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Daily Mail
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Julian McMahon's sisters 'completely shattered' after the actor's tragic cancer death at age 56
Julian McMahon's sisters are devastated by his death, according to a new report. The Australian star, who died last week at age 56 following a private health struggle, having battled cancer. His siblings, Melinda, 58, and Debbie, 52, are said to be in deep mourning over the loss of their beloved brother. 'Melinda's completely shattered,' a family friend told Woman's Day on Monday. 'If anything, she and Julian became even closer after their mum died, and she was always very protective of Julian – he's her little brother and she loved him fiercely' they continued. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Debbie is additionally struggling after the siblings lost their mother, Lady Sonia McMahon, who died in 2010. 'His death also must have left Deb in pieces,' the friend told the publication. 'He was her kind and handsome big brother, and I know he really stepped up after Sonia died and helped Deb in so many big and small ways.' The trio's father, Sir William McMahon, died in 1988. He was a former Prime Minister of Australia, who served from 1971 to 1972 and held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. The 56-year-old Australian-American actor had been secretly battling cancer, his widow Kelly revealed in a heartbreaking statement on Friday. Julian's last public appearance was alongside Nicolas Cage at SXSW in Austin, Texas back in March, as they promoted their new psychological thriller The Surfer. In her statement on Julian's death, his widow Kelly, whom he married in 2014, wrote: 'With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer. 'Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. 'We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories, she added in her statement obtained by Deadline. The talented actor was best known for his role as Dr. Christian Troy on the FX series Nip/Tuck. He starred alongside Dylan Walsh who portrayed Sean McNamara in the campy medical drama which ran for six seasons from 2003 to 2010. The star was even nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama Television Series in 2004 where he was bested by Ian McShane for his role in HBO series Deadwood. Julian later starred as Jess LaCroix on the CBS series FBI: Most Wanted beginning 2020 but made a surprise exit in March 2022 after three seasons. He previously made his name on Australian television soap opera Home & Away in which he starred as main star Ben Lucini from 1990 to 1991. The actor went on to star as Detective John Grant in American crime drama Profiler from 1996 to 2000. He then won the hearts of many as he portrayed Cole Turner in Charmed seasons 3 through 5 from 2000 to 2003 before returning as a guest for season 7 in 2005. The Sydney, Australia native also had success on the big screen as he starred as iconic supervillain Dr. Doom in two Marvel movies Fantastic Four (2005) and Fantastic Four: Rise Of The Silver Surfer (2007). He also starred alongside Sandra Bullock in 2007 supernatural psychological thriller Premonition. Julian and wife Kelly had been together for 11 years before marrying in a romantic ceremony in Lake Tahoe, a lakeside area on the edge of California and Nevada, in 2014. It was his third marriage. Julian was previously married to model and Baywatch actress Brooke Burns from 1999 to 2001 as they share their 25-year-old daughter Madison Elizabeth McMahon together. He also was famously married to Australian singer and TV personality, Dannii Minogue from 1994 to 1995. His final role was a bit of a full circle moment as he portrayed the Australian Prime Minister in Netflix murder mystery series The Residence.
Canada Standard
03-07-2025
- Politics
- Canada Standard
Trump, Tariffs and the Australian Federal Election
Patrick Leslie Download PDF Jun 29 2025 0 Australian voters care mostly about domestic political issues, and international politics seldom feature highly in the minds of citizens in what Donald Horne famously calledThe Lucky Country, a continental state supposedly separated from the worlds troubles by oceans on all sides. But there is no doubt that for Australian leaders and increasingly the Australian public, domestic issues are not so easily separable from the international events that often drive them. Geostrategic competition between the United States and China, the need for an energy transition and inflation all produced existential policy dilemmas in the run-up to Australias 2025 federal election. How politicians align international pressures with domestic political messaging can be significant for voters, even if the voters and the politicians themselves do not deeply understand global politics. In the 2022-25 parliamentary term, international affairs have driven the domestic political agenda so much that by the timeDonald Trump announced Liberation Day tariffs, there was little room left to discuss them. On September 15, 2021, 9 months before the 2022 federal election which ousted him, Prime Minister Scott Morrisonannounced a new treaty agreementbetween Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom (AUKUS), which cancelled orders for French diesel-electric submarines in favour of nuclear-powered submarines to be developed by the three nations jointly. This action was controversial,infuriating French President Emmanuel Macronand attracting the sharp criticism of former Australian Prime MinistersMalcolm TurnbullandPaul Keating. Mentions mostly negative of AUKUS arefar more common in Australia than in America, where it is treated with indifference or in the UK, where the treaty figures mostly as an amusing intrigue at Frances expense. However, AUKUS also revealed that Australias