Public Enemy No 1 he has been savagely attacking people for years.
We can no longer say he’s mentally impaired
“Last week, an Australian operative in Syria instructed his local network to conduct demonstration killings – and this week, an Australian terror suspect savagely attacked two policemen,” Mr Abbott said.
THEY are so dangerous, no one dared to reveal their name until now. Khorasan. The US says this “unholy mix” of militants’ sole mission is to attack the West.
Intelligence showed that the Khorasan group was in the final stages of plotting attacks against the US and Europe, most likely an attempt to blow up an airplane in flight using explosive toothpaste tubes or clothing they had learnt to smuggle on to planes undetected.
They are a collection of veteran al-Qaeda fighters, actively plotting an attack against a US homeland and Western targets.
As a result, they were the central focus of yesterday’s air strikes.
US Central Command said that eight strikes were conducted against the previously unnamed group including training camps, an explosives factory and command facilities.
Revealed to be named Khorasan, it is just one of many al-Qaeda fragments to find a new identity and purpose after the death of Osama bin Laden.
It asserts the sole reason for its existence is to attack the United States and Europe.
The White House believes them.
RELATED: Is al Qaeda planning to surgically implant bombs?
US intelligence sources have revealed they have intercepted discussions from Khorasan that prompted a heightened terror alert among airlines and airports earlier this year, with mobile phones and laptops being banned on flights to the US from Europe, Africa and the Middle East.
The director of US national intelligence James Clapper named the new terrorist organisation for the first time last week.
RELATED: Missing airliners raise new 9/11-style attack fear
The warning was initially lost amid his dramatic admission that he had “mistakenly misled” Congress about the surveillance of US citizens last year.
“There is potentially yet another threat to the homeland, yes,” he told an intelligence conference.
“In terms of threat to the homeland, Khorasan may pose as much of a danger as Islamic State.”
Clapper first warned a Senate hearing in January that a group of core al-Qaeda militants from Afghanistan and Pakistan was plotting attacks against the West from Syria. But the group was not named.
Republican Adam Schiff, a member of the House Intelligence Committee, declined to name the group in an interview with AP. But he described concerns among intelligence officials about “an unholy mix of people in Iraq and Syria right now — some who come from (Yemen), some who come from Afghanistan and Pakistan, others from the Maghreb” in North Africa.
“They can combine in ways that could pose a greater threat than their individual pieces. And that’s something we worry about,” said Schiff.
But Republican member of Congress, Mike Rogers, took the threat warning one step further. He says Khorasan is “engaging with al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula to develop a terror plot to bring down aeroplanes.”
Like the Islamic State, Khorasan spawned amid the confusion and turmoil wracking Syria. Feeding from the US-backed Muslim-based opposition to Syria’s President Assad, the terror cell is reportedly not interested in carving out a new caliphate.
Instead, it draws inspiration from the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Centre and Pentagon. It is reportedly actively recruiting Islamic fighters with Western passports in order to conduct similar strikes.
BORN OF BLOOD
Despite the years of drone missile strikes against the leadership of core al-Qaeda in Pakistan and Yemen, the movement’s offshoots and affiliates remain a threat to the West. It has been rejuvenated in the past year as offshoots have grown in strength and numbers, bolstered by a flood of Western extremists.
Muhsin al Fadhli, 33, is reported to be the leader of the veteran al Qaeda operatives from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen who have formed the new terror cell.
The name “Khorasan” refers to a province under the Islamic caliphate, or religious empire, of old that included parts of Afghanistan.
A member of al Qaeda since he was a teenager, the New York Times says Fadhli was such a closely trusted adviser to Bin Laden that he was one of the very few who knew of the September 11 attacks in advance.
His terror credentials include organising a suicide attack on an oil tanker in the Red Sea, conspiring to attack a hotel frequented by US officials in Yemen and plotting to attack a US base in Kuwait.
Terror training ground … Afghan security forces stand guard at the site of a suicide attack near Kabul. Al-Qaeda veterans from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen are said to be behind the newly formed Khorasan group. Source: AFP Source: AFP
CNN reports that Fadhli arrived in Syria in 2013 to work with al Qaeda affiliates in the region. Fadhli is said to be copying the Islamic State’s social media recruitment campaign to seek and train Westerners willing to attack their homelands.
US intelligence has expressed fears Khorasan recruits may include some trained by al Qaeda’s master bombmaker in Yemen, Ibrahim al Asiri, who is believed to be the brains behind several attempts to bring down airliners with devices such as exploding underwear and shoe bombs.
According to US intelligence assessments, the Khorasan militants have been testing new ways to slip explosives past airport security.
US officials say it was because of Khorasan’s ties with Asiri that the Transportation Security Administration in July decided to ban uncharged mobile phones and laptops from flights to the US that originated in Europe and the Middle East.
