Australian news and politics live: Albanese to visit Great Wall of China, signs trade agreements
Elbridge Colby, the man reviewing AUKUS inside the Pentagon, thinks he can replicate MAGA's success in scolding, berating and bullying Europe into lifting defence spending in Australia and the Indo-Pacific.
But his cut-and-paste approach may not only fail, but backfire.
This is because his hectoring approach fails to recalibrate for the important ways that Europe differs from Asia.
Mr Colby's demands that Indo-Pacific allies raise defence spending are legitimate in Australia's case.
But he is far from the first person to raise the issue.
Read more.
Today marks a historic highlight in Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's visit to China, with a walk along the Great Wall planned before he heads to Chengdu.
This follows a landmark series of meetings in Beijing's Great Hall with President Xi Jinping, Chairman Zhao Leji, and Premier Li Qiang, where Albanese emphasised Australia's ongoing commitment to engaging China in areas of mutual benefit, while not shying away from disagreement when needed.
The diplomatic talks have already yielded tangible results for both nations. On Tuesday, six new agreements were signed, including one that will soon see sweet, tangy Chinese jujubes available on Australian shelves—while, for the first time, apples from mainland Australia will be exported to China.
'In recent years, co-operation has encountered headwinds,' Chinese Premier Li admitted as the two countries move to deepen trade cooperation amid broader global uncertainty.
Albanese echoed these sentiments, stating, 'My government believes unequivocally in free and fair trade as a driver of global growth, and I know the discussions that we've had today have been very constructive'.
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News.com.au
22 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Anthony Albanese says Gaza crisis has gone ‘beyond the world's worst fears'
Anthony Albanese has warned the situation in Gaza has gone 'beyond the world's worst fears' and accused Israel of denying aid to starving children in his strongest criticism to date. Just a week after describing the reported killings of Palestinians seeking aid in Gaza as 'completely indefensible', Mr Albanese has issued a new statement on the crisis. 'The situation in Gaza has gone beyond the world's worst fears,' Mr Albanese said on Friday. 'The position of the Australian Government is clear: every innocent life matters. 'Every Israeli. Every conflict has stolen far too many innocent lives.' Mr Albanese's statement also accused Israel of denying aid to children in Gaza and killing civilians. 'Tens of thousands of civilians are dead, children are starving,'' Mr Albanese said. 'Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food cannot be defended or ignored. 'We call on Israel to comply immediately with its obligations under international law.' It follows British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer warning the Palestinian people have an 'inalienable right' to a state of their own and French President Emmanuel Macron confirming he will support moves to recognise a Palestinian state in September at the UN general assembly, 'Any proposals for the permanent forced displacement of the Palestinian population must be abandoned,'' Mr Albanese said. 'Australia condemns the terror and brutality of Hamas and we reiterate our call for the immediate release of the remaining hostages. 'We continue to support all international efforts to facilitate a ceasefire, recognising that an immediate and permanent ceasefire gives the best hope of bringing hostages home and easing the agony of their loved ones.' Mr Albanese said that the 'legitimate aspirations' for the Palestinian people to have a state of their own was a bipartisan proposition. 'Australia is proud to have strongly supported the creation of the modern state of Israel,' he said. 'Then, as now, the global community envisioned two states: the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. 'Recognising the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own has long been a bipartisan position in Australia. 'The reason a two state solution remains the goal of the international community is because a just and lasting peace depends upon it. 'Australia is committed to a future where both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live in peace and safety, within secure and internationally-recognised borders. 'Until that day, every effort must be made here and now to safeguard innocent life and end the suffering and starvation of the people of Gaza. Sir Keir Starmer has condemned the 'unspeakable and indefensible' humanitarian conditions in Gaza after aid groups warned of mass starvation. In a statement this week, he warned that while the situation had been 'grave for some time' but it has 'reached new depths'. 'We are witnessing a humanitarian catastrophe,' he said. 