PM defends decision on defence spending goal
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with SBS News Podcasts .
TRANSCRIPT
The Prime Minister defends decision on defence spending goal
Terrorgram formally listed as terrorist organisation by the Australian government
the Matildas prepare for their second game against Slovenia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has defended the government's position on defence spending, dismissing calls from the Trump administration to lift spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP. Leaders at the NATO summit this week agreed to raise their defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, although Spain secured an exemption allowing it to limit the increase to 2.1 per cent. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the US expects its allies in the Asia-Pacific, including Australia, to match the target of 5 per cent. Mr Albanese says Australia will stick to its current plan to lift defence spending from 2 per cent to 2.3 per cent of GDP by 2034. "We have increased our defence investment. We have increased it by $57 billion over the medium-term; and by more than $10 billion in the short-term as well. My job is to look after Australia's national interest - that includes our defence and security interests. And that is precisely what we're doing." Australia has increased its funding commitment to the global vaccine group Gavi, as the US says it is withdrawing all of its funding over vaccine safety concerns. US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr, a vaccine sceptic, did not provide any evidence to support his claim that Gavi, had "ignored the science" in immunising children around the world. The Chair of the Board of Gavi, Jose Manuel Barroso, says the organisation has multiple safeguards and processes in place to prioritise the health and safety of children. "Gavi is indeed a unique organisation in global health - with a public-private model that has brought together national governments, donors, vaccine manufacturers, scientific institutes to vaccinate more than 1 billion children in low income and middle income countries. And I have to say that Gavi has done it always following the best scientific advice, the best science in the world - putting as a high priority vaccine safety." At a summit in Brussels , a record number of donors have pledged funds to Gavi, with more than A$13.75 billion secured until 2030. Australia has announced it will provide $26 million more than what was requested, for a total contribution of A$386 million over five years. A violent far-right online extremist group called Terrorgram has been listed as a terrorist organisation by the Australian government. Terrorgram uses encrypted platforms, mainly Telegram, to distribute racist and nationalist propaganda designed to provoke terrorist attacks, and has successfully inspired terrorist attacks in the United States, Europe and Asia. The listing means anyone found to be a member or associated with the group could face up to 25 years in jail. Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke says such extremist hatred has no place in Australia. State and territory education ministers are meeting in Adelaide to discuss reforms to the childcare and early education sector. It comes after New South Wales announced new laws to improve child safety, after a report by Deputy Ombudsman Chris Wheeler found a lack of transparency in the childcare sector compared to some other states. The changes include the installation of security cameras inside centres, and a requirement for providers to notify families if they are investigated for serious breaches. Operators found to be in breach of safety rules will also face bigger fines. New South Wales Acting Minister for Education and Early Learning, Courtney Houssos says she will be sharing insights on the new measures with her state and territory counterparts at today's meeting. "We believe parents have the right to make sure when they make sure that when they drop off their kids each day, they are going to be safe and in a quality environment. And that is at the forefront of our minds, so giving parents information, giving the community information is really important." In football, Matildas coach Joe Montemurro says the team's win against Slovenia in Perth was the perfect game. Holly McNamara achieved her first international goal, and Hayley Raso added to the score in the 87th minute when she unleashed a strike from outside the box. The under-strength Matildas were error-prone throughout the game, especially in defence where they attempted to play their way out of trouble at every chance. It is Montemurro's first match in charge. He says it is a process, and the team will have the chance to showcase further improvements when facing Slovenia again in Perth on Sunday.
