews has warned, amid growing concern about hostile cyber attacks from China and Russia on critical infrastructure.

In Washington to sign the Cloud Act agreement with the US, which will make it easier for US and Australian law enforcement agencies to share online information about potential criminals, Ms Andrews said Australia's energy grid was a likely target of a future attack.

"We know that there is some concern in the Indo-Pacific region about the AUKUS arrangement, so it's quite possible it will lead to greater attacks on Australia, whether or not that is specifically targeted to us or because Australia is so closely aligned with the US is yet to be determined," she told The Australian.

"Our intelligence and cyber security agencies assess it is no longer a matter of if an attack will occur, but rather when," she said earlier, in a speech at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday.

Ms Andrews called on democracies to "step up" to equip their law enforcement agencies with the power to respond to the growing threat of cyber crime and ransomware attacks, one of which crippled the US Colonial Pipeline in May.

"We must create a rules-based global digital order in which critical infrastructure is supported and defended when it comes under attack," she said. "Not since the splitting of the atom has technological disruption created so much opportunity, but also presented so many challenges."

Ms Andrews said in Australia phone scam incidents had doubled in 2021 and since 2019 the parliament, logistics companies, small business, hospitals, utilities, school and a university had come under attack, including Queensland's CS Energy last month, blamed on Russian or Chinese hackers.

"We are very conscious of what China is doing and will continue to monitor it very closely, but it would be wrong to focus on one nation because that would make us complacent," the Minister said.

"Cyber is an opportunity for China to disrupt what is happening in Australia," she said, pointing to the Microsoft Exchange hack earlier this year as part of a growing trend. The Five Eyes nations, which includes Australia and the US, blamed on Chinese state actors.

The Minister played down privacy concerns about the new agreement, which motivated some European criticism of the US initiative. "I don't see it as loss of privacy, I genuinely do see it as enabling law enforcement agencies to gather info that they need for prosecution," the Minister said.

Ms Andrews met US Attorney-General Merrick Garland a day earlier to sign the agreement, which is intended to "to prevent, detect, investigate and prosecute serious crime, including child sexual abuse, ransomware attacks, terrorism and the sabotage of critical infrastructure over the internet", according to the US Department of Justice.

"This Agreement paves the way for more efficient cross-border transfers of data between the US and Australia so that our governments can more effectively counter serious crime, including terrorism, while adhering to the privacy and civil liberties values that we both share," Mr Garland said.

Minister Andrews, who has responsibly for Australia's international border, said she was "very comfortable" with sticking to the timetable for reopening, despite the spread of the Omicron.

"I'm firmly of view we need to get back to living our lives as quickly as we possibly can, we need borders reopened for economic growth, recovery and to reunite families," she said.

Ms Andrews said she didn't raise Julian Assange in her meeting with the Attorney-General, after deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce spoke out in favour of his right to stay in the UK earlier this week.

"The government position is very clear: very respectful of the UK legal system, and it's up to the US whether they want to continue to pursue extradition," she said.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/australia-more-exposed-to-cyber-attack-after-aukus-karen-andrew/news-story/22dc0fd570d6e8c51beb59f34a95d753

#15201141 at 2021-12-16 08:38:52 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15175394
>>15195698
'I'm not going to put up with it': Julian Assange's father vows to keep fighting for his freedom

John Shipton has told SBS News of the "very, very distressing and disturbing" handling of his son's extradition case by Britain's legal system.

Alexander Britton - 16 December 2021

1/2

For John Shipton, father of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, optimism and pessimism are two sides of a coin that holds no interest.

"I try not to use those sensibilities as sources of energy. I just take things as they come toward me, whatever event or whatever I think can be done, and I do the best I can on the day," he told SBS News.

His son is currently being held in prison more than 17,000 kilometres away, housed with some of Britain's most notorious criminals, while a legal battle looks set to rumble on well into 2022.

Mr Assange faces up to 175 years in prison in the United States for alleged breaches of the Espionage Act.

"As long as I have got energy to continue to fight on behalf of Julian, and push this battle forward, and get a deeper understanding of the forces that are arranged against Julian and increase my capacity to engender assistance from population, parliamentarians, institutions, I'm okay," Mr Shipton said, speaking from Victoria where he lives.

Mr Assange has been held in London's Belmarsh prison since 2019, and is currently detained on an extradition warrant to the US over espionage allegations stemming from publishing military and diplomatic files in 2010.

A sliver of light in the case from earlier this year - a judge in Westminster Magistrates' Court ruling the extradition could not proceed - was dashed last week when a higher court allowed an appeal from the US.

Mr Shipton said the situation and his son's treatment by the British legal system was "very, very distressing and disturbing".

He added: "I'm continually startled by the savage malice displayed towards Julian by the English judiciary.

"You know, parents have duties to fight for their kids. That's the only proper duty they have.

"So we just fight, you know, and the malice, the more intense the malice, the greater the energy that I put into this matter, because I'm just not going to put up with it."

The US said the release of the classified information put lives in danger, but Mr Assange's backers say the case is retaliation for his exposing of wrongdoing in overseas conflicts.

Among those who have called for Mr Assange, 50, to be set free are Amnesty International, the International Federation of Journalists and Human Rights Watch.

And, earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce joined calls to end attempts to extradite Mr Assange to the United States and raised questions over its fairness.

Mr Shipton welcomed the "very firm statement" by Mr Joyce, adding: "We're carried aloft by an increasing tide of support.

"He is not an American citizen, he is an Australian citizen. There are many, many publishers, in parallel with Julian and with Wikileaks, who have published his information and none of them are arraigned, or indicted, or hounded, or smeared, or suffer the savage malice and vicious hatred of state organisations overseas.

"So we can see that, with the activity in parliaments around the Western world, that the electorates are concerned about this activity, and that concern is forcing its way into ... parliaments in the Western world."

(continued)

#15195698 at 2021-12-15 06:30:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15175394
Assange's mother describes 'unending pain'

Ted Hennessey - DECEMBER 15 2021

The mother of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has spoken of her "unending, gut-wrenching pain" over her son's possible extradition to the United States.

The 50-year-old is facing extradition to the US over espionage charges relating to the publication of classified military information in 2010 and 2011 by WikiLeaks.

His mother Christine has written an open letter describing her fears over her son being imprisoned "for the rest of his life".

"Fifty years ago in giving birth for the first time as a young mother, I thought there could be no greater pain," she said.

"But it was soon forgotten when I held my beautiful baby boy in my arms. I named him Julian.

"I realise now that I was wrong. There is a greater pain.

"The unending, gut-wrenching pain of being the mother of a multi-award winning journalist who had the courage to publish the truth about high-level government crimes and corruption.

"The pain of watching my son, who sought to publish important truths, being endlessly globally smeared.

"The pain of watching my son, who risked his life to expose injustice, being fitted up and denied a fair legal process, over and over again."

She spoke of her son being "cruelly psychologically tortured" by the authorities.

Christine Assange added: "The constant nightmare of him being extradited to the US and being buried alive in extreme solitary confinement for the rest of his life. The constant fear the CIA will carry out its plans to assassinate him.

"The rush of sadness as I saw his frail, exhausted body slumping from a mini-stroke in the last hearing due to chronic stress.

"Many people are also traumatised by seeing a vengeful superpower using its unlimited resources to bully and destroy a single defenceless individual.

"I wish to thank all the caring, decent citizens globally protesting Julian's brutal political persecution.

"Please keep raising your voices to your politicians till it's all they can hear. His life is in your hands."

Julian Assange has spent the past two years in Belmarsh Prison in London after almost a decade hiding in Ecuador's embassy in the capital.

He is facing a renewed push for his extradition to the US after the High Court last week overturned a previous ruling against such a move.

Australia's deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce also came to his defence, saying Assange should be kept in the UK and tried there or returned to his home country.

Assange's fiancee Stella Morris has accused UK authorities of playing the role of "executioner" after he suffered a mini-stroke in prison.

https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7552070/assanges-mother-describes-unending-pain/

#15190141 at 2021-12-14 06:52:52 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15190138
OPINION: I have never met Julian Assange and I presume I would not like him, but he's entitled to justice

Barnaby Joyce, Deputy Prime Minister and National Party leader - December 14, 2021

There is, in a decent society, a vessel of rights that we hold throughout our entire life. Rights that are not created in some legal sonic boom at one undefined point of our existence nor switched off like the power to a fridge because of a fear or a confusion as to the worth of their contents.

Rights, that though you may be unaware of them, apply equally to the person who has unlimited resources and has been blessed with the greatest luck in the random draw of life, and to those who have been less fortunate. Rights such as the right to liberty and the right to habeas corpus.

A decent society makes the investment to uphold everyone's basic attachment to this vessel of rights. You can judge a society on whether the protections and enforcement of these rights is actively pursued by the state in a form where all are truly equal.

In a liberal democracy, care must be taken to avoid laws that stumble around how basic rights may come and go. How a state deliberates over one person's rights is an indication of the clarity, consistency and authenticity it applies over all.

Julian Assange is a current case in point. As an individual, whether you like him or despise him, it is beyond him, given his circumstances, to protect his rights by himself. So we must hope for the British courts to do so, and we will judge its society accordingly.

I have never met him and, from observation, don't respect him. I presume I would not like him. And I view these facts as a clarion call to be all the more vigilant that he is treated just as one of my most powerful colleagues or dearest friends would be.

It is a case of how our citizen is protected and judged. Imagine a sliding door moment, and it was not Assange but you who was in court in Britain.

The Assange issue inspires so much rhetoric, so much totemism, screams from the choir and three-minute diagnoses. To look at it clearly, you must leave your uninformed preconceptions at the door of the high-colour sideshow. You must also set aside the grave issues that surround the actions of Assange. They are a separate matter to the key issue: where was this individual when he was allegedly breaking US law for which the US is now seeking his extradition from London?

Assange did not steal any US secret files, US citizen Chelsea Manning did. Assange did publish them. In Australia, he received a Walkley Award in journalism for it. Assange was not in breach of any Australian laws at the time of his actions. Assange was not in the US when the event being deliberated in a court now in London occurred. The question is then: why is he to be extradited to the US? If he insulted the Koran, would he be extradited to Saudi Arabia?

What country was he a citizen of at that time; what does it mean to be a citizen, and what rights therefore attach to it? If we are content that this process of extraditing one Australian to the US for breaking its laws even when he was not in that country is fair, are we prepared therefore to accept it as a precedent for applying to any other laws of any other nation to any of our citizens?

I have no power in Britain or US over these matters. I have no standing in the British courts. But in that birthplace of the common law, I hope the learned come to a just conclusion. They should try him there for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil or send him back to Australia, where he is a citizen. I am isolated in a room in Washington with an as yet undetermined variant of COVID-19, but have been asked back in Australia if my previous position on this matter remains the same. It does, and I hope this gives my reasons why. I hope it shows I am consistent on such matters.

https://www.theage.com.au/national/i-have-never-met-julian-assange-and-i-presume-i-would-not-like-him-but-he-s-entitled-to-justice-20211212-p59gto.html

#15190138 at 2021-12-14 06:51:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

>>15175394
Joyce says Assange shouldn't be extradited to US

Anthony Galloway - December 14, 2021

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce says Julian Assange should not be extradited to the United States to face espionage charges, calling for the WikiLeaks founder to either be put on trial in Britain or brought back to Australia.

Mr Joyce said the Australian citizen, who has spent more than two years in Belmarsh Prison in south-east London, should not be forcibly sent to the US because he was not on American soil at the time of his alleged offences.