'I will hold an emergency call with E3 partners tomorrow, where we will discuss what we can do urgently to stop the killing and get people the food they desperately need while pulling together all the steps necessary to build a lasting peace. We all agree on the pressing need for Israel to change course and allow the aid that is desperately needed to enter Gaza without delay. 'It is hard to see a hopeful future in such dark times. But I must reiterate my call for all sides to engage in good faith, and at pace, to bring about an immediate ceasefire and for Hamas to unconditionally release all hostages. We strongly support the efforts of the US, Qatar and Egypt to secure this. 'We are clear that statehood is the inalienable right of the Palestinian people. A ceasefire will put us on a path to the recognition of a Palestinian state and a two-state solution which guarantees peace and security for Palestinians and Israelis.' Israel-Gaza war Mr Albanese has described recent actions by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza as 'completely indefensible' confirming in the last week that he told Israeli President Isaac Herzog directly that Israel was losing support. Describing the blockade on aid into Gaza as 'completely unacceptable' he took issue with Israel's 'excuses and explanations'. 'We need to always engage in the world as it is, rather than as we would like it to be,' he said. 'Israel's actions, many of the actions of the Netanyahu government, including by its ministers, have led my government indeed to sanction ministers in the Netanyahu government. We would not have thought that was on the agenda in 2022, when I was elected. 'Australia is a long-term supporter — and indeed played a role in the creation of the State of Israel. 'But at that time it's important to remember that two states were envisaged and Australia and certainly my government, has continued to support two states in the Middle East: the State of Israel and the State of Palestine. 'We want Israel to continue to exist within secure borders and to be able to live without the threat of terrorists such as Hamas engaging in the sort of atrocities we saw on October 7. 'But Palestinians have a legitimate aspiration for a state of their own and to be able to achieve prosperity, and that is something that has been a bipartisan position as well going back to John Howard who said there could be no peace in the Middle East, without dealing with the Palestinian question.'
ABC News
23 minutes ago
- ABC News
Claims fuel tanker heading to WA filled with banned Russian oil
Ukrainian and Australian campaigners say a tanker due to dock this week in Kwinana, 40 kilometres south of Perth, is laden with Russian oil, and are calling on the Albanese government to intervene. Seferis, which sails under a Greek flag, departed the Indian port of Sikka on July 11, carrying oil from the Jamnagar refinery in India, which processes Russian crude and is due to arrive in Kwinana on Sunday morning. It is understood diesel from the 250 metre-long tanker is destined for petrol bowsers across the state, prompting claims the money of everyday Australians is inadvertently helping Russia fund its war against Ukraine. Australia, along with the European Union and other members of the G7, have imposed sanctions on Russian oil since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. China, Türkiye and India have resisted pressure to apply sanctions and continued to import Russian oil. But chemical engineer and anti-Russian oil trade campaigner Mark Corrigan said in spite of the bans, Russian oil was still coming into Western Australia. He said much of the crude oil was supplied by the Kremlin-controlled oil and gas company Rosneft, and made its way to Jamnager from many parts of Russia. "Including ports from the the east coast, over at the end of the Siberian pipeline, it comes from the Black Sea, comes from the Baltic, goes down to India, gets refined. And then sanitised, it comes to Australia," he said. "And it would beggar belief that they put aside a special load [of non-Russian-sourced product] for Australia when Australia doesn't have any laws that prohibit the import of that sanitised fuel." He said while Rosneft had been sanctioned by the Australian government, as have Rosneft directors, Australia did not have laws to address the matter of its product coming to Australia through a refinery in a third country. "Even though it's been refined, but from Russian crude, it's it's not against the law," Mr Corrigan said. He said the diesel off the tanker heading to Kwinana would make its way into fuel bowsers all over the country. "It is imported into every terminal in Australia by every fuel company," Mr Corrigan said. "It's diesel, so anyone with their diesel ute or mining vehicles will be using oil that has started off as a hydrocarbon out of a Russian well. "You can't avoid it. Drivers cannot avoid this because unless the Australian government takes action, every fuel company in Australia is importing this fuel. "It's just about to become against the law in the EU, but Australia, as yet, hasn't made any moves to follow suit." Last week, the European Union applied sanctions to refineries that use Russian crude oil, as part of a new package further aimed at "cutting the Kremlin's war machine". The