8chan/8kun QResearch Posts (7)
#14586182 at 2021-09-15 14:07:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #18451: Ebake for Victory Edition
>>14585950
>>14586074
Australia, US and UK to form AUUKUS under a new nuclear defence pact
Scott Morrison will announce Australia's submarine program will "go nuclear" under a new defence pact that could spell bad news for China.
Samantha Maiden - September 15, 2021
Scott Morrison is set to announce Australia's submarine program will "go nuclear" under a new defence pact with the US and the UK that has been described as "China's worst nightmare."
The new grouping to be known as AUUKUS will advise Australia on how to identify the best way to acquire nuclear-powered submarine capability and share advanced technologies involving artificial intelligence.
The US-based Politico website reports that President Joe Biden will announce a new working group with Britain and Australia to share advanced technologies to counter China at 7am AEST.
"The trio, which will be known by the acronym AUUKUS, will make it easier for the nations to share information and know-how in key technological areas like artificial intelligence, cyber, underwater systems and long-range strike capabilities,'' the report states.
There would be a "nuclear element to the pact in which the US and UK share their knowledge of how to maintain nuclear-defense infrastructure."
Senior ministers were rushing back to Canberra on Wednesday night for national security meetings ahead of the major announcement.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese and several Labor frontbenchers were also briefed with Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, who are overseas, dialling in for the meetings.
Diplomatic and defence sources suggest it could involve operating US submarines out of Perth's HMAS Stirling.
But there was also speculation that the British Government could be involved to support Australia secure the technology required to service nuclear submarines.
The proposal for Australia to tear up existing contracts for French subs and purchase US nuclear technology has previously been described as "China's Worst Nightmare" in the region - which could "tip the military balance in Asia."
In June, the Prime Minister held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron over growing concerns regarding the $90 billion project that will not deliver submarines until 2030
The Australian Naval Institute has recently been promoting the option as the best 'Plan B' for Australia's troubled submarine program.
"With regional tensions increasing, then building our own one-off type submarines which will arrive in the early 2030s is not good enough. We have no guarantee they will work,'' the article stated.
"When we built the Collins class submarines (at exorbitant expense) they did not work properly for several years. It is only now - after decades of operation - that they are reasonably functional.
"Submarines are the ultimate deterrent and attack weapon: their location is hopefully unknown, and they can strike at targets without warning. But we need to expand beyond the capabilities of the Collins, and also the French Attack boats which we should abandon.
"Instead we should buy 12 of a proven design which is already in the water. We want long-range hunter-killer vessels. We also want them to be able to stay submerged for long periods to avoid detection. Nuclear does this in spades."
The Prime Minister is scheduled to fly to Washington next week for talks with the US President. He has recently been jetting between Sydney and Canberra for national security meetings that his office said could not be conducted remotely.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/federal-ministers-fly-to-canberra-amid-big-us-australia-news-announcement/news-story/72b68a5756b0acb81845137c8157951b
#14370289 at 2021-08-16 19:55:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #18180: Pillow Talk At 6pm Central Edition
A court has found it 'hard to understand' why a 'privileged' cardiologist was caught with more than 4000 'abhorrent' child abuse files on his iPhone.
It is "hard to understand" why a "privileged" South Australian cardiologist was found with "deviant, distressing and disturbing" child exploitation material on his mobile phone and disturbing sex messages, a court has heard.
Andrew Douglas McGavigan, 49, was arrested on December 7, 2020 after SA Joint Anti Child Exploitation Team (JACET) officers raided his Hawthorn home and found the abusive material on his iPhone X.
His mobile had a user-controlled encrypted cloud storage app installed, where 9235 images or videos had been downloaded over a 17-day period from September 22 to October 9 last year.
Only 4061 files were able to be examined by officers.
Adelaide District Court heard the "predominant" amount depicted abusive material.
Officers also discovered messages between McGavigan and other people discussing engaging in sexual activities with children in Thailand via messaging apps Skype and Line between May 31 and December 6, 2020.
The heart surgeon later pleaded guilty to one count each of accessing and possessing child abuse material and using a carriage service in a harassing or offensive way.
McGavigan was on Monday sentenced to three years and four months' imprisonment with a non parole period of 12 months.
Judge Julie McIntyre noted the defendant had no prior criminal history or drug or alcohol dependency and believed he had reasonable prospects for rehabilitation, was remorseful and unlikely to reoffend.
She also said his early guilty pleas, prior good character, financial loss, strong family support and active engagement with treatment were the reasons for his "slightly lower" non parole period.
The judge also noted McGavigan's work made a large contribution to the community, but said he "took on too much" which "took its toll" on his physical and mental health.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
She said it was "so much harder to understand" why a person of his calibre would participate in such "abhorrent" behaviour.
"On the face of things you led a charmed and privileged life," Judge McIntyre said.
"Why would a successful family man who devoted his life to medicine seek out this particularly abhorrent material?
"Until these offences came to light, you were highly respected for both your professional skill and non-clinical areas."
The court heard McGavigan likely suffered a chronic adjustment disorder with depressive moods at the time of his offending; but the judge said it "barely provided an excuse" and the motivation behind his offending remained unexplained.
She said McGavigan was "persistent" when communicating via the online messaging apps, asking if the recipient could source a young female in exchange for money, or whether they could portray as a child for online sexual role-play.
The court also heard the images saved in McGavigan's Mega account were "explicit" and "abrupt".
"The material I saw was deviant, distressing and disturbing, with many of the children involved being subjected to violent forms of abuse ... those children showed obvious fear and distress," Judge McIntyre said.
"By accessing and possessing this material, you encouraged and added to the abuse of these unfortunate children."
https://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/hard-to-understand-why-cardiologist-andrew-douglas-mcgavigan-participated-in-abhorrent-behaviour-court/news-story/c338998b0236861f3fb5933e8fd7b924
#14082262 at 2021-07-08 20:45:06 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17819: The 'A "sense of freedom" Is Not Real Freedom!' Edition
Pedophile tradie Bryan Michael Grange jailed for 30 years over 'depraved' child sexual abuse
A Sydney tradie has been jailed after inflicting 'depraved' sexual abuse on an infant girl and preschool-aged children. WARNING: Confronting
A Sydney tradie who sexually abused an eight-week-old infant and two girls under five has been sentenced to 30 years prison by a judge who lashed his actions as "shocking and depraved in the extreme".
Stomach-churning details of the abuse Bryan Michael Grange inflicted on three children between 2014 and 2018 were aired in Downing District Court on Thursday as his sentence was handed down over several hours.
He will be in prison until at least 2044 after Judge Kara Shead sentenced him to 30 years' prison for child sexual abuse as well as four and a half years for possessing child abuse material.
One of his victims was an eight-week-old baby who he opportunistically abused while the infant's mother and Grange's wife smoked a cigarette outside.
He later told a psychiatrist: "I had Viagra that morning. It was a pretty f..ked up time. I have no excuse for it."
"All right-minded members of the community would be disgusted and disturbed," Judge Shead said as she described the rape of the infant, for which Grange was sentenced to 21 years.
Another victim was a toddler, aged one or two when she was abused by Grange as he accompanied her in a public toilet.
A third girl was repeatedly molested by Grange over a number of years when she was aged between infancy and five years old.
"You are getting good at it," he told the girl as he filmed her while inciting her to expose her genitalia to the camera.
He made numerous videos depicting him molesting the girls as well as filming their genitalia from carefully crafted camera angles.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
Many details of the abuse are too graphic to publish.
The girls were known to Grange and his abuse was a severe breach of trust, both for the girls and their parents, the court heard.
Grange also amassed more than 30,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse, storing the sickening material across seven devices.
Hundreds of his videos and images were classified as the very worst kind, including videos of children who were restrained, forced into bestiality, and subject to highly degrading sexual acts.
Grange used his own name and credit card details to sign up to a subscription website where he spent $7156 on child abuse material.
Judge Shead stressed that possessing such images was not a victimless crime and often involved impoverished children in underdeveloped countries who had few protections.
"Those who make use of this product feed on that exploitation and abuse," she said.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/courts-law/pedophile-tradie-bryan-michael-grange-jailed-for-30-years-over-depraved-child-sexual-abuse/news-story/351937d65a05e3cef1913966b3805fc4
#13941366 at 2021-06-20 01:10:28 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17646: "What a beautiful black sky." Edition
Four men arrested in NSW following child grooming investigation
Four men have been arrested in NSW in covert stings into alleged child grooming involving police posing as children online.
Police have swooped on four men in NSW after separate investigations into alleged child grooming in the past week.
Detectives from Strike Force Trawler arrested the men in Kogarah, Orange, Paddington and Westmead respectively after covert stings where officers allegedly posed as children online.
Officers allegedly began to engage online with all four men in the last month.
It will be alleged in court that three of the men believed they were talking with a child and went into sexually explicit details about acts they wished to perform with the minors.
A fourth man is accused of sending child abuse material via his mobile phone.
One man, from Sans Souci, was arrested on June 15 after allegedly trying to procure a 13-year-old girl for sex.
Police raided his home, seizing electronic devices, before the man was charged at Kogarah police station with using a carriage service to procure under 16 years for sexual activity.
The 43-year-old appeared at Sutherland Local Court on June 18, where he was granted strict conditional bail to reappear at the same court on August 13.
The next day, on June 16, officers swooped on a man in Orange who allegedly though he was speaking with a 14-year-old girl about sexual acts he hoped to perform with her.
Officers raided his home, seized a mobile phone and arrested the 57-year-old.
He charged with one count of using a carriage service to groom person under 16 years for sex.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
The man was granted strict conditional bail to Orange Local Court on July 26.
https://www.news.com.au/national/nsw-act/crime/four-men-arrested-in-nsw-following-child-grooming-investigation/news-story/7422492a716ea5d08704ab0b43f3f6ac
#13903028 at 2021-06-14 20:17:18 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17599: Demand an Election Audit in Your State Edition
Scott Morrison says he won't answer the ABC's questions on his ties to QAnon
Scott Morrison has slammed the ABC after it examined his close friend's involvement in QAnon and claims he said he could influence the PM.
The Prime Minister has slammed the ABC's "baseless conspiracy theories" over claims he was influenced by old family friends linked to the QAnon cult to refer to "ritual sex abuse" or that he planned to holiday with the couple in Hawaii during the bushfires.
The ABC's Four Corners program examined the QAnon cult on Monday night and the involvement of a Sydney man Tim Stewart, whose activities have divided his own family and prompted his own sister to dob him in to the national terror hotline.
Mr Morrison and his wife, Jenny have been family friends with Mr Stewart and his wife Lynelle since the 1990s.
Jenny Morrison previously employed Lynelle Stewart at Kirribilli in a taxpayer-funded job. Both women were bridesmaids at each others' weddings and Mr Stewart has posted pictures of himself at Kirribilli on social media.
According to Four Corners, the Stewart family also told Mr Stewart's mother that they planned to holiday in Hawaii with the Morrison family in 2019.
"Tim and Lynelle were just sharing that there was a holiday planned in Hawaii, and my impression was that there was a holiday planned in Hawaii, and my impression was it was going to be quite a few families, which would include many who've been going to Hawaii for years,'' Val Stewart said.
"Scott and Jenny were going to go as well. That was ... that was mentioned. Scott and Jenny were going to go."
Four Corners reported that the Prime Minister was forced to cut short his trip after a public backlash that he had secretly gone on holidays during the bushfires, on the same day as Tim Stewart's family flew to Hawaii.
News.com.au has contacted the Prime Minister's office for comment. Government sources claimed the Morrison family had not planned to holiday with the couple despite both flying to Hawaii around the same time.
A spokesman for the Prime Minister said he did not plan to answer questions raised by the ABC program.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
"The Government will not be responding to the baseless conspiracy theories being peddled by Four Corners,'' the Prime Minister's spokesman told news.com.au.
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/scott-morrison-says-he-wont-answer-the-abcs-questions-on-his-ties-to-qanon/news-story/2d00165b5e9ba5ee83a843bb96c746da
#13853299 at 2021-06-08 01:15:32 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17537: Covid is Ovid Edition
Operation Ironside: AFP, FBI take down mafia, bikie members in 'sting of the century'
Some of the world's biggest crime organisations are in ruins today after an AFP-led sting brought down hundreds of alleged kingpins.
In what's been dubbed the "sting of the century" hundreds of people have been arrested as part of a global operation to bring down terrorist groups, mafia organisations and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
"Today, the Australian Government, as part of a global operation, has struck a heavy blow against organised crime - not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
"This is a watershed moment in Australian law enforcement history … Everything we've been doing has been to keep Australians safe."
Operation Ironside was formed three years ago as a collaboration between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to bring down underworld figures.
Hundreds of alleged offenders were tricked into communicating via AN0M, an encrypted app designed by police.
More than 220 members of Australia's underworld were arrested as part of the nation's largest ever crime sting after they were allegedly caught using the app to plan executions, drug imports and launder money.
Hundreds more were nabbed by police in Europe and the US as authorities conducted sweeping raids across the globe.
The AFP said it had busted 21 murder plots, stopped more than 3000kg of drugs from hitting the streets and seized $35 million in cash.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the organisation had inflicted "maximum damage to serious organised crime".
"With devastating consequences to those who seek to do harm to Australians and Australia's interests, and today, Australia is a safer country because of this unprecedented AFP-led operation," Mr Kershaw added.
More than 4000 law enforcement officers were involved in executing 525 search warrants across Australia.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
"Ironside has arrested and charged who we allege are some of the most dangerous criminals to Australia," Mr Kershaw said.
"We allege they are members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, Australian Mafia, Asian crime syndicates and serious and organised crime groups.
"We allege they've been trafficking illicit drugs into Australia at an industrial scale.
"Sadly, criminal gangs are targeting Australia because it is one of the most profitable countries in the world to sell drugs, and for three years, this operation has been covert.
"Australian law enforcement has been arresting and charging alleged offenders and we have prevented tonnes of drugs from coming onshore."
Mr Kershaw said the sting had resulted in the arrest of dozens of alleged "kingmakers".
"We have prevented mass shootings in suburbs and frustrated serious and organised crime by seizing their ill-gotten wealth.
"As of today, we have charged 224 alleged offenders, including 525 charges laid.
"Shut down six clandestine laboratories and acted on 21 threats to kill, including saving a family of five … seized 104 firearms and weapons and almost $45 million in cash.
"These figures are likely to increase over the coming days.
https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/afp-fbi-pull-off-sting-of-the-century-and-arrest-mafia-bikie-members/news-story/1f53fe682d2ce054cd445539022a863a
#13847940 at 2021-06-07 06:05:44 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #17530: Unrest in Minneapolis. . . . Again. Edition
Clive Palmer paying for anti-vaccination ads on Queensland airwaves
Controversial businessman Clive Palmer has been accused of spreading virus misinformation in radio ads that aired recently in Queensland.
Clive Palmer has been accused of deliberately spreading misinformation to undermine vaccination efforts in advertisements that aired across Queensland airwaves.
The ads, which were heard across stations throughout Queensland last week, were part of an ongoing campaign from the controversial businessman-turned-anti-vaxxer to keep Australia open during the pandemic.
The ads include the following audio: "Australia has had one Covid-19 associated death in 2021. But the TGA reports that there's been 210 deaths and over 24,000 adverse reactions after covid vaccinations. Authorised by Clive Palmer, Brisbane."
The ads are based on publicly-available information from the Therapeutic Goods Administration.
But Palmer's ads omitted the section that declared clearly: "Apart from the single Australian case in which death was linked to TTS (Thrombosis with thrombocytopenia syndrome), Covid-19 vaccines have not been found to cause death."
The TGA website states that authorities "closely monitor suspected side effects (also known as adverse events) from the use of Covid-19 vaccines" and "most of the adverse events reported to the TGA are expected side effects seen with vaccines generally".
It goes on to say that many deaths recorded after a Covid-19 vaccine was administered "were in frail elderly people and were coincidental with vaccination".
"This was confirmed following review by the TGA and medicine regulators in the UK, Europe and the US which found no specific safety concerns from use of the vaccines in older people".
Australia had administered 3.6 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines up until May 23 this year and received 210 reports of deaths following immunisation, which include 109 for the Pfizer vaccine and 94 for the AstraZeneca vaccine.
But the TGA reports that 93 per cent of those reports were for people aged 65 and over and more than 75 per cent of those were for people aged 75 and over. "Many of the deaths relate to elderly aged-care residents," the TGA website declares.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
The TGA says it reviews all deaths reported after a vaccination is administered and compares them with expected natural death rates.
"To date, the observed number of deaths reported after vaccination is actually less than the expected number of deaths.
"Each year in Australia, there are about 160,000 deaths, equating to 13,300 a month or 3050 each week. In the most recent reporting year, two-thirds of these deaths were in people aged 75 years and over.
"Apart from the single Australian case in which death was linked to TTS, Covid-19 vaccines have not been found to cause death."
The TGA does acknowledge that "it is possible in frail older people that even relatively mild and expected adverse reactions following the vaccination may contribute to deterioration of an underlying illness".
"For this reason, the Product Information documents for both the Pfizer and the AstraZeneca vaccines provide advice about vaccinating frail elderly people (over 85 years old) and warn that the potential benefits of vaccination must be weighed against the potential risks for each individual person."
Rural Australian doctor Minh Le Cong was among those outraged by the Palmer ads. On Twitter he wrote: "Just heard the Clive Palmer anticovid vax radio advert. Outrageous claim that TGA have reported over 200 deaths linked to covid vaxs in Oz! He must be stopped from this nonsense campaign!"
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/clive-palmer-paying-for-antivaccination-ads-on-queensland-airwaves/news-story/10c6c8e572208fb30faf3b1e7d7aeb41
8chan/8kun QRB Posts (1)
#60935 at 2021-06-08 01:21:37 (UTC+1)
QRB General #280: Callin In Night Shift Edition
Operation Ironside: AFP, FBI take down mafia, bikie members in 'sting of the century'
Some of the world's biggest crime organisations are in ruins today after an AFP-led sting brought down hundreds of alleged kingpins.
In what's been dubbed the "sting of the century" hundreds of people have been arrested as part of a global operation to bring down terrorist groups, mafia organisations and outlaw motorcycle gangs.