"I have no standing in the British courts. But in that birthplace of the common law, I hope the learned come to a just conclusion," Mr Joyce writes in an opinion piece for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. "They should try him there for any crime he is alleged to have committed on British soil or send him back to Australia, where he is a citizen."

His comments were echoed by Liberal MP Bridget Archer, who said Assange should be released and returned to Australia.

Assange is trying to avoid extradition to the US to face 18 charges relating to the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified military documents and diplomatic cables more than a decade ago. Before being sent to Belmarsh, he sheltered at the Ecuadorian embassy in London for seven years.

Mr Joyce has previously opposed Assange's extradition to the US as a backbench MP. But this is his first contribution to the debate since he retook the Nationals leadership in June and England's High Court last week ruled Assange could be extradited to the US.

He is now deputy chair of the powerful national security committee of cabinet, which considers the major foreign policy and national security issues for the federal government.

Mr Joyce urged people to set aside their personal opinion of Assange, adding he had never met the 50-year-old but from his observation, he didn't respect him and "I presume I would not like him".

"It is a case of how our citizen is protected and judged. Imagine a sliding door moment and it was not Assange but you who was in court in Britain," he said.

Mr Joyce said people needed to "set aside the grave issues that surround the actions of Assange" from whether he should be extradited to the US.

"Assange did not steal any US secret files, US citizen Chelsea Manning did. Assange did publish them.

"In Australia, he received a Walkley Award in journalism for it. Assange was not in breach of any Australian laws at the time of his actions. Assange was not in the US when the event being deliberated in a court now in London occurred.

"The question is then: Why is he to be extradited to the US? If he insulted the Koran, would he be extradited to Saudi Arabia?"

Mr Joyce said liberal democracies needed to uphold a "vessel of rights" that included the "right to liberty and the right to habeas corpus".

"If we are content that this process of extraditing one Australian to the US for [allegedly] breaking its laws even when he was not in that country is fair, are we prepared, therefore, to accept it as a precedent for applying to any other laws of any other nation to any of our citizens?"

Asked for a response to Mr Joyce's comments, a government spokesman said its position was unchanged.

"Australia will continue to respect UK legal processes, noting that these are ongoing proceedings," the spokesman said.

Mr Joyce's intervention has angered some Coalition MPs, who say Assange's actions in publishing national security secrets put Australian lives at risk in war zones.

There are more than 20 members of a parliamentary group set up to oppose Assange's extradition, but only three Coalition MPs have signed up: Mr Joyce, Ms Archer and Nationals MP George Christensen.

Ms Archer said she believed Assange should be "released and returned to Australia" and she would "continue to advocate for diplomatic action for that to occur".

"I appreciate that there are a range of views in relation to Julian Assange and WikiLeaks," she said. "The fact is that he is an Australian citizen who continues to suffer significant mental and physical health issues as a result of his ongoing incarceration because of the protracted legal battle."

Labor MP Julian Hill, a longstanding opponent of Assange's potential extradition, said he hoped the Deputy Prime Minister's comments would give other Coalition MPs the "courage and cover to speak up and say enough is enough".

"There is no legal resolution to this case, it can only ever be resolved politically," Mr Hill said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/Joyce-says-assange-shouldn-t-be-extradited-to-us-20211213-p59h1j.html

#15175298 at 2021-12-11 09:57:00 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

#19 - Part 20
Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 3
>>15104700 Video: No lockdowns for Omicron, PM says, as experts investigate the new variant
>>15104713 Victoria's pandemic bill set to pass as independent MP Rod Barton negotiates with Andrews government
>>15105183 Video: Senior Australian Military Doctor Visited by Police After Contacting MP About COVID Policies
>>15112201 Sydney braces for more Omicron cases but no lockdowns for now
>>15119194 Australia Omicron count edges higher, health authorities on edge
>>15119202 Thousands of protesters ignored as Dan Andrew's pandemic bill enforced
>>15126574 Australia records first Omicron community case, authorities hold nerve for now
>>15132587 Thousands march against Victoria's new pandemic legislation as COVID rally held in Perth
>>15132719 Australia Omicron variant spreads, testing reopening plans

>>15138500 Parliament House closed after Adam Bandt's staffer tests positive to COVID-19
>>15138506 Australia regulator approves Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11
>>15150315 COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea throws President's planned Australia trip into disarray
>>15150324 Victorian Mental Health Minister James Merlino was briefed on 'lockdown suicides'
>>15156743 Qld Covid-19: Queensland health authorities discover a new version of the Omicron variant
>>15162827 Barnaby Joyce, Australia's deputy PM, tests positive for Covid while visiting US
>>15162957 Covid-19 lockdowns cause disturbing spike in online child exploitation activity in Australia
>>15169092 Two new Omicron cases confirmed in Victoria, as 1,206 new COVID infections recorded
>>15169100 Australia to offer COVID-19 shots to children aged 5-11 from January

#15175277 at 2021-12-11 09:49:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #20 - INSURGENCY Edition

#19 - Part 3
Australian Politics and Society - Part 3
>>14912747 Video: Scott Morrison refuses to apologise to President Emmanuel Macron after claims PM lied about submarine deal
>>14912814 Foreign Minister Marise Payne to visit South-East Asia to ease fears over AUKUS, submarine plan
>>14915439 World's huge reaction to discovery of four-year-old Cleo Smith
>>14920386 US has capacity to supply Aussie nuclear subs, says congressman Joe Courtney
>>14920417 Scott Morrison right to put our defences first - Andrew Hastie, Assistant Minister for Defence - theaustralian.com.au
>>14920561 Submarine fallout: Peter Dutton slams Malcolm Turnbull for trying to bring down Australian government
>>14927847 Q Post #3724 - It must be done right. It must be done according to the rule of law. It must carry weight. It must be proven in the court of law. There can be no mistakes. Good things sometimes take time. Attempts to slow/block the inevitable [Justice] will fail.
>>14928264 Japanese Ambassador Shingo Yamagami calls for an end to AUKUS 'spat' - says there's no time to argue while tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific
>>14928571 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: (Australia) & (United States) are the strongest of allies & friends. This morning @SecBlinken & I discussed how #AUKUS will contribute to an open, inclusive & resilient #IndoPacific. Through (global) partnerships, (Australia) is promoting a regional balance in which all countries' sovereignty & rights are respected.
>>14928571 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Tweet: I was glad to speak with Australian Foreign Minister @MarisePayne today about our easy #mateship, our shared commitment to a peaceful, secure Indo-Pacific, and our efforts to support COVID-19 economic recovery and resilience.

>>14930225 Victorian Parliament online forum - Labor's Pandemic Bill and The Premier's New Powers
>>14935929 Japan Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces Tweet: On Nov 4, #DefenceMinisterKishi received a courtesy call from LTG BURR,Chief of @AustralianArmy. Minister stated the advanced complexity & sophistication of (Japan and Australia) exercises as well as the expectations for further enhanced cooperation of #JGSDF& #AusArmy for #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific.
>>14935929 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: It's great to see LTGEN BURR in (Japan). Even during the COVID pandemic, the journey of (Japan and Australia) to strengthen #FOIP continues.
>>14942536 'You've had your time': Downer tells Rudd and Turnbull to get on with their lives
>>14942547 New Zealand PM Ardern welcomes signs of U.S. greater presence in Indo-Pacific
>>14949476 Barnaby Joyce urges Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd to 'get off the political horse'
>>14965252 AUKUS about 'projecting power' north, says Arthur Sinodinos, Australia's ambassador to the US
>>14965257 Video: What's Next for AUKUS? A Discussion with Amb. Sinodinos - Hudson Institute
>>14967559 Australia won't buy nuclear submarines from US, UK: Arthur Sinodinos
>>14973174 Australian War Memorial Tweets: At 11am today, we ask you to observe a minute's silence to remember the service men and women who have served and continue to serve our nation. Lest we forget.

#15175263 at 2021-12-11 09:36:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

#19 - Part 20
Coronavirus / COVID-19 Pandemic, Australia and Worldwide - Part 3
>>15104700 Video: No lockdowns for Omicron, PM says, as experts investigate the new variant
>>15104713 Victoria's pandemic bill set to pass as independent MP Rod Barton negotiates with Andrews government
>>15105183 Video: Senior Australian Military Doctor Visited by Police After Contacting MP About COVID Policies
>>15112201 Sydney braces for more Omicron cases but no lockdowns for now
>>15119194 Australia Omicron count edges higher, health authorities on edge
>>15119202 Thousands of protesters ignored as Dan Andrew's pandemic bill enforced
>>15126574 Australia records first Omicron community case, authorities hold nerve for now
>>15132587 Thousands march against Victoria's new pandemic legislation as COVID rally held in Perth
>>15132719 Australia Omicron variant spreads, testing reopening plans

>>15138500 Parliament House closed after Adam Bandt's staffer tests positive to COVID-19
>>15138506 Australia regulator approves Pfizer vaccine for children 5-11
>>15150315 COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea throws President's planned Australia trip into disarray
>>15150324 Victorian Mental Health Minister James Merlino was briefed on 'lockdown suicides'
>>15156743 Qld Covid-19: Queensland health authorities discover a new version of the Omicron variant
>>15162827 Barnaby Joyce, Australia's deputy PM, tests positive for Covid while visiting US
>>15162957 Covid-19 lockdowns cause disturbing spike in online child exploitation activity in Australia
>>15169092 Two new Omicron cases confirmed in Victoria, as 1,206 new COVID infections recorded
>>15169100 Australia to offer COVID-19 shots to children aged 5-11 from January

#15175247 at 2021-12-11 09:27:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

#19 - Part 3
Australian Politics and Society - Part 3
>>14912747 Video: Scott Morrison refuses to apologise to President Emmanuel Macron after claims PM lied about submarine deal
>>14912814 Foreign Minister Marise Payne to visit South-East Asia to ease fears over AUKUS, submarine plan
>>14915439 World's huge reaction to discovery of four-year-old Cleo Smith
>>14920386 US has capacity to supply Aussie nuclear subs, says congressman Joe Courtney
>>14920417 Scott Morrison right to put our defences first - Andrew Hastie, Assistant Minister for Defence - theaustralian.com.au
>>14920561 Submarine fallout: Peter Dutton slams Malcolm Turnbull for trying to bring down Australian government
>>14927847 Q Post #3724 - It must be done right. It must be done according to the rule of law. It must carry weight. It must be proven in the court of law. There can be no mistakes. Good things sometimes take time. Attempts to slow/block the inevitable [Justice] will fail.
>>14928264 Japanese Ambassador Shingo Yamagami calls for an end to AUKUS 'spat' - says there's no time to argue while tensions rise in the Indo-Pacific
>>14928571 Foreign Minister Marise Payne Tweet: (Australia) & (United States) are the strongest of allies & friends. This morning @SecBlinken & I discussed how #AUKUS will contribute to an open, inclusive & resilient #IndoPacific. Through (global) partnerships, (Australia) is promoting a regional balance in which all countries' sovereignty & rights are respected.
>>14928571 U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken Tweet: I was glad to speak with Australian Foreign Minister @MarisePayne today about our easy #mateship, our shared commitment to a peaceful, secure Indo-Pacific, and our efforts to support COVID-19 economic recovery and resilience.

