SMILLENNIALSMILLEN posted:

It's sad how hateful people are.

DancingShade posted:

It's your ABC.

*camera pans around to reveal room full of right wing conservatives*

Bogan King posted:

This is pretty interesting. Imagine being the monopoly airport and not wanting to control what will amount to the competition. Something messed up going on here.

quote:

Coal vs. hydro-electric — governments at odds over north Queensland power supply By Andree Withey Updated 31 minutes ago

Mr Canavan said a hydro-electric scheme would be too small to offer power security. Federal Resources Minister Matt Canavan wants a new coal-fired power station built in Queensland, despite the state's insistence it would prefer greener solutions. Mr Canavan said there was no base-load power generated north of Rockhampton, in central Queensland, and the power and economic needs of the north needed to be secured. Flagged sites included the mouth of the Galilee basin or at the now idle Collinsville power station. Mr Canavan said it was hypocritical for Queensland to be opposed to be coal-fired stations, considering its exports.(Bait and switch/chicken<-> egg) "The Queensland government is happy to export coal and make billions of dollars for their budget from royalties for coal," he said. "It's okay to burn that coal in other countries but not here apparently in Queensland. That is absurd. Why would we send a valuable economic resource to another country to use but not even consider using it ourselves?

"I think the people of north Queensland want the same kind of benefits people in southern Australia get from having base-load power." Mr Canavan said the region's economic future was dependent on the generation of the station, adding it could also help Clive Palmer's Yabulu refinery re-open. "At least Clive only wrecked one refinery in Townsville, there are six other refineries and smelters that need cheap power to stay alive and local is the answer there." Mr Canavan said state plans — announced on the weekend — to build a hydro-electric power station in the Burdekin Falls Dam, south of Townsville, would not be enough. "It is a tiny power station," Mr Canavan said. Queensland's Energy Minister Mark Bailey said a new coal fired power station in the north would be expensive, bad for the reef and climate change. He said Queensland was opposed to any new coal power, and the focus was on clean energy sources. Solar farms were to be built in Townsville, the Darling Downs, Oakey and Longreach. Mr Bailey said solar is reliable in north Queensland and baseload demand can be run off that. Furthermore, battery technology is becoming more economical - costs are dropping 7 per cent a year. "The Federal Government is] out of touch and don't care enough about climate change nor the economics of large scale renewables being cheaper now to build than new power stations," Mr Bailey said. "What they need to be doing is getting behind the clean energy movement in Queensland — that's the future. The last thing we need though is a new coal power station which will lock in high carbon emissions for a generation and a half cooking the reef."

Krazyface posted:

There's some pretty cool fountains outside.

DancingShade posted:

I wonder what the treble is like on those headphones.

quote:

Badgerys Creek airport to be built by Federal Government as Sydney Airport declines first option By Clare Blumer Updated about 9 hours ago

RELATED STORY: Why building Sydney's second airport has fallen to the Government
RELATED STORY: Residents launch High Court appeal to avoid evictions for Badgerys Creek Airport
RELATED STORY: Should Sydney's airports be run by the same company?

The Federal Government has confirmed it will build Sydney's second airport at Badgerys Creek, after Sydney Airport declined their first option to take on the project.

Key points:

Sydney Airport had first right of refusal to build the second airport in western Sydney
The company said it would be too great a financial risk for their investors
Malcolm Turnbull said details of the Government's plan for the new airport would be released next week
The Sydney Airport Group cited the "risks" on monetary return for their investors as its main reason for declining the Government's offer.

It said it considered the likely demand and growth potential, construction costs, risk profile and financial returns of the airport before turning the offer down. In a statement, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said details of its plan to build the new airport would be announced in the federal budget next week. "It is a vitally important project for Western Sydney, for Sydney, and the nation, which is why the Coalition Government ended decades of indecision by committing to the project in 2014," he said. Urban Infrastructure Minister Paul Fletcher told the ABC the new airport was vitally important given Sydney Airport would soon run out of capacity. "It is very important that Western Sydney airport gets built and we've got a clear plan to do it, this is an important milestone," he said. Mr Fletcher did not rule out private investment in the airport further down the line. "Brisbane Airport right now is expanding significantly, building a new runway at a cost of $1.35 billion … that's all private capital, taxpayers don't have to fund that," he said. "In due course, it will become sensible for that to happen."

Already a 70-year proposal

State and federal leaders have been arguing about the need to build a second Sydney airport since the 1940s, a parliamentary paper says. Badgerys Creek in far-western Sydney was put forward as a possible site in the 1980s, and a Transport Minister turned the first sod on the site in 1992. There was also ongoing controversy over whether it was appropriate for Sydney Airport to run both sites, with the company having negotiated in 2002 the first right of refusal to build the second airport.

Sydney Airport made the announcement it would not develop the Western Sydney Airport (WSA) in an ASX release on Tuesday. "Sydney Airport's decision not to accept the WSA [notice of intention] on the terms provided is in the best interests of our investors who represent millions of Australians through their superannuation funds," managing director and chief executive of Sydney Airport Kerrie Mather said. "Despite the opportunities that WSA will present, the risks associated with the development and operation of WSA considerable and endure for many decades without commensurate returns for our investors." The release said Sydney Airport still had three months left to review the material terms of the WSA operation, whether the Federal Government elected to run the airport or offer terms to another party. "If the terms are more favourable, Sydney Airport would have the option to develop and operate the airport on those terms," the ASX release said.However, the release noted the Federal Government had advised Sydney Airport the deal would mirror its previous offer that the company declined on Tuesday.

