Labor spending extra $70bn on defence compared with previous government – Marles
The Australian government is spending an additional $70bn on defence spending compared with the previous government, Marles says.
Marles was asked about demands by the Trump administration that countries, including Australia, lift defence spending as a percentage of GDP.
The deputy prime minister, who also holds the defence portfolio, says the government does not think about defence policy in terms of percentage of GDP as the figure will change depending on how the number is calculated.
For example, Marles says, using accounting methods adopted by Nato countries, Australian defence spending is at 2.8% of GDP.
The important point is this: when you include what we are spending here, it is the better part, relative to what we inherited when we came to government back in 2022, of an additional $70bn of defence spending over the decade and what that represents is the biggest peacetime increase in our defence spending in Australia’s history.
So it is a hugely significant amount of that we have been putting into defence since we’ve come to government, and this is all about focusing on the way we do things, to look at what our strategic challenge is, what sort of defence force we need to build in order to meet that and then resourcing it.
Key events
Victorian police have called in back up from New Zealand to help the manhunt for Dezi Freeman.
Acting Deputy Commissioner of Regional Operations Russell Barrett spoke to the media on Sunday morning to give an update on the search.
He said police from Aotearoa had been called in for their expertise given the rugged, mountainous environment where Freeman is believed to be at large.
Barrett said there are “so many places to hide”.
If we think of Freeman and what he’s capable of, every step must be taken really really carefully.
Labor’s Kiama byelection win ‘gift from voters’ – Minns
Labor shouldn’t take the electorate for granted despite a solid win in the Kiama byelection that the NSW premier, Chris Minns, says was a “gift from voters”.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday morning, Minns said that he was concerned Labor MPs may “misread the message or mishear the message that the next election’s won without us even fighting for it without us even fighting for it”.
We’ve got to make progress, and one of the areas I want to identify is reliability on the heavy rail public transport network, which is not good enough and must be an urgent priority for us.
Minns said the party had gone into the byelection with a message of “try before you buy” on its newest MP, Katelin McInerney.
What that meant is that Katelin’s a great candidate. We think she’s fantastic. There’s an opportunity for you to put her to work for you for 18 months before you make a more permanent decision at the 2027 election.
Noting the large independent and minor party vote in the byelection, Minns said it was “hard for me to glean what [voters’] motivations were across the board”, but said he had faith that Labor’s performance over the next year would demonstrate the strength of the party.
At the end of the day, if you get close to the next election and we can show real progress in major public hospitals, investment in schools and our public transport network, then we think we’ll have a solid foundation to approach the next election on but that’s going to be up to the voters.
YouGov emissions poll ‘rare alignment between the public, business and scientific advice’
A new YouGov poll suggests two in three Australians want the government to commit to an emissions reduction target of 75% or higher by 2035 in an indication of strong support for a more ambitious climate action.
In the poll at the end of August, 1,502 voters were asked whether they would support Australia accelerating its timeline to reach net zero to 2035 “as advocated by many climate groups and climate scientists”; whether Australia should push to reduce emissions by 75% by 2035 “as advocated by some progressive Australian businesses”; or seeing no new emissions reduction target for 2034 “as advocated by some members of the opposition”.
The poll found the result was split by equal thirds, with more men than women supporting the position associated with the Coalition, and more young people calling for bringing forward deadlines to reach net zero.
The Future Group CEO, Simon Sheikh, said the polling showed “a rare alignment between the public, business and scientific advice”.
Australians are demanding ambition. This isn’t a fringe view; it is a clear majority of voters saying they want a 75% target or higher by 2035. Businesses are saying the same, and the science has long been clear. There’s now a united front for government to act.
The real story here is alignment. For once, the public, business and experts are all pulling in the same direction. The opportunity for Australia is to lead, not lag, in the global race for clean industries and good jobs.
The modelling comes as the government is expected to announce its emissions reduction targets after months of speculation. The government has previously flagged that political concerns will be factored into its decision.
PM says protesters have forced electorate office to move
Anthony Albanese is being forced to move his electorate office after the lease has been “discontinued”.
In a statement the prime minister appeared to suggest that the discontinuation of the lease at the Marrickville address was the result of repeated protests that had blocked access for nearby residents and businesses.
I’m incredibly proud of the work electorate officers, past and present, have done in assisting my community from this location.
Sadly, over the past two years, aggressive protesters have repeatedly blocked access to the electorate office for people seeking assistance.
This has also significantly impacted churchgoers attending the neighbouring St Clement’s church, including disruption to funerals and other church services.
The electorate will continue to be serviced by hardworking, dedicated electorate officers at locations in the community, online and via telephone during this time.
The statement said the office will “open at a new location in the heart of Grayndler once it is made fit for purpose”.
Albanese’s electorate office was opened by the former prime minister Gough Whitlam in 1993 for the then member for Grayndler Jeannette McHugh.
Disgraced MP’s seat falls to Labor as Liberal soul searching begins
NSW Labor has picked up an extra seat after a byelection to replace a disgraced MP convicted of rape.
Voters in the electorate of Kiama chose a new representative to state parliament after former MP Gareth Ward was forced to resign after being convicted of sexual and indecent assault in July.
It is the first time in three decades a seat in a byelection has gone to the government.
For more on this story read the full report at the Guardian here:
New technology could make oceans transparent and Aukus submarines vulnerable
Military history is littered with the corpses of apex predators.
The Gatling gun, the battleship, the tank. All once possessed unassailable power – then were undermined, in some cases wiped out, by the march of new technology.
“Speed and stealth and firepower,” the head of the Australian Submarine Agency, Jonathan Mead, told the Guardian two years ago of Australia’s forthcoming fleet of nuclear submarines. “The apex predator of the oceans.”
But for how much longer?
