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

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...

Chinese navy destroyer and helicopter shadowed Australian warship during high-profile standoff, documents show

Exclusive: Australian helicopter was outside Chinese territorial waters when forced to manoeuvre to avoid fighter jet flares in ‘unsafe’ operation

An Australian helicopter was flying south-east of China’s Shandong peninsula but outside its territorial waters when a Chinese fighter aircraft released flares in its path, new documents show.

Guardian Australia can reveal that Australia’s HMAS Hobart warship was also being shadowed by a People’s Liberation Army (PLA) navy destroyer and another Chinese helicopter at the time of the 4 May standoff.

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

Continue reading...

Police seek Sydney woman’s partner over alleged stabbing death – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

Australians feel ‘crushing burden’ from humanitarian crises

Many Australians are feeling a “crushing burden” as they see images from multiple humanitarian crises around the world, a prominent charity says.

I think sometimes people see this stuff on the news or read about it in the newspaper and they feel like they have to carry this burden on their own shoulder, and so they have nothing in between crisis and themselves.

And they look at something like what’s happening in Gaza and Israel, what’s happening in Ukraine, what’s happening now in Sudan, and think how can they possibly make a difference? What can they possibly do to make that situation better? And so it feels like a crushing burden.

Abortion is a very personal choice, and every Queenslander deserves the level of support and care we are offering with this investment.

Continue reading...

Defence probed 16 alleged links between personnel and extremism in two years

Exclusive: Documents reveal the ADF has conducted more than a dozen investigations into allegations about army and navy personnel since 2022

There have been at least 16 investigations into defence personnel allegedly engaging with extremism or supremacism in the last two years, documents obtained by Guardian Australia reveal.

Of the cases, which span February 2022 to April 2024, nine are still “pending”while two are open. Sixteen concerned army personnel in various units and two in the navy.

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

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: Julian Assange leaves Belmarsh prison after plea deal and will return to Australia, WikiLeaks says

WikiLeaks X account has tweeted that ‘Julian Assange is free’. Follow today’s news headlines live

‘It’s just a lazy delay’

Bill Shorten says a further delay of the Senate vote on the NDIS bill won’t actually lead to any changes:

There’s no good reason on God’s green earth to have another eight weeks of review, which isn’t actually eight weeks.

There won’t be a whole lot of new submissions come in, there won’t be some brand new arguments not considered.

I’m horrified after 12 months of reviewing the NDIS and then another six months of discussing the review including [in] the last three a Senate committee having public hearings calling for submissions.

The opposition has used words never ever said before by them.

Continue reading...

Shadow energy minister says system in ‘dire trouble’ – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

Australia needs more gas supply on east coast, Albanese says

Anthony Albanese is speaking to the ABC from Devonport.

We’ll work those issues through with Aemo.

We need more gas supply. We announced our future gas strategy a short while ago because we understand that we need more supply. Gas has an important role to play in manufacturing in particular. But also in providing firming capacity for the renewables rollout.

Continue reading...

Australian War Memorial allegedly defaced with pro-Palestine graffiti, police say

ACT police say man allegedly graffitied the outside of building and the ground with ‘pro-Palestine slogans’

The Australian War Memorial has been allegedly defaced with pro-Palestine graffiti, ACT police have said.

The police said a man allegedly graffitied three areas on the outside of the Canberra building and on the ground in a publicly accessible area about 1am on Friday morning. Police would not say what the graffiti said, only that it was “pro-Palestine slogans”.

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

Continue reading...

More transparency needed on exports to Israel after Greens ‘exploited’ information vacuum, Labor says

Defence industry minister says ‘social division and damage’ led government to rethink position on releasing information

The Albanese government has conceded it was forced to release more details about defence exports to Israel by a growing awareness that an information vacuum was being “exploited” and allowing misinformation to spread.

The defence industry minister, Pat Conroy, said the “level of social division and damage to our community has caused us to rethink the level of transparency needed”.

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

Continue reading...

Australia only granted defence export permits to Israel for repair of equipment since conflict, estimates told

Eight permits have been approved since 7 October, officials say, but only for items that have to be repaired in Israel and returned to Australia

The Australian government has granted eight permits to send defence-related equipment to Israel since the Gaza conflict erupted, but said they related to items requiring repair by Israeli manufacturers before being returned.

After facing months of criticism from the Greens over the issue, the government has given its most detailed account yet of Israel-bound equipment.

