Australia PM praises diversity in language schools pledge day after neo-Nazi action, World News
SYDNEY - Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Saturday (April 26) cultural diversity was the country's strength as he pledged A$25 million (S$21 million) for students to learn languages other than English, a day after a neo-Nazi disrupted a public gathering in Melbourne.
Albanese, entering the final week of campaigning ahead of a May 3 general election, said if re-elected his government would support 600 community schools that help more than 90,000 students across Australia learn 84 languages.
"Our diversity is our nation's strength - we're supporting more Australian families to stay close to their culture with community language schools," Albanese said in a statement, after on Friday labelling as cowardly a neo-Nazi who heckled during an Indigenous ceremony in Melbourne on Anzac Day, a national holiday honouring military veterans.
Australia, where one in two people are either born overseas or have a parent born overseas, has been grappling with a rise in right-wing extremism. In February, it imposed sanctions on far right online network "Terrorgram" following similar moves by Britain and the United States.
Peter Dutton, leader of the conservative National-Liberal coalition, Albanese's main political opponent in the election, also condemned Friday's far-right action, saying "it just has no place in our community, in our society whatsoever".
Early voting for the election began on Tuesday, with Albanese's Labor party holding a slim lead over the coalition. Cost of living and housing affordability are the key issues.
ALSO READ: Australia passes tough hate crime laws with mandatory jail time for Nazi salutes
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump administration launches review of Biden-era Aukus defence pact with Australia, UK
There are vocal sceptics of the Aukus defence pact among US President Donald Trump's senior policy officials, including Mr Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy adviser. PHOTO: REUTERS WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration has launched a formal review of a defence pact that former president Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a US defence official told Reuters. The launch of the formal, Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defence as tensions grow over China's expansive military buildup. It could also throw a wrench in Britain's defence planning. The so-called Aukus pact is at the centre of a planned expansion of its submarine fleet. 'We are reviewing Aukus as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda,' the official said of the review, which was first reported by Financial Times. "Any changes to the administration's approach for Aukus will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate." Aukus, formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China's growing power, is designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles. Vocal sceptics of the Aukus deal among Mr Trump's senior policy officials include Mr Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy adviser. In a 2024 talk with Britain's Policy Exchange think-tank, Mr Colby cautioned that US military submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and that US industry could not produce enough of them to meet American demand. They would also be central to US military strategy in any confrontation with China centred in the First Island Chain, an area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China's coastal seas. 'My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it,' Mr Colby said. The Australian and UK embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The US National Security Council also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A 2023 photo showing a press briefing following an Aukus summit, with (from left) Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, US president Joe Biden and British prime minister Rishi Sunak. PHOTO: AFP Only six countries operate nuclear submarines: the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and India. Aukus would add Australia to that club starting in 2032 with the US sale of Virginia-class submarines. Before that, the US and Britain would start forward rotations of their submarines in 2027 out of an Australian naval base in Western Australia. Later, Britain and Australia would design and build a new class of submarines, with US assistance, with the first delivery to the UK in the late 2030s and to Australia in the early 2040s. Although Australia has declined to say ahead of time whether it would send the submarines to join US forces in any conflict between the US and China, Mr Colby noted Australia's historic alliance with Washington, including sending troops to Vietnam. 'I think we can make a decent bet that Australia would be there with us in the event of a conflict,' Mr Colby said in 2024. Speaking in Congress on June 10, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said 'we're having honest conversations with our allies'. On Australia, Mr Hegseth said: 'We want to make sure those capabilities are part of how they use them with their submarines, but also how they integrate with us as allies.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump administration launches review of Biden-era defense pact with Australia, UK
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a swearing-in ceremony of Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 6, 2025. REUTERS/Kent Nishimura/File Photo WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration has launched a formal review of a defense pact that former President Joe Biden made with Australia and the United Kingdom allowing Australia to acquire conventionally armed nuclear submarines, a U.S. defense official told Reuters. The launch of the formal, Pentagon-led review is likely to alarm Australia, which sees the submarines as critical to its own defense as tensions grow over China's expansive military buildup. It could also throw a wrench in Britain's defense planning. AUKUS is at the center of a planned expansion of its submarine fleet. "We are reviewing AUKUS as part of ensuring that this initiative of the previous administration is aligned with the President's America First agenda," the official said of the review, which was first reported by Financial Times. "Any changes to the administration's approach