Category Archives: Australian military

‘The US let him go free’: release of terrorist who killed unarmed Australian soldiers shows contempt for ally, family says

Posted on by

Exclusive: Father of one of three soldiers slain by Hekmatullah says Australia was ‘sidelined’ in deal between US and Taliban to release terrorist from prison

The family of one of the Australian soldiers killed by rogue Afghan national army sergeant Hekmatullah says Australia was treated with contempt by its closest ally, the US, after it agreed to release the self-professed terrorist from prison.

The Guardian revealed on Monday that the former Afghan national army sergeant, and Taliban plant, Hekmatullah, is again at liberty, and housed under Taliban protection, in the former diplomatic quarter of the Afghan capital Kabul.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Opposition calls for Australia to develop missiles, warning ‘lucky country’ era is over

Posted on by

Shadow defence minister Andrew Hastie warns of ‘bleak’ outlook in region as Chinese embassy condemns Australia’s ‘finger-pointing’

• Get our free news app, morning email briefing and daily news podcast

The shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, has called for Australia to develop and operate its own missiles, warning the era of the “lucky country” is over.

On Sunday, Hastie argued Australia needs greater deterrents given the “very bleak” strategic outlook, with a “rising China” displaying “revisionist and expansionist ambitions”.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

US and Australia to launch second joint spy satellite from site in New Zealand

Posted on by

Some in space industry bewildered by Australia’s lack of fanfare about the launch of the satellites, which will be used to collect intelligence for allied nations

A second spy satellite built by Australia and the United States is scheduled for liftoff on Tuesday from a launch site in New Zealand.

The first of the two satellites, which will be used to collect intelligence for the allied nations, launched two weeks ago.

Continue reading...

Australia urged to prove it is a safe nuclear custodian as Aukus comes under scrutiny at UN

Posted on by

Non-nuclear state Australia’s handling of nuclear-powered submarines will have to be ‘impeccable’, Australia Institute says

Australia needs to step up in the fight to stop nuclear conflict, and to prove to the world it is a safe nuclear custodian, a new report argues.

The report by the Australia Institute comes ahead of a major global conference that starts on Monday in New York, where Australia’s Aukus submarine deal will come under scrutiny.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

China’s targeting of Australian military planes ‘aggressive and irresponsible’, US says

Posted on by

Defense department’s Ely Ratner says such incidents represent ‘one of the most significant threats to peace and stability in the region’

China’s targeting of Australian military planes was “aggressive and irresponsible”, the United States Department of Defense says, and it “represents one of the most significant threats to peace and stability in the region”.

In comments released on Thursday morning, the US defense department’s Ely Ratner said Chinese aggression in the Indo-Pacific was an attempt to challenge the rules-based order and assert greater control in the area.

Continue reading...

Ben Roberts-Smith’s year-long defamation trial against three newspapers concludes

Posted on by

Ex-soldier’s barrister tells court that reporters ‘jumped on rumours’, while newspapers’ counsel alleges Roberts-Smith ‘prepared to lie under oath’

Ben Roberts-Smith’s long-running defamation case has concluded in Sydney, with his barrister telling the court the decorated former soldier was the victim of a “war of words” from jealous comrades intent on tearing down his reputation.

After more than 100 days of evidence, 42 witnesses from around the world, hundreds of exhibits, and thousands of pages of transcripts, the year-long trial ended with closing submissions from legal teams Wednesday morning.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Evidence of Afghan witnesses against Ben Roberts-Smith ‘hardly neutral’, lawyer tells court

Posted on by

Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith urge court to disregard evidence of Afghan witnesses, saying the men were prejudiced against Australian soldiers

Lawyers for Ben Roberts-Smith have urged the court hearing a defamation trial to reject the testimony of three Afghan men who gave evidence against the Australian soldier in his defamation trial, saying they regarded foreign troops as “infidels” and gave “inconsistent and contradictory” evidence.

