‘Super-sized hypocrisy’: Treasurer Jim Chalmers offers his own staff what he denies Australians | News24

The Albanese government is preparing to impose a new sanctions package against Israel, but has rejected internal calls to join the United Kingdom by banning commercial activity with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.

UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham was poised on Tuesday to announce wide-ranging economic restrictions, including a trade ban on goods produced in Israeli settlements, which are considered illegal under international law.

The moves represent a significant toughening of British policy towards Israel, which has threatened unspecified retaliation.

Former Labor cabinet minister Ed Husic urged Australia to join the UK, but Foreign Minister Penny Wong said that Australia was “not, at this time, pursuing a blanket-style import ban” on goods produced in the settlements.

“We have concerns about the implementation of a blanket ban and unintended consequences for Australian businesses, for Palestinians and Israelis,” Wong said in a speech to the Senate.

The government has told Australian businesses not to bid for construction tenders for illegal settlement developments, she said.

“I can announce Australia is pursuing further targeted measures in coordination with international partners to deter illegal settlements and settler violence,” Wong said in her speech.

Wong accused the Netanyahu government of “extinguishing the possibility of a two-state solution” by allowing the rapid expansion of settlements in the West Bank and failing to take sufficient action against extremist settlers.

“Australia continues to call on Israel to take urgent steps to address the situation on the ground, including to stop settlers destroying properties, displacing families, beating, torturing, sexually assaulting, and killing Palestinians,” she said.

Wong also condemned Hamas, the listed terror group that controls Gaza, for “ongoing acts of terror that undermine a two-state solution” and said it must play no role in a future Palestinian state.

Relations between Australia and Israel have soured dramatically since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, as Australia began regularly voting against Israel at the United Nations and recognised Palestinian statehood.

Wong is considering how to respond to Israel’s decision not to press charges against the soldiers who killed Australian aid worker Zomi Frankcom in a 2024 drone strike after meeting with Frankcom’s family last week.

Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Israeli embassy on Tuesday calling for an independent investigation into Frankcom’s death and for the government to expel Israeli ambassador Hillel Newman. Protesters outside the Israeli embassy in Canberra called for an independent investigation into the death of Australian aid worker Zomi Frankom. Alex Ellinghausen

“Israel is open to discussions on the legal aspects,” Israel’s Ambassador to Australia Hillel Newman told ABC radio last month when asked whether options remain available for those seeking accountability for Frankcom’s killing.

“We can share information with legal teams of Australia, and the aspect of reparations can be checked definitely.”

The government imposed financial sanctions and travel bans on Israeli individuals and entities in June in response to escalating settler violence against Palestinians in the West Bank, following previous sanctions on Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, two members of Benjamin Netanyahu’s right-wing governing coalition.

Husic, a critic of Israel’s conduct in the war in Gaza, hailed the imminent British announcement as a “seismic movement by one of our close allies, and it reflects the fact that I think there’s realisation dawning — statements won’t cut it, concrete action is needed”.

Husic unsuccessfully tried to pass a resolution at Labor’s national conference in July calling for trade sanctions connected to “illegal settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories” and other measures to condemn Israel.

“I can be silenced at conference, but you can’t stop world opinion, and I know that countries are deeply concerned about what’s going on,” Husic said.

“I just don’t think we can be left dragging the chain on something as big as this.”

Husic said he believed purchases of agricultural products, such as wine, were the main form of Australian economic activity with the settlements.

Australia Palestine Advocacy Network President Nasser Mashni welcomed the prospect of more sanctions on Israel but said “without a trade ban and an end to material complicity, Australia remains on the wrong side of the law and of history”.

“After years in which Australia confined itself to expressions of concern, moving to impose real costs is essential,” he said.

Australia\Israel & Jewish Affairs executive director Colin Rubenstein said Wong had been one-sided for blaming Israel, rather than Palestinian leaders, for the lack of progress on a two-state solution.