>>14930225 Victorian Parliament online forum - Labor's Pandemic Bill and The Premier's New Powers
>>14935929 Japan Ministry of Defense/Self-Defense Forces Tweet: On Nov 4, #DefenceMinisterKishi received a courtesy call from LTG BURR,Chief of @AustralianArmy. Minister stated the advanced complexity & sophistication of (Japan and Australia) exercises as well as the expectations for further enhanced cooperation of #JGSDF& #AusArmy for #FreeAndOpenIndoPacific.
>>14935929 Japanese Ambassador YAMAGAMI Shingo Tweet: It's great to see LTGEN BURR in (Japan). Even during the COVID pandemic, the journey of (Japan and Australia) to strengthen #FOIP continues.
>>14942536 'You've had your time': Downer tells Rudd and Turnbull to get on with their lives
>>14942547 New Zealand PM Ardern welcomes signs of U.S. greater presence in Indo-Pacific
>>14949476 Barnaby Joyce urges Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd to 'get off the political horse'
>>14965252 AUKUS about 'projecting power' north, says Arthur Sinodinos, Australia's ambassador to the US
>>14965257 Video: What's Next for AUKUS? A Discussion with Amb. Sinodinos - Hudson Institute
>>14967559 Australia won't buy nuclear submarines from US, UK: Arthur Sinodinos
>>14973174 Australian War Memorial Tweets: At 11am today, we ask you to observe a minute's silence to remember the service men and women who have served and continue to serve our nation. Lest we forget.

#15162827 at 2021-12-09 07:17:31 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

Barnaby Joyce, Australia's deputy PM, tests positive for Covid while visiting US

Nationals leader is experiencing mild symptoms and will remain in isolation until further advice

Daniel Hurst - 9 Dec 2021

Australia's deputy prime minister, Barnaby Joyce, has tested positive to Covid-19 while on a visit to the United States.

The government says Joyce - who was in London earlier this week and met with the British justice secretary, Dominic Raab, and the Australian high commissioner to the UK, George Brandis - will isolate in the US until it is safe for him to return to Australia.

Joyce's office said the deputy prime minister had tested positive while in Washington DC after experiencing mild symptoms. Joyce said he chose to get tested.

"Remaining members of the delegation have tested negative," Joyce's office said in a statement issued on Thursday morning Australia time.

"Mr Joyce will remain in isolation until further advice."

The statement did not specify when and where Joyce is suspected of acquiring the infection.

In an interview on Sky News, Joyce said he didn't know when he acquired it - but he said the UK was crowded with people preparing for Christmas and going shopping.

"You wouldn't think there's a pandemic on in areas of the UK," Joyce said.

While in isolation he said he planned to watch cricket, do some paperwork and read a book. He indicated it had not changed his ideas on the need to move on from the pandemic.

"I'm still of the same view - you know, we can't just shut the whole place down," Joyce said.

"The world's got to move on. It's not economically possible for any nation to go into permanent shutdown - you'll go broke."

Joyce added that it was "terribly important" to "work out how we keep people out of hospitals" and also that people get vaccinated - and then work out the best way to "get our lives back to as normal as we can".

"I hope that in the future, rather than being isolated, this is like the flu, if you get it you go home and you manage it yourself. With the diligence of people, like you get a flu shot every year, get a Covid vaccine every year.

"I mean that's my dream - where the reality is I don't know, but that is my dream."

Asked whether it had changed his perspective at all, Joyce replied: "Not yet - I'm not dying here ... I'm feeling like I have a slight to mild flu, so no, it hasn't really changed my perspective. Maybe if you call me in a few days and hear me gasping for air I'll have a different interview for you."

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, who has been in text message contact with Joyce, said the deputy prime minister had had two tests in the UK that came back negative, before the third test in the US came back positive.

Morrison said the government was "following all the usual protocols that you would follow in these circumstances", and he took the opportunity to urge Australians to keep their vaccination up to date.

"He tells me he's feeling alright, apart from the mild illness, and he has been vaccinated," Morrison told reporters in Geelong on Thursday.

"What we do know already is that the vaccinations do have an impact on the seriousness of the disease and that's why it's so important to get vaccinated. It's another important reminder why the booster is also so important and I encourage everybody to get their boosters."

The deputy leader of the Nationals, David Littleproud, wished Joyce "all the best for his recovery".

"He's isolating in the US until it's safe for him to come home and we wish him all the best for his recovery," Littleproud said.

Joyce had been in London earlier this week. On Monday he met with Grant Shapps, the UK's transport secretary, to discuss transport issues and the Aukus security partnership. He also met with Raab, the justice secretary, and Brandis, Australia's top diplomat in London.

While in London he faced calls to rebuke Nationals backbencher George Christensen over his appearance on American conspiracy theorist Alex Jones's online show InfoWars.

Joyce is not the first Australian cabinet minister to test positive to Covid.

Peter Dutton, then home affairs minister, confirmed in March last year he had tested positive for coronavirus and was admitted to hospital in Queensland, shortly after returning to Australia after meetings with senior Trump administration officials.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/dec/09/Barnaby-Joyce-australia-deputy-pm-prime-minister-tests-positive-covid-coronavirus

#15149986 at 2021-12-07 05:51:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15149978
Nationals condemn Christensen's appearance on 'dark corners of the internet'

Nick Bonyhady - December 7, 2021

The Nationals leadership has condemned outspoken backbencher George Christensen for his appearance on the show of a US conspiracy theorist in the "dark corners of the internet" who has falsely claimed mass shootings were staged and spread misinformation about coronavirus vaccines.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Agriculture Minister David Littleproud both spoke to Mr Christensen on Tuesday after his appearance on Alex Jones' show was publicised and distanced themselves from his views but declared they supported his right to free speech.

On the web show aired last week, Jones compared Australian quarantine facilities to a Nazi concentration camp, prompting no rebuke and a chuckle from Mr Christensen. Mr Christensen also called for protests outside Australian embassies to draw attention to coronavirus restrictions.

Alex Jones was booted off social media channels - Facebook, Twitter and YouTube - in 2018, with his content also removed by Spotify and Apple from their respective podcast and app services, for breaching policies on promotion of hate and harassment.

A spokesman for Mr Joyce, who is travelling in the United Kingdom, said the Deputy Prime Minister did not agree with Mr Christensen's comments and had spoken to him, but did not disclose the details of the conversation.

"Mr Christensen has the right to say what he believes," the spokesman said.

The acting Nationals leader, Mr Littleproud, said he respected Mr Christensen's freedom of speech but urged him to reflect on his responsibilities as a member of Parliament and judgment in speaking with Jones, who he said had a chequered past.

"It's not appropriate. I condemn his comments and I think it was an error of judgment for him to go on that program," Mr Littleproud said. "Obviously, we want to work constructively with George but know that there are limits and there are boundaries that we, as federal politicians, have to adhere to."

He said those limits applied to the "dark corners of the internet" just as much as in Parliament.

Former Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Darren Chester, went further. He said on Twitter that there were many Nationals MPs doing their best to represent regional Australia.

"Like me, they condemn the conspiracy theories, lack of respect and ill-informed comments of Christensen," said Mr Chester, who is aligned with a group of Nationals that did not support Mr Joyce for the party's leadership, unlike Mr Christensen.

Employment Minister Stuart Robert took particular aim at the Auschwitz comments that Mr Christensen did not contest. "I haven't heard the comments, but on face value… it's completely and utterly inappropriate for anyone to make light of the Holocaust and the devastation that occurred," Mr Robert said. "It is flat out vile."

Mr Christensen has announced he will leave Parliament at the next election and controls a useful vote for the government in the finely balanced House of Representatives.

Rather than promoting the Liberal National Party, of which he is a member, his social media accounts are primarily devoted to promoting his own brand, Nation First.

Mr Christensen has been repeatedly criticised by his colleagues for airing unpopular views during the pandemic, such as calling for police officers to be arrested after protests in Melbourne.

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack was the first of his colleagues to speak publicly about Mr Christensen's appearance in Jones' show, saying on Monday that the Queensland MP should be spending time in his electorate, helping community groups and encouraging vaccinations.

"He'd be far better off talking to people such as that than sit up late at night and talk to an American TV host about how dreadful his own country is, in his view," Mr McCormack told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has not commented on Mr Christensen's appearance while Labor has urged Mr Morrison to haul Mr Christensen into line.

Around the time of Jones' show, Mr Christensen, whose office have not responded to requests for comment, suggested it was calculated to cause outrage.

"Watch lefty and MSM [mainstream media] heads explode when they hear Alex Jones of Infowars is backing my speeches," he posted on the messaging app Telegram.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/nationals-condemn-christensen-s-appearance-on-dark-corners-of-the-internet-20211207-p59fga.html

#15149983 at 2021-12-07 05:49:36 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15149978

2/2

In another instance, Jones said: "I had the German government, the British government admitting you're twice as likely to die for whatever reason after you've been doubled jabbed."

Mr Christensen interjected to say: "That's right".

The claim appears to have been based on an interpretation of British data that aligns with Jones' view but has since been discredited by the UK government, which pointed out vaccinated people tended to be older and therefore more likely to die of causes unrelated to the COVID-19 vaccines.

Mr Christensen's office did not respond to requests for comment on his appearance on the program. Prime Minister Scott Morrison's office was contacted for comment. The office of Deputy Prime Minister and Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said he was unavailable for comment while travelling in Britain.

Labor senator Tim Ayres said Jones' program was "bonkers" and exported the worst elements of US political extremism to Australia.

"This is dangerous and undermines the government's public health message," Senator Ayres said."It all goes unchallenged by Morrison, who is too weak to contradict far-right extremism on his own backbench."

Jones has been heavily criticised in the US media for repeatedly spreading false claims. In one notorious example, he claimed the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting, in which 20 primary school children and six staff members were killed, was faked, leading to a string of successful defamation cases against him from families of the victims.

In a post on messaging service Telegram around the time of his appearance, Mr Christensen suggested Jones' notoriety was a selling point. "Watch lefty and MSM [mainstream media] heads explode when they hear Alex Jones of Infowars is backing my speeches," he posted.

On the show, Mr Christensen also responded "oh yeah" when Jones claimed, after a discussion of pandemic restrictions, that "it's definitely directed again by the multinational corporations who admit this is the new normal. It's about cutting carbon, it's about tracking and controlling us with the vaccine passport."

Mr Christensen, who is a former local newspaper editor, announced earlier this year that he was leaving Parliament at the next election and has dialled up his own media operations, which include a newsletter on the popular platform Substack that he promoted on Jones' show.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/george-christensen-calls-for-australian-embassy-protests-on-us-conspiracy-show-20211206-p59f63.html

#15149978 at 2021-12-07 05:49:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

George Christensen uses US conspiracy show appearance to call for Australian embassy protests

Nick Bonyhady - December 6, 2021

1/2

Coalition backbencher George Christensen has urged viewers of a far-right American conspiracy theorist's online show, which has been banned by Facebook and YouTube, to hold rallies outside Australian embassies to protest over coronavirus restrictions.

The Liberal National Party MP, who will step down at the next election, last week appeared on Infowars founder Alex Jones' web program, describing the conspiracy theorist as a "beacon". This was despite Jones' history of spreading false claims, including about Australia's coronavirus response.

In the roughly half hour-long broadcast published last week, Mr Christensen reiterated many of the points he has made publicly before, including arguments that coronavirus restrictions in Australia have been unduly harsh and disproportionate to the risk of the virus. He also called for an end to vaccine passports.

He also agreed with false claims made by Jones on the show, which has been largely banned from Facebook and YouTube for breaching policies on promoting hate and harassment.

