Extinction Rebellion protesters blocked the corner of Margaret and William streets in Brisbane on Tuesday. Police have arrested and charged 56 people at climate protests which caused traffic disruptions in Brisbane's CBD. It's the latest in a series of protests by environmental group Extinction Rebellion to hit Brisbane. "Tear the system to the ground," the crowd chants
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Stories of home and homeland: ‘We make Australia, we are all Australian’
The migrant experience has changed since the European postwar exodus. Five immigrants share how they made a new home
Pictures by Noel McLaughlin
The word immigrant stems from the Latin root, migrare – to change or to move from one place to another. Australia, where 28% of the population was born overseas, owes its transformation from a British colony to a cosmopolitan modern country to the presence of people from other places who’ve arrived here to build new lives.
The following stories represent five moments during the trajectory of the past five decades of Australian immigration – from the last wave of postwar European immigration to the focus on humanitarian arrivals in the 1980s to the present, a period during which aspiring Australians on temporary visas struggle to put down roots. Each of the stories is accompanied by a photo of an object, something important that reminds them of their homeland.
Continue reading...Mike Pompeo urges Australia to stand up for itself over trade with China
US secretary of state dismisses warning by top security analyst, arguing ‘you can sell your soul for a pile of soy beans or you can protect your people’
The US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has declared “you can sell your soul for a pile of soy beans, or you can protect your people”, dismissing a warning from prominent Australian security analyst Hugh White that Australia should avoid following Donald Trump into a confrontation with Beijing that America probably can’t win.
Pompeo issued the provocative declaration during a question-and-answer session at the Centre for Independent Studies in Sydney on Sunday.
Continue reading...Torres Strait search: child’s body in PNG probably not one of missing five, police say
Queensland police say group that set off in boat for Dauan Island on 31 July are unlikely to be found alive
Queensland police have concluded the child’s body found on the Papua New Guinea mainland is unlikely to belong to one of five people missing from an empty boat found floating in the Torres Strait.
The search operation continued on Sunday with police vessels and aerial surveillance.
Continue reading...Australia giving ‘serious consideration’ to US request to help it confront Iran
Mike Pompeo hails ‘unbreakable’ relationship between Washington and Canberra as he urges Australia to join coalition to protect shipping in the Gulf
Australia’s defence minister Linda Reynolds says the Morrison government is giving “very serious consideration” to a formal request from the Trump administration to join a US-led coalition to protect shipping in the Gulf from Iranian military forces.
Reynolds told journalists on Sunday after annual security talks between the Australian and American foreign affairs and defence ministers that the Morrison government was deeply concerned by the heightened tensions in the region, and strongly condemned the attacks on shipping in the Gulf.
Continue reading...Australia to be sued over mining project’s ‘unmerciful’ destruction of Indigenous land
Galarrwuy Yunupingu taking legal action for loss of native title as well as destruction of dreaming sites
The federal government is facing a lawsuit over damage done to Indigenous land by the decades-old mining project that sparked the Yirrkala Bark Petitions.
Gumatj leader Galarrwuy Yunupingu revealed on Saturday that he and his people were taking legal action against the commonwealth, seeking compensation for the loss of native title over the minerals exploited by mine operator Nabalco and its successor, Rio Tinto, as well as the destruction of key dreaming sites.
Continue reading...Yothu Yindi Foundation chief says Australian governments ‘dining out’ on Aboriginal misery
Denise Bowen says governments spending money on urban centres and tourists instead of tackling disadvantage
Aboriginal people are prisoners to incompetence and maladministration by governments that spend on urban centres and tourists instead of tackling rampant disadvantage, the head of the Yothu Yindi Foundation has said.
Speaking at the Garma festival in northeast Arnhem Land, the chief executive of the foundation, Denise Bowden, took aim at the Northern Territory government and the commonwealth, which she said had responsibility for the NT, and for the “rivers of gold” that its GST formula sends to Darwin.
Continue reading...Jihadist who planned attack on police and carved slogan into cellmate’s head jailed for 34 years
Bourhan Hraichie planned attack on Bankstown police station and threatened to kill NSW prisons boss
A New South Wales man who carved a terrorist slogan into a cellmate’s forehead and planned an Islamic State-inspired police shooting will spent at least 29 years in jail.
Bourhan Hraichie, 22, pleaded guilty in the NSW supreme court to four offences over his long-running plan to organise a terrorist attack on Bankstown police station, and causing grievous bodily harm to Michael O’Keefe with intent to murder.
Continue reading...‘This isn’t true’: Uighur families angered by China claim relatives freed
China’s claim it has freed 90% of people in Xinjiang detention camps has been met with anger and scepticism
When news broke that senior officials in China were saying 90% of Uighurs detained in Xinjiang’s notorious detention centres had been released, Nurgul Sawut’s phone started going crazy.
“My Whatsapp, my Signal, my Facebook, everyone was tagging me in their posts,” said Sawut, a Uighur community leader based in Canberra. “Everyone started reacting. They were saying: ‘If 90%, where are my relatives, where are my family and friends?’ We’re not seeing any of those people in the community, who are you releasing?”
Continue reading...George Christensen expenses trip to meet alt-right figure Lauren Southern
Exclusive: Government MP bills taxpayers $1,600 to get to Cairns for Great Barrier Reef trip with controversial far-right YouTuber
The government MP George Christensen billed taxpayers $1,600 to travel to the Great Barrier Reef and meet the far-right identity Lauren Southern but the controversial YouTuber “pulled the pin” on the appearance.