Federal Government to step in to run airport

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce weighed in saying he "wasn't surprised" Sydney Airport had declined the first option. "I always thought they'd play us along as long as possible and then say no," Mr Joyce said. He hinted at the Federal Government retaining control of the project on Tuesday morning. "But we want to build Badgerys Creek. That's one thing that I'm absolutely certain about, the Prime Minister and I are absolutely one on this," Mr Joyce said. "Badgerys Creek is vitally important, it's a vital part, a piece of infrastructure, and now that the Sydney Airport corporation says that they're not interested, we'll get to work and make sure we find people who are." NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said her Government would support the Federal Government in ensuring the new airport was built as quickly as possible. "I think that what matters to the community is that the airport is built," she said. "So long as the fees are accessible and so long as the airport is built as quickly as possible, I think the community wants to see the project come to life as opposed to worrying about who builds and operates it."

Second airport still controversial for locals

The Western Sydney Airport, which is earmarked for a site at Badgerys Creek in far-western Sydney, has been mired in controversy since its inception. Some local residents have opposed eviction to make way for the airport. After the Federal Court dismissed their appeals court in March, a dozen residents have filed their case to the High Court. The residents' legal team expected to hear in the coming months whether the High Court's full bench would hear the matter.

quote:

<snip>Citi Group estimates Badgerys Creek Airport has a negative net present value of up to $2 billion. In the context of the federal budget, that's not a large amount of money for the potential monetary and social returns. The Government will get most of its money back in the tax paid by people whose jobs are created by the airport. And of course, there'll be the big pay day when Badgerys Creek Airport, like Sydney Airport, eventually is privatised.<snip>

WhiskeyWhiskers posted:

Has anyone asked him about it in Parliament? Because they really should if they want to gently caress him over.

quote:

Xenophon deal sees pensioners get paid

The Treasurer also confirmed pensioners will receive a one-off payment before June 30 to help with rising electricity costs. Single people on the aged or disability pension will get $75, while couples will be paid $125. The payments were announced as part of a deal with South Australian Senator Nick Xenophon to pass the Government's company tax cuts. "It is there to support people going into this winter with electricity prices, that was the arrangement," Mr Morrison said.

You Am I posted:

It was

Anidav posted:

So ALP is protectionist now making them pretty remarkably close to the KAP no?

quote:

Budget 2017: AFP to get $321m funding boost to hire extra personnel By political reporter Stephanie Borys Updated 20 minutes ago

The Australian Federal Police (AFP) will receive an additional $321.4 million in tomorrow's budget to fund an expansion of the force.

Key points:

AFP expected to use funding to hire specialist personnel
Justice Minister Keenan says the AFP needs to be a high-tech organisation
Keenan denies AFP has been under-resourced or is immune to the efficiency dividend
Up to 300 personnel are expected to be hired, including negotiators, tactical response officers, bomb squad technicians and forensic specialists.

Justice Minister Michael Keenan said the funding will ensure the AFP has adequate personnel and resources to deal with the multiple threats facing Australia. "We are living in a very difficult national security environment and we're also living in an environment where organised criminals, particularly those involved in the drug trade, continue to enhance the sophistication of their operations," he told AM. "And we need the AFP to be a high-tech organisation, with the skills sets available to it, to meet these threats." Mr Keenan has also denied suggestions the extra funding indicated the force had not been properly resourced. "This is a very significant investment, the largest single investment in the past decade and it goes over and above what we have already done to ensure the AFP has the resources that it needs to do its job," he said.

The $321.4 million will be rolled out over the next four years with the Federal Government indicating it will not be cutting any funding from other areas to provide the extra money.

Earlier this year, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security recommended national security agencies — such as the AFP — be exempt from the annual funding cuts referred to as efficiency dividends. But Mr Keenan said that will not occur, arguing that "no agency is exempt from the efficiency dividend". "… But the money that is contained within this announcement, on top of all the extra significant resourcing we have given to the federal police, more than makes up for that," he said.

The additional funding will be used to hire:

Specialist response capabilities: Police negotiators, tactical response officers, bomb response technicians and canine resources specialising in drug, cash and explosive detection.
Covert physical and technical capabilities: Physical surveillance teams, covert online investigators, undercover operation members and police technical teams.
Forensics and intelligence capabilities: Digital forensics, crime scene investigators, firearms and armoury specialists, biometric experts, forensic intelligence analysts, and operational intelligence professionals.

MysticalMachineGun posted:

We're lucky it wasn't a group of faceless blonde white men.

starkebn posted:

Ora Tzo posted:

Would we get a proper investigation into the AFP when Labor gets back in? Or will merely the truncheon be passed?

quote:

Federal budget 2017: Aboriginal people exposed to British nuclear testing to receive improved health care By political reporter Dan Conifer Updated about 3 hours ago

Aboriginal people who were near British nuclear tests in the 1950s and 1960s will finally receive improved health care, the Federal Government has revealed. Britain tested atomic weapons at Maralinga and Emu Fields in South Australia and around Western Australia's Monte Bello Islands. Many Indigenous people were moved away before the tests in South Australia's far north. But some remained and were subjected to extreme levels of radiation, which a royal commission linked to significant injuries and disabilities. Veterans' Affairs Minister Dan Tehan last night said those people would now receive improved health care from the Commonwealth. "Subject to the passage of legislation, the measure will provide Gold Cards to Indigenous people present at or near Maralinga, Emu Fields or the Monte Bello Islands at the time of the British nuclear tests in the 1950s or 1960s," Mr Tehan said.

