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News.com.au
15-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Australian politician slammed over Kanye praise
This is not a drill. This is not clickbait. This is a sitting senator in the Australian parliament proudly announcing to his followers that his 'song of the week' is Kanye West's 'Heil Hitler.' Yes, that song, the one featuring the voice of Adolf Hitler himself. Let me say that again, because I never imagined I'd have to: An elected federal politician in 2025 has praised a song that glorifies history's greatest mass murderer. Ralph Babet, who somehow believes this is just a matter of personal taste, has not only applauded a piece of Holocaust-themed propaganda, he's gone further. In the same rant, he declared he'd rather spend time with neo-Nazis than with what he called 'mentally ill' and 'baby-killing' left-wing Australians. Just when you think it can't get any worse, he adds that it was all 'tongue-in-cheek.' That he wouldn't really hang out with neo-Nazis because, well, they'd want to deport him for being brown. And sure, he also claims he was just sharing a 'good song' by a 'great artist' and that attempts to label him a Nazi were 'f**ing bulls**t'. Be that as it may, this isn't politics. This seems like moral vandalism with a Senate badge. And the most terrifying part? This wasn't buried in some dark corner of the internet. It was posted on Instagram for all to see. It was loud, proud, and unrepentant. This was a megaphone, not a mistake. Let us not lose sight of what this moment represents. Adolf Hitler is not a vibe. He is not a meme. His name does not belong on a Spotify playlist. It belongs to the ashes of Auschwitz and Treblinka. It belongs to gas chambers, to mass graves, to tattooed arms and shattered families. When you celebrate that name, when you call 'Heil Hitler' your favourite song, you are desecrating the memory of six million Jews and every Australian soldier who fought to defeat the regime that name represents. And when you say you'd rather hang out with members of a neo-Nazi group than with your fellow Australians, you are not making a joke. You are not being edgy. You are giving the ugliest people in this country a green light. With songs like this being shared by a senator, you wonder whether the National Socialist Network even needs to promote themselves anymore. There is a reason these words matter. Because when hate is amplified by power, it spreads faster. Louder. Deeper. The lines blur. The fringe moves to the centre. And before long, what once shocked becomes routine. I'm not interested in Senator Babet's denials of being a Nazi. That's irrelevant. The issue is not his intent. The issue is the impact. His words will be quoted in extremist forums. Clipped, reposted, celebrated. Kanye's video will become a calling card for white supremacists who now feel they have a friend in parliament. And what does it say to Jewish Australians? That in 2025, they still have to hear something featuring the name 'Hitler' praised in the public square? That the horrors their grandparents survived are now a punchline for social media engagement? Enough. This is not just offensive. This is dangerous. With these kind of acts, the National Socialist Network, which once had to operate on the fringes of society, doesn't need to market itself anymore. He claims it was all 'tongue-in-cheek.' He says the neo-Nazis wouldn't want him anyway, because of his background. As if that somehow makes it better. It doesn't. You don't joke about Holocaust glorification. You don't wink at songs containing the symbols of mass extermination. You don't casually name-drop Hitler as part of your weekly vibe check. If a schoolteacher praised this song, they'd be fired. If a corporate CEO did it, they'd be gone before lunch. But a senator? Still seated. Still empowered. And that tells us something terrifying: that the old lines—the moral boundaries that once held this country together—are being erased. That we've grown numb to the rising temperature. This is not political correctness gone mad. This is not a matter of free speech. That's why I'm calling on Clive Palmer to do what any decent leader would do: disendorse Ralph Babet and denounce this latest act, without spin, without delay. Because if we allow a song called 'Heil Hitler' to be proudly promoted by someone sitting in our Senate, then we are not just failing the victims of the past—we are failing the future of this nation. This is not a Jewish issue. This is not a left or right issue. This is an Australian issue. Dr Dvir Abramovich is Chair of the Anti-Defamation Commission and the author of eight books Senator Ralph Babet hits back In a statement to Senator Babet insisted he was not a 'Nazi sympathiser', urging critics to 'read the lyrics of the song before they accuse me of being something I most certainly am not'. 'Kanye West's song, as is obvious to all who have listened to it, is not glorifying Nazis or Adolf Hitler,' he said, claiming the 'entire point of the song.. is that Hitler is bad'. 'The song begins with Kanye West confessing that he is filled with rage and anger. Worse, he is hopelessly addicted to drugs. Then he admits … 'I'm the villain.' It's in THAT context he sings 'Heil Hitler' … not to acknowledge Hitler's desire to kill Jews but in the sense that Hitler, in our culture, has come to mean the devil,' he claimed. 'And Kanye fears that he himself, filled with insatiable rage and his mind screwed up by drugs, has become the devil. Or, if you will, Hitler. He's saying I'm angry, I'm completely messed up in the head. I'm basically Hitler. The reaction to my admission that I liked the song demonstrates how many people in this country flick their mouth to outrage before engaging their brain into first gear.' Mr Babet added that 'people should be free to listen to whatever they want'. 'I won't be apologising for liking Kanye's song because the song neither endorses Hitler nor promotes Nazis. Far from it. The song, as I have said, depicts Hitler and the Nazis as the personification of evil. That so many people ran to outraged over a song they have either not bothered to listen to or completely failed to understand says a great deal more about them than it says about me.'
Irish Times
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
Albanese eyes up cabinet picks after Australian election victory
The trouble with winning an election landslide is the victorious party has many more people angling for cabinet ministries. Inevitably, some are going to be disappointed, feelings will be hurt and careers will be cut short. But if winning up to 93 of the Australian parliament's 150 lower house seats is a problem for Labor prime minister Anthony Albanese , it's not as bad as the headache facing the opposition: the Liberal-National coalition, a conservative alliance reduced to its worst result of about 44 seats (some are still too close to call). Making a bad situation worse, the Liberal side of the coalition is leaderless, with Peter Dutton having lost his Brisbane seat to Labor. Labor also won Greens leader Adam Bandt's seat. READ MORE Though Albanese has more power than any previous Labor prime minister, he is answerable to the left and right factions of the party, which in turn are tied to support from affiliated unions. The left, from which Albanese comes, gained more seats and is looking for an extra cabinet position. The right, led by deputy prime minister Richard Marles, has already shown how ruthless it can be by telling attorney-general Mark Dreyfus and industry minister Ed Husic that their time in cabinet is over. The major difficulty with that is Dreyfus, who is Jewish, is the most pro-Israel Labor MP, and Husic, whose parents migrated from Bosnia, is the only Muslim in cabinet. Dropping both at the same time risks looking like an oblique comment on the Middle East. Albanese could have made a 'captain's pick' to retain one or both, but chose not to. He has also not commented on whether environment minister Tanya Plibersek will retain her portfolio. Though they are both from the left of the party and represent neighbouring Sydney electorates, Albanese and Plibersek are not close and she is seen as a future Labor leader. But when the new cabinet is sworn in next week, Plibersek will still be included as Albanese will calculate that she is better kept close at hand than stewing on the backbenches. But she is unlikely to remain as environment minister, as Albanese has previously watered down some of her proposals. The Liberals will meet to pick a new leader on Tuesday. With Dublin-born Keith Wolohan , who was tipped as a future leader, having lost his Melbourne seat and other front runners having dropped out, this is a two-horse race between deputy party leader Sussan Ley and shadow treasurer Angus Taylor. In the expectation that Taylor would be a bigger threat, Labor treasurer Jim Chalmers criticised him while votes were being counted on election night last Saturday, questioning his grasp of economics. Even more damning for Taylor is that one of his own, Liberal senator Hollie Hughes, did the same thing. 'I have concerns about his capability. I feel we have zero economic policy to sell,' she told ABC radio. 'I don't know what he's been doing for three years. There was no tax policy, there was no economic narrative.' Labor will hope Ley is chosen as she would be an easier target, given her unorthodox beliefs and an expenses scandal. Ley, who changed her name from Susan to Sussan, explained in 2015: 'I read about this numerology theory that if you add the numbers that match the letters in your name you can change your personality. I worked out that if you added an s I would have an incredibly exciting, interesting life and nothing would ever be boring. It's that simple.' Her life got a touch too exciting when she had to resign as health minister in 2017 after using a taxpayer-funded trip to buy an apartment on Queensland's Gold Coast. While Labor questions Taylor's grasp of numbers, Ley's grasp of numerology and expenses will be easy to attack. Meanwhile, the opposition coalition's supporters in the Rupert Murdoch-owned newspapers and Sky News are reeling at the biggest conservative loss they've seen. Andrew Bolt, who is a Sky News presenter and News Corp columnist, published a piece last Saturday telling Australians they had made a mistake. 'No, the voters aren't always right. This time they were wrong,' he wrote. Bolt said the coalition lost because it 'refused to fight the 'culture wars''. This was a reference to issues such as identity politics, Aboriginal policy and immigration. His Sky colleague Peta Credlin, a former chief of staff to ex-Liberal prime minister Tony Abbott, later backed Bolt, saying 'I'd argue we didn't do enough of a culture war'.
