Energy minister Chris Bowen has defended the former Labor prime minister’s plans to meet with China’s Wang Yi, saying it is ‘singularly unsurprising’ that a foreign minister would seek out a meeting with a former PM. ‘Former prime minister Keating is deeply respected across Asia as the man who first pointed out that Australia would seek its security in Asia, not from Asia,’ Bowen said The Guardian
Tag: Australia news
Australia politics live: Coalition slams Keating for China meeting; RBA tipped to hold rates
From 1h ago Coalition slams Keating for China meeting Daniel Hurst The Coalition has taken aim at former prime minister Paul Keating for accepting a meeting with the Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, who is visiting Australia later this week. The Coalition’s foreign affairs spokesperson, Simon Birmingham, said the idea of the meeting was “pointed and somewhat insulting” in light of the extent of Keating’s past commentary directed towards the Australian foreign minister, Penny Wong: Paul Keating’s reckless and irresponsible comments since the Albanese government was elected demonstrates an underlying…
Paul Keating says The Australian should be ‘contemptuously ignored’ ahead of Wang Yi meeting
Paul Keating has declared that The Australian newspaper should be “contemptuously ignored” as the former Labor prime minister hit back at criticism of his plans to meet with China’s visiting foreign minister. Keating, an outspoken opponent of the Australian government’s plans to acquire nuclear-powered submarines, also accused News Corp’s national broadsheet of being “trenchantly anti-Chinese”. Keating levelled the criticism one year after he accused rival papers the Sydney Morning Herald and the Age of “the most egregious and provocative news presentation” in five decades for their “red alert” series about…
Liberal MP urges Australia to follow US in TikTok crackdown, calling app a ‘serious threat’ to national security
The shadow home affairs spokesperson has labelled TikTok a “bad faith actor” and a “serious threat” to Australia’s national security, urging the Albanese government to follow the United States in its crackdown on the video-sharing app. The Liberal senator James Paterson said he was not advocating for a total ban on the popular app but wants Australia to emulate the United States in its bid to force the Chinese tech company that owns TikTok to divest its business in the US. Paterson told ABC’s Insiders on Sunday he hoped changes…
Tuvalu prime minister calls on Australia for sovereignty ‘guarantees’ over treaty
Tuvalu’s new prime minister, Feleti Teo, wants “guarantees” from Canberra that a landmark treaty with Australia will not undermine his country’s sovereignty. Teo, who was appointed leader last month, told the Guardian a controversial security clause in the Falepili Union treaty has led to fears among Tuvaluans that Australia “might encroach on Tuvalu’s sovereignty”. The treaty, signed in late 2023, states that the Pacific nation shall “mutually agree with Australia” on partnerships or arrangements with other states on security and defence-related matters. The clause in effect gives Australia veto power…
McDonald’s hit by ‘technology outage’ in UK, Australia, Japan and China
McDonald’s restaurants in multiple countries including the UK and Australia have been hit by a “technology outage”, as the fast food chain denied it had been hit by a cybersecurity attack. Services in Australia, the UK, Japan and China have been affected, with unconfirmed reports of problems elsewhere, with restaurant, drive-through and online orders affected. A global spokesperson for McDonald’s said the company was working to resolve the unspecified problem. “We are aware of a technology outage, which impacted our restaurants; the issue is now being resolved. We thank customers…
Chinese foreign minister’s visit to Australia locked in hours after Beijing signals wine tariff lift
China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, will visit Australia for the first time in seven years, with next week’s trip being locked in just hours after Beijing offered a reprieve to Australian winemakers. China imposed tariffs of up to 200% on Australian wine at the height of the diplomatic dispute in 2020, alongside measures affecting a range of products including barley, red meat, seafood and coal. Australia has since been in the grips of a wine glut with an oversupply equivalent to more than 2.8bn bottles of wine after vintage last…
News live: Turnbull says Australia ‘mugged by reality’ on Aukus deal as US due to cut submarine build; fears for missing WA travellers
From 13m ago ‘Mugged by reality’: former PM lashes Aukus submarine deal Former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull has lashed the Aukus pillar 1 submarine deal, arguing the US is producing half as many as needed and Australia has “abandoned our sovereignty in terms of submarines”. Speaking to ABC RN about the issue, Turnbull said: The US navy is trying to increase its submarine fleet actually to meet the rapid growth in the Chinese navy, in particular [with] submarines. To do that to meet its own requirements, it needs to double…
‘We need to go again’: Australian who led MH370 search joins calls for fresh effort to find plane
The man who led Australia’s search for MH370 has urged the Australian government to support any new effort to find the plane, which disappeared 10 years ago on Friday. On Sunday the Malaysian government said it was in talks with the US marine robotics company Ocean Infinity to discuss a new search. The company says it is willing and able to return to the search, and has submitted a proposal to the Malaysian government. The Malaysian Airlines Boeing 777 departed Kuala Lumpur on 8 March 2014, bound for Beijing with…
Chinese tourism to Australia still in the doldrums after pandemic travel bans
In the two weeks either side of lunar new year, Mandy Ho, who manages a hot air balloon company in Melbourne, has many balls in the air. Most mornings before dawn, when weather permits, her colleagues fly Chinese tourists from the vineyards of the Yarra Valley over Melbourne’s eastern suburbs to parkland on the city’s fringe. Interpreters make sure nothing is lost in translation. Ho has spent weeks preparing tourists and arranging buses to collect them from hotels. She’s already met some of them while running the company’s Mandarin smartphone…