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- NSW chief justice says Tony Abbott’s criticism of Harbour Bridge march judge ‘misconceived and ignorant’
NSW chief justice says Tony Abbott’s criticism of Harbour Bridge march judge ‘misconceived and ignorant’
Andrew Bell says it’s ‘regrettable’ that former PM suggested judge had made a ‘political judgment’ regarding pro-Palestine protest in August The chief justice of New South Wales has criticised former prime minister Tony Abbott for what he says was a regrettable, misconceived and ignorant attack on a judge’s decision regarding last year’s pro-Palestine Sydney Harbour Bridge march. Andrew Bell said in a speech on Thursday evening that Abbott’s post on X in August last year threatened social cohesion. Continue reading...theguardian.com - ABC staff told not to use disappearing messages on topics including antisemitism and extremism due to freeze notice | Weekly Beast
ABC staff told not to use disappearing messages on topics including antisemitism and extremism due to freeze notice | Weekly Beast
National Archives issues disposal freeze order ahead of antisemitism royal commission. Plus: ABC News radio’s monumental mix-up * Want to get this in your inbox every Friday? Sign up for the Weekly Beast media newsletter here Journalists at the ABC who cover any topic which comes under the remit of the royal commission into antisemitism received a sobering edict from news boss Justin Stevens on Friday: they cannot send or receive confidential Signal messages because no communications can be destroyed. Journalists use disappearing messages in some circumstances to communicate with confidential sources in an effort to protect what they tell them. “On Wednesday 4 February and Thursday 5 February, the ABC broadcast two stories in radio news bulletins on Israeli president Isaac Herzog’s upcoming visit to Australia. In one story, a statement was attributed to Sarah Schwarz (sic) from the Jewish Council of Australia, saying that she was in favour of the visit. In the other story, a statement was attributed to Lillian Kline from Project A, saying that she was opposed the visit. Both of these statements were incorrect and were not the opinions of either person. Ms Schwarz is opposed to Mr Herzog’s visit, and Ms Kline is in favour. ABC News apologises to both Ms Schwarz and Ms Kline for the error. An on-air correction and apology was issued on Thursday 5 February.” Continue reading...theguardian.com - Attorney general Michelle Rowland helps legal fight for children wrongly deemed adult people smugglers by Australian police
Attorney general Michelle Rowland helps legal fight for children wrongly deemed adult people smugglers by Australian police
Errors led to boys aged as young as 13 going to adult maximum-security jails in WA, before being quietly released and sent back to Indonesia * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The federal attorney general has used her mercy powers to pave the way for two Indonesian children to overturn a shocking miscarriage of justice that caused their wrongful imprisonment as adult people smugglers. The boys, both aged 15, were among hundreds of Indonesian children who were found on asylum seeker boats between 2010 and 2012 and wrongly deemed adult people smugglers by Australian police. Continue reading...theguardian.com - Possibility of US ever selling Australia nuclear submarines is increasingly remote, Aukus critics say
Possibility of US ever selling Australia nuclear submarines is increasingly remote, Aukus critics say
Malcolm Turnbull says government is ‘engaged in an exercise of denial’, as defence minister insists $368bn deal is ‘full steam ahead’ * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Australia’s submarine agency insists the Aukus agreement is progressing “at pace and on schedule”, but skeptics of the $368bn deal argue the chances of the US ever selling promised Virginia-class submarines to Australia are increasingly remote. The former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has said the Australian government is engaged “in an exercise of denial” about the parlous state of Aukus’s progress, while the Greens senator David Shoebridge said the deal was a “pantomime”, hopelessly one-sided in America’s favour. Continue reading...theguardian.com - Police have charged a 31-year-old man with terrorism over the alleged attempted bombing of an Invasion Day protest in Perth. In a joint press conference on Thursday, WA premier, Roger Cook, said “we must call this what it is”.
- Wong says she understands ‘depth of feeling in the community’ as she defends Israel president’s Australia visit
Wong says she understands ‘depth of feeling in the community’ as she defends Israel president’s Australia visit
Backlash grows against Israel president Isaac Herzog’s planned visit next week with calls to rescind invitation * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The foreign minister, Penny Wong, has urged critics of a visit to Australia by Israel’s president, Isaac Herzog, to consider the context of the trip, insisting Jewish leaders had urged the government to issue an invitation. Herzog’s visit to Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney next week is prompting a growing backlash. Herzog, Israel’s head of state, was invited by the governor general, Sam Mostyn, to meet Jewish community members mourning the 15 victims of the Bondi terror attack. Continue reading...theguardian.com - Australia vows to repair ‘distressing’ damage to war graves in Gaza bulldozed by Israeli army
Australia vows to repair ‘distressing’ damage to war graves in Gaza bulldozed by Israeli army
Satellite photographs show rows of gravestones removed and soil disturbed at the Gaza War Cemetery where more than 250 Australians are buried * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The Australian government has vowed to repair the graves of dozens of Australian soldiers in Gaza after satellite imagery and witness testimony revealed they had been bulldozed by the Israel Defense Forces. But it could be months or years before authorities can access the Commonwealth war cemetery in Gaza and Australian graves might face further damage as conflict continues in the occupied territory. Continue reading...theguardian.com - Australian universities to be graded on how well they deal with protests under antisemitism report card
Australian universities to be graded on how well they deal with protests under antisemitism report card
Exclusive: Leaked documents show how universities will be assessed under new system, which was fast-tracked after Bondi terror attack * Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast Universities will be graded on how well they “deal with” protests, encampments and the display of flags as part of a controversial antisemitism report card system adopted by the Albanese government after the Bondi terror attack, according to documents seen by Guardian Australia. The antisemitism envoy, Jillian Segal, devised the report card system as part of a wide-ranging plan handed down to the federal government last July to combat antisemitism, which also proposed withholding government funding from universities that “facilitate, enable or fail to act against antisemitism”. Continue reading...theguardian.com - An ‘amazing feat’: how was 13-year-old Austin Appelbee able to swim for four hours to save his family?
An ‘amazing feat’: how was 13-year-old Austin Appelbee able to swim for four hours to save his family?
Saltwater, survival backstroke and sheer mind over matter may have helped the teenager save his family, experts say * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast An Australian 13-year-old who swam 4km (2.49 miles) to shore and then ran 2km (1.24 miles) to get help for his stranded family has been described as “superhuman”. Experts say Austin Appelbee’s feat of endurance exceeded the limits of what is normally perceived as possible. So how was the teenager able to save the day, and is there any precedent for it? Continue reading...theguardian.com - Not delivering any Aukus nuclear submarines to Australia explored as option in US congressional report
Not delivering any Aukus nuclear submarines to Australia explored as option in US congressional report
Report offers alternative of the US navy retaining boats and operating them out of Australian bases * Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast A new United States congressional report openly contemplates not selling any nuclear submarines to Australia – as promised under the Aukus agreement – because America wants to retain control of the submarines for a potential conflict with China over Taiwan. The report by the US Congressional Research Service, Congress’s policy research arm, posits an alternative “military division of labour” under which the submarines earmarked for sale to Australia are instead retained under US command to be sailed out of Australian bases. Continue reading...theguardian.com
