From 1h ago Chris Bowen throws back to Coalition on energy price rises The energy minister is borrowing a turn of phrase out of Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech when asked about the Coalition’s suggestion that capping coal and gas prices will, in the longer run, increase prices. Chris Bowen: I invite the Coalition to have a look in the mirror. I mean, he had the independent energy regulator this morning pointing out that without the intervention, the price rises would have been closer to 50%. An intervention that Mr Dutton…
Tag: Australian security and counter-terrorism
Drawing closer to US while seeking warmer China ties leaves Australia with a tough balancing act
There was a moment in federal parliament this week when the seriousness of the looming Aukus announcement seemed to dawn on the defence minister, Richard Marles. “It is difficult to overstate the step that, as a nation, we are about to take,” Marles, in the acting prime minister’s chair, solemnly told the chamber on Thursday. “Australia will become just the seventh country to have the ability to operate a nuclear-powered submarine. We have never operated a military capability at this level before.” The statement may not have been intended to…
Speed, stealth and firepower’: the submarines that redfine Australia’s ‘strategic personality’
In a nondescript office building in Canberra, hundreds of officials have spent months fine-tuning highly secretive plans for Australia to become just the seventh country in the world to have nuclear-powered submarines. The clocks on the walls show three times – Canberra, London and Washington – reflecting the fact Australia is depending on the United Kingdom and the United States to achieve what V Adm Jonathan Mead calls “a generational challenge” that will “redefine Australia’s strategic personality”. Even towards the end of the planning process, eight or nine working groups…
Visa delays caused by security checks turning Chinese students away from Australian universities
When PhD candidate Melody Zhao received a full scholarship to study data science in Australia she didn’t expect a year later she would still be in limbo, waiting for a visa. But after receiving her Deakin University offer and applying for a student visa on 23 February 2022, she has had to defer her degree four times. Zhao is among hundreds of Chinese postgraduate candidates in STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths) fields deemed a high security risk by the Department of Home Affairs and facing lengthy visa delays. Students…
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…
Australia would spot any spy balloon over country, thinktank says, suggesting best way to down one
Australia’s radar network would be able to spot any spy balloon in its airspace, and a missile fired from a stealth fighter jet would be the most effective way to bring it down, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute (ASPI) says. The United States has downed four flying objects since 4 February, including a Chinese spy balloon with a payload the size of three buses. In January, that balloon – which China claimed was a weather balloon but US officials said was a surveillance craft – was spotted in US skies.…
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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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…
Australian officials warned in 2021 about possible recruitment of ex-ADF members by Chinese military
Australian government officials were first warned a year and a half ago about alleged attempts to recruit former defence force personnel to train the Chinese military, the defence department has revealed. But it is unclear what action, if any, the then defence minister, Peter Dutton, took at the time. The current defence minister, Richard Marles, appeared to have been spurred into action when the issue hit the media about two months ago. Marles announced in mid-October he had asked his department to investigate claims that some Australian pilots may be…