The veterans' Gold Card covers most health costs.

The breakthrough follows decades of campaigning by those affected, their relatives and advocates.

Government budgets for veterans' health

The funding is part of a $133-million federal budget package for military personnel who survived the British tests and veterans who served in Japan after World War II. Today's budget will also boost veterans' mental health care by more than $50 million, including through psychological services and suicide prevention trials. More than $150 million will also go towards improving the Department of Veterans' Affairs ageing computer systems.

Ora Tzo posted:

By the way have we found out who the fascist voyeur thats been buying the AVs is?

foolish_fool posted:

Drug tests for job seekers seems like a can't lose proposition for the libs, it appeals to the base, is irrelevant to most of the rest of everyone, and provides an opportunity to paint the greens (who were inevitably going to take the bait) as bonkers. The budget is huge and contains lots they should be criticised; any focus spent on the drug thing distracts from the other bits that might actually have an impact on voters.

quote:

The federal government's forecasts for economic growth and a return to surplus have sparked a sceptical response from economists and ratings agencies.

Wage growth will leap from 1.8 per cent in the December quarter of 2016 to 3.75 per cent in 2020/21, according to the federal budget released on Tuesday.

The government believes the pick-up in wage growth will help boost consumption spending, which is critical to overall economic growth.

Gross domestic product is forecast to be 1.75 per cent in the financial year ending June 30, before leaping to 2.75 per cent in 2017/18 and rising to three per cent in 2018/19.

Quantum Mechanic posted:

They've essentially declared themselves to be independents.

hooman posted:

Holy poo poo, is it just a universal rule everywhere that the people who want to be in politics are the worst possible people to be in politics?

tithin posted:

Canberra is a leaky sieve. Words of this were getting to the unions two months ago. Bank lobbyists will have known about this for far longer.

This is all a play

Kafka Syrup posted:

Everything I say about the Party has a big ol' NSW exceptionalism caveat. Moving from QLD to the ACT really made the differences NSW has into light. Now that I have to regularly meet their OBs and be the brunt of their emails.

I read a couple of really good papers on the history of the Greens - I can't remember if it was Narelle Marigliotta or Stewart Jackson who wrote it. But they highlighted the origins of each Branch had insane amounts of influence until recently. Not just NSW's communist roots. QLD and Tasmania were both hardcore on-the-ground environmentalists, while WA sprung from the nuclear disarmament movement and Victoria and SA from community legal and health advocates. Queensland also had the conversion of the left of the Australian Democrats which changed the culture a lot about a decade ago.

Kafka Syrup posted:

Well I think they aren't enough Bookchinite. I guess we better split the party.

Bogan King posted:

If you loved them enough that you wanted them off drugs maybe put money into programmes that are effective at doing just that instead of pissing it up against the wall with your hate boner stunt bullshit.

CrazyTolradi posted:

Also, when boomers whine about how "Young people have it so easy." what exactly are they referring to? How exactly do millennials have it easy?

Aesculus posted:

You're not both of those things?

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Which Australian columnist are you?

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

Jesus where do you start?

Gorilla Salad posted:

I thought it was bad when I saw some US citizens think North Korea is in the Northern Territory, then I noticed the ones who thought it was in the open ocean.

Bogan King posted:

https://twitter.com/MattCowgill/status/787617660498432001

Recoome posted:

Simon Bermingham on ABC talking about how there's only a handful of uni students protesting

ughhhhhh it could be that we are really loving busy right now. I'd love to be protesting today but I am snowed under with an assignment

bowmore posted:

yep, we don't have time to protest

not risking failure to shout at this deadshit government

quote:

TAKING ON TERROR - Terrorist Khaled Sharrouf’s brother charged The Australian12:00AM May 17, 2017 SAM BUCKINGHAM-JONES (alledged) Journalist Sydney - PAUL MALEY National Security Editor Sydney (So you know it's serious)

The brother of one of Australia’s most notorious Islamic State terrorists, Khaled Sharrouf, has been charged after allegedly resisting police officers during an early morning raid on Anzac Day. Arken Abdull Rahim Sharrouf yesterday appeared in Sydney’s Sutherland Local Court charged with resisting an officer in the ­execution of duty. Dressed in a dark jacket, light pants and a grey headpiece, the 30-year-old younger brother of Khaled pleaded not guilty to the charge, which stemmed from a raid on his Peakhurst home in the early hours of Anzac Day. Mr Sharrouf’s house, which he shares with his wife and four young children, was raided apparently because of concerns he may have violated a Firearms Prohibition Order, which allows police to search him at will.

“Your Honour, we’re entering a plea of not guilty,” Mr Sharrouf’s lawyer, Omar Juweinat, told magistrate Julie Huber yesterday. Court documents obtained by The Australian reveal that while Mr Sharrouf has no recorded violence convictions, he “has warnings that he is associated with terrorist activity. The accused stated he suffers from schizophrenia but no details were supplied to police,” the documents say. “It is unknown if the ­accused has made statements or carried out activities advocating support for terrorist acts or violent extremism.”

Mr Sharrouf was arrested on Anzac Day morning, taken to a southern Sydney police station, and charged after allegedly hindering two constables in the ­execution of their duty. He was later granted unconditional bail. In late 2013, Khaled Sharrouf, who also said he had schizophrenia, travelled to Syria using his brother Mustafa’s passport, with Sydney extremist Mohamed Elomar, to join Islamic State. A few months later Sharrouf’s wife, Tara Nettleton, joined him in Syria, along with the couple’s five young children. Nettleton later died in a Syrian hospital, effect­ively rendering the children wards of Islamic State for a period while Sharrouf was missing. Elomar and Sharrouf cut a bloody swath through northern Syria and Iraq, documenting their many atrocities and war crimes on social media. Sharrouf gained global notoriety for posting images of his young son holding the severed head of a Syrian official.