Former Nationals leader Michael McCormack said he was beyond disappointed with the video, especially Mr Christensen's depiction of Australia as a country that had abandoned rights and needed help, and called for the backbencher to be pulled into line.

"I know the leader of the National Party [Barnaby Joyce] has said you can't poke the bear [Mr Christensen] well the bear shouldn't go on American television and run his country down. That's what he's done. I'm sorry that's what he's done and stronger action is needed," Mr McCormack said.

"Something needs to happen to tell George that this isn't acceptable by a National Party MP, to go on and run our country down."

Far-right figures in the US have depicted Australia as a tyrannical state during COVID-19 and railed against restrictions put in place to curb transmission of the virus.

In one exchange on the show, Mr Christensen urged Jones' international viewers to protest outside Australian embassies. "The rest of the free world, please stand with us, please support us, and every time we see people out there protesting, whether in front of an embassy or elsewhere… it really does embolden the patriots, the people who are for freedom in our country to stand up," he said.

Mr Christensen did not challenge Jones when the latter compared Australian COVID-19 quarantine facilities with Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz, on the basis of purported images showing both had electric fences.

(continued)

#15119168 at 2021-12-02 07:02:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

WA Nationals MP and former Bunbury councillor James Hayward charged with child sex offences

Rhiannon Shine and Joanna Menagh - 2 December 2021

WA Nationals MP James Hayward has appeared in the Perth Magistrate's court charged with child sexual offences.

It is understood the charges relate to the alleged indecent assault of an eight-year-old girl earlier this year.

CONTENT WARNING: This story contains material some readers might find distressing.

Mr Hayward was charged with three counts of indecent dealings with a child, one count of procuring a child to do an indecent act and one count of persistent sexual conduct.

He was not required to enter a plea and his lawyer Amanda Blackburn applied for bail, which police opposed.

Hayward taken to hospital

Ms Blackburn said Mr Hayward had attempted self-harm yesterday and had been taken to Royal Perth Hospital.

She said he had been discharged after five or six hours and seemed "calm and lucid" today.

But the police prosecutor said there was a concern Mr Hayward would attempt to use his "position of power" to interfere in the judicial process.

The prosecutor also expressed concern about the possibility of self-harm, revealing that Mr Hayward had sent an email to his wife in the early hours of Wednesday "saying his goodbyes".

The court heard it then took police several hours to locate Mr Hayward.

Police also claimed Mr Hayward had shown a "distinct lack of awareness" about what was described as his "ongoing behaviour with the victim".

Magistrate Nicholas Lemmon granted Mr Hayward bail with a $30,000 surety, noting that the charges were serious and including strict conditions to be monitored closely by police.

These include Mr Hayward having to report five times a week to police and not being allowed to have any unsupervised contact with children under 16.

Barnaby Joyce says issue is for WA Nationals

Mr Hayward is the former state president of the Nationals WA and a former Bunbury councillor.

In a statement, Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said he would leave it to the relevant authorities to comment.

"As to the political matters, that is for the Leader of the WA Nationals to address," he said.

"As it is now a serious legal proceeding, I will not be commenting further."

Hayward a former journalist

Mr Hayward worked as a TV journalist for many years, based in the Pilbara, before he entered politics.

The MP, who represents the South West Region, was elected to Parliament at the 2021 March state election.

The Nationals MP was appointed opposition spokesman for Local Government, Water and Regional Cities.

WA Premier Mark McGowan said he had been briefed on the matter, but did not want to comment further.

"All I would say is this is a matter for the police and the courts," he said.

"Obviously I don't to say anything that might prejudice any proceedings that might be in play."

According to Mr Hayward's political biography, he lives in Bunbury with his family.

"James has travelled extensively through regional WA and lived and worked across the state as a journalist for GWN7.

"He spent a period of time as chief of staff for the busy Channel Seven Perth newsroom," the biography reads.

"James settled in Bunbury where he purchased a business in 2008.

"James has a solid understanding of local, state and federal issues that matter to the South West region."

As well as previously being the state president of the Nationals WA, he was also a former federal vice-president of the Nationals.

The ABC has attempted to contact Mr Hayward and the WA Nationals.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-02/wa-nationals-mp-james-hayward-charged-child-sex-offences/100669446

#15119158 at 2021-12-02 06:59:35 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15119154

2/2

Details of new allegations

Ms Miller alleged that in 2017, she drank heavily with Mr Tudge and he became angry when she answered a phone call early the next morning from his hotel room bed.

"It was about four in the morning and a morning media producer ... was calling about the front-page story we'd lined up. I started to talk to her to arrange a time, but I was still half asleep," she said, reading a statement in Parliament House earlier today.

"Then I felt someone kicking me on the side of my hip and leg. As I tried to sit up in bed. It was the minister, he was furious, telling me to get the f*ck out of his bed.

"He continued to kick me until I fell off the side of the bed and ended up on the floor. I searched around in the dark for my clothes [while] he was yelling at me that my phone had woken me up.

"He told me to get the f*ck out of his room and make sure that no-one saw me."

Last year Ms Miller made a formal complaint about her time working in Mr Tudge's office. However, it did not include an allegation of physical abuse.

She alleged that on a number of occasions Mr Tudge was extremely critical of her work, often in public and in front of other staff, politicians or community members.

She said on one job she was brought to tears by his behaviour.

The Department of Finance completed a review into that complaint, and minister Jane Hume said Ms Miller had not participated in it.

"There was an independent review that was done into the allegations," Senator Hume said on Thursday.

"If she [Ms Miller] had have felt supported to participate in that review maybe there would have been a different outcome, but the review found that the allegations were unsubstantiated."

Call to implement review recommendations

The treatment of women within politics has been in the spotlight this year, after former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins came forward with a rape allegation.

Today, Ms Miller called on the government to immediately commit to the 28 recommendations made in a major review that found widespread bullying and sexual harassment at Parliament House.

"This is not about revenge, it has never, ever been about that," she said.

"I still sometimes feel sorry for him [Mr Tudge]. It's about ensuring no-one else goes through this in this workplace ever again. It's about changing a system that enabled this to happen. We should not have to fight."

Both the government and Labor have committed to look at all the recommendations from the review.

Some include specific time frames, while others are complex measures that will take time to introduce.

In 2018, then-prime minister Malcolm Turnbull introduced the so called "bonk ban" so that ministers could no longer have sexual relationships with staffers.

The move came after it was revealed that Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce had an affair with his former media adviser, who he now has two children with.

Labor also has a ban on MPs and their staff having relationships.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-12-02/alan-tudge-stands-aside-amid-abuse-allegations/100669592

#15098064 at 2021-11-29 05:18:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>15086619
National Cabinet to meet to discuss COVID-19 Omicron variant, whether to reinstate hotel quarantine

Georgia Hitch - 29 November 2021

The Prime Minister says he plans to call a meeting of state and territory leaders today or tomorrow to discuss how to respond to the Omicron variant, but it is "too early" to make decisions about reinstating quarantine before Christmas.

Scott Morrison described the emergence of the coronavirus variant as "concerning" but said Australia had dealt with other strains of the virus before.

"We have had many new variants, we have had many variants of concern," he said.

"This is another variant of concern and it is one that the initial information is suggesting some [increased] transmissibility but even that, as yet, is not fully proven.

"So it is important we just calmly and carefully consider this information."

Mr Morrison also noted Australia was not in the same position that it was at the beginning of the pandemic.

Currently, 86.7 per cent of the population aged 16 and over is fully vaccinated.

Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said he would not speculate on whether Australia was likely to have to close its international border again, but authorities were working on a "risk-balanced" approach.

"There's always pros and cons for these sorts of decisions," he said.

Mr Morrison also said it was "too early" to make a decision but it would be on the agenda at the National Cabinet meeting.

"National Cabinet will come together over the next couple of days and a key purpose of that is to ensure we are all working off the same information," he said.

The federal government on Saturday announced that non-Australian citizens who had been in nine countries in southern Africa where Omicron had been detected were barred from entering Australia.

Two COVID-positive travellers from southern Africa who arrived in New South Wales on Saturday have tested positive for the variant.

Mr Morrison said as well as National Cabinet, the National Security Committee would meet this afternoon to consider the decision to allow fully vaccinated temporary migrants and international students to enter Australia from December 1.

Professor Kelly said it was "early days" and the evidence at the moment suggested that while Omicron was as infectious as the Delta strain, it did not appear to cause a more severe disease.

"On severity, there are some signs in South Africa but particularly those in other countries ... that it is relatively mild compared with previous versions," he said.

"But it's early days and we need to be careful of that.

"In terms of the vaccines, there is no solid evidence that there is a problem with, that but we're looking very closely and we're looking for further advice.

"There's a lot of things we don't know yet about this virus."

'Society won't accept' more lockdowns

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce pushed back against the idea of locking down any parts of Australia in response to the Omicron variant, saying there had to be an approach that balanced health with business.

"We can't just shut down every time there's a new variant, because there's going to be new variants, and they're going to continue on," he said.

"And, you know, the economy won't work and society won't accept it if we just keep shutting the show down.

"So I think there will be a sort of a tempered, sober approach to the assessment of what we do next."

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-11-29/scott-morrison-covid-variant-omicron-national-cabinet/100657558

#15042123 at 2021-11-20 08:49:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>14988985
Melbourne's 'freedom' protest fever spreads across the country

Rachael Dexter, Melissa Cunningham and Tom Cowie - November 20, 2021

1/2

Tens of thousands of anti-government "freedom" protesters have taken to the streets across the country, with the largest turnout in Melbourne, where tens of thousands railed against COVID-19 vaccines, Premier Daniel Andrews and the government's now-stalled controversial pandemic bill.

As Sydney crowds chanted "Kelly, Kelly, Kelly", former Liberal MP Craig Kelly yelled unsubstantiated claims about "experimental vaccines" while billionaire Clive Palmer told Brisbane crowds he'd rather "go out of business" than listen to vaccine advice from Queensland's premier, who he called 'Palachook'.

"Our rights don't come from Daniel Andrews. Our rights don't come from Mark McGowan, our rights don't come from Palachook. And you know there's no chook like a Palachook," he told the crowd.

"Our freedom doesn't come from Scott Morrison. Our freedom doesn't come from Anthony Albanese and our freedom certainly doesn't come from Barnaby Joyce."

The Age revealed on Saturday that Mr Kelly has recruited a number of key figures in the right-wing "freedom" movement for Clive Palmer's party.

Independent Victorian MP Catherine Cumming, who is one of the crossbenchers in discussions with the state government trying to pass its pandemic legislation, was among a number of speakers to address the Melbourne crowd.

She sarcastically goaded Premier Daniel Andrews over his criticism of the protests this week for their far-right elements after gallows were paraded in front of Parliament House and he was the subject of death threats.

"So fascists are we Daniel? Am I a Nazi, am I Daniel?" Dr Cumming said to the crowd who laughed and cheered.

"No matter how much misinformation and propaganda you put out there, Victoria is going to win."

Dr Cumming has appeared regularly at the anti-government protests and has been promoting them online.

She railed against the vaccination of children with a COVID-19 jab and claimed Mr Andrews was "coming after her children".

The vaccines approved for use in Australia have strong scientific backing as being both safe and effective in preventing COVID-19.

"I want to make this very clear, Daniel, when you come after my children you come after every single Victorian," Dr Cumming said. "We are together as a freedom family… Good luck Mr Andrews."

