Torres Strait Islanders' fear over $200m Chinese fishery handshake with PNG - ABC News. Torres Strait Islander leaders in Far North Queensland say they are "incredibly nervous" about China's plan to build a fish processing plant on their doorstep, and are seeking urgent talks with the Australian Government.
Key points: China has signed an MOU with PNG to build a $200 million fishing facility on Daru IslandTorres Strait Islanders say they are "very nervous" about the Chinese setting up on their doorstepThere are calls to review the Torres Strait Treaty, which allows PNG nationals to fish in Australian waters. As the Australia-China relationship deteriorates, a $200m PNG 'fishery' deal raises eyebrows - ABC News. Amid the din and racket of politics at the end of what has been, by any measure, an extraordinary year, the continuing and growing deterioration in our trade relationship with China has lost its novelty value.
More tariffs on Australian wines this week? More restrictions on meat and timber? The gradual but relentless closing down of trading opportunities with China has reached that stage in the news cycle where you struggle to remember which sanctions are old and which ones are new and, besides, there isn't much expectation that anything is going to emerge to brake the stalemate any time soon. You can only ask Trade Minister Simon Birmingham so many times whether he has picked up the phone to his Chinese counterpart. The agreement set to escalate the growing sense of threat The Belt and Road Initiative is the gargantuan infrastructure network China's President Xi Jinping launched in 2013, establishing land and sea routes, and ports, as well as economic dependencies in many poor countries.
The Federal Government's new foreign relations laws have passed Parliament. Here's what that means - ABC News. The Foreign Minister of Australia has just become more powerful.
On Tuesday, the Federal Parliament passed the Government's new foreign relations laws in full. The bill gives the Commonwealth the power to veto agreements with foreign countries struck by state and local governments, as well as universities. It all happened with breakneck speed — the Federal Government only announced it would push ahead with the bill in August. Less than four months later, it's on the brink of becoming law. So why is the Coalition moving so quickly? And which agreements might be on the chopping block? Advocates call for changes to protect women on temporary visas fleeing family violence - ABC News.
When Elly* leaves the suburban Melbourne home where she's sought refuge, she dons a wide hat and big sunglasses as protection against retribution from her ex-husband.
Elly fears an acid attack. "I completely know the nature of my ex-husband who is completely revengeful and violent," Elly said. "He wants always to be the winner. " Newly married last year, Elly moved from Iran on a temporary visa to be with her husband, who was studying in Melbourne. Three days after she arrived, he began relentlessly hitting and raping her. 'We are relying on a pinky promise': The problem with the Government moving its environmental powers to states - ABC News. Our relationship with China has become a complexity of its own, and Scott Morrison knows it - ABC News. Australia's new defence strategy unveils a significant strategic shift in foreign policy to meet new threats from China - ABC News.
After coronavirus passes, nothing will be the same — and that might not be a bad thing. Analysis Updated Sat at 1:03amSat 4 Apr 2020, 1:03am The daily shockwaves hitting us in the time of the coronavirus can mean the extraordinary nature of individual changes can be lost.
Never was this more true than this week when the Morrison Government announced, first, an extraordinary $130 billion wage subsidy, then, a few days later, free childcare. Politicians have taken to ramping up the sound of their announcements over recent decades: a budget surplus of eleventy gazillion dollars (small print, in 30 years time); spending $30 gazillion on new roads (small print, over 10 years). That sort of thing. The numbers have become so meaningless and incomprehensible to most voters that it has made the small, local announcements of $5 million for new change rooms at the footy oval (of the sort that have featured in the sports rorts affair) a much more potent political weapon. Adam Bandt has won leadership of the Greens so where are they heading? Analysis By Josh Holloway Updated about 8 hours agoWed 5 Feb 2020, 12:47am The selection of Adam Bandt as the new parliamentary leader of the Australian Greens offers the party a rare chance for strategic and policy reset following a decade-long electoral plateau.
With a federal Coalition government proving ineffective in managing the effects of climate change and a slowing economy, and a Labor Opposition shedding its ambitious policy aims following the 2019 federal election loss, one could reasonably expect a "third force" in Australian politics to be enjoying electoral popularity. Yet in this summer of record heat and unprecedented bushfires, the Greens have been markedly absent from public debate. Richard Di Natale resigns as Greens leader and plans to quit federal politics - Politics. Updated about 3 hours agoMon 3 Feb 2020, 3:36am Richard Di Natale has resigned as federal leader of the Greens after almost five years leading the party.
