Australia news LIVE: PM's China visit continues; Antisemitism envoy scrutinised over husband's donation to right-wing group
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6.52am
Antisemitism envoy distances herself from husband's donation to right-wing lobby group
Olivia Ireland
Antisemitism envoy Jillian Segal has distanced herself from donations by her husband's family trust to controversial conservative lobby group Advance Australia days after she released recommendations on how the government needs to respond to rising hate towards Jewish people.
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Australian Electoral Commission donation records lodged by a company Segal's husband, John Roth, is a director of show that the Roth family trust, Henroth, gave $50,000 to Advance in 2023-24.
Advance Australia has previously said a vote for Labor is endorsed by the Chinese Communist Party, that teal candidates are hidden Green politicians, and has accused left-leaning politicians of being 'mostly on the same side as Hamas'.
Segal's role as envoy is to fight antisemitism and enhance social cohesion, and she has asked for endorsement of her report on combating antisemitism. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese explicitly said he did not want the report to be politicised.
6.48am
AUKUS dilemma looms large over PM's China visit
The future of the AUKUS agreement is dominating Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to China, as the US looks for assurances on how AUKUS submarines would be deployed in the event of war.
In that context, Albanese was pressed on whether Australia would join a US-China war over Taiwan, but he declined to answer.
As Chief Political Correspondent Paul Sakkal writes in his analysis of the trip so far, the warm welcome and extensive praise exchanged between the nations' leaders contrasts with the 'prickly points of difference couched in strictly diplomatic language'.
Sakkal writes:
Intruding into this cozy atmosphere of mutual co-operation is one of the leading China hawks in the Trump administration.
The words of Elbridge Colby, the Pentagon figure reviewing the AUKUS pact, echoed around the room on day one of Albanese's China visit.
The Pentagon policy chief largely confirmed on Sunday what this masthead reported last week: he wants allies like Australia to be clearer about how they would support the US in potential conflicts, including but not limited to one with China over Taiwan.'
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