“To say they are credible is incredible,” Roberts-Smith’s barrister, Arthur Moses SC, told the federal court in closing submissions in the former soldier’s long-running defamation action.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Aged care sector warns ADF assistance not enough to address ‘stark’ staff shortages

Posted on by

Unions and providers welcome one-month extension of workforce support but say tens of thousands of aged care workers unavailable

The aged care sector has warned that a pledge of additional military assistance will not be enough to solve the “stark” staff shortages linked to the current Covid-19 wave, which has seen the number of active outbreaks and the weekly death toll nearly double in a single month.

The federal government announced overnight it would extend Australian defence force support for aged care from its previous August endpoint until the end of September, plus boost the available military workforce by more than 200 personnel to help the sector cope with the current Omicron wave.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Ben Roberts-Smith’s defamation trial hears Australian SAS soldiers ‘turned a blind eye’ to alleged war crimes

Posted on by

In closing submissions, newspapers’ lawyer accuses several of Roberts-Smith’s witnesses of ‘outright dishonesty’

A powerful omertà within Australia’s SAS caused soldiers to “turn a blind eye to the most despicable and egregious breaches of the laws of war”, Ben Roberts-Smith’s long-running defamation trial has heard.

On the second day of closing submissions, Nicholas Owens SC, acting for the newspapers being sued by Roberts-Smith, said witnesses, including those called by the newspapers, were reluctant to report alleged war crimes because of a “pervasive culture” that forced new soldiers in particular to “toe the line” of the regiment’s culture.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

China’s challenges to Australian ships: three reasons not to panic | Adam Lockyer

Posted on by

It’s important to view encounters between the two militaries in operational context

Last week it was reported that in early July an Australian warship had been closely followed by a Chinese guided-missile destroyer, a nuclear-powered attack submarine and multiple military aircraft as it travelled through the East China Sea.

This incident followed a confrontation on 26 May, when an Australian maritime surveillance plane was dangerously intercepted by a Chinese fighter over the South China Sea.

Continue reading...

‘Abusing China’s restraint’: Beijing accuses Australia of provocation at sea

Posted on by

Global Times quotes comments by foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin on military encounters in the South China Sea

China has accused Australia of provocation in the South China Sea and said Australia – along with the United States and Canada – must “refrain from abusing China’s restraint”.

Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin was responding to a question about recent military encounters in the South China Sea, including reports in Politico that a Chinese fighter jet had an “unsafe” and “unprofessional” interaction with an American C-130 aircraft.

Continue reading...

Australia sees climate crisis as a national security issue, defence minister tells US

Posted on by

Richard Marles delivers speech in US warning of increased militarisation in South China Sea and importance of climate action to Pacific allies

Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, has warned of the use of “force or coercion” in the South China Sea and “intensification of major power competition”, references to China’s rising power in the Indo-Pacific.

Marles made the comments in a speech to the Center for Strategic and International Studies on his visit to the US, committing Australia to closer cooperation with the US, higher defence spending and to address the climate crisis in part as a national security issue.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Dfat bungle delayed visas for former Afghan embassy employees at risk from Taliban

Posted on by

Exclusive: Freedom-of-information investigation reveals error in urgent submission to then minister Marise Payne

A file number bungle by an Australian government department caused a four-week delay in helping some Afghan citizens at risk of retribution from the Taliban as the militant group swept to power in Afghanistan, Guardian Australia can reveal.

A freedom-of-information investigation reveals the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade prepared an urgent submission for the then minister Marise Payne asking for a decision about a group of former embassy employees within three days.

Continue reading...

Nation records 33 Covid deaths as Victoria reports fifth monkeypox case – as it happened

Posted on by

Mark Butler urges Australians to get boosters as new subvariant circulates; nation records 33 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Australia ‘deeply concerned by continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights’

Penny Wong, minister for foreign affairs, released a statement last night saying Australia remains “deeply concerned” by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights.

Australia remains deeply concerned by the continuing erosion of Hong Kong’s rights, freedoms and autonomy, two years since the imposition of the National Security Law.

The National Security Law has been applied broadly to arrest or pressure pro-democracy figures, opposition groups, the media, trade unions and civil society. The electoral reforms imposed by Beijing in 2021 have further eroded Hong Kong’s democratic governance.