Continue reading...

Australia politics live: RBA governor still confident economy will slow without stalling; no-confidence vote for embattled Townsville mayor

Council passes unanimous motion of no-confidence in its mayor Troy Thompson. Follow the day’s news live

Australia’s existing submarines won’t get Tomohawk missile upgrades

Australia’s existing Collins-class submarines will not be fitted with Tomahawk cruise missiles as part of work to extend their life before the Aukus submarines come into service.

For instance, we will consider whether tomahawk missiles can be fitted to the Collins-class submarines.”

The government has also received advice from Defence, in consultation with the United States, that adding Tomahawk cruise missile capability to the Collins class submarines is not viable and does not represent value for money.

The Virginia class nuclear-powered submarines Australia will receive in the early 2030s will come with the Tomahawk as standard equipment. Tomahawk cruise missiles will also be used by Navy’s Hobart class destroyers and the government has agreed in-principle to fit the Hunter class frigates with Tomahawks, subject to a feasibility study. [end quote]

NDS agrees with the government that managing the sustainability of the NDIS is critical — the community expects no less. We need fundamental and systemic reform, and that must be accompanied by proper resourcing for sector transformation.

The system is broken. Training, supervision and retaining highly skilled practitioners to provide quality care is essential, but not adequately covered in the current funding model.”

A continuation of previous workforce trends showing that workforce issues in the disability sector have become entrenched.

The disability sector continues to rely heavily on casual disability support workers, who have a very high turnover.

The biggest variation this year was a in proportion of permanent employees who work full time – with the number of full-time employees growing by 10%, the highest in close to a decade.

Conversely, part-time employment dropped to 70% this year. The increase may be related to the current cost-of-living crisis.

Turnover continued the upward trend growing to 24% this year, while permanent staff turnover jumped to 16%, the highest it has been since this survey began. These figures represent a churn of almost 16,500 individual employees leaving their jobs and over 19,000 new appointments over a one-year period.

Continue reading...

Negative drug tests recorded for personnel who packed Jack Fitzgibbon parachute before deadly jump

Defence says it carries out random drug testing on an ongoing basis and investigations into Fitzgibbon’s death continue

All defence personnel involved in packing and checking Lance Corporal Jack Fitzgibbon’s parachute before his tragic death had tested negative for prohibited substances, the Australian defence force says.

On Sunday the ABC reported six unidentified soldiers serving at the Royal Australian Air Force base in Richmond had “failed comprehensive drug screening in mid-February and early March” and were facing potential expulsion from the ADF.

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

Defence All-hours Support Line (ASL) – 1800 628 036

Defence Member and Family Support – 1800 624 608

Open Arms – Veterans & Families Counselling – 1800 011 046

Continue reading...

Australia news live: Queensland poised to limit K’gari visits amid wave of dingo attacks; Electric Fields crash out of Eurovision semi

The number of tourists on K’gari could soon be capped on the busiest days of the year. Follow today’s news live

CFMEU welcomes funding of 15,000 fee-free construction Tafe places in budget

The CFMEU has welcomed a funding boost for apprenticeships and traineeships in the upcoming budget.

This investment will mean more apprentices and trainees will get the training they need to build critical housing and infrastructure that Australia desperately needs …

There’s an often-overlooked distinction between apprenticeships and traineeships but thankfully the government recognises the importance of both – that’s critical to addressing construction skills gaps.

If they don’t mobilise this government into real action I just don’t know what will. Half of all threatened species becoming extinct is an intolerable outcome.

Report after report has shown the terrible decline of biodiversity in NSW, and the Ken Henry review of biodiversity laws gave the government very clear recommendations on how to slow and reverse this trend, but the government still hasn’t responded after seven months.

Continue reading...

Canberra accuses Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to Australian helicopter

Defence minister Richard Marles says protests made to Beijing over ‘unacceptable’ altercation that forced pilot on UN mission to avoid being hit

The federal government has accused a Chinese fighter jet of dropping flares dangerously close to an Australian helicopter on a United Nations mission in international waters.

The defence minister, Richard Marles, branded the incident “unacceptable”.

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

Continue reading...

David McBride: commonwealth prosecutors seek jail sentence for Australian defence whistleblower

Former army lawyer asks for leniency on basis of ‘exemplary character’ after pleading guilty to leaking secret defence documents to media

The commonwealth wants to see army whistleblower David McBride in jail for more than two years for his role in leaking secret defence documents on the Afghanistan war to the media, a court has heard.

