Category Archives: Paul Keating

Australia news live: Keating says Labor ‘flogging a dead seahorse’ over Aukus deal; severe weather for parts of NSW and Queensland

Posted on by

The BoM has issued a severe weather update for parts of north-east NSW and south-east Queensland as wet and windy weather continues to batter the east coast. Follow today’s news headlines live

Dutton says PM ‘desperately hoping’ interest rates will fall

Opposition leader Peter Dutton believes Western Australia will play a crucial role in the election. He told the West Australian:

My judgment is that we’re waiting for the results to come in from WA before we know the outcome of the election this time around.

It depends on whether the prime minister’s waiting to see if interest rates come down.

He’d be desperately hoping that they come down in February of next year and he can go from there.

We live in the territory. This is our home. We are fighting to protect our water from the dangers of fracking.

Continue reading...

Nancy Pelosi rebukes former Australian PM Paul Keating over ‘stupid statement’ on Taiwan

Posted on by

In return, Keating chastises former US House speaker for her ‘recklessly indulgent visit to Taiwan’ in 2022

A war of words has broken out between the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating and the former US House speaker Nancy Pelosi over Taiwan, after the prominent Democrat accused Keating of making a “stupid statement” about the territory.

Keating was quick to hit back on Tuesday, suggesting Pelosi had “very nearly” sparked a military confrontation between the US and China over her “indulgent” 2022 visit to Taiwan.

Continue reading...

Aukus pact will turn Australia into ‘51st state’ of the US, says Paul Keating

Posted on by

Former prime minister argues Australia has made itself a target by aligning with American ‘aggression’ towards China

Australia’s participation in the Aukus defence pact risks handing military control of the country to Washington and becoming the “51st state of the United States”, according to former prime minister Paul Keating.

Speaking on ABC’s 7.30 on Thursday night, Keating argued that Australia had made itself a target for aggression by joining the military alliance with the US and the UK in implicit opposition to China’s growing power in the Asia Pacific region.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong urges Australians in Lebanon to ‘consider leaving’ – As it happened

Posted on by

Foreign minister flags government’s concerns about ‘volatile security situation’. This blog is now closed

Pay deal averts six-day strike by dairy workers

A looming strike at one of Victoria’s major milk companies has been averted after the processor struck a pay deal with the union.

There is some concern around Mount Isa, and we are looking at what we can do to support that area being so remote in the western part of our state.

So looking at the weather we have today, still very extreme fire danger in the western part of Queensland. We are certainly looking at another challenging day.

Continue reading...

Paul Keating says voice referendum was ‘wrong fight’ and has ‘ruined the game’ for a treaty

Posted on by

Exclusive: Former PM accuses John Howard and Tony Abbott of ‘outrageously and wilfully misinterpreting’ result in attempt to return to ‘great assimilation project’

Indigenous Australians were always “fighting the wrong fight” with a voice to parliament, the former prime minister Paul Keating has said, and the failure of the referendum has now “ruined the game” for a treaty that could have properly acknowledged prior Indigenous ownership and dispossession.

In an interview with Guardian Australia, Keating accused the former Liberal prime ministers John Howard and Tony Abbott, and the historian Geoffrey Blainey, of “outrageously and wilfully misinterpreting” the referendum result in an attempt to return to “the great assimilation project”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Former PMs pour cold water on claims Anthony Pratt told them Trump’s US submarine secrets

Posted on by

A US news report claimed Donald Trump discussed secret US naval capabilities with the billionaire Australian businessman

It was a revelation that could have had explosive ramifications.

US news outlet ABC News reported that an “excited” Donald Trump allegedly discussed top-secret details of US nuclear submarines with the Australian billionaire Anthony Pratt, who later allegedly shared the information with at least 45 people, including “three former Australian prime ministers”.

Sign up for the fun stuff with our rundown of must-reads, pop culture and tips for the weekend, every Saturday morning

Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese announces $1bn defence deal with Germany before Nato talks

Posted on by

Berlin to buy 100 Boxer heavy weapon carriers made in Brisbane by German manufacturer Rheinmetall

The prime minister has touched down in Europe, confirming a deal worth more than $1bn to sell Australian-made armoured vehicles to Germany before talks at a Nato summit.

Anthony Albanese landed in Berlin on Sunday night, German time, before a scheduled meeting with Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Paul Keating sent explosive email to Labor cabinet two hours before attack on Aukus, FOI documents reveal

Posted on by

Exclusive: Former PM directly warned cabinet ministers over China, the Pacific and US hegemony prior to his pointed speech at the National Press Club

At 10.45am on Wednesday 15 March, an explosive email landed in the inboxes of all of Anthony Albanese’s cabinet ministers.

“Dear cabinet colleagues,” wrote Paul Keating, Labor luminary turned chief Aukus critic.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong and Paul Keating spar as minister warns against ‘frenzied’ Taiwan war speculation

Posted on by

Wong also hits back at former prime minister saying his comments diminish ‘his legacy and the subject matter’

Penny Wong has warned politicians and media against playing “the most dangerous of parlour games” by adding to “frenzied” speculation about a war over Taiwan.

The Australian foreign affairs minister said on Monday that such a conflict would be “catastrophic for all” and there would be “no real winners” – but the warning was quickly overshadowed by a fresh war of words with Paul Keating.

Continue reading...