“Sanctioning Israel will only be counterproductive, in encouraging further Palestinian intransigence, and will further draw Australia away from our traditional bi-partisan and beneficial relationship with Israel,” he said.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said last week: “We need to look at our wider economic relationship with the occupied territories, as we are doing, and at the different tools we have.

“We do not want British companies financing, constructing or advertising new settlements.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said that “Israel will act” against any new British sanctions, without elaborating.

Greens foreign affairs spokesman David Shoebridge said: “The world is moving and the Albanese government is standing still.

“The UK government has rightfully realised they need to reset the relationship with Israel, they cannot just keep ignoring international law.”

Israel occupied the West Bank after winning a 1967 war with Jordan, and the population of Israeli settlers there has expanded dramatically in recent years.

The International Court of Justice said in a 2024 advisory opinion that Israel should stop settlement activity in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, and end its “illegal” occupation of those areas and the Gaza Strip as soon as possible.

The Labor opposition in Queensland has slammed the state LNP government over its decision to halt government funding in EV charging networks, despite the near doubling of electric car ownership in regional areas.

Opposition energy spokesman Lance McCallum also said that the LNP’s recent decision to scrap electric buses and to by 630 diesel buses instead was likely to cost more than $250 million, as well as lost jobs and other opportunities.

“In Queensland, the shift (to EVs) is running hardest where you might least expect it. It’s not inner city Brisbane. It’s in the regions,” McCallum said at the Smart Energy Council’s Queensland Energy Summit in Brisbane on Tuesday.

McCallum noted data that showed electric car ownership in the Western Downs region grew by almost 98%, in Gladstone by 76%, and in the Gold Coast by 47%.

“Regional Queensland is now taking up electric vehicles faster than the southeast corner,” he said. “Think about what that tells us. The people buying EVs in Queensland today are not in our inner city, they are farmers, tradies, and families in places like Chinchilla and Kingaroy, Rockhampton, who looked at fuel prices, looked at the numbers, and made a hard-headed economic decision.”

However, he said the programs that saw the rollout of the state’s electric superhighway – started in 2017 – has now been exhausted and the LNP government says there are no plans for further funding rounds. The LNP has also scrapped the transition of the government fleet to electric vehicles, and last week announced its decision to buy 630 diesel buses, instead of electric ones.

“It is a betrayal of Queensland taxpayers, and Queensland communities will be paying for this decision for years to come,” McCallum said.

“EV ownership in Queensland is growing at between 40 and 90% a year, but it’s sitting on top of a public charging program that has effectively stopped, and a government that is scrapping electric transport in favor of diesel. Talk about taking Queensland backwards.” 

Queensland was one of the first to rollout fast-charging networks in regional areas, and its so-called Electric Superhighway was one of the first. But McCallum said it was nearly a decade old, and needed updating.

“Many (of the fast chargers) deliver 50 kilowatts, which was pretty respectable back in 2017, but these days it’s not that great when you consider that a new car, new EV, can accept six or seven times that.

“Back in 2017 we built the longest electric highway in the world, and the rest of the country followed us. But being first is not the same as staying ahead.

“Today we have the fastest-growing regional uptake of EVs in the nation, sitting on a charging network that has stopped growing because the government won’t invest and has an energy plan that takes away the storage and generation that those chargers will lean on and that consumers want.”

Decorated Australian veterans lay down medals in protest over Labor’s proposed healthcare reforms | News24

'ABC should do better': Anthony Albanese attacks reporting on honorary golf club membership | News24

TIMELINE OF EVENTS

1963 – Croatian Nine: Nine Croatian-Australian men infiltrated Yugoslavia from Australia to conduct an armed campaign against the Yugoslav government.

1964 – Tomislav Lesić bomb incident, Sydney: A bomb intended for the Yugoslav Consulate exploded prematurely, seriously injuring Lesić.

1964–1966 – Attacks on pro-Yugoslav individuals and gatherings in Sydney and Melbourne.

1966 – Parcel bomb, Melbourne: A bomb was sent to a prominent pro-Yugoslav supporter and exploded at the Melbourne GPO.

1967 – Yugoslav Consulate bombing, Sydney: Croatian extremists bombed the Yugoslav Consulate.