At a sentencing hearing on Monday, a decade after McBride first began secretly taking classified documents from the Australian defence force where he worked as an army lawyer, the commonwealth’s counsel, Trish McDonald, said McBride’s actions amounted to “egregious conduct” and affected how defence conducted some operations as well as Australia’s relations with allies.

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

Continue reading...

Synergy360 boss drops defamation case against Nine – as it happened

This blog is now closed.

‘Lower the temperature’ on protests at university campuses, education minister says

The education minister was also asked about the pro-Palestine encampments taking place across Australian universities, and whether they should be allowed to continue for as long as students are willing to man them.

There’s always going to be protests in a democracy, that’s part of being a democracy. What there’s no place for is hate or violence or prejudice or discrimination and certainly no place [for] antisemitism or Islamophobia – whether it’s on our university campuses or anywhere else in the country.

What I’d say is that we’ve just got to lower the temperature. You know, what’s happening on the other side of the world is trying to pull our country apart. We’ve got to work together – whether it’s politicians or religious leaders or community leaders, whether it’s the media, or student representatives – to work to keep our country together, not let it get pulled apart.

There’ll be a lot of people who will still be able to work at the same time as they’re doing [placements]. But there are people who can’t [and] this will provide that bit of extra help to pay the bills, put food on the table, pay for transport, sometimes the relocation costs that come with prac.

The commonwealth government hasn’t done this before. This is the first time that this has happened. It’s happened in the in response to calls from students – both teaching students and nursing students and social work students – across the country, and it’s come out of the work for the universities accord team that heard loud and clear that there is placement poverty in this country.

Continue reading...

Australia pledges $100m in military assistance to Ukraine as Richard Marles visits

Deputy prime minister says Australia remains committed to Ukraine’s war effort as it struggles to hold back Russian advances

The Australian government has announced a new $100m assistance package for Ukraine, which includes munitions and military equipment, during a visit to the country by the deputy prime minister, Richard Marles.

Australia’s package will include $50m in military assistance, including $30m towards uncrewed aerial systems, and $15m towards other high-priority equipment such as combat helmets, rigid hull inflatable boats, boots, fire masks and generators.

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

Continue reading...

Lost luggage leaves New Zealand’s band without instruments for Anzac Day at Gallipoli

Bags went missing in Dubai floods, with embassy staff only able to retrieve one instrument and a handful of dress uniforms for defence force musicians

Australia’s and New Zealand’s defence forces are once again coming together at Gallipoli – this time to ensure New Zealand’s military band can play on.

The band’s luggage was among thousands of bags lost during last week’s Dubai floods, with embassy staff only able to retrieve one instrument and a handful of dress uniforms ahead of the 25 April dawn service in Turkey.

Continue reading...

Australia needs a plan for war to ‘focus the national mind’, Michael Pezzullo says

Former secretary of the home affairs department recommends preparation of a ‘war book’ to allocate roles in the event of conflict

Australia needs a comprehensive national plan for war – a “war book” – to coordinate civil and military roles and “focus the national mind” on the possibility of future conflict, the former secretary of the home affairs department Mike Pezzullo has said.

In a speech to an invitation-only security seminar last week, Pezzullo said Australian leaders needed to resurrect a practice adopted in the 1930s and prepare “a war book” which clearly allocated roles and responsibilities in the event of a conflict.

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

Continue reading...

Australia plans for a ‘less certain’ future in Asia — one where the US may not remain the dominant force

The US talks of Aukus as ‘binding’ the allies for decades to come, but Richard Marles says Australia must become more ‘self-reliant’

Australia’s defence overhaul has accelerated some projects and cut others and has already prompted a plea from China to abandon a “cold war mentality”.

But as the dust settles on a plan to increase overall military spending, the Albanese government has also sent some significant signals on how it sees the future of the Indo-Pacific region – and these aren’t exactly how Australia’s top security ally, the US, might see things.

Continue reading...

Labor announces $50bn boost to defence spending as it flags non-citizens may serve in ADF

Albanese government says overhaul will ensure military can project power further from Australian shores

Australia is pouring an extra $50bn into defence spending over the next 10 years, as part of an overhaul that the federal government says will ensure the military can project power further from its shores.

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has also flagged plans to recruit non-citizens to serve in the Australian defence force to address workforce shortages.

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

Continue reading...