THE US State Department will soon sign-off a A$2.6b arms deal to the Australian government for 160 new Abrams tanks and four Chinook helicopters. The sale comes amid Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s pledge last year to increase defence spending in response to rising geopolitical tension in the Indo-Pacific region.
US STATE Department spokesman Ned Price said the United States supports Australia’s decision to cancel two Belt & Road Initiative arrangements with Beijing. “We continue to stand with the people of Australia as they bear the brunt of the PRC’s coercive behaviour,” Mr Price said.
THE world is at greater risk of polarisation, and like-minded, democratic nations needed to work together to carry the “aspirations of the future” Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said. In a recorded speech to the Raisina Dialogue in India, the Prime Minister said Australia was “not blind” to the realities of the state of the world.
THE Prime Minister has forced the Victorian State government to hand over documents related to secret deals it signed with the Chinese Communist Party. This is the third “Belt & Road” deal between Victoria and the CCP that the Morrison government is scrutinising under the Foreign Relations Bill that will see arrangements with all foreign nations at each level of government vetoed if they aren’t in Australia’s national interests.
THE New South Wales Coalition is expecting to lose the upcoming by-election following the resignation of Upper Hunter National MP Michael Johnsen. Premier Gladys Berejiklian said that the Liberal-National Coalition would need a “miracle” to win the seat previously filled by Mr Johnsen.
SOUTH Australian senator Rex Patrick has accused Premier Steven Marshall of “sleeping with the enemy” after the State leader spoke at the opening of a new Chinese consulate in Adelaide – where he was shouted down by hundreds of protestors.
AUSTRALIA’S domestic spy agency’s decision to drop sensitive labels such as “Left-Right” and “Islamic extremism” has received a mixed reaction, with one religious expert saying the shift to broader terminology could inadvertently mislead public perception of extremist behaviour.
AUSTRALIAN of the Year Grace Tame spoke at one of the nation-wide “Women’s March 4 Justice” rallies on Monday, calling for an end to sexual violence against women while also making a point to say that men are not the enemy. Speaking at a rally in Hobart, in the southern island state of Tasmania, Ms Tame said all woman had a story of some form of sexual violence or abuse.
NSW Environment Minister Matt Kean has splashed almost $12b of taxpayer cash on his green crusade – a move described as a blatant wealth transfer.
A MELBOURNE academic believes women are not standing up for their rights to have female-only spaces – like single-gender changing rooms – for fear they will be targeted as transphobic. Alongside this, she believes that the increasing encroachment of gender-neutral language, such as “chest-feeding” and “gestational carrier,” is impacting the rights of women; who are allowing it for the sake of being “progressive,” without pausing to consider whether it is in the interests of women.
