Tag Archives: ISIS

The Week That Was – January 25 to January 31

Posted on by

So, Tony Abbott made Prince Phillip a Knight of the Order of Australia. That announcement kind of took away from the fact that Angus Houston – the former Defence guy that was coordinating the search of MH370 and represented Australia for a bit after MH17 – also received a knighthood, and that anti-domestic violence campaigner Rosie Batty was named Australian of the Year.

Other than the awkwardness of the Prince Phillip knighthood “captain’s pick” issue, Australia Day was relatively normal, other than the heavy rain in Sydney. People who did some great things were recognised, there was some interesting helicopter and boat choreography on Sydney Harbour and Prince Phillip received a knighthood (the whole knighthood thing took over for a bit). Indigenous people also reminded people that they still see this day in a more negative light, treating it as a “Day of Mourning” or a “Day of Survival”, since over 200 years ago, they were basically invaded and colonised by the British.

Tony Abbott has been having a tough time this week, especially after his captain’s pick for the knighthood, with ministers and backbenchers saying they had no idea that was the plan and saying that it isn’t really an appropriate knighthood to have given. Those who haven’t specifically said that the knighthood was the worst idea ever, have at least placed all the blame on Abbott who has ignored social media backlash over the whole thing, calling it “electronic graffiti”. However, there’s more to it, because now there are rumours of serious rumblings behind the scenes over Abbott’s leadership, while some of his closest supporters in the media, like Andrew Bolt and Alan Jones, are suggesting his leadership could be at an end.

Abbott has admitted he should have consulted more with his party and the public over the whole knighthood saga, but the rumours have continued with talk that Julie Bishop, Malcolm Turnbull and others, including Mal Brough (responsible for the whole Ashby-Slipper saga back in the Gillard days), are canvassing the party for numbers, or if not them, backbenchers who think that some of these Ministers could be PM and win them the next election.

The whole thing got a little bit more insane and ridiculous when Abbott said the reason ministers like Malcolm Turnbull, Julie Bishop and Scott Morrison are any good at their jobs was because he is a great leader.

Meanwhile, the Queensland LNP is fully ready to blame Abbott if they get a poor result in the Queensland State Election, held on Saturday, which now looks increasingly likely. The number of seats needed by a party to rule Queensland is 45, and at last count just before midnight on Saturday night, the LNP had 40 seats, Labor had 43 seats, with three seats in doubt, and three seats to other parties and independents. The prediction is that Labor will get 45 (the magic number) and win the election, most likely with support from the three other MPs – a result nobody expected.

Matthew Gardiner, the Labor Party President in the Northern Territory, has left Australia for the Middle East in order to help the Kurdish forces fight against Islamic State. It has shocked the country, with Bill Shorten telling people it’s a bad idea to go, and asking Gardiner to return to Australia. Furthermore, the government has pointed out that regardless of who you are fighting for, it’s still illegal to go fight overseas.

While the Manus Island Detention Centre protests are over, it appears that the allegations of violence on the part of the security forces and PNG Police may have had some truth to them, with images showing detainees with what appears to be evidence of being beaten. 40 of the Detention Centre’s detainees have also been arrested by the PNG government, however, once again, both the Australian and PNG governments aren’t saying much.

Finally this week, Whitlam and Hawke government minister, Tom Uren died this week; it’s looking more and more likely that the two Australians on death row in Indonesia for drug offences will be executed in the next few weeks; the Sydney Siege Inquiry has begun; the Royal Commission into Child Abuse has released its recommendations for compensation and reconciliation for victims; and Brazil is upset that a NSW court acquitted all but one of four cops charged with a Brazilian student’s death – and the one that was found guilty was charged with assault for using three cans of pepper spray on the student and didn’t even get a conviction recorded.

Tweet of the Week

So Triple J disqualified Taylor Swift from the Hottest 100, only to play another Top 40 song in spot #6

https://twitter.com/KKeneally/status/559657461620027392

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Kristina Keneally is a Catholic and a Feminist – The Guardian

Things that would have been different if Harry Potter was set in Australia – Buzzfeed

Your Argument is Wrong: “Guns don’t kill people”

The Week That Was – January 18 to January 24

Posted on by

The unrest at the detention centre on Manus Island has ended albeit with a lot of silence from the government, and conflicting accounts over whether or not violence was used to end it once the health and safety staff cam. The asylum seekers in the detention centre were blockading the entry to one of the compounds to the point where water had to be left outside the gate.

