Trump is watching Australia's decision on Palestine. Does it matter?
'The president has, in his career, paid particular attention to the Anglosphere,' he says. 'I'm sure he'll be looking to see how our friends line up.'
Wilkie knows Trump well. He served in his first cabinet as secretary for veterans affairs, and is now at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute. We are speaking in his office just a stone's throw from the White House.
'He [Trump] has been decrying the position of our major Western allies when it comes to the issue of Israel and Gaza,' Wilkie says.
'I think he looks at these leaders as appeasing the hard left of their polities, as he would say the Democratic Party is [doing] in this country, and they do nothing with their statements other than encourage the leadership of Hamas to carry on in the hopes that somehow this kind of rhetoric will sway the United States to tell [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu to stop. They're the professional peace agitators.'
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Wilkie also knows Australia well and indicates Labor's actions are being closely watched in Washington. The assumption is that Canberra will follow the path of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who has said his country will recognise Palestine unless Israel takes substantive steps to peace.
'We're seeing more movement within the Labor Party to force the prime minister to go down the road that Mr Starmer has gone, and I think it will happen in the next few weeks,' Wilkie says.
'There's enough agitation on the left of Labor in Australia and in the streets of the major cities that he will do what Starmer has done with his backbenchers in Labour.'
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The Advertiser
37 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Labor running out of time to get Green light to govern
The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said. The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said. The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said. The Greens are calling for Dean Winter to shake his "majority mentality" as the Labor leader and Liberals court support to lead Tasmania. Jeremy Rockliff has been reinstalled as state premier after the governor granted his request to form a minority government. But a planned motion expressing no confidence in the Liberals and confidence in Labor is set to be moved when state parliament returns on August 19. Neither the Liberals with 14 seats nor Labor with 10 won the required 18 to control the lower house in their own right after a snap poll produced a hung parliament. Mr Rockliff and Mr Winter have no formal agreements of support with the 11 minor party MPs and independents. The Liberals pitched a multi-partisan budget panel on Friday as part of draft stability agreement talks with crossbenchers. Immense backlash to the 2025/26 state budget was partially responsible for the original no-confidence motion against Mr Rockliff in early June. Incoming treasurer Eric Abetz, who will be sworn in with the rest of Mr Rockliff's cabinet on Monday, said there was an "appetite" for budget repair among crossbenchers. The former senator refused to "pontificate on budgets past" and wouldn't reveal how his approach would differ to Deputy Premier Guy Barnett, who has been removed as treasurer. Mr Barnett's most recent budget forecast Tasmania heading for $13 billion worth of net debt by 2028. Mr Abetz described debt as "intergenerational theft" and hailed the national budget being whipped into shape as the biggest achievements of the Howard/Costello government that he served in. "That's the challenge here in Tasmania as well now, to get the budget back into shape," he told reporters. His instinct was not to raise the tax burden of Tasmanians to balance the books, but Mr Abetz acknowledged the panel would be open to "all possibilities". "I hope that my place in Tasmanian history is not cemented by being the shortest-lived treasurer in Tasmania," Mr Abetz said. Mr Winter met with all five independent crossbenchers on Thursday to outline his vision for a stable and lasting parliament. Shadow attorney-general Ella Haddad said Mr Winter shared Labor's draft collaboration framework and spruiked plans to shake-up oversight bodies. Labor would work across the chamber, including with the Greens, to win support for the motion, Ms Haddad said. The Clark MP argued the crossbench had a choice between an "energetic, ready, progressive Labor party" or a "tired 11-year-old Liberal government who offers more of the same". Tasmanian Greens Leader Rosalie Woodruff said her party was yet to have a "proper conversation" with Mr Winter and had been "basically blanked". She said the Labor leader remained stuck in a "majority mentality" despite the party's primary vote slumping to 25.9 per cent, 3.1 per cent lower than the 2024 state election. "It doesn't give us a lot of confidence about how he'd operate as premier," Ms Woodruff said. Labor needs the Greens' five lower-house MPs and another three crossbenchers to back the motion for it to pass. The Greens have not set a deadline for the "proper conversations" to be had to earn their support. Compromising on major issues does not mean compromising on values, independent MP Peter George said. "Until now Liberal and Labor seem to think that promising to treat the crossbench better in parliament is just about all they need to do to win support. It is not," he said.
The Advertiser
38 minutes ago
- The Advertiser
Germany halts military exports that may be used in Gaza
Germany will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says in response to Israel's plan to expand its military operations. Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating, almost two-year-old war. Merz said it was Israel's right to disarm Hamas and to seek the release of the Israeli hostages. "The German government believes that the even tougher military action in the Gaza Strip decided upon by the Israeli cabinet last night makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved," he said in a statement. "Under these circumstances, the German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice." Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could jeopardise the lives of remaining hostages. The release of the hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire are Germany's top priorities, Merz said, expressing deep concern over the suffering of civilians in the Gaza strip. Germany's parliament said in June that export licences for military equipment to Israel worth 485 million euros ($A865 million) were granted between October 7, 2023 and May 13, 2025. Germany has been one of Israel's strongest supporters since the October 7, 2023 attacks. Berlin has repeatedly blocked EU initiatives to sanction Israel over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. with DPA Germany will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says in response to Israel's plan to expand its military operations. Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating, almost two-year-old war. Merz said it was Israel's right to disarm Hamas and to seek the release of the Israeli hostages. "The German government believes that the even tougher military action in the Gaza Strip decided upon by the Israeli cabinet last night makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved," he said in a statement. "Under these circumstances, the German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice." Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could jeopardise the lives of remaining hostages. The release of the hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire are Germany's top priorities, Merz said, expressing deep concern over the suffering of civilians in the Gaza strip. Germany's parliament said in June that export licences for military equipment to Israel worth 485 million euros ($A865 million) were granted between October 7, 2023 and May 13, 2025. Germany has been one of Israel's strongest supporters since the October 7, 2023 attacks. Berlin has repeatedly blocked EU initiatives to sanction Israel over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. with DPA Germany will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says in response to Israel's plan to expand its military operations. Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating, almost two-year-old war. Merz said it was Israel's right to disarm Hamas and to seek the release of the Israeli hostages. "The German government believes that the even tougher military action in the Gaza Strip decided upon by the Israeli cabinet last night makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved," he said in a statement. "Under these circumstances, the German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice." Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could jeopardise the lives of remaining hostages. The release of the hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire are Germany's top priorities, Merz said, expressing deep concern over the suffering of civilians in the Gaza strip. Germany's parliament said in June that export licences for military equipment to Israel worth 485 million euros ($A865 million) were granted between October 7, 2023 and May 13, 2025. Germany has been one of Israel's strongest supporters since the October 7, 2023 attacks. Berlin has repeatedly blocked EU initiatives to sanction Israel over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. with DPA Germany will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says in response to Israel's plan to expand its military operations. Israel's political-security cabinet approved a plan early on Friday to take control of Gaza City, a move expanding military operations despite intensifying criticism at home and abroad over the devastating, almost two-year-old war. Merz said it was Israel's right to disarm Hamas and to seek the release of the Israeli hostages. "The German government believes that the even tougher military action in the Gaza Strip decided upon by the Israeli cabinet last night makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved," he said in a statement. "Under these circumstances, the German government will not approve any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice." Far-right allies in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza as part of his vow to eradicate Hamas militants, though the military has warned this could jeopardise the lives of remaining hostages. The release of the hostages and negotiations for a ceasefire are Germany's top priorities, Merz said, expressing deep concern over the suffering of civilians in the Gaza strip. Germany's parliament said in June that export licences for military equipment to Israel worth 485 million euros ($A865 million) were granted between October 7, 2023 and May 13, 2025. Germany has been one of Israel's strongest supporters since the October 7, 2023 attacks. Berlin has repeatedly blocked EU initiatives to sanction Israel over the desperate humanitarian situation in Gaza. with DPA