Concealed weapon … Underwear with a six-inch long packet of the high explosive chemical called PETN was smuggled onto Northwest Airlines Flight 253 by Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, 23-year-old Nigerian suspect on 25/12/2009. Source: AFP
“The group’s repeated efforts to conceal explosive devices to destroy aircraft demonstrate its continued pursuit of high-profile attacks against the West, its increasing awareness of Western security procedures and its efforts to adapt to those procedures that we adopt,” Nicholas Rasmussen, deputy director of the National Counterterrorism Center, recently told a Senate panel.
US officials have identified some members of the Khorasan group, but would not disclose the individuals’ names because of concerns they would hide from intelligence-gathering.
Intelligence officials have been deeply concerned about dozens of Americans and hundreds of Europeans who have gone to fight for various jihadist groups in Syria. Some of those Westerners’ identities are unknown and therefore they are less likely to draw the attention of intelligence officials when they purchase tickets and board a crowded jetliner heading for European and American cities.
Pressure-cooker … The flow of arms and cash to support those attempting to overthrow Syria’s President Assad has created a safe training ground for terror, intelligence officials have warned. Source: AFP Source: AFP
TRACKING TERROR
A US-led effort to galvanise the international community against what the Obama administration officials call an “unprecedented” threat from Western-based extremists flocking to Syria and Iraq will be taken to the UN this week.
“These are individuals who’ve been trained. These are individuals who have access to military equipment. And these are individuals who have indicated a willingness to die for their cause,” a White House spokesman said.
President Barack Obama is expected to lead the UN Security Council session that begins tomorrow, just the second time a US president has done so.
What President Obama wants out of the UN meeting, a the spokesman said, “is to have a discussion about what kinds of global standards can be put in place to mitigate the threat from these individuals.”
Prying eyes … This file combination of images shows an airport staff member demonstrating a full body scan at Manchester Airport in Manchester, northwest England. Source: AFP Source: News Limited
The Security Council is expected to adopt a resolution that would require nations to bar their citizens from travelling abroad to join terrorism organisations in a bid to stem the flow of Europeans, Americans and members of other Western nations into their ranks.
The US has been dealing for more than decade with the problem of Islamic extremists flocking to various battlefields, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan and Yemen. But the movement of an estimated 15,000 foreign fighters to the civil war in Syria, which has spilt into Iraq, is an “unprecedented flow,” that creates an increased risk that some of those people will return to their home countries to attempt terrorist attacks, officials said.
And they are also worried about the presence of foreigners within the Islamic State, including the militant with the British accent who appeared to behead two American journalists and a British aid worker.
Off-focus … The National Security Agency (NSA), home of the United States secret surveillance programs, allegedly spying on the electronic communications of US citizens. Source: AFP Source: AFP
SLIPPING THROUGH THE GAPS
US intelligence agencies are working to track Westerners travelling to fight with extremists in Syria, but there are major gaps.
An Obama administration official said last night that the US “didn’t have full knowledge” of the travel patterns of Mehdi Nemmouche, a Frenchman who returned to Europe this year after fighting in Syria. On May 24, prosecutors say, he methodically shot four people at the Jewish Museum in central Brussels. Three died instantly, one afterwards. Nemmouche was arrested later, apparently by chance.
The US also failed to detect when Moner Mohammad Abusalha, an American who grew up a basketball fan in Vero Beach, Florida, travelled back home from the Syrian battlefield. He later returned to Syria, and in May killed 16 people and himself in a suicide bombing attack against Syrian government forces.
The US and many European nations already have laws on the books that allow them to prosecute their citizens who attempt to or succeed in travelling to join extremist groups. The UN resolution is intended to prod other countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, to step up efforts to stop the flow of foreign fighters. It is also designed to facilitate more sharing of travel data and other intelligence designed to allow the tracking of foreign fighters, the officials said.
The irony is obvious to many of the commenters, understanding the threat starts with those three. It is the continuing follies of U.S. policy and our involvement in them, that make us a potential target for domestic terrorism — not some bogus perceived external threat.( pic above)
If you listen to what U.S. presidents say, they always invoke freedom, peace, democracy and human rights as they launch their brutal forays into other countries. However if you look at what the U.S. does in the world, then it is clear freedom, peace, democracy and human rights are irrelevant to U.S. policy.
The U.S. talks democracy, but doesn’t hesitate to cuddle up to brutal tyrants, nor to overthrow elected governments. Democracies were replaced by repressive and usually corrupt governments with power bases among the wealthy elites. The Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet is among the most notorious for his reign of terror, involving torture, murder and “disappearances”, from 1973 until a popular uprising ousted him in 1990.
