Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex Turnbull says he was contacted by Chinese agents. Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull’s son Alex has revealed he was the target of suspected Chinese agents over an infrastructure project, revealing he immediately rejected the approach and reported it to spy agencies. Mr Turnbull has told news.com.au that while he did not definitively know if he was the family member ASIO chief Mike Burgess was referring to in his speech, his experience fits the sting outlined by the spy agency boss. Describing the approach as “brazen”, the activist and investor said he was contacted around 2017 when his father was Prime Minister, and he was offered equity in a company. “It was just so brazen,” Mr Turnbull told news.com.au. “My reaction was to express no interest and forward the details immediately to the authorities.”
Mr Turnbull said he was told that the group that approached him had links to a former NSW Labor state MP. He warned that the approaches from overseas business players were “constant”. “For a start, the former politician is a traitor. Unnamed 'traitor' politician cultivated by spies puts loyalty of all politicians in question, says former treasurer. Every politician's loyalty will be in question until the "traitor" politician who was cultivated by spies is named, former treasurer Joe Hockey warns.
Australian intelligence has revealed a retired politician was recruited by an international spy ring, and in one plot attempted to introduce a prime minister's family to their foreign handlers. The Australian Security Intelligence Organisation's boss Mike Burgess said the politician had "sold out their country, party and former colleagues to advance the interests of the foreign regime". Mr Burgess said he believed the problem had been "neutralised", and the politician would not be "stupid enough to repeat what they've done in the past" now foreign interference laws could be used against them. But a furious Joe Hockey, the former treasurer and former ambassador to the United States, said it would "besmirch" the reputation of every politician until the compromised politician was named.
"For a start, the former politician is a traitor. Liberal colleagues reveal inside story of Tony Abbott's brutal demise. It was a victory so crushing, Liberal MPs were spilling over onto the crossbenches. "One of the most emphatic election results of the last 50 years," is how former cabinet minister Greg Hunt describes it.
The Coalition's 2013 triumph was spearheaded by Tony Abbott, the relentless conservative warrior who many of his former colleagues still regard as the most effective opposition leader of his generation. "He picked up a brick and he just went after the Labor Party," says Queensland senator James McGrath. "He is a political warrior from central casting. He likes a fight," says former Liberal attorney-general George Brandis. "It was, 'Stop the boats, axe the tax, reduce the debt and stop the waste,'" recalls veteran Liberal-turned independent Russell Broadbent. "Four statements. Having swept into power with 90 seats – 35 more than Labor – many expected Abbott to reside in The Lodge for at least two terms.
"There are different skills needed to govern. 'Turned a lot of people against Tony' Scott Morrison's political feats and faux pas, from refused handshakes to coal in parliament. Former prime minister Scott Morrison is quitting politics after 16 years within federal parliament. Mr Morrison made the announcement on Tuesday via a social media post. From accidentally tackling a child during a soccer training session in Tasmania to stopping the flow of asylum seeker boats, the former prime minister certainly had a lot of memorable moments.
Here are some of those key events from Mr Morrison's political career. Tackling a child in Tasmania In 2022, while on the campaign trail, Mr Morrison attended a soccer training session in north-west Tasmania where he crashed into a young boy called Luca and tackled him to the ground. After the collision, Mr Morrison showed concern for his opponent, saying "Where's Luca? You can watch what happened below. Loading... Accused of lying to French president In 2021, during the G20 summit, French President Emmanuel Macron accused Mr Morrison of lying to him about a $90 billion submarine contract that ended up being cancelled. 'Miracle victory' Anthony Albanese invites Xi Jinping to Australia after landmark summit at Beijing's Great Hall of the People. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Australia during a "very successful" meeting in Beijing. Mr Albanese is the first Australian leader to visit mainland China in seven years following years of ongoing tensions, which resulted in Beijing slapping bans and tariffs on a range of Australian imports.