Several passports have been canceled in the hope that those at risk of heading to the Middle East will not be able to go, however communities have been saying that it doesn’t stop radicalisation. They suggest that a cosmetic approach is not enough and that rehabilitation is better than prosecution – to the point where people are setting up counselling and community groups to help people, with one group being funded by an organisation based in Dubai.

It’s believed that the Prime Minister pushed for the change to the Medicare rebate against the advice of both the Treasurer and the Health Minister. It’s also been suggested that once it became obvious that the Senate would throw the policy out when they returned to Canberra (and the public was not going to support it) he abandoned it, and left the new Health Minister Sussan Ley to clean up the mess. While the $20 cut is gone, the $5 rebate cut to doctors is still there, and it’s though that most doctors will pass that change onto patients.

To add to the drama, there are rumblings on the backbench, as people begin to question Abbott’s judgement. There are suggestions that Abbott is a liability, with rumours that people are seeing who might have the numbers to take Abbott on.

The government has cut $271 million from the Social Services budget, leaving community organisations to apply for tenders so that a select few can get funding. Only 700 groups have been shortlisted, and by the end of the tender process 4000 groups will have lost funding, including a suburban Sydney community aid group and a teenage mother support group.

Cross bench senators are making clear that they still do not support the plans to deregulate university fees. Christopher Pyne is indicating that he may compromise further on the policy, but many cross benchers are still saying that any changes to university funding will not be supported at all.

Australia is trying to save the lives of two men on death row in Indonesia after both their pleas for clemency were denied by the Indonesian government. It’s thought that if the executions do go ahead, they will be carried out in the next few weeks. It’s not looking good for them, as Indonesia executed five foreigners for drug trafficking offences last week, including a Dutch citizen and a Brazilian citizen.

Back at the 2010 election, Tony Abbott said that Work Choices was “dead, buried and cremated”. It appear however that some form of Work Choices may be returning after the Productivity Commission said that changes to penalty rates could be on the table. This has made several industries, like the hospitality industry quite pleased as they won’t have to pay workers so much, while workers, particularly those who work for emergency services and in hospitality are not pleased, as part of the reason they put up with being rostered on weekends and public holidays is because they are paid more money.

Finally this week, David Hicks could have his conviction overturned, Campbell Newman has said that the Queensland Labour Party is being funded by bikies, and has also told voters that if they don’t vote for the LNP candidate in their seat they will not get what was promised by the party for the electorate.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on the Moon on Australia Day Honours – The Guardian

Emma Watson should run for US president in 2016 – Buzzfeed

The Two Weeks That Were – December 28 to January 10

Posted on by

Happy New Year. As the government slowly heads back to work after the holidays, Penny Wong has suggested that Tony Abbott’s New Years Resolution should be to stop breaking promises, while Abbott has told senate cross benchers to stop being selfish and think about the big picture, and Nick Xenophon thinks that Abbott is still acting like an opposition leader as opposed to a PM.

After the Air Asia crash just before New Year, Australia began to help in the search for the plane, as has the USA, Russia and other countries Indonesia has asked. It’s believed that some Australian searchers found some bits of wreckage, and Tony Abbott, ever the philosopher, said it was neither a mystery like MH370, nor was it an atrocity like MH17 (Air Asia is a Malaysian budget/low-cost carrier).

In some slightly good news for Peter Greste, judges have overturned his and his colleagues convictions, but they will have to be retried. The Al Jazeera journalists were not given bail, however two have applied to be deported – Greste and his colleague with Canadian citizenship – the other is Egyptian and has no other citizenship. It’s unclear if that will happen, and both Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and the Greste family are not getting too hopeful. Qatar and Egypt have apparently improved their relationship slightly, which will help in the case as Al Jazeera is based in Qatar and run by a member of the Qatari Royal Family.

Meanwhile, more has come to light in the saga involving one of Clive Palmer’s staffers. It’s alleged that he helped with a plan to lure a NAB executive to Bali in order to hold the executive against his will and force him to retract a witness statement he was going to make in court. It turns out the executive reported it to NAB and the Queensland Police Fraud Squad, and nothing was done. It wasn’t until 2014, when Taskforce Maxima – an anti-bikie taskforce – came across the case while looking into other matters and they arrested Palmer’s staffer and some of the other people involved, while also reporting the dodgy fraud squad investigation to Queensland’s corruption watch dog.

Ton Abbott went to Iraq just after New Years to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister and Australian troops and talk about the fight against ISIS. He talked about decimating the ISIS “death cult” and how everyone wants the ADF to be out there fighting against ISIS. Reports are that the Iraqi PM wants Australia to send more troops and equipment to help, which Labor has said it would like information about before they vote for it. Abbott also went to see air force staff based in the UAE, who have been helping with airstrikes on ISIS strongholds.

