Category Archives: Richard Marles (Australian politician)

‘Now is the time’: Richard Marles has met NRL to push for Papua New Guinea team

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On visit to Port Moresby, defence minister says ‘it would be so meaningful’ for PNG to become National Rugby League’s 18th team

Australia’s deputy prime minister has held talks with National Rugby League officials to push the case for a Papua New Guinea team, declaring “now is the time” to expand the competition.

Richard Marles, visiting PNG in his capacity as defence minister, said on Thursday that he had “personally spoken with the NRL a number of times about this”.

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Richard Marles condemns Russia’s ‘appalling’ nuclear threat and pledges long-term Ukraine support

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Australia’s defence minister says Vladimir Putin’s threat ‘cannot be allowed to stand’

The defence minister, Richard Marles, has condemned the latest nuclear threat from Russia as “appalling”, and says Australia is preparing to support Ukraine for a protracted military conflict.

Speaking on Sunday, the deputy prime minister said the threat from the Russian president Vladimir Putin last week to use the country’s nuclear arsenal as part of its ongoing war with Ukraine could “not be allowed to stand”.

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Australia may expel Russian ambassador after Putin’s nuclear aggression, Penny Wong says

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Foreign minister condemns Russia’s heightened military response in Ukraine as opposition calls for further sanctions

The foreign minister, Penny Wong, says the federal government is considering expelling the Russian ambassador as a result of President Vladimir Putin’s nuclear aggression towards Ukraine, as the Coalition opposition steps up calls for further sanctions over the invasion.

Wong said Australia is considering sending further military assistance to Kyiv in the face of Russia’s escalating rhetoric but security and logistical issues were complicating factors.

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Labor MP claims rate decisions based on ‘outdated and outmoded data’ – as it happened

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NSW roads impacted by rainfall

Man falls to his death while hiking near Gold Coast waterfall

Emergency services were initially called to Tanninaba Falls around 12.15pm following reports a man falling several metres down a cliff face.

Crews located the man at the bottom of the cliff and was declared deceased a short time later.

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BoM forecasts wetter-than-average summer for eastern states – as it happened

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Hearing that house prices are going down but looking around and seeing they are still astronomical?

Grogs explains why – yup, house prices are falling, but they are coming from eye-watering heights.

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Insider cyber threats pose ‘significant’ risk to Australia’s defence force, brief warns

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Incoming brief to Albanese government cites risk of malicious employees accessing and inappropriately using systems

Defence is at “significant risk” from cyber insider threats, the department’s incoming brief to the Albanese government says.

That could include malicious, disgruntled or merely duped employees accessing Defence’s systems and threatening their security.

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China increases warship capability with production of guided-missile destroyers, experts say

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Prof John Blaxland says China’s navy expansion is ‘in stark contrast’ to trajectories of other countries including Australia

China is “exponentially” increasing its warship capability and has reportedly re-started mass production of guided-missile destroyers.

The Chinese Communist party-controlled newspaper, the Global Times, reported on Tuesday that China would complete its military expansion and modernisation by 2035, “including the development of a blue-water navy, to match the country’s international status and better defend its interests”.

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Clive Palmer ordered to pay part of Mark McGowan’s legal costs; 87 more Covid deaths – As it happened

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Federal court orders Palmer to pay undetermined sum in half of defamation proceedings between the pair; Senator Jim Molan calls for National Press Club not to host Chinese government officials. This blog is now closed

ACT warns of scam health texts

ACT Health says it has been made aware of scam text messages claiming to be services such as HealthDirect or Medicare.

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Australia calls for ‘return to calm’ amid Taiwan drills as Beijing demands Canberra ‘respect China’s core interests’

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China’s foreign ministry said Australia should ‘respect China’s core interests’ and ‘avoid creating new obstacles for China-Australia ties’

Australia has again called for an end to China’s military drills near Taiwan, and a “return to calm”, as China has demanded that Australia stop interfering in its affairs.

China has been conducting live-fire drills near Taiwan in the wake of a visit from the US house speaker, Nancy Pelosi. Australia does not recognise Taiwan as a country under the One China policy, but maintains unofficial ties. The US recognises the One China policy without agreeing with it.

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SES and Resilience NSW ‘failed’ to lead flood response, inquiry finds – as it happened

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New threatened species listings include south-eastern glossy black-cockatoo

Two Australian species that were badly affected by the 2019-20 black summer bushfires have been officially listed as threatened.