Iraq played no role in the 2001 attack on New York’s World Trade Centre, but President George W. Bush used the attack as an excuse to invade Iraq, which was allegedly harbouring Al Qaeda groups. Somewhere between 100,000 and 500,000 civilians are reported to have died as a result of the invasion and subsequent fighting, effectively retribution for the 3,000 who died in the WTC attack.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, governed by a repressive family plutocracy, is maintained as a staunch ally of the U.S., even though it too is accused of supplying some groups in the Middle East accused of terrorism. The key, of course, is that Saudi Arabia hosts a large fraction of the world’s oil reserves.
Human-rights abuses are being cited as a prime reason for U.S. intervention, yet the U.S. saw no reason to intervene directly in other barbarities ‒ even including genocide ‒ in places like Cambodia from 1975-79, Rwanda in 1994, the civil wars in the Congo over a long period, in Liberia in the 1990s, and many other parts of Africa and the world.
The consistent factor in U.S. policy clearly is to defend or enhance U.S. “interests” — which means, in practice, the commercial interests of U.S. business. Oil underpins all the other interests. U.S. presidents have always allowed their foreign policy to be bounded by the interests of the country’s rich and powerful.
Why is this apparently so beyond the critical faculties of what passes for Australia’s political conversation? That the US is doing what’s always been normal and can’t afford it so coopts us. Iraq will pay for this excercise whatever the outcome.
The solution ‒ not easy, but clearly available ‒ is to desist from further military intervention. There will, unfortunately, continue to be violence within the Middle East, but the defensible course is to try, by nonviolent means, to reduce the violence as much as possible. Intelligence analyst Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning argues for the viability of such an approach
There is already an overwhelming case, from global warming, for a rapid shift away from oil to renewable, non-polluting sources of energy, such as solar-generated hydrogen. The further pursuit of control over oil is wrong-headed in every respect, not least because of its costs in blood and money.
As to the so-called leadership of Australia, it adds the spectacle of being a pathetic lap dog to all the US follies it chooses to be complicit in.
‘Terrifying’ Tony Abbott is using the politics of fear to bully the Australian people into liking him and letting him to take away some of their rights and freedoms, writes Lyn Bender.
With each new threat from ISIL, Prime Minister Tony Abbott is shamelessly fanning the fires of terror in the hope we will forget his shortcomings blunders and buffoonery.
In Abbott Land — security has become insecurity.
But, nevertheless, now a reactive, fearful and fear-manipulating leader is now catapulting us into war. Tony Abbott struts ‒ or more correctly frets ‒ on the world stage: a small frightened man, determined to hold onto his fifteen minutes of fame.
Is western involvement in another war the answer or the problem?
Even Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has said that ISIL is an ideology that cannot be defeated in the battlefield alone.
But things could always be worse. Remember when Abbott’s alpha male posturing to ‘bully’ Putin and his threats to send in armed troops for ‘Operation bring them Home’.
Abbott’s idea of sending an armed defence force to Ukraine was branded as insane in a Fairfax headline:
Abbott is widely acknowledged as a serial liar. And the lies and broken promises continue.
The latest lies relate to what is being dubbed as ‘operation mission creep’.
At first, it was a humanitarian mission to deliver aid to besieged Iraqis. Now it has morphed into a mission to destroy the “death cult” of ISIS and to “respond with extreme force”.
When it comes to understanding and responding to ISL in Iraq, it’s complicated. When it comes to Tony Abbott’s ability to comprehend the global political sphere, it’s simplistic.
“It’s not goodies versus baddies but baddies versus baddies.”
In Abbott’s black and white world there are no shades of grey.
Except when defending baddies as being goodies.
Abbott has excused Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s appalling human rights record.
Justifying torture, he explained:
“Sometimes in difficult circumstances difficult things happen.”
As Rodney E. Lever points out:
‘It is difficult to believe that Tony Abbott knows what he is doing in committing Australia to a third war in Iraq.’
But there is method in the synchronising of fear announcements and photo shoots.
Abbott’s mentor, former Prime Minister John Howard, has allegedly lied on national television on Sunday about leading us into Iraq on false intelligence and by ignoring expert weapon’s inspector Hans Blix.
There were no weapons of mass destruction and Howard allegedly knew this for two years prior to the invasion.
Tony Abbott ‒ like his father-figure, Howard ‒ is again leading us into dangerous waters and setting Australia up as a terrorist target.
Australia is now named on the hit list in a video believed to be from ISIS. It exhorts the killing of infidels in countries including Australia who have joined the Coalition to attack ISIS. Abbott is seeking greater powers, with limited scrutiny.
The fusion of passion for military adventures, and the political exploitation of fear, is a dangerous mix. Abbott may be creating the terror he is claiming to lessen.
Disturbingly, he is now saying we may need to give up some of our rights and freedoms to lessen the terror threat.