The summit followed 18 months of efforts to stabilise the relationship between both countries. Mr Xi greeted Mr Albanese with a handshake at the start of the bilateral talks and credited the prime minister for working to stabilise ties since being elected. An elated Mr Albanese said the discussion with Mr Xi was "one of goodwill, where we spoke about our common interests going forward". "Both of us certainly agree that we shouldn't be defined by our differences, recognise that they are there, but also recognise the mutual benefit that we have," he said.
Mr Xi said his country was seeking to advance "harmonious" cooperation to achieve mutual benefit. Did Indigenous people want a Voice? The results from some of Australia's most remote communities suggest many did. First Nations people in Australia were never going to have a uniform view on the referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. It would be ridiculous to expect everyone in any community to agree. Camps on either side of the debate have been at odds for months about just how many First Nations people actually wanted a Voice, with Yes23 pointing to polls published at the start of the year showing extremely high levels of support.
That statistic was heavily disputed by the other side. "I knew, having spoken to people throughout the Northern Territory, to Indigenous people from the Northern Territory and right across the country … that a vast group of Indigenous Australians did not support the proposal," Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price said on Saturday night, once it was clear the Voice had been rejected. Those remote communities have now spoken and polling place results reveal that many wanted the Voice, and in some areas, overwhelmingly so. The rest of Australia said no. The Voice campaign was infected with disinformation. Who's in charge of inoculating Australians against lies? After it was resoundingly rejected in Saturday's referendum, the Voice will never be heard by white Australia. For the great many First Nations people who voted for it, theirs is an unhappy burden: How will they explain to their children and grandchildren why the rest of Australia took the decision that it did?
This set-back to reconciliation, however, is all of ours to share. It will be picked at and picked at, and fester long after the confections of the campaign are forgotten. Only with the passage of time will scholars and historians give the plebiscite its true context. Of the many lessons of Saturday's outcome, there is one which must be more urgently addressed. "It's becoming a more perilous world," Evan Ekin-Smyth from the AEC told me.
Since 2019 the Commission has been doggedly responding to peddlers of conspiracy and mistruths; on occasions, those peddlers have been politicians. "We respond no matter who the person is," Ekin-Smyth said. A backyard hose against an inferno Loading. The No victory in Voice to Parliament referendum reveals more than a divide between urban and regional Australia. The rejection of the Voice to Parliament referendum in all six states has revealed more than simply a divide in sentiment between inner-city voters and those in outer suburbs and regions. Key points: ACT was the only state or territory to vote YesThe results closely reflects the 1999 republic referendumOne analyst says cost-of-living pressures affected the outcome Maps of how each state voted show support for Yes was strongest in the inner suburbs, while the majority of outer suburban, regional and rural voters said No. But the reasons why voters rejected the referendum question is more complex than where they live, according to Emeritus Professor of Sociology Andrew Jakubowicz from the University of Technology Sydney.
"Having higher education in particular contributes to someone's likelihood of voting Yes," he said. "A lot of it has to do with education, income, age and gender. Age was also a factor in how likely people were to vote Yes. Western Sydney votes No 'Terrified for next chapter' South Australian MP James Stevens clashes with Natasha Wanganeen over Voice and Jacinta Nampijinpa Price during ugly Q+A.
A Liberal MP's defence of Shadow Minister for Indigenous Australians Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, her previous comments about "no ongoing negative impacts from colonisation" and his thoughts on colonisation have triggered an angry response on Q+A. Key points: Panellists were united in their condemnation of Hamas militantsMinister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney remained hopeful for a "yes" vote in the Voice referendumComments made in support of Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price led to a heated response The episode, mostly devoted to debate around Saturday's Voice referendum, had already reached boiling point on several occasions when Member for Sturt James Stevens backed Senator Price and gave his thoughts on colonisation.
