Category Archives: Australian foreign policy

Australia to train Papua New Guinea police as two nations strike new security deal

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PNG prime minister, James Marape, said the historic deal did not mean his country was picking between China and the west

Australia will help train Papua New Guinea police as part of a wide-ranging security deal signed on Thursday.

The prime minister of PNG, James Marape, said the “historic” deal did not mean his country was picking between China and the west at a time of growing rivalry for influence across the Pacific.

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Israeli ambassador ‘very sad’ about rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia

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Amir Maimon urges government ‘to take all necessary measures’ to ensure ‘different people of different faiths’ feel secure

The Israeli ambassador says he is “very sad” about a rise in antisemitic incidents in Australia and has urged the government to “take all necessary measures” to ensure people of different faiths and backgrounds feel safe.

Amir Maimon said that, in particular, he was “so, so upset” about the presence of pro-Palestine protesters at a Melbourne hotel where relatives and friends of Hamas-held hostages were staying last week.

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Australia politics live: Albanese says Israel-Hamas war protest at Melbourne hotel ‘beyond contempt’

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Chalmers: ‘We are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation’

Is Jim Chalmers confident that interest rates could fall from next year?

My job is to focus on this fight against inflation. And we saw overnight from the OECD, we saw from Deloitte Access Economics, we saw in the Bureau of Statistics data which came out yesterday, that we are making some welcome progress in the fight against inflation and that will determine the future directory trajectory of interest rates

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Labor facing internal demands to call for full ceasefire in Gaza

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About 40 branches in New South Wales have now passed motions demanding a full ceasefire

The Albanese government is coming under significant and increasing pressure from within to take a stronger line on a full ceasefire in Gaza.

About 40 Labor party branches in New South Wales have now passed motions demanding a full ceasefire.

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Crossbench MPs question family violence response – as it happened

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‘We have been very clear from day one that we oppose antisemitism’: Bandt

Adam Bandt is asked about a photo the Greens senator and deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi put on her social media, and then took down. In the photo, Faruqi is posing with pro-Palestinian protesters, one of whom is holding a poster which showed an image of Israel being put in a rubbish bin. Faruqi took down the image and issued an apology over the poster appearing on her social media.

I just need to clarify – we have been very clear from day one that we oppose antisemitism.

We’ve been concerned about the rise of antisemitism in Australia for some time. It’s been ongoing for a number of years now. We’ve thrown our weight behind … pushes to tackle antisemitism as well as Islamophobia in this country.

From the beginning, since the attacks on October 7 … we condemned or spoke very, very clearly in parliament, condemning – not only condemning antisemitism, as well as Islamophobia.

But we’ve taken a principled position to this invasion, and we do not believe that the people of Gaza should be collectively punished and we’re seeing a humanitarian catastrophe unfold in front of our eyes. And the there has to be not only a temporary ceasefire, but there needs to [be] a permanent ceasefire and we have called for that.

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Climate protesters arrested at Port of Newcastle blockade – as it happened

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‘The biggest transformation in our country’s history’

Chris Bowen has been talking about Labor’s plans for reducing emissions, but he’s pressed on the fact that the government has been approving new coalmines and gas projects, which add to global emissions.

The way I see this, David, you can enter into a discussion with your international counterparts which we are doing which is us saying to them, “We will continue to be a reliable energy supplier but we want to work with you on your decarbonisation because we have advantages that you don’t have. We can provide renewable energy.” That is an important conversation to have.

Frankly the approach of others is more a slogan than a policy. We are making the biggest transformation in our country’s history and that involves both domestic policies and strong international engagements, as I will be doing over the next couple of weeks and we have been doing all the way through.

It will be treated in the budget statement of risks and liabilities in the normal fashion. But this is the right policy for the right times to ensure emissions come down and reliability goes up.

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Australia and Philippines begin joint patrols in South China Sea as regional tensions rise

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Richard Marles says two countries committed to a peaceful region where ‘sovereignty and agreed rules and norms are respected’

Australia and the Philippines have begun joint sea and air patrols in the South China Sea as Pacific nations warily eye an increasingly assertive China.

The three-day exercises follow discussions earlier this year on joint patrols to underscore what the countries say is their commitment to closer cooperation and a rules-based order in the region.

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Australia news live: school strike for climate protests draw huge crowds in Melbourne and Sydney; Albanese says Apec leaders ‘very interested’ in Tuvalu deal

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‘A ceasefire is where we need to get to,’ Zoe Daniel says

Asked by RN Breakfast host Patricia Karvelas if she supports calls for a ceasefire, Zoe Daniel says:

If you call for a ceasefire, you’re letting down the Jewish community, if you don’t you’re allowing death and destruction to happen in Gaza.