“…for some time to come, Australians will have to endure more security than we’re used to, and more inconvenience than we’d like. Regrettably, for some time to come, the delicate balance between freedom and security may have to shift.”
Even more worrying, Abbott flags discriminating against certain sections of society — presumably Muslims:
“There may be more restrictions on some so that there can be more protections for others.”
He is asking us to let him persecute certain members of our society for the greater good. That is not democracy.
Moreover, he is asking us trust him to act honestly and decently in the national interest.
From
Team Bull you are either against us or with us in the shoot!
The UN has warned that coal has no future in the world’s energy mix, as world leaders gather ahead of a major climate summit in New York.
The Federal Government says coal will serve as an affordable, dependable energy source for decades to come, but the UN’s climate chief has questioned whether that is in Australia’s best interests long-term.
“This is a question for which there is no simple answer … but to simply ignore the problem and hope that someone can continue with business as usual because one happens to sit on a mountain of coal or on a great deal of oil I think is ultimately not going to be the answer.”
Well at the moment in the Middle East oil access no longer guaranteed our dirty coal is no longer wanted. So why other than promises made is our government the only country in the world about to go like an Italian tank? 6 gears backwards? Hey Mr Abbott why are we subsidizing a dying business?
For a number of days Tony Abbott has been chattering about killing the ‘devil cult’ doing wharever it takes to stop them in their tracks. Like echos words rebound and we don’t like what we hear. ISIL couldn’t give a shit about Australia and Australians then. It does now thanks to Tony Abbott. He has left Australians the world over with a problem not just here. What is he going to do about their security?….Nothing. Malcolm Fraser said he was dangerous.
The Islamic State has urged its supporters to go out and kill Western civilians, including Australians, as Prime Minister Tony Abbott warned the nation would have to sacrifice freedoms for security against terrorism in what he called these “darkening times”.
In a chilling message posted online, the terrorist group called for indiscriminate violence by any means in countries preparing to go to war against its fighters in northern Iraq and Syria.
“Australians will have to endure more security than we’re used to”: Tony Abbott addresses Parliament on the terrorist threat on Monday. Photo: Andrew Meares
The statement, attributed to chief Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al Adnani, mentions Australia three times in 11 pages of apocalyptic threats against “crusaders”.
“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European – especially the spiteful and filthy French – or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be,” he said.
“Do not ask for anyone’s advice and do not seek anyone’s verdict. Kill the disbeliever, whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling. Both of them are disbelievers.”
Abu Muhammad al Adnani, ISIL’s chief spokesman.
Clearly calling for followers to martyr themselves, Adnani says that if IS supporters cannot obtain a bomb or a gun to kill a Westerner, they should “smash his head with a rock, or slaughter him with a knife, or run him over with your car, or throw him down from a high place, or choke him or poison him”.
Adnani is a top figure in the militant group, having served as offical spokesman and senior leader since it rose to prominence last year.
His exhortation comes just days after police smashed an alleged plot in Sydney to kill random Australians on camera and as world leaders prepare to meet in New York to discuss how to combat the problem of foreigners travelling to Iraq and Syria to fight.
Mr Abbott, who will fly to New York on Tuesday for the United Nations sumitt, made a special address to Parliament on national security and warned the “delicate balance” between freedom and security would have to be recast.
“Regrettably, for some time to come, Australians will have to endure more security than we’re used to, and more inconvenience than we’d like,” he said.
“The delicate balance between freedom and security may have to shift. There may be more restrictions on some so that there can be more protections for others. After all, the most basic freedom of all is the freedom to walk the streets unharmed and to sleep safe in our beds at night.”
Mr Abbott welcomed Labor standing “shoulder to shoulder” with the Coalition on the terrorism threat, saying “it lets our enemies know that they will never shake our resolve”.
But Islamic State appears determined to test that resolve. Its threat against Australians is the most concrete yet.
Adnani’s statement is troubling as it tells followers they need no further approval of a Muslim cleric or from within the hierarchy of the Islamic State.
This is distinct from the approach of al-Qaeda, whose late leader Osama bin Laden maintained a tight, centralised control over violent activities. It also differs from the protocol of some previous plots in Australia, such as the plan to attack Holsworthy Barracks in Sydney, which was thwarted while the plotters were awaiting the sanction of a cleric.
Adnani calls US President Barack Obama a “mule of the Jews” and US Secretary of State John Kerry an “uncircumcised old geezer”.
The statement threatens not just to beat back any military campaign in Iraq and Syrian but also to go on the offensive, even if it takes generations.
“We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women, by the permission of Allah, the Exalted,” it says. “If we do not reach that time, then our children and grandchildren will reach it, and they will sell your sons as slaves at the slave market.”
A spokewoman for Mr Abbott said counter-terrorism agencies considered the statement to be authentic.