Cabinet Papers from 1988 and 1989 have been released showing Australia’s concern about the Cold War, including the bugging of the Australian Embassy in Moscow, the aftermath of the Tiananmen Incident, and the expulsion of spies. There were also concerns about the introduction of HECS – the current tertiary funding model – and cabinet papers also show the tension already brewing between Hawke and Keating.

This last fortnight also saw the attack on the offices of satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo (said “ebb-dough” – short for hebdomadaire, meaning weekly in French) in Paris, two men shot journalists and cartoonists, as well as the shooting of a Paris Police Officer and the hostage taking at a Kosher supermarket. The French terror threat level is at its highest level, while Australia’s remains at its second highest, with Tony Abbott drawing links between the Paris attacks and the Lindt Siege, and since Wednesday, has started to scaremonger again, and is also saying that Australia’s safety starts in the Middle East.

Finally this fortnight, Queensland is having an election on January 31, and it is unclear how that will end; Tony Abbott, Bill Shorten, Queensland Premier Campbell Newman and Queensland Opposition Leader Annastacia Palaszczuk were at a funeral in Cairns for eight children killed by a family member; and an ISIS propaganda magazine has hailed Man Haron Monis’ attack on the Lindt Cafe, encouraging copycats, and there are reports that another Australian fighting with ISIS in the Middle-East has been killed.

Tweets of the Fortnight

As the Queensland election campaign begins, strange things begin to happen.

After the attacks on the offices of Charlie Hebdo, people are getting behind the hashtag #JeSuisCharlie

https://twitter.com/ABCNews24/status/553654405036122112

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

First Dog on the Moon’s poignant cartoon about Charlie Hebdo – The Guardian

26 Things about JB Hi Fi – Buzzfeed

2014 in Interactive news stories – ABC Online

Not One More: Leelah Alcorn and how trans* teens in deeply religious families suffer – Huffington Post

The Week That Was – December 21 to December 27

Posted on by

It was inordinately busy in the days leading up to Christmas this year.

It began with a reshuffle of Tony Abbott’s Cabinet, during which he sacked David Johnston as Minister for Defence, putting Kevin Andrews in his place. That meant the role of Minister for Social Services was given to Scott Morrison, and Peter Dutton was made Minister for Immigration. Sussan Ley becomes the second woman in Cabinet, as Minister for Health and Sport, and there has also been a change of Parliamentary Secretaries and Assistant Ministers. You can see who has gone where on the ABC website.

At least two Australians are being implicated in the brutal treatment of Yazidi women by Islamic State militants. It’s believed that the ISIS militants have either sold women and girls into sex slavery, forced them to marry ISIS militants or sexually assaulted them. Activists and charities that have rescued and helped these women have reported that at least four Yazidi women were held by militants well-known to be Australian.

There are thoughts that the GST will be changed in the next budget, after the white papers on taxation are tabled. This announcement that the GST could change has led to State Treasurers clambering for more money, while also reminding the government that if their share of the GST is decreased they will not accept the changes.

Consumer confidence could rise after the Boxing Day sales given the high turnout, but it could be a one-off given that people are still concerned about the budget and the uncertainty in Canberra. It’s thought that retailers will keep the sales going for as long as possible in order to keep consumer confidence up for a bit.

Finally this week, it’s understood that someone warned the authorities about Man Haron Monis (the perpetrator of the Sydney Siege) two days before the siege, the siege victims have been farewelled at funerals and memorial services, two men were arrested in terrorism raids on Christmas Eve, and the Climate Change Authority is concerned that Australia will not meet its 2020 emissions target. Plus, it is looking like Peter Greste may be released very soon.

Oh, and before I forget: Tony Abbot announced that his greatest achievement as Minister for Women was the repeal of the Carbon Tax.

Tweet of the Week

An ABC Journalist in the Canberra Press Gallery is leaving the ABC for a new job:

…and NSW, QLD and Victoria police discuss what they’ve left out for Santa

https://twitter.com/jamus__/status/547737670248435712

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Anderson Cooper and Kathy Griffin – NYT

Richard Glover on ‘staycations’ – SMH

Small NZ children re-enact the Christmas Story

The Week That Was – November 2 to November 8

Posted on by

There has always been concern about the current government’s attitude to climate change, given last weeks passing of the Direct Action Plan, and this week had people more concerned. The government wants to scale back the renewable energy target and the use of renewable energy sources, which the Opposition has said they will oppose. The government wants to have a chat with opposition to see if there can be a compromise, so that there is still growth in the renewable energy market. This is despite the fact that the IPCC released a report saying that the use of fossil fuels should be stopped by 2100 and that the large amount of greenhouse gasses currently in the atmosphere are most likely caused by humans. However, coal is a major export for Australia, and while the Environment Minister Greg Hunt says there are ways to clean up the industry, Tony Abbott has been constantly saying that coal is essential for economic growth and the “foundation of prosperity”.