At the end of the day, if I say to you right now, yes, I support ceasefire, that will make zero difference to what is happening in in Gaza.

I’m a former foreign correspondent. I know the logistics of this, of course, a ceasefire is where we need to get to, but you have a terrorist organisation in the middle of this. If there’s just a ceasefire, and there’s no capacity there to try to dismantle Hamas, does that allow Hamas to regroup? What does that actually lead to? That said, I’ve said to you before, very clearly, and I still stick to the position that the Israeli government has to adhere to international law and the rules of war, and I think, in some ways, has not been.

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Australia must stop giving ‘leeway’ to Israel’s continued assault on Gaza, UN expert says

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UN special rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territories points out ‘grave risk’ of genocide and Australia’s responsibility to ‘prevent atrocity crimes’

A United Nations expert has met with a senior member of the Australian government and urged it to stop giving “leeway” to Israel, arguing Australia has a responsibility to “prevent atrocity crimes” including genocide.

Francesca Albanese held talks with the assistant minister for foreign affairs, Tim Watts, on Wednesday and expressed her concern “as strongly as she could” about what she saw as Australia’s inadequate response to the escalating bloodshed in Gaza.

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Australia politics live: Gaza civilian casualties ‘unacceptably high’, Plibersek says; ANZ posts record profit as customers ‘muddle through’ rate rises

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Environment minister says ‘well‑behaved and peaceful’ pro-Palestine protests in Australia are ‘just part of democracy’. Follow the day’s news live

Minister focuses on multicultural cohesion

Pressed on why he wouldn’t call for a ceasefire, Andrew Giles says:

We have seen a considered and careful response by the Australian government through foreign minister Wong pushing towards the sort of outcomes that I think every Australian was to see.

In the last few weeks as minister for multicultural affairs I’ve spent an extraordinary amount of time engaging directly with Australians who have a close personal connection to this conflict.

Palestinian Australians, Jewish Australians and members of the wider Arab and Muslim communities and I’m, of course, deeply affected by every one of these conversations.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor Greene unite in push to free Julian Assange

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Maga Republican and leftwing Democrat among 16 US Congress members lobbying Joe Biden to drop extradition attempts against WikiLeaks founder

Maga Republican and fierce Trump supporter Marjorie Taylor Greene and leftwing Democratic firebrand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have found common ground in freeing Australian WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.

The pair are among 16 members of the US Congress who have written directly to president Joe Biden urging the United States to drop its extradition attempts against Assange and halt any prosecutorial proceedings immediately.

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Anthony Albanese’s China trip is historic – but for Canberra not for Beijing

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The first visit by an Australian PM in seven years was hailed an example of ‘win-win cooperation’ in China’s dutiful state media

On Tuesday, Anthony Albanese made the front page of China’s official English-language state newspaper. So did the Cuban prime minister, Manuel Marrero Cruz, the Serbian prime minister, Ana Brnabic, and the South African deputy president, Paul Mashatile.

It was a sign of the importance of Albanese’s visit, but also a reminder that it’s not of the same significance in Beijing that it is in Canberra. The historic visit by Albanese to China this week was the first by an Australian prime minister in seven years. But analysts say the trip, which included a meeting between Albanese and the president, Xi Jinping, was more about clearing one problem Beijing saw as fixable from an increasingly full plate of dramas.

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China and Australia agree to new multi-entry visa as Albanese touts improved relationship after thaw

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The two countries also announce they will resume annual leaders meetings after Anthony Albanese’s trip – the first by an Australian prime minister since 2016

Anthony Albanese is en route to the Pacific Islands Forum after executing a comprehensive diplomatic reset with China which includes an agreement to create a new multi-entry visa to facilitate exchanges and closer links between people.

The new visa for visitors and business people was agreed at the conclusion of the Australian prime minister’s meetings with the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, and the premier, Li Qiang, in Beijing’s Great Hall of the People on Monday and Tuesday.

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‘Handsome boy’ Albanese may have managed to turn China’s iron fist into a velvet glove

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Normal diplomatic conventions have been restored between Australia and China after years of spiralling contention. China clearly wants to re-engage and reset with the world

Just before the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked interest rates, and Without A Fight stormed home in the Melbourne Cup, China’s premier, Li Qiang, adopted a flirtatious tone in Beijing with his guest Anthony Albanese.

