Albanese ‘in Beijing's pocket' following fluffy China visit
Albanese on Friday wrapped up his six-day visit to China where he held talks with President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Qiang and other senior leaders in Beijing earlier this week.
While the PM touted the trip as "another important step in the Australia-China relationship", he has come under fire for not pressing President Xi on more serious foreign policy issues.
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Perth Now
4 minutes ago
- Perth Now
Albanese to travel across the ditch for leaders meeting
Defence, economic partnerships and security will be on the agenda for Prime Minister Anthony Albanese when he meets his New Zealand counterpart. Mr Albanese will spend the weekend in Queenstown for the annual Australia-New Zealand leaders meeting with Prime Minister Christopher Luxon. It will be the second time across the Tasman for Mr Albanese, who last visited in 2023 to meet with then-Labour prime minister Chris Hipkins. Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon represent opposite ends of the political spectrum, but both have affirmed their nations share a "deep and enduring bond" as friends, neighbours and allies. "I look forward to discussing how we can work together to build on our single economic market, modernise the rules-based trading system, deepen our alliance, and back our Pacific partners," Mr Albanese said. The single economic market was established in 2009 to grow trade and deepen investment links between the two countries, making it easier for trans-Tasman business. Two-way trade between the two countries is worth $32 billion. Co-operation between the two governments is broad, with more than half of the New Zealand cabinet visiting Australia since Mr Luxon's government took office in late 2023. The "complicated" relationship between opportunities and challenges posed by China was likely to be a focus of talks behind the scenes, Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand Contemporary China Research Centre director Jason Young said. "Both prime ministers have recently visited China," the professor told AAP. "They had, at least, public-facing, very good visits to stabilise and manage the economic relationship. But at the same time, there's a bunch of particularly regional security issues which have an impact on both countries." The pair could also discuss the impact of the US President Donald Trump's tariffs. While Mr Trump raised tariffs against dozens of nations, he showed mercy on Australia and kept levies against most products at 10 per cent. But New Zealand was not spared and was hit with a 15 per cent "reciprocal" tariff. At the most recent leaders' meeting in Canberra in 2024, Mr Albanese and Mr Luxon discussed migration and creating a closer defence partnership. David Capie, another professor from Victoria University of Wellington, said the Luxon government had leaned into its partnership with Australia since coming to power. "You've got a New Zealand government that wants to do more with Australia," the NZ foreign and defence policy expert told AAP. "The upending of the economic order with the Trump tariffs, the Middle East - all of those things NZ and Australia are finding that they're very closely aligned." Yet deportation remains a point of friction, as New Zealand has long protested Australia's practice of deporting criminals with Kiwi passports but with stronger ties to Australia. After the 2024 meeting, the two leaders agreed to "engage closely" on the matter. Prof Capie said the issue hadn't faded away completely but was being more delicately handled compared to the Morrison government era. "You had a lot of deportations and a government that was basically basking in it," he said. "But more importantly, the structural changes to the rights of New Zealanders to be able to find a pathway to citizenship mean that there are going to be fewer and fewer over time." Mr Albanese is expected to be welcomed in a pōwhiri, a formal Māori welcoming ceremony, before he meets with Mr Luxon on Saturday. He will also meet with Australian and New Zealand business leaders and take part in a business roundtable.
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Putin taps key allies ahead of Trump summit, sanctions deadline
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday held consultations with the leaders of China and India, seeking support from his key allies ahead of a likely summit with Donald Trump. The calls came hours before a deadline from the US president on Moscow to halt its Ukraine offensive or face crippling new economic sanctions, expected to target Russia's key trading partners. Both Washington and Moscow have confirmed a Putin-Trump meeting is set to take place, possibly as early as next week. Trump has spent his first months in office trying to broker peace in Ukraine after boasting he could end the conflict in 24 hours -- but his efforts so far have failed to yield a breakthrough. He also wants countries such as China and India to cut their purchases of Moscow's oil and gas, a key source of revenue that Kyiv and the West say funds its army. Trump earlier this week hiked tariffs on India over its purchases of Russian oil, which have surged since February 2022 when Moscow launched its campaign. The Kremlin said Friday that Putin had updated Chinese President Xi Jinping on "the main results of his conversation" with US special envoy Steve Witkoff who visited Moscow earlier this week. Xi expressed support for a "long-term" solution to the conflict, the Kremlin said. China's Xinhua state news agency quoted Xi as having told Putin: "China is glad to see Russia and the United States maintain contact, improve their relations, and promote a political settlement of the Ukraine crisis." Moscow and Beijing have deepened political, economic and military ties since Russia's offensive. China has portrayed itself as a neutral party in the conflict, but never denounced the offensive or called for Russia to withdraw. - 'Only fair' - Putin also spoke by phone to India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi, after both countries condemned the new US tariffs over New Delhi's oil purchases. "Had a very good and detailed conversation with my friend President Putin. I thanked him for sharing the latest developments on Ukraine," Modi posted on social media. Neither side elaborated on what had been discussed. Xi and Modi have both tried to tout their own peace initiatives for Ukraine, though they have gained little traction. Trump's deadline for Russia to strike a peace deal or face new sanctions -- expected to target its trading partners -- was set to pass later on Friday. Asked by reporters in the Oval Office if that deadline still held despite the upcoming summit, Trump did not give a clear answer. "It's going to be up to (Putin)," Trump said. "We're going to see what he has to say." Three rounds of talks between Russia and Ukraine have failed to yield a breakthrough and it remains unclear whether a summit would bring peace any closer. On the streets of Moscow expectations were also low. "Hope for the best, prepare for the worst," Irina, a 57-year-old lawyer, told AFP. "To be honest, I have no hopes," she added. Putin has resisted multiple calls from the United States, Europe and Kyiv for a ceasefire. He has also ruled out holding talks with Volodymyr Zelensky at this stage, a meeting the Ukrainian president says is necessary to make headway on a deal.