"Today, the Australian Government, as part of a global operation, has struck a heavy blow against organised crime - not just in this country, but one that will echo around organised crime around the world," Prime Minister Scott Morrison said.
"This is a watershed moment in Australian law enforcement history ... Everything we've been doing has been to keep Australians safe."
Operation Ironside was formed three years ago as a collaboration between the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to bring down underworld figures.
Hundreds of alleged offenders were tricked into communicating via AN0M, an encrypted app designed by police.
More than 220 members of Australia's underworld were arrested as part of the nation's largest ever crime sting after they were allegedly caught using the app to plan executions, drug imports and launder money.
Hundreds more were nabbed by police in Europe and the US as authorities conducted sweeping raids across the globe.
The AFP said it had busted 21 murder plots, stopped more than 3000kg of drugs from hitting the streets and seized $35 million in cash.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw said the organisation had inflicted "maximum damage to serious organised crime".
"With devastating consequences to those who seek to do harm to Australians and Australia's interests, and today, Australia is a safer country because of this unprecedented AFP-led operation," Mr Kershaw added.
More than 4000 law enforcement officers were involved in executing 525 search warrants across Australia.
The Party Games newsletter Get your political briefing from news.com.au's political editor Samantha Maiden.
"Ironside has arrested and charged who we allege are some of the most dangerous criminals to Australia," Mr Kershaw said.
"We allege they are members of outlaw motorcycle gangs, Australian Mafia, Asian crime syndicates and serious and organised crime groups.
"We allege they've been trafficking illicit drugs into Australia at an industrial scale.
"Sadly, criminal gangs are targeting Australia because it is one of the most profitable countries in the world to sell drugs, and for three years, this operation has been covert.
"Australian law enforcement has been arresting and charging alleged offenders and we have prevented tonnes of drugs from coming onshore."
Mr Kershaw said the sting had resulted in the arrest of dozens of alleged "kingmakers".
"We have prevented mass shootings in suburbs and frustrated serious and organised crime by seizing their ill-gotten wealth.
"As of today, we have charged 224 alleged offenders, including 525 charges laid.
"Shut down six clandestine laboratories and acted on 21 threats to kill, including saving a family of five ... seized 104 firearms and weapons and almost $45 million in cash.
"These figures are likely to increase over the coming days.
https://www.news.com.au/national/crime/afp-fbi-pull-off-sting-of-the-century-and-arrest-mafia-bikie-members/news-story/1f53fe682d2ce054cd445539022a863a
8chan/8kun QResearch AUSTRALIA Posts (42)
#19805276 at 2023-10-26 11:02:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition
>>19805233
Why we couldn't tell you Bruce Lehrmann was charged with rape until now
The reason no one could report Bruce Lehrmann as the high-profile man accused of rape in Toowoomba can now be revealed.
Samantha Maiden - October 26, 2023
1/3
The media have not been legally able to report on the identity of Bruce Lehrmann until now under Queensland laws that suppressed the identity of the accused in sexual assault cases until or unless they are committed to stand trial.
Those laws were changed in September, bringing Queensland into line with most other states and territories to allow the naming of accused sex offenders after they are charged.
Despite the change in the law, the legal fight to name him has continued to play out in the Queensland Supreme Court and the Toowoomba Magistrates Court after his legal team sought a suppression order.
The media has instead reported on multiple court hearings in relation to the matter for the past year by simply referring to a "high-profile man" accused of rape in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane. That was until today.
The two charges pertain to an alleged incident with a woman Mr Lehrmann met in a Toowoomba nightclub weeks after he appeared in an ACT court over unrelated allegations he raped Brittany Higgins. That trial collapsed following an allegation of juror misconduct. Mr Lehrmann was never convicted and strongly denied all allegations.
Queensland Supreme Court judge Peter Applegarth rejected an application by Mr Lehrmann to continue an ongoing suppression order on his name at 5pm on Thursday, October 26.
Earlier, Mr Lehrmann's legal team had challenged a ruling in the Toowoomba magistrates court that Mr Lehrmann could be named.
Mr Lehrmann's legal team argued that the original decision should be overturned for reasons that included their client's mental health, a risk the original magistrate acknowledged but did not find was strong enough for an ongoing suppression order.
"There's no proper basis to draw the conclusion that a person's risk is static,'' Mr Lehrmann's barrister Andrew Hoare told the Supreme Court.
"It must be the risk is something which is fluid."
However, after hearing the matter Justice Applegarth rejected the application and lifted the non-publication order.
"The applicant is the defendant in criminal proceedings before the magistrate's court at Toowoomba, he applied to that court for a non publication order,'' he said.
"Counsel for the applicant submitted on the material before it there was an existing risk of harm, which would be amplified by the publication of the applicants "identifying particulars."
"In response, counsel for the prosecution and for certain media entities noted the unsatisfactory nature of the applicant's evidence in support of the submission.
"The applicant gave no evidence but relied on an affidavit from his solicitor and psychologist's report.
"I've concluded that, given the state of the evidence, it was open to a reasonable decision maker to not be satisfied that the non-publication was necessary to protect the safety of the applicant.
"The respondents relied upon what was submitted to the magistrate to be a contrast between the applicant's public position as he presented in three television interviews between June and August 2023 and Dr. Brown's description of him after June 2023."
Mr Lehrmann has not yet been committed for trial or been required to enter a plea. He has not appeared in court for medical reasons.
(continued)
#19805233 at 2023-10-26 10:43:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition
Bruce Lehrmann charged with two counts of rape in Toowoomba
For the first time, it can be revealed that Bruce Lehrmann is the "high-profile man" accused of rape after a night out in Queensland.
Samantha Maiden - October 26, 2023
1/2
Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann has been charged with two counts of rape in relation to an incident alleged to have occurred after a night out in Queensland in October, 2021.
For the first time, it can be revealed that Mr Lehrmann is the "high-profile man" accused of rape in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.
The matter was first listed in the Toowoomba Magistrates Court in January, 2023 but Mr Lehrmann has never been named until now.
The two charges pertain to an alleged incident with a woman Mr Lehrmann met in a Toowoomba nightclub weeks after he appeared in an ACT court over unrelated allegations he raped Brittany Higgins. That trial collapsed following an allegation of juror misconduct. Mr Lehrmann was never convicted and strongly denied all allegations.
Queensland Supreme Court judge Peter Applegarth rejected an application by Mr Lehrmann to continue an ongoing suppression order on his name at 5pm on Thursday, October 26.
Earlier, Mr Lehrmann's legal team had challenged a ruling in the Toowoomba magistrates court that Mr Lehrmann could be named.
Mr Lehrmann's legal team argued that the original decision should be overturned for reasons that included their client's mental health, a risk the original magistrate acknowledged but did not find was strong enough for an ongoing suppression order.
"There's no proper basis to draw the conclusion that a person's risk is static,'' Mr Lehrmann's barrister Andrew Hoare told the Supreme Court. "It must be the risk is something which is fluid."
However, after hearing the matter Justice Applegarth rejected the application and lifted the non-publication order.
"The applicant is the defendant in criminal proceedings before the magistrate's court at Toowoomba, he applied to that court for a non publication order,'' he said.
"Counsel for the applicant submitted on the material before it there was an existing risk of harm, which would be amplified by the publication of the applicants "identifying particulars."
"In response, counsel for the prosecution and for certain media entities noted the unsatisfactory nature of the applicant's evidence in support of the submission.
"The applicant gave no evidence but relied on an affidavit from his solicitor and psychologist's report.
"I've concluded that, given the state of the evidence, it was open to a reasonable decision maker to not be satisfied that the non-publication was necessary to protect the safety of the applicant.
"The respondents relied upon what was submitted to the magistrate to be a contrast between the applicant's public position as he presented in three television interviews between June and August 2023 and Dr. Brown's description of him after June 2023."
Mr Lehrmann has not yet been required to enter a plea. He has not yet been committed for trial, a process that will now play out in the magistrates court.
It was the appearance of Mr Lehrmann's name in a Toowoomba Magistrates Court list in January that first prompted media outlets to report that a high-profile man had been charged with two counts of rape.
At the time, a Queensland Police Service spokesman confirmed a man had been charged and said he was scheduled to appear in court.
"Toowoomba Criminal Investigation Branch detectives have charged a man with the alleged rape of a young woman in October 2021," police said.
"The man is scheduled to appear in Toowoomba Magistrates Court on January 11, 2023, charged with two counts of rape."
But when Mr Lehrmann did not front court on that day, the Magistrate questioned his lawyers on why he was not present.
"He has a notice to appear today, why is he not here?" Magistrate Kay Ryan asked.
The accused's lawyer, Rowan King, explained his client was in Tasmania and could not be present for medical reasons.
Mr Lehrmann has remained on bail since January 11, 2023, with conditions including that he surrender his passport.
(continued)
#19740015 at 2023-10-15 09:07:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition
>>19739995
Tearful Anthony Albanese admits defeat in the Voice referendum
Samantha Maiden - October 15, 2023
1/2
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has delivered an emotional speech declaring he "gave my word" to Indigenous Australians to hold the referendum, win or lose.
Red-eyed and clearly rocked by the result, Mr Albanese said he never imagined it would be easy but conceded he was disappointed by the result.
The No camp had the vote tied up by 7.25pm, with decisive victories being won in all major states.
"My fellow Australians, at the outset, I want to say that while tonight's result is not one that I had hoped for, I absolutely respect the decision of the Australian people,'' he said.
"And I say to the millions of Australians, all over our great country that voted yes with hope and goodwill.
Mr Albanese said the result did not define Australia.
"And it will not divide us,'' he said.
"We are not yes voters or no voters. We are all Australian. We must take our country beyond this debate, without forgetting while we had it in the first place."
Mr Albanese said he always knew securing victory would "not be easy".
"Nor could I guarantee the referendum would succeed. History told us that only eight out of 44 had done so,'' he said.
"What I could promise was that we would go all in and that we would try.
"And we have given Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people the fulfilment of their request.
"We argued that this change, not out of convenience, but from conviction. I believe it was the right thing to do."
Choking back tears, he also recalled his emotional meeting at Uluru earlier this week, when he was welcomed by the traditional custodians.
Asked why the No vote won, Mr Albanese appeared to lay the blame at the feet of the Liberal Party.
"The analysis will go on for some time. me, no doubt. But the truth is that no referendum has succeeded without bipartisan support in this country,'' he said.
During the press conference, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney openly wept as she urged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people not to be defeated by the result.
"I know the last few months have been rough,'' she said.
"Be proud of the 65,000 years of history and culture. We will carry on and we'll move forward. This is not the end of reconciliation."
Ms Burney said in the months ahead the Albanese Government would have more to say about new commitments.
"Because we all agree we need better outcomes for First Nations people."
(continued)
#19706386 at 2023-10-10 08:48:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition
>>19699368
Sky News host Sharri Markson in tears as she describes Hamas' atrocities against Israeli civilians
Samantha Maiden - October 10, 2023
Sky News journalist Sharri Markson broke down in tears as she catalogued the "pure savagery" of Hamas terrorist attacks on innocent women and children.
The investigative journalist, who is Jewish, became emotional as she described how Palestinian forces had killed hundreds of Israelis and taken families hostage.
Describing the militants as "barbarians with no limits" she said they had offered the elderly and the vulnerable "no mercy".
"This is the darkest day for Jewish people in decades. It's being called Israel's September 11. It is pure savagery," she said on her Sky News Australia show, Sharri, on Monday night.
"But it's the heinous barbarity that makes this attack by Hamas so sickening and so unexpected for the state of Israel, that prides itself on national security and is surrounded by Arab States endlessly calling for its annihilation.
"There was no mercy shown as the elderly, the women, the children - the babies - were kidnapped, seized and carted off by jeering men, away from the safety of their homes, their loved ones and their life as they knew it."
Markson has previously been subjected to anti-Semitic death threats.
"While much of the focus has been on the geopolitics and the big picture, tonight, I want to talk about the actual people being tortured and brutalised,'' she said.
"These are real people, not missiles. These are scenes of inhumanity not seen since the rise of ISIS and the brutal terrorist beheadings designed to terrify the civilised world.
"Here, we have a beautiful teenage girl captured and dragged through the streets by thugs. Look at the way they drag her out of the boot.
"Her hands tied, tagging her by her beautiful long hair as they shove her back in their vehicle. You shudder as you imagine what they've done to her, how they're likely abusing and probably debasing (her)."
She said there was "no mercy" shown as the elderly, the women, the children, and the babies were kidnapped.
"Listen to how these animals laugh and cheer. To jump for joy as they spill blood. How can humans be this cruel, to laugh?'' she said.
"And celebrate as they tortured terrified young souls who had so much ahead of them in life who were so hopeful for the future.
"There are just simply too many faces, too many people to show you tonight. The horror of what we are seeing is overwhelming. I want to show you that each life is equally valuable and important.
"It is beyond despicable. It is sickening."
Former Australian ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma told Sky News that for Hamas to have seemingly penetrated Israel's border undetected was a "terrible operational failure".
"It's shocked a lot of people in Israel," Mr Sharma said.
"Hamas seemingly penetrated Israel's border undetected or largely undetected.
"They overran a military base, one of the bases of the Gaza division which is entrusted with the security of that border. "There are still active Hamas terrorists in about nine locations inside Israel now.
"For this to have been allowed to happen is a terrible operational failure and there will have to be lessons learned from this."
https://www.news.com.au/world/sky-news-host-sharri-markson-in-tears-as-she-describes-hamas-atrocities-against-israeli-civilians/news-story/9b24f3a34bed808ba214f377c4ac805a
#19487512 at 2023-09-04 10:00:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #32: YOU ARE NOT ALONE IN THIS FIGHT Edition
#31 - Part 20
Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 2
>>19284078 Former judge Walter Sofronoff KC finds police were right to charge Bruce Lehrmann but lashed DPP's conduct - A landmark inquiry into the trial of Bruce Lehrmann has found the prosecution was properly brought but made damning findings about the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold. Sources who have been briefed on the contents of the report have told news.com.au that Walter Sofronoff KC, a former Supreme Court judge in Queensland, finds that police acted lawfully when they charged Mr Lehrmann. It also finds that the decision of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute based on the evidence available was correct. - Samantha Maiden - news.com.au
>>19289705 Video: Sofronoff report reveals Shane Drumgold lied during Bruce Lehrmann rape case - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold knowingly lied to the Supreme Court, engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct, "preyed on a junior lawyer's inexperience", ?betrayed that junior lawyer who trusted him, and treated criminal litigation as "a poker game in which a prosecutor can hide the cards," the Sofronoff Inquiry has found. In findings that are certain to end Mr Drumgold's career as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions and may lead to criminal prosecution against him for perverting the course of justice, inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC ruled that every one of the allegations made by Mr Drumgold that sparked the inquiry was baseless. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au
>>19289796 Sofronoff inquiry: ACT DPP Shane Drumgold 'threw his newest junior under the bus' - Spare a thought for Shane Drumgold's hidden victims - the trusting junior staff who unwittingly did the chief prosecutor's dirty work only to be thrown under the bus as his web of lies unravelled. Drumgold's betrayal of his loyal team ranged from directing an inexperienced young lawyer to swear a false affidavit to blaming an office administrator for wrongly releasing a document under Freedom of Information laws when he ordered her to do it. Inquiry chief Walter Sofronoff KC was clearly infuriated by Drumgold's willingness to abuse the trust of innocent members of his team, labelling it "shameful" and an abuse of his authority. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au
>>19289813 Lisa Wilkinson, Shane Drumgold and the Logies speech lie - TV host Lisa Wilkinson's now-infamous Logies speech has come back to bite ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold, after he was caught lying about it to a Supreme Court judge. Mr Drumgold said he warned the star - who first aired Brittany Higgins' rape allegations on Ten's The Project in 2021 - about the danger of prejudicing Bruce Lehrmann's upcoming rape trial before she gave the speech accepting a Logie award for her reporting. Wilkinson rejected that, saying Mr Drumgold "did not at any time" give her the warning he claimed. Mr Drumgold presented a note of the conference to Chief Justice McCallum as if it had been written contemporaneously by a junior lawyer present at the meeting. It hadn't. That part of the note that was critical to the Chief Justice was effectively written by Mr Drumgold days later after Wilkinson gave her speech - and after it became clear the upcoming trial was in jeopardy because of it. Mr Sofronoff found that Mr Drumgold "knowingly lied to the Chief Justice". - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au
>>19289859 Shane Drumgold's time as DPP is surely at an end - Shane Drumgold is without a doubt the biggest loser in Walter Sofronoff's report on what went wrong during the Brittany Higgins rape trial. But he might not be alone. The next biggest loser might turn out to be the ACT government - which was already on notice that the contents of this report would determine whether it would be hit with a damages bill worth millions of dollars.
>>19289887 Linda Reynolds sues Brittany Higgins for defamation over Instagram post - Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has made good on her threat to sue Brittany Higgins for defamation for a social media post accusing her of harassment, issuing a writ against her former staffer in the West Australian Supreme Court. According to the writ, Reynolds is suing Higgins for aggravated damages over an Instagram story on July 4 and a Twitter post on July 20, both of which she claimed were defamatory of her. The former defence minister is also claiming the posts constituted a breach of a deed of settlement and release the pair signed back in March 2021, which contained a non-disparagement clause.