It was subsequently revealed Sharrouf had been collecting thousands of dollars from his Disability Support Pension while overseas.

Elomar later married Sharrouf’s eldest daughter, Zaynab, who bore him a child.

Elomar was killed by a drone strike in 2015 in the Syrian city of Raqqa, once declared the “capital” of Islamic State’s self-proclaimed caliphate. Sharrouf has since become the first Australian to be stripped of his citizenship after the government enacted anti-terrorism laws. He was reported by Iraqi media outlets to have been killed in an air strike on Mosul, but had escaped death several times previously and is believed by Australian authorities to be alive. After yesterday’s hearing, Mr Juweinat said he and his client would vigorously fight the charge. Specifically, Arken Sharrouf will be challenging the NSW Police Force’s reason for conducting the raid. Mr Juweinat said on April 24 — the day before the arrest — Mr Sharrouf was issued with a Firearms Prohibition Order, which allows police to search any person, any home, or vehicle that person operates, without a warrant. “One of the issues is whether the entry was lawful in the circumstances and, further, whether the (Firearms Prohibition) order was issued properly by the commissioner of police,” Mr Juweinat said after Mr Sharrouf’s court appearance. “The reality is, had it not been for his affiliation with his brother Khaled, I’ve got no doubt this wouldn’t have happened.”

The matter will return to Sutherland Local Court on June 27, two weeks after police are to serve their brief of evidence on Mr Sharrouf and his lawyer.

MysticalMachineGun posted:

Guardian and Insiders have both talked about it (Cassidy asked him about it directly) but since then Dutton's been hiding in his 2GB safe space with Ray "Hug a Lib" Hadley.

Bogan King posted:

That isn't even true though. We're at the slowest wage growth ever.

Extra digging how we kept AAA rating because of the budget despite the fact that it's based on complete bullshit assumptions.

thatbastardken posted:

get back to me when turnbull is found passing data from pine gap to kim jong un

quote:

"There was an alleged incident where three asylum seekers were alleged to be leading a local five-year-old boy back toward the facility and there was a lot of angst around that, if you like, within the local PNG community," Mr Dutton said.

"I think some of the local residents were quite angry about this particular incident and another alleged sexual assault."

The leaked report contains no reference to the alleged incident involving the five-year-old.

quote:

Lateline approached Mr Dutton's office but no comment was provided.

quote:

"Look at France, they currently rely heavily on nuclear energy which they import from places next door like the Czech Republic and other European nations," Mr Barilaro said.

"Yet they have made a commitment to build a plant in France. Places like the US and Korea have all decided to look at building nuclear plants."

quote:

The woman rushed Luna to a nearby vet but she could not be saved. She said her dog was gentle and good with other animals.

MysticalMachineGun posted:

Drink more piss

Bogan King posted:

The article fails to do due diligence as it doesn't mention if helmets were being worn or not.

Anidav posted:

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has given 7,500 asylum seekers living in Australia until October to lodge an application for protection, or face deportation, declaring the "game is up" for "fake refugees".

quote:

Peter Dutton declares 'game is up' for 'fake refugees' living in Australia By political reporter Jane Norman Updated 28 minutes ago

Immigration Minister Peter Dutton has given 7,500 asylum seekers living in Australia until October to lodge an application for protection, or face deportation, declaring the "game is up" for "fake refugees".

Key points:

Asylum seekers given until October 1 to lodge an application for processing
Otherwise they will be cut off from Government payments, subject to removal from Australia
7,500 asylum seekers costing taxpayers about $250 million each year, Mr Dutton says
Mr Dutton said the asylum seekers had all arrived by boat under the previous Labor government, most without identity documents, and had so far either failed or refused to present their case for asylum with the Immigration Department.

"If people think they can rip the Australian taxpayer off, if people think that they can con the Australian taxpayer, then I'm sorry, the game's up," he said. "They need to provide the information, they need to answer the questions and then they can be determined to be a refugee or not." The asylum seekers have now been given until October 1 to lodge an application for processing or they will be cut off from Government payments, subject to removal from Australia, and banned from re-entering the country. According to Mr Dutton, the group is costing taxpayers about $250 million each year in income support alone and the deadline would ensure the Government is "not providing financial support to people who have no right to be in Australia". South Australian Senator (And complete piece of poo poo) Nick Xenophon said the new policy would have public support, and appeal to the Coalition's support base, but urged the Government to take a "calm, methodical and fair" approach. "I only hope that the Government puts as much effort into dealing with job seekers as it does with asylum seekers," Senator Xenophon said on Insiders.

But refugee advocates have slammed the "arbitrary" deadline as "cruel and unfair".

GetUp's human rights director Shen Narayanasamy said while many of the asylum seekers had been in Australia for years, they were only given the go ahead to lodge an application for protection last November. "Asylum claims are incredibly long, torturous documents," she said. "And what Peter Dutton has failed to tell you is that he has denied them interpreters and access to legal assistance." Of the 50,000 asylum seekers who arrived by boat between 2008 and 2013, 43,000 have now been processed — which means they have either been granted a visa or had their claims rejected — or are currently having their claims assessed. However, there are 7,500 asylum seekers "outside the process" and that is the group now subject to the October 1 deadline.