"We have to put ourselves in positions, especially against the team that played player on player to be comfortable receiving the ball under pressure. We made three or four big errors in that. But I'm not concerned because it is the process going forward. For me, it was the perfect game. A team that obviously pressured all over the pitch. We have to be comfortable under the pressure. We have to learn to be that."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
RFK Jr. vaccine advisory panel votes against thimerosal in flu vaccines
An influential vaccine advisory panel made up of allies of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has voted to recommend against the use of flu vaccines containing thimerosal, a commonly used, mercury-based preservative that has long been a target of anti-vaccination groups. Health experts, including one voting member on the committee, have warned that the move could restrict access to multi-dose flu shots, exposing people to deadly influenza to mitigate the 'non-existent' health risks of thimerosal. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), a panel of outside experts that makes recommendations on vaccinations to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and plays a key role in determining immunisation schedules, voted in favour of the motion. It recommended that 'all adults receive seasonal influenza vaccines only in single-dose formulations that are free of thimerosal as a preservative' at its meeting in Atlanta, Georgia on Thursday. The vote passed with five yes votes, one no vote and one abstention. 'My concern is that by insisting the multi-dose vials [do not] contain thimerosal, that might limit the availability of the influenza vaccine for some people,' said Dr Cody Meissner, professor of pediatrics at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine and the lone no vote. 'I would like to have that question answered but it's probably a difficult one to answer. My point is the risk from influenza is so much greater than the non-existent, as far as we know, risk from thimerosal. So I would hate for a person not to receive the influenza vaccine because the only available preparation contains thimerosal. I find that very hard to justify.' RFK Jr., Donald Trump's Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary and a long-time vaccine sceptic, earlier this month fired the entire 17-member ACIP panel, all of whom were appointed under former President Joe Biden. Mr Kennedy claimed in a Wall Street Journal op-ed that the ousted panel was 'plagued with persistent conflicts of interest' and had become 'little more than a rubber stamp for any vaccine'. 'Today we are prioritising the restoration of public trust above any specific pro- or anti-vaccine agenda,' he said in a HHS press release announcing the decision. 'The public must know that unbiased science — evaluated through a transparent process and insulated from conflicts of interest — guides the recommendations of our health agencies.' Mr Kennedy subsequently appointed eight new members to the panel, all of whom were ideological allies and prominent vaccine critics. They include Dr Robert Malone, an early researcher of mRNA technology who vocally opposed the Covid vaccines, and Dr Martin Kulldorff, a Swedish epidemiologist and biostatistician who criticised lockdown and social distancing policies, co-authoring the October 2020 'Great Barrington Declaration' with Oxford professor Dr Sunetra Gupta and Stanford professor Dr Jay Bhattacharya, who is now the director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This week's regular two-day ACIP meeting, which had been set to vote on the safety of flu vaccines and discuss proposed recommendations for the use of the combined MMRV vaccine for children under five, was updated to include a presentation on thimerosal by Lyn Redwood, a nurse practitioner and former president of Children's Health Defense, the anti-vaccination group founded by Mr Kennedy. Prior to the meeting, a slide contained in the presentation purporting to show thimerosal can have 'long-term consequences in the brain' was discovered to reference a non-existent study. Thimerosal, which is used in about 5 per cent of multi-dose flu vaccines, is a mercury-based preservative that has been in use for decades. It contains ethylmercury, which is cleared from the human body more quickly than methylmercury — the type of mercury found in certain kinds of fish that can be toxic to people at high exposure levels — and is therefore less likely to cause any harm. 'There is no evidence of harm caused by the low doses of thimerosal in vaccines, except for minor reactions like redness and swelling at the injection site,' a fact sheet on the CDC website states. 'In July 1999, the Public Health Service agencies, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and vaccine manufacturers agreed that thimerosal should be reduced or eliminated in vaccines as a precautionary measure.' Dr Kulldorf, the new ACIP chair, said after Ms Redwood's presentation that mercury toxicity was a 'cumulative issue' and 'we should try to minimise exposure'. 'Let's say a child is exposed to mercury from 10 different sources,' he said. 'Each of those 10 sources might be small enough, that source in itself is not dangerous, but if you then put all 10 together then it might be dangerous.' Secondly, he noted 'there are alternatives, and in fact most of the influenza vaccines given today do not contain thimerosal, so it's very feasible to not use thimerosal-containing vaccines … we don't really need it'. Dr Kulldorf added that 'if we put mercury in a product people are not going to want to buy' it. 'So if we want to promote people taking vaccines we should remove these mercury-containing preservatives,' he said. Dr Meissner said he was 'not quite sure how to respond to this presentation'. 'This is an old issue that has been addressed in the past,' he said. 'Of all the issues I think ACIP needs to focus on, this is not a big issue. I will also hasten to add that thimerosal is included in most vaccines that are administered around the globe. 