core strategic security relationship with the US was indispensable and exclusive in some sense. Despite the USs deepening political instability and the charge, which ispopular in Europe, that America is no longer a reliable security partner, there remains little to no daylight between Canberra and Washington regarding ensuring Australian and Western Pacific security. Australia remains a key player in the USs plans to constrain Chinese expansion. Likewise, the USs wider protection of Australia in the form of theANZUS treatysnuclear umbrella is worth immeasurably more than the cost of upsetting France. Still, both major political parties support the AUKUS treaty, thus nullifying it as an election matter, though no doubt contributing to voter dissatisfaction in general terms. One area that has divided the major parties for nearly 20 years is climate change and the need for a decarbonising energy transition. The Australian Labor Party (ALP), now in government, favours decarbonisation through renewable energy, while the Liberal Party of Australia, in partnership with the National Party of Australia (the Coalition), seeks a more moderate decarbonisation supplemented by the construction of new nuclear power parties support the expansion of Australias natural gas industry, andcoal remains by far the dominant source of electricity generation. The Coalitionsnuclear policy, launched in late 2024 and gradually de-emphasised as the election approached, was an attempt by the Coalition to align energy renewal policy, an area of political weakness, with an area of political strength: defence and national security. With a domestic nuclear industry, the difficulty of maintaining a fleet of nuclear-powered submarines would be, in theory, reduced. The problem was that both nuclear power and expensive nuclear submarines were not hugely popular policies on their own, and they did not become more attractive in combination. Australian opposition to nuclear energy and weapons has deep roots, beginning withnuclear tests conducted by the British on Aboriginal landand prominent ALP figures such as former foreign minister Gareth Evans and the Midnight Oil singer, who later became government minister, Peter Garrett, haveconsistently advocated an anti-nuclear stance. The Coalition could not undo decades of political consensus by reframing nuclear energy as a security and energy transition two-for-one. Neither, however, is the ALPs choice to favour a renewable and green energy transition geopolitically neutral, despite its apparent electoral success. Solar panels are produced at the lowest cost in China, as are electric vehicles and the batteries that power them and store energy produced by intermittent sources of electricity. The governmentsFuture Made in Australiascheme appears doomed to be outcompeted by cheap international imports. So, by emphasising a renewable pathway to net zero, the ALP deepens its economic ties with Australias principal trading partner and, paradoxically, also its principal geostrategic adversary. Australias relationship with China is, in the words of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott, caught betweenfear and greed, a condition that has permeated the economic and security policy and is now increasingly relevant to the success of Australias energy renewal. During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide borrowed heavily to support workforces that were not working. Then, rising inflation and interest rates compounded economic pain. No one could pretend that the source of rising interest rates was home-grown, and the government has been at pains toremind votersof Australias strong performance in relative Australian citizens of the costs of living has been the primary challenge of the ALPs first term. The governmentcut taxes, introducedsubsidies on household energy bills, and announced aninvestment fund to increase housing supply. The economy tottered but was held up in part byincreased net migrationand amining boom spurred on by renewed Chinese demandfor raw materials. The Coalition offered few substantive alternatives to this approach. It did, however, seek tohighlight an undercurrent of dissatisfaction with immigration, at a time of soaring prices and a loosening labour market proved to be a sensitive issue, but was still not amongthe top five issues facing Australian voters just before the election. In relying on a perennial critique of the ALPs relatively pro-migrant stance, the Coalition was on safe ground, but it did not translate this advantage to an overall lead on economic management. After several years of adapting Australian policy to international instability, Donald Trumps tariff war on the world came just in time for the Australian federal election and for Canada, another of the USs closest allies. The result on Americas northern border was widely seen as a repudiation of Trumps trade belligerence. The tariffs economic impact was less acute than in Canada. Australia is a net importer of US goods, and the government was quick to assure voters thatit would not retaliateby imposing the costs of tariffs directly onto Australian consumers. Australias broader economic partnership with the United States is also tied to pension schemes, now collectively worthUS$ 2.8 trillion (roughly the GDP of Britain), 1 trillion of which is projected to be invested in US stocks over the next decade. The stakes of economic confrontation with the US could not be higher, and it is not surprising that neither party leader wanted to spend too long discussing the issue. While Prime Minister Albanese said the tariffs werenot the act of a friend, Coalition leader Peter Dutton attempted to pin blame on the ALP for not achieving a carve-out deal for Australian steel, aluminium and other export interests. In the following election debates, both