Asylum seeker statistics

50,000 Illegal Maritime Arrivals arrived in Australia between 2008 and 2013
Labor processed 20,000 of these people
It stopped processing IMAs in August 2012 leaving 30,500 people yet to be processed — this is known as the Legacy Caseload
23,000 of the Legacy Caseload have applied for Temporary Protection Visas or Save Haven Visas
Of those 6,500 have been granted a TPV or SHEV
3,000 have already been found not to be refugees and must leave Australia
13,000 are having their claims assessed
Around 7,500 remain outside the process and have not presented their case for protection

The Before Times posted:

So it'll be a levee levy?

quote:

Trump’s Budget Cuts Deeply Into Medicaid and Anti-Poverty Efforts By JULIE HIRSCHFELD DAVISMAY 22, 2017

WASHINGTON — President Trump plans to unveil on Tuesday a $4.1 trillion budget for 2018 that would cut deeply into programs for the poor, from health care and food stamps to student loans and disability payments, laying out an austere vision for reordering the nation’s priorities. The document, grandly titled “A New Foundation for American Greatness,” encapsulates much of the “America first” message that powered Mr. Trump’s campaign. It calls for an increase in military spending of 10 percent and spending more than $2.6 billion for border security — including $1.6 billion to begin work on a wall on the border with Mexico — as well as huge tax reductions and an improbable promise of 3 percent economic growth.

The wildly optimistic projections balance Mr. Trump’s budget, at least on paper, even though the proposal makes no changes to Social Security’s retirement program or Medicare, the two largest drivers of the nation’s debt. To compensate, the package contains deep cuts in entitlement programs that would hit hardest many of the economically strained voters who propelled the president into office. Over the next decade, it calls for slashing more than $800 billion from Medicaid, the federal health program for the poor, while slicing $192 billion from nutritional assistance and $272 billion over all from welfare programs. And domestic programs outside of military and homeland security whose budgets are determined annually by Congress would also take a hit, their funding falling by $57 billion, or 10.6 percent.

The plan would cut by more than $72 billion the disability benefits upon which millions of Americans rely. It would eliminate loan programs that subsidize college education for the poor and those who take jobs in government or nonprofit organizations. Mr. Trump’s advisers portrayed the steep reductions as necessary to balance the nation’s budget while sparing taxpayers from shouldering the burden of programs that do not work well. “This is, I think, the first time in a long time that an administration has written a budget through the eyes of the people who are actually paying the taxes,” said Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump’s budget director. “We’re not going to measure our success by how much money we spend, but by how many people we actually help,” Mr. Mulvaney said as he outlined the proposal at the White House on Monday before its formal presentation on Tuesday to Congress.

Among its innovations: Mr. Trump proposes saving $40 billion over a decade by barring undocumented immigrants from collecting the Child Tax Credit and adding additional measures to ensure they cannot collect the Earned Income Tax Credit. He has also requested $19 billion over 10 years for a new program, spearheaded by his daughter and senior adviser Ivanka Trump, to provide six weeks of paid leave to new parents. The budget also includes a broad prohibition against money for entities that provide abortions, including Planned Parenthood, blocking them from receiving any federal health funding.<Snip>

Bogan King posted:

Withdrawn

quote:

Government lags on Defence security as world 'goes to hell', US ties should be strengthened: report By political reporter Alexandra Beech Posted about 4 hours ago

Politicians are taking up time squabbling about which electorate gets the most Defence-related jobs while the world is "going to hell", a new report by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute warns.

Key points:

Rising tensions on world stage call for more attention on challenges Australia could soon face
Report recommends strengthening the US alliance
Department of Foreign Affairs needs a funding boost, report suggests

The institute's Defence budget brief, released this morning, said things were largely on track when it came to Defence spending since the release of the Defence White Paper last year.<snip>

I would blow Dane Cook posted:

the inner city lefties are winning this one.

quote:

Late-night truce delivers royalties deal to Adani The Australian12:00AM May 26, 2017 MICHAEL MCKENNA ReporterBrisbane SARAH ELKS Queensland political reporter Brisbane

Indian energy giant Adani will be offered a reworked royalties deal at a discounted rate during the early years of coal production at its $16.5 billion Carmichael coalmine, after a meeting of senior Queensland cabinet ministers last night. A compromise was struck ­between Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and her deputy, Jackie Trad, on the deal that will be used as a template to lure other resources companies into the state’s burgeoning ­Galilee and Surat basins and the northwest minerals province. The Australian understands Adani will be given the cut-price flat rate for up to six years — understood to be several million dollars a year — but it will be eventually required to pay the ­entire amount of deferred royalties owed to taxpayers for coal ­extracted at its proposed Galilee Basin mine.

Adani will have to pay interest on the delayed amount.

The final touches were being added to the arrangement at a cabinet budget review committee meeting last night before being presented to the full cabinet. The Premier said a formal submission would be made to cabinet on Monday, but The Australian understands ministers could meet as early as today. “I’m very keen to open up a number of provinces in Queensland, including the Surat (and) Galilee and also the northwest minerals province, because we recognise there’s high unemployment in regional Queensland,” Ms Palaszczuk said. “(We’ve) been working late into the night because at the end of the day, this is about people’s futures and about guaranteeing we’ll have more and more jobs being opened up in ­regional Queensland.”

The factional fight over a royalties deal for Adani has dominated this parliamentary sitting and split Ms Palaszczuk’s cabinet.