The latest records of MPs’ financial interests reveal that Christensen accepted a free “reef trip from Cairns to Great Barrier Reef” from a company named Axiomatic Events.
Continue reading...Greta Thunberg hits back at Andrew Bolt for ‘deeply disturbing’ column
Campaigner calls out ‘hate and conspiracy campaigns’ after Australian’s attack
The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has hit back at the Australian News Corp columnist Andrew Bolt for writing a deeply offensive column that mocked her autism diagnosis.
The Swedish schoolgirl posted a tweet overnight calling out the “hate and conspiracy campaigns” run by climate deniers like Bolt, adopting his insult that she was “deeply disturbed” and turning it back on him.
Continue reading...Victorian government orders investigation into Crown casino crime allegations
Claims including links to Triads to be ‘re-examined’ and rules covering junket operators reviewed
Victoria’s minister for gambling, Marlene Kairouz, says she has ordered the state’s casino regulator to conduct a snap investigation into a flood of allegations made against Crown Resorts and its Melbourne operation that include claims of links to organised crime and that its high rollers got waved through immigration without proper checks.
Kairouz said her department would also review the regulation of junket operators who bring high rollers from China, some of whom have been linked by Nine to Triad gangs.
Continue reading...‘More teeth than Jaws’: Jacqui Lambie considers ultimatum over stronger integrity commission
Show of unity by crossbenchers puts Coalition under pressure following Crown casino allegations
The Tasmanian independent Jacqui Lambie says she will consider telling the Morrison government “where to stick their bills” if the Coalition continues to pursue a suboptimal federal integrity commission.
Lambie made the threat during a show of unity by parliamentary crossbenchers on Wednesday about the necessity for stronger accountability measures in response to allegations aired by Nine this week against the casino operator Crown Resorts.
Continue reading...Crossbench pushes for a federal Icac – politics live
As the government stands firm against calls to raise Newstart, key MPs call for a federal integrity commission. All the day’s events, live
“A bit of a beat up,” says Coalition male MP about whether the Coalition is a welcoming place for women on the day two Coalition women staffers talk about their treatment within the party.
Is the coalition a welcoming place for women? "Of course it is" replies @DaveGillespieMP How so, why? "It's a bit confected. The coalition is a very welcoming place for women in general. It's a bit of a beat up, I think." #auspol @SBSNews pic.twitter.com/xu3fA3lWQD
The bells are ringing – which means parliament is about to start.
I am already on my fourth coffee, so this is going to be *fun*.
Continue reading...‘Five Eyes’ nations discuss backdoor access to WhatsApp
Countries focus on increasingly effective encryption of communications
British, American and other intelligence agencies from English-speaking countries have concluded a two-day meeting in London amid calls for spies and police officers to be given special, backdoor access to WhatsApp and other encrypted communications.
The meeting of the “Five Eyes” nations – the UK, US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand – was hosted by new home secretary, Priti Patel, in an effort to coordinate efforts to combat terrorism and child abuse.
Continue reading...I was only going to give up alcohol for a month but I wasn’t prepared for the impact it had | Gay Alcorn
I drank to pretend my life was more interesting. Feeling slow or a little sad in the mornings was so normal I barely noticed it
Now what? I have given up alcohol for a month. That’s nothing special. Thousands of people do Dry July or Feb Fast or some random month. But it is a big thing. I hadn’t had 30 days off alcohol my entire adult life.
The reason I thought it was a good idea isn’t unique either. It’s boringly familiar. I’m middle aged and, after drinking modestly for decades, it had crept up. One glass of wine a night became two, and then three and – no point in skirting around the facts here – too often it was a bottle, sometimes more. Occasionally, if I was particularly anxious, I’d buy a bottle of wine during the day and drink the lot.
Continue reading...Government refers Crown allegations to integrity commission – politics live
Attorney general responds to crossbench calls for inquiry. All the day’s events, live
Siri: what is the definition of “a punish”?
David Gillespie saddles the despatch box, and therefore us, with Michael McCormack, which gives me the permission I needed to go make a cup of tea.
“All politics is local, as it should be,” says Sliced White.
Continue reading...Canada manhunt: teen fugitives still at large after ‘exhaustive’ police search
Canadian authorities urge people to remain vigilant as search for Kam McLeod and Bryer Schmegelsky continues
Canadian authorities have suffered a frustrating blow in their search for two teenage suspects wanted over a series of killing in remote northern Canada.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) announced late on Monday that a possible sighting of Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, at a garbage dump could not be substantiated after a “thorough and exhaustive search”.
Continue reading...Britain’s youngest terrorist’s identity to remain secret
Lifelong anonymity for Blackburn teenager who plotted to murder Australian police officers
The identity of Britain’s youngest terrorist, who plotted to murder police officers in Australia, will remain a secret for the rest of his life following a high court ruling.
The teenager, from Blackburn, Lancashire, who can be identified only as RXG, sent encrypted messages when he was 14 instructing an Australian jihadist to launch attacks during a 2015 Anzac Day parade. Now 18, he was jailed for life at Manchester crown court in October 2015 after he admitted inciting terrorism overseas.
Continue reading...Angus Taylor says unnamed Yass farmer, not his family, spurred grassland meetings
Minister tells parliament he requested briefings because of constituents’ concerns, not family business interests
A conversation with an unnamed Yass farmer, not the interests of his farming family, had spurred the minister for energy, Angus Taylor, to seek briefings from the environment department about a listing to protect native grasslands, he told parliament on Monday.
In a personal explanation to the House of Representatives, Taylor sought to deflect further questions and a possible Senate inquiry into meetings he had with bureaucrats on the grasslands laws in 2017.
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