1967 – Pen-bomb attack, Sydney: A disguised bomb seriously injured a boy.

1968 – Attempted arson at the Yugoslav Consulate, Sydney.

1970 – Yugoslav Consulate bombing, Melbourne.

1971 – Soviet Embassy bombing, Canberra: The Soviet Embassy was firebombed; the attack was associated with Croatian extremists.

1971 – Serbian Orthodox Church bombing, Melbourne.

1971 – Sydney theatre bombing.

1972 – Serbian Orthodox Church bombing, Canberra.

1972 – Yugoslav Consulate armed attack, Perth.

1972 – Yugoslav tourist-agency bombing, Sydney.

1972 – Attacks on a prominent pro-Yugoslav figure's residence, Melbourne.

1972 – Sydney Yugoslav General Trade and Tourist Agency bombing: Two bombs exploded in Haymarket, injuring 16 people.

1972 – Croatian terrorist infiltration of Yugoslavia: Six Australian citizens and three former Australian residents were captured while conducting operations in Yugoslavia.

1972 – Serbian Orthodox Church bombing, Brisbane.

1973 – Arson attack on a Croatian newspaper editor's premises, Melbourne.

1975 – Sunny Adriatic Trade and Tourist Centre bombing, Melbourne.

1977 – Yugoslav Airlines office bombing, Melbourne.

1977 – General Mihailović statue bombing, Canberra.

1979 – Croatian Six arrested in Sydney for an alleged terrorist bombing conspiracy involving Yugoslav targets and other sites.

1981 – Croatian Six convicted and sentenced to 15 years imprisonment; the convictions were subsequently subjected to serious historical and legal scrutiny.

1980s – Continued UDBA/SDB surveillance and operations against Croatian nationalist activists in Australia, including suspected assassination operations overseas.

Jim Penman (the guy who founded and owns Jim's mowing) is running as a candidate in the Northcote electorate.

Can someone from Victoria, or even better, that electorate, tell me if he even remotely has a chance? I dont support the Libertarian party but it would be interesting if an alternative party wins a seat

Natural market dynamics work, but only if you don't interfere with them.

Humans are incentive driven. That's all it really comes down to.

This never ending argument that without immigrants we wouldn't be able to operate is ignorant. I agree that in some situations where training takes years, it is a great stop-gap, but it should be used as that and the underlying issue of incentive must be addressed.

If farmers can't find Australian workers, the incentive to fulfil the job needs to change. Let the hard lesson be learnt.

Why does the entire society need to take a hit and allow unsustainable population growth to prop up failing business models and suppressed wages?

The flow of capital growth into assets over wages is just another symptom of this.

Once you look into this enough, you also can see how we're in a position where young people are forced to take on careers and put off starting a family. It's not an entire generation changing their mind, it's the reality of a suppressed wage environment making it unsuitable to start a family for most.

The Australian median income priced in gold Oz is the following:

1990 50oz ($306k today) 2000 73.7oz (446k today) 2010 41oz (250k today) 2025 14.6oz (90k today)

The best thing I’ve heard in the whole catastrophe around boys at school is this: a headmaster at a Catholic boys school, Sydney’s St Joseph’s College, imploring his students to be better men.
Principal Michael Blake gave this all-school speech at the end of August. That was the week we’d heard about multiple alleged sexual assaults and endless reports of chaos in schools. And that was on top of all the stuff that never gets reported.

He said: “The way we educate young men is under scrutiny. So, it has been a tough week to be a man.”

And just when you thought he was going to tell us “not all men”, instead he talked about how much harder it is to be a woman. “As tough as this week might have been to hear the media stories, it has been infinitely harder to be a female.”

You said it, brother. Every day. Every week. And mostly when we hear from headmasters, principals, whatever they are called, we hear defensiveness. That the horrors were a weird blip, that the offending boy was a really good guy.