A much smaller counter 'anti-fascist' rally of several hundred came out for the first time in Melbourne in opposition to the anti-Andrews government crowd. The Age has seen video of one physical skirmish in which police separated counter-protesters and right-wing activist Avi Yemeni.

"Despite significant numbers in attendance, the protest was peaceful with only one arrest made," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said.

Melbourne's rallies came at the end of a toxic week in state politics as Premier Daniel Andrews attempted and failed to pass the pandemic bill that would replace Victoria's State of Emergency and empower the premier and health minister of the day to declare pandemics and enforce health directions, instead of the chief health officer.

The Andrews government will have to wait until the final sitting week of the year to try and pass its controversial legislation through Parliament as a week of drama ended in an impasse.

Aerial footage showed there was upwards of 10,000 people at the anti-government protest, which began at State Parliament. Organisers claimed 450,000 people came to protest but no crowd counts were supplied for protests by Victoria Police or any other authorities.

The protesters are a loose collective of many sub-groups who oppose vaccine-mandates and passports.

Among them are the hard religious right and Qanon conspiracy followers - as well as many families and people who have lost work for refusing to take a COVID jab. In Victoria the movement has been catalysed this week by opposition to the pandemic bill which is currently stalled in the upper house.

(continued)

#14949476 at 2021-11-08 07:54:16 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>14942536
Barnaby Joyce urges Malcolm Turnbull, Kevin Rudd to 'get off the political horse'

ELLEN RANSLEY - NOVEMBER 8, 2021

Barnaby Joyce says former prime ministers Kevin Rudd and Malcolm Turnbull need to stop acting like "dipsticks" and rise above politics, after the two former leaders ramped up their criticism of Scott Morrison.

Both Mr Turnbull and Mr Rudd have been outspoken about the actions of Mr Morrison, especially regarding the diplomatic spat between France and Australia.

Last week while in Glasgow for the COP26 climate conference, when asked to comment on the French President's claims that Mr Morrison had "lied" over the scrapping of a $90b submarine contract, Mr Turnbull said his successor was a known liar and had "lied (to him) on many occasions".

"Scott has always had a reputation for telling lies," Mr Turnbull said last week.

In the wake of escalating tensions, Mr Rudd said Mr Morrison should "take a bow for destroying the Australian brand".

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the pair needed to rise above politics and "have some decorum".

"Look in politics, sometimes it's not so much how you ride the horse, but how you get off it," he told Sunrise.

"Some people get off with grace, but some people can't help themselves - they keep a foot in the stirrup and get dragged around in the manure.

" (Mr Turnbull and Mr Rudd) have gone from former prime ministers to current pains the neck. What do you do?

"If I walk around your workplace or your morning tea or even the pub and call everyone a liar, you (would) just look at the person and say 'I don't care what your former job was mate, you're a dipstick'.

"You can't just go around brandishing those sorts of allegations. You've got to have some decorum for the office you held.

"When you leave politics, you're supposed to rise above politics."

Retiring federal MP Joel Fitzgibbon seconded Mr Joyce's sentiment, but said it was "unfair" to compare Mr Rudd's comments with that of Mr Turnbull.

"I mean sure, Kevin's made a few comments, he called upon Scott Morrison to apologise to Emmanuel Macron, but Malcolm Turnbull has been belligerent and personal in his attacks on Scott Morrison," Mr Fitzgibbon said.

"That's not good for him, and it's not good for the country. None of us should be running commentary like that on our international relations.

"Julia Gillard, Paul Keating, Tony Abbott, John Howard have all demonstrated a capacity to be statesmanlike in retirement.

"That's what all of them should be doing."

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/breaking-news/Barnaby-Joyce-urges-malcolm-turnbull-kevin-rudd-to-get-off-the-political-horse/news-story/cd090401b290d88b57234f5b3b370027

#14902201 at 2021-11-01 23:10:11 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>14902191

2/2

The comments targeting a fellow G20 partner and military ally were made to Australian journalists minutes before Mr Morrison was due to front his final news conference in Rome.

Asked whether he thought Mr Morrison had lied to him about exiting the future submarine contract, Mr Macron said: "I don't think, I know."

Sources close to the discussions between the two leaders said the Morrison government had reason to be sensitive about releasing information about the nuclear submarine deal to Mr Macron too early.

When Mr Macron was finally informed of Australia's decision to tear up the Naval Group contract, he actively tried to "kill the deal" and personally called on senior members of the Biden administration to drop it, those sources said.

While the Australian government didn't scrap the contract when Mr Macron hosted Mr Morrison for a reception and private dinner at the Elysee Palace on June 15, it was made explicit to the French leader that the agreement was not going to proceed.

Mr Macron had invited Mr Morrison for dinner in Paris specifically to persuade the Australian government not to terminate Naval Group's contract.

The timing of the dinner came shortly after the G7 summit in Cornwall.

During the Elysee Palace dinner, Mr Macron said "I don't like losing" and began personally wooing Mr Morrison via texts to ensure Naval didn't lose its $90bn contract, sources said.

French officials then launched a "full court press" in July after realising the submarines would likely be lost to the US and that Mr Morrison's warning about contract gates would be enacted.

In his remarks to journalists at the G20, against the advice of officials walking with him, Mr Macron mocked Australia's 18-month review into how it would acquire nuclear submarines from the US and Britain.

"You have 18 months before a report. Good luck," he said.

Speaking in Rome, Mr Morrison said Mr Macron had understood what the contract gates were and that Australia was considering other options.

"It is not a small thing to not go through the gate on a contract of that size. But that's why you have gates in contracts. You have gates in contracts because you make decisions (on) whether you wish to proceed or not," he said.

"But Australia decided not to proceed. That was our right. That decision was made in Australia's national interest."

Mr Morrison and Mr Macron had earlier been photographed together smiling after Mr Morrison approached him in the G20 leaders' lounge the day before to shake his hand and break the ice.

Mr Morrison also rejected Mr Macron's claim he had been "lied" to over the government's decision to establish the AUKUS military pact and build a sovereign nuclear submarine fleet.

He said he had been clear with the French leader when the pair met at the Elysee Palace in June that "conventional submarines were not going to be able to meet our strategic interests and we were going to have to make a decision in our national interest".

Asked if he had lied to Mr Macron, Mr Morrison responded: "No ... I don't agree with that."

Acting Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce responded to Mr Macron's comments by saying Australia "didn't steal an island" or "deface the Eiffel Tower", arguing that contracts contained clauses allowing for termination.

"We got out of that contract. We got out of it because the best outcome for our nation and the protection of our nation was to go to the platform that we now have, that we're now going towards building," Mr Joyce said

Anthony Albanese said real problems were emerging in the relationship between France and the US and Australia after Mr Biden argued that Australia had been "clumsy" in exiting the submarine contract.

https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/defence/i-dont-think-i-know-emmanuel-macron-accuses-scott-morrison-of-lying-over-submarine-deal/news-story/55052c44c8918f68573fed2ed0572950

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-Q-G93m1bE

#14806356 at 2021-10-18 07:03:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #19 - THE ONLY WAY IS THE MILITARY Edition

>>14806354

3/3

As bushfires raged in the summer of 2019-20 I hoped that this red-raw reality of global warming would end the crazy, politicised climate wars in Australia. Well, it didn't. The onset of the pandemic served to distract everyone, although the irony of following the virus science while ignoring the climate science seems to have been lost on too many members of the Australian government.

Australia is more out of step with its friends and allies than it has ever been. All of our closest friends - the US, the UK, the EU, Japan and New Zealand - are now committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050.

On 18 May the International Energy Agency released a new report on how the world can, and must, reach net zero.For the first time this expert agency, always regarded as sympathetic to the oil and gas sectors, demanded that investment in new oil, gas and coal projects cease and that we make a rapid shift to renewables and storage. They described how this would enable us to have more, and cheaper, electricity.

To coincide with this report (of which the Australian government had full prior notice), Scott Morrison chose to announce that his government would invest $600m to build a new gas-fired power station in the Hunter Valley. The energy sector, the regulators, the NSW government and other experts were united in saying the power station was not needed - $600m wasted. To the rest of the world, increasingly puzzled by Australia's fossil-fuel fetish, it must have looked like a calculated "fuck you" to the global consensus demanding climate action.

To those concerned about the lack of leadership on climate, Morrison says his five predecessors all lost their job, one way or another, because of climate policy. He is determined not to let the right wing of the Coalition do to him what it did to me. Before June he would point to the instability in the National party and warn how a shift on climate could trigger a party room revolt, led by Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan and others, to overthrow Michael McCormack. That has now happened, and Joyce made his case for change on the basis of McCormack not doing more to oppose Morrison's edging towards a net zero commitment.

So Morrison is determined not to lead on climate; he wants business and other governments to take the lead and for events to take their course so that the transition to zero emissions happens without any discernible action from the Australian government at all. In the meantime he will continue to use support for coal as a totemic issue to rally working-class voters in mining areas.

Scott is long on tactics and very short on strategy. With climate, he underlines my biggest concern about his government: that it will be successful at winning elections but do little in office. And with Barnaby back as deputy prime minister, he has another excuse to do nothing.

This is an edited extract from the new foreword to A Bigger Picture by Malcolm Turnbull (Hardie Grant Books, available now in paperback)

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/oct/18/malcolm-turnbull-on-murdoch-lies-and-the-climate-crisis-the-same-forces-that-enabled-trump-are-at-work-in-australia

#13963401 at 2021-06-23 11:58:55 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

China warning: Joyce calls on MPs to prepare for end of Pax Americana

David Crowe - June 22, 2021

Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce has issued a stark warning to government MPs about the risk to Australia from the waning power of the United States, calling for unity as China emerges as a new superpower.

Mr Joyce urged Liberal and Nationals MPs to unite behind the mission of making Australia "as strong as possible as quickly as possible" when it could not rely on the US to guarantee regional security.

The message resonated with government MPs who are increasingly concerned about the Chinese government's construction of military bases in the South China Sea and provocations in the Taiwan Strait.

Liberals noted the remarks were made in Mr Joyce's first speech to the Coalition party room after he regained the Nationals leadership on Monday and was sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister on Tuesday.

"He said there's a unifying cause, that it's more important to the nation than anything else, that the times that we live in today are different to those that we were born into," a Coalition spokesman said of the remarks.

"He said the world is changing ... we're moving from the Pax Americana to a new superpower that's different and there are different ways of seeing the world.

"Our liberties and freedoms that we took as a birthright and never really thought about, in the future might be challenged like they never have before."

Mr Joyce will join the government's leadership team as Deputy Prime Minister as well as taking a seat on the national security committee of cabinet.

Those who heard Mr Joyce's remarks said he did not name China but did not need to when he mentioned a new superpower.

"He said what is required of us is to make Australia as strong as possible as quickly as possible in order to protect our way of life," said one Liberal.

"And he believes that is a comparative strength for the Coalition."

Coalition MPs noted Mr Joyce did not talk to the meeting about policy differences on climate change or about the Nationals' constituency among farmers and other regional groups.

"He was trying to be much bigger than that, focusing on the national interest," said one MP.

Mr Joyce has expressed concern about China over many years, backing changes to foreign investment rules in 2016 to tighten the oversight of land sales to overseas buyers.

He declared last December that the biggest issue facing young Australians was they would live in a world where China was a superpower and not a liberal democracy.

The new Nationals leader's close ally, former resources minister Matt Canavan, called last year for stronger federal action against Chinese trade sanctions on wine and barley, raising the possibility of a levy on iron ore exports to China.