measure was aimed at putting pressure on India and targeting covert methods employed to subvert the sanctions on Russia, which include doing ship transfers of product mid-journey and transporting oil on a "shadow fleet" of tankers. Shadow fleets are vessel that use concealing tactics to transport sanctioned goods. "For the first time, we're designating a flag registry and the biggest Rosneft refinery in India." On Wednesday, federal independent MP Andrew Wilkie used the return of federal parliament to question the government's determination to police its sanctions against Russian oil. He said two vessels carrying 175,000 tonnes of oil from the Jamnagar refinery had this month berthed at Botany Bay in Sydney. "Why are the loopholes in our sanctions so big you can drive a tanker through them?" he asked Defence Minister Richard Marles. Mr Marles did not respond directly to the question. "Sanctions are an important part of what we are putting in place to stand with Ukraine," he told parliament. "At the NATO summit I announced increased sanctions to an additional 44 people and entities which add, which now means that in total there are about 1,500 people and entities in Russia which are the subject of Australian sanctions, which sees a significant impact on the Russian economy in areas such as electronic; areas such as energy; such areas such as finance and it is a really important part of what we need to be doing to contest Russia in this," he said. In a media release on July 19, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations (AFUO) described the cargo arriving in Australia on tankers as "blood oil". "Since February 2023, Australia has imported an estimated $3.7 billion worth of Russian crude, as a component in refined petroleum products from Indian refineries, sending around $1.8 billion in tax revenue to the Kremlin," AFUO chair Kateryna Argyrou said. "The flow of profits directly helps fund Russia's brutal war against Ukraine." She called on the Albanese government to extend its sanctions to the Indian refineries processing Russian crude. West Australian mining magnate Andrew Forrest has also raised concerns about the money of "Australian mums and dads" being sent back to Vladamir Putin through sanction-avoidance schemes. But Russian oil company Rosneft has described sanctions against Indian refineries as "unjustified and illegal". "These sanctions are yet another example of extraterritorial implementation of politically motivated restrictions that blatantly violate international law and infringe on the economic interests of a sovereign state," the company said in a statement. In a written statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said the Australian government continued to stand with Ukraine since "Russia's illegal and immoral invasion". "Australia has imposed strict sanctions and other trade measures to restrict the import, purchase and transport of oil coming from, or that originated in, Russia," the spokesperson said. "On 18 June, the foreign minister announced Australia's first sanctions against Russia's shadow fleet, to help starve Russia's war machine of oil revenue. They said further options were being evaluated to ensure that "Australia does not inadvertently fund Russia's war machine".
ABC News
23 minutes ago
- ABC News
PM labels Gaza a 'humanitarian catastrophe' and reaffirms aspiration for Palestinian statehood
The prime minister has labelled the conflict in Gaza a "humanitarian catastrophe", while reaffirming an existing commitment to a two-state solution. France has announced it will formally recognise Palestine later this year, becoming the largest and most influential European nation to do so. In some of his strongest language on the conflict yet, Anthony Albanese said the conflict has gone "beyond the world's worst fears". "Gaza is in the grip of a humanitarian catastrophe. Israel's denial of aid and the killing of civilians, including children, seeking access to water and food, cannot be defended or ignored," he said. It follows Australia joining 27 other countries in a joint statement earlier this week demanding an immediate end to the war. Israel labelled those joint calls "disconnected from reality", arguing the attention of those countries should be focused on the actions of Hamas. Australia does not recognise a Palestinian state, instead referring officially to the West Bank and Gaza as the "Occupied Palestinian Territories", though it does have diplomatic ties with the Palestinian Authority. The new comments from Mr Albanese do not refer directly to France's moves to recognise Palestine, but point to Australia's long-standing ambitions around recognition. "Recognising the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a state of their own has long been a bipartisan position in Australia," he said. "The reason a two-state solution remains the goal of the international community is because a just and lasting peace depends upon it. "Australia is committed to a future where both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples can live in peace and safety, within secure and internationally recognised borders."