The Indian conglomerate indefinitely postponed its final ­investment decision — scheduled for Monday — after cabinet ­deferred a decision on royalties last Monday. The opposition has targeted Ms Palaszczuk’s leadership and pointed the finger at left faction ministers — led by Ms Trad — for the delay. “What a week of division, dumb-heatedness and ­disaster from a do-nothing government,” Liberal National Party leader Tim Nicholls told parliament. “How can the business community, especially those next-wave resource companies with potentially billions of dollars of investment for Queensland, have any faith in a shambolic approach by a government that cannot even govern itself? After what they have seen this week, how can Queenslanders have any faith that this resurgent deal can even be honoured?”

The Townsville-based Minister Assisting the Premier on North Queensland, and left member, Cora­lee O’Rourke was challenged in parliament yesterday to declare her full support for the Carmichael coalmine project. “I thoroughly support the Adani project, and the jobs that it will bring,” Ms O’Rourke said. Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill, a member of the ALP, was furious this week at the delay and urged the government to sort out the disagreement so much-needed jobs could be created. It is understood that once the final investment decision is made, pre-construction works such as landclearing and surveys can begin at the Galilee Basin site. The major activity will not start until after Adani has secured finance and reached financial close on the project. Ms Palaszczuk’s caucus and candidates for the next state election will meet in Brisbane today for a party briefing on the major redistribution of the Queensland electoral map, which will be gazetted today.

quote:

David Hicks’ estranged partner gets PhD for bizarre paper comparing terrorist bombers ... to bees EXCLUSIVE: KYLAR LOUSSIKIAN, The Daily Telegraph May 26, 2017 12:00am

Subscriber only

THE estranged partner of former Guantánamo Bay detainee David Hicks has claimed bee stings are more dangerous than terrorist attacks in a bizarre thesis for Wollongong University. The lack of a “war on bees” proves tough counter-terrorism laws are simply political acts, according to the PhD thesis written by human rights activist Aloysia Brooks. The 360-page essay also takes aim at the ABC, News Corp Australia and the St James Ethics Centre for backing torture. And it claims the federal government has a “pro-torture ideology”. “Although evidence clearly demonstrates that state terrorism causes many more deaths than non-state terrorism does, terrorist acts perpetrated by the state are given far less attention in the mainstream media,” Dr Brooks writes. “More people die in car accidents, from domestic murders and bee stings in Australia than terrorist attacks. One could hardly imagine a war on bees occurring any time soon, and therefore, it can be concluded, that the counter-terrorism laws have been largely politically driven, rather than as a result of the need for legislation against new criminal acts.”

The PhD was awarded through Wollongong’s humanities department.

Mr Hicks married Dr Brooks in 2009, but the couple were estranged by last year. In another section it says “the reality is that there is no global war … the attacks on the United States in 2001 have been used as an excuse to shamelessly invade other countries.” The university said the views of the thesis were Dr Brooks’. “(The thesis) looked in depth at the experiences of four Australian citizens, one of whom was the candidate’s spouse,” a spokesman said. “It is not unusual for academics to research areas of close personal interest, or even on occasion to include their own experiences or those of close associates.” Mr Hicks was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, charged with providing material support for terrorism, and spent six years in Guantanamo. He pleaded guilty in a deal which sent him back to Australia, but a US military court later reversed the verdict after finding it couldn’t pursue that charge before 2006. St James Ethics Centre director Simon Longstaff disputed comments attributed to him in the thesis by Dr Brooks, and he would be “one of the last people to promote or defend torture”. Dr Brooks also reprinted personal communications from Mr Hicks accusing Australian Story producer Helen Grasswill of lying and attempting personal gain. Dr Brooks, pictured with Mr Hicks, says the attacks on the United States in 2001 have been used as an excuse to shamelessly invade other countries.

The saga of David Hicks.

“All Helen could do was tell me she wanted a Walkley (journalism award) for the story and that she thought she was qualified to write a book about me,” Dr Brooks wrote, citing notes from Mr Hicks. But Ms Grasswill, already a Walkley Award-winning journalist, told The Daily Telegraph not only was her story “accurate, fair and balanced” but Dr Brooks played a key role in working with Mr Hicks at the time of the interview. “There’s no question that she was a player (in everything he did), not an impartial academic observer and analyser,” she said. Australian Story never suggested Mr Hicks had been treated fairly when detained at Guantánamo Bay. Another journalist targeted by the ­thesis, who did not want to be named, described comments about them in the thesis as “bullshit” and “totally false”.

Mr Hicks married Dr Brooks in 2009, but the couple were estranged by last year.

Dr Brooks was supervised at Wollongong by Brian Martin, who gained notoriety after overseeing another thesis which claimed the World Health Organisation was colluding with pharmaceutical companies to spruik vaccines. Another of Professor Martin’s students was Michael Primero, who has been associated with “truth in health science” journal Medical Veritas, which claims the Rockefeller Foundation is trying to control consciousness. Neither Dr Brooks nor Professor Martin responded to requests for comment.

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Careers Australia goes into voluntary administration after being denied access to new VET scheme 7.30 By Michael Atkin Updated about 10 hours ago

One of Australia's largest vocational education providers, Careers Australia, has been placed into voluntary administration with up to 1,000 staff members stood down immediately without pay. Classes have also been cancelled for 15,000 students at 13 campuses across the country. Late on Thursday night, voluntary administrators David McEvoy and Martin Ford of PPB Advisory sent a letter to all staff which has been obtained by the ABC's 7.30 program. "We do not currently have sufficient funds available to meet payroll and other costs which would allow us to continue trading the Group on a 'business as usual' basis," the letter read. "Accordingly, we hereby confirm you are stood down effective 25 May 2017 whilst we undertake an urgent assessment of the Group." Students were sent a text message at 10:45pm which reads, "All activities of Careers Australia Group are suspended. No classes, no workplaces effective immediately. Further information will be provided."