Penny Wong dismisses Paul Keating’s claim that the military has taken over Australian foreign policy

Posted on by

Minister says foreign and defence policies are both essential for making the country stronger and more influential

Penny Wong will dismiss Paul Keating’s claim that the military has taken over foreign policy in Australia, as she insists the defence department and diplomats are working together to “keep the peace”.

In a speech on Monday, the foreign affairs minister will say countries across the Indo-Pacific region want to “choose their own destiny” and not have the rules “dictated by a single major power to suit its own interests”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

ABC staff to walk off job next week – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed.

Acting prime minister and defence minister Richard Marles has spoken to ABC News Breakfast this morning after the $368bn announcement of the Aukus deal yesterday.

In response to the reaction from China accusing Australia, the US and Britain of embarking on a “path of error and danger”, Marles defends making a decision that is in Australia’s national interest:

We are seeking to acquire this capability to make our contribution to the collective security of the region and the maintenance of the global rules-based order.

And one of the issues within our region we are witnessing the largest conventional military build-up that the world has seen since the end of the second world war. And it’s not Australia who is doing that, but that shapes the world in which we live.

We’re completely confident these are in complete compliance with non proliferation.

Continue reading...

Paul Keating blasts Age and SMH for ‘provocative’ China war story

Posted on by

Former Australian PM criticises ‘extent of the bias’ in newspapers’ front-page report warning of armed conflict in Indo-Pacific

The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has accused two of the country’s biggest newspapers of “the most egregious and provocative news presentation” in five decades, after they published front-page stories warning the country faced war with China within three years.

The former Labor leader, who has long argued Australia should not be drawn into a war over the status of democratically governed Taiwan, took aim at the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age on Tuesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Former Australian PM Paul Keating criticises Liz Truss over ‘demented’ China comments

Posted on by

Ex-leader targets UK foreign secretary’s remarks on potential China aggression in the Indo-Pacific, adding Britain suffers from ‘relevance deprivation’

The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has accused Liz Truss of making “demented” comments about Chinese military aggression and urged the British foreign secretary to hurry “back to her collapsing, disreputable government”.

Keating, in a blistering op-ed, also said Britain “suffers delusions of grandeur and relevance deprivation” and its tilt to the Indo-Pacific lacks credibility.

Continue reading...

Taiwan hits back after Paul Keating says its status ‘not a vital Australian interest’

Posted on by

China’s aggression destabilises the region and threatens democratic freedoms, Taipei says

Taiwan has hit back at the former Australian prime minister Paul Keating after he said Taiwan was “not a vital Australian interest” and labelled it a “civil matter” for China.

In an appearance at the National Press Club on Wednesday, Keating dismissed global concerns about China’s aggression towards Taiwan and criticised Australia’s growing bipartisan pushback.

Continue reading...

‘Throwing toothpicks at the mountain’: Paul Keating says Aukus submarines plan will have no impact on China

Posted on by

Former Australian prime minister also says Britain ‘like an old theme park sliding into the Atlantic’ compared to modern China

The former Australian prime minister Paul Keating has denounced the US- and UK-backed plan for nuclear-powered submarines as “like throwing a handful of toothpicks at the mountain”, declaring Australia should avoid being drawn into a war with China.

The former Labor leader on Wednesday accused the major Australian political parties of losing their way on foreign policy, while dismissing the credibility of the UK’s “tilt” to the Indo-Pacific region.

Continue reading...

‘Long live love’: Blanche d’Apulget pays tribute to Bob Hawke in memorial service – politics live – politics live

Posted on by

Party greats, members of former PM’s family and those who knew him best led the public service at the Sydney Opera House

The Guardian brains trust are going to show you a few more photos from Mike Bowers, and a couple more bits and bobs from the day, so I will leave you in their very, very capable hands.

Politics Live will be back, with parliament, in just a few short weeks.

The crowd here has had a singalong and toasted to Bob – there’s a lot of love in this little Brisbane pub.

There is also a lot of love in the Opera House, where David Marr has been watching the service and crowd along with Mike Bowers.

Continue reading...

Federal election 2019: Shorten stands by security agencies after Keating comments – politics live

Posted on by

Labor leader says he doesn’t share former PM’s concerns that the nation’s spy chiefs are damaging our relationship with China. All the day’s events, live

Well that looks like it answers that question

Don’t expect people like Peter Dutton and Tony Abbott at the Liberal campaign launch - they are busy defending their seats says @JoshFrydenberg who is on tv with me very soon #auspol19

It’s amazing the differences an election campaign can make to people’s positions.

From ABC Adelaide, where Georgina Downer is again trying to take the seat of Mayo off Rebekha Sharkie:

Mayo Liberal candidate Georgina Downer says the minimum wage is “about right” after previously pushing for it to be abolished along with penalty rates.

In an interview with ABC Radio Adelaide this morning, Ms Downer backtracked on comments she made while working at the Institute of Public Affairs about the role of the Fair Work Commission.

Continue reading...

Former PMs bury the hatchet in show of unity at Labor campaign launch | Katharine Murphy

Posted on by

With Bill Shorten a key player in the demise of both Rudd and Gillard, it’s a message that needs reinforcing

It wasn’t clear from our vantage point up the back how Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard reacted to the sequence of homilies at Labor’s 2019 campaign launch designed to tell voters the party had learned from the mistakes of the last period in government.

The former combatants walked into Bill Shorten’s event together, projecting tranquility and geniality, the joint entrance a modest mic drop executed in the low key spirit of show, don’t tell.

Continue reading...