“Australian agencies regard the statement issued today by ISIL calling for attacks against members of the international coalition, including Australians, as genuine,” she said.
“ISIL will claim that our involvement in this international effort is the reason they are targeting us, but these people do not attack us for what we do, but for who we are and how we live.”
Former British Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair gave his backing to President Barack Obama’s strategy to overwhelm IS with military force.
“The president is absolutely right to take on [ISIL] and to build the broadest possible coalition,” he said.
“We’ve got absolutely no choice but to do this, and not just in order to destroy the onward march of [ISIL] but to send a very strong signal to the other terrorist groups operating in the region. We intend to take action and see it through.”
In his address in reply, Opposition Leader Bill Shorten laid out why Labor backs war against IS.
“Labor recognises that sometimes there is simply no alternative,” Mr Shorten said. “Put plainly, we cannot negotiate with ISIL because there is nothing rational about what they seek to do. ISIL and their like wish only to do harm, to spread the bitter hatred that fuels their genocidal intent.”
Mr Shorten said he rejected the charge that Australia’s engagement in Iraq had made the country more of a target for terrorists.
The Prime Minister has made it clear that he favours a minimalist model on Indigenous recognition, but it would be a great shame if all that emerges from the referendum is a bland motherhood statement, writes Mungo MacCallum.
22 Sep 2014 10:17:22am
I don’t normally endorse wishy-washy feel-good clauses, but in this case I will make an exception.
1- Indigenous Australians do have a unique relationship with this country- actually very similar to what Scotland, Wales, Ireland and England might have with the UK- and most certainly deserve recognition.
2- It would be another positive step for reconciliation
3- It would be another positive step AWAY from presumed acceptance of the NT intervention
4- To be blunt, it is also something that will likely get certain streaks of Australian who are more hostile to reconciliation (for whatever reason I suppose) to accept it without feeling attacked by it. Unfortunate, but a reality- and one that we can all work for further reconciliation when it is well received.
Well said.
“Regrettably, for some time to come, Australians will have to endure more security than we’re used to, and more inconvenience than we would like,” he said.
“There may be more restrictions on some, so that there can be more protection for others.
“The potential is there for a journalist or a blogger who writes about a special intelligence operation to go to jail for 10 years,”
From the Iraq war to terrorism laws, politicians are using the idea of an irrefutable “national interest” to avoid community debate and parliamentary scrutiny, writes Danielle Chubb.
Before you do that, you must tell me what the national interest is.
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop seems unwilling to entertain the idea that the national interest might be open for debate. “We would only act in our national interest.” Whatever the government decides, it will be “in the national interest”.
The idea that foreign policy is an elite decision-making arena, beyond the ken of the average Australian, and should not be submitted to the vagaries of Parliament, is one that serves governments well. Labor in opposition knows it too will benefit from such a formulation when in power. It is in the Opposition’s interest to continue the myth.
Why should complex legislation regarding carbon trading regulations be considered by Parliament and not questions of national security? The argument that intelligence briefings provide the clarity required to inform such decision-making is a smokescreen. We learned this back in 2003, after we had been told that reliable and sensitive intelligence pointed to the possession of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Today John Howard is saying sorry but….
When we submit to these arguments, we sacrifice exactly the democratic values we profess to defend. A functioning and responsive parliament is at the core of this
The Australian public deserves to be part of the conversation. Once troops are committed, it is difficult for politicians to properly represent the views of their constituents, for fear of appearing to denigrate the work of those Australians putting their lives on the line. It is imperative that we allow such opinions to be aired – through the democratic mechanisms we are so fortunate to have at our disposal – before we embark on military adventures.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said he had ordered security boosted at Parliament House in Canberra, amid mounting concerns over the possibility of attacks by Australians radicalized in Iraq or Syria
“There is chatter, there has been chatter, amongst these networks, of targeting government people. There is no doubt about that,” Abbott said in an interview with Australia’s Channel Nine television network.
“That is why we are in the process of upgrading security at Parliament House in Canberra; that is why we are in the process of putting the Australian Federal Police in charge, not just of external security, but also of internal security in Parliament House.”
The IS seem to be very up to date with modern social media techniques what makes us assume that they are not using our listening to their “chatter” as a weapon against us. These people have family and friends here who are not terrorists but might sympathise with the Sunni cause not necessarily with the way IS is dealing with it but their recent history of repression. There can be no doubt that it’s a topic of heated conversation. As was the “chatter” after the Bali bombing. One phone call where no content will be released is we are told at best suspicious. One phone call is enough to get you 20 years without a right to the evidence to form a defense because the Government is keeping things secret due to “operational Matters”. All the media brouhaha but the evidence the facts of the allegation remain secret how weak does the government believe it’s case is. Remember Kevin Andrews and Dr Muhamed Haneef.