At its height, Careers Australia was raking in hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer funding for expensive training courses. But a series of investigations by 7.30 revealed the company was targeting vulnerable students using door-to-door sales brokers offering so-called free computers as inducements to sign up. When that sales tactic was banned by the Federal Government, Careers Australia allegedly moved to telemarketing, online competitions spruiking free iPads, and employment websites to obtain people's contact details without their knowledge. The company denied that people were unaware they were passing on their personal information or that it was engaged in cold calling.

The voluntary administrators are David McEvoy and Martin Ford of PPB Advisory.

Careers Australia excluded from new VET scheme

Last month, in a major blow the Federal Government denied the provider access to its new vocational education scheme because of its poor track record, which included the company admitting to breaking consumer law. 7.30 understands Careers Australia appealed the decision but its appeal was rejected, prompting the collapse. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a Careers Australia employee said they were furious. "I'm angry for the staff who have worked so hard, but especially for the students who don't know what's going to happen to them," the employee said. "It was awful having to tell them the news today."

In a statement, the Federal Education Department said it stood by its decision to refuse Careers Australia's access to the new education scheme based on concerns over the provider's financial performance, governance and poor student outcomes. The Department advises concerned students to continue studying as normal until the administrators make a final decision about the future of the business. 'We've been misled,' says employee. The employee accused senior management of keeping the financial woes secret from staff. "We were told it was business as usual at every meeting before this. That's been the company line," the employee said. "[But] we've been misled. Somebody knew this was coming and they didn't give us any warning." The staff member claimed they were told by Careers Australia it was up to administrators to decide whether they continued to have jobs, and they should continue to come in to work as normal. "That's what they're feeding us, but it's a pile of rubbish that it's business as usual, I won't be doing that," the employee said.

In a statement, Careers Australia blamed the Federal Government crackdown on the sector for its financial crisis.

"Regrettably, due to a number of changes in the education sector, we have had to appoint voluntary administrators. We are very disappointed that the business has had to make this decision, particularly for the 1,000 staff and 15,000 students affected."

Students can contact Careers Australia's Tuition Assurance provider TAFE Directors Australia on 02 9217 3180 or the Department on 1800 020 108.

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U.S. acknowledges airstrike in Mosul, where more than 200 Iraqi civilians died

The U.S.-led coalition in Iraq said it might be responsible for an airstrike in Mosul on March 17 that local civil defense officials said killed at least 200. Molly Hennessy-Fiske and W.J. Hennigan Contact Reporters

An initial investigation of a recent airstrike believed to have killed more than 200 civilians in Mosul found it was conducted by the U.S.-led coalition at the request of Iraqi security forces, the Pentagon said Saturday. Witnesses said the airstrike killed hundreds of residents on Baghdad Street in west Mosul’s Aghawat Jadidah neighborhood March 17, including many women and young children. On Friday, in an area where apartment blocks were reduced to rubble, at least 50 bodies could be seen, including those of pregnant women, children and newborns. On Saturday, a day after announcing that the incident was under investigation, Pentagon officials released a statement saying the coalition had targeted Islamic State fighters and equipment in the area March 17, “at the location corresponding to allegations of civilian casualties.”

The coalition said that it takes allegations of civilian casualties seriously and that a formal Civilian Casualty Credibility Assessment of the airstrike and the civilian toll is underway. “The coalition respects human life, which is why we are assisting our Iraqi partner forces in their effort to liberate their lands from ISIS brutality,” the statement said, using an acronym for Islamic State.<snip>

Lid posted:

You can defend, albeit weakly, anti-same sex marriage on fundamentalist Christian grounds. You can not defend calling for apartheid to spread because it's so great. How the gently caress has this been overlooked for so long?

Bogan King posted:

Watch all of this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYaIDupJXcs

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ASIO boss Duncan Lewis stands by comments refugees not to blame for terrorism By political correspondent Louise Yaxley Updated 21 minutes ago

The head of ASIO has defended comments on terrorism that angered the One Nation party and caused concern in the Coalition.

Key points:

ASIO boss says 11 of 12 thwarted terror attacks were being planned by extremist Sunni Islamists
He said "very few" refugees arriving in Australia have been involved in terrorism
Australia's refugee program and screening measures are adequate, he said
ASIO director-general Duncan Lewis faced heavy criticism from One Nation after telling the party's leader Pauline Hanson last week that the refugee program is not the source of terrorism in Australia.

One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts tweeted that "If ASIO can't see a link between refugees and terrorism we are in far greater danger than I thought". The issue also flared in the Coalition party room meeting yesterday and the Attorney-General has organised for Mr Lewis to brief Government MPs on the issue. Today Mr Lewis has defended his position, saying tens of thousands of refugees have come to Australia over the last decade or so "and a very few of them have become subjects of interest for ASIO and have been involved in terrorist planning". Mr Lewis has conceded that three fatal terrorist attacks in Australia in recent years have involved either refugees or the children of refugees. "I am not denying that … but context is very important, the reason they are terrorists is not because they are refugees but because of the violent extremist interpretation of Sunni Islam that they have adopted," the ASIO head told RN. Mr Lewis said they were radicalised by viewing online material while very young in their loungerooms and bedrooms, "absorbing this brutal material".