#19487371 at 2023-09-04 09:04:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition
#31 - Part 20
Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 2
>>19284078 Former judge Walter Sofronoff KC finds police were right to charge Bruce Lehrmann but lashed DPP's conduct - A landmark inquiry into the trial of Bruce Lehrmann has found the prosecution was properly brought but made damning findings about the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold. Sources who have been briefed on the contents of the report have told news.com.au that Walter Sofronoff KC, a former Supreme Court judge in Queensland, finds that police acted lawfully when they charged Mr Lehrmann. It also finds that the decision of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute based on the evidence available was correct. - Samantha Maiden - news.com.au
>>19289705 Video: Sofronoff report reveals Shane Drumgold lied during Bruce Lehrmann rape case - ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold knowingly lied to the Supreme Court, engaged in serious malpractice and grossly unethical conduct, "preyed on a junior lawyer's inexperience", ?betrayed that junior lawyer who trusted him, and treated criminal litigation as "a poker game in which a prosecutor can hide the cards," the Sofronoff Inquiry has found. In findings that are certain to end Mr Drumgold's career as ACT Director of Public Prosecutions and may lead to criminal prosecution against him for perverting the course of justice, inquiry head Walter Sofronoff KC ruled that every one of the allegations made by Mr Drumgold that sparked the inquiry was baseless. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au
>>19289796 Sofronoff inquiry: ACT DPP Shane Drumgold 'threw his newest junior under the bus' - Spare a thought for Shane Drumgold's hidden victims - the trusting junior staff who unwittingly did the chief prosecutor's dirty work only to be thrown under the bus as his web of lies unravelled. Drumgold's betrayal of his loyal team ranged from directing an inexperienced young lawyer to swear a false affidavit to blaming an office administrator for wrongly releasing a document under Freedom of Information laws when he ordered her to do it. Inquiry chief Walter Sofronoff KC was clearly infuriated by Drumgold's willingness to abuse the trust of innocent members of his team, labelling it "shameful" and an abuse of his authority. - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au
>>19289813 Lisa Wilkinson, Shane Drumgold and the Logies speech lie - TV host Lisa Wilkinson's now-infamous Logies speech has come back to bite ACT chief prosecutor Shane Drumgold, after he was caught lying about it to a Supreme Court judge. Mr Drumgold said he warned the star - who first aired Brittany Higgins' rape allegations on Ten's The Project in 2021 - about the danger of prejudicing Bruce Lehrmann's upcoming rape trial before she gave the speech accepting a Logie award for her reporting. Wilkinson rejected that, saying Mr Drumgold "did not at any time" give her the warning he claimed. Mr Drumgold presented a note of the conference to Chief Justice McCallum as if it had been written contemporaneously by a junior lawyer present at the meeting. It hadn't. That part of the note that was critical to the Chief Justice was effectively written by Mr Drumgold days later after Wilkinson gave her speech - and after it became clear the upcoming trial was in jeopardy because of it. Mr Sofronoff found that Mr Drumgold "knowingly lied to the Chief Justice". - Janet Albrechtsen and Stephen Rice - theaustralian.com.au
>>19289859 Shane Drumgold's time as DPP is surely at an end - Shane Drumgold is without a doubt the biggest loser in Walter Sofronoff's report on what went wrong during the Brittany Higgins rape trial. But he might not be alone. The next biggest loser might turn out to be the ACT government - which was already on notice that the contents of this report would determine whether it would be hit with a damages bill worth millions of dollars.
>>19289887 Linda Reynolds sues Brittany Higgins for defamation over Instagram post - Liberal senator Linda Reynolds has made good on her threat to sue Brittany Higgins for defamation for a social media post accusing her of harassment, issuing a writ against her former staffer in the West Australian Supreme Court. According to the writ, Reynolds is suing Higgins for aggravated damages over an Instagram story on July 4 and a Twitter post on July 20, both of which she claimed were defamatory of her. The former defence minister is also claiming the posts constituted a breach of a deed of settlement and release the pair signed back in March 2021, which contained a non-disparagement clause.
#19284078 at 2023-08-02 11:51:36 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition
>>19262626
>>19278237
Former judge Walter Sofronoff KC finds police were right to charge Bruce Lehrmann but lashed DPP's conduct
Samantha Maiden - August 2, 2023
1/2
EXCLUSIVE
A landmark inquiry into the trial of Bruce Lehrmann has found the prosecution was properly brought but made damning findings about the conduct of the Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold.
Sources who have been briefed on the contents of the report have told news.com.au that Walter Sofronoff KC, a former Supreme Court judge in Queensland, finds that police acted lawfully when they charged Mr Lehrmann.
It also finds that the decision of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to prosecute based on the evidence available was correct.
That finding is not a reflection on the guilt or innocence of the former Liberal staffer.
It is a finding on the conduct of the police and the Office of Director of Public Prosecutions.
Mr Lehrmann remains an innocent man under the law as he was never convicted before the trial collapsed following an allegation of juror misconduct.
He always maintained his innocence and told police nothing sexual occurred.
Sofronoff findings on police decision to charge
In his final report, Mr Sofronoff notes that no person before him said the prosecution should not properly have been brought.
The former judge states that he had reviewed the brief in its entirety and has found that the prosecution should have been brought.
During the ACT board of inquiry, chairman Walter Sofronoff reminded lawyers present he was not holding an inquiry into Bruce Lehrmann's guilt or innocence.
"I'm not interested in how the trial should have concluded. I am not interested in whether Mr Lehrmann is guilty or not guilty. I'm not interested in Miss Higgins," he said.
"However, I have to deal with the question of whether the charge should have been brought.
"Can I ask if anybody is going to be submitting at the end that I should conclude that Mr Drumgold ought not to have submitted an indictment?'' Mr Sofronoff asked during a hearing in May.
No barristers present said they planned to suggest that Mr Drumgold should not have presented an indictment.
"Nobody has suggested the contrary. And I don't read in the police evidence that any witness asserts to the contrary."
The Sofronoff inquiry was established by the ACT government in the wake of the abandoned prosecution of Mr Lehrmann. A single charge of sexual assault was dropped by the DPP late last year.
The Director of Public Prosecutions' barrister Mark Tedeschi SC also told the inquiry it was reasonable for the police to charge and the DPP to prosecute.
"It was a case that was overwhelmingly in need of charging,'' Mr Tedeschi told the inquiry.
In making these arguments, he was not making any reflection of the guilt or innocence of the man accused, who maintains his innocence.
Rather, Mr Tedeschi was arguing that the police response was in fact emblematic of a deeper problem in the Australian Federal Police at the time.
Mr Tedeschi said it was only because of the publicity that the DPP reviewed the case and expressed the view that there were grounds to charge.
In fact, it was Mr Tedeschi's submission to the inquiry that this was "to highlight to you, Chairman, how bizarre the police approach was.
"And that this was a classic example of it,'' he said.
Mr Tedeschi argued the ACT police were undercharging rape complaints and if it wasn't for the publicity Ms Higgins may have faced a similar fate.
"Had it not been for all the publicity, had it not been that the alleged offence occurred in Parliament House, this matter would have been dealt with like the other - I think it's 250-something matters that had been, in effect, just ignored by the police."
The Board of Inquiry report will examine what really went on behind the scenes of the nation's most high profile rape trial in Australian history and featured weeks of bombshell evidence from the DPP, police and the Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates.
It was handed to the ACT Government on Monday. The Barr Government has decided against the immediate release of the document, a decision that has been criticised.
(continued)
#19188877 at 2023-07-16 09:29:25 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #31: MAGIC SWORD - IN THE FACE OF EVIL Edition
#30 - Part 25
Brittany Higgins Rape Trial and Sofronoff Inquiry into ACT Criminal Justice System - Part 1
>>18928680 Brittany Higgins is the wrong face for #MeToo - "With the board of inquiry into its third week of public hearings, it is becoming increasingly clear that Higgins is, and was, the wrong face for the #MeToo movement. Decisions by her, and those around her, to air her allegation in the media have undermined key features of our criminal justice system. Higgins, of course, has every right to go to the media first and police second. That was her strategy from the start. But that strategy, bolstered daily by her media supporters, came at a high cost to the police investigation, to the workings of the Office of the DPP, to the trial in the ACT Supreme Court and to subsequent events." - Janet Albrechtsen - theaustralian.com.au
>>18939581 Bruce Lehrmann discontinues defamation action against News Life Media - Bruce Lehrmann has discontinued his defamation action against News Life Media and news.com.au's national political editor Samantha Maiden. Mr Lehrmann and News have reached an out-of-court settlement. News.com.au editor-in-chief Lisa Muxworthy said the two articles at the centre of the dispute remain online and have been updated with an editorial note. There is no apology or correction.
>>18939595 Sofronoff inquiry hears Heidi Yates knew of Higgins's claim before it went public - Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates knew about Brittany Higgins's sexual assault allegation a month before the former Liberal staffer publicly claimed that Bruce Lehrmann raped her inside Parliament House. And within three days of meeting Ms Higgins, Ms Yates was accompanying her to meetings with Anthony Albanese and Scott Morrison. Board chairman Walter Sofronoff KC is considering whether the Victims of Crime Commissioner acted in accordance with her relevant statutory framework in terms of the support she provided to Ms Higgins. During examination, Ms Yates defended her decision to be "the public face of support" for Ms Higgins by walking into the ACT Supreme Court, past a media pack, with her each day, despite its propensity to affect the accused's presumption of innocence. Mr Sofronoff said by doing so, Ms Yates had decided to "really be the public face of that support".
>>18939617 Victims of Crime Commissioner reveals 'sensitive' details about Brittany Higgins' mental health - Victims of Crime Commissioner Heidi Yates has given harrowing evidence of calling an ambulance for Brittany Higgins when she believed there was an immediate threat to her life. In her first day of evidence at the inquiry into the investigation and prosecution of Bruce Lehrmann, Ms Yates has revealed she was reluctant to canvass the private matters but had sought Ms Higgins permission to do so. Detailing the multiple mental health incidents and hospitalisations that followed during her engagement with Ms Higgins, she revealed one incident followed the delay to the trial that followed Lisa Wilkinson's Logies speech. She said despite repeated attempts to secure mental health counselling and support for Ms Higgins, she was struck throughout her contact with Ms Higgins by how isolated she was and how few people she trusted.
>>18939641 'She was not OK': ACT victims advocate feared Higgins would collapse during speech - The ACT's victims of crime commissioner, Heidi Yates, says she would have reconsidered standing next to Brittany Higgins during a televised speech after the Lehrmann rape trial was aborted if she'd known what she was going to say. Yates, who has been publicly accused of damaging the presumption of innocence of former Coalition staffer Bruce Lehrmann by her actions in the high-profile case, has told a public inquiry she was instead thinking of the possibility of his accuser collapsing while addressing the media shortly after the mistrial. "She was clearly not OK," Yates told the inquiry into the handling of the case, explaining Higgins had suffered a panic attack when ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum cut short the trial on the morning of October 27, 2022, due to the misconduct of a single juror.
#18367577 at 2023-02-18 01:55:09 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition
>>18363651
>>18363699
Brittany Higgins furious as 'private' diary entries leaked
Brittany Higgins has lashed out as "private" diary entries have been leaked after the material was sent to police to investigate her sexual assault allegation.
Samantha Maiden - February 18, 2023
1/2
Brittany Higgins has lashed out as the "private contents" of her diary were leaked after the material was sent to police to investigate her sexual assault allegation.
Ms Higgins said a photograph she took on her phone of her diary entry was submitted to police to help them form the brief of evidence but it was not tabled in court during the rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann last October.
Mr Lehrmann, a former Liberal staffer, was charged in relation to the sexual assault allegation but the trial collapsed following juror misconduct and the charge dropped by the DPP. Since he was charged in August 2021, Mr Lehrmann has maintained his innocence.
The Weekend Australian's article, titled Doubts, devastation and a designer coat: the story you haven't heard, today details Ms Higgins' diary notes.
"The Weekend Australian has seen copies of two pages from Higgins' 2021 Kikki. K gold spiral-bound diary for the week from March 8 to March 14 - the week before the March4Justice where Higgins would speak,'' the article states.
It notes that she met with journalists that month for lunch and dinner and a former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.
In response, Ms Higgins said today that the publication of her private phone records was not appropriate and she also complained it was not the first time it had happened.
"Stop publishing the private contents of my phone,'' she said on social media. "I took a photo of an old page in my diary on the 7th of July 2021.
"It is now being referenced in an article in The Australian. This is the third time private images, texts and WhatsApps from my phone have been published by this particular news outlet.
"I voluntarily provided this material to the police to help them form the brief of evidence and none of it was tabled in court.
"Therefore, no journalist should have seen the photo of my diary."
Ms Higgins said the fact it had leaked and was published was distressing.
"I entrusted police with my private information for the sole purpose that it could aid their investigation into my sexual assault, nothing else,'' she said.
(continued)
#18363717 at 2023-02-17 14:32:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition
>>18363712
4/8
Reynolds wanted to check on Higgins when she was back in the office on Monday; Brown and Reynolds were concerned that something sexual had happened.
"I came back on the Monday (April 1) and she (Higgins) didn't make an allegation of rape. I tried to be sympathetic, and I did say to her that there's AFP in the building, they're probably better to talk to. They've got counsellors available and things if you think you need it.
"If Brittany or anybody else hasn't made an allegation of rape, then you can't force them to do anything. But you can be there to support, which as you can see from all those actions, she was," says Reynolds.
Reynolds also relayed in her formal police statement that during this meeting Higgins was "extremely apologetic", described her actions as "unprofessional" and said to Reynolds that "she didn't want to lose her job".
I ask: Did Higgins tell Reynolds that she was raped that night?
"No," says Reynolds, "there was never any allegation of rape."
Did she say she was assaulted in some way?
"No," says Reynolds.
Did Brown tell Reynolds that Higgins mentioned a rape or assault to her? "No," says Reynolds.
Higgins confirmed this to journalist Samantha Maiden. "I said (to Brown) that he was on top of me. I think for the longest time I was real?ly weird about actually saying it was rape. I don't know why. I was very delicate about it. I think from our exchange she understood the inference,'' Higgins told news.com.au.
'Lying cow'
Reynolds' usual polite demeanour fell away as news broke about Higgins' allegations that she and her chief of staff had not supported her. Reynolds would utter those fateful words - "lying cow" - that would later be splashed across the media when it was first reported by this newspaper.
The wink, wink insinuation was that Reynolds questioned the truth of the rape allegation that Higgins made on television that evening. "That was wrong," says Reynolds. No one can know what happened that night except the two people involved.
Reynolds says she was reacting to allegations, aired in the media the first time, that she and Brown had treated Higgins poorly, that they brought Higgins into Reynolds' office knowing that Higgins claimed a rape had taken place on the sofa in that office, and was forced to choose between reporting a rape to the police or keeping her job. "It [her outburst] was about the alleged lack of support that Fiona and I offered her."
Reynolds maintains she did everything she could to support Higgins. Why then did Reynolds pay a sum of money to Higgins after the "lying cow" outburst? She says, after what would unfold in the next few days and weeks, "I just didn't have the strength to fight it." Many saw the payment as go-away money given it could not have been defamatory for Reynolds to contest Higgins' claims that she was unsupported by her and Brown.
Did Reynolds ever imply that Higgins' job was on the line if she made a police complaint?
"No. Never," says Reynolds.
In fact, when an election was called just over 10 days later, on April 11, 2019, Reynolds and Brown discussed various options with Higgins: work at campaign headquarters, or campaign with Reynolds in Perth, or work from her home in Brisbane during the campaign.
"She chose to come to Perth and, as far as I knew, I don't see every one of my staff every day - there were seven or eight staying in Perth for the campaign - she was out campaigning every day. As far as I knew, she was still pursuing the matter with the police," Reynolds tells me.
There are tweets from Higgins during this period praising Reynolds and a photo of a campaign dinner where Higgins is smiling, seated next to Reynolds, in a white dress.
This photo would become trial evidence to contest Higgins' claim that after wearing this same dress on the night of the alleged rape, she kept it "under my bed in a plastic bag for a good six months, untouched, uncleaned".
(continued)
#18363677 at 2023-02-17 14:24:58 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition
>>18363669
3/4
Senator Reynolds is scathing of sections of the media, particularly Wilkinson. "I looked at (the interview) and thought: 'who on Earth would put a clearly distressed young woman on national TV talking about an issue before she raised it with the police?'," she said. "But as Brittany Higgins has said: it became not about her, but about journalists jockeying for awards and the MeToo movement.
"What was The Project thinking? Putting a woman as distressed as Brittany Higgins was on national TV before she'd even talked to the police again. Putting her outside Parliament House in front of thousands of people. I mean, how is that not exploitation?"
Senator Reynolds' frustration over Ms Higgins' allegations about her own role would come back to haunt her when The Australian revealed she had called Ms Higgins a "lying cow" in an open-plan area of her parliamentary ?office after Ms Higgins went public with her claims.
The insinuation was that Senator Reynolds was questioning the truth of the rape allegation, but she says she was reacting in shock to the allegations - that she was hearing for the first time - that she and Ms Brown had failed to support Ms Higgins and even brought her into Senator Reynolds' office knowing Ms Higgins had claimed a rape had taken place there.
Senator Reynolds had to pay sizeable damages to Ms Higgins, out of her own pocket. "I was paying for it to go away," she said. "I was in no state to defend myself."
As publicity around the case exploded in the wake of the Wilkinson interview and an article by news.com.au's Samantha Maiden, Labor zeroed in on the Liberal minister who now stood accused of covering up the rape of a young woman for political purposes.
Senators Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher led the charge,
"I was accused of covering up a rape day after day after day after day," Senator Reynolds said. "They were asking me questions that legally and ethically I knew I couldn't answer. Ms Higgins had said she was going to make a fresh complaint to the AFP and that is where it should always have been. And every Australian should really think about the issue. What do they want from their politicians?"
In a joint statement issued on Friday, Senator Wong and Senator Gallagher said: "One of Senator Reynolds' staff alleged she was raped in Senator Reynolds' ministerial office. The record shows that Senator Wong and Senator Gallagher asked reasonable questions of the then Morrison government about how they responded to those serious allegations. Many of these questions remain unanswered. These new claims from Senator Reynolds are completely rejected and reveal a deep lack of respect for the autonomy of her former staff member who made these allegations."
Mr Lehrmann's trial on rape charges was aborted in October 2022 due to juror misconduct. Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty and has at all times denied the allegations. The DPP has now withdrawn the charges.
Senator Reynolds has taken legal action against Ms Higgins' boyfriend, David Sharaz, who she alleges defamed her in two tweets sent last year, and who she claims has subjected her to "harassing and highly distressing trolling on social media".
On Friday Ms Higgins told The Weekend Australian: "I have ?already publicly accepted apologies from Senator Reynolds offered in the wake of my allegations becoming public both in the Senate and through the media in 2021.