Posted
As Australia battles violent extremism, perhaps we should ask Indonesia what is the best thing to do.
Our focus on joining the war in the Middle East has effectively derailed the so-called pivot or rebalance to Asia. We should be focussed more on our own immediate region, writes John Blaxland.
This was supposed to be the Asian century. but the Middle East’s shenanigans were like a red rag to a bull.
After the 200,000 or so estimated deaths in Syria in the last few years of conflict failed to crystallise a response, all it took was two American journalists and a British aid worker to be beheaded for the West, led by the US, to be goaded back into the fray.
And to what end?
With the Sunni heartland captured, there was little impetus for them to press far into Shia and Kurdish territory. There’s also considerable local resistance as they are not welcome there by Iraq’s Shia and Kurds, let alone among the concerned neighbouring states.
Defeating them in detail is virtually impossible. They remain well ensconced in Syria and happily blend in among the local population in the cities and towns where aerial precision targeting is of limited utility and generates considerable negative repercussions. Actions in Syria also are likely to earn the wrath of an aggressive Russian administration under Vladimir Putin. Have we thought that through? I think not. Then what do we do?
Support for the US alliance is an enduring priority and one that continues to receive widespread support across the community in Australia. But how much is enough? Are we not better suited at focusing on regional engagement in Australia’s neighbourhood? The Us thought so.
Australia has been surprisingly front-footed about offering to participate in the US-led coalition far from Australia’s shores, citing domestic concerns as a primary motivator for seeking to extinguish the flames of extremism in Iraq. Yet it was in Indonesia, in Bali and Jakarta, where Islamist extremism has most directly affected Australians not in Australia.
As Australia seeks to deal a blow to violent extremism, perhaps it is appropriate that we ask what Malaysia and Indonesia think is the best thing to do. Perhaps, as modern democracies with a predominantly moderate Muslim electoral base, they might have some pointers for us Mr Abbott. Whether our actions are helping or hindering the cause. Our efforts in the Middle East can be expected to have significant knock-on consequences in South-East Asia as well.The focus on Iraq appears to have effectively derailed the so-called US pivot or rebalance to Asia. Shouldn’t this concern our Australian policymakers, countries, shouldn’t we remain focused on regional security concerns, while America is distracted once again by the Middle East.
Instead Australia has appeared equally willing to abandon the pivot. throwing its weight and its policy efforts into the Middle East rather than its own immediate region.
A significant rethink of policy positions is in order as it is not the disengagement from the Middle East and beyond that we had been told was to be expected.
We should return to Prime Minster Tony Abbott’s advice way back when he was spouting “more Jakarta and less Geneva”, or anywhere else for that matter. Malcolm Fraser is so right that he is the most dangerous PM we have seen.
Ban the effen gun not the bloody burqa idiot
Australian Defense league does. Andrew Bolt does
There’s a lot of ‘Chatter’ heard about beheadings,only by the press. One phone call then silence as it’s an ” operational matter Everything this government does is an ‘operational matter’ that’s terror. Today Rabbott is alluding that battle creep in Iraq is possible the man is INSANE
When you think this Rabbott is the surprise
your always dissapointed but it’s never good.
Forget Humanitarian Aid Rabbott’s Raid is on
Rabid Rabbott let the dog’s out
Australia’s prime minister took his government and the media to the NT to better understand the needs of Indigenous Australians. We’re already awash with that knowledge
Reminiscent of a vintage anthropologist, the prime minister grasps the head of an Indigenous child trying to shake his hand. He beams, as if incredulous at the success of his twin stunts: “running the nation” from a bushland tent on the Gove Peninsula while “taking the nation to war”. Like any “reality” show, he is surrounded by cameras and manic attendants, who alert the nation to his principled and decisive acts.
But wait; the leader of all Australians must fly south to farewell the SAS, off on its latest heroic mission since its triumph in the civilian bloodfest of Afghanistan. “Pursuing sheer evil” sounds familiar. Of course, an historic mercenary role is unmentionable, this time backing the latest US installed sectarian regime in Baghdad and re-branded ex-Kurdish “terrorists”, now guarding Chevron, Exxon Mobil, Marathon Oil, Hunt Oil et al.
No parliamentary debate is allowed; no fabricated invitation from foreigners in distress is necessary, as it was in Vietnam. Speed is the essence. What with US intelligence insisting there is no threat from Islamic State to the US and presumably Australia, truth may deter the mission if time is lost. If yesterday’s police and media show of “anti-terror” arrests in “the plot against Sydney” fails to arouse the suspicions of the nation, nothing will. That the unpopular Abbott’s various wars are likely to be self-fulfilling, making Australians less safe, ought to be in the headlines, too. Remember the blowback from Blair’s wars.
