The former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has defended his failure to introduce sanctions against Chinese officials over human rights abuses, saying he ran out of time before his election loss. His comments to a conference in Tokyo on Friday prompted the Australian foreign affairs minister, Penny Wong, to declare: “I’m not sure how much advice it would be sensible to take from Mr Morrison on foreign policy.” Wong was responding to Morrison’s suggestion that Australia should “demand and expect” an end to China’s tariffs and bans against a range…
Tag: Australian politics
Australia news live: Albanese says he has confidence in Philip Lowe, Perrottet backs ban on gay conversion practices
From 48m ago Perrottet backs ban on gay conversion practices Tamsin Rose New South Wales is a step closer to banning so-called gay conversion therapy after the premier, Dominic Perrottet, said he would support legislation to end the damaging practices. He said: There is no room for any harmful practices in NSW, particularly if they affect our young and vulnerable. When the parliament returns, my government will provide in principle support for legislation that brings an end to any harmful practices. This is a complex matter and in working through…
Former Australian PM Scott Morrison accuses west of appeasing China
The former Australian prime minister Scott Morrison has accused the west of “appeasing” Beijing and has claimed credit for rallying other countries to “call out the bullying of the Chinese government”. In a speech to be delivered at a conference in Tokyo on Friday, Morrison is also expected to urge the Albanese government to consider using Magnitsky-style targeted human rights sanctions laws to hold Chinese government officials accountable. But Morrison did not introduce sanctions against any Chinese officials prior to leading the Coalition to its May 2022 election loss. In…
Kevin Rudd: Australia’s incoming ambassador to US says balloon saga threatens push to ease tensions with China
The incoming Australian ambassador to the United States, Kevin Rudd, has warned the Chinese balloon saga has created new “diplomatic clouds” that put at risk recent efforts to ease tensions between Beijing and Washington. In a speech in Brisbane on Wednesday, Rudd also warned against expecting any “softening in China’s ideological cleavage with the west”. Rudd, a former Labor prime minister who remains as president of the Asia Society until late next month, emphasised that he was offering “personal reflections” which “do not represent the views of the Australian government”.…
Australia closer to a free trade pact with EU but minister warns there won’t be a deal ‘for the sake of it’
Australian and European Union negotiators believe they are getting closer to clinching a free trade agreement as they race to meet a mid-year deadline, but the Albanese government warns it will “not sign a deal for the sake of it”. Guardian Australia understands officials finalised three chapters of the agreement – on competition, telecommunications and maritime services – during a round of negotiations last week in Canberra. The thorny issue of geographical indicators – the EU push to restrict the use of terms such as prosecco and feta by Australian…
Australia politics live: ballooning rental prices to fuel inflation, Treasury says
From 31m ago Inflation in rental prices expected to increase: Treasury You may have noticed he mentioned rental increases there. It is not great news for that already tight market, according to Treasury: Rising housing costs remain a source of cost-of-living pressures for many households. Inflation in newly advertised rental prices has been rising sharply for around a year, reaching 10 per cent nationally in January. The national vacancy rate has reached a near-record low of around 1%. Despite the slowdown in population growth during the pandemic, underlying demand for…
Australian intelligence agency advised departmental discretion on using Chinese equipment 14 months ago
An Australian intelligence agency declared a year ago it was up to government departments whether to use equipment from Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua, despite a new bipartisan push to remove such devices. The advice from the Australian Signals Directorate was published in late 2021, at a time when the opposition leader, Peter Dutton, was defence minister. This week the opposition called for action as it circulated new figures showing that at least 913 Hikvision and Dahua devices – including CCTV systems – were installed at more than 250 government…
Australia news live: treasurers to discuss cost-of-living crisis, no Chinese spy balloons over Australia, defence says
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Social media campaign linked to Chinese government spreading disinformation about Australian politics, thinktank says
A coordinated foreign influence campaign linked to the Chinese government is using social media to undermine confidence in Australia’s democratic system, according to researchers at a Canberra-based defence thinktank. The researchers believe the network is operating from within China and is either spreading disinformation about Australian politics or amplifying concerns about political scandals. They reference rape allegations made by the former Liberal staffer Brittany Higgins and against the former attorney general Christian Porter, which he strongly denies. The network is believed to have about 30 active accounts so far, which…
Chinese-made security cameras to be removed from Australian government buildings
The federal government has committed to removing Chinese-made security cameras at government buildings across Australia, admitting there is a potential security problem that needs to be addressed. An audit of surveillance equipment, conducted by the shadow cybersecurity minister, James Paterson, has confirmed that more than 900 products built by Chinese companies Hikvision and Dahua are installed at government locations. The US and the UK have already banned these products at government locations, with the US Federal Communications Commission warning of an “unacceptable risk to national security” due to possible espionage…