"I have accepted Senator Reynolds' apology following an incident where she publicly defamed me by likening me to a barnyard animal.
"I've went through three ?reviews during the Morrison government tenure, a criminal trial, a mediation process with the commonwealth and now I'm engaging with an independent inquiry into the criminal trial.
"The facts have been well-?established. Any revisionist history offered by my former employer at this time is deeply hurtful and needlessly cruel."
As the fallout from these events continues, Senator Reynolds wants Australians to focus on the ethics of those political opponents who targeted her relentlessly, day after day, in the Senate.
"One of the bigger issues now, on reflection, two years later, is who do we want to be as senators and as parliamentarians representing the nation?" she said. "I've had to think a lot about that ... whether I could physically and mentally stay. Because what this showed me is that even the strongest people have a breaking point and Labor found mine. It was calculated; it was deliberate.
"I tried to be unfailingly polite and answer the questions as much as I could, respecting her (Ms Higgins') agency, as I said time and time again. But ultimately, like crows pecking on the carcass until it's gone, they just kept at me, every day, they just kept diminishing me."
(continued)
#18306023 at 2023-02-08 07:35:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition
>>18269047
'Recklessly indifferent to truth': Bruce Lehrmann sues Lisa Wilkinson for damages
JANET ALBRECHTSEN and REMY VARGA - FEBRUARY 8, 2023
Former Liberal staffer Bruce Lehrmann is suing Channel 10 and its star Lisa Wilkinson for defamation, accusing them of seeking to exploit allegations of sexual ?assault against him for ?personal and professional gain.
Mr Lehrmann, who has consistently denied raping former colleague Brittany Higgins, has launched defamation proceedings against Network Ten and News Life Media Pty Ltd - an arm of News Corp Australia - in Federal Court.
Wilkinson, former co-host of The Project, and Samantha Maiden, political editor for news.com.au, are understood to be second respondents in proceedings.
Mr Lehrmann further claims Wilkinson and Network Ten were "recklessly indifferent to the truth or falsity" when they alleged he raped Ms Higgins on the couch in the ministerial office of then defence industry minister Linda Reynolds in the early hours of March 23, 2019.
The statement of claims references Ms Higgins' evidence from the aborted trial against Mr Lehrmann before the ACT Supreme Court when the former staffer said Maiden and Wilkinson had fought for the exclusive publication of her alleged story.
The statements of claim said it could be inferred that Wilkinson "was seeking to exploit the false allegations of sexual assault as made by Ms Higgins for her own personal and professional gain".
Mr Lehrmann further claims that Wilkinson and Network Ten were "recklessly indifferent to the truth or falsity of the ?imputations."
Brittany Higgins took to Twitter on Wednesday to repost a tweet she had published on December 7, with the words "A timely reminder".
The December tweet read: "Following recent developments, I feel the need to make it clear if required I am willing to defend the truth as a witness in any potential civil cases brought about by Mr Lehrmann."
Mr Lehrmann is being represented by defamation specialists Mark O'Brien Legal. It is understood defamation expert Matthew Richardson SC and barrister Steven Whybrow SC, who represented Mr Lehrmann during the trial, have been retained to run matters together.
The Project and news.com.au published Ms Higgins' allegations in broadcasts and online stories on February 15 in 2021. The original reports did not name Mr Lehrmann. The former staffer is claiming he was easily identified by a description as a senior staffer in Senator Reynold's office.
"By reason of publication of the matters complained of, the applicant has been greatly injured in his personal and professional reputation and has been and will be brought into public disrepute, odium, ridicule and contempt."
Ms Higgins alleged Mr Lehrmann raped her on a couch in Senator Reynolds's office in the early hours of March 23, 2019, after a night out.
The high-profile trial was aborted in October 2022 due to juror misconduct.
Mr Lehrmann pleaded not guilty at his trial and has at all times denied the allegations.
The DPP has now withdrawn the charges, with ACT director of public prosecutions Shane Drumgold citing concern for Ms Higgins's mental health.
The Australian approached Network Ten and Wilkinson for comment.
https://www.theaustralian.com.au/nation/recklessly-indifferent-to-truth-bruce-lehrmann-sues-lisa-wilkinson-for-damages/news-story/3ca4994cfdc5fd58d80c57f74b0f1e11
https://twitter.com/BrittHiggins_/status/1623038017253539840
#18282644 at 2023-02-04 11:09:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #27: THEY ARE IN FULL BLOWN PANIC MODE Edition
>>18235506
Legal threat over Brittany Higgins memoir
JANET ALBRECHTSEN and STEPHEN RICE - FEBRUARY 4, 2023
1/2
Lawyers for Linda Reynolds have written to Brittany Higgins's publishers warning against any defamatory references to the former Liberal minister, saying they believe publication of Ms Higgins' memoir is imminent and seeking a copy of the manuscript.
Senator Reynolds's lawyers have sent a similar letter to the publishers of a planned book by journalist Samantha Maiden on sexual misconduct in Canberra.
In each case, the lawyers say Senator Reynolds has not been afforded a reasonable opportunity to answer any allegations against her.
Senator Reynolds told The Weekend Australian she had engaged experienced defamation lawyers to represent her.
"I hope it will not be necessary to take further steps to protect my reputation," she said, adding that she was paying the cost of any defamation actions out of her own pocket.
"For two years, I have been subjected to frequent and persistent unfair criticism, disparagement and defamatory comments by the media in relation to my handling of Ms Higgins's complaint.
"The content of many of those publications is derived directly from various public statements made by Ms Higgins to the media (in particular to Ms Maiden and Ms Lisa Wilkinson) and her evidence given during the criminal trial concerning my conduct.
"Ms Maiden and Ms Higgins have each demonstrated an inclination to comment on my conduct in an unbalanced manner, which has been both professionally and personally damaging to me and inconsistent with my recollection of key events and the evidence of my staff."
During the aborted rape trial of Bruce Lehrmann last year, it emerged that prominent author Peter FitzSimons had negotiated a $325,000 advance for Ms Higgins's book. Industry sources suggested publisher Penguin Random House hoped to sell at least 100,000 copies at $29.99 each.
Senator Reynolds's lawyers, WA legal firm Bennett, told The Weekend Australian: "Given the intense media scrutiny of our client since the first publication of Ms Higgins's story in February 2021 and the numerous defamatory articles published by various journalists and media outlets, our client has legitimate concerns that the (Higgins) book may contain allegations defamatory of her. Our client seeks to ensure that any report contained in the book is a fair report and that she has a reasonable opportunity to answer any matters of, and concerning, her in the book."
(continued)
#17405928 at 2022-08-17 07:22:52 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition
>>17405885
Former PM Scott Morrison was 'sedated' at night for his insomnia throughout pandemic
A new revelation about Scott Morrison has emerged amid the raging controversy about his secret moves as prime minister.
Samantha Maiden - August 16, 2022
1/2
Scott Morrison was so worried during the Covid-19 pandemic that he suffered from insomnia and relied on drugs to sedate him into sleep.
As controversy erupts over the former prime minister's decision to secretly appoint himself to key portfolios during the pandemic, the revelations are contained in a new book Plagued that is based on extensive interviews with Mr Morrison.
The drug regimen to tackle his insomnia, as outlined in the book, was said to include a "mild sedative" that is not referenced by brand name.
"He'd often wake at 3am, wrestling with the scale of what was facing the country and his responsibilities in dealing with it," the book says.
"He'd rouse in a fitful state and look at the ceiling for hours on end, saying to himself, 'I have to sleep or I won't get through this week.'
"More than once, so he could function the following day, he would take a mild sedative.
"He took half a sleeping pill to make sure he was fresh for the next day."
'What on earth is going on?'
However, it is the former prime minister's secret arrangements regarding cabinet jobs that could now spark a full-blown inquiry.
The revelations that Mr Morrison swore himself in as health minister and finance minister are outlined in the new book.
It states this was the idea of former attorney-general Christian Porter.
However, Mr Porter has told colleagues he remembers the arrangements relating to then-health minister Greg Hunt but does not recall any discussions involving then-finance minister Mathias Cormann.
Constitutional law expert Anne Twomey said the secret arrangements were "bizarre" and "utterly inappropriate".
"What on earth was going on, I don't know, but the secrecy involved in this is just simply bizarre," she told the ABC.
"I mean, you know, you just wonder what is wrong with these people that they have to do everything in secret and they can't 'fess up to what they're doing.
"Because if they had done it and made it public, [it] probably would have been seen [as] pretty reasonable. But hiding it? That's the weird thing."
If Mr Morrison did swear himself into the finance minister position, he also never told Mr Cormann.
Former resources minister Keith Pitt and industry minister Angus Taylor were also unaware the then-prime minister had control of their portfolios.
While Mr Taylor stayed in the dark, at some point in 2021, Mr Pitt discovered the arrangement.
"There is no doubt it was unusual,'' Mr Pitt told Sky News. "I am not going to throw him under a bus, I am just not. It's clearly something I was concerned about."
Peter Dutton did learn at some point about the health portfolio arrangements, apparently put in place in case Mr Hunt got sick and couldn't exercise the extraordinary pandemic powers he held to make decisions without parliamentary approval.
(continued)
#17385832 at 2022-08-13 06:26:24 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition
>>17385732
Chinese ambassador to Australia, Xiao Qian, issues startling warning about Taiwan and makes farcical claim
Speaking in Canberra, the Chinese ambassador to Australia made a particularly striking claim about the people of Taiwan.
Samantha Maiden - August 10, 2022
1/2
China's ambassador to Australia made an incredibly dubious claim at the national press club in Canberra today, insisting most people in Taiwan consider themselves Chinese.
"There are 23 million people in Taiwan. Don't they get a say in what should happen to their future?" Ambassador Xiao Qian was asked.
"The future of Taiwan will be decided by 1.4 billion Chinese people," he responded.
"And at the same time, I believe that the majority of the people in Taiwan believe they're Chinese. They believe Taiwan is part of China and Taiwan is a province of China. They are for reunion."
That assertion contradicts a wealth of data measuring the stance of Taiwan's people.
According to data from National Chengchi University's Election Study Centre, for example, a mere 2.4 per cent of Taiwanese consider themselves Chinese. A further 30.4 per cent believe they are both Chinese and Taiwanese.
Meanwhile a hefty 63.7 per cent majority consider themselves solely Taiwanese.
The same data shows a majority of Taiwan's population wants to maintain the political status quo for now, while just 1.3 per cent of people wish to move quickly towards unification with China.
The Democratic Progressive Party, which is pro-independence, has won the last two elections.
Confronted with the opinion polling, Mr Xiao dismissed it as "misleading".
"I think it is quite obvious that even the people in Taiwan who are in power in the local government, even officials in Taiwan, believe they are Chinese. They want to be part of China, to have Taiwan be part of China" he claimed.
During his press club address, the ambassador also said China was willing to use "all necessary means" in relation to Taiwan, warning that there was "no room for compromise" to protect its sovereignty.
Rejecting the word invasion and arguing Taiwan should be peacefully reunited with "the Motherland", he suggested Australians "use their imagination" about what that means.
Mr Xiao was asked about China's new White Paper on Taiwan that asserts it will "not renounce the use of force and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures".
"Can you explain to Australians who are concerned and worried about the prospect of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan and the inevitable consequences of that invasion, what constitutes precisely in the minds of the Chinese Government a 'compelling circumstance' that would justify a use of force across the Strait?,'' the ambassador was asked.
"First, I would rather not use the word 'invasion' when we talk about China and Taiwan,'' Mr Xiao replied.
"Taiwan is different from any other scenario or situation.
"Taiwan is not an independent state. It's not an independent state. Taiwan is a province of the People's Republic of China.
"It's an issue of reunification, complete reunification, and the issue of Taiwan coming back to the motherland.
"China has been so patient for several decades we're waiting. We are waiting for a peaceful unification.
"But we cannot - we can never rule out the option to use other means so when necessary, when compelled, we are ready to use all necessary means. As to what does it mean 'all necessary means'? You can use your imagination."
(continued)
#16944074 at 2022-08-01 09:58:59 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition
Monique Ryan tells MPs to 'put their masks on' while asking about Covid in parliament
The doctor who booted Josh Frydenberg out of his own electorate has berated MPs on the floor of parliament after being interrupted.
Samantha Maiden - August 1, 2022
The doctor who booted Josh Frydenberg out of his electorate of Kooyong has urged the Liberal MPs to "put your masks on" after being jeered on the floor of parliament.
Independent Dr Monique Ryan rose to her feet to ask her first question during Question Time on Monday - her chosen subject being the impact of Covid - and copped rowdy interjections.
While mask-wearing is recommended it is not mandatory inside parliament, and it is largely non-existent on the opposition benches.
A former paediatric neurologist, Dr Ryan asked the Health Minister Mark Butler about the risk that repeated Covid infections could cause long-term side effects.
"Repeated infections with Covid-19 can be more severe and carry a high risk of persisting symptoms for as long as six months, as well as an increased risk of hospitalisation and death," she said.
"There is an increasing risk of cumulative neurological and cardiovascular disease from infections from Covid-19.
"Can the minister please explain how he proposes to manage the oncoming national significant burden of disability and chronic illness from repeated infection?"
As she was jeered by some MPs she shot back, "Put your masks on," pointing at the opposition benches.
In response, the Health Minister said he was pleased that the large number of health professionals in parliament "will add depth to our health policy.
"This pandemic is still ravaging our community,'' he said
"In particular, as the member pointed out, people should wear masks when indoors and they are not able to be socially distant.
"Long Covid is not easy to diagnose or treat.
"The truth is, Mr Speaker, we don't know the scale of the challenge. A common estimate (is that) about 4 per cent of Covid patients experience long-term symptoms, (which) already runs to hundreds and hundreds of thousands of Australians.
"Support is available through our standard medical system. States are operating long Covid clinics. Their waiting lists are growing. It is increasingly clear to me that we will need to develop a focused response nationally to the phenomenon of long Covid.
"I am keen to continue discussions with the Member for Kooyong and other members of this place on this profound long-term health challenge that is proving to be so debilitating and distressing for so many Australians."
Dr Ryan later tweeted about her remark to Coalition MPs, saying she didn't "appreciate being interrupted while speaking on serious risks of repeated Covid infections".
"I particularly don't appreciate being interrupted by shouting LNP MPs who refuse to wear masks. We all have a duty to look after each other, here and everywhere. Put your mask on!" she wrote.
https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/health/monique-ryan-tells-mps-to-put-their-masks-on-while-asking-about-covid-in-parliament/news-story/eb31b3d1ac8e461d794257e7712dfba4
https://twitter.com/Mon4Kooyong/status/1553978872772714496
#16773179 at 2022-07-21 10:16:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research Australia #25: My Koala Hates Spam Too Edition
>>16755888
Anthony Albanese slams former prime minister's sermon where he pedalled 'conspiracy theories'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shot down "astonishing" claims made by the nation's former leader in a church sermon.
Samantha Maiden - July 21, 2022
Anthony Albanese has savaged Scott Morrison for pedalling "conspiracy theories" about the United Nations in a speech the Prime Minister described as "astonishing".
Mr Albanese has revealed he couldn't believe what he was listening to after his predecessor delivered a sermon over the weekend at the Pentecostal Victory Life Centre church.
In a declaration that people should put their faith in Christ over "fallible" governments, Mr Morrison said he didn't trust in the institution that he led just a few months ago.
"We trust in Him. We don't trust in governments. We don't trust the United Nations, thank goodness," Mr Morrison said.
"We don't trust in all of these things as fine as they might be and as important as the role that they play. Believe me, I've worked in it."
Mr Albanese said the remarks were unworthy of a former national leader.
"I just thought, 'Wow','' he told ABC Melbourne.
"This guy was the prime minister of Australia and had that great honour of leading the government and I found it quite astonishing.
"It provides some explanation perhaps of why, in my view, clearly he didn't lead a government that was worthy of the Australian people.
"I find it astonishing that in what must have been, I guess, a moment of frankness, he has said he doesn't believe in government. I believe that the government does play a role in people's lives and our living standards," he added.
Mr Albanese said he was appalled by the reference to the United Nations.
"And the idea that he's out there and pressing the United Nations button,'' he said.
"Again, I mean I have spent the first two months trying to repair our international relations.
"That sort of nonsense, throwaway conspiracy line about the United Nations, I think isn't worthy of someone who led Australia."
In the speech, Mr Morrison said God had a plan for him and also characterised anxiety as "Satan's plan".
"Do you believe that if you lose an election that God still loves you and has a plan for you?" he asked to applause and laughter.
"I do. I still believe in miracles. God has secured your future, all of it. Yeah, even that bit."
It's the second time since Mr Morrison lost the election that he has appeared before churchgoers.
In his final hours as prime minister, Mr Morrison choked back tears while addressing his Horizon church in south Sydney.
Mr Morrison dedicated much of his Sunday sermon to rising rates of mental illness in Australia, an issue he said was a high priority for him as prime minister.
While he noted there were "biological issues" or "brain chemistry" that resulted in clinical disorders, he sought to link the everyday anxieties to a spiritual deficit.
Mr Morrison declared that if people gave into their worries, they were giving into "Satan's plan".
"God knows that anxiety is part of the human condition," he said.
"No matter how (secular people) might seek to deny it, or even dismiss it, the truth of God stands up and shines."
During his address, Mr Morrison also took aim at "safe spaces" that he said had been "taken out of so much context" that they no longer meant a place between someone and God.
"Don't get me started," Mr Morrison said.
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/anthony-albanese-slams-former-prime-ministers-sermon-where-he-pedalled-conspiracy-theories/news-story/6dd48b3624a89339cf15b16ce3fbd564
#16493231 at 2022-06-23 09:56:54 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #23: HOUSE OF CARDS Edition
>>16481772
Judge urges Lisa Wilkinson not to make further comments about Brittany Higgins as Bruce Lehrmann's trial date delayed until October
Elizabeth Byrne - 23 June 2022
Journalist Lisa Wilkinson and others in the media have been given until the close of business tomorrow to agree not to make further public comments about the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins at Parliament House in 2019.
Bruce Lehrmann, who has pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime, was to have gone on trial next week.
But the ACT's Chief Justice Lucy McCallum deferred that plan after a storm of publicity in the wake of a speech by Wilkinson at the Logie Awards.
Wilkinson won an award for an interview with Ms Higgins.
Chief Justice McCallum said in the commentary that followed, the right of the presumption of innocence had been overlooked.
Today, the court heard Wilkinson and her employer, Network 10 and others had indicated they were now prepared to offer written undertakings not to make further public comments.
The ACT's Director of Public Prosecutions, Shane Drumgold, told the court as long as the undertakings were received he would not seek an injunction against Wilkinson and the others involved.
He said the undertakings would acknowledge the issues in the trial were subjudice and that any breach would be a contempt of court.
Chief Justice McCallum also said even wider discussions about the issues raised by the allegation could be problematic.
"Even the discussion of a workplace culture has to do a delicate dance," she told the court.
She added it would be very difficult to have that discussion without suggesting the allegation was true.
"I think it would be a masterpiece of rhetoric and subtlety to avoid breaking the rules," Chief Justice McCallum said.
Judge allows three-month delay, rejects request for six-week trial
Chief Justice McCallum said the three months until the trial should allow the issue to fade in the minds of jurors.
But Mr Lehrmann's lawyer, Stephen Whybrow, expressed concern, saying he would like a trial date next year.
"The bushfire is still burning, in effect," he told the court.
But Justice McCallum refused, saying it was the proximity of the media attention so close to the trial that led to it being postponed.
"The problem [was] that ... few people could have failed to connect her name with the publicity about a true story," she said.
She also rejected Mr Whybrow's application to set aside six weeks for the trial.
"I don't see how a single incident with a single complainant could take that time," she told the court.
The court was also told there were about five books currently being written about the case, by authors including journalists Samantha Maiden, Nikki Savva and Peter Van Onselen.
The court heard they would also be contacted about restrictions until the trial is over.
The new trial date is set for October 4.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-06-23/bruce-lehrmann-trial-delayed-october-lisa-wilkinson-logies/101176384
#16315888 at 2022-05-21 13:17:52 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition
>>16047076
>>16315617
Scott Morrison resigns as leader after election bloodbath for Liberal Party
Scott Morrison has resigned as leader of the Liberal Party after shocking election results, as Anthony Albanese prepares to become the nation's next Prime Minister.
Samantha Maiden - May 21, 2022
Scott Morrison has conceded defeat and announced he will quit the Liberal leadership, declaring he accepts the verdict of voters.
The Prime Minister said today he would stand down as leader but that he plans to remain as the Member for Cook for now.
"To my colleagues tonight, who have had to deal with very difficult news, and have lost their seats tonight, I as leader take responsibility for the wins and the losses,'' he said.
"That is the burden and that is the responsibility of leadership.
"As a result I will be handing over the leadership at the next party room meeting to ensure the party can be taken forward under new leadership which is the appropriate thing to do.
"I've had the great privilege to lead this great party and lead this great nation."
However, Mr Morrison said he planned to stay in parliament and three years from now he "looked forward" to the re-election of a Liberal Government.
Mr Morrison, who was first elected Prime Minister on August 24, 2018, left Kirribilli House shortly after 10:32pm with his wife Jenny Morrison.
Speaking at the Sofitel Hotel in Sydney shortly after, Mr Morrison declared he "accepts the verdict" of Australian voters and conceded Labor leader Anthony Albanese had won the election.
Shortly after 10:45pm, the Prime Minister offered his congratulations to the Labor leader as a man shouted from the crowds "you've done us proud!".
"I've spoken to the leader of the opposition and the incoming Prime Minister Anthony Albanese,'' Mr Morrison said.
"I congratulate Anthony Albanese and the Labor Party and I wish him and his government all the very best.
"Now there are many votes still to count, that is true.
"But I believe it's very important that this country has certainty. I think it's very important that this country can move forward.
"I think it is important for our nation to heal and to move forward.
"But at the same time, three years ago I stood before you, and I said I believed in miracles. I still believe in miracles. I still believe in miracles as I always have. And the biggest miracles, as I said three years ago, were standing beside me and here they are again tonight with Jenny."
Mr Morrison said Australians had endured a great deal over the course of the pandemic.
"There's another great miracle I want to give thanks for tonight and that's the miracle of the Australian people,'' he said.
"What Australians have endured over these past few years has shown a tremendous depth of character and resilience.
"We hand over this country as a government in a stronger position than we left it than we inherited it when we came to government those years ago under Tony Abbott."
While Morrison is expected to stand down as leader, there's a question over who will replace him with Treasurer Josh Frydenberg all but conceding he was likely to lose his seat.
Mr Frydenberg paid tribute to the Prime Minister flanked by his wife Amie just minutes earlier.
"To be the deputy leader of our party has been an enormous privilege and to serve as Scott Morrison's deputy, a person of great decency, a person who loves his family, a person who is of deep faith and a person who has shown extraordinary leadership in extraordinary time,'' he said.
"So I thank Scott Morrison for what he has done for our country to leave Australia in a stronger position than when he found it."
Mr Frydenberg isn't the only Liberal frontbencher who risks being swept from parliament.
Defence Minister Peter Dutton, who came close to losing the seat he had held since 2001, said it was a "terrible day" for the Liberal Party.
"We have, as a Liberal family, suffered a terrible day today,'' he said.
"And there are colleagues around the country, good people, who have potentially lost their seats. There are still thousands and thousands of postal votes and pre-poll votes to count. So there's some hope in some of those seats. In many, the race is very tight.
"I want to acknowledge the pain they're going through tonight, their families, their supporters."
Housing Minister Michael Sukkar, whose super for houses policy was hailed as a vote winner is facing a tough fight to retain the seat of Deakin.
Education Minister Alan Tudge has also suffered a savage swing in the seat of Aston, but looks set to hang on.
https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/scott-morrison-to-speak-after-election-bloodbath-for-liberal-party/news-story/99a2f640ec772634b014b36a355fd006
#16119182 at 2022-04-21 09:37:04 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #22: THIS IS NOT ANOTHER 3-YEAR ELECTION Edition
>>16047076
Anthony Albanese tests positive to Covid during federal election campaign
Anthony Albanese has tested positive to Covid despite a radical plan to protect him from the virus, throwing his federal election campaign into chaos.
Samantha Maiden and Alexis Carey - April 21, 2022
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has tested positive to Covid in a major blow to his election campaign.
The development means he will now have to isolate for seven days.
The timing of Mr Albanese's diagnosis is especially concerning, given he - and dozens of media representatives following his campaign - visited an aged care home in Nowra on the NSW South Coast on Thursday morning.
Mr Albanese - who was wearing a face mask - mingled with residents at the Symons House Retirement Village earlier today, along with several of his staffers and a crew of reporters - when he would have been contagious.
On Thursday morning Mr Albanese also visited the Manildra ethanol distillery in Bomaderry, and later visited a cafe in Ryde in the Sydney electorate of Bennelong this afternoon.
Labor is now racing to identify those who have been in close contact with Mr Albanese and will need to test or potentially isolate.
Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles and treasury spokesman Jim Chalmers were at the debate in Brisbane on Wednesday night.
Mr Albanese has also been travelling with Labor frontbencher Tony Burke, along with high-profile staff members including Liz Fitch and Alex Cramb.
At Ryde this afternoon he met with Labor's candidate for Bennelong Jerome Laxale, as well as cafe staff and members of the public, who posed for selfies near him.
"Following a routine PCR test this afternoon ahead of interstate travel to Western Australia, I have returned a positive result for COVID this evening," Mr Albanese said in a statement just after 6.30pm on Thursday.
"I have been testing regularly as part of my election campaign duties.
"I will be isolating at home in Sydney for the next 7 days and will continue to follow health guidelines and advice.
"While at home I will continue my responsibilities as alternative Prime Minister and will be fighting for a better future for all Australians.
"I am grateful to know that I will have access to the world's best health care if I need it, because of Medicare.
"I am feeling fine so far - and thank everyone for their well wishes."
The Labor leader contracting Covid during the campaign was a prospect the ALP took extreme steps to avoid - including asking journalists to test every three days as a condition of travelling on the bus.
It also suggests Mr Albanese was likely contagious when he conducted the People's Forum Debate in Brisbane and spoke to voters.
Several journalists have been sent home over the last week after contracting the virus on the campaign trail.
Earlier on the campaign trail, reporters were barred from accompanying Mr Albanese and his partner Jodie Haydon to another aged care facility and a medical clinic in Queensland, after several journalists on the election bus returned positive RAT tests, sparking fears of a Covid cluster.
News of Mr Albanese's diagnosis also sparked confusion among reporters on his campaign trail, who were initially told that the plan for the days ahead were "TBD", with the group's planned trip to Perth now up in the air.
There was also speculation that Deputy Labor leader Richard Marles would now step in during Mr Albanese's isolation, with Shadow Ministers such as Jim Chalmers expected to play crucial roles in the days ahead.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison tested positive for Covid last month, ensuring he can continue to campaign.
"I had tested myself daily since Sunday, including this morning, with all tests returning a negative result,'' he said at the time.
"I took a further test this evening after developing a fever late today. The test was inconclusive so I took a PCR test tonight which returned a positive result late this evening."
Mr Morrison isolated at home in Sydney for a week at the time.
https://www.news.com.au/national/federal-election/anthony-albanese-tests-positive-to-covid-during-federal-election-campaign/news-story/d0c151cb7e4f6d0bb9ff0ff3be4151eb
https://twitter.com/AlboMP/status/1517060226255822848
#15961948 at 2022-03-28 07:44:21 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15873706
SA Senator Penny Wong delivers condolence speech for colleague Kimberley Kitching
SA Senator Penny Wong has paid tribute to colleague Kimberley Kitching, loosely addressing allegations she was part of a "mean girls" group that bullied her.
Gabriel Polychronis - March 28, 2022
Senior Labor figure Penny Wong has declared she won't "return anger with anger" in a speech paying tribute to her late colleague Kimberley Kitching.
Moving a condolence motion in the Senate on Monday morning, Senator Wong said Ms Kitching, who died of a suspected heart attack this month, was an "extraordinary political operator".
"Senator Kitching was a patriot, a woman determined to serve for her country," she said.
Senator Wong loosely addressed allegations that she was part of a "mean girls" group that bullied and ostracised Senator Kitching.
"Much has been said and written in the days since Senator Kitching's passing. Many are hurting and many are grieving," Senator Wong said.
"I understand that grief and loss can be so profound that it can provoke anger and blame.
"I've made my views very clear outside of this place about some of that anger and blame. I will not return anger with anger or blame with blame."
Senator Wong has denied all allegations.
SA SENATOR DON FARRELL'S WARNING
Labor powerbroker and South Australian senator Don Farrell reportedly warned his late colleague Kimberley Kitching that Penny Wong wanted to dump her from the party's strategy team.
According to The Australian, Senator Farrell warned Ms Kitching of the move 18 months before she was booted off the tactics committee over accusations of leaking to the federal government.
Ms Kitching reportedly kept a record of a conversation she had with Senator Farrell in November 2019, when he told her Senator Wong was considering removing her from the senior group that forms the strategy for question time each day.
The Australian reported Ms Kitching said she would go "berserk" if she was kicked off the team. Senator Farrell reportedly replied he "won't let it happen".
Tensions between the two South Australian senators, Farrell and Wong, were documented in journalist Samantha Maiden's 2020 book, Party Animals.
Senator Farrell, often called the "godfather" of SA Labor's right faction, gave up his safe Senate spot to Senator Wong in 2012. He rejoined the Senate three years later after an attempt at state politics was blocked by former Labor premier Jay Weatherill.
Senator Farrell would not comment on his conversations with Ms Kitching.
"It's the condolence for Kimberley in the Senate (on Monday) and I don't wish to add to the public discussion about her passing beyond my brief public comments," Senator Farrell told The Australian.
The Australian reported Senator Wong had wrongly blamed Ms Kitching for leaking an offensive remark she used about the late Victorian senator not having children to the media.
Senator Farrell's warning reportedly came 11 days after the ABC published a story about the remarks in 2019 - though the article did not mention Senator Wong.
Senator Wong, who said she apologised for the remark, has denied allegations she was part of a "mean girls" Labor group that bullied and ostracised Ms Kitching, who died of a suspected heart attack this month.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/sa-senator-don-farrells-warning-to-kimberley-kitching-of-attempts-to-dump-her/news-story/d5b0e104d21960797462dc5fc20854d9
#15924447 at 2022-03-23 09:35:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15873706
'What are you afraid of?' Albo grilled on Mean Girls claim
Labor leader Anthony Albanese has been grilled by Today host Karl Stefanovic, with a previous "promise" thrown back at him.
Samantha Maiden - March 23, 2022
1/2
Anthony Albanese has been hammered on breakfast television over his refusal to hold an inquiry into the bullying claims of Kimberley Kitching after he observed the late senator who died of a heart attack "played politics hard".
In a fiery back and forth with Karl Stefanovic on the Today show, the Opposition Leader saw a previous promise to be "more accountable" to the Australian people thrown back into his face.
Mr Stefanovic played an interview between Mr Albanese and ABC host Fran Kelly where the politician vowed "we'll act" on any complaint of poor treatment.
'Do you accept action hasn't been taken, when Labor heartland wants action to be taken?' he asked.
Mr Albanese fired back: "There was no complaint made by Kimberley".
"Do I have confidence in Penny Wong as Senate Leader, yes, I do, yes, I do. And Katy Gallagher and Kristina Keneally are part of the solution. They're not part of the problem,'' he said.
The Labor leader made the same claims on Sunrise, when he faced a similar barrage from hosts David Koch and Natalie Barr - at one point saying it would be "an inquiry into what?"
Before her death, Senator Kitching complained to the deputy Labor leader Richard Marles about being kicked off the tactics committee for spurious reasons and about her treatment in the Senate.
She also complained to a workplace trainer that she was being bullied. She also prepared a seven-page letter outlining some complaints that has emerged since her death.
Speaking on Sunrise, Mr Albanese suggested that it was Senator Kitching herself who may have created some of the tensions.
"I think that in politics, there are a range of people who are involved in party politics who play it pretty hard'' Mr Albanese said.
"One of those was Kimberley Kitching. She was somebody who engaged in politics and was passionate about her belief and from time to time, that could produce some conflict."
Sunrise host David Koch then shot back: "So are you saying that Kimberley Kitching was part of the bullying?"
"No, I am not saying that at all, I am saying that Kimberley Kitching like other senators and members of the Labor Party could put forward ideas and in a robust fashion in debate. I have engaged in robust debate,'' he said.
In the interview, Mr Albanese argued Senator Kitching's complaints to Mr Marles and the workplace trainer did not classify as formal complaints.
"With respect, those processes that all of us went through as part of the compulsory process that we all had about how to deal with these issues arising from what had occurred in Parliament House and the report of the sex discrimination commission, they were confidential discussions that people had,'' he said.
"I do not know what happened in that room and I have not seen anything from the PwC consultant and they are private discussions that were held.
"At no stage did Kimberley Kitching, at any stage, make complaints with myself as leader, we have structures in place to deal with complaints. If any improvements can be made, just as we made improvements in 2021 that were unanimously adopted by the Caucus and the party, I am up for it and any positive suggestions".
(continued)
#15916756 at 2022-03-22 08:38:23 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15873706
PM slams Albanese as 'gutless' over Kitching bullying claim ahead of Labor preselection bloodbath
The Prime Minister has lashed out at Anthony Albanese over his response to bullying claims within the party, as Labor prepares for a preselection bloodbath.
Samantha Maiden - March 22, 2022
1/2
Scott Morrison has slammed Labor leader Anthony Albanese as "gutless" for refusing to investigate bullying and culture problems raised by the late Senator Kimberely Kitching.
Speaking after the Labor Senator's funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral, the Prime Minister said it wasn't good enough for his political opponent to reject calls for an inquiry.
"Yesterday was an important day for Kimberley Kitching's family. And I'm pleased that she was able to be honoured in the way that she was,'' he said.
"But that does not dismiss the fact that serious allegations have been made - not by the Liberal Party, but by members of the Labor Party, about a toxic culture within the Labor Party, which the leader of the Labor Party, Anthony Albanese, is in hiding (over) and won't address.
"What we've got from Anthony Albanese at the first sign of hard questions - and we're not even into the campaign yet - he has gone into complete hiding. Frankly, I think that it is pretty gutless."
The news comes as Labor scrambles to finalise its preselections, with Victorian Labor Senator Kim Carr now facing the axe from Mr Albanese's team, and party sources tipping millionaire Andrew Charlton to take over from retiring MP Julie Owens.
Mr Charlton, the managing director of Accenture, is regarded as a rising star of the Labor Party and a future frontbencher, but is already drawing fire from faction enemies over his private wealth, with ALP critics pointing to a $16 million house he bought in Sydney two years ago.
Labor has already faced criticism after parachuting in former NSW Premier Kristina Keneally as Labor's candidate in Fowler, over Vietnamese-Australian lawyer Tu Le.
Labor MP for Parramatta Julie Owens announced her plans to retire to the Labor leadership team more than six months ago, but the preselection has been delayed until now with just weeks to go before an election is called.
It's expected Mr Carr, a factional ally of Senator Kitching under an old power-sharing arrangement between the Left and Right in Victoria, will be challenged and replaced after a 29-year career in politics.
He is likely to be replaced by union leader Linda White, 63, who retired from the Australian Services Union three years ago but remains a member of the national executive.
Employment lawyer Josh Bornstein was also flagged as a possible contender but is not believed to be entering the contest.
(continued)
#15916742 at 2022-03-22 08:26:43 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15873706
There are many questions, and Kimberley Kitching deserves answers
TROY BRAMSTON - MARCH 21, 2022
1/2
Now that Kimberley Kitching has been laid to rest, the Labor Party owes it to her memory, and to her family, friends and colleagues, to be truthful about the bullying she endured from the party's Senate leadership team and the factional game-playing that caused her enormous stress at the time of her death.
The funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral in Melbourne on Monday was a heartfelt and poignant tribute to Kitching, who died on March 10 of a suspected heart attack.
The eulogies, including those by Bill Shorten, father William Kitching and husband Andrew Landeryou, recalled a remarkable woman whose life was cut short at age 52.
For many of those who knew and worked with Kitching and earned her confidence, the tragedy of her death has been compounded by the way Labor has failed to recognise the pressure she felt with her Senate preselection not guaranteed and the way she had been treated by her Senate colleagues.
It has been sickening to watch Labor figures deny that Kitching was bullied or frozen out. In truth, Kitching was treated terribly.
Her husband, Landeryou, referred yesterday to "a cantankerous cabal" inside and outside the party who made her life unpleasant, and her friends and staff being "angry" about how she was treated. "She deserved so very much better," he told mourners.
Penny Wong and Kristina Keneally have repudiated multiple media reports, including my column last Tuesday ("Kitching didn't deserve to be treated so poorly", 15/3), that chronicled the systematic isolation and exclusion of Kitching in the Senate.
Are Wong and Keneally implying that these articles have been made up?
Wong told Chris Uhlmann on Nine's Weekend Today on Sunday that Kitching was not bullied or isolated by her Senate colleagues and, moreover, those saying she was lacked "common decency".
Keneally, interviewed by Kieran Gilbert on Sky News' Afternoon Agenda last Tuesday, said that my "assertions" were "not true".
The journalists who have raised how Kitching felt based on conversations they had with her or with others span the media spectrum and include Andrew Probyn (ABC), Rob Harris (The Sydney Morning Herald/The Age), Samantha Maiden (news.com.au) and Sharri Markson (The Australian/Sky News).
Last Friday Wong, Keneally and Katy Gallagher issued an extraordinary statement saying "the allegations of bullying are untrue" and "other assertions" are also "similarly inaccurate". The statement says their priority has been concern for Kitching's family and loved ones, and they have not responded "out of respect for them".
The problem with this statement, apart from being so coldly calculating, is that Kitching's closest friends and her parliamentary and party colleagues have been raising how she felt and the stress she was under.
They are in no doubt - absolutely no doubt - that this pressure worsened any underlying health issues she had.
Kitching told me herself about how she was being treated by Labor's Senate leadership team, as she did other journalists. We know it to be true because we heard it from her.
There has been no pushback from Kitching's friends, family or colleagues about this reporting.
It only adds to their grief to hear it said that it is not true or now is not the time to mention these matters.
(continued)
#15889667 at 2022-03-18 08:42:19 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15873706
Ally Langdon unloads on Labor deputy leader, Richard Marles over Kimberley Kitching bullying claims
After a Labor MP appeared to duck questions over bullying claims, the Today host Ally Langdon blew up.
Jessica Wang - March 18, 2022
The deputy Labor leader has continued the party's tight-lipped response in regards to allegations of 'mean girls' behaviour in the wake of Senator Kimberley Kitching's death.
In the days after it was announced, the senior Labor member had died of a suspected attack, it's been alleged Ms Kitching was ostracised and bullied by fellow senators, Kristina Keneally, Penny Wong and Katy Gallagher.
Appearing on the Today show on Friday morning, Richard Marles was grilled by host Ally Langdon. After Mr Marles refused to answer whether Labor would be launching an official inquiry into the allegations, or if she had "raised allegations of bullying" with Mr Marles, Ms Langdon asked if he "personally" felt like he had "let down" Ms Kitching.
"You can ask me that question in a range of ways ... I'm not going to walk down that path," he said.
After he declined to respond, Ms Langdon continued with her questioning.
"When is the time, Richard - when will these allegations be dealt with if it's not now? Can you give me a date?" she asked.
In response, Mr Marles said the focus of the Labor Party was currently on 'honouring' their late colleague.
"Right now we want to honour Kimberley Kitching, who she was, what she achieved, the warm and wonderful person that she was and that's what I'm focused on," he replied.
"That's what we are all focused on within the Labor community at the moment. I think that's fair enough."
On Friday morning, former Labor MP Emma Husar said Labor Leader Anthony Albanese was behaving like a "gaslighting narcissist" over the bullying claims.
Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, Ms Husar said she was also a victim of bullying within the party and had developed a heart condition due to the stress.
"A woman lost her life and there were circumstances that point to the Labor Party, but what Albo is doing here (by turning the phrase around) is absolute gaslighting," Ms Husar said.
"This is the phrase Kimberley Kitching used to describe her (alleged) bullies. If this was on a different sort of work site where would the ALP, which says it is the party of workers, be then?"
When asked whether there was "a problem with bullying within [the Labor Party]," Mr Marles said that "not for a moment do I believe we are perfect, I don't" and that "issues or culture are limited to one side of politics".
"We seek to have an excellent culture and that means we need to be constantly examining ourselves, open to that examination and we need to be reviewing our processes," he said.
On Thursday, news.com.au's Political Editor, Samantha Maiden exclusively reported that the Victorian Senator had made a formal complaint to a PwC consultant brought in to deliver training on "safe and respectful workplaces".
Before her death, Ms Kitching confirmed she had made the disclosure to news.com.au, which was also confirmed by her colleagues.
"I am being bullied,'' she said. She said the female employee from PwC then asked her if she would find the training "triggering".
Former Labor leader Bill Shorten added to speculation when he told ABC radio he believed the stress of Labor's preselection process may have been a contributing factor in her death.
"I am not a coroner. I can't tell you why this woman of 52 was taken from us," he said, in tears. "But I have no doubt that the stress of politics in the machinations in the back rooms had its toll."
https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/morning-shows/ally-langdon-unloads-on-labor-deputy-leader-richard-marles-over-kimberley-kitching-bullying-claims/news-story/8b2284ecdcacd5a953bb8110fc850a2f
#15882003 at 2022-03-17 08:27:20 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15873706
Pattern of Kimberley Kitching hostilities sank to 'grotesque, foul' gibes
SHARRI MARKSON - MARCH 17, 2022
1/2
"If you had children, you might understand," Penny Wong shot at Kimberley Kitching during a heated meeting attended by senior Labor politicians in 2019.
The group was debating a Greens Senate motion that supported school students who engaged in "civil disobedience" at climate emergency protests.
During the meeting, Kitching argued the motion was an exercise in virtue signalling and that some parents would prefer their children to be in class during school hours.
Wong's response to Kitching stung.
"Well, if you had children, you might understand why there is a climate emergency," Wong reportedly said.
Those close to Kitching say it was particularly hurtful because the painful truth was that Kitching had desperately wanted children, she loved children, but had been unable to have any.
"The children thing was particularly grotesque, it was just foul," one of Kitching's closest confidants said. "It was brutal."
Word of the exchange leaked to the ABC but the subsequent media report did not name Wong as the person who uttered the incendiary remark. Wong was only identified in journalist Samantha Maiden's 2020 book, Party Animals.
The gibe was part of a pattern of hostile behaviour by senior Labor figures towards Kitching that has emerged in the wake of her death from a sudden heart attack on March 10.
The Australian on Wednesday revealed Kitching had been ostracised by her senior Labor colleagues who dumped her from Labor's tactics committee meetings, froze her out and blocked her from asking regular questions during Question Time.
Labor's senior leadership team refused to listen to Kitching's explanation that she had not forewarned Linda Reynolds about the Brittany Higgins rape allegation. Instead, she was wrongly accused of leaking and the Liberal minister's claim was accepted as gospel.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese also demoted Kitching from her beloved portfolio of assistant spokeswoman for government accountability in January 2021 and she was then removed from the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Public Administration in October 2021.
Albanese ruled out an investigation into how Kitching was treated in the months before she passed away, claiming it was disrespectful to do so after she had died.
This is despite the fact Kitching had complained about her treatment to deputy Labor leader Richard Marles, specifically in relation to the decision to dump her from the tactics committee meetings.
As The Australian reported on Wednesday, despite Kitching's pleas for Marles to sort it out, the situation remained unresolved.
(continued)
#15802873 at 2022-03-07 08:10:49 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
PM's chilling warning to Australia on 'arc of autocracy' amid China, Russia tensions
The Prime Minister will issue a chilling warning to the nation on Monday, as he announces major moves to stare down a "new arc of autocracy".
Samantha Maiden - March 7, 2022
1/2
Scott Morrison will warn Australia that autocratic dictators threaten to "reset the world order" in a clear reference to the risk of China following Russia's lead and launching assaults on democratic countries in our region.
In a major speech to the Lowy Institute on Monday, the Prime Minister will say the nation now faces its most dangerous and challenging security environment in 80 years, and reveal major upgrades to our military capability.
"This is not a world we want - for us, our neighbours or our region. It's certainly not a world we want for our children,'' he says.
The Prime Minister, who has been in isolation with Covid over the past week, will emerge back into the public spotlight with the chilling message.
He says autocratic dictators including Vladimir Putin threaten to destroy the "rules-based order" that has underpinned peace and stability.
He will argue Australia needs to increase defence spending now to protect the nation into the future.
"Once again, the horror of war has befallen Europe - an unprovoked, unjust and illegal war,'' Mr Morrison says.
"After months of planning, bullying, coercion and intimidation, Russia has invaded Ukraine.
"Australia strongly supports Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. We condemn Russia's abhorrent actions in the strongest possible terms, as a gross violation of international law and an assault on freedom."
Mr Morrison said Russian President Vladimir Putin's bloody attacks in Ukraine were simply the "latest example of an authoritarian regime seeking to challenge the status quo through threats and violence."
"Our rules-based international order, built upon the principles and values that guide our own nation, has for decades supported peace and stability, and allowed sovereign nations to pursue their interests free from coercion. This is now under assault.
"A new arc of autocracy is instinctively aligning to challenge and reset the world order in their own image."
And he has warned Australians to expect a long, protracted war in Europe.
"We expect Russia to continue its brutal attacks, including bombarding residential areas, even nuclear facilities, with scant regard for civilian casualties or the broader catastrophic impact,'' he says.
"This is what autocrats do. It is not the product of a sudden madness or a failure of earlier diplomacy to resolve just grievances.
"These are the bloody and violent acts of an autocrat determined to impose his will on others, in the contrived self justification of realising nationalistic destiny. We have seen this before.
"Everything points to a bloody and protracted conflict.
"We have offered our prayers, but we have also sent our ammunition."
(continued)
#15708019 at 2022-02-24 08:29:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15697731
Scott Morrison has condemned Vladimir Putin after Russia invaded Ukraine
Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison has condemned Russia and Vladimir Putin for waging war on Ukraine.
Samantha Maiden - February 24, 2022
1/3
Australia has denounced Russia's "brutal, unprovoked and unacceptable" invasion of Ukraine as a flagrant breach of international law.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison emerged tonight after briefings from intelligence and security officials warning officials were working to monitor potential cyber security threats at home.
"About 2:00pm this afternoon, the Russian government declared that they had commenced a so-called 'special military operation' in Ukraine,'' he said.
"And they said this after months of aggression and intimidation. But I'll call it what it is - the Russian government launched a brutal invasion, unprovoked, on Ukraine, and should be condemned for doing so - and Australia does.
"Together with the international community, we are banding together in strong terms to condemn these outrageous acts in the strongest possible terms."
The Prime Minister said Australia was working to provide assistance to an estimated 1,400 Australians who are trapped in the country.
"My message to those Australians who continue to be in Ukraine is to - where safe to do so - leave,'' he said.
"We have been saying this for some time now. Australians in Ukraine who are unable to leave should shelter in place until it is safe to depart, to monitor the Smartraveller travel advice for updates, and register their whereabouts on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade's online portal. It's important that they do this.
"We believe there are up to around an estimated 1,400 Australians in Ukraine. But that is not the number that we currently have registered formally through those processes."
Australia's 'hit list' grows as PM sanctions 25 more Putin-linked Russians
Mr Morrison warned sanctions against Russia would continue to ramp up.
"We are now moving to place restrictions on Australians investing in a further four financial institutions,'' he said.
"There will be further waves of sanctions as we identify those responsible for these egregious acts, including - as I discussed this afternoon with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade - moving on around over 300 members of the Russian Parliament.
"We must ensure there is a cost for this violent, unacceptable, and egregious behaviour. There must be a cost. It sends a very clear message. You sanction, support, benefit from this type of violence, then you will be isolated, you will be targeted, your assets will be frozen, you will not be able to go about your life freely - you will be tracked down and you will have your livelihoods completely disrupted in the same way that they are seeking to disrupt the lives of others.
Mr Morrison confirmed the sanctions will now be expanded to a "second phase" to target army commanders, deputy defence ministers and Russian mercenaries.
"Yesterday, I announced travel bans on eight members of Russia's Security Council,'' he said.
"They will come into effect at midnight this evening. I've also announced financial sanctions which mean Australian individuals and entities cannot do business with five Russian banks.
"We are now progressing in the second phase of those financial sanctions. The acting minister of financial affairs, Senator Birmingham, has completed the process of applying sanctions to an additional 25 persons. This includes army commanders, deputy defence ministers and Russian mercenaries who have been responsible for the unprovoked and unacceptable regression, and four entities involved in the development and sale of military technology and weapons."
(continued)
#15640316 at 2022-02-16 08:44:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #21: MIL-CIV ALLIANCE Edition
>>15631870
Anthony Albanese attended Chau Chak Wing event after ASIO warning
Anthony Albanese gave effusive praise for Chinese billionaire Dr Chau Chak Wing just weeks after ASIO warnings over foreign influence risks.
Samantha Maiden - February 16, 2022
Labor leader Anthony Albanese offered effusive praise for the Chinese billionaire Dr Chau Chak Wing at a dinner in Sydney in 2020 just weeks after ASIO warnings over foreign influence risks.
Dr Chau, who previously hit the headlines for spending $70 million on James Packer's mega mansion, is the Chinese businessman named in Parliament this week as the "puppet master" ASIO was referring to in a major speech.
The businessman has slammed the claims as "reckless" and "baseless" and ASIO has refused to confirm or deny the allegations made under parliamentary privilege.
Despite previous warnings by ASIO to both the major parties about taking money from two Chinese donors including Dr Chau Chak Wing and the risk of foreign influence operations, Mr Albanese attended an event in his honour in November, 2020.
Government sources, that are trying to elevate the issue of China's influence in the Labor Party ahead of the election, briefed journalists last night that the Prime Minister had declined the invitation on the basis of national security advice.
But Mr Albanese paid tribute to the billionaire's generosity in his speech, offering effusive praise for the businessman who has donated an estimated $40 million to Australian universities.
"The Chau Chak Wing Museum has risen thanks to the generosity of the man whose name that it bears, but also along with the Ian Potter Foundation, the Nelson Meers Foundation and Penelope Seidler AM,'' he said.
"Four great philanthropists. We should not take that for granted for their generosity."
Dr Chau was not in attendance and remained in China as a result of border closures. He does not read or speak English but has been a generous donor to both the major political parties and the universities.
Mr Albanese said Dr Chau's museum was more than just a good news story.
"It is a reminder and a reassurance that beyond coronavirus, a brighter future is within our reach, if we dare to dream it,'' he said.
"It will open minds and it will connect people a bit more powerfully to their place in our human race. It is an honour to be here"
Mr Albanese's speech was delivered just a month after ASIO boss Mike Burgess told Senate estimates in October, 2020 that he would write to all federal MPs warning they were potential targets for foreign spies looking to steal Australia's secrets and gain a foothold in the nation.
"We see evidence of intelligence services deceptively cultivating politicians at all levels of government who will advance the interests of the foreign countries,'' Mr Burgess said.
Victorian Labor senator Kimberley Kitching used parliamentary privilege on Monday night to ask Mike Burgess, the head of Australia's spy agency ASIO, whether the property developer was the mystery man involved in the alleged plot.
Dr Chau has slammed the allegations as baseless.
"I am shocked and disappointed at the baseless and reckless claim made by Senator Kimberley Kitching during a Senate Estimates hearing on Monday," he said in a statement.
"It is always unfortunate when elected representatives use the shield of parliamentary privilege as a platform to vilify and attack Australian citizens without producing a shred of evidence.
"I am a businessman and philanthropist. I have never had any involvement or interest in interfering with the democratic election process in Australia.
"In 2017, the ABC and Nine journalist Nick McKenzie made a similar allegation in a Four Corners report. The Federal Court subsequently awarded me very substantial damages which I donated to charity."
Dr Chau has previously been awarded $590,000 after a judge found he was defamed by an ABC program that portrayed him as a Communist Party member.
His lawyers argued the program carried six false and defamatory imputations including that he "betrayed" his country through espionage, is a member of China's Communist Party and made enormous donations to influence politicians.
By naming Dr Chau under parliamentary privilege on Monday night, Labor Senator Kimberley Kitching cannot be sued for defamation.
The well-connected Dr Chau has always had powerful friends in high places and over the years has been photographed with former Prime Minister John Howard, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian, Australian war memorial director Brendan Nelson and former foreign minister Julie Bishop.
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/anthony-albanese-attended-chau-chak-wing-event-after-asio-warning/news-story/942a450b49a38fe476141c2054c196b3
#14612675 at 2021-09-19 01:48:14 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 - Talisman Sabre: MAGIC SWORD Edition
Labor staffer Alexander Matters fired after rape charges
Samantha Maiden - September 19, 2021
Labor leader Anthony Albanese's office has confirmed the employment of a Labor staffer who is facing rape charges has been terminated "effective immediately."
Alexander Matters, a 20-year-old Labor staffer for federal Labor MP David Smith, has been charged with two counts of rape over an incident alleged to have occurred in April.
He recently worked in the office of Labor frontbencher Meryl Swanson, who is the shadow assistant minister for defence.
In a statement to news.com.au, Mr Smith confirmed that the man's employment had been terminated after his appearance in the ACT magistrates court on Saturday morning.
"Mr Matters's employment has been terminated, effective immediately,'' Mr Smith said.
"My thoughts are with the woman who's come forward at this time.
"These are serious issues currently being dealt with by the appropriate authorities. It would be inappropriate to comment any further at this time."
The ACT police said they had charged Mr Matters with sexual intercourse without consent.
During a court appearance on Saturday the ACT magistrates court was told he was employed by the Labor MP and was also studying law at the Australian National University.
"The matter was first reported to police in August (2021) and a formal statement regarding the incident was received by police earlier this week,'' the AFP said in a statement.
"Detectives from ACT Policing's Criminal Investigations - Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team executed a search warrant in Acton yesterday and subsequently charged the man with one count of sexual intercourse without consent."
Mr Matter's lawyer, former journalist Andrew Fraser, applied for bail for his client, but this was delayed pending a mental health assessment.
The arrest of Mr Matter follows a national debate about the culture at Parliament House after Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped in the building in March, 2019.
A Queensland man has been charged in relation to that matter and will face court again in October. He will plead not guilty.
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/labor-staffer-alexander-matters-fired-after-rape-charges/news-story/4670687af5abdbd90aafc46bdd049261
#14600665 at 2021-09-17 11:21:16 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 - Talisman Sabre: MAGIC SWORD Edition
>>14600631
Peter Dutton's blunt warning over prospect of war with China
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has delivered a blunt warning over the prospect of conflict with China.
Samantha Maiden - September 17, 2021
Defence Minister Peter Dutton has bluntly warned the prospect of war with China cannot be ruled out, but said it was ultimately "a question for the Chinese".
Speaking in Washington DC to Sky News, Mr Dutton raised the issue of Taiwan's sovereignty as the most likely flashpoint.
But he made no attempt to disguise the possibility that conflict was a risk Australia needed to prepare for and that it was one of the reasons why the Morrison Government was building even closer ties with the US and the UK under a new agreement to source nuclear submarines.
"The Chinese spokespersons for the Communist Party are very clear about their intention towards Taiwan, nobody wants to see conflict but that really is a question for the Chinese," he told Sky News.
"As to whether, such as in Hong Kong, they decide to do something in regard to Taiwan, in that case what is the American response and we obviously have an alliance with the US, that's been in force for 70 years - so we need to be realistic about that.
"We're also a small population of 25 million, and we need to make sure we have the best friends in the world, and we do."
An outgoing commander of US forces in the Indo-Pacific region, Navy Admiral Philip Davidson, told US politicians earlier this year that he believes Beijing will attempt a takeover of Taiwan - which it considers part of mainland China - within the next six years.
His successor, Navy Admiral John Aquilino, also backed the warning just days later.
"This problem is much closer to us than most think," he told members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee. "We ought to be prepared today."
While Prime Minister Scott Morrison was more diplomatic in his public statements today, he has previously backed Mr Dutton's warnings over a future war with China.
"Of course there are many tensions that exist in the region, and it would be foolish of Australia to not appreciate the potential risks that emerge," said Mr Morrison on 7.30 in May.
"That doesn't mean something will happen but any Defence Minister, any Prime Minister of Australia who do not, in consideration of these things, ensure Australians are prepared in these circumstances would not be doing their job."
Mr Dutton said Australia must be "realistic" about China's antagonistic behaviour, saying: "There is militarisation of bases across the region. Obviously there is a significant amount of activity and there is animosity between Taiwan and China," he said.
Asked about the prospects of a "battle" over Taiwan, Mr Dutton said: "I don't think it should be discounted".
But Mr Dutton rejected criticism on Friday that the new AUKUS agreement left Australia vulnerable and at greater risk from China.
"I think we made that statement 70 years ago and 100 years ago we have been with the US and UK in every major battle of the 20th century," he said.
"And we have great obligation into the next century to make sure we deepen that collaboration because it is the underpinning of our national security.
"There is no sense in us pretending if we ordered 100 subs tomorrow we could compete with a superpower like China."
On Friday, the Chinese Embassy in Australia hit out at "unfounded accusations and erroneous remarks against China on issues related to the South China Sea, Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Taiwan and other China-related issues" in a joint statement issued by Australia and the US.
"Those assertions, in disregard of basic facts, violated international law and basic norms governing international relations and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs," it said.
"This petty move to put pressure on China will be of no avail but a staged farce.
"We urge the Australian side to abandon the outdated Cold War zero-sum mentality and narrow-minded geopolitical perception, handle its relationship with China in a genuinely independent manner, stop sliding further down on the road of harming China-Australia relations, and do more to enhance mutual trust and promote pragmatic cooperation."
https://www.news.com.au/technology/innovation/military/peter-duttons-blunt-warning-over-prospect-of-war-with-china/news-story/15d47f2f5b3d48ca2f43a4648a8b5531
#14586170 at 2021-09-15 14:06:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #18 - Talisman Sabre: MAGIC SWORD Edition
>>14585927
>>14586056
Australia, US and UK to form AUUKUS under a new nuclear defence pact
Scott Morrison will announce Australia's submarine program will "go nuclear" under a new defence pact that could spell bad news for China.
Samantha Maiden - September 15, 2021
Scott Morrison is set to announce Australia's submarine program will "go nuclear" under a new defence pact with the US and the UK that has been described as "China's worst nightmare."
The new grouping to be known as AUUKUS will advise Australia on how to identify the best way to acquire nuclear-powered submarine capability and share advanced technologies involving artificial intelligence.
The US-based Politico website reports that President Joe Biden will announce a new working group with Britain and Australia to share advanced technologies to counter China at 7am AEST.
"The trio, which will be known by the acronym AUUKUS, will make it easier for the nations to share information and know-how in key technological areas like artificial intelligence, cyber, underwater systems and long-range strike capabilities,'' the report states.
There would be a "nuclear element to the pact in which the US and UK share their knowledge of how to maintain nuclear-defense infrastructure."
Senior ministers were rushing back to Canberra on Wednesday night for national security meetings ahead of the major announcement.
Labor leader Anthony Albanese and several Labor frontbenchers were also briefed with Defence Minister Peter Dutton and Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne, who are overseas, dialling in for the meetings.
Diplomatic and defence sources suggest it could involve operating US submarines out of Perth's HMAS Stirling.
But there was also speculation that the British Government could be involved to support Australia secure the technology required to service nuclear submarines.
The proposal for Australia to tear up existing contracts for French subs and purchase US nuclear technology has previously been described as "China's Worst Nightmare" in the region - which could "tip the military balance in Asia."
In June, the Prime Minister held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron over growing concerns regarding the $90 billion project that will not deliver submarines until 2030
The Australian Naval Institute has recently been promoting the option as the best 'Plan B' for Australia's troubled submarine program.
"With regional tensions increasing, then building our own one-off type submarines which will arrive in the early 2030s is not good enough. We have no guarantee they will work,'' the article stated.
"When we built the Collins class submarines (at exorbitant expense) they did not work properly for several years. It is only now - after decades of operation - that they are reasonably functional.
"Submarines are the ultimate deterrent and attack weapon: their location is hopefully unknown, and they can strike at targets without warning. But we need to expand beyond the capabilities of the Collins, and also the French Attack boats which we should abandon.
"Instead we should buy 12 of a proven design which is already in the water. We want long-range hunter-killer vessels. We also want them to be able to stay submerged for long periods to avoid detection. Nuclear does this in spades."
The Prime Minister is scheduled to fly to Washington next week for talks with the US President. He has recently been jetting between Sydney and Canberra for national security meetings that his office said could not be conducted remotely.
https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/federal-ministers-fly-to-canberra-amid-big-us-australia-news-announcement/news-story/72b68a5756b0acb81845137c8157951b
#14019889 at 2021-06-30 06:30:46 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition
#16 - Part 22
Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 2
>>13883702 The QAnon conspiracy - An American conspiracy theory about a Satanic child sexual abuse ring has gained a foothold in Australia - Richard Cooke - thesaturdaypaper.com.au
>>13890900 Dan Andrews Tweet: If you can, you must. Let's beat this, Victoria.
>>13891350 Dan Andrews Instagram Post: I've got some good news to share. My vertebra has almost fully healed and my ribs are well on track. The team taking care of me has given me the all clear to get back to work soon.
>>13898968 QAnon follower Tim Stewart's an old friend of Scott Morrison. His family reported him to the national security hotline - Louise Milligan, Jeanavive McGregor and Lauren Day - abc.net.au
>>13899396 Video: Scott Morrison hits out at Four Corners ahead of QAnon report - Scott Morrison has accused the ABC's Four Corners program of a "politically motivated slur" over a highly-anticipated QAnon report tonight - Samantha Maiden - news.com.au
>>13902165 Video: This family reported their son to national security authorities over QAnon | Four Corners - ABC News In-depth
>>13902294 (2019) Exclusive: FBI document warns conspiracy theories are a new domestic terrorism threat - Jana Winter -
>>13902382 ABC accuses Scott Morrison of validating a 'QAnon' conspiracy theory at the behest of his good mate during his apology to the victims of child sexual abuse' - Levi Parsons and Michael Pickering - dailymail.co.uk
>>13907179 PDF: FBI warns lawmakers that QAnon 'digital soldiers' may become more violent - Zachary Cohen and Whitney Wild - cnn.com
>>13907223 Video: QAnon conspiracy theorists may become more violent, FBI report warns - 9News Staff - 9news.com.au
>>13907315 Kevin Rudd Tweet: Morrison has questions to answer on his personal relationship with a leading activist of the same extremist religious/conspiracy group that stormed the US Capitol. His wife worked for Morrison.His family have reported him to the National Security Hotline
>>13907330 Video: ABC News Australia - Why do people buy into conspiracy theories like QAnon? Dr Mathew Marques from La Trobe University says QAnon is a good example of a politically-motivated conspiracy theory.
>>13907352 What happened to QAnon, the conspiracy group linked to Scott Morrison? - Josh Butler and Samantha Dick - thenewdaily.com.au
>>13907427 All The Wildest Revelations We Learned From The ABC's Investigation On QAnon And Scott Morrison - Millie Roberts - junkee.com
>>13907463 Shadow Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen Tweet: Qanon is a conspiracy driven cult. And the Prime Minister has serious questions to answer. Watch my brief speech in Parliament
>>13907476 Labor accuses Scott Morrison of 'shocking lack of judgment' over QAnon claims - Finn McHugh - news.com.au
>>13907510 'Incredibly creepy': Labor claims 'national security' risk over PM's QAnon link - Josh Butler - thenewdaily.com.au
>>13907531 OPINION - Skipping the Q: How to handle your conspiracy-loving friends - Julie Szego - smh.com.au
>>13907563 Elise Thomas Tweet: I'm really glad that @Milliganreports and the @4corners team put the damage which QAnon does to lives & families front and centre in the episode, and to have played a small part in it myself. Conspiracy theories are a public health issue, and we should recognise them as such.
>>13907563 Sally Neighbour Tweet: Great work by you @elisethoma5 documenting the impact of QAnon's poisonous politics
#14019884 at 2021-06-30 06:29:55 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition
#16 - Part 21
Qanon / Conspiracy Theory Hit Pieces, Australia and Worldwide - Part 1
>>13756846 Chef Pete Evans another traveller down the dark road of misinformation - Jack The Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au
>>13764297 Ron Watkins Is Done With Q and Has Moved On to Aliens (alienleaks.org) - Lucas Ropek - gizmodo.com.au
>>13811944 How it ends for the anti-vaxxers - Jack The Insider (Peter Hoysted) - theaustralian.com.au
>>13818968 ABC bosses pull Four Corners episode linking PM to QAnon figure - Zoe Samios - smh.com.au
>>13822172 ABC managing director David Anderson blocks Four Corners episode about alleged association between Scott Morrison and a supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory - James Madden - theaustralian.com.au
>>13826637 'Deeply offensive': Prime Minister slams Four Corners' QAnon probe - Zoe Samios and Lisa Visentin - smh.com.au
>>13826647 Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejects 'offensive' link to QAnon - Daniel McCulloch - 7news.com.au
>>13826675 Scott Morrison labels ABC Four Corners program on QAnon 'disappointing' and 'poor form' - Amanda Meade - theguardian.com
>>13827112 ABC Media Watch Tweet: Video - Prime Minister responds to a question about the @4corners QAnon story
>>13832718 Australia's Prime Minister Has an Alarming QAnon Connection - David Gilbert - vice.com
>>13840854 Cautious or craven? The saga of Four Corners program on Morrison and QAnon has laid bare fractures within the ABC - Margaret Simons - theguardian.com
>>13840988 Dan Andrews surfaces online for the second time in four days after Daily Mail Australia questioned his six-week silence amid rumours about what REALLY happened when he slipped down stairs - but we still haven't seen his face - Sam McPhee and Levi Parsons - dailymail.co.uk
>>13848071 Four Corners staff have denied they are "at war" with ABC bosses in the wake of an episode about QAnon being pulled - Samantha Maiden - news.com.au
>>13848080 Four Corners pushes to air QAnon episode within weeks - Lisa Visentin and Zoe Samios - smh.com.au
>>13848083 ABC Four Corners episode linking Scott Morrison to QAnon 'may very well air' - Finn McHugh - theaustralian.com.au
>>13848087 A Cancelled 'Four Corners' Episode Linking Scott Morrison To QAnon Will Now Be Aired - Claire Keenan - junkee.com
>>13848404 Scott Morrison and QAnon: What we already know about the prime minister's connection to a conspiracy theorist - Christopher Knaus - theguardian.com
>>13848460 Victorian opposition accused of spreading conspiracies about Dan Andrews' injury - Calla Wahlquist - theguardian.com
>>13848460 Victorian Liberal Party Press release - PREMIER OWES VICTORIANS SOME SIMPLE ANSWERS - Louise Staley, Shadow Treasurer
>>13849249 Premier Dan Andrews can end the assault speculation now - Editor - cairnsnews.org
>>13855312 Video: Premier Daniel Andrews releases ambulance call-out information in bid to quell false rumours about his fall - Shannon Deery and Mitch Clarke - heraldsun.com.au
>>13855312 Ambulance Victoria Statement regarding Premier Daniel Andrews - 8 June 2021
>>13855340 Video: ABC Media Watch - ABC QAnon - ABC Managing Director David Anderson explains why he's reviewing a Four Corner's story about QAnon and the Prime Minister.
>>13855572 Video: 'These questions need answering': Victorian Liberal frontbencher probes Andrews' absence - Sky News Australia
>>13862278 'Q' Hasn't Posted In Six Months-But Some QAnon Followers Still Keep The Faith - Jack Brewster - forbes.com
>>13869394 Covid-19: when governments started lying to us - Adam Creighton - theaustralian.com.au
>>13876941 CONTROVERSIAL FOUR CORNERS EPISODE ON QANON TO FINALLY AIR AFTER BEING DELAYED - tvblackbox.com.au
>>13876948, >>13876952 Video: ABC FOUR CORNERS - Trailer: The Great Awakening: a family divided by QAnon - Monday 14th June at 8.30pm
>>1387704 Dan Andrews' injury: inside the conspiracy theory around the premier's fall - Michael McGowan - theguardian.com
>>13882298 Did Trump destroy evangelical Christianity? - Greg Sheridan - theaustralian.com.au
>>13848408 Q Post #3310 - Threat to Controlled Narrative. Other than POTUS, can you name a group more attacked than 'Q' by the FAKE NEWS media. Multiple tactics deployed including framing for crimes (think bridge, mob boss, etc etc). DESPERATION. Reconcile using logic. THINK FOR YOURSELF. DIVIDERS will FAIL.
#13949411 at 2021-06-21 08:53:42 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition
Police to consider brief on Brittany Higgins case
Samantha Maiden - JUNE 21, 2021
Prosecutors have received the police brief of evidence over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins and will now consider whether or not to lay charges.
News.com.au has confirmed today that police handed over the brief of evidence in recent days to the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions Shane Drumgold.
"I confirm I have today received a partial brief of evidence, and a request to provide advice for consideration of prosecution," Mr Drumgold said.
News.com.au broke the story on February 15 that a Liberal staffer alleged she was raped at Parliament House in Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' ministerial office by a colleague.
In explosive allegations detailing the Morrison Government's handling of the incident, media adviser Brittany Higgins told news.com.au that she spent the last two years "internalising the trauma".
She revealed that she was brought to a formal employment meeting about the incident in the room where the alleged incident occurred - a decision the Morrison Government has now accepted was an error by the then Defence Industry Minister Linda Reynolds.
Last month, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Reece Kershaw revealed that a brief of evidence would be sent to the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions over the alleged rape of Brittany Higgins within "weeks".
The bombshell announcement in Senate estimates confirms that prosecutors will now shortly consider whether or not criminal charges will be laid against a man who Ms Higgins alleges sexually assaulted her at Parliament House in March 2019.
"A brief of evidence is likely to be submitted to the ACT Director of Public Prosecutions in coming weeks," Commissioner Kershaw said.
But Commissioner Kershaw cautioned MPs over asking him questions over the allegations now that it would potentially go to "jury trial" if the matter is prosecuted in the courts.
Ms Higgins was just 24 at the time of the alleged incident and only months into her "dream job" of working at parliament.
The alleged incident occurred in the early hours of March 23, 2019, just weeks before Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the election on April 10, 2019.
Commissioner Kershaw has also revealed the fallout from the Higgins matter had now sparked multiple reports of unrelated sexual misconduct allegations at Parliament House involving federal MPs and their staff.
"As at 17 May 2021, 40 reports have been received by the AFP since 24 February relating to 19 different allegations. Twelve reports were identified as sensitive investigations, 10 were referred to state and territory police for assessment, one is with the AFP for ongoing inquiries and one has been finalised,'' he said.
"Seven matters do not relate to electorate officers, ministerial staff or official establishments, of those five have been referred to state and territory police and two concluded with no criminal offence identified."
https://www.news.com.au/national/courts-law/act-director-of-public-prosecutions-to-consider-police-brief-on-brittany-higgins-case/news-story/9b4a9b0cbfa11c07966ec4c9ee0e84ef
#13899396 at 2021-06-14 08:22:57 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition
>>13818968
Scott Morrison hits out at Four Corners ahead of QAnon report
Scott Morrison has accused the ABC's Four Corners program of a "politically motivated slur" over a highly-anticipated QAnon report tonight.
Samantha Maiden - JUNE 14, 2021
1/2
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has accused the ABC's Four Corners program of a "politically motivated slur" over a report tonight that reveals the sister of a family friend of the Morrisons was so concerned about her brother's links to a bizarre conspiracy theory QAnon that she notified the national security hotline several times.