Richard Di Natale said he was bringing an end to his political career for family reasonsHe has immediately stepped down as leader and will quit the Senate later in the yearHe was appointed leader in 2015, taking over from Christine Milne The Victorian senator will also quit federal politics once his state branch has chosen a replacement for his Upper House seat. Senator Di Natale cited family reasons for the sudden end to his leadership. "It's not a decision I have come to lightly, because leading this incredible movement for nearly five years has been one of the biggest honours of my life," he said. "But my boys are nine and 11 years old now and they've only ever known their dad as a busy and tired, and sometimes grumpy, politician.
The battle against the bushfires should focus our attention on the war against climate inaction. Opinion By Anna Rose Posted about 6 hours agoSat 1 Feb 2020, 7:00pm The world has mobilised to support bushfire-affected communities and wildlife, raising almost half a billion dollars so far.
Balranald Shire Council sacked after NSW Government inquiry hands down report. Posted yesterday at 4:38amFri 31 Jan 2020, 4:38am An entire council in New South Wales has been sacked after an inquiry found it had "failed to act as a reasonable employer," with valuable staff having to quit because of the work environment.
Key points: An independent commissioner acting for the NSW Government says a "clean break is required" for Balranald Shire CouncilThe council failed to meet its obligations as a responsible employer, the report findsCouncil general manager told inquiry of "intimidation tactics" and family being targeted at home. Bridget McKenzie's ministerial career hangs in the balance in wake of sports grants scandal. Posted about 10 hours agoFri 31 Jan 2020, 3:04pm Bridget McKenzie's ministerial career hangs in the balance a fortnight after the Prime Minister asked the country's top bureaucrat to review her conduct.
Key points: Bridget McKenzie is awaiting a review into her handling of a $100m sports grants programThere remain unanswered questions about the Prime Minister's office's involvement in the programIt has been two weeks since Scott Morrison ordered the review into Senator McKenzie's conduct Scott Morrison was widely expected this week to receive a report he ordered into the Nationals deputy leader's management of a scandal-plagued $100 million pre-election sports grants program. There is growing sentiment within senior ranks of the Coalition that Senator McKenzie might retain her frontbench position, despite a scathing auditor-general report and revelations she awarded a grant to a gun club she was a member of. David Speers on taking over Insiders from Barrie Cassidy and the art of the political interview - Television - ABC News.
When you report on federal politics, you never really switch off. As David Speers drove his family from Canberra to Melbourne after New Year, to take up his new job as host of Insiders, being diverted around bushfires, the story beckoned. Within hours of arriving in the city, a week out from his official start date, before he'd even been issued a staff pass or found his way around the building, Speers was on air, providing analysis on the political fallout from the fires, questioning defence minister Linda Reynolds and landing a headline-making half-hour interview with Prime Minister Scott Morrison about his and the Government's handling of the disaster.
"I’d been watching a lot of the ABC coverage of the fires over the past week on leave and was just in awe of the work the journalists were doing," Speers says. Adelaide councillor calls colleagues wanting to replace fireworks 'Osama Green Laden' Posted earlier today at 6:56amWed 29 Jan 2020, 6:56am An Adelaide city councillor has likened his colleagues to "Osama Green Laden" for supporting an investigation into replacing New Year's Eve fireworks with a drone or light display.
An Adelaide city councillor proposed replacing New Year's Eve fireworks with a "state-of-the-art" light showFellow councillor Jessy Khera opposed the measure, warning that replacing fireworks would be "an attack on children"The entire council, except Cr Khera, voted to prepare a report on the idea of replacing New Year's Eve fireworks Councillor Jessy Khera also called councillors who spoke in favour of the move the "Taliban wing" of the council for banning fun. In December, Councillor Anne Moran suggested cancelling Adelaide's New Year's Eve fireworks display as a mark of respect for South Australian bushfire victims.
They went ahead, but a section of reeds along the River Torrens caught on fire during the event. Bushfires stopped Scott Morrison from going to India, but will his absence matter? Analysis Updated about an hour agoSat 18 Jan 2020, 11:03pm If this summer hadn't presented a bushfire crisis of unprecedented scale in south-eastern Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison would have spent this week in India. A whirlwind three-city expedition was the plan, aimed at building closer ties to India generally and better military co-operation specifically.