But what of the beheadings? During the 21 months between James Foley’s abduction and his beheading, 113 people were reportedly beheaded by Saudi Arabia, one of Barack Obama’s and Abbott’s closest allies in their current “moral” and “idealistic” enterprise. Indeed, Abbott’s war will no doubt rate a plaque in the Australian War Memorial alongside all the other colonial invasions acknowledged in that great emporium of white nationalism – except, of course, the colonial invasion of Australia during which the beheading of the Indigenous Australian defenders was not considered sheer evil.
This returns us to the show in Arnhem Land. Abbott says the reason he and the media are camped there is that he can consult with Indigenous “leaders” and “gain a better understanding of the needs of people living and working in these areas”.
Australia is awash with knowledge of the “needs” of its First Peoples. Every week, it seems, yet another study adds to the torrent of information about the imposed impoverishment of and vicious discrimination against Indigenous people: apartheid in all but name. The facts, which can no longer be spun, ought to be engraved in the national consciousness, if not the prime minister’s. Australia has a rate of Indigenous incarceration higher than that of apartheid South Africa; deaths in custody occur as if to a terrible drumbeat; preventable Dickensian diseases are rampant, including among those who live in the midst of a mining boom that has made profits of a billion dollars a week. Rheumatic heart disease kills Indigenous people in their 30s and 40s, and their children go deaf and suffer trachoma, which causes blindness.
When, as shadow Indigenous health minister in 2009, Abbott was reminded by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Indigenous people that the Howard government’s fraudulent “intervention” was racist, he told Professor James Anaya to “get a life” and “stop listening to the old victim brigade”. The distinguished Anaya had just been to Utopia, a vast region in the Northern Territory, where I filmed the evidence of the racism and forced deprivation that had so shocked him and millions of viewers around the world. “Malnutrition”, a GP in central Australia told me, “is common.”
Today, as Abbott poses for the camera with children in Arnhem Land, the children of Utopia are being denied access to safe and clean drinking water. For 10 weeks, communities have had no running water. A new bore would cost just $35,000. Scabies and more trachoma are the result. (For perspective, consider that Labor’s last Indigenous Affairs Minister, Jenny Macklin, spent $331,144 refurbishing her office in Canberra).
In 2012, Olga Havnen, a senior Northern Territory government official, revealed that more than $80m was spent on the surveillance of families and the removal of children compared with just $500,000 on supporting the same impoverished families. Her warning of a second Stolen Generation led to her sacking. This week in Sydney, Amnesty and a group known as Grandmothers Against Removals presented further evidence that the number of Indigenous children being taken from their families, often violently, was greater than at any time in Australia’s colonial history.
Will Abbott, self-proclaimed friend of Indigenous people, step in and defend these families? On the contrary, in his May budget, Abbott cut $534m from the “needs” of Indigenous people over the next five years, a quarter of which was for health provision. Far from being an Indigenous friend, Abbott’s government is continuing the theft of Indigenous land with a confidence trick called “99-year leases”. In return for surrendering their country – the essence of Aboriginality – communities will receive morsels of rent, which the government will take from Indigenous mining royalties. Perhaps only in Australia can such deceit masquerade as policy.
Similarly, Abbott appears to be supporting constitutional reform that will “recognise” Indigenous people in a proposed referendum. The “Recognise” campaign consists of familiar gestures and tokenism, promoted by a PR campaign “around which the nation can rally”, according to the Sydney Morning Herald – meaning the majority, or those who care, can feel they are doing something while doing nothing.
During all the years I have been reporting and filming Indigenous Australia, one “need” has struck me as paramount. A treaty. By that I mean an effective Indigenous bill of rights: land rights, resources rights, health rights, education rights, housing rights, and more. None of the “advances” of recent years, such as Native Title, has delivered the rights and services most Australians take for granted.
As Arrente/Amatjere leader Rosalie Kunoth-Monks says: “We never ceded ownership of this land. This remains our land, and we need to negotiate a lawful treaty with those who seized our land.” A great many if not most Indigenous Australians agree with her; and a campaign for a treaty – all but ignored by the media – is growing fast, especially among the savvy Indigenous young unrepresented by co-opted “leaders” who tell white society what it wants to hear.
That Australia has a prime minister who described this country as “unsettled” until the British came indicates the urgency of true reform – the end of paternalism and the enactment of a treaty negotiated between equals. For until we, who came later, give back to the first Australians their nationhood, we can never claim our own.
Tony Abbott, is very quiet about VicHealth’s latest report on violence to women. Should we be surprised about a man whose misogyny record went viral globally and who can’t talk to women without being creepy? Senior correspondent, Barry Everingham reports.
In Melbourne in the past few days, the Police Commissioner, Ken Lay, has been out in public getting stuck into men who are violent towards women. His message is clear to all men:
“Don’t do it”
“NO does not mean YES”!