The Australian
4 hours ago
- The Australian
Clive Palmer accuses solicitor Sam Iskander of Mineralogy ‘theft'
Billionaire Clive Palmer says he has reported his long-time solicitor to police, alleging the lawyer stole $30m in legal fees from his mining company. In an explosive written statement released on Thursday night, former federal MP Mr Palmer alleged that Sam Iskander had stolen about $30m from the businessman's company Mineralogy between 2016 and last month. Mr Palmer said Mineralogy would launch legal action in the Supreme Court on Friday seeking an order to freeze Mr Iskander's assets and said he had reported the matter to police. 'This is the biggest individual fraud in Queensland history and it casts serious doubts over our judicial system,'' Mr Palmer said. A mobile number for Mr Iskander was disconnected and the website for his law firm Alexander Law was not functional on Thursday night. Mr Iskander did not respond to requests for comment via email and voicemail left on the firm's answering service. The Queensland Law Society said on Thursday night that the body was 'aware of the situation and can confirm that Mr Iskander has surrendered his practising certificate and is no longer in practice'. 'Our priority in this situation is to protect the public and execute our duties as co-regulator of the legal profession in Queensland,' a law society spokesman said. 'We are taking all necessary steps to do this in accordance with responsibilities under the Legal Profession Act.' The society's online register of solicitors said Mr Iskander was registered as a solicitor in 2004 and he had an 'unrestricted' practising certificate. Mr Palmer has, at times, made outlandish statements. In 2022, he and then West Australian premier Mark McGowan were both awarded minor damages for defaming each other. The Australian does not suggest Mr Palmer's allegations against Mr Iskander are true, only that they have been made. The Australian understands Mr Palmer claims the alleged offending was discovered when he was compiling a tax return and sought more details about a barrister's fees. He allegedly found that Mr Iskander had told him the barrister's fees were five times more than they actually were, and then pocketed the rest. A forensic audit going back to 2016 allegedly found Mr Iskander had taken $30m, by inflating alleged bills relating to legal cases that he ran for Mr Palmer. Mr Iskander has represented the former federal MP for years, including during Mr Palmer's chequered ownership of the Queensland Nickel refinery in north Queensland and the dismissal of hundreds of workers. In 2019, the refinery said Mr Iskander's law firm was managing the trust account for unpaid workers' entitlements. As recently as January this year, Mr Iskander was filing documents to the High Court on behalf of Mr Palmer in his legal action against the Commonwealth of Australia. That case related to the registration of Mr Palmer's United Australia Party and a dispute with the Australian Electoral Commission. Alexander Law was listed as Mr Palmer's solicitors when the judgment was handed down in May. The former member for the Queensland Sunshine Coast seat of Fairfax lost and was ordered to pay legal costs. In an interview on Thursday night, Mr Palmer said the internal audit of legal fees had led to a complaint being made to police against Mr Iskander and civil legal action, which would be filed on Friday. 'Tomorrow (Friday) in the Supreme Court of Queensland, we're moving against him to get a freezing order against his assets, right?'' Mr Palmer said. 'And it's clear that he's applied a lot of our funds to purchase property throughout Australia, and we have launched caveats on those properties. I can confirm on the record that we've made a complaint to police, yeah, and that they're investigating right now.' Questions were put to Queensland Police but a response was not received before deadline. Read related topics: Clive Palmer Politics Anthony Albanese faces mounting pressure to boost defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP ahead of his first face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump. Defence Pentagon officials warn Australia must lift defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP to meet AUKUS commitments and defend itself adequately.