The damage caused by the black summer bushfires is still being felt today and can be seen reflected in these listings today.

The fires had an immense impact on our environment, from a small reptile found in the mountains to a bird that is at home on the coast. There is still a lot of work to do.

It seems as though these positions are being offered around almost like lolly bags to senior members of the New South Wales government rather than what they’re intended to be, which is senior positions funded by the taxpayer. We shouldn’t operate like that in New South Wales. We’re slowly but surely finding out the contours of what is an absolute scandal.

There’s many questions to be asked. At the end of the day we’re expected to believe of the 8 million people who live in New South Wales, John Barilaro was independently chosen to represent our interests. I think that ... stretches credibility.

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Push for wider Barilaro appointment probe; state funeral for Judith Durham – As it happened

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Former NSW deputy premier John Barilaro is expected to appear at the parliamentary inquiry on Monday to answer questions about his appointment to a US trade job. This blog is now closed

Hastie ‘open-minded’ about visiting Taiwan

Hastie is asked if Australia could be doing more to help Taiwan.

We should be talking with everyone, we should be maintaining good relationships with everyone, and that’s true of Taiwan, as it is of China.

I’m open-minded to going there. I have a very full dance card... with a young family and enough travel as it is, but certainly I’m on the record that I would like to visit Taiwan at some point.

They have invited me... I will wait and see.

The advice I received from Defence as assistant minister for defence was that we were going to cover that gap with the life of type extension for the Collins class. They are still a regionally superior submarine.

The question is how quickly can we deliver a nuclear submarine or several of those boats to the Royal Australian Navy. That’s why I’ve said again, several times over the last month that Richard Marles as defence minister needs to be focused on delivering those submarines as quickly as possible. Every single day he should be thinking about it. When he wakes up he should be thinking about submarines. When he goes to bed, when he is asleep, he should be dreaming about submarines. We need political focus on delivering these submarines for our country.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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

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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.

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Acting PM says Australia will stand up for national interest amid fading hopes of China reset

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Richard Marles signals change in tone with biggest trading partner but pledges to avoid Coalition’s ‘chest-beating’

Australia’s acting prime minister has declared the government won’t take any “backward step” in pursuing the national interest, after Chinese state media said hopes of a diplomatic reset were “diminishing by the day”.

Richard Marles, who is acting in the top job while Anthony Albanese is in Europe, told Guardian Australia the new government would avoid “chest-beating” about China but admitted there may be limits to what a change in tone could achieve.

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

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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”.

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‘Considerable strain’: how Australian officials saw the China rift

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Officials kept in ‘regular contact’ with Chinese embassy even as Morrison government ministers frozen out, FoI documents shows

Australian officials stayed in “regular contact” with the Chinese embassy in Canberra to “explain our decisions” even when Australian ministers were subjected to a two-year diplomatic freeze, newly released documents show.

The former Morrison government had been “willing to engage with China in dialogue at any time”, according to Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade briefing notes, which also described the relationship as being under “considerable strain”.

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

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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.

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Albanese government urged to keep focus on human rights as it rebuilds relationships in Asia

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Thawing diplomatic relations with China shouldn’t mean ‘taking a backwards step with Beijing’, Human Rights Watch says

The Albanese government should not compromise on human rights as it seeks to repair relationships with China and south-east Asian countries, a leading advocacy group has warned.

Human Rights Watch has written to the prime minister, Anthony Albanese, urging him to “impose targeted sanctions against Chinese government officials who are responsible for crimes against humanity” in Xinjiang.

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Ryan says supporters have received ‘threatening’ letters – as it happened

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Independent MP for Kooyong says some supporters have received anonymous handwritten letters; nation records at least 11 Covid deaths. This blog is now closed

Standing proud in the Nadesalingams’ Biloela back yard is a rusty old Hills Hoist.

Birds squawk in the paperbark trees lining the road as mum Priya strolls in and out of the kitchen, determined to make sure we are looked after, offering us tea and water.

It was such an extraordinary time, and things were moving so quickly early ... the advice to the various governments at the time were really monumental.

It was quite terrifying ... we would do what the data was [saying], the experts together provided advice. In the end, Australians have done very well and turned up and got their vaccinations and we managed to live through some significant lockdowns and have come out of this better than many other countries.

We live in a great country with a great health system and I was confident we would be able to get our way through this, we still are not out of it, Covid is still here ... if you haven’t had that third dose vaccination, have it.

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