"If our iron ore is going to be used to build ships and planes and they are used to threaten peaceful countries, that might not be something that should continue," he said.

https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/china-warning-Joyce-calls-on-mps-to-prepare-for-end-of-pax-americana-20210622-p583bo.html?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1624393642-1

#13955847 at 2021-06-22 08:54:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition

Revolt over China's grip on Port of Newcastle

GEOFF CHAMBERS and JOE KELLY - JUNE 20, 2021

1/2

Fifteen Coalition MPs are demanding Josh Frydenberg impose tougher controls on the half-Chinese owned Port of Newcastle because they fear its monopoly powers could be exploited to impose "punitive costs" to hurt Australian coal exporters.

In a letter to the Treasurer and Scott Morrison, the MPs call for new arbitration measures for the Port of Newcastle, arguing the current regulatory regime gives the "Communist Party of China a geopolitical advantage over the export of Australian coal''.

The Australian can reveal the letter, sent by Tasmanian Liberal senator Eric Abetz to the ­Treasurer and Prime Minister last week, outlines fears the port - half-owned by China Merchants Port Holdings - could lift access charges for Australian coal exporters and they would not have a legal mechanism to challenge it.

The letter, sent by Senator Abetz, followed a Senate estimates hearing this month at which Australian Competition & Consumer Commission chair Rod Sims said the world's largest export coal port was a "monopoly" with no regulatory oversight.

The MPs are calling on Mr Frydenberg to declare the port a monopoly under the National Access Regime - set out in the Competition and Consumer Act - which would ensure that, if a user cannot agree on terms to ­access the port, the competition watchdog could resolve the dispute through arbitration.

The MPs are arguing for an arbitration mechanism to be put in place between the port and NSW coal producers "similar to the ACCC arbitration mechanism for other monopoly assets".

"As you are aware, the Port of Newcastle is a major strategic asset for Australia. It accounts for around 40 per cent of Australia's coal exports and is the largest coal export port in the world," the letter says.

"The port also operates as a monopoly, making it incredibly vulnerable to foreign interference. Most coal producers in NSW have no alternative but to use the Port of Newcastle. It is also half-owned by China Merchants Port Holdings, which is a state-owned corporation under the direction of the Communist Party of China.

"It seems incredulous that a half-Chinese-owned company that controls a monopoly bottleneck in the coal export chain can increase charges at their ­discretion, forcing up prices for Australian coal overseas and making our second-largest export commodity less ­competitive." The letter was co-signed by Liberal and Nationals MPs Barnaby Joyce, Matt Canavan, Bridget McKenzie, James McGrath, Sarah Henderson, Alex Antic, Kevin Andrews, Paul Scarr, Phillip Thompson, Llew O'Brien, Concetta Fierravanti-Wells, ­George Christensen, Gerard Rennick and Susan McDonald.

The Australian has been told more Coalition MPs were expected to sign-up this week.

A spokesman for Mr Frydenberg said the independent ­National Competition Council had considered on multiple occasions whether the Port of Newcastle should be declared under the National Access Regime and each time had recommended against it.

"The government's decisions have been consistent with this ­independent expert advice," the spokesman said. "Following the NCC's most recent decision, the Treasurer agreed not to declare the Port of Newcastle." The Port of Newcastle has welcomed Mr Frydenberg's decision, as well as a subsequent review of the timeliness of decisions made under the National Access Regime.

Executive director of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute Peter Jennings told The Australian it was clear that "any Chinese company can be subject to pressure from the Chinese Communist Party to meet the party's political objectives".

"This is also underlined by China's national security law, which requires all companies and individuals to assist the Chinese intelligence community if asked to do so. The risk for Australia is that any piece of critical infrastructure which has an element of Chinese ownership is potentially at risk from this type of political ­behaviour. That is true of the Port of Newcastle, but also for a great deal of the electricity grid and gas infrastructure."

(continued)

#13273605 at 2021-03-22 06:04:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #14 - THE ART OF WAR Edition

Bipartisan delegation of Australian MPs meets with US embassy about Julian Assange

Rob Harris - March 22, 2021

A cross-party delegation of Australian MPs has met with Washington's top envoy in Canberra in their continued attempts to encourage the United States to drop its extradition attempts against the WikiLeaks founder.

Nationals MP George Christensen, Independent Andrew Wilkie and Labor's Julian Hill lobbied the US embassy's charge d'affaires, Michael Goldman, on Monday morning, arguing the Australian citizen should be allowed to return home.

The US Justice Department has appealed a British judge's ruling that prevents Mr Assange from being extradited from London to face espionage charges.

Judge Vanessa Baraitser ruled last month that while the case against the Australian was sound, his fragile mental health put him at "substantial risk" of taking his own life in prison.

Supporters of Mr Assange had hoped that new US President Joe Biden's administration would opt to drop the case, which the Obama administration had declined to charge over concerns that doing so would put press freedoms at risk.

He is accused of helping former army private Chelsea Manning obtain and leak classified information on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Mr Wilkie, a whistleblowing intelligence officer-turned-MP, said the delegation raised numerous issues with Mr Goldman, including the increasing cross-party and public support for the US extradition of Mr Assange from the UK to be dropped.

The trio argued the US was at risk of "reputational damage" over the inconsistency that WikiLeaks source, Chelsea Manning, had her sentence commuted while WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, was still being pursued.

Ms Manning, a former US soldier who worked with Mr Assange to acquire confidential diplomatic cables, had her sentence commuted by former president Barack Obama in January 2017.

Mr Wilkie said Mr Goldman gave the delegation a good hearing and promised to convey its concerns to Washington.

"It was heartening that Mr Goldman agreed to the meeting and gave us a fair hearing," Mr Wilkie said. "Hopefully our representations this morning impressed upon him the broad concern in Australia, and indeed right around the world, at the shocking injustice being meted out to Julian Assange. The US's pursuit of Mr Assange is obviously not in the public interest and must be dropped."

The 49-year-old has been in Belmarsh Prison since April 2019 trying to avoid extradition to the US to face 17 espionage charges and one computer hacking charge.

In 2012 he sought asylum at the Ecuadorean embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on a rape allegation that he denied. An investigation into the 2010 rape allegation has since been dropped by Swedish prosecutors.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said in January Mr Assange would be allowed to return to Australia if all charges were dropped.

He said consular support had consistently been offered to Mr Assange, but made clear the government were "not parties to those set of proceedings".

Labor leader Anthony Albanese last month said while he had no sympathy for many of Mr Assange's actions but could not see what was served by keeping him incarcerated.

The 10-member Bring Julian Assange Home parliamentary group includes Nationals backbencher Barnaby Joyce, crossbencher Zali Steggall, Labor MP Steve Georganas and Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson.

Mr Christensen, who last year met with Mr Assange in Britain, said the point of the meeting was to express the group's support for Mr Assange, his right to publish without being pursued through courts and to encourage the US to cease its ongoing legal actions.

Mr Hill said Australians didn't have to like or agree with Mr Assange, but he deserved fair treatment like any other Australian.

"The US should do the decent, humane thing and drop the prosecution, accepting the UK court's decision that Mr Assange is unwell and should not be extradited," he said.

An embassy spokesman said members regularly meet with Australian members of parliament on "a wide range of issues".

"The United States government continues to seek the extradition of Julian Assange to face the criminal charges pending against him in the United States."

https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/bipartisan-delegation-of-australian-mps-meets-with-us-embassy-about-julian-assange-20210322-p57cul.html

#12995652 at 2021-02-19 05:05:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition

>>12995647

2/2

Mr Dutton was among several ministers to slam Facebook on Thursday after its extraordinary move to ban news content in Australia.

When users go on reliable Facebook news accounts, including the ABC, 7News and Daily Mail Australia, they are met with a message saying there are 'no posts' available - hiding news content which is visible to those overseas.

Even the Australian Greens Facebook page, the Bureau of Meteorology and domestic violence charities were banned from posting updates.

Facebook's extraordinary move to ban news contrasted with Google, which in recent days has brokered deals with media groups, including Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the action was 'heavy-handed and will damage its reputation here in Australia'.

Health Minister Greg Hunt said blasted the social media giant for denying Australians access to fundamental health, mental health and vaccination information.

'Facebook has taken steps, which are unprecedented and reprehensible,' he said.

'Unacceptable in a democracy such as this and an abuse of their power.'

'The Australian people and its government will not be bullied by some big tech company that is putting people as lives at risk and putting profits ahead of people,' he said.

Nationals Senator Matt Canavan said he did not agree with this stifling of free speech.

'We already have laws that stop foreigners interfering in political debates. Facebook at least appears to be acting against the spirit of those laws,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'Any overseas companies that try to unduly control the free speech of Australians should be sent packing.'

Former Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said Mark Zuckerberg is behaving like North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.

Mr Joyce said the decision meant Facebook resembled North Korea which tightly controls which news and information its citizens can access and relentlessly publishes propaganda supporting the leadership.

'Journalism is essential for the functioning of democracy. If you don't want journalism then go to North Korea,' he told Daily Mail Australia.

'This is a North Korean policy agency being pursued by Facebook,' he added.

Mr Joyce said the government should consider issuing licences that grant permission for social media companies to operate in Australia to make sure they act in the national interest.

'If they leave then so what? Another platform will be set up,' he said.

Mr Joyce added: 'When I look up at the press gallery in Parliament or when I walk around Tamworth, I don't see a Facebook bureau or a Google bureau - so if they want to benefit from journalism done by others then they need to pay for it.

'It took 10,000 years of human experience to gain the liberties we enjoy today and the investigatory endeavours of paid journalists is a crucial pillar of that. To have journalism you need real presence and advertising.

'If Facebook wants to embezzle the process they can return to their garage and table tennis.'

Communications Minister Paul Fletcher has insisted the government will not back down and said the publisher could either abide by Australia's laws or leave the country.

Mr Fletcher said the government 'will be proceeding' with the new law, which passed the House of Representatives on Wednesday night and looks set to pass the Senate within days.

'We want Google and Facebook to stay in Australia but we have been very clear that if you do business in Australia, you need to comply with the laws passed by the elected Parliament of this nation,' he told the ABC on Thursday morning.

But Mr Fletcher didn't rule out tweaking the code after continuing discussions with Facebook.

Treasurer Josh Treasurer spoke to CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Thursday morning and revealed the pair were trying to find 'a path forward'.

'Let's allow those discussions to continue and, at the same time, let's continue with the process of legislating the code,' Mr Fletcher said.

Facebook's decision means its nine million daily users in Australia can no longer view any news - even from foreign websites.

Australian Facebook users can't even share content they find interesting with friends and family, and those overseas can't read or access any content from Down Under either.

Minister Fletcher said Facebook's move is likely to increase the amount disinformation on Facebook.

'There are already questions about the credibility of information and sources on the Facebook platform,' he told Ben Fordham on 2GB radio.

'They're basically saying to Australians: If you're looking for reliable news, Facebook is not the place to look for it.'