'That is because single-dose vials are more expensive and many countries cannot afford a single-dose vial. I realise ACIP is focused on the United States, but the recommendations that the ACIP makes are followed among many countries around the world, and removing thimerosal from all vaccines that are used in other countries, for example, is going to reduce access to these vaccines, it will increase cost.' Dr Meissner stressed 'it's important to note that no study has ever indicated any harm from thimerosal'. 'It's been used in vaccines since before World War II,' he said. 'The decision by the FDA to remove thimerosal as much as possible is a very reasonable recommendation, but this recommendation was made not because there was any evidence of harm from thimerosal. It was made in an effort to reduce the total exposure to mercury in our environment. That's a reasonable objective. But you also have to consider what are the consequences of these sorts of recommendations.' Dr Joseph Hibbeln, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist with the National Institutes of Health (NIH), noted there was 'a significant benefit to the use of multi-dose vaccines instead of single-dose vaccines'. 'And apparently there is good data that other preservatives can be used, so I hope that the committee will put on the agenda the consideration of multi-use vials … that have other, better preservatives,' he said. Dr Jason Goldman, president of the American College of Physicians (ACP), asked during the public comment section 'if we will have an actual scientific presentation with peer-reviewed literature, strong evidence to actually discuss this issue'. 'Many statements have been made here today without support of science or evidence but merely opinion,' he said. 'Will there be an actual CDC presentation done by staff, scientists, physicians and those who are subject matter experts with accurate, peer-reviewed scientific data or will we have layperson presentations only?' Responding to the criticisms, Dr Kulldorf said 'I think it's inappropriate to dismiss a presentation just because the person does not have a PhD or an MD'. 'There are a lot of knowledgeable people who we would like to hear from,' he said. Prior to the meeting, the panel was reduced to seven members with the withdrawal of Dr Michael Ross. HHS said in a statement Dr Ross withdrew 'during the financial holdings review required of members before they can start work on the committee', without providing further details. Dr Ross was described as a clinical professor of obstetrics and gynaecology at George Washington University and Virginia Commonwealth University, but US media reports suggested he had not worked at either school in years. More recently he was linked to private biotech and healthcare ventures.
West Australian
an hour ago
- West Australian
Anthony Albanese stares down White House defence spending demands as pressure mounts at home
Anthony Albanese is staring down an emboldened White House, as the Trump Administration ratchets up pressure for Australia to increase its defence spending and threaten other nations who defy such demands. The Prime Minister, who is also facing domestic demands he bolster the Budget, has indicated a preparedness to increase Australia's defence spending beyond current targets but says he won't do so because of US demands. NATO partners this week agreed to lift their defence spending to five per cent of GDP, of which 3.5 per cent will be designated for capability, at the behest of US President Donald Trump. The exception was Spain, who opted out of the pact, and was subsequently threatened by the President with higher tariffs. Buoyed by his win in the North Atlantic, Mr Trump is now set to turn his attention to the Indo-Pacific. 'If our allies in Europe and our NATO allies can do it, I think our allies and our friends in the Asia Pacific region can do it as well,' Mr Trump's press secretary Karoline Leavitt said overnight. The Trump Administration has made no secret of their desire for Australia to lift its defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP to counter a rising China, including direct appeals to Defence Minister Richard Marles by his American counterpart. Further requests are expected when the four Quad foreign ministers, including Penny Wong, meet in Washington next week. Mr Albanese has maintained Australia will set its own agenda, and refused to be drawn on whether he was concerned Australia could be similarly threatened if he continues to resist the President's demands that allies lift their defence budgets. 'I'm not going to comment on things between Spain and the United States,' Mr Albanese said. 'We will invest in the capability that Australia needs. What my job is to look after Australia's national interest, that includes our defence and security interests and that's precisely what we are doing.' To a further question, the PM appeared frustrated and retorted 'There's a big focus on Spain … here today'. 'We have increased our defence investment. We've increased it by $57 billion over the medium term and by more than $10b in the short term.' Australia will spend two per cent of its GDP on defence this year, or $56b. That is expected to rise to $71b by 2028-29 and reach 2.33 per cent of GDP by 2033-34. The Government has said rather than throw out an abject number, its defence spending would be guided by capability needs. 'So we don't start with the question of how much money and then start to invent capability within it. We start with the question, what's required to be able to keep Australians safe; what's required to be able to meet our defence needs; what's that capability, and then you look at the expense issue, but you don't just - there's no area of public policy in Australia where we start with the financial envelope and then say, 'Okay, spend what you want' within it,' Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said on Friday morning. Defence experts have also cautioned that it might be one thing for NATO countries to pledge to spend 5 per cent on defence, but meeting those commitments will be another. The latest NATO estimates show nine members failed to meet the 2 per cent target - set in 2014 - in 2024. Nevertheless, former Australian ambassador to the US Joe Hockey said not taking Mr Trump's request to lift defence spending seriously could risk relegating Australia to a 'tier three' ally. Mr Hockey warned Australia needed to step up amid Beijing 'aggression', but also needed the US onside. 