for AUKUS will be communicated through official channels, when appropriate." AUKUS, formed in 2021 to address shared worries about China's growing power, is designed to allow Australia to acquire nuclear-powered attack submarines and other advanced weapons such as hypersonic missiles. Vocal skeptics of the AUKUS deal among Trump's senior policy officials include Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon's top policy advisor. In a 2024 talk with Britain's Policy Exchange think-tank, Colby cautioned that U.S. military submarines were a scarce, critical commodity, and that U.S. industry could not produce enough of them to meet American demand. They would also be central to U.S. military strategy in any confrontation with China centered in the First Island Chain, an area that runs from Japan through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing China's coastal seas. "My concern is why are we giving away this crown jewel asset when we most need it," Colby said. The Australian and UK embassies in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. National Security Council also did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Only six countries operate nuclear submarines: the U.S., the UK, Russia, China, France and India. AUKUS would add Australia to that club starting in 2032 with the U.S. sale of Virginia-class submarines. Before that, the U.S. and Britain would start forward rotations of their submarines in 2027 out of an Australian naval base in Western Australia. Later, Britain and Australia would design and build a new class of submarines, with U.S. assistance, with the first delivery to the UK in the late 2030s and to Australia in the early 2040s. Although Australia has declined to say ahead of time whether it would send the submarines to join U.S. forces in any conflict between the U.S. and China, Colby noted Australia's historic alliance with Washington, including sending troops to Vietnam. "I think we can make a decent bet that Australia would be there with us in the event of a conflict," Colby said last year. Speaking in Congress on Tuesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said "we're having honest conversations with our allies." On Australia, Hegseth said: "We want to make sure those capabilities are part of how they use them with their submarines, but also how they integrate with us as allies." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
5 hours ago
- Straits Times
Trump wants to ‘liberate' Los Angeles, residents say ‘No thanks'
A neighbourhood known as Little Tokyo has been hit hardest by the unrest rocking Los Angeles. PHOTO: AFP LOS ANGELES – US President Donald Trump has said he sent in the National Guard and Marines to 'liberate' Los Angeles from the violence of protesters, but some residents of Little Tokyo, a neighbourhood hit hardest by the unrest, are saying: No thanks, Mr President. A dozen people who live, work or frequent the neighbourhood, where Japanese is heard spoken as frequently as English in shops and restaurants, told Reuters Mr Trump's use of the military was inflaming the protests against recent immigration raids in Los Angeles. 'The president sending in the National Guard and Marines has only made things worse. It's made the protesters go crazy,' said Ms Sulieti Havili, who lives nearby and helps run a Pokemon club with over 6,000 members that routinely plays in Little Tokyo. 'They are doing nothing to protect this community.' Ms Havili, 25, who was out picking up rubbish in Little Tokyo with her Pokemon club partner Nolberto Aguilar, 42, said it was clear to her that Mr Trump sending in thousands of military personnel 'brought out the worst in the protesters' and only served to aggravate the situation. Mr Aguilar added that Mr Trump's deployment of troops was thwarting the will of most Los Angeles residents and their local leaders, fanning the flames created by ICE immigration raids that he said targeted law-abiding immigrants. The Trump administration says its immigration raids are rounding up de facto criminals for lacking proper documents to stay in the United States. California Governor Gavin Newsom has said the use of military personnel to combat the protests has 'inflamed a combustible situation' and warned that 'democracy is under assault'. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has said Mr Trump's use of troops was a deliberate effort to create 'chaos'. The Trump administration strongly rejects the accusations and says their actions are needed in the face of local and state leaders' inability to get the situation under control. 'Instigating' action Little Tokyo, a charming neighbourhood with shops selling Japanese goods and restaurants serving up some of the city's finest sushi, abuts the federal buildings where protesters have gathered for five nights in a row. For the past two nights, when police and National Guard troops have forcibly dispersed protesters in the early evening, demonstrators scatter into smaller groups into Little Tokyo, which has been covered with anti-ICE and anti-Trump graffiti. Running skirmishes well into the night in the neighbourhood has seen police use booming flash bangs and firing other 'less lethal' munitions at protesters. Artists and social activists clean graffiti after days of protests in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. PHOTO: REUTERS Several of those interviewed in Little Tokyo asked that they not be named, saying they feared reprisals from the federal government. Many were immigrants themselves or have family members who were not born in the US, and feared making themselves or their loved ones targets of ICE. One of those was Anthony, who works at a tea shop in the neighbourhood. 'There is no question that the president sending in thousands of National Guard and 700 Marines has done nothing but make the protesters more aggressive,' he said. 'It's instigating the protesters and making things worse.' Ms Samantha Lopez, a descendant of Filipino immigrants who works at a Korean ice cream parlour in Little Tokyo, said she felt empathy for the demonstrators but rejected any acts of vandalism or violence they carry out. Still, she blamed the use of military personnel for creating the unrest. 'It's just poor handling of protests that stay peaceful until they're confronted by officers,' Ms Lopez said. 'It's bad for business, and it's bad for this neighbourhood.' REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