Business Wire
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Stonepeak Establishes Presence in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stonepeak, the world's largest independent infrastructure firm and leading US infrastructure investor, today announced that it is establishing its presence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and expanding its commitment to the Middle East with senior investment professionals, the Honorable Steven Ciobo and Fadi Kerbaj, leading Stonepeak's engagement on the ground in Riyadh. These appointments build on Stonepeak's ongoing strategic commitment to the Middle East, including the establishment of the firm's office in Riyadh and receipt of its Ministry of Investment license to operate non-securities business activities in Saudi Arabia. Stonepeak remains focused on deepening strategic partnerships and identifying compelling investment opportunities across the infrastructure landscape in the region. Mike Dorrell, Stonepeak CEO, Chairman, and Co-Founder, said: 'Saudi Arabia is one of the world's most exciting areas for infrastructure investment and innovation with a unique combination of strong, ambitious, well-resourced leadership and a young, educated, and fast growing population. Stonepeak is market leading in creating and building infrastructure businesses in fast growing economies, and we look forward to ramping up our service as a valuable partner for stakeholders in the Kingdom.' Hajir Naghdy, Senior Managing Director and Head of Asia and the Middle East at Stonepeak, added: 'We are excited to deepen our commitment to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as we add senior representatives in Riyadh. This is a critical next step in our Middle East strategy, allowing us to support the realization of Vision 2030 on the ground. We look forward to creating and building infrastructure businesses in the Kingdom, combining Stonepeak's global infrastructure sector expertise with our regional insights and capabilities.' Steven Ciobo joined Stonepeak in 2020 after serving in the Australian Parliament for nearly two decades and holding numerous senior roles as a Cabinet Minister, including as Minister for Trade, Tourism, and Investment, and as Minister for Defence Industry. In these roles, Steven drove Australia's trade and investment agenda, securing deals on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and with Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom as well as engagement with the European Union and the Gulf Cooperation Council. With his extensive senior network and global stakeholder relationships, Steven will be well positioned to focus on the origination of infrastructure investment opportunities and relationship development in the region. Fadi Kerbaj is a senior leader on Stonepeak's investment team bringing 15 years of extensive infrastructure investment experience and a deep regional network to the firm having spent the majority of his career in infrastructure investment and advisory roles in the Middle East. Most recently, Fadi was the Head of Saudi Arabia for Tribe Infrastructure, where he led a broad range of strategic transactions across district cooling, water, waste, and social infrastructure, and prior to Tribe he invested in similar sectors across the region through his role at Macquarie. In addition to its presence in the Kingdom, Stonepeak employs more than 300 people in New York, Houston, London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, and Abu Dhabi. The firm manages approximately $73 billion in assets from regulated centers on behalf of its partners. About Stonepeak Stonepeak is a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with approximately $73 billion of assets under management. Through its investment in defensive, hard-asset businesses globally, Stonepeak aims to create value for its investors and portfolio companies, with a focus on downside protection and strong risk-adjusted returns. Stonepeak, as sponsor of private equity and credit investment vehicles, provides capital, operational support, and committed partnership to grow investments in its target sectors, which include digital infrastructure, energy and energy transition, transport and logistics, and real estate. Stonepeak is headquartered in New York with offices in Houston, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh. For more information, please visit
Bloomberg
18-03-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
RBA Unveils First Nations Theme for Redesigned A$5 Banknote
Australia's central bank has announced a new design for the A$5 note with a theme of First Nations peoples' connection to country, in a decision that came after more than 2,100 public nominations. The design selection panel, which included First Nations representatives and officials from the Reserve Bank and Note Printing Australia, chose the theme, according to a statement. The new design will replace the portrait of Queen Elizabeth II, with the reverse side still showing the Australian Parliament.