'This is Beijing's aggression that we need to stand up to. Chinese people are great people. It is Beijing,' he told Sky News on Friday. 'The fact is, we do need the United States. They are crucial to the Indo-Pacific. 'They've just shown the world their capability to deliver on their objectives, and importantly, they are a force for good, and have been throughout our history. 'Now we have an open display of incredible power to be able to deliver on the objectives of the Western world, and we should be embracing that, not not fearing it, not being worried or afraid to go to the Oval Office or anywhere else.' Mr Albanese and Mr Trump have not spoken since the President left the G7 summit early, subsequently cancelling the planned bilateral meeting to get back to Washington to deal with the Israel-Iran conflict. Mr Trump has since spoken to several other world leaders he had to cancel on — but not Mr Albanese. Ms Leavitt on Thursday acknowledged 'not all' of those meetings had been made up. Mr Albanese has said he and Mr Trump will reschedule a meeting. The PM is set to travel to the US again in September to address the UN general assembly, and could try and meet him on the sidelines. The Coalition are incredulous that the PM will reportedly meet the Chinese President again before he meets with Mr Trump. 'He seems better positioned to get a meeting with the President of China from the President of the United States, and that is not what we need from a country or with a country that has underpinned the security of our region and the world for 70 years,' shadow defence minister Angus Taylor said on Friday. The Coalition are also demanding a ramped up pathway to 3 per cent of GDP. 'The Prime Minister himself has made that point, the most dangerous times since the Second World War, and in that context, it's incredibly disappointing that today, the Prime Minister has said that they will not increase defence spending to a level that's appropriate and necessary in order to implement their own plan,' he said, referring to the defence strategic review. Asked outright if the US should be able to dictate how much Australia spends on defence, he said 'absolutely not'. 'We should dictate it on what is necessary for us to be in control of our own destiny and for us to make sure we are able to achieve peace through deterrence in our region.' 'This Government needs to take seriously the defence of this great nation.'
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Aussie Super sector breathes sigh of relief after Trump administration axes ‘revenge' tax
Australia's Super sector has breathed a sigh of relief after the Trump administration walked back a proposed 'revenge' tax for foreign investors, which would have wiped billions of dollars. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent confirmed overnight he struck a deal with countries tightening taxes on multinationals 'that defends American interests'. Under the international taxation rules agreed by 140 governments, including the former Biden administration, multinational companies would pay a minimum 15 per cent tax regardless of where their global headquarters are. On his first day as president, Donald Trump withdrew the US from the agreement and threatened retaliatory duties on any country that imposed the minimum multinational tax. 'After months of productive dialogue with other countries on the (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Global Tax Deal, we will announce a joint understanding among G7 countries that defends American interests,' Mr Bessent posted on social media. 'OECD Pillar 2 taxes will not apply to U.S. companies, and we will work cooperatively to implement this agreement across the OECD-G20 Inclusive Framework in coming weeks and months.' He added that he 'asked the Senate and House to remove the Section 899 protective measure from consideration in the One, Big, Beautiful Bill'. Had a deal not been reached, nearly half a trillion US dollars in Australian super investments could have been impacted. After months of productive dialogue with other countries on the OECD Global Tax Deal, we will announce a joint understanding among G7 countries that defends American interests. President Trump paved the way for this historic achievement. On January 20, the President issued two… — Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent (@SecScottBessent) June 26, 2025 The Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) said on Friday it was 'a really welcome step from the US Treasury Secretary'. 'There's still a way to go – the amendments need to be made by lawmakers,' chief policy officer James Koval said. 'There are a number of other amendments under consideration. 'This section of the legislation would have changed the risk return profile of investment in the US, which would have been a poor outcome for all involved. 'The superannuation sector has around USD$450 billion invested in the United States, the single largest market outside of Australia. 'This is money invested in US infrastructure, equities, bonds, and other areas.' Anthony Albanese earlier also welcomed the update, saying he raised Australia's concerns with Mr Bessent on the sidelines of the G7 Summit in Canada last week. 'This would adversely impacted on Australian investment if it had have been implemented, particularly on investment from superannuation companies,' the Prime Minister told reporters. 'And one of the things that we held earlier this year in Washington DC was a round table of Australian investment funds who are willing and keen to invest in the United States – just one way in which the Australia US economic relationship is an important one.'