The Australian
an hour ago
- The Australian
Nuclear power: Expert reveals hidden cost of Australia's energy path
A leading British nuclear scientist has issued a warning to Australia that 'there are consequences' in rejecting nuclear energy as an energy source. Former chief scientific adviser to the UK Ministry of Defence Sir Robin Grimes said such a stance would likely put Australia in a weaker position to take advantage of the AI boom and invest in data centres. Sir Robin said the issue of nuclear energy was something Australia needed to 'debate', with the Coalition vowing to pursue it as part of its energy policy. 'Yes, you don't have to go nuclear, but there are consequences of deciding to use it and not use it,' he told NewsWire. 'It means that Australia will not be in as strong a position to do certain types of industrial processes. As a consequence, data centres, (AI and robotics) are much more difficult to have if you don't have that base-load capacity available to you.' A leading British nuclear scientist said there would be consequences if Australia chose to reject the use of nuclear energy in its grid. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Sir Robin said while Australia was 'blessed with fantastic sunshine', nuclear should be considered as an alternative to costly batteries. In comparison, the UK generates about 15 per cent of its electricity from nuclear sources, with wind and gas also key players in its grid, accounting for 30 per cent of energy input. 'If you want energy security, and if you want a really robust system, then you're going to have to invest in phenomenal amounts of storage if you don't go nuclear,' Sir Robin said. 'Batteries don't generate energy. They're a tax on the energy that you're produced because you've having to store it … and the more energy you produce from intermittent renewables, the more storage you need and the greater the cost.' Australia's abundant supplies of uranium, which make up about 8 per cent of global production and are estimated to be about one-third of the world's uranium supply, could also be refined onshore, leading to new job markets, Sir Robin added. This could involve processing the uranium ore, refining it into yellowcake and converting it to uranium hexafluoride, steps that come before the compounds are enriched to create nuclear fuel. 'The question is, do you just dig the ore out the ground and shove it on a train and export it to somewhere that's going to do something with it, or do you go through some of the processes and retain more of the jobs associated with that in Australia,' Sir Robin said. Earlier this year, the Dutton-led Coalition took a nuclear policy to build seven reactors by 2050 to the federal election. Picture: NewsWire/ Martin Ollman Sir Robin's comments follow an Australia-first conference on nuclear energy hosted by the University of NSW in Sydney this week. The event featured talks from world-leading nuclear scientists, including Nuclear Energy Agency director-general William Magwood, US Department of Energy deputy assistant secretary Aleshia Duncan and Sir Robin. It follows the launch of Australia's first undergraduate honours degree in nuclear engineering, slated to start in 2026. UNSW's Nuclear Innovation Centre director Ed Obbard said he believed the nuclear debate would likely grow as Australia developed a domestic nuclear engineering workforce and through existing initiatives like the AUKUS submarine program and Sydney's OPAL reactor, which produces radioisotopes for medical imaging, cancer treatment and research. 'As the nuclear sector grows, both in Australia and worldwide, discussions on civilian nuclear energy will become increasingly realistic,' Dr Obbard said. 'Assuming that we still care about decarbonisation, nuclear is never going to go away.' However, Dr Obbard said Australia having a nuclear workforce was welcomed by both sides of politics. 'It doesn't matter whether you're Liberal and you think we need a workforce for a future nuclear workforce, or if you're Labor and you're desperate to find a workforce to show the Americans that we're doing OK with AUKUS,' he said. 'Or if you're a university where you have international students coming from around the world to study engineering at UNSW. 'You've got this tripling of capacity happening everywhere, and there's a huge nuclear skills shortage wherever you go, and everyone agrees on that.' The Coalition's energy spokesman Dan Tehan welcomed the conference and said 'having a conversation about zero emissions nuclear energy continues to be incredibly important for Australia and the world'. 'More and more countries are adopting nuclear energy as they seek energy abundance and to reduce their emissions, and this is something that should be on the agenda for discussion here in Australia,' he said. 'We've committed to the removal of the moratorium (on nuclear energy) and further policy is under review.' Jessica Wang NewsWire Federal Politics Reporter Jessica Wang is a federal politics reporter for NewsWire based in the Canberra Press Gallery. She previously covered NSW state politics for the Wire and has also worked at and Mamamia covering breaking news, entertainment, and lifestyle. @imjesswang_ Jessica Wang