He was rounded on by Indigenous actor and proud Kaurna Narungga Ngarrindjeri and Nyoongar woman Natasha Wanganeen. "I think she holds an opinion that should be respected and others with different opinions should be respected as well," he added. The Voice: how do other countries represent Indigenous voices in government? One of the claims advanced by the “no” campaign in the upcoming referendum on the Voice to Parliament is that “there is no comparable constitutional body like this anywhere in the world”.
Yet across the globe there are many political institutions that seek to guarantee Indigenous peoples are heard. Broadly speaking, they fall into four different categories: reserved parliamentary seatsdevolved self-governancetraditional authority councils and Indigenous advisory bodies (the proposed Voice fits in this category). Surprisingly, the current debate on the Voice to Parliament seems to have missed the fact Torres Strait Islanders have effectively had an elected voice to both federal and state governments for almost 30 years. Besides being a form of devolved self-governance, the Torres Strait Regional Authority is empowered to “advise the federal minister for Indigenous affairs on matters relating to Torres Strait Islanders”.
Read more: Australians will vote in a referendum on October 14. The bitter politics and hypocrisy of the Voice debate will mark it as yet another ugly chapter in Australia's history. A usual plaudit for a book is that a reader "couldn't put it down". But a plaudit for David Marr's new book, Killing for Country, which documents his family's history as professional killers of Aborigines in NSW and Queensland in the mid-1800s, is that it is one you have to keep putting down. It's not just the brutality of the large-scale killings Marr documents that requires regular pauses, but the voices of white people discussing it — either in the most cold-blooded pragmatic terms, or in terms of horror. The chilling fact is that, no matter what was actually known or protested about at the time, the killings didn't stop. It continued at least into the 1890s. The immediate horror of the story clashes horrendously with our image of ourselves, and with the lofty ambitions of those who oversaw federation, and the writing of our Constitution, as the former chief justice of the High Court, Robert French, observed in a speech to the National Press Club this week.
Loading. How a soap opera star pushed a conspiracy theory linking the Voice to Parliament to a UN takeover. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese stepped up to a press conference in Adelaide in late September to make a surprising clarification, that the Voice to Parliament was not a plot by the United Nations to take control of Australia. "What has occurred during this campaign is a lot of information being put out there, including by some who know that it is not true … I've seen stuff saying that all private ownership would disappear, that it is about the United Nations taking control of Australia," he said. A week later, it happened again, only this time his words were twisted and reappeared later that day in a misleadingly edited video which had him say: "The United Nations will control all land in Australia. " Loading... In the past few weeks, a conspiracy theory suggesting the Voice is a secret plot devised by the UN to strip Australians of their private property and sovereignty has spread like wildfire.
"It's not good for democracy at all levels. " "That's where it's most problematic. " Is it ethical non-Indigenous people get to decide on the Voice? Is it OK for one group to have rights others don't? An ethicist weighs in. Australians will soon be asked to vote on whether we should “alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice”. Two philosophical concerns have been raised about this proposal. First, is it appropriate for members of one group to decide what rights members of another group get?
Why should non-Indigenous Australians get to decide if the First Peoples of Australia are granted an institutional Voice? Second, is it appropriate to give members of one group rights that members of another group lack? Isn’t our system of government based on the idea we are all equal and therefore we should all have the same rights? I’ll explore the ethical and philosophical basis of each question here. 1. An analogy is often made between the same-sex marriage plebiscite and the Voice referendum. But this raises a more fundamental tension within our liberal-democratic political system. 2. There are at least two obvious bases. Watch full speech: Liberal senator blasts Morrison, calling PM a 'bully' with 'no moral compass' Jacqui Lambie unloads on Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Q+A over Senator Concetta Fierravanti-Wells and the federal budget.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison's reputation has been further questioned on Q+A, with some panellists backing claims this week from a Liberal senator that he is a "bully" and ridiculing his comments suggesting the best way to support renters is to help them buy a house. Key points: The value of some of the spending in the federal budget was questionedJacqui Lambie was scathing in her assessment of Scott Morrison's characterZali Steggall said she too had concerns about whether Mr Morrison should lead the country Earlier this week, Mr Morrison rejected claims by outgoing Liberal senator Concetta Fierranti-Wells that he was "a bully who has no moral compass". But on Q+A, independent Tasmanian senator Jacqui Lambie rounded on Mr Morrison for the second time in a week after earlier accusing him of being "intimidating" over the deal to resettle refugees in offshore detention on Nauru in New Zealand.