This will be the fourth time the government has offered to make the changes, announced the changes, and then backtracked as a result of internal politics.

I’m just not sure where we go from here but our members are resolute. We are going to continue fighting to get these trains made safe, and we’ll do whatever it takes to make that happen.

It’s going to be a very messy day. It’ll be a weekend timetable with other trains taken out of it.

The families of the railway workers right now could be having $3,000 deposited in their account, instead of having that money spent on modifying perfectly good trains.

Continue reading...

Australia news live updates: ‘optimistic in the extreme’ to expect operational nuclear submarine by the 2030s, says Marles

Posted on by

Defence minister blames Coalition for submarine delay; NSW parliamentary inquiry into Barilaro appointment begins; David Hurley apologises for promoting builder; Chris Bowen addresses National Press Club; NSW records 11 Covid deaths, Tasmania one. Follow live

Turnbull says Albanese ‘is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage’

Australia’s new prime minister will have an easier time mending relations with the French “because he is not Scott Morrison and that’s a big advantage”, the former leader Malcolm Turnbull has told journalists in Paris.

Continue reading...

Labor extends term of Australian defence force chief Angus Campbell by two years

Posted on by

Defence minister Richard Marles says continuity in ADF leadership important for Aukus but warns of nuclear-powered submarine delay

The chief and vice chief of the Australian defence force have had their terms extended by two years as the new government warns the country “cannot afford any more delay” to the delivery of new submarines.

The acting prime minister, Richard Marles, said continuity at the top of the ADF would help Australia to bed down the Aukus deal with the US and the UK, but he said the nuclear-powered submarines would not be ready “soon”.

Continue reading...

Census 2021: Australia’s millennial generation is overtaking baby boomers, new ABS data shows

Posted on by

Data released on Tuesday shows a snapshot of the nation during Covid-19 and reveals insights into religion, identity and how Australians live

New data released on Tuesday from the latest census shows that Australia’s millennial generation is becoming the nation’s largest, displacing the postwar baby boomers.

Both demographic groups comprise 5.4 million people but the 2021 statistics reflect a diminishing number of “boomers” compared with the 2016 survey.

Continue reading...

Anthony Albanese says rule of law ‘can’t be taken for granted’ while visiting troops in Dubai

Posted on by

PM thanks Australian defence force personnel in UAE visit ahead of attending Nato summit in Spain

Anthony Albanese has warned Australia’s “order” must be defended against aggressive nations during a visit to defence force personnel in Dubai.

The prime minister visited Australian troops serving in the Middle East ahead of his week-long European trip, which includes the Nato summit in Spain, before travelling to Paris.

Sign up to receive an email with the top stories from Guardian Australia every morning

Continue reading...

Senior ministers to retire before Victoria’s election – as it happened

Posted on by

Housing market posts first monthly decline since September 2020; at least 52 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Australian scientists celebrate world first

AAP is reporting that in a world first, Australian scientists have developed a device with “exquisite precision” that they say is a huge step towards a commercial quantum computer.

This is a remarkable piece of engineering. This experiment paves the way for larger and more complex quantum systems to be emulated in future.

It won’t be long before we can start to realise new materials that have never existed before.

All of this is just a fantasy because they don’t understand what actually happens at the bargaining table.

I think the Reserve Bank governor has weirdly changed his tune, he was the one who said so long as wages keep up with inflation and productivity, they are not inflationary.

Continue reading...

Defence minister rubbishes Coalition claims on France compensation deal – as it happened

Posted on by

Marles brushes off suggestions former Coalition government was close to signing compensation deal with France; nation records at least 24 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Interview with minister for NDIS and government services Bill Shorten now. First question is about energy policy.

Shorten says “the real issue about power, in my opinion is for 10 years we’ve had a decade of denial and delay.”

What we are suffering from this winter in the short term is floods of coal mines, outages of a plant which is more than 50 years old, but the real long-term problem is that we haven’t made a plan for transition to renewables, now the chickens have come home to roost.

Continue reading...