He defended Australia's refugee program, saying screening measures are adequate and the border control regime is very sound. Former prime minister Tony Abbott has accused him of tiptoeing around the issue, but Mr Lewis rejected any criticism. "I am not here to vilify the Islamic community. I am here to keep the Australian community safe and ASIO works very hard every day on that particular issue," he said. But he warned it is not possible to prevent all attacks, saying 12 attacks have been thwarted since September 2014, but four had succeeded. "That indicates we have very good arrangements to do background checking and prevent would-be terrorists from plying their trade but it is not foolproof," Mr Lewis said. Of the 12 terrorist attacks thwarted, he said 11 were being planned by young men who were radicalised in the spirit of this "Sunni Islamist extremist cult" and one was a a right-wing extremist who had nothing to do with Islam.

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Melbourne girl, 12, killed in Islamic State terrorist blast at Baghdad ice-cream parlour Updated 26 minutes ago

A "loving and fun" 12-year-old Melbourne girl killed in an Islamic State (IS) bomb blast at a Baghdad ice-cream parlour had begged her mother to take her there after a long day of Ramadan fasting. Reuters news service reported two car bombs were used to kill more than 20 people and wound dozens of others in the Iraqi capital, as people broke their holy month fasts. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop confirmed Zynab Al Harbiya, from Thomastown in Melbourne's north, had been killed in the "vicious" attack. Zynab was in Iraq with her parents and two siblings to visit her sick grandfather. Family friend Sama Hadad described Zynab as "a loving and fun 12-year-old".

She said the girl had begged her mother to take her out for ice-cream after they had been fasting for Ramadan.

"The holy month of Ramadan started this past weekend so people are fasting from food and drink throughout the day [which was] 40-plus degrees, very warm," she told the ABC. "So after the break of the fast she asked to be taken to the ice-cream parlour, where she went along with her mum and uncles. "Unfortunately the ice-cream parlour was targeted by a suicide car bomb, and her uncles were injured and she was fatally wounded and did not make it." Zynab has been buried in Iraq.

Dr Hadad said the family was "absolutely devastated".

"The family are distraught, in shock," she said. "How can a beautiful, bright, intelligent, optimistic, full-of-dreams, perfect girl go on a trip and not return back home? This just brings home the fact that this diseased ISIS [Islamic State] ideology is infiltrating internationally and affecting everyone." Dr Hadad said she did not know the extent of the girl's uncles' injuries.

Zynab was a student at Sirius College in Broadmeadows. Dr Hadad said she had earlier attended Thomastown Primary School.

Sirius College principal Halid Serdar Takimoglu said Zynab was "energetic, outspoken and passionate and loved by her friends". "All of us are deeply distressed that one of our smiling students has been taken from us in a cruel act of violence that is beyond understanding," he said in a statement. Dr Hadad said Zynab's family was well-known in the community, including for charity work.

Ms Bishop said the girl's death highlighted the importance of Australia's involvement in Iraq.

"I extend our deepest sympathies to her family, her loved ones, her fellow students in Broadmeadows," she said. "This tragedy underscores the brutality of this terrorist organisation that shows no respect for religion, nationality, sovereignty, borders, no respect for humanity. This is why the Australian Government has continued to commit our defence forces to support the Iraqi security forces, so that they can fight to defeat this terrorist organisation within Iraq and to prevent its spread to other parts of the world including in our region." Ms Bishop said consular support was being provided to the family from the Australian embassy in Baghdad. "We do have limited resources in Baghdad, given the security environment, but we are providing as much consular support as we can."

The two blasts are believed to have targeted late-night crowds out during the Muslim holy month, who shop and eat ahead of the next day's fast. At least 13 people were killed and 40 wounded outside the popular ice cream shop after a car packed with explosives blew up in the city's Karrada district. A few hours later, a second bombing killed 10 people and wounded 44 more near a government office in Karkh district. IS claimed responsibility for the two attacks in online statements. The ABC could not verify the authenticity of the statements. In another blast to the west of the Baghdad in the early hours of Tuesday, a man detonated an explosive vest at an army checkpoint in the Sunni town of Hit, killing 12 people and wounding at least 24.

Dr Hadad said it was important for the public to understand Muslims were the biggest targets of IS attacks.

"Last week it was Manchester, this week it was Baghdad — similar venues, where families and young children are at leisure, and if nothing is done about it then this diseased ideology will just carry on spreading," she said. "The vast majority of ISIS attacks do in fact target Muslims, that is what is crucial to inform everyone, that Muslims are the biggest victims of ISIS and this ideology has as much to do with Islam as the KKK and Nazism has as much to do with Christianity."

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U.S. Airstrikes on ISIS Have Killed Hundreds, Maybe Thousands of Civilians

Published Tuesday, May 30th, 2017 Sarah Almukhtar writes for The New York Times:

The number of civilians killed in American-led airstrikes in Iraq and Syria spiked this year, as efforts to retake Islamic State strongholds intensified and as some procedures for approving airstrikes were changed.

Data compiled by Airwars, a nonprofit group that tracks reports of civilian deaths in Iraq and Syria, showed a significant jump in the number of reported deaths in the first three months of 2017.

The military recently confirmed that American-led airstrikes had been responsible for at least 352 civilian deaths since the start of the war against the Islamic State. But Airwars estimated that the total was eight times higher. The group found that at least 3,100 civilians were killed in American-led airstrikes from August 2014 to March 2017.