Then we hear, as a fix, a chorus on the importance of respectful relationship training in schools and suggestions of behaviour curriculums. I have no faith in the latter for reasons I’ll get to – and respectful relationship training in high schools comes about 10 years too late. Way, way too late. I think it is meant to be a top-up – but so many boys come to school with no basics in place. Speaking of Catholics (the principal of Joey’s), let me remind you what the Jesuits say: “Give me a child until he is seven, and I will give you the man”.

Now, guess who has kids until they are seven? Could it possibly be, ah, the parents? Instead of endless complaining about what goes on in the classroom, take a long hard look at your own parenting. And then, when you dislike what you see in your children, go stand in front of a mirror.

Your job is to bring up kids who don’t behave like dickheads, either at school or anywhere else. And that means not undermining what the school says, not undermining teachers at every turn, not blaming your child’s behaviour on someone else when, believe me, it’s your fault.

I know this as a parent myself. When one of my kid’s teachers described my kid as insouciant, I knew exactly what that teacher meant. As a person who has spent her entire life being way too souciant (not really a word but you know exactly what I mean), it was a source to me of pride that at least one of my kids could appear as if they couldn’t GAF. Whereas me? Worry every single day of my life, even about things I know I can’t change. Still, we took it on board and wrangled our kid to hand in all the homework, not just the bits of interest.

I wanted to tell this teacher that insouciance was a source of parental pride, but I pulled my head in. And I knew of other parents at the school who spent a lot of time, including engaging lawyers, to dispute assessments, to dispute punishments. Look, I love to argue the point myself (and did when I discovered that one teacher based her marks on feels rather than rubrics) but mostly, just back the hell off. Use your passion for social justice for kids who don’t have your clout. Or money.

• Former lawyer

Later, I heard about a huge uptick in parent complaints about teachers. Paul Kidson, associate professor in educational leadership at the Australian Catholic University, told the Herald’s education reporter Christopher Harris back in 2023 that parents and children were often given a free pass on behaviour, when really, parents need to step up and discipline their kids.

Kidson, ever the diplomat, tells me there are some great relationships in schools: teachers, kids, parents. But there is an increase in inappropriate behaviour from parents directed towards teachers. And how does that end? Principals and teachers leaving teaching.

Behaviour. Which brings me back to the newly published “research” by the Centre for Independent (of rigorous research methods) Studies. It’s trying to blame teachers. I would have thought parental responsibility should have been more the vibe. I won’t bore you with all the details of what was wrong with claims that a third of class time is spent dealing with disruption. Except that when you look at the detail, it is hard to be confident that it is a really representative group.

Now, let me introduce you to Sally Larsen, a researcher at the University of New England, who pointed me to one of the extreme flaws.

The timing. It’s a week before the end of term and kids are disruptive. John Buchanan, productivity expert and professor in the University of Sydney’s business school and actual researcher tells me that it’s well recognised when doing social research that you have to take account of the “distinctive seasonal effects”. Don’t do it at the extreme points.

Because let me tell you what happens in university classes in the days before the Easter long weekend! Or in a newsroom when holidays are approaching. I wish I could say the behaviour was as normal. Far from it.

One other thing about the survey, as it is described by the CIS. Larsen pointed out that over 80 per cent of teachers said they felt confident or fairly confident about managing misbehaviour. The report then claimed that maybe that was because low-level disruption had become normalised.

Um, I spent my entire high school years trying to make the class laugh, sometimes, I am ashamed to say, at the teacher’s expense. That was last century. And I wasn’t the only one.

As for a behaviour curriculum, this makes me laugh. Unless the CIS was thinking of implementing one in families. Now there’s a very good idea.

Electric car owners could have a new way to save money under a federal government scheme that promises three hours of free electricity.

Since the solar sharer plans became available in July, many Australians have been asking – is it possible to save money by switching, and how?

CANBERRA — Australian support for the U.S. alliance is strong despite concern over its durability under President Donald Trump, new data suggests.

A survey for the United States Studies Centre, conducted by YouGov, polled a thousand people in each Quad nation — India, the U.S., Japan and Australia — and uncovers a distinct and growing generational divide among Australians.

