PM says starving children in Gaza ‘beyond world's worst fears'
Macron's surprise unilateral announcement spurred Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to issue his strongest denunciation of Israel's war against terror group Hamas, saying 'Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears'.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Sydney Morning Herald
32 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Albanese plans to recognise Palestine but the timing is crucial
Anthony Albanese has made it clear he will not be rushed into recognising Palestinian statehood, despite energetic lobbying by French President Emmanuel Macron and rising demands from the Labor Party's rank-and-file. Albanese may have been re-elected with a thumping majority in May, but he is indicating he will continue to exercise a cautious approach to foreign policy, even if this frustrates party loyalists. Albanese co-founded the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group in the late 1990s, and has consistently argued that an independent Palestinian state needs to sit alongside Israel. Within Labor, Albanese's left faction led the push for recognition of Palestine to be inserted into the party's policy platform, a goal it achieved in 2021. He is increasingly aghast at the way Israel has conducted the conflict in Gaza, including restrictions on the delivery of aid to starving civilians. There's no doubt Albanese wants to recognise Palestine and intends to do so while he is prime minister. The question is one of timing, and how to ensure any intervention by Australia amounts to more than a controversial, yet ultimately tokenistic, gesture. 'Is the time right now? Are we about to imminently do that? No, we are not,' Albanese told the ABC's Insiders on Sunday when asked about recognition of Palestine. Loading Foreign Minister Penny Wong put the issue up in lights in April 2024, when she said that ' the international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution'. 'There are always those who claim recognition is rewarding an enemy,' she said. 'This is wrong.' Wong was laying the intellectual foundations for nations like Australia to recognise Palestine before any final peace settlement with Israel. Fifteen months later, though, the government still does not officially recognise Palestine as a state.
The Age
32 minutes ago
- The Age
Albanese plans to recognise Palestine but the timing is crucial
Anthony Albanese has made it clear he will not be rushed into recognising Palestinian statehood, despite energetic lobbying by French President Emmanuel Macron and rising demands from the Labor Party's rank-and-file. Albanese may have been re-elected with a thumping majority in May, but he is indicating he will continue to exercise a cautious approach to foreign policy, even if this frustrates party loyalists. Albanese co-founded the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine group in the late 1990s, and has consistently argued that an independent Palestinian state needs to sit alongside Israel. Within Labor, Albanese's left faction led the push for recognition of Palestine to be inserted into the party's policy platform, a goal it achieved in 2021. He is increasingly aghast at the way Israel has conducted the conflict in Gaza, including restrictions on the delivery of aid to starving civilians. There's no doubt Albanese wants to recognise Palestine and intends to do so while he is prime minister. The question is one of timing, and how to ensure any intervention by Australia amounts to more than a controversial, yet ultimately tokenistic, gesture. 'Is the time right now? Are we about to imminently do that? No, we are not,' Albanese told the ABC's Insiders on Sunday when asked about recognition of Palestine. Loading Foreign Minister Penny Wong put the issue up in lights in April 2024, when she said that ' the international community is now considering the question of Palestinian statehood as a way of building momentum towards a two-state solution'. 'There are always those who claim recognition is rewarding an enemy,' she said. 'This is wrong.' Wong was laying the intellectual foundations for nations like Australia to recognise Palestine before any final peace settlement with Israel. Fifteen months later, though, the government still does not officially recognise Palestine as a state.
7NEWS
an hour ago
- 7NEWS
Inside Australia's military wake-up call: why defence experts say we're not ready for war
Under the cover of darkness, US, French and German paratroopers dropped from an Australian C-17 transport plane and landed in Central Queensland. It was the dramatic start to Exercise Talisman Sabre - a massive military exercise involving 40,000 troops from 19 countries across land, sea and air. Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today But behind the spectacle lies a more serious warning: Australia may not be ready if conflict erupts in our region. Mike Pezzullo, former Deputy Secretary of Defence and one of the country's top strategic planners, says the risk of war between China and Taiwan is growing fast - and if it happens, Australia would almost certainly be pulled in. 'It might start there,' he says. 'But I can assure you, it won't end there.' Pezzullo believes there's at least an 80 per cent chance Australia would be involved if the US joins a Taiwan conflict. 'We don't really have a choice,' he says. 'Our military, ports, bases, intelligence systems - they're all deeply tied to America's.' And he's blunt about Australia's current preparedness: 'We are nowhere near ready.' If war broke out, he says, it wouldn't begin with missiles but with cyberattacks. 'It would be in cyber. You'd start to see a degradation of the internet.' Australia's vulnerability is stark: 99 per cent of our internet traffic travels through just 15 undersea cables. If those are cut by submarines or unmanned vessels the country would be digitally isolated. That would likely be followed by targeted missile strikes on key infrastructure like air bases, radar facilities, and defence logistics. 'You'd want to ensure those are protected,' Pezzullo says. 'But we have no missile defence systems. We're completely bereft in that area.' Fuel supplies are another weakness. 'Ninety per cent of our oil and petrol comes through the South China Sea,' he warns. 'We only store enough for 60 days.' While Australia has major defence projects underway including AUKUS nuclear submarines, new frigates, cruise missiles and underwater drones Pezzullo says those efforts are still years from completion. 'That technology is improving almost monthly, but we're playing catch-up.' Some argue Australia shouldn't risk its economy by confronting China, our largest trading partner. Pezzullo says that argument is irrelevant in the context of a global conflict. 'We'd all suffer through the tanking of the global economy.' He also criticises Taiwan's own defence posture. 'I'm amazed they're spending only a little more than two per cent of GDP,' he says. 'It's nowhere near enough.' As for Australia, he believes our defence budget will need to rise too, to three or even three-and-a-half per cent of GDP, if we want to deter adversaries and defend ourselves. Still, Pezzullo is clear: 'Plan A is always peace through diplomacy. But if you want peace, prepare for war.' Exercise Talisman Sabre may look like a training drill. But for Australia's defence community, it's a wake-up call.