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9272893/Facebook-slammed-Peter-Dutton-changes-making-easier-paedophiles-share-abuse.html

https://twitter.com/PeterDutton_MP/status/1362222617868922887

#10705210 at 2020-09-19 05:52:27 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #10 - INFORMATION WARFARE Edition

Notables
are not endorsements

#9 - Part 1
>>10099807 Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert transferred to 'worst female prison in world'
>>10104103 Video: Foreign affairs and Defence Ministers meet US counterparts | 9 News Australia
>>10109918 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Today's #AUSMIN2020 meeting is underway with an ambitious agenda
>>10109998 AUSMIN 2020: US praises Australia for not 'bowing' to China
>>10110039 Australia backs US bid to rally democracies against China
>>10110133 AUSMIN a thrilling, unexpected triumph for White House
>>10110632 Sydney man accused of sexually exploiting New Zealand girl
>>10115695 Video: AUSMIN 2020 - Secretary Pompeo Holds a Joint Press Availability
>>10122402 Melbourne earthquake felt by hundreds of people across the eastern suburbs
>>10122856 Federal Government seeks access to jailed Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who's been moved to new prison in Iran

>>10122876 Influential UK MP lashes 'hostage takers' over detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert
>>10123114 John Patrick Casey: Catholic priest's sexual assault appeal fails in Supreme Court
>>10123153 Video: Alexander Downer - Australia must keep America 'fully engaged' in Indo-Pacific region - Sky News Australia
>>10123307 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: We and our allies will fly, sail, & operate wherever international law allows. #AUSMIN2020
>>10123307 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: Even in dark days, America will never lose the ability to dare greatly.
>>10123369 Video: Australian Federal Police - Stop human trafficking happening in plain sight
>>10123418 Border Force officers seizing large number of lifelike child sex dolls ordered online
>>10135836 China hits back at Australia-US statement on South China Sea, Hong Kong
>>10136626 Biden presidency could put Australia back in 'naughty corner' over lack of climate action
>>10136706 Kylie Moore-Gilbert granted meeting with Australian ambassador to Iran

>>10136821 Google and Facebook to be forced to share revenue with media in Australia under draft code
>>10142926 Australia backs India over deadly border clashes with China
>>10146828 TikTok: President Trump announces US ban of popular video app
>>10156088 Resignation of James Murdoch 'does not absolve him of the blood on his hands'
>>10156246, >>10156261, >>10156272 'The US enterprise is up for grabs': why the Trump-Biden race is so important for Australia
>>10157518 Australian intelligence agencies investigate Chinese-owned TikTok over security concerns
>>10158011 Modern slavery rife in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, charity claims
>>10158011 PDF: Murky Waters - A qualitative Assessment of Modern Slavery in the Pacific Region - Minderoo Foundation, 2020
>>10167430 (2018) FBI Focuses on Millions of "Mishandled" $$$ Funneled from Australian Gov to Clinton Foundation
>>10167460, >>10167466 Daniel Andrews has significant ties to Chyna/CCP going back to 2013 prior to his election as premier in 2014

>>10167481 Australia's MP Daniel Andrews and Hillary Clinton
>>10167481 Daniel Andrews Tweet: I met @HillaryClinton earlier in the week.
>>10167767 Video: Barnaby Joyce casually name drops George Soros during interview with Channel Seven's Sunrise
>>10167767 QMAP.pub - Players in the Game - George Soros - Billionaire "philanthropist" and investor
>>10176846 Family of jailed Australian academic 'reassured' by ambassador's visit
>>10177085 Part-time Labor staffer John Zhang challenges investigation into possible foreign interference
>>10177186 Video: Modern day slavery occurring in Australia - 7NEWS
>>10177186 Australian Federal Police lift the lid on 'modern-day slavery' in Australia's suburbs
>>10177348 Video: Satan's Children (1989) Teresa's daring escape from brutal satanic cult and bizarre rituals | 60 Minutes Australia
>>10229949 Video: Satan's Children Part 2 - Servants of Satan (1989) - follow up by Australian 60 Minutes journalist Ian Leslie

#10704830 at 2020-09-19 05:10:53 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition

>>10535335
Notables
are not endorsements

#9 - Part 1
>>10099807 Australian academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert transferred to 'worst female prison in world'
>>10104103 Video: Foreign affairs and Defence Ministers meet US counterparts | 9 News Australia
>>10109918 Defence Minister Linda Reynolds Tweet: Today's #AUSMIN2020 meeting is underway with an ambitious agenda
>>10109998 AUSMIN 2020: US praises Australia for not 'bowing' to China
>>10110039 Australia backs US bid to rally democracies against China
>>10110133 AUSMIN a thrilling, unexpected triumph for White House
>>10110632 Sydney man accused of sexually exploiting New Zealand girl
>>10115695 Video: AUSMIN 2020 - Secretary Pompeo Holds a Joint Press Availability
>>10122402 Melbourne earthquake felt by hundreds of people across the eastern suburbs
>>10122856 Federal Government seeks access to jailed Australian Kylie Moore-Gilbert, who's been moved to new prison in Iran

>>10122876 Influential UK MP lashes 'hostage takers' over detained academic Kylie Moore-Gilbert
>>10123114 John Patrick Casey: Catholic priest's sexual assault appeal fails in Supreme Court
>>10123153 Video: Alexander Downer - Australia must keep America 'fully engaged' in Indo-Pacific region - Sky News Australia
>>10123307 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: We and our allies will fly, sail, & operate wherever international law allows. #AUSMIN2020
>>10123307 US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper Tweet: Even in dark days, America will never lose the ability to dare greatly.
>>10123369 Video: Australian Federal Police - Stop human trafficking happening in plain sight
>>10123418 Border Force officers seizing large number of lifelike child sex dolls ordered online
>>10135836 China hits back at Australia-US statement on South China Sea, Hong Kong
>>10136626 Biden presidency could put Australia back in 'naughty corner' over lack of climate action
>>10136706 Kylie Moore-Gilbert granted meeting with Australian ambassador to Iran

>>10136821 Google and Facebook to be forced to share revenue with media in Australia under draft code
>>10142926 Australia backs India over deadly border clashes with China
>>10146828 TikTok: President Trump announces US ban of popular video app
>>10156088 Resignation of James Murdoch 'does not absolve him of the blood on his hands'
>>10156246, >>10156261, >>10156272 'The US enterprise is up for grabs': why the Trump-Biden race is so important for Australia
>>10157518 Australian intelligence agencies investigate Chinese-owned TikTok over security concerns
>>10158011 Modern slavery rife in New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands, charity claims
>>10158011 PDF: Murky Waters - A qualitative Assessment of Modern Slavery in the Pacific Region - Minderoo Foundation, 2020
>>10167430 (2018) FBI Focuses on Millions of "Mishandled" $$$ Funneled from Australian Gov to Clinton Foundation
>>10167460, >>10167466 Daniel Andrews has significant ties to Chyna/CCP going back to 2013 prior to his election as premier in 2014

>>10167481 Australia's MP Daniel Andrews and Hillary Clinton
>>10167481 Daniel Andrews Tweet: I met @HillaryClinton earlier in the week.
>>10167767 Video: Barnaby Joyce casually name drops George Soros during interview with Channel Seven's Sunrise
>>10167767 QMAP.pub - Players in the Game - George Soros - Billionaire "philanthropist" and investor
>>10176846 Family of jailed Australian academic 'reassured' by ambassador's visit
>>10177085 Part-time Labor staffer John Zhang challenges investigation into possible foreign interference
>>10177186 Video: Modern day slavery occurring in Australia - 7NEWS
>>10177186 Australian Federal Police lift the lid on 'modern-day slavery' in Australia's suburbs
>>10177348 Video: Satan's Children (1989) Teresa's daring escape from brutal satanic cult and bizarre rituals | 60 Minutes Australia
>>10229949 Video: Satan's Children Part 2 - Servants of Satan (1989) - follow up by Australian 60 Minutes journalist Ian Leslie

#10167767 at 2020-08-03 07:58:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #9 - Welcome to the Digital Battlefield Edition

Labor condemns Craig Kelly's suggestion Daniel Andrews could 'face 25 years in jail' for hydroxychloroquine ban

…..

On Monday the National party MP and former deputy prime minister Barnaby Joyce also courted controversy by invoking the billionaire investor and bogeyman of the far rightGeorge Sorosin a comment on interest rates.

Joyce told Channel Seven's Sunrise that Australia was borrowing from "overseas", warning that with net public debt on target to reach $1tn "at some stage you're going to pay it back".

When the presenter David Koch noted that interest rates were at a historical low of 0.8%, Joyce replied: "Yeah, of course interest rates will go up - of course interest rates will go up.

"Well, did anyone who planned that this will be the lowest interest rates five years ago in history in the history of mankind? Did anybody plan about this 10 years ago?

"I remember when Telecom bonds were at 17%, you know it too. And you have to look at your short-term money rates. You have to look at whether George Soros knows what he's doing it. He's planning on interest rates going up."

Soros is famous for making more than £1 billion by short-selling the British pound in 1992, and has become the target of antisemitic demonisation and far-right conspiracy theories in part because of his philanthropy for liberal and progressive causes.

Joyce told Guardian Australia he "could have referred to a number of people" trading in short-term money markets but had mentioned Soros because he had been the subject of a recent news article, which Joyce failed to identify.

"Interest rates are as low as they've ever been and that means the next movement is up. I don't know about racial views or racial issues regarding Soros but, like him or not, he's good at picking the market."

The prime minister's office has been contacted for comment.

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/aug/03/labor-condemns-craig-kellys-suggestion-daniel-andrews-could-face-25-years-in-jail-for-hydroxychloroquine-ban

—

Barnaby Joyce And Joel Fitzgibbon Discuss Paid Pandemic Leave

Federal MPs Barnaby Joyce and Joel Fitzgibbon joined Kochie and Nat to discuss Victoria's 'Stage 4' lockdown and calls for 'paid pandemic leave' to ensure vulnerable workers with coronavirus or waiting for test results can afford to stay at home.

https://www.facebook.com/Sunrise/videos/287596765681317/

—

QMAP.pub - Players in the Game

George Soros

Billionaire "philanthropist" and investor. Runs many international organizations worldwide. 1st pillar (+) of the global elites (cabal) power structure – controller of people organizations.

https://qmap.pub/players/read/4

#9062551 at 2020-05-07 09:34:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #8 - WE ARE THE CURE Edition

#7 - Part 20
Australian / Regional Resignations Bun
>>8006882 Australia Agriculture Minister McKenzie Quits Over Sports Grants
>>8006882 Greens leader Richard Di Natale quits leadership, will leave Senate
>>8089238 Matt Canavan offers Cabinet resignation, throws support behind Barnaby Joyce for Nationals leadership
>>8089238 Barnaby Joyce backer and Queensland MP Llew O'Brien quits Nationals party room
>>8181925 St Kevin's headmaster Stephen Russell resigns over character reference for paedophile
>>8203946 Rebel Queensland Labor MP Jo-Ann Miller resigns
>>8203946 St Kevin's College deputy head Janet Canny stood down over inadequate response to teacher complaints about child-grooming
>>8203946 Relationships Australia Tasmania CEO Mat Rowell to leave in two weeks
>>8252985 Rugby Australia announces Cameron Clyne's immediate resignation as chairman
>>8252985 WA Treasurer Ben Wyatt in shock resignation

>>8252985 East Timor leader offers resignation after coalition collapse
>>8322219 Mike Baird privately rules out return to politics after quitting NAB
>>8322219 Mystery over Northern Territory tourism chief executive Simonne Shepherd's sudden resignation
>>8351014 Westpac's Anita Fung joins boardroom exits
>>8351014 Statement from World Vision Australia Board Chair Shannon Adams regarding Chief Executive Claire Rogers' resignation
>>8374644 Senate president to quit at next election
>>8374644 Konica Minolta names new Australian MD as David Cooke resigns
>>8398378 Paul Anderson resigns from Network 10 and ViacomCBS
>>8398378 'Frustrated' FFA technical director quits after year in job
>>8528410 Law Society of NSW CEO announces resignation
>>8528410 Senior NAB executive Anthony Healy to step down

>>8557079 Malcolm Turnbull's wife Lucy suddenly stands down from her high-powered job 'for personal reasons'
>>8582449 Victorian Premier's right-hand man Gavin Jennings resigns
>>8582449 Glamorgan Spring Bay Council's general manager has resigned
>>8720527 Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane quits his position in NSW upper house
>>8720527 Border restrictions block Konica Minolta Australia managing director replacement
>>8755266, >>8755657 NSW minister Don Harwin resigns over breach of coronavirus public health order
>>8755657 Seafood Industry Australia CEO Jane Lovell resigns
>>8860470 NRL CEO Todd Greenberg announces sudden resignation
>>8860470 'Very surprised': ACT Health boss announces shock resignation
>>9048632 Rugby Australia plunged into more turmoil after Peter Wiggs exit
>>9048632 University of Adelaide insists mystery departures nothing to do with finances

#8089238 at 2020-02-10 06:15:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #7 - FIRE & FURY Edition

Resignations in the news

Matt Canavan offers Cabinet resignation, throws support behind Barnaby Joyce for Nationals leadership

The political future of Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack hangs in the balance amid an insurgent push to reinstate Barnaby Joyce into the Nationals leadership.

