O75 Public Administration

US and EU consider new sanctions against Iran after its air attack on Israel

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Original article by Peter Beaumont, Julian Borger
The Guardian – Page: Online : 17-Apr-24

The Israeli government has advised that it is still considering its response to Iran’s recent missile and drone attack; however, Israel says its response will be ‘calibrated’ to limit further escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Meanwhile, US treasury secretary Janet Yellen says sanctions will be part of the Biden administration’s strategy to disrupt Iran’s "malign and destabilising activity". The European Union is also considering new sanctions on Iran, which has indicated that the attack on Israel was justified due to the recent airstrike on its consulate in Syria.

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UNITED STATES. DEPT OF THE TREASURY

Made in Australia ‘a bit risky’: former RBA boss

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Original article by Michael Read
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Apr-24

The federal government’s proposed Future Made in Australia Act has come under fire from former Reserve Bank of Australia governor Bernie Fraser, who contends that it represents a risk to taxpayers. Fraser says governments do not have a good track record when it comes to ‘picking winners’ in terms of identifying successful industry sectors. AMP’s chief economist Shane Oliver has described the policy as "depressing".

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RESERVE BANK OF AUSTRALIA, AMP LIMITED – ASX AMP

Agreement nears on doubling leave

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Original article by David Marin-Guzman
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Apr-24

The Fair Work Commission is considering a proposal that would insert the right into industry awards for greater flexibility in terms of paid time off, with the possibility that staff could double their leave by taking half of it at half pay. Unions and employer groups are understood to be in agreeance that the right to request leave at half pay should lie with the employee rather than the employer, but Australian Industry Group CEO Innes Willox says it is essential that such arrangements are by agreement, given that employers may find it hard to accommodate longer staff absences.

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AUSTRALIA. FAIR WORK COMMISSION, THE AUSTRALIAN INDUSTRY GROUP

Swing to Coalition continues as two-party preferred lead over ALP increases: L-NP 51% cf. ALP 49%

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 16-Apr-24

Support for the Coalition has increased by 0.5% to 51% to edge further ahead of the ALP on 49% on a two-party preferred basis, according to the latest Roy Morgan survey. If a Federal Election were held now the result would be too close to call, with a hung parliament and the support of minor parties and independents required for either the ALP or Coalition to form a minority government. Primary support for both major parties increased marginally this week, with the Coalition up 0.5% to 38.5% and the ALP up 0.5% to 30%. Support for the Greens was unchanged at 13.5% while One Nation was down 0.5% to 5.5% – both these minor parties are above their result at the last Federal Election. Support for Independents was down 1.5% to 7.5%, while support for Other Parties increased 1% to 5%. The latest Roy Morgan survey is based on interviewing a representative cross-section of 1,706 Australian electors from April 8-14. Most of the interviews were conducted before Foreign Minister Penny Wong suggested that Australia could recognise a Palestinian State, and before the tragedy at Westfield Bondi Junction on the weekend where six people were stabbed to death and more hospitalised.

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ROY MORGAN LIMITED, MORGAN POLL, AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY, LIBERAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL PARTY OF AUSTRALIA, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, ONE NATION PARTY

Police head north to find motive for Bondi Junction massacre

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Original article by Sam McKeith, Jack Gramenz
The New Daily – Page: Online : 16-Apr-24

NSW Premier Chris Minns has advised that the state government will hold a special coronial inquiry into Joel Cauchi’s knife attack at Westfield Bondi Junction. The government will allocate up to $18m in extra funding for the inquiry, which amongst other things will examine the police response to the attack. Meanwhile, NSW police will travel to Queensland to talk to Cauchi’s family and friends as they seek to determine his motive for the attack. Minns says the motive might never be known, although he notes that Cauchi seems to have targeted women. Cauchi killed five women and one man, while eight of the 12 people who suffered stab wounds are still in hospital.

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NEW SOUTH WALES. DEPT OF PREMIER AND CABINET

Israel warned to hold its fire

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Original article by Danny Kemp
The Australian – Page: 11 : 16-Apr-24

The US has told Israel it will not be part of any response against Iran, following the Iranian attack on Saturday that saw over 300 drones and missiles fired towards ­Israel, while UN secretary-­general, Antonio Guterres has told the UN Security Council that "now is the time to defuse and de-escalate". Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdad, has urged the council to impose all possible sanctions on Iran, while Iran has stated the attack was in response to an airstrike on its consulate in the Syrian capital of Damascus on 1 April that left seven Iranian Revolutionary Guards dead and which was widely blamed on Israel.

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UNITED NATIONS

Gaza protests: business braces for more pain

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Original article by Patrick Durkin
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 3 : 16-Apr-24

Pro-Palestine protestors sought to block "the arteries of capitalism" in a number of Australian cities on Monday, with ports, train stations and CBDs among their targets. Victorian police stated that 14 protestors were arrested in Melbourne, including 12 near the Boeing factory in Port Melbourne, where a road was blocked. Another two were arrested for tampering with traffic lights in Carlton, with Victorian Chamber of Commerce & Industry CEO Paul Guerra saying blocking roads and interfering with traffic lights is "dangerous, insensitive and disrespectful". Victorian’s Opposition leader John Pesutto says people have a right to protest, but in a peaceful way, and that the protestors on Monday were giving democracy a bad name.

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VICTORIAN CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY, LIBERAL PARTY OF VICTORIA

US-Japan strategy flags ADF Patriot gains

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 1 & 2 : 12-Apr-24

President Joe Biden has announced a trilateral air defence network involving the US, Japan and Australia, following a summit meeting in Washington with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The new strategy will give Australia access to US and Japanese knowledge and hardware for the Australian Defence Force’s proposed air and missile defence system, which is in the early stages of development with Lockheed Martin. Professor Peter Dean, who was co-lead of the 2023 Defence Strategic Review, says the new strategy puts Australia on track to acquire Patriot aerial interceptor missiles.

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UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE FORCE, LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATION

Anti far-right campaigners say Labor’s anti-doxxing laws could be weaponised

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Original article by Josh Taylor
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 12-Apr-24

The federal government is looking at legislating to make doxxing a criminal offence, as well as the right to sue for serious invasion of privacy. It comes after a spreadsheet containing the names, professions and social media accounts of 600 Australian Jewish writers and artists who were members of a WhatsApp group was posted online; it was posted in response to some group members actively targeting pro-Palestinian writers and their publishers over their coverage of the Israel-Gaza conflict. In its submission on the proposed laws, the White Rose Society, which routinely investigates neo-Nazi groups and unmasks those groups in its reporting, claimed that not all doxxing is harmful, and that exposing such groups for the purpose of community and public safety is an important service.

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‘Seize the moment’, Assange family tells PM

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Original article by Andrew Tillett
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 8 : 12-Apr-24

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has welcomed indications that US espionage charges against Wikileaks founder Julian Assange could be dropped. President Joe Biden say he is considering a request from Australia to drop the charges, and Albanese says these comments are "encouraging". He adds that Assange has already paid a significant price and there is nothing to be gained by his continued incarceration. The family of Assange has urged the federal government to keep lobbying the Biden administration to drop the charges and its push to extradite him to the US Assange has now spent five years in Britain’s Belmarsh prison; he had previously live in the Ecuador embassy for seven years after requesting political asylum.

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WIKILEAKS, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, UNITED STATES. EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT