Police say they are searching for a male who allegedly vandalised the inner-west Sydney office in what is the latest political graffiti attack
Police are investigating after the New South Wales Greens’ office was graffitied with Islamophobic and white supremacist messages.
The graffiti, which occurred in the early hours of Thursday morning at the office in inner west Sydney, called an Islamic prophet a white supremacist.
Continue reading...Labor is ‘carefully considering’ the ICJ findings on the occupied Palestinian territories – and soon it will have to give its view
It’s the bombshell legal ruling that made it politically impossible for the Australian government to continue to delay imposing sanctions on Israeli settlers.
While much of the Australian media were focused on the latest twists in the US presidential election, the international court of justice delivered sweeping findings against Israel’s conduct in the occupied Palestinian territories, ratcheting up pressure on all governments to take a firmer line.
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Q: Why target the individuals when it’s state policy?
Penny Wong said the Australian government has been “clear in terms of state-to-state relations about our view on settlements”.
They are unlawful under international law. We’ve been clear about that … We have also said that we want to continue to take steps towards a two-state solution.
That may not be the view of some people in the Israeli government, but that is the view of the Australian government.
These individuals have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians, including things such as beating, sexual assault and torture, resulting in serious injury and in some cases death.
We have imposed these after careful consideration and we would expect that all Australians would recognise the weight of these.
Settlements are unlawful under international law. We are continuing to act in ways that we can to look to how we protect a pathway to a two-state solution, and part of that is to ensure we also impose penalties who perpetrate violence against Palestinians.
Continue reading...Penny Wong says settler violence in West Bank includes ‘beatings, sexual assault and torture’ as she announces Magnitsky-style sanctions
Australia has imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on seven Israelis and a youth group who Canberra says have been involved in violent attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.
The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says Israel has received a lot of support globally, urging its government to “recognise the importance of its standing and legitimacy in the international community”. She says settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories are illegal under international law and a “significant obstacle to peace in the Middle East”.
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Import ban fails to curb flow of Nazi-linked items
The number of items imported into Australia bearing Nazi imagery has not been slowed by a national ban on the symbols, AAP reports.
The importation into Australia of Nazi memorabilia, both historically genuine items and modern recreations, has not abated with the passage of [the ban].
Where these goods are imported in quantities which indicates the goods are likely to be traded, the Australian Border Force refers the goods to the Australian federal police to consider investigation under the criminal code.
Consumers are crying out for clear information on how to save money, protect their health and reduce emissions – and they want that information online where they make their purchasing decisions.
We call on the state and federal governments to give consumers the real truth about the risks of gas appliances, by mandating comprehensive pollution labels on all their ads and websites.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Senior Australian government source says ICJ ruling the continued Israeli occupation of territory seized in 1967 was illegal ‘can’t be ignored’
The Australian government is increasingly alarmed at Israel’s “troubling pattern” of behaviour and has not ruled out a more assertive response, including sanctions against settlers.
In the wake of a sweeping international court of justice ruling read out in a courtroom in The Hague late on Friday that said the continued Israeli occupation of territory seized in 1967 was illegal, a senior Australian government source said the advisory opinion “can’t be ignored”.
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‘Tumultuous’ coverage must not worsen post-3G, farmers say
Telcos face the ire of rural Australians if the 3G network shutdown goes awry and are being warned they will be held publicly accountable for any fallout, AAP reports.
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Biden has been ‘a great fan of Australia’: Albanese
Anthony Albanese is speaking with ABC RN after Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the US presidential race.
The president has been a great fan of Australia. [A] very significant economic relationship has grown out our trade during his presidency … He’s someone who has stood up for values of social inclusion, and importantly as well for Australia and for the world he’s been a leading figure on climate action.
He was a gracious host to myself and Jodie during our state visit last year … [He] will continue to be over the coming months the most important leader in our globe. Of course, the United States is our most important ally.
The policies won’t change much. I mean, he’s obviously very interested in policies around tariffs and trade. I don’t think that will change much from his first term.
I think the challenge for us with with Donald Trump is to remind him that one of America’s unique advantages is its network of allies and partners and to make the maximum use of that. And there’s been great progress … in terms of Aukus [and] many groupings in the Indo-Pacific … and all these need to be sort of maintained and strengthened and that requires American leadership.
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Emergency meetings to assess IT outage fallout
Further emergency meetings will be held to examine the fallout of a global IT outage in Australia, AAP reports.
We are still in recovery stage … there is still more work to do to make sure that the residual issues arising from this outage are able to be addressed.
There will be opportunity in time to reflect on what’s occurred over the last couple of days, whether it exposes vulnerabilities that we are able to address.
Continue reading...Home affairs minister says small businesses should be cautious of emails from people posing as CrowdStrike or Microsoft
Scammers are attempting to use the global CrowdStrike outage on Microsoft Windows systems to steal from small businesses by offering fake fixes, the Australian government has warned.
The world has begun to recover from a global outage of Windows systems running the cybersecurity company Crowdstrike’s software, after the company issued a faulty update. But bad actors have seized upon the crisis to attempt to scam the public, the home affairs minister, Clare O’Neil, said on Saturday.
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Shorten says last CFMEU Labor donation was over two years ago
Earlier on the Today Show, the NDIS minister, Bill Shorten, was asked about the CFMEU and said that the last donation received by the Labor party from them was more than two years ago.
We’ve said that we’re suspending all donations from the CFMEU. In fact, we’ve suspended the CFMEU from the Labor party … The last donations were over two years ago. We’ve taken the action to stop any financial relations with the CFMEU.
I want to make clear there is zero tolerance for anyone who tried to subvert the demerit and penalty system. This taskforce will help ensure the penalties apply to all road users.
Continue reading...The Hecs/Help scheme was not designed so people making a regular wage remained in debt until death, expert says
There was a time when would-be poets, historians and writers could expect to pay off an arts degree at an Australian university within the decade, if they were able to find stable employment. Fast forward to now and they may die with their debt.
Arts degrees in Australia are poised to cost more than $50,000 for the first time, with experts warning some students will never be able to pay off their debts.
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A drone delivery service will launch in Melbourne today.
Food delivery service DoorDash is working with Wing – a subsidiary of Alphabet, AKA Google – to deliver the service.
Continue reading...Sarah Shaweesh says she entered the prime minister’s office as a constituent seeking information about her family’s declined visa application
A Palestinian-Australian constituent of Anthony Albanese seeking visa help has been arrested and charged with trespassing, after she allegedly refused to leave the prime minister’s electorate office in the Sydney seat of Grayndler.
Sarah Shaweesh livestreamed her arrest on social media, saying she was a local constituent who lived in Marrickville, and the police had “threatened to arrest me because I went into the office to ask about my family’s declined visa applications”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Two officeholders quit, with one claiming the party had ‘become a spineless jellyfish’
Labor’s multicultural branch in Western Australia is in upheaval, with two officeholders quitting the party in protest at the treatment of Fatima Payman.
Guardian Australia can reveal that the branch’s treasurer and vice-president have resigned, with one claiming the party had “become a spineless jellyfish” that “throws its own under the bus at the drop of a hat”.
Continue reading...Election promises are now the sole priority for any new funding in the budget update
Anthony Albanese has narrowed the scope of new policy announcements to political essentials only, telling ministers before the mid-year budget update that they can seek funding for measures that fulfil election promises and nothing more.
Guardian Australia has confirmed that Albanese wrote to his ministers last week, making it clear that election promises are now the sole priority for any new funding in the budget update, due by mid December but possibly sooner. Everything else approved but not yet funded will have to wait – possibly until a second term.
Continue reading...Fair Work Commission’s Murray Furlong appointed as administrator of construction union. Follow the day’s news live
Tim Ayres flags ‘proportionate’ federal response to CFMEU
A Labor senator says that federal intervention into alleged criminal behaviour within the CFMEU will be effective and proportionate, AAP reports.
Tony and the team in there are doing the careful work of making sure that the government’s response is effective, well-weighted and effective.
While I don’t forecast the debates in terms of the national executive, we have received these requests from the premiers, we will act upon them, and we’ll act in accordance with the requests from the premiers.
We’re very blessed in this country. We don’t have a gun culture, we don’t have a history of political violence, we don’t at this point in time – thank God – have the fragmentation and polarisation that sadly exists in America to quite the same extent.
So look, can you rule these things out? Of course not. Do I expect it? Well, maybe some time in the next 100 or 200 years, sure. Almost anything could happen in that period of time. But is is imminent? I doubt it very much.
Continue reading...Exclusive: Muslim voters are ‘grossly underrepresented at all levels of government’, Ghaith Krayem says
One of the new organisations seeking to mobilise Australian Muslims at the next federal election has hit back at “almost farcical” attempts to discredit the movement, insisting the Labor government is “clearly afraid”.
Ghaith Krayem, a spokesperson for Muslim Votes Matter, said despite criticism from major party politicians and media, the movement was an “inclusive initiative that hopes to uplift representation for minority groups across the country”.
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Weather update for Victoria and New South Wales: rain, floods, gusts and snow
Angus Hines, a senior meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, spoke with ABC News Breakfast earlier to provide an update on the rainfall across Victoria.
That has given us minor to moderate flood warnings including in parts of the Yarra River this morning, as all of the rain from last night and yesterday evening drains out through the river network and out towards the ocean.
Take actions to protect your life and property against potential hazards caused by flooding.
Continue reading...Survey also shows deep dissatisfaction with the state of democracy, as Clare O’Neil warns against the ‘virus’ of populism taking hold across the world
Less than 40% of Australians are satisfied with how democracy is working in Australia and three-quarters believe politicians enter politics to serve their own interests, the latest Guardian Essential poll has found.
The percentage of Australians who are satisfied with Australia’s democracy – 37% – is an increase from the 32% of people who felt the same way when the question was last asked in March, but well short of the high of 47% recorded in May 2022.
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