leaders attempted to thread the needle of emphasising the importance of the US alliance while distancing themselves from its leader. Somewhat ridiculously, Albaneseclaimedthat he did not have Trumps number because he believed that Trump did not have a mobile phone. Duttoncriticisedthe Prime Ministers decision to appoint a public detractor of Trump, the former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, to the post of ambassador to the US. At the same time,he claimed not to know the President, a favour returned by Trump after the election whenhe claimed that he had no idea who Dutton was. Whether or not Peter Dutton was strongly associated with Trump during the campaign is unclear, and it is still too early to make definitive statements. Some commentators accused Dutton of being aTemu Trump, withthe instincts of a right-wing populist. While Dutton is certainly right-wing, it is not clear that Duttons personal style muted in comparison with Trump, or years of institutional commitment, first to the police force and then to parliamentary party politics, fit the definition of a populist. What is clear is that the ALPs approach to governing Australia through internationally driven turbulence has been endorsed by voters, with one ofthe most emphatic election wins in Australian Dutton lost his seat as did the Canadian Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre. However, the general dissatisfaction with major party politics continued, with the combined total of major party votes at its lowest level ever, at just under two-thirds. For now, the government has weathered the storm, but increasing international instability will pile on yet more pressure, testing Australias political establishment to its limits. Further Reading on E-International Relations Opinion Re-election in Doubt: The Perfect Storm Approaches Donald Trump Making Sense of the 2020 US Election Opinion In a Knife-edge Election, Two Different Portrayals of America Wrecking Ball-In-Chief: Trumps Withdrawals from International Commitments Opinion Nationalism and Trumps Response to Covid-19 Opinion How Could Iran Survive Trumps Maximum Pressure 2.0? About The Author(s) Patrick Leslieis a Research Fellow at the School of Politics and International Relations, Australian National University. Ibrahim Atta AustraliaDonald Trump
The Age
01-07-2025
- Politics
- The Age
Liberal leaders distance themselves from Hemmes as Merivale faces investigation
Liberal MPs speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters said it was unlikely the party would return to Hemmes' mansion, the Hermitage to host its regular pre-election fundraiser, where senior business and political figures forked out up to $13,000 to have dinner with Scott Morrison before his 2019 election win and $10,000 to dine with Malcolm Turnbull in 2016. In March, Hemmes hosted former Liberal leader Peter Dutton at the Hermitage after the then-opposition leader jetted in from flood-ravaged Queensland for the night. Ley's office would not comment on whether the party would continue to accept donations from Hemmes. The federal Liberal Party secretariat was contacted for comment. Hemmes and his companies have donated more than $350,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia since 2018, Australian Electoral Commission records show. The 52-year-old has long been close to senior party figures, including powerbroker Michael Photios, who helped Merivale secure 20 meetings with the former Liberal government between 2019 and 2023. NSW Night-Time Economy Minister John Graham put Merivale and other hospitality operators on notice. Loading 'We expect them to have the best standards, and it's clear that some of them need to lift their game,' the Labor minister said. 'The obligation of these operators is then to keep their staff safe, keep patrons safe, and have the best standards possible.' Hemmes also hosts the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation Silver Party at the Hermitage, which raises millions of dollars from 'Sydney's most influential business and community leaders, social elite, celebrities and media' each year. The foundation declined to comment on whether it would continue hosting the charity ball at the Vaucluse mansion. Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said it was 'absolutely awful' that workers said they had been allegedly exploited by employers in Australia. Eight Mexican chefs claim they were overworked, underpaid and racially discriminated against while working for Merivale. One said she considered returning to the cartel-fuelled violence near her home in Mexico rather than working for Merivale, which she described as 'a nightmare'. Loading Another former Merivale chef, Rodrigo Zavaleta said the company 'preferred to exploit humans instead of vegetables'. The chefs reported having to work double the maximum number of hours for full-time workers in Australia, often without receiving overtime. 'We pride ourselves on having good working conditions for anyone who is in Australia,' said Cody. 'No one should be treated poorly or expected to work beyond the hours that they are paid.' The allegations of workplace sexual harassment within Merivale mirror the claims made by more than 300 people surveyed for an Australian Human Rights Commission report published Friday. The commission recommended an updated national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, greater legal assistance for workers on visas, and limiting the use of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. Merivale regularly asks its employees to sign non-disclosure agreements when they leave the company. 'That's one of the other mechanisms that [some] employers … use to silence victim survivors of workplace sexual harassment. And we need that accountability. We need that transparency,' Cody said.
