Category Archives: Penny Wong

Lidia Thorpe defiant after Senate censures her protest against King Charles: ‘I’ll do it again’

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Senator rips up paper copy of motion against her and says she was ‘denied my right’ to be present during vote

Lidia Thorpe has ripped up a paper copy of the Senate motion censuring her protest against King Charles, promising “I’ll do it again” and saying she is not concerned about the parliamentary rebuke.

The independent senator was censured by the Labor and Coalition on Monday, as was the United Australia party senator Ralph Babet after he posted a tweet containing several offensive slurs.

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Australia backs UN resolution recognising ‘permanent sovereignty’ of Palestinians in major departure

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Vote cast with 158 other countries to recognise ‘permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory’

Australia has backed in a United Nations resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty” of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, marking a major departure from its previous position.

At a UN committee vote on Thursday, Australia voted with 158 other countries, including the UK and New Zealand, on a resolution to recognise the “permanent sovereignty of the Palestinian people in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and of the Arab population in the occupied Syrian Golan over their natural resources”.

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Albanese says Trump call ‘very constructive’ as Dutton calls US president-elect ‘not somebody to be scared of’

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PM fully briefed on ‘potential outcomes’ of US election and says Australia is prepared for Trump’s policies on security, economic and other issues

Australia will advocate for free trade and climate action – despite Donald Trump’s agenda against both – and persist with the Aukus alliance including nuclear submarine acquisition, the Albanese government has indicated.

Under fire from conservative media about his comments in 2017 that Trump “scares the shit” out of him, the prime minster, Anthony Albanese, was asked if he owed an apology to the president-elect.

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Protests across Australia as Penny Wong despairs ‘continued retribution’ in Middle East

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Local Jewish and Palestinian groups are preparing to mark one year since the October 7 attacks

As Palestinian and Jewish groups prepare to mark the first anniversary of the events that triggered the current Israel-Gaza conflict, the Australian government has again condemned the escalating cycle of violence in the Middle East, reiterating demands for a ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

“We’ve seen so much violence in the Middle East,” the foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, said on Sunday.

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‘Clear timeline’ for Palestinian statehood needed: Penny Wong escalates language in UN speech

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Penny Wong says she shares frustration of ‘great majority of countries’ about a lack of progress to recognise a Palestinian state

Australia has suggested the world should set “a clear timeline for the international declaration of Palestinian statehood” in a sign of increasing frustration about the stalled peace process.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, will float the idea in a speech to the UN general assembly in New York on Saturday Australian time (Friday US time). Benjamin Netanyahu was also due to address the gathering amid mounting concern about an escalating regional war.

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Israel ‘needs to listen’ to international community, Albanese says as Wong calls for Lebanon and Gaza ceasefires

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‘War has rules – even when confronting terrorists,’ Australia’s foreign affairs minister tells UN security council

The Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, has urged his Israeli counterpart to “listen to the international community” amid fears of an escalating conflict with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, also declared that the world “cannot allow any party to obstruct” peace in the Middle East as she pressed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.

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Australia backs UK decision to curb arms sales to Israel

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Exclusive: Foreign minister Penny Wong says she ‘welcomes’ the British move and Palestinian civilians ‘cannot pay the price’ of defeating Hamas

Australia is coordinating with the UK and other allies to “pressure” Israel to alleviate the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and to stop the erosion of longstanding norms protecting aid workers.

The Australian government has also explicitly backed the UK’s decision to curb arms exports to Israel, putting it at odds with the US, which is reported to have privately warned Britain against the move.

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Penny Wong condemns Israeli minister’s comments suggesting starvation in Gaza ‘might be justified’

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Australian foreign minister joins UK, Germany and France in condemning comments made by Bezalel Smotrich and repeats calls for ceasefire

Deliberately starving civilians is a war crime, foreign affairs minister Penny Wong has said, joining international condemnation of comments made by the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich.

On Wednesday, Smotrich suggested that deliberately starving people in Gaza might be “justified and moral”.

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US plans more frequent bomber deployments to Australia amid China’s ‘escalatory behaviour’

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Australia-US talks also turn to Middle East conflict as representatives ramp up calls for Gaza ceasefire

The US says it plans “more frequent” deployments of bomber aircraft to Australia amid concerns over China’s “dangerous and escalatory behaviour” in the region.

The announcement after annual talks on Wednesday builds on a long-term trend of increased rotations of American forces to Australia, along with moves to upgrade Australian military bases and pre-position US army equipment in Australia.

