Rudd ‘confident' on AUKUS review, rejects defence spending claims
The former prime minister and now United States ambassador, who is under intense scrutiny amid strains in the Australia-US alliance, said the relationship had proved resilient through 15 prime ministers and presidents and would grow stronger under President Donald Trump.
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SBS Australia
27 minutes ago
- SBS Australia
Ali France, who unseated Peter Dutton, delivers emotional first speech to parliament
Newly-elected Labor MPs Ali France and Sarah Witty delivered their first speeches to the House of Representatives on Tuesday night. Ali France, the MP who unseated Peter Dutton at the May election, paid tribute to her late son in an emotional maiden speech. France stunned political pundits when she beat Dutton, making him the first federal opposition leader to lose his own seat. 'He was convinced I would win' France spoke of the painful loss of her 19-year-old son Henry, who died from leukaemia in February 2024 after an 18-month battle. She said her late son was the driving force of her campaign. "He told me many times, that this election was my time," she said in the speech. "He was convinced I would win and said a number of times, 'don't make me the excuse for you not doing important things'. "His words, his courage, were with me every day of the campaign. Henry was instrumental in getting me to this place." France told the House of Representatives her journey to becoming an MP was not "a lifelong dream. Rather, it was hundreds of little steps." The single mother of two recalled the day she and her other son were hit by a car in 2011, in which she lost her leg, as a day she "was supposed to die". She was taking her youngest son Zac, then four years old, to an appointment at a Brisbane shopping centre when an out-of-control car came veering towards them. Her left leg was crushed from her thigh down as she was pinned against another vehicle. Martin Wullschleger, the trauma surgeon whose split-second decision to amputate saved France's life, was in the gallery to hear her maiden speech. Six surgeries in four years, PTSD and severe pain left France at the lowest point in her life. The refugee and surgeon also watched on from the gallery. 'People only saw disability' France described being pretty angry by the time she joined Labor in 2016. "Landing a job was incredibly difficult for me. People only saw disability," she said. She said her "epic journey" to sitting in federal parliament was not part of any grand plan, but rather the result of hundreds of little steps. France contested the seat of Dickson twice before defeating Dutton in the 2025 election. 'Our moment to fix the system' Experienced foster carer Sarah Witty beat former Greens leader Adam Bandt in the May election, and took the seat of Melbourne back to Labor for the first time in 15 years. It was one of the biggest upsets of the election and while she never expected to win, from her first day on the campaign trail, her appetite for change was clear. In her maiden speech, Witty thanked former Greens leader Adam Bandt, whom she unseated in the electorate of Melbourne. Labor member for Melbourne Sarah Witty delivered her first speech in the House of Representatives at Parliament House in Canberra on Tuesday. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas The Richmond local also paid tribute to the city she now represents. "We are the home of the eight-hour working day and the union movement. The Victorian Trades Hall, the oldest continuously operating trades hall in the world, stands proudly in my electorate." Witty said Medicare, childcare and housing are at the top of her priorities for her constituents. "Homelessness is the harshest symptom of this failure," she said. "Safe houses are all that's needed… Without that foundation, everything else — health, work, education becomes so much harder. This is our moment to fix the system." She told the chamber that representing Melbourne is "not just an honour. It's a calling". "I bring with me the voices of renters demanding Justice, of people demanding climate action, of communities demanding to be heard, not managed." Witty and France were the first people elected at the May poll to give their maiden speech in the 48th parliament, with other first-term MPs to deliver their remarks in coming days. With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press.
Canberra Times
an hour ago
- Canberra Times
US backs AUKUS for Aust nuclear submarines in letter
The Pentagon said in June it was reviewing the three-way collaboration between Australia, Britain and the United States to ensure it was aligned with President Donald Trump's America First agenda, amid concerns about the ability of the US to meet its own submarine needs and whether Australia's vessels would be used in support of US policy in the future.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Greens co-founder Drew Hutton slams party as 'authoritarian, aggressive, unlikeable'
Green's co-founder Drew Hutton has responded to his expulsion from the party, saying the Greens have lost focus on environmental issues and become "authoritarian and aggressive". He claimed the party had become "unlikeable" and there was evidence it was impacting their support amongst voters. Mr Hutton was expelled from the party at the weekend for refusing to delete transphobic comments made by others commenting on a Facebook post he made in 2022. In an interview with 7.30, Mr Hutton claimed the party refuses to allow frank debate on its transgender policy, which states people have "the right to their self-identified gender". "What I disagree with vehemently is the way that anybody who actually voices any dissent with that policy and do so from a credible position, that there is such a thing as biological sex and there are two sexes, is forced out of the party," Mr Hutton said. "That's extremely authoritarian. And what I worry about is that there is a very doctrinaire mentality developing in the Greens, especially with regard to this issue." Mr Hutton accused the Greens of being run by a "cult" intently focused on identity politics and showing a "disdain" for free speech. "There is a clear need for a party like the Greens … But there is also this fairly authoritarian and aggressive and unlikeable element to the Greens that I think people in the community are responding to," he said. According to an internal Greens' party account of the events leading to the expulsion, the comments on Mr Hutton's Facebook page were brought to the Greens' attention by "distressed" party members. Some of the comments seen by 7.30 used transphobic language, including claims that trans women pose a threat in women-only facilities. Mr Hutton refused to remove the comments, claiming they were "free speech". He told 7.30 he supports transgender rights but opposes what he calls an attempt to stifle debate. Greens leader Larissa Waters said she had not read the documentation about Mr Hutton's expulsion. "I haven't read the documentation because here I am in parliament hoping to talk tomorrow about introducing a climate trigger into our environmental laws and fixing the gender inequalities in our tax system," Ms Waters told 7.30. She rejected Mr Hutton's claim, however, that internal debate about transgender issues was stifled. "Our members are involved in formulating those very policies and those debates happen on a regular basis … And we love involvement in the democratic process," she said. Ms Waters said Mr Hutton did not debate "respectfully". "I believe that's the basis for which the party upheld the decision." Mr Hutton told 7.30 that former Greens leaders Bob Brown and Christine Milne had lent their support in an email. The email says: "Bob and Christine say that any member may hold a view different from Greens' policy. Consensus decision-making is the hallmark of Greens policy-formulation making … We oppose Drew Hutton's expulsion … and advocate that his membership be restored." Asked to comment on the request by the former leaders, Ms Waters said: "Like me, they respect his environmental achievements … But this was a decision that was reviewed by the party, taken by volunteer party members, many of whom uphold the code of conduct on a regular basis. "It's not hard to uphold the code of conduct." Watch 7.30, Mondays to Thursdays 7:30pm on ABC iview and ABC TV Do you know more about this story? Get in touch with 7.30 here.