Australia has finally got itself sorted on sending people to the Ebola zone, however, they won’t be doing it themselves.They’re giving $20 million to a private health provider, Aspen, to run a 100-bed Ebola treatment centre. Hundreds of Australian medical staff have applied to go, although it is unclear how many Australian medics Aspen will take, as there has been talk of engaging local medics as well as international staff. There has been criticism of the government for taking this long to start sending people West Africa, especially since it was revealed that the EU has had a deal going for weeks, saying they’ll evacuate and treat any aid workers who contract Ebola, contradicting the government’s excuse that there was no plan to get Australians out of West Africa should they contract the virus. Other medical staff in Australia have been making the trip to West Africa with Médecins Sans Frontières and other aid groups because they’re unimpressed with the government’s response.

This week also saw the Gough Whitlam State Memorial Service at Sydney Town Hall. Several Gurindji Land Rights activists and descendants came to the service, as well as every Prime Minister that came after Whitlam. There were speeches from senior Labor figure John Faulkner, actress Cate Blanchett and academic and lawyer Noel Pearson, who is considered to have given the best speech of the service. There was a bit of a problem though when it came to seating. It became unclear as to how the organisers were running the public seating, whether by ballot or by first in, first served. It meant that for the 1500 seats available, 6000 people registered, and without confirmation, most showed up thinking they were good to go. It meant people ended up standing outside Town Hall watching on a big screen.

The Dutch Prime Minister visited for a couple of days to talk to Tony Abbott about the investigation into MH17, and the fact that more bodies have been found at the site, and will be brought to Amsterdam where they will be examined before being returned to the families. Tony Abbott also said that he would raise MH17 with Putin at some point in the next few weeks, with APEC and the G20 coming up. According to Abbott, Putin “owes it to us, he owes it to our common humanity to ensure that justice is done”. Tony Abbott will meet Putin for a short meeting on the sidelines of APEC next week.

Speaking of APEC, Julie Bishop is in Beijing, starting discussions, and also making sure that the last bits of a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with China are ready for the G20 and Xi Jinping’s visit to Australia. The FTA mainly involves labour and trade deals, including a live cattle trade worth about $1 billion annually.

This week, Jacqui Lambie has raised eyebrows, saying she won’t pass any government legislation until the Defence Force is given a pay rise. Lambie is a former soldier, and thinks the current pay offer, which is below the rate of inflation and therefore a pay cut in real terms, is unfair. Many of her fellow Palmer United Party colleagues are distancing themselves, and Lambie is trying to get Motoring Enthusiast Party Senator Ricky Muir to join her. This would, despite Joe Hockey telling people that threats won’t work against the government, make passing legislation in the Senate difficult, as the PUP and Muir hold the balance of power. Oh, and this is all despite the fact that the government had no involvement in the Defence Force pay offer, and the only thing the PM can do is ask the tribunal responsible to reconsider their decision.

Finally this week, a former Howard minister, Jackie Kelly, who left the Liberal Party last month will challenge a NSW state seat as an independent, only a small fraction of the 4400 special humanitarian visas available to refugees from Syria fleeing ISIS have been given out, and Australian troops are still in the UAE, yet to go to Iraq.

Tweets of the Week

One of the many protocol theories being made to figure out who stands next to whom in pictures:

https://twitter.com/smurray38/status/529870844168646656

Things I’ve been Looking at Online

Leigh Sales interview with Julia Baird – ABC Online

Annabel Crabb and Leigh Sales have a podcast – Chat 10 Looks 3

One of the producers from the ABC’s Africa Bureau reflects on his job – ABC Backstory

The Week that Was – October 26 to November 1

Posted on by

This week saw the Labor party announce that they may keep the current government’s policy of turning back boats, because it appears to be working. However, they have said that they will only do it with Indonesia’s permission, which probably won’t happen, and then they didn’t say much else about it.