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Australian government scrambles to clarify stance on Golan Heights after Wong references ‘Israeli town’

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Foreign minister’s ‘alarming’ phrasing echoes sovereignty recognised only by Israel and the US under the Trump administration, Palestine advocates say

The Australian government has insisted it still regards the Golan Heights as occupied territory after Penny Wong described the site of a weekend attack as a “northern Israeli town”.

The foreign minister’s statement was met with a flood of comments online asking why she had effectively recognised Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights – which Israel seized from Syria in the six-day war in 1967 – and not described it as occupied.

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Wong announces new digital cable centre to limit China’s influence in Indo-Pacific

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The new centre, staffed by Australians, will enable sharing of information and help Pacific island governments regulate important undersea cables

Australia is stepping up its attempts to limit China’s influence in the Pacific, with the establishment of a new “cable connectivity and resilience centre” designed to boost connectivity for Pacific nations.

The foreign Minister, Penny Wong, will announce the centre while in Japan for the Quad foreign ministers’ meeting alongside counterparts from the United States, Japan and India.

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The bombshell legal ruling that made it impossible for Australia to delay sanctions against Israeli settlers

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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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Man dies after trying to drive truck on to NSW ferry; global sea ice levels hit record low – as it happened

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This blog is now closed

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.

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Australia imposes sanctions on Israeli settlers and youth group over violent attacks on Palestinians

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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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Australia news live: Tony Burke announces independent administrator of CFMEU

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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.

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Fatima Payman suspended from Labor caucus over vow to cross the floor again on Palestine

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Party spokesperson says WA senator ‘placed herself outside the privilege’ of participation in caucus after defiant TV interview

WA Labor senator Fatima Payman has been indefinitely suspended from the Labor party’s parliamentary caucus after she was summoned to a meeting with the prime minister at the Lodge on Sunday.

Payman’s previous one-week caucus suspension was upgraded after a Sunday morning television interview in which she vowed she was prepared to repeat her rebellion of last week and cross the floor in the Senate to support recognition of a Palestinian state.

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Labor urged to put human rights record before trade as Chinese premier visits Canberra

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Anthony Albanese should seek commitments for concrete action in his talks with Li Qiang, campaigners say

Human rights advocates have called on Anthony Albanese to place China’s human rights record ahead of economic and trade discussions in his meeting with China’s second most powerful leader on Monday.

They said it was time for Australia’s Labor government to demand concrete action from China in addressing human rights complaints against it as “statements of concern” were not achieving results.

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Australia news live: Minns ‘really sorry’ final Vivid drone show cancelled with 20 minutes notice; Malinauskas welcomes ‘exciting’ panda news

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The current pair, Wang Wang and Fu Ni, will return to China this year. Follow the day’s news headlines

Labor ‘continuing to consult’ on Makarrata commission, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese says he will attend Arnhem Land’s Garma festival in August to “talk about a way forward” on Indigenous policy after the defeat of the voice referendum, keeping open the prospect of setting up a Makarrata commission to advance truth and treaty processes.

Treaty process is undergoing at the various states and that’s appropriate. With regard to Makarrata, we’re continuing to consult on those issues. said.

Indigenous leaders, of course, were very disappointed by the referendum result. I’ll attend Garma once again this year and sit down with people and talk about a way forward.

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Peter Dutton’s plan to ditch 2030 emissions target would drive up power bills, Penny Wong says

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Comments come after opposition leader claims higher grocery prices are result of Labor ‘not taking into account gas and nuclear’

Penny Wong has warned that ditching 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets would lead to higher electricity prices as Peter Dutton foreshadowed an election campaign fought on energy policy.

The opposition leader told Sky News on Sunday that energy would be a “big difference between the two parties as we head into the next election”, a week after backing away from Australia’s legislated 2030 emissions target of a 43% cut compared with 2005 levels.

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‘Twists and turns’ in Australia-China ties are over, Li Qiang says – but Penny Wong highlights tensions

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Coalition blunders have left countries locked in ‘permanent contest’ over Pacific, minister says

China’s second-most powerful leader has announced that the “twists and turns” in Australia-China relations are over – and invited Australian officials to pick a new pair of pandas for Adelaide’s zoo.

But Penny Wong chose to highlight the tensions that remain in the relationship before a series of talks with Premier Li Qiang, who arrived in Australia on Saturday evening and was met by protesters outside the zoo on Sunday.

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