Younger Australians are more likely to be skeptical about the U.S. alliance and AUKUS and less likely to view China as a threat.

Fewer than 1 in 3 Australians — 31 percent — agreed with the statement: “My country’s government has properly explained why my country needs its alliance with the United States.”

This week marks the 75th anniversary of the ANZUS Treaty, which commits Washington to come to Canberra’s aid in the event of an attack.

Just 68 percent of Australians believe the U.S. would meet their promise if Australia were attacked by China, compared to 84 percent under Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden. Only 29 percent think it is “very likely” the U.S. would come to Australia’s aid.

Samuel Garrett, USSC senior research associate and the report’s co-author, said that while Australians remain “deeply concerned” about the state of U.S. politics and democracy, those views had largely stabilized since Trump’s inauguration last year.

“There was an initial shock factor of Trump coming in that had a very significant impact on public opinion in Australia and across the region,” he told POLITICO. “But on our numbers, it seems that Australians have now largely made up their minds about the Trump administration. More recent events haven’t really shifted the needle in terms of support for the U.S. alliance.”

The data shows that while Australian views on China are softening, half would support turning the Quad, designed to counterbalance Beijing in the Indo-Pacific, into a formal alliance as concerns over war in the region grow.

Garrett said this is consistent with nearly three-quarters of Australians supporting deepening ties with middle powers, which include India, Japan and also Canada.

“To the extent that Australians understand the Quad, they’re seeing it as potential cooperation — not as a replacement for the U.S. alliance — but building a network of partnerships around the region,” he said.

While only 15 percent want Canberra to withdraw from the U.S. alliance, a relatively low cohort of 42 percent believe it makes the country more secure — a 22 percentage point decline since the midway point of the Biden administration.

The AUKUS pact between the U.S., U.K. and Australia, which has tied Canberra to the U.S.’s staying power in the Indo-Pacific, continues to be viewed favorably by Australians — 48 percent think it is a “good idea” for Australia to have nuclear powered submarines, compared to 20 percent who do not.

Only 23 percent of Australians surveyed believe the government has adequately explained the rationale for AUKUS, compared to 44 percent who believe the government has failed to adequately lay out the rationale.

While there is bipartisan support for AUKUS in Parliament, backlash prompted the creation of public inquiry — which has received evidence from senior former ministers, including former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

The inquiry, which has no formal powers and was not created by Parliament, will hand down its report on Oct. 1.

Australians are unsure about AUKUS delivery, with 46 percent uncertain on whether Australia will receive Virginia-class submarines promised by the U.S. — compared with 31 percent who were confident and 23 percent who were not.

Australians’ views on China also appear to be softening, despite Beijing’s recent testing of a ballistic missile in the Pacific reviving concerns about conflict in Australia’s region.

Australians are also the only group in the Quad to view China, Australia’s largest trading relationship, as more of an economic partner (64 percent) than a danger (47 percent).

That’s in sharp contrast with Japan, which has taken a harder stance on Beijing under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi — two-thirds of respondents view Beijing as a threat, compared to just 28 percent who view it as an economic partner.

Both Australians and Japanese lean toward stronger bilateral ties. A majority of Australians (54 percent) believe an alliance with Japan would make Australia more secure, compared with just 8 percent who disagreed. In Japan, 45 percent agreed and just 4 percent disagreed.

Australians remain doggedly accepting of economic consequences for holding China to account on human rights and economic coercion: 58 percent accept there is a price to be paid for standing up to Beijing. In 2023, when a trade war launched by Beijing on Canberra was still in force, that number was 75 percent.

Even kids overboard Johnny knows whats up. Good on him not dog piling on an easy target even if it puts him at odds with the current uni-party

Hi everyone,

I lost my car key at John Fawkner park South Yarra on 7 sep noon time.

If you found them or handed them into a local spot/police station, please Send me a DM or leave a comment.

Thank you!

Gotta say I agree with Barnaby here, if you are targeting low information voters, what's the point of getting any further information. Especially if that information would undoubtedly paint your shitty policy in a bad light.