Cabinet Minister Matt Canavan late on Monday called Nationals leader Mr McCormack to offer his resignation from the frontbench to back Mr Joyce's push.

In a late twist, Senator Canavan said he had also referred himself to the Prime Minister over a possible conflict of interest having failed to disclose a membership.

Mr Joyce had earlier in the day said he would challenge for the leadership if the top job was spilled.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-03/matt-canavan-supports-Barnaby-Joyce-nationals-leadership-spill/11926058

—

Barnaby Joyce backer and Queensland MP Llew O'Brien quits Nationals party room

Queensland MP Llew O'Brien has quit the Nationals party room. But in a shock move late on Monday, he won a promotion after Labor successfully conspired to elevate him to become Deputy Speaker in the House of Representatives.

The backbencher has been a vocal supporter of former leader Barnaby Joyce, and moved the spill motion which allowed Mr Joyce to challenge leader Michael McCormack in the Nationals party room last week.

That challenge from the former deputy prime minister ultimately failed.

Mr O'Brien has been outspoken on a number of policy issues, including a stronger national integrity commission.

He will remain a member of the Liberal National Party in Queensland and has told Prime Minister Scott Morrison he will continue to offer the Government support.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-02-10/queensland-mp-llew-o27brien-quits-nationals-party-room/11948492

#7700684 at 2020-01-03 08:57:40 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #6 - YEAR OF THE BOOMERANG Edition

4 articles that show the Australian Greens Party's opposition to hazard reduction burning exacerbates bushfires.
These current fires were not caused by a "catastrophic climate change crisis" but a bunch of Leftist deep state ratbags.
Please share
1. Opposition to backburning has 'exacerbated' fires (Video
- 12 min)
Member for New England Barnaby Joyce says conservation policies have "exacerbated" bushfires currently devastating Australia's east.
The former deputy prime minister told Sky News The Greens' opposition to land clearing "needs to be changed".
"It's not burning because they burnt off, it's burning because they didn't burn off," he said.
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6102739541001
2. Green Tape Prevents Volunteer Rural Firefighters from Reducing Bushfire Risk
The Volunteer Firefighters Association (VFFA), the body representing the Voice of Volunteer Rural Firefighters in NSW refutes the claim by green alarmists that climate change is the cause of the recent bushfires in New South Wales.
It's ridiculous to blame climate change when we know there has been far worse bushfires stretching back to the earliest days of European settlement in Australia including the Black Saturday Victoria 2009, NSW Bushfires 1994, Ash Wednesday Victoria 1983, Blue Mountains NSW 1968, Black Tuesday Hobart 1967 and Black Friday Victoria 1939, said Peter Cannon, President of the VFFA.
https://volunteerfirefighters.org.au/green-tape-prevents-volunteer-rural-firefighters-reducing-bushfire-risk
3. Let's tell the burning truth about bushfires and the ALP-Greens coalition
Now is the time to point out, perhaps, that a fire which begins in a national park carrying negligently heavy loads of ground fuel can become an unstoppable inferno which will eventually burst out into the Canberra suburbs and kill four people and consume 500 homes.
Now is the time for people who understand the bush to tell the rest of Australia what fools we are.
"Fuel reduction burns make it possible to fight and control a fire; what happened here was uncontrollable," Dunalley farmer Leigh Arnold told The Australian.
https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/opinion/lets-tell-the-burning-truth/news-story/ae30e22c69a0a9a7fe4141bc4e9442a8
4.Green ideas must take blame for deaths
By Miranda Devine
It wasn't climate change which killed as many as 300 people in Victoria last weekend. It wasn't arsonists. It was the unstoppable intensity of a bushfire, turbo-charged by huge quantities of ground fuel which had been allowed to accumulate over years of drought. It was the power of green ideology over government to oppose attempts to reduce fuel hazards before a megafire erupts, and which prevents landholders from clearing vegetation to protect themselves.
https://www.smh.com.au/environment/green-ideas-must-take-blame-for-deaths-20090211-84mk.html

#5998145 at 2019-04-01 01:38:37 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #4 - Q Goes Down Under Edition

>>5998053

Chinese-owned airport in Australia looks to increase its flights by 1000%

A Chinese government backed training airport in northern NSW will increase its number of flights by 1000 per cent under a development proposal as Australia struggles to avoid a local pilot shortage.

The Australian International Aviation College, which is being used to train Chinese pilots for the Communist party backed Hainan Airlines, is seeking to increase its flights in the airport from 2868 per year to 28,687 per year.

Hainan, which is 8.25 per cent owned by the Chinese provincial government, is providing funding for the training runway, one of at least three pilot training schools across Australia being used to train Chinese pilots.

The federal government was forced to open up temporary visas for foreign pilots in July in a bid to stop a pilot shortage that experts warn could cripple regional air services.

A spokesman for Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton confirmed pilots had been added to the temporary migration list following advice from the Department of Employment, but would be reviewed every six months to ensure Australian pilots were being given priority.

It is understood Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce, the Turnbull government's new Minister for Infrastructure, is about to receive a detailed brief on regional aviation issues in the coming weeks following his recent appointment to the portfolio.

Labor's infrastructure spokesman Anthony Albanese said there was nothing wrong with foreign pilots being trained in Australia.

"It produces economic benefits as well as the spread of best practice," he said. "The problem is training enough Australian pilots to fulfil our domestic aviation needs."

"We need to make sure we can keep our planes in the air, you can't train pilots in just a day or a week or a month."

The expansion of Kempsey Airport has sparked tension in the local community with the growing "Save Kempsey Airport" group arguing the operation is "just not a compatible industry" with the local area.

"From the noise, to the location and the hours of operation, it is a 1000 per cent increase that will operate from 6am to midnight 365 days a year," said Adam Ulrich, president of the Save Kempsey Airport action group.

"They will be taking off, lap after lap after lap, hour on hour and we have massive concerns about the impact on farming in the area."

Kempsey Council estimated each of the expected 200 students at the school would spend $43,900 per year and generate 0.29 full-time equivalent jobs per pupil outside the airport.

The Australian International Aviation College and Save Kempsey Airport will appear before the airport community reference group in February.

The college has been contacted for comment.

sauce: https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/pilot-shortage-chineseowned-airport-in-australia-looks-to-increase-its-flights-by-1000-20171228-h0b20i.html (http://archive.is/pMdxx)

#4934681 at 2019-01-28 03:13:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #2

>>4934255
Transcript:

Michaelia Cash threatened to name young women in Bill Shorten's office "about which rumours in this place abound" in retaliation for ongoing questions about her staff and the Australian Workers' Union raids.

The extraordinary threat in Senate estimates on Wednesday suggests - after Barnaby Joyce's resignation and changes to the ministerial code of conduct to ban sex between ministers and their staff - that political staffers may be drawn into day-to-day political combat.

After first defending the remarks, Cash withdrew what Penny Wong called "outrageous slurs" under the threat of Labor raising the matter in the Senate.

Cash had returned to estimates, continuing to block questions about whether her former senior media adviser, David De Garis, was involved in a tipoff to the media about the Australian federal police raid of the AWU.
Michaelia Cash warns of 'very dangerous path' after questions about her staff - politics live
Read more

The leak is being investigated by the AFP, who confirmed in earlier estimates sessions that it has interviewed more than 10 staff in at least two political offices but has not questioned any ministers.

The Labor senator Doug Cameron asked about the movement of staff out of Cash's office after De Garis resigned and the appointment of a new chief of staff.

Cash confirmed her new chief of staff was not drawn from an agency she oversees and said he or she is "well qualified".

But when asked if he or she was drawn from another Liberal office, the jobs and innovation minister noted the general rule is not to ask questions that identify ministerial staff. She then unleashed an extraordinary tirade and threat of reprisal against Labor.

"If you want to start discussing staff matters, be very, very careful," she said.

"I am happy to name every young woman in Mr Shorten's office about which rumours in this place abound.

"If you want to go down this path today I. Will. Do it.

"Do you want [me] to start naming them? For Mr Shorten to come out and deny any of the rumours that have been circulating in this building for many many years. [It's a] dangerous path to go down, and you know it."
Michaelia Cash claims 'public interest immunity' over union raid tipoff
Read more

Cameron suggested that Cash "take a chill pill" and the employment estimates committee was suspended several times.

Liberal senators including the committee chair, Lucy Gichuhi, attempted to move the hearing on to different outcomes in the employment portfolio, while Cameron argued to continue his line of questioning after what he called a "crazy performance" by Cash.

The Labor leader in the Senate, Penny Wong, called on Cash to withdraw the "outrageous slurs", which she said were sexist and impugned the character of Shorten and his staff.

She cited the prime minister's "moralising speech" about making parliament a better workplace for women and noted Cash, a former minister for women, was representing the minister for women in Senate estimates.

Cash said she did "not agree" with Wong's summation and accused Cameron of "maligning her staff". After Wong threatened to raise the matter in the Senate, Cash said: "If anyone has been offended - I withdraw."

Cameron resumed questions about whether the former Australian Building and Construction Commission chief, Nigel Hadgkiss, was indemnified for legal costs after resigning for breaching the Fair Work Act.

The shadow minister for women, Tanya Plibersek, told the lower house Cash had launched a "disgraceful attack on the young women working in this building".

Plibersek said she was offended on behalf of "smart young women working for me" and noted that Cash's apology was conditional - "one of those mealy-mouthed, weasel apologies 'if anyone was offended'".

She called on Malcolm Turnbull to "make her offer a proper apology to all of the young women she has offended".

On Wednesday Buzzfeed reported that a journalist claims to have received a tip-off from then-justice minister Michael Keenan's office about the AWU raid, although a spokesperson for Keenan denied his office's involvement.

On Tuesday the deputy commissioner, Leanne Close, said the AFP hoped to conclude its investigation "fairly soon" but it had uncovered new witnesses to interview and "different crimes" in relation to the AWU raid leak matter.

Despite carrying a maximum two-year jail term, the AFP said the leak is not its greatest priority. Two AFP teams of about 16 people are conducting the AWU raid leak investigation.

Guardian Australia has approached Shorten's office for comment.

>>https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2018/feb/28/michaelia-cash-makes-outrageous-slurs-against-women-in-shortens-office