Tongue firmly in cheek, Li said to the Australian prime minister: “On our way into the hall, I shared with you that I see on social media of China … there are many sharing of short videos about your trip to China … including a video of you running along the river with a yellow jersey.”

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Albanese to echo Whitlam as he prays for a good harvest in Xi talks

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The prime minister will visit the Temple of Heaven in Beijing on Monday morning before a significant meeting with China’s president, Xi Jinping

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Fifty years ago, Gough Whitlam visited the Temple of Heaven in Beijing as part of an historic visit to China to establish diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic.

Whitlam’s visit to the Beijing landmark produced an iconic image. In the photograph, the newly elected Australian prime minister is captured with his ear to the circular Echo Wall in the world heritage site. In the background, the Australian prime minister is watched by Stephen Fitzgerald, Australia’s first ambassador to China.

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Adelaide man thanks Australian officials for ‘relentless’ effort to get family of four home from Gaza

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Arriving in Adelaide the father of two has thanked everyone who ‘felt their pain’ and praised ‘compassionate’ Dfat staff

The father of a young family that has escaped war-torn Gaza and returned to Adelaide has thanked everyone who “felt their pain”, and praised the “relentless” efforts of Australian diplomats who secured their safety.

The Adelaide family of four travelled to Gaza so the two children, aged seven and 10, could visit their grandparents and family. It was their first visit to Gaza. They arrived two weeks before the conflict began and, according to their lawyer, have been through hell since then.

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A new chapter: how China sees Albanese’s ‘ice-breaking’ state visit

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Chinese state media have previously viewed Australia’s actions as blindly following the US. Does a resumption of dialogue signal a change?

It’s a busy time in Beijing – this autumn has already hosted a major Belt and Road forum, international dignitaries, and a security summit. But an upcoming visit by the Australian prime minister has also prompted a flurry of preparations and discussion.

Anthony Albanese’s three-day tour of Shanghai and Beijing, the first prime ministerial visit to the country in seven years, is being warmly welcomed. He is expected to meet with the premier, Li Qiang – the host of the official visit – and the president, Xi Jinping, with whom Canberra has said Albanese will raise tough issues.

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Almost 40% think Australia should dump US alliance if Donald Trump returns as president, poll finds

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Survey finds 47% believe Aukus locks Australia in to supporting the US in an armed conflict, while concern about conflict with China has fallen

A significant minority of Australians think the country should withdraw from the overall Anzus security alliance with the US if Donald Trump returns to the White House, while just under half of the respondents in a new poll believe the Aukus pact locks Australia in to supporting the US in any armed conflict.

The findings, to be released on Wednesday, are part of an opinion survey undertaken annually by the United States Studies Centre. YouGov surveyed 1,019 adults in Australia, 1,055 in the US and 1,015 in Japan about a range of foreign policy and security questions related to the Indo-Pacific.

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Yang Hengjun’s family urges Albanese to negotiate with China for jailed Australian writer’s release

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Democracy activist ‘hasn’t enjoyed any direct sunlight for over four years’ and his children fear their father risks being left to die in a Chinese prison

The children of jailed Australian writer Yang Hengjun, detained for more than four years in China, have pleaded with Anthony Albanese to negotiate his release in Beijing this week, telling the prime minister his situation is critical and their father risks “being left to die”.

The writer and avowed democracy activist was arrested in January 2019 and charged with espionage. Yang has collapsed in prison and been told he has a 10cm cyst growing on his kidney, his sons said in a letter to Albanese, emphasising there was “a narrow window of opportunity” to secure his release.

In a prison, inmates are allowed to go outside to get fresh air and may eat in the canteen. Unlike the detention centre where I eat, drink, defecate and urinate all in a small room.

I haven’t enjoyed any direct sunlight for over four years. At most, some rays of sunlight occasionally come through one or two panes of glass and flicker fitfully.

Don’t forget I have not been convicted yet. According to Chinese law, I am still innocent, yet I have been locked up for more than four years, and I am almost destroyed … I’m talking about physically; mentally, no-one can destroy me.

I just hope I will be able to get out alive.

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‘Difficult and expensive’: US report raises Aukus doubts after Joe Biden reassures Anthony Albanese at White House

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Congressional report says sale of three to five Virginia class submarines would cut the number available to the US navy fleet

The US Congressional Budget Office has raised fresh concerns about Aukus, just one day after the US president, Joe Biden, assured the visiting Australian prime minister, Anthony Albanese, that the deal would ultimately be approved by congress.

Biden told Albanese after talks at the White House on Wednesday that the passage of legislation allowing for the transfer of nuclear-powered submarines to Australia was a matter of “not if, but when”.

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