Clive Palmer has signed a deal with the government to pass the Direct Action Plan through the Senate, allowing the government to pay emitters to reduce their emissions. This has annoyed people, because Palmer had initially said he wouldn’t let it through because he believed it to be a wast of taxpayer money, and would only accept an Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) if Australia’s allies would do the same, especially China. The government has also found a way to get the Fuel Excise to rise without taking it through Parliament. It will go up by half a cent every six months and is estimated to rain around $19 million. There is a catch though, if the government can’t get Parliament to agree within 12 months the money has to be given back, not to the taxpayers, but to the oil companies. Tony Abbot has also said that he wants an adult debate on the GST so it can be changed. It’s led to a few people wondering about this ‘adult debate’, given Abbott was part of the protests about the Carbon Tax during which he stood in front of some pretty nasty signs about Julia Gillard.

Tony Abbot during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620x349.jpg)

Tony Abbott during Protests about the Carbon Tax (from http://images-2.drive.com.au/2014/08/04/5651350/1407146829758.jpg-620×349.jpg)

Ebola scared the bejesus out of everyone again this week, after an 18-year-old Brisbane woman was taken to hospital with a fever after coming into the country from West Africa. She was in self-quarantine in her home before she came down with the fever, and as it turns out, she’s tested negative. However, refugees from West African Ebola countries will no longer be given visas for the time being, and those who already have visas will be quarantined for 21 days. This seems to be the only reaction Australia has made at the moment, as they haven’t forced aid workers into quarantine, like several US states have, although most aid workers are making sure quarantine themselves and check their temperature everyday, as is recommended by health authorities and aid groups. Again, the Australian Medical Association has said Australia should be sending staff to Ebola hot zones to help, however the government is still saying that they probably won’t until they have an evacuation plan in place should anyone contract the virus.

Parliament House got interesting earlier in the week, after three men staged a protest about the burqa ban being overturned. You can see the video from the ABC here.

Nova Peris is embroiled in scandal this week after being accused of using taxpayer money to get an international track star from the Caribbean to come to Australia because she was having an affair with him. She has denied the allegations and the Labor Party is standing beside her, while some believe News Corp may have got the emails illegally. Peris spoke in Senate to say that this is part of a blackmail attempt in a long running child access case.

The metadata laws passed this week, meaning that metadata will be held for two years. This is believed to cost the telecommunications companies money, so they will get subsidies from the government, but it is unclear at the moment as to how much money there will be. There are critics, especially the Greens and Nick Xenophon, but given Labor supported the legislation, it’s gone through.

The government is trying to confirm the death of an Australian ISIS member in the conflict zone. The man is thought to be the most high-ranking Australian in the organisation. Meanwhile, Australian troops are still in the UAE, yet to go to Iraq to advise the military there.

Finally this week, Medibank shares are on sale,  Australian couples are having trouble getting visas to India for surrogacy, Julia Gillard has been found by the Trade Union Royal Commission to have done nothing wrong, farmers are suing the government for damages after the live export ban a few years ago, and the West Australian town of Albany played host to commemorations for the centenary of the first ships leaving Australia for WWI.

Tweet of the Week

Things that I’ve been Looking at Online

How British Colonialism determines which countries celebrate Halloween – The Washington Post

With the US Midterms coming up, people are being reminded to vote:

The Week that Was – October 19 to October 25

Posted on by

At the start of this week, Iraq finally found itself a Defence Minister, allowing Julie Bishop to finalise the terms of Australian troops coming to help advise the Iraqi defence forces. While there won’t be direct combat for the moment, the troops, mainly from the SAS, will advise and train the Iraqi army to deal with Islamic State (IS aka ISIS/ISIL). Speaking of Islamic State, Tony Abbott has been mentioned in a propaganda video spoken by a 17-year-old Australian who was able to get to the Middle East undetected by authorities. The young guy, a student from South-western Sydney told his mother he was going fishing and never came back. Abbott has used this to explain why Australia is in Iraq, and both sides of politics, not to mention community leaders are shocked that the young guy is there.

Meanwhile, the decision to make women wearing the burqa to watch parliamentary proceedings from a sealed-off section of the public gallery that is usually reserved for visiting students has been reversed. The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the President of the Senate met and decided that it would be better if women wearing the burqa were taken aside and asked to remove the covering for a moment so an officer could be satisfied of their identity. Some of the people who supported the burqa ban, such as Cory Bernardi and Jacqui Lambie are calling it ‘political correctness gone mad’, but most people seem to think that the Speaker and the Senate President are doing the right thing.

Also this week, we saw a shocking terrorist attack in Canada.

It saw Tony Abbott make a speech in Parliament about what happened in Canada, as did the Opposition.

