AUSTRALIA – POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT

An assassination attempt here only a matter of time

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Original article by Joe Kelly
The Australian – Page: 3 : 17-Jul-24

The failed attempt to assassinate Donald Trump has heightened concerns about the safety of Australian politicians. Former home affairs minister Karen Andrews notes that she had raised such concerns in July 2022 in response to the assassination of Japan’s former prime minister Shinzo Abe, and she believes that an attempt to kill an Australian politician is inevitable. The former Coalition cabinet minister adds that the current level of security protection for federal MPs is merely "adequate". Former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo notes that the last major review of protective security arrangements for the nation’s parliamentarians was undertaken in 1979, in the wake of the Sydney Hilton Hotel bombing.

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Artificial intelligence final nail in coffin for creative sector

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Original article by Sam Buckingham-Jones
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 9 : 17-Jul-24

The Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance has expressed concern about the impact of artificial intelligence technology on Australia’s creative sector. The MEAA has told a Senate committee that Australian creatives’ work is being "systematically scraped" to train AI platforms without their knowledge, consent or compensation. Amongst other things, the MEAA contended that AI firms should be legally required to disclose all data used to train their algorithms. Singer and songwriter Dr Rod Davies warned that AI could kill off Australia’s music industry.

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MEDIA, ENTERTAINMENT AND ARTS ALLIANCE

Albanese poised to move against CFMEU

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Original article by Phillip Coorey
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 5 : 16-Jul-24

The federal government will consider a range of options to address the CFMEU. Cabinet minister Bill Shorten has indicated that these include deregistering the CFMEU or appointing external administrators to the militant union. Shorten had previously appointed administrators to ‘clean out’ the Health Services Union during his tenure as industrial relations minister in the Gillard government. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says "all options are on the table" regarding the CFMEU; he contends that the recent resignation of Victorian state secretary John Setka should be just the beginning of the cleaning up process.

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, HEALTH SERVICES UNION OF AUSTRALIA

Roy Morgan Poll: Federal Election is ‘too close to call’: L-NP 50.5% cf. ALP 49.5%

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

If a Federal Election were held now the result would be a hung parliament and ‘too close to call’ with the Coalition on 50.5% cf. ALP 49.5% on a two-party preferred basis. The ALP or Coalition would require the support of minor parties and independents to form a minority government, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. Primary support for the Coalition dropped 2% to 37.5% this week while the ALP increased 2.5% to 31%. Support for the Greens was down 1% to 12.5%. Support for One Nation was unchanged at 5%, support for Other Parties was up 0.5% to 5% and support for Independents was unchanged at 9%.

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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

Age-old hatred threat to nation, warns new envoy

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Original article by Tom McIlroy
The Australian Financial Review – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-24

The federal government has appointed Jillian Segal as Australia’s first special envoy to combat anti-Semitism. Segal is a business leader, lawyer and philanthropist, and a former president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry. She says anti-Semitism is a threat to Australian society as a whole, rather than just the Jewish community. Segal will represent Australia at the upcoming World Jewish Congress in Argentina. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ruled out holding a judicial inquiry into anti-Semitism on university campuses. He has also criticised the Greens’ deputy leader Mehreen Faruqi for failing to call for Hamas to be ‘dismantled’ in a recent interview.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER AND CABINET, AUSTRALIAN GREENS

Labor names, shames Chinese cyber spy gang

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Original article by Ben Packham
The Australian – Page: 4 : 10-Jul-24

The Australian Signals Directorate has publicly named a Chinese cyber espionage group that has been targeting public and private sector networks in Australia and the South Pacific region. The APT40 hacking group – which is also known as Gingham Typhoon, Kryptonite Panda, Leviathan and Bronze Mohawk – is believed to have links to China’s Ministry of State Security. Microsoft recently identified APT40 as the Pacific region’s most active cyber espionage group. It is not known as to whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese raised concerns about Chinese hackers during Premier Li Qiang’s recent official visit to Australia.

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AUSTRALIAN SIGNALS DIRECTORATE, CHINA. MINISTRY OF STATE SECURITY, MICROSOFT CORPORATION

Nuclear lawyer says Australia would not be starting from scratch

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Original article by Clare Armstrong
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 9-Jul-24

Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has contended that amongst other things, legal hurdles could not be overcome quickly enough for the Coalition to achieve its ambitious target of building the first of seven nuclear power stations by 2035. However, expatriate nuclear lawyer Helen Cook argues that agreements and safety regulations that are already in place would make it easier for parliament to pass the legislative changes that would be required to add nuclear to the energy mix. She notes that Australia has already ratified most of the treaties that would be required to build and operate nuclear reactors.

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AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF CLIMATE CHANGE, ENERGY, THE ENVIRONMENT AND WATER

Roy Morgan Poll: L-NP (52%) takes the lead over ALP (48%) after ALP disunity on Palestine

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Original article by Roy Morgan
Market Research Update – Page: Online : 9-Jul-24

A Coalition Government, with a slim majority, would now win a Federal Election with the two-party preferred vote: L-NP 52% cf. ALP 48%, the latest Roy Morgan survey finds. The Coalition surged after ALP disunity on the conflict between Israel and Hamas led to Senator Fatima Payman to quit the Labor Party last week. Senator Payman crossed the floor a few days before quitting the party when the Greens brought a motion to the floor calling for recognition of Palestinian statehood. Primary support for the Coalition increased 3% to 39.5% this week while the ALP dropped 3% to 28.5%. Support for the Greens increased 0.5% to 13.5%. Support for One Nation increased 0.5% to 5%, support for Other Parties dropped 1% to 4.5% and support for Independents was unchanged at 9%.

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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

Powerful new laws to break up the CFMEU

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Original article by Jade Gailberger
Herald Sun – Page: Online : 3-Jul-24

The Senate has voted 46-10 to pass a bill which will allow the CFMEU’s manufacturing division to hold a ballot on demerging. The Greens voted against the bill, which had been fast-tracked in response to threats by the CFMEU’s Victorian state secretary John Setka to launch a "work to rule" campaign on future AFL-related construction projects unless the league sacks its head of umpiring, Stephen McBurney. However, shadow employment minister Michaelia Cash has described the legislation as a "minor slap on the wrist" to the CFMEU in response to Setka’s "outrageous bullying demands".

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CONSTRUCTION, FORESTRY AND MARITIME EMPLOYEES UNION, AUSTRALIAN GREENS, AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE

Older Australians pressured into paying unfair robotax debts will not be compensated, government says

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Original article by Jonathan Barrett
The Guardian Australia – Page: Online : 3-Jul-24

The federal government will pursue legislative amendments to enable tax debts that were incurred before 2017 to remain on hold indefinitely. However, it has been criticised for refusing to provide refunds to people who have already paid historic tax debts in response to the Australian Taxation Office’s so-called ‘robotax’ campaign. Finance Minister Katy Gallagher has stated that people who responded to the letters from the ATO will not be refunded, given that they had paid legitimate tax debts. Greens senator Nick McKim says this stance is "manifestly unfair".

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AUSTRALIAN TAXATION OFFICE, AUSTRALIA. DEPT OF FINANCE, AUSTRALIAN GREENS