Having holidayed in Hawaii as the bushfire crisis built, and with the disaster response still in its early stages, Mr Morrison could not afford to spend this week abroad. So, instead of a state reception in New Delhi and delivering the keynote address to the Raisina Dialogue — India's high-profile security forum — the Prime Minister sent an apologetic video explaining his absence, leaving the trip in the hands of Foreign Minister Marise Payne. How ratepayers for Ipswich City Council, one of the country's fastest growing cities, 'lost $78 million' Updated about an hour agoSun 12 Jan 2020, 12:11am A senior staffer at one of the nation's most infamous city councils has described a culture of fear within the organisation where staff would either "adapt to survive or leave". Key points: A staff whistleblower hotline set up after the council's dismissal had 118 calls in 16 monthsAccusations of fraud, corruption, theft, sexual assault and racism arose in the calls A senior staffer told the ABC there was a sense of hope within the staff ahead of local elections in March Ipswich City Council, west of Brisbane, was sacked in 2018 and replaced with an administrator following an investigation by the Crime and Corruption Commission.
David (not his real name), spoke to the ABC following the release of a final report by the interim administrator detailing the city's problems including lost millions through a failed CBD development, a toxic culture of bullying and corruption and lack of direction, and what has been done to fix the issues. Are the bushfires Scott Morrison's Hurricane Katrina moment that he can't live down? Analysis Updated about an hour agoFri 3 Jan 2020, 11:25pm Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst natural disasters in US history. It displaced hundreds of thousands of people in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The damage was estimated at $US100 billion, and more than 1,000 people are thought to have died. When it struck, US President George W Bush was on vacation on his ranch in Texas.
It was not just a political disaster for Bush, but a disaster for public confidence in the agencies responding to the storm. Blame games erupted between Washington and state and local authorities about why the response was so slow. The bitter reality is the Morrison Government doesn't know how to deal with China. Analysis Updated Sat at 12:50amSat 10 Aug 2019, 12:50am. Platypus struggle to survive, with huge national decline over last 200 years, research finds. Updated about 9 hours agoThu 8 Aug 2019, 2:25pm. An extraordinary silence lingers as major parties go missing on Crown. Analysis. Donald Trump's administration is after Julian Assange and it serves as a warning to us all. Updated 33 minutes agoMon 29 Jul 2019, 1:11am. Western spy agencies being outgunned by 'bad actors', ex-CIA operative James Olson warns.
Posted about 3 hours agoSun 28 Jul 2019, 10:30pm Western spy agencies are being "overwhelmed" to the point that "bad actors" can "pretty much operate with impunity", according to a former senior CIA operative. James Olson, who ran the Central Intelligence Agency's counter-intelligence arm, says digital technologies make the traditional "tradecraft" used by agents in the field far less effective.
Fears Victorian plan to boost local council diversity will see fewer minorities elected. Posted 26 minutes agoSun 14 Jul 2019, 12:44am. Darwin's proposed new port development should come as no surprise. Analysis Updated about 2 hours agoSun 23 Jun 2019, 10:05pm Days prior to the revelation that a new port which could be used by the US Marines was being planned on the edge of Darwin, a placard popped up on one of the city's main commuter arteries. NT Government gave no warning about new prison housing program because it 'didn't want to lose funding' Federal candidate Tim Hollo's months-long investigation turned up seven potential citizenships. MLA Jeff Collins dumped from parliamentary committees following exile from Labor Caucus. NT Speaker blocks attempt to seize official opposition status from Country Liberal Party.
The ugly past of Australia's 'lock hospitals' on Bernier and Dorre Islands slowly revealed. Northern Territory Government in financial crisis, will seek bailout from Canberra. Climate Council says Government using past accounting systems to apply future emissions reduction. Labor wants ATO to appeal to taxpayers' sense of fairness. 'I'm black … I'm seen as a threat': Crime and panic on the streets of Melbourne. Arts Minister redirected funds to 'special project' as groups missed out, FOI documents reveal.
Adani plans to take 12.5b litres of water as farmer denied access in 'double standard' The global financial crisis changed everything, and nothing. Banking royal commission: Youi insurance left storm victims exposed to lead dust and mould. French couple who have lived in Australia for 15 years 'gutted' at prospect of deportation. Great Barrier Reef Foundation admits $800k in federal funding spent on 'operational' costs since June. Adani plans to draw 12.5b litres of water and there will be no environmental impact statement. Northern Territory Government grants process lacking oversight, auditor-general's report finds. Human survival cannot be left to politicians. We're losing our life support systems. Ombudsman says Bendigo high school principal who gave jobs to wife and son ran college like 'personal fiefdom' 'Long-grassers' admit easy access to grog despite reintroduction of banned drinker register.
Veterans fighting for protection visas for Afghan interpreters. Royal commission: Australia's biggest insurers admit to misleading claims, coercing customers into signing up to policies. NT Beverages' charitable foundation has never made a donation. Maules Creek coal mine under scrutiny by farmers over vast surface water harvest. NSW Roads Minister Melinda Pavey deflects 'basic' questions on WestConnex. The habitats of threatened species are shrinking, despite laws set up to protect them. Widow takes on insurance company MetLife after it rejects late husband's claims. Palmerston Regional Hospital's budget will fail to cover ongoing operations, auditor-general finds. Charities, businesses and firefighters left to deal with spike in Palmerston crime.
Union attacks Bureau of Meteorology plans to end local weather forecasting in most states. Victoria's environment minister demands explanation after logging charges thrown out of court. Boundless Possible: NT's new brand similar to Dubai campaign but meanings differ, company says. Red Bull and other energy drinks could be banned in England for public health reasons. Murray-Darling Basin Plan has failings in governance, timelines and budgeting, Productivity Commission says. Conservation project to offset Ichthys-INPEX gas pipeline damage 'years behind schedule' The WA Government's backflips on education, shark drum lines set a troublesome precedent.
Cheaper land, better planning laws needed if tiny homes are to become viable housing option. Nauru's children are self-harming, but ordinary Australians can stop the horror. Cotton farm execs accused of $20m fraud over Murray-Darling water funding. Barnaby Joyce's call to divert environmental water to drought-hit farmers panned by conservationists - Politics. 'Witness K' lawyer Bernard Collaery got jail warning from Government over book months before being charged in Timor-Leste spy case. 'Slut-shaming is used as a method of torture': Emma Husar explains why she quit politics.
Climate change is World War III, and we are leaderless. Victorian Government stalls decision on new timber plantation for Latrobe Valley. Drone users breaking laws as burden of proof makes prosecution difficult. Refugee children on Nauru are Googling how to kill themselves, whistleblower warns. This year's NAPLAN results of 'very limited use' and should be discarded, US experts argue. What's next for Chinese tech giant Huawei after being banned from Australia's 5G network? - China power. NT Infrastructure Development Fund asked to explain spending after Akuna water controversy. Port Arthur massacre memories pervade submissions to gun laws inquiry.
Questions raised over source of Akuna Springs and Akuna Blue water. Australia's recent climate change policy: A brief history of seven killings. Huawei banned from 5G mobile infrastructure rollout in Australia. A faith healing and a farewell: Sean Dorney returns to Papua New Guinea. The regulation of medical devices is flawed and another scandal is inevitable: health advocates. Liberal MLA Jeremy Hanson's sledge on former CFMEU boss leaves taxpayers with $280k legal bill. Riot squad to escort council workers to Islamic leader's alleged illegal land clearing site: court.
Faith in Australian governments falls amid corruption concerns. Banking royal commission: Superannuation swindle sees your savings boost bank bonuses. Victorian Greens propose controversial bank levy ahead of state election. Tech surveillance laws proposed by Australian Government 'aggressive', critics say - Science News - ABC News. Victorians to get half-price solar panels under State Government scheme. Solar boom 'bringing hundreds of jobs' to Queensland's Darling Downs. Islamic leader accused of illegal land clearing claims his group is exempt from Australian law.
TurbanFest aims to increase awareness and understanding of Sikh culture. Little clubs fight Clubs Australia in bid to retain penalty rates for staff - RN. Head of disability safety commission threatens penalties for providers who don't protect clients. Foreign investment debate in Australia and New Zealand asks the wrong housing questions. Banking royal commission: APRA under fire for failing to police superannuation industry. Genoa bridge collapse a sign of things to come if infrastructure maintenance ignored. Woy Woy bowling club property deal referred to Independent Commission Against Corruption.
Woman calls for changes in regulatory response to industrial deaths after partner dies at work. Rural Victorian community fights David vs Goliath battle against bottled water company. E-waste exports highlight need for tighter controls on 'unethical and irresponsible' trade - Science News - ABC News. Adani environmental plans fail to address regulator demands designed to protect oasis.