Earlier in the week, Tony Abbott visited Indonesia for Joko Widodo’s inauguration. Widodo, often referred to by his nickname “Jokowi”, is the second democratically elected president of Indonesia. Abbott wants Australia and Indonesia to be closer and more friendly, but it is thought that Jokowi is going to be tougher on threats to Indonesia’s sovereignty, particularly by Australia, not to mention the fact that Widodo has domestic issues to deal with, such as a hung parliament and his promises to the Indonesian people.

Australia is apparently starting to frustrate the rest of the world when it comes to the fight against Ebola. The Health Minister has said that Australia will be focusing on the Asia-Pacific region and how we can help an outbreak there, as well as working on research into a vaccine. Australia has also sent $18 million to Africa to help them fight, but the opposition has demanded the government send personnel to West Africa to help fight the virus, as has, it turns out, the UK and the USA. Meanwhile, the chief medical people from each state and territory have met to discuss Australia’s plans to fight Ebola should someone in Australia be diagnosed with it, and they would also like Australian medical staff to be sent to Africa.

This week also saw Australia mourn the death of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam. He died on Tuesday (the 21st) at the age of 98. He’s considered to be one of the best Prime Ministers the country has ever had, making major social change, such as no-fault divorce and free tertiary education. He is also well-known for his changes to Aboriginal land rights, so much so, that several Aboriginal communities entered a period of traditional mourning. Many tributes came in from across the political spectrum, including Malcolm Fraser and all parliamentary business was suspended, except for a sitting to pass a condolence motion and have a few speeches.His State Memorial Service will be held on the 5th of November in Sydney. You can read some editorials and tributes about Whitlam by Julia Gillard, David Marr and Lenore Taylor from the Guardian website.

Finally this week, Bill Shorten spoke about his dislike of hiding behind the bible when arguing against marriage equality, the AMA is criticising the government for its response to Ebola, the Governor-General met up with Australian forces in the UAE and Afghanistan, and Saturday saw National Mosque Open Day, in an attempt to inform people about Islam.

Tweets of the Week

The makeshift Whitlam memorial on the steps of Old Parliament House in Canberra

Things I’ve Been Looking at Online

Australia’s war on whistleblowers must end – The Guardian

Barry Spurr is the smoking gun of institutional racism – New Matilda

The death of a US-born journalist working for Iranian TV is believed to be the work of Turkish authorities – Daily Mail UK

The relationship you wish you had (about a gay couple on YouTube) – Huffington Post

The Week That Was – September 28 to October 4

Posted on by

It’s official. Australia is going to Iraq to take part in US airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, aka ISIS/ISIL). At the beginning of the week, while waiting for confirmation, Australian troops were doing practice flights in the UAE and reconnaissance flights over Iraq. The government has not considered Syria yet, and may decide not to go there in the end. However, according to the government, we’re not going to war, we’re going to help a humanitarian mission – despite this the ABC has been using the term ‘war’, so go figure. Australia’s tactical advisors are yet to begin working in Iraq as they haven’t been given their diplomatic immunity, but apparently that will happen soon. Meanwhile, raids were carried out in Melbourne by Victoria Police and the AFP. There was one person arrested and charged for sending money to finance terror organisations. The police say it had noting to do with the young man killed last week, and that the FBI tipped them off about the guy.

At the end of this week, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senate President decided to force women wearing burqas or niqabs to sit behind the glass walled part of the public gallery, usually reserved for school groups. This “security measure”, as they’re calling it, has been criticised by most people, arguing that it treats Muslim women as second-class citizens, with some calling it religious apartheid. On Friday, Tony Abbott spoke with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Bronwyn Bishop and asked her to reconsider the decision.

That mysterious thing called the budget is still haunting the government, as they try to figure out new ways to save money that won’t upset the Opposition, and will allow for the changes to go through. There is talk of lowering the income limit for tax benefits, as well as fiddling with the large family tax benefit. In the meantime, they’ve also got to find cuts in order to have money to fight in Iraq and fund new terror laws, though getting through a hostile senate may be a challenge, especially if Clive Palmer and the PUP decide not to support the changes the government decides to make.

This week, Scott Morrison announced an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse by guards at the Detention Centre in Nauru, after saying earlier this week that he would be “pretty damn cross” if the allegations are true. However, the investigation is also looking into whether or not the children’s charity Save the Children is orchestrating the claims or encouraging asylum seekers to make such allegations.

As the Ebola outbreak continues in Africa, and with the news of the first person being diagnosed of the disease on US soil, officials are moving to quell the fear here. Australia is at low risk, and while airports are on alert and have the capacity to send suspected Ebola cases to hospitals, we shouldn’t be overly concerned. They’ve also pointed out that in Australia, we have the resources to deal with a patient with Ebola.