Sydney Morning Herald
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Liberal leaders distance themselves from Hemmes as Merivale faces investigation
Liberal MPs speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal party matters said it was unlikely the party would return to Hemmes' mansion, the Hermitage to host its regular pre-election fundraiser, where senior business and political figures forked out up to $13,000 to have dinner with Scott Morrison before his 2019 election win and $10,000 to dine with Malcolm Turnbull in 2016. In March, Hemmes hosted former Liberal leader Peter Dutton at the Hermitage after the then-opposition leader jetted in from flood-ravaged Queensland for the night. Ley's office would not comment on whether the party would continue to accept donations from Hemmes. The federal Liberal Party secretariat was contacted for comment. Hemmes and his companies have donated more than $350,000 to the Liberal Party of Australia since 2018, Australian Electoral Commission records show. The 52-year-old has long been close to senior party figures, including powerbroker Michael Photios, who helped Merivale secure 20 meetings with the former Liberal government between 2019 and 2023. NSW Night-Time Economy Minister John Graham put Merivale and other hospitality operators on notice. Loading 'We expect them to have the best standards, and it's clear that some of them need to lift their game,' the Labor minister said. 'The obligation of these operators is then to keep their staff safe, keep patrons safe, and have the best standards possible.' Hemmes also hosts the Sydney Children's Hospitals Foundation Silver Party at the Hermitage, which raises millions of dollars from 'Sydney's most influential business and community leaders, social elite, celebrities and media' each year. The foundation declined to comment on whether it would continue hosting the charity ball at the Vaucluse mansion. Australia's Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody said it was 'absolutely awful' that workers said they had been allegedly exploited by employers in Australia. Eight Mexican chefs claim they were overworked, underpaid and racially discriminated against while working for Merivale. One said she considered returning to the cartel-fuelled violence near her home in Mexico rather than working for Merivale, which she described as 'a nightmare'. Loading Another former Merivale chef, Rodrigo Zavaleta said the company 'preferred to exploit humans instead of vegetables'. The chefs reported having to work double the maximum number of hours for full-time workers in Australia, often without receiving overtime. 'We pride ourselves on having good working conditions for anyone who is in Australia,' said Cody. 'No one should be treated poorly or expected to work beyond the hours that they are paid.' The allegations of workplace sexual harassment within Merivale mirror the claims made by more than 300 people surveyed for an Australian Human Rights Commission report published Friday. The commission recommended an updated national survey on sexual harassment in Australian workplaces, greater legal assistance for workers on visas, and limiting the use of confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. Merivale regularly asks its employees to sign non-disclosure agreements when they leave the company. 'That's one of the other mechanisms that [some] employers … use to silence victim survivors of workplace sexual harassment. And we need that accountability. We need that transparency,' Cody said.
7NEWS
26-06-2025
- Politics
- 7NEWS
Explicit images posted to Liberal Party's social media accounts during hack
Hackers have been blamed for explicit images posted to the federal opposition's social media accounts just hours after Sussan Ley said the Liberal Party must be 'proudly for women'. Pictures of scantily-clad women appeared as 'story' posts pushed out on the Liberal Party of Australia's Facebook and Instagram accounts late on Wednesday. They were up for a few minutes — enough time for followers to take screenshots — before they were pulled down. 'Overnight, the social media account of a contractor used by the party was hacked, leading to the posting of unauthorised material on the Liberal Party's Meta accounts at around midnight,' the party said in a statement. 'All material was removed within 10 minutes of it being posted and the matter was urgently raised with the Australian Cyber Security Centre and with Meta overnight 'We apologise for any offence caused.' It came after opposition leader used her first address to the National Press Club to acknowledge the devastating federal election loss on May 3. 'We didn't just lose. We got smashed. Totally smashed,' Ley said. 'What we as the Liberal Party presented to the Australian people was comprehensively rejected. 'The scale of that defeat — its size and significance — is not lost on me, nor on any one of my parliamentary team sitting here today.' Ley, the party's first woman to be appointed leader, also described herself as a 'zealot' about increasing women's representation in the party. 'We must be a Liberal Party that is proudly for women and made up of women,' she said. 'Our party must preselect more women in winnable seats so that we see more Liberal women in Federal Parliament.' She said two reviews are underway. The first is a 'root and branch review of the election result' and the other focused on a 'deeper look at the existential issues we face'.