The Prime Minister has slammed suggestions he has any links to the "dangerous" QAnon conspiracy cult that believes a cabal of Satan-worshipping paedophiles tried to undermine Donald Trump.
Mr Morrison and his wife, Jenny, have been family friends with the man's wife for decades and previously employed her at Kirribilli in a taxpayer-funded job.
But the ABC's Four Corners program will delve into the relationship between the Prime Minister, Mrs Morrison and the man, named as Tim Stewart, tonight in a highly anticipated episode after the program was delayed by the ABC managing director David Anderson earlier this month.
Last year, Mr Stewart's QAnon inspired Twitter account, BurnedSpy34, was permanently suspended for "engaging in co-ordinated harmful activity".
Ahead of the program, the Prime Minister has released the statement he provided to Four Corners on the episode.
"This is a politically motivated slur against the Prime Minister and his family by a Four Corners program that is already facing serious questions about the accuracy, bias and credibility of its journalism, that is now giving credence to irrational Twitter conspiracy theorists and raising the profile of what the Prime Minister clearly deems a discredited and dangerous fringe group," a spokesman said.
At a press conference in Canberra last week, the Prime Minister criticised the ABC for pursuing the story and said he wanted to make it clear he had no links with the cult whatsoever.
"I find it deeply offensive that there would be any suggestion that I would have any involvement or support for such a dangerous organisation," Mr Morrison said.
"I clearly do not."
The ABC reports tonight that Mr Stewart has a blog, Sideways Step, that examines theories that paedophiles are drinking children's blood.
"The true nature of these crimes shows that humans are being treated as a commodity and human energy is being harvested without permission," Mr Stewart writes.
"Why do evil people wish to rob a young child of their virginity? ... Why do they drink blood? Why do they need to sacrifice humans?"
(continued)
#13848071 at 2021-06-07 07:09:47 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #16 - INFILTRATION NOT INVASION Edition
>>13818968
ABC denies Four Corners, management 'at war'
Four Corners staff have denied they are "at war" with ABC bosses in the wake of an episode about QAnon being pulled.
Samantha Maiden - JUNE 7, 2021
1/2
Four Corners executive producer Sally Neighbour and journalist Louise Milligan have denied they are "at war" with ABC bosses in the wake of the high profile defamation battle with Christian Porter and a story about the QAnon cult that has angered the Prime Minister.
Fresh controversy has erupted in recent days over the Four Corners program after it emerged ABC management had delayed the broadcast of a program by Milligan over the QAnon cult that canvasses long standing claims that a family friend of Scott Morrison and his wife Jenny have links with the organisation.
The ABC has also confirmed in Senate estimates today the Porter case ended up costing the public broadcaster $780,000.
The former Attorney-General launched the legal action over a Four Corners online article that revealed a senior cabinet minister, later revealed to be Mr Porter, had been accused of an historical rape.
Mr Porter, who denied the accusation, discontinued the case in May.
The broadcaster spent $680,000 defending the action, as well as paying $100,000 to the company of Mr Porter's high-profile defamation lawyer Rebekah Giles in mediation costs.
"We don't regret publishing the article in the first place. We stand by our journalism. That article still exists online," ABC managing director David Anderson said at Senate Estimates today.
Last week, Mr Anderson flatly denied he "pulled" the latest Four Corners program prepared by Milligan for political reasons but confirmed he did delay the broadcast to "do more work" on it.
That prompted a report in The Australian newspaper on Monday that the ABC is "at war" over the fallout and that Four Corners was in conflict with Mr Anderson and the broadcaster's news boss Gaven Morris.
While refusing to comment in the original article, Neighbour tweeted this morning that the suggestion she was at war with anyone was incorrect.
"Happy Monday from #4Corners. Fyi no-one here is at war with anyone and morale is excellent," she said.
"We fully accept it is the MD's role to decide whether/when to publish, and we value ABC management's unwavering support for our journalism. We are continuing to work on the QAnon story."
The journalist working on the QAnon story is the multi-Walkley Award winning Milligan, who is the author of a book on George Pell, Cardinal.
"Any suggestion I'm 'at war', least of all with ABC MD, with whom I have an excellent relationship, is completely untrue," Milligan said.
"I declined to speak to any journalist about this - in fact, I've been very unwell after (an) operation."
(continued)
#13279459 at 2021-03-23 03:47:32 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #14 - THE ART OF WAR Edition
>>13279431
Scott Morrison on verge of tears addressing culture within parliament
Scott Morrison broke down during an emotional press conference addressing the sexual harassment and assault crisis engulfing politics.
Samantha Maiden - MARCH 23, 2021
Scott Morrison has broken down in tears describing his wife, mother and daughters as "the centre of his life" as he described the "crap" women have put up with all their lives.
In an emotional press conference, the Prime Minister said he was shocked and disgusted by a month of revelations over alleged rapes, sexual assault and "disgusting behaviour" by men at Parliament House.
A Liberal staffer was sacked on Monday after Channel 10 aired revelations he had sent an image of himself performing a lewd act on a female MP's desk to a group of fellow staffers, in the latest scandal to rock Parliament House.
The Prime Minister acknowledged it had been a "traumatic month" in parliament, since former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins alleged she was raped by a colleague in the building in 2019.
"Criticise me if you like for speaking about my daughters, but they are the centre of my life,'' he said.
"My wife is the centre of my life. My mother, my widowed mother is the centre of my life. They motivate me every day on this issue. They have motivated me my entire life, they have taught me the values and the faith that sustains me every single day in this job.
"Which is why I am here, I owe them everything. And to them I say to you girls, I will not let you down.
"To the many other women who are in this place, who have shared their stories with me, I thank you for your feedback, your honesty, your support, your counsel, and your courage.
"I know there are plenty of women who work in this building today, whether they be members or senators, investors, shadow ministers, staff, journalists, who say 'Why should I bother? Why should I bother? Why should I not just walk away?'
"There has never been a more important time for women to stand in this place. I want to see more women in this place, I have done anything to get more women in this place and I intend to do more.
"I have put more women in my cabinet than any other Prime Minister has before, and I look forward to doing more. I need women to stand with me."
Mr Morrison said he would address all staff today about the revelations that men had filmed themselves masturbating on female MPs desks.
The Prime Minister said many good women and men worked at Parliament House.
"We must get our House in order,'' he said.
"Women have been putting up with this crap all their lives."
In a shock development, the Prime Minister also revealed he was open to the idea of quotas to increase the number of female Liberal MPs, an idea that had been resisted for decades.
"My colleagues know well that I am very open to these questions. I have had some frustrations about trying to get women preselected for running for the Liberal Party to come into this place,'' he said.
"When it comes to that issue, I don't hold the other reservations. Why? I think other Liberals will come to this view over the point of time. We tried it the other way and it isn't getting us the results so I would like to see us do better on that front."
The Prime Minister said he was considering the issue of consent education in schools and greater funding for rape crisis centres.
"All of the above, and more, and if you go across the fourth National action plan, and a Social Services Minister I had responsibility for earlier national action plans, they include all of these things,'' he said.
"Is important to remember that these action plans are done together with the states and territories and many of the services delivered are also delivered by the states, so this is something we generally have to do together, and we have been doing together.
"But I would urge that the path we have to go down is one that we have to go down together. This is not an issue that should be the subject of partisan contest, it really shouldn't. That will slow us down, that will not get the outcomes."
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/scott-morrison-on-verge-of-tears-addressing-culture-within-parliament/news-story/70260a40b9a5fe17c1c815120c2ffbbe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnJueVUivBg
#13083780 at 2021-03-02 04:44:03 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition
>>13050955
Photo emerges of alleged rape victim and minister on night of claimed incident
A photograph has emerged showing a minister and the woman who accused him of rape pictured together on the night of the alleged incident.
Samantha Maiden - MARCH 2, 2021
1/2
EXCLUSIVE: It's the photograph that the woman who accused a serving minister of raping her as a teenager said proves they were together earlier that night.
He is wearing a pinstriped shirt. She claims in the unsworn affidavit that he asked her to iron it for him before that night, telling her she would "make someone a wonderful wife" one day.
Scott Morrison has revealed the Liberal minister accused of rape, who has not been identified, "vigorously" denies the allegations and categorically refutes that he ever raped the Adelaide woman when she was a 16-year-old teenager.
But the woman's friends say that the photograph was taken on Saturday, January 9, proving at least they were together before the woman alleges she was raped.
The woman said he told her that night as she ironed his shirt that she was "not only smart and so pretty" but could do "good housewife things".
She said he went on to say he would need a "smart, pretty wife to help his political career, then boasted that he would be prime minister one day. By the age of 50, he predicted".
That night, they went out drinking and dancing in Sydney's Kings Cross district.
She had consented to a sexual act in 1988, but not sex or oral sex, but claims he then forced her to have oral sex and raped her.
"I did this repeatedly by saying 'Please don't make me' and 'No, I don't want to.'"
After she vomited on her dress she said the man put her in the bath. She said that she then woke to him raping her. She claims the only thing she remembers when he was raping her was that he said "I don't want to get you pregnant".
She writes that she was shocked and embarrassed the next day and bleeding.
"I told no one what happened. All I could cope with, as I remembered parts of the evening gingerly, was the idea that things had gone 'a bit too far'. But it was OK, I reassured myself, because we were going to get married one day."
In the unsworn witness statement, the woman reveals that she knew the man for several years in the lead up to the incident and that he made a number of sexist, belittling comments to her over the years.
She also reveals at one social event he told her: "You should be wearing a bikini. Pity your tits are too small."
Another time, they had gone to a Thai restaurant with friends in Sydney. The woman, who had battled eating disorders, ordered a salad with alfalfa sprouts.
She said the man said to her: "Oh look (the complainant) is eating sperm."
Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said the minister must now "out himself" in respect for his colleagues and the country.
"He should out himself and he should provide a comprehensive statement,'' he said.
"He should describe when he knew the woman, how he knew the woman, what dealings he had with the woman after the event. We need to know what he knew about the complaint and when he knew about it.
"Frankly, it's not good enough for the Prime Minister to say "Oh, it's a matter for police" The Prime Minister cannot outsource his responsibility for composing his ministry to the police."
"He should require the minister to speak up. He owes it to his colleagues and the country."
Mr Turnbull said the matter needed to be brought to a head before parliament resumes in a fortnight.
"It is impossible for him to function in that cabinet,'' he said.
"It's not tenable."
Despite the woman having made previous attempts on her own life in the years leading up to the suicide, Mr Turnbull admits it's "counterintuitive" but is now calling for a full coronial inquiry and police investigation.
"All I know is that she is dead. It certainly has been reported in the media as a suicide. I have a question mark in my own mind about the timing of it because it seems counter intuitive,'' he said.
"Now it's said that she suicided. Did she?"
(continued)
#13065665 at 2021-02-28 03:28:04 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition
>>13065660
2/3
For good or ill, Higgins' claims were revealed in a carefully orchestrated media barrage which coincided with the first day of a parliamentary sitting fortnight. Central in these arrangements was Higgins' partner David Sharaz, a former SBS and Sky News journalist. Sharaz and Higgins cannot be criticised for choosing to deal with the issue and the media in this way. But it is reasonable to expect that journalists would be more open about the way this unfolded.
The context is important and would have been known by most of the gallery. Sharaz, who was a work colleague of mine for a time at Sky, discussed his role with me this week.
He and Higgins spent a month compiling and planning the revelations and chose to take the initial story to Lisa Wilkinson at Channel 10 and Samantha Maiden at news.com.au. Other media, including senior gallery reporters at the ABC and commercial media, were provided with a dossier, including a timeline, lists of people who were aware of the allegations, photos of Higgins with politicians, suggested events where networks might find video footage of her in their files, notes about meetings, and copies of emails, texts and other relevant communications.
The inescapable and presumably intended takeout from the dossier is that much was known by many and not enough was done. Yet this overlooks the crucial reality that until two weeks ago, Higgins demanded privacy and, although she met with police, had chosen not to pursue action.
Higgins and Sharaz wanted to ensure that journalists had supporting materials for these explosive revelations, and did not want to be overwhelmed with queries. Sharaz knew what it was like to open up; in 2018, he detailed personal traumas and mental health issues in The Canberra Times and espoused the benefits of confronting them publicly.
This background helps to explain how, seemingly out of the blue, a young woman's rape allegation became the dominant media and political issue of a sitting period in Canberra. Sharaz seems genuinely shocked at how all-consuming the controversy has become - and if he is surprised, then it must be worse for Higgins.
Their efforts have flushed out more information; journalists have probed other aspects of the case and brought to light crucial new facts, such as the repercussions among security staff and the prompt cleaning of the office. One concern will be whether the publicity compromises the investigative and judicial processes, a concern raised obliquely by AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw in his letter to the Prime Minister on Thursday.
The most important step in this case came on Wednesday when Higgins met with the AFP to reactivate an investigation. On the same day, her former employer, Defence Minister Linda Reynolds, was hospitalised just hours before she was due to appear at the National Press Club, where she would have been questioned about the episode.
On April 1, 2019, nine days after the alleged crime, Higgins told Reynolds she was raped in her office. The alleged victim declined to pursue police action and asked for privacy, yet Reynolds has been widely criticised for not reporting the episode to others, including the Prime Minister.
This seems an extraordinary attack - to condemn someone for respecting the wishes of an alleged rape victim. The presumption of the media and political attack has been that a crime was committed, and it was not taken seriously enough.
On the ABC on Tuesday night, Leigh Sales asked Social Services Minister Anne Ruston: "Are you seriously saying if a serious crime was committed in your office in Parliament House that you wouldn't think that you were obliged to tell the Prime Minister?" The following night she asked the government's Senate leader, Simon Birmingham: "As a minister, if a criminal incident took place in your office, would you feel it your obligation to inform the Prime Minister?"
Such questioning either deliberately or unthinkingly ignores how the alleged victim had decided not to pursue police action - so there was no "crime" as such - and had understandably requested confidentiality. Under these circumstances, Reynolds could not have referred this matter to anyone.
The alleged perpetrator had lost his job for other, related reasons. Higgins' employment was continued and progressed.
(continued)
#12941532 at 2021-02-16 04:21:33 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition
>>12941464
Brittany Higgins alleged rape: Parliament office steam cleaned after alleged attack
The Department of Finance sent in the cleaners to the office where a staffer was found half-naked on the couch, sparking a police inquiry.
Samantha Maiden - FEBRUARY 16, 2021
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The Department of Finance sent in the cleaners to Defence Minister Linda Reynolds' office after a Liberal staffer was found half-naked on the couch sparking a police inquiry into whether there had been an attempt to "interfere with a suspected crime scene."
News.com.au has confirmed that police investigated the matter after concerns were raised about the decision to send in the cleaners on the same day the woman, 24-year-old Brittany Higgins, was found in a disorientated state.
But the Department of Parliamentary Services (DPS) says the Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigation found that because it did not know at the time it was a potential sexual assault that no "criminality" was involved in the clean.
Ms Higgins alleges she was raped in the then Defence Industry Minister's office by another Liberal staffer after a night out drinking.
News.com.au raised questions with Parliament's presiding officers about the clean after being contacted by a whistleblower who claimed the office was "steam cleaned" on the day of the incident.
"The AFP has advised DPS that it had conducted enquiries into the action of DPS staff in the initial handling of the incident, including whether there was any criminality identified, such as attempts to conceal or interfere with a suspected crime scene,'' the DPS spokesman told news.com.au
"The AFP advised that there were no disclosures of sexual assault made by the complainant on the day of the incident and therefore actions taken by them (DPS) were not in response with a suspected crime".
The DPS also reveals in the statement that they entered the office of the then Defence Industry Minister on the weekend to clean it "at the request of the Department of Finance" which is responsible for managing the ministerial wing.
This was immediately after the DPS informed the Department of Finance that two staffers had been found after hours in breach of the rules.
"DPS advised the Department of Finance, administrator of the Ministerial Wing of APH, on the morning of the incident,'' a DPS spokesman told news.com.au.
"At the request of the Department of Finance, DPS cleaners were granted access to the suite to conduct a routine office clean on the late afternoon of 23 March 2019.
Despite claims that the finance department told Senator Reynolds' office that an ambulance was offered to Ms Higgins, the DPS said this was not the case.
"DPS is not aware of any ambulance being offered. DPS has had extensive consultation with the AFP on this matter,'' a spokesman said.
This new account accords with Ms Brittany's own recollection that she was never offered medical assistance or an ambulance.
(continued)
#12941507 at 2021-02-16 04:19:10 (UTC+1)
Q Research AUSTRALIA #13 - THE WAR IS REAL Edition
>>12941464
Scott Morrison 'distressed' by Brittany Higgins' alleged rape
Scott Morrison has made his first public comments on Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins' "distressing" claim she was sexually assaulted at Parliament House.
Samantha Maiden - FEBRUARY 15, 2021
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has made his first public comments on Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins' "distressing" claim she was sexually assaulted at Parliament House.
Question Time opened with a question from Labor leader Anthony Albanese on the scandal.
"Can the prime minister advise the House on how the government responded to the allegation that a woman was sexually assaulted in [a] minister's office in March 2019. Has an appropriate duty of care for the woman been exercised?," Mr Albanese said.
In response, the Prime Minister said at all times the government had tried to respect Ms Higgins' wishes.
"My government takes all such matters - all matters of workplace safety - very, very seriously," he said.
"Everyone should feel safe in their workplace, wherever that is.
"Reports today are deeply distressing. This matter is under consideration by police.
"At all times, guidance was sought from Ms Higgins as to how she wished to proceed. And to support and respect her decisions.
"This important best practice principle of empowering Miss Higgins is something the government always sought to follow in relation to this matter.
"The government has aimed to provide Miss Higgins with her agency, to provide support to make decisions in her interests and to respect her privacy.
"This offer of support and assistance continues.
"It is important that Ms Higgins's views are listened to and respected and I table for the purposes of the House a statement issued by a government spokesperson today on these matters."
https://www.news.com.au/national/politics/scott-morrison-distressed-by-brittany-higgins-alleged-rape/news-story/362be0cc18d907a54d3c8db8a18a273a