In other news, the move to fully privatise Medibank is gaining momentum, with advertising now letting people know that they can register their interest in buying shares in the health fund. While some are happy with the move, there are concerns that jobs could be at risk, premiums will go up, and what happens to the many Australians that picked Medibank due to its link with the government. Also, the Trade Union Royal Commission continued this week with bribery allegations against the MUA, as well as the implication of the CFMEU in activities with crime bosses.

Finally this week, Australia Network stopped transmission into the Asia Pacific, and Australian citizen was killed in Afghanistan, and it turns out some Australian companies are not paying the amount of tax they should be.

Tweets of the Week

ICYMI – Hong Kong has been crippled by protests. But they are some of the most well-behaved and polite protesters you will ever see…

They recycle:

They apologise for barricading train stations:

They shield the cops from the rain:

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

California adopts “Yes means Yes” consent legislation – TIME Magazine

Only in Australia…Bushfire training for journalists – ABC Backstory

How to Comment – The Not Adam

The Week That Was – September 21 to September 27

Posted on by

On Sunday, in cities across Australia there were climate change protests as part of international protests in the lead up to a UN Summit on Climate Change in New York. World leaders like Obama attended, but Australia sent Julie Bishop, instead of Tony Abbott.

However, I feel like most of this week has been about terrorism and terror laws and stuff like that, and I case you were wondering, no, the budget has not yet been passed in full. Tony Abbott spoke to parliament about the new terror laws, which make specific nations or regions no go zones, punishable by 10 years in prison (unless you have a good reason to be there, like being a journalist or an aid worker – but you have to prove it), ASIO and the police get more powers and international evidence can be used against you in Australia, as long as it wasn’t obtained through torture. There has been criticism though, from people who think the laws go to far, as well as those who think the laws don’t go far enough.

One of the main stories this week is about an 18-year-old being shot by a Victorian Police officer outside a police station. The young man was asked to come to the station to be interviewed after his passport was cancelled and concerns were raised about him being radicalised. He was met by two officers, one from Victoria Police, the other an AFP officer. The young man allegedly stabbed them before the Victorian officer shot the man, killing him. There were reports suggesting he was looking into the Prime Minister’s movements, which have since been debunked, and it is also believed that he was following the Islamic State fatwa declared at the start of the week, which his family has denied. Either way, he scared the authorities enough that they’ve upped security at Parliament House. Tony Abbott told the country that there were obviously people in Australia who weren’t nice and are essentially out to get us – mind you this is also the Prime Minister who keeps giving people a checklist of things for a terror attack (a knife, an iPhone and a victim, apparently), which has been the source of both amusement and concern in my house.

Unfortunately with these new laws, as well as the aftermath of the terror raids and the young guy being killed, people have started to be quite horrible to the Muslim community. At least four mosques in Sydney have received threatening letters, and people in the community are being threatened, taunted and assaulted. It also doesn’t help that an Australian Defence Force officer reported that he had been assaulted by two men of Middle-Eastern appearance, only to withdraw the claim 24 hours later. Then you have those in politics, namely Cory Bernardi and Jacqui Lambie, who seem to have decided that we should universally discriminate against the Muslim community by banning the burqa, or force Muslim women to remove their burqa in Parliament House – despite the fact I’m under the impression that they’re using burqa as a universal term for all head coverings.

Moving on, the US-led coalition against Islamic State (IS – aka ISIS/ISIL) began strikes on Syria this week, with help from regional partners like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. They’re trying to help Syrian Kurds fight IS. Australia was not part of the airstrikes, but may well join in soon as Cabinet is due to decide in the next few days, now that Abbott’s been at the UN and talked with Obama about it all.

Speaking of Tony Abbott going to the United Nations, he went to talk with world leaders, vote on resolutions to fight back against IS, and talked about how economic growth makes the world a better place – or something like that. He chatted with Iraq’s Prime Minister, as well as meeting with Egypt’s President Sisi to talk about Peter Greste – according to Abbott, Sisi is a “reluctant jailer”. He also checked out the FBI and NYPD offices before heading home.