In the first quarter of the 21st century, nuclear submarines have proven a formidable force: essentially undetectable deadly attack weapons. Some also carry a vital “second-strike” deterrent effect: any attack on a country armed with nuclear-powered submarines is made with the knowledge that retaliation is certain – from a warship hidden beneath the waves.
But a drumbeat of declarations – much of it speculative but most of it from China, the very nation the Aukus pact was established to counter – report rapid developments in submarine-detection technologies: vast networks of acutely sensitive sonar arrays; quantum sensing; improved satellite tracking able to spot tiny perturbations in the ocean’s surface; technologies that detect minute disturbances in the Earth’s magnetic field; real-time AI processing of vast reams of data.
Could emerging technologies render the last opaque place on Earth – the oceans – transparent?
For more on this feature story read the full report by Guardian Australia’s Ben Doherty:
Proud moment as PNG celebrates independence anniversary
Papua New Guinea will be alight with festivity as world leaders and dignitaries gather in Port Moresby to celebrate the 50th anniversary of independence.
Half a century after the Raggiana bird of paradise was officially first hoisted on black and red, Papua New Guinea remains fiercely proud of its independence.
The country will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its arrival as the independent state of Papua New Guinea on Tuesday, with an air of festivity expected to flow through its capital Port Moresby as visiting dignitaries and world leaders assemble to pay their respects.
Community groups in Australia have been holding smaller events over the weekend to bring together family and friends in celebration, among them a gathering of the Papua New Guinea Australia Association and community members at Melbourne’s Yarraville Gardens.
The association’s president, Peter Bakua, says is moved by the celebrations, as are his family and the broader diaspora.
It’s a way of promoting PNG to the world, so it is a significant moment in history for our country. We’re very thankful to the government for doing that. The PNG people worked very hard to get independence.
We can call ourselves a nation, have freedom and can make our own laws. It makes us proud.
Papua New Guinea was granted independence during the prime ministership of Gough Whitlam, on 16 September 1975.
Since its independence, PNG has built still closer ties with Australia, most recently via a defence agreement said to have strengthened security and economic cooperation.
The Australian government has also poured $600m into the creation of an NRL team to represent the rugby league-obsessed nation, a move expected to kindle pride within locals.
– AAP
Australia working to ‘lock down’ regional allies
Australia is expected to sign a new defence agreement with Papua New Guinea to a day before its northern neighbour marks half a century of independence.
The Australia-Papua New Guinea bilateral security agreement has been a long time in the making and is expected to integrate the militaries of the two countries.
The agreement is being signed against growing geopolitical tension and competition between the US and China.
Speaking to the ABC on Sunday morning retired army Maj Gen Gus McLachlan said the agreement was part of a soft power campaign to “lock down partners and allies in regional countries”.
We saw the pressure that came on to the Morrison government when the Chinese government negotiated an agreement to train police on the Solomon Islands.
What we are seeing here is Australia seeking to lock down its relationship with, frankly, I think, probably our most important regional partner. We are 100 or so kilometres apart at the narrowest point. The PNG military and Australia have had a long relationship.
The deputy commander of Australia’s third brigade in Townsville is a Papua New Guinea officer on secondment who fills that important role. This is a further signal we will be joined at the hip with PNG, not leaving room for strategic competitors to nudge their way in.
New South Wales police will speak to the media about an ongoing investigation into a public shooting that took place in Sydney’s west on Sunday morning.
Det Insp Ricki Lindner of the Cumberland police area command is expected to speak at 11.15am outside the Granville police station.
We will bring you the latest as it happens.
Police appeal for help finding hiker missing in Snowy Mountains
Police have made a public appeal for help in a search of a man who went missing while hiking and skiing in the Snowy Mountains.
Cameron Little, 57, left to go back country skiing and hiking from the Guthega power station located in the Snowy Mountains-Kosciuszko national park on 4 September.
New South Wales police say he was last heard from on 6 September. However, he has not been able to be contacted and has not been seen since.
He was due to return on Saturday and when he failed to return, police were alerted and have started inquiries into Little’s whereabouts, including a land and air search involving local police, with the assistance of PolAir, the Rural Fire Service, SES and National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Police say Little’s vehicle – a blue Mitsubishi station wagon – has been found unattended at the Guthega power station during the search.
Concerns are held for Little’s welfare, as he is an experienced hiker and skier, and his failure to return is out of character.
Little is described as being of Caucasian appearance, about 175cm tall, of medium build, with a fair complexion, brown hair and with an unshaven grey beard.
He is believed to be travelling with a backpack.
Initial inquiries have led police to believe Little may still be in the Snowy Mountains back country area, in the vicinity of Mount Jagungal.
Anyone with information on Little’s whereabouts is urged to contact the Queanbeyan police station or 000.
Marles says Islamophobia report ‘very significant’
Asked about recommendations from the Islamophobia envoy, specifically about calls for some kind of sanction on MPs who make racist statements, Marles says “we are going to go through the process of responding to this report”.
It is a very significant report with 54 recommendations, so we are going to give it the respect that it deserve and take the time to go through it. Let me be clear: the parliament should not be a place for people to be making racist statements.
Asked directly whether there should be some form of sanction for politicians who say something racist, Marles says:
The way in which this is described in terms of how parties govern themselves, and from the Labor party’s point of view, we have a zero-tolerance approach to racism being spoken about from any of our members. It is utterly unacceptable and no one speaks in those terms.
We welcome the report that has been done by Mr [Aftab] Malik. It is a really important body of work. We are going to review it and give it the attention that it deserve of, but dealing with Islamophobia in this country is something, which as Mr Malik has said, has become intensified particularly after the last couple of decades, after September 11.
It is something we need to deal with and it is part of the ongoing work of our nation.
And that’s a wrap.
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