"The truth of the matter is that Connie Fierravanti-Wells got done over," Senator Lambie said. Cult that defines Trump's power is just a few scratches away from the surface in Australia. This week Rick Perry, former governor of Texas and Donald Trump’s energy secretary, told Fox News that he believed Trump was “the chosen one” – chosen by God to lead the United States.
Also this week we saw yet another example of Trump supporters being interviewed. These people told Fox News they supported Trump because “it’s really quite simple ... Family values, honesty, integrity, character and that is everything that president Trump represents.” Not even anyone in Trump’s own family would honestly think Trump has family values.
And yet here we are. The chosen one of God. It is time – nay, well past time – to realise the Republican party is no longer a political party: it is a cult. The big problem for us is that inevitably the conservatives in Australia follow the lead of the US. Fortunately our system of government has a natural barrier to the adoration of leaders that occurs with a presidential system, and yet the cult status is just a few scratches away from the surface. NSW Labor MP Shaoquett Moselmane's home, office raided by police - ABC News. If press conferences are anything to go by, the brief sparkle of better politics has come to an end - ABC News. 'Better for Her Majesty not to know': palace letters reveal Queen's role in sacking of Australian PM Whitlam | Australia news.
Scott Morrison: how he went from Artful Dodger to political shapeshifter | Katharine Murphy | Australia news. The Australian Constitution. Remembering the Tasmanian Dam Case | Opinions on High. Why Australian MPs are heading for the high court over dual citizenship – explainer | Australia news. Scott Morrison says Trump travel ban shows 'world is catching up' to Australia | Australia news. Theconversation. Wiradjuri woman sings Linda Burney into parliament for her maiden speech – video | Australia news. Paul Keating's challenge: view Australia through Aboriginal eyes. Tony Abbott: top 10 bloopers of his prime ministership – video | Australia news. How to waste 200 words. Fifty-four adults and children 'captive for decades' rescued from Shining Path.
Why Tony isn't pointing fingers. Coalition MPs demand proper say on next Speaker as Bronwyn Bishop quits | Australia news. Queensland sovereign citizen loses bid to carry guns after Rockhampton arrest attempt. Mark Latham's Downfall Started With This Very Intense Handshake. Greens senator Jordon Steele-John calls on Australia to question AUKUS pact as Jacinta Price continues to rail against Voice on Q+A. Inside the late night meetings that came to define Anthony Albanese's Voice referendum gamble. AUKUS is Australia's message to China that the Western alliance is strong. Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin aren't buying it.
What legal woes does former US President Donald Trump face? | Donald Trump News. From climate emergencies to war, COVID and living costs, the future is now: What will our politicians learn from 2022? The Bell inquiry shreds Scott Morrison's credibility and for Labor the timing couldn't be better. Government 'looking hard' at Russia's presence in Australia, amid diplomatic tensions and spying concerns. Log into Facebook. Trump openly embraces, amplifies QAnon conspiracy theories | AP News. After Queen Elizabeth II's death, Australia is talking about a republic again. How could it be achieved? Scott Morrison's secret self-appointments point to an insidious weakening of the guardrails of Australia's democracy. Scott Morrison's horror show isn't over — and there's a high risk of more damage to come. Grattan on Friday: The Scott Morrison horror show has a way to run yet.
Scott Morrison gave two reasons for secretly taking on five ministerial roles. But his lack of trust is what's most extraordinary. PM to outline proposed referendum question on Indigenous Voice to Parliament. After more than 200 years of waiting, Albanese puts forward a 'simple' proposition for an Indigenous Voice to Parliament.