This week there were two major developments in the realm of asylum seekers. First, in a deal with Clive Palmer, the government has brought back Temporary Protection Visas (TPVs) for 30,000 refugees in detention centres in Australia and on Christmas Island. No one from Manus Island or Nauru will be eligible and the refugees that are will have to move to regional areas, or at least that’s what I took from the announcement. Second, a Memorandum of Understanding has been signed with Cambodia to allow the resettlement of refugees in Cambodia. Australia will give Cambodia $40 million in the next four years, for the voluntary program, with no cap on the number of refugees to be resettled. The money will be used to pay for a resettlement package, paying for housing, language lessons and other start-up costs the refugees will have. Australians are not the only ones upset by this move though. Protesters demonstrated outside the Australian Embassy in Phnom Penh, saying that Cambodia doesn’t have the resources to look after their own people, let alone asylum seekers.

Finally this week, the Royal Commission into Child Abuse looked into the Retta Dixon home in the Northern Territory, Sydney Airport had a security scare thanks to a passenger ambling around distracted by a tablet, Peter Slipper was sentenced to 300 hours community service for his issue of travel vouchers, and a Islamic School in Sydney went into lockdown after a guy with a knife threatened staff at the office.

Tweet of the Week

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

Student democracy protests continue in Hong Kong – South China Morning Post

Christopher Pyne (the politician not the actor) wins an Ernie Award – Daily Life

Hamish Macdonald on how the West has reacted exactly as ISIS wanted them to – The Guardian

The Week That Was – September 14 to September 20

Posted on by

This week saw more information about Australian Defence Force personnel heading to the Middle East. 600 Australian troops will be stationed in the United Arab Emirates, and could be there for quite some time. It’s mainly air force and some tactical staff that we’re sending for this round’s “coalition of the willing”, along with the UAE, Bahrain, France, the UK and Saudi Arabia and it’s unclear when they’ll return. It will cost the country half a billion dollars and there are concerns this coalition could play into Islamic State (aka ISIS/ISIL) hands. Tony Abbott is still calling Islamic State a “death cult”, while Greens Leader Christine Milne is suggesting that we are once again blindly following the US into battle. Other concerns include the absence of an exit strategy, and the fact that the US is calling this a ‘war’ while Australia is not.

Late in the week, it was announced that raids had been carried out across Sydney and Brisbane, after a terrorist plot was uncovered in which people were to be abducted off the street and executed by a group with links to ISIS. 15 people were arrested and two were charged with terror offences, with all but one no longer in custody. The government hasn’t been entirely clear on whether or not this plot was the reason for last week’s rise in the terror threat level, but were are being told to keep calm and carry on. Tony Abbott also told people that all they needed for a terrorist attack of this kind is a knife, an iPhone and a victim – probably wasn’t the best idea to give a how-to guide. There has also been suggestion that Parliament House, along with other tourist destinations, while the US uses Australia’s raids as an example of why they have to go deal with ISIS.

There are also new terror laws being tabled to allow police more powers. These amendments to national security laws want to change the wording so that authorities can act when they “reasonably suspect” something will happen as opposed to them only acting when it is reasonably believed that something will occur. Entire nations could become no-go zones, punishable by 10 years in prison, and people suspected of going to fight can have 21-day suspensions of their passports.

The Muslim community is a bit concerned though, because in the last decade or two, whenever Muslim extremists start planning anything and get caught for it, the rest of the well-behaved, law-abiding members of the Muslim community are the ones that cop all of the abuse, racism and xenophobia from the rest of us. It also doesn’t help when people like Cory Bernardi tweet things like this:

https://twitter.com/corybernardi/status/512381674881949696

Tony Abbott finally made true on his promise about spending a week in Arnhem Land, even if he though he might have had to leave early. He was invited by clan leaders, and was planning to talk with them about issues they have, such as land rights, housing and recognition. They have said they don’t just want the PM to listen and have some photo opportunities, they want action. Unemployment is high, and clan leaders want constitutional recognition of Indigenous Australians. However, while the PM promised to lay out a timeline soon, the referendum may not take place until 2017. Also, it’s been proved that the government can be based in a remote area for a week and not fall apart.

This week also saw Scott Morrison talk about the success of Operation Sovereign Borders one year in. The government turned back 12 boats of asylum seekers, most in the vessel they were intercepted with, except for four groups of asylum seekers, who were sent back in orange lifeboats. Tanya Plibersek has criticised the government for gloating about it.

Finally this week, Julia Gillard and Bill Shorten were mentioned at the Trade Union Royal Commission, Australia is increasing aid funding for fighting Ebola and the Russians were at the G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting.

Tweet of the Week

Now we know who was running the spoof Mia Freedman account:

https://twitter.com/mckinnon_a/status/512115740069994497

Things I’ve been Reading/Watching/Listening etc

The power of words and censoring them – ABC The Drum

Why men still run newsrooms – The Conversation

Victorian men charged with gay sex crimes will be exonerated – ABC News