There’s something sad and sick in a community when leaders need to be so frank about sexism, rape and misogyny. To underscore this, a nationwide VicHealth survey found a sizeable portion of those polled believed there are circumstances in which violence and rape could be excused.
Many of the statistics revealed that violence against women could be eliminated if attitudes shifted but VicHealth chief, Jerril Rechter, said:
‘On the whole we haven’t improved much since the first survey was completed (1995). But what we’re seeing is more people who now understand that violence is more than a bruised eye or broken bones.’
Rechter went on:
‘People need empathy and education to understand how difficult for a woman in a violent relationship to leave
However, more than half agreed that women often fabricated cases of domestic violence to improve their prospects in family law cases.
(image by John Graham)
In this latest survey, it is surprising that people were not asked why the country’s leadership if basically silent about this scourge.
Or his amusement at the vile sexist slogans calling Gillard ”Brown’s Bitch” and “ditch the witch”.
And even worse, he refused to comment on Jones’s statement that the then Prime Minister’s father died of shame.
Verbal violence that escaped the man who even said to Gillard that:
“if she wanted to make an honest woman of herself ….”
As Julia Gillard said at the time:
“something he would never have said to a man”.
Abbott is quick to jump to judgement on many social issues but for a man known to be short-tempered towards woman he is silent on these issues.
He really summed up his real attitude towards women with the following gem when minister for health:
“Abortion is the easy way out”.
Or this one from Gillard’s famous misogyny speech, quoting Abbott:
”Men have more power generally speaking than women, is that a bad thing?”
http://media.theage.com.au/national/selections/terrorism-raids-spark-muslim-protest-5789086.html
ASIO officers raided homes across Sydney and Brisbane arresting 15 people some as young as 17 or 19 who were later released…..The AGE
The raids were conducted on kids however the papers really made it sound as if it was a very organized gang if so why were all released and no charges laid?
Azari 22 was charged was charged Thursday with conspiracy to prepare for a terrorist attack. A second Sydneyman 24 from Merrylands was charged late on Thursday on fire-arms and ammunition charges. He was released on bail….The AGE
Azari has legal Aid and doesn’t have the funds to be bailed he has been arrested on the basis of one phone call.
‘It is understood Barylei knew one of the men arrested from school’….The AGE
If knowing Barylei in school is an indictable offense why hasn’t the school been arrested the reporter has nothing to write about and is throwing things in for the sake of the story
“They would use things like public phone boxes. They would avoid talking in cars all that sort of stuff”….The AGE
“while beheading was not specifically mentioned in the alleged phone call on Tuesday- one of several believed to have taken place between Baryalei and Azari- it is assumed that this would have been the method of killing” The…AGE
This is the most salient piece of news why is beheading playing such a large role in the reporting when it was never specifically mentioned. It has been the central feature of the police and media reports and has never had a place.
“the Commonwealth Prosecutor said the charges were very very serious and involved an unusual level of fanaticism”…one intercepted phone call between May8 and September 18 to which Mr Azari was party”
The only thing the Prosecutor is saying is the charges he’s drawn up are very serious the evidence however seems very very weak
“There has been immediate reaction to a clear and imperative danger”
“Mr Boland hired by Legal Aid NSW for Mr Azari did not apply for bail …. the allegation is based on one phone call of very limited compass the federal police have put foward”
One phone call and he is the only sucker who isn’t rich enough to apply for bail
Australians will have absorbed the news of planned beheadings of random citizens with many feelings. All will be grateful ASIO with state and Federal Police appears to have prevented an attack……even in Australia fanatical sectarianism poses a clear and present danger”
There was no news of beheadings but Mark Kenny is not going tell you that it would spoil an otherwise good story.
The Australian Defense League ” Let’s make our presence known and get there (Lakemba) in force against these bastard terrorists
The Australian KKK is itching to come out an play. Jesus want’s them to nail a Muslim to a cross
A woman was man handled and beaten to the face her 14 year old son saw this tried to help. He was pushe into the wall he all most passed out
Nothing but this about police violence on a 14 year old they just recruited to ISIS
The whole saga is disgusting and has put a target on the back of Australians traveling through Muslim countries. Indonesia is our nearest neighbor thank you TEAM ABBOTT
600 police the whole of the deployment sent to Iraq needed to arrest one 22year old
This is not just suspicion, this is intent and that’s why the police and security agencies decided to act in the way they have.
Updated
Police have raided dozens of homes in Sydney and Brisbane as part of the largest counter-terrorism operation in Australian history.
The joint operation between local police, the Australian Federal Police and ASIO involves hundreds of officers and at least a dozen people have been arrested in Sydney.
Similar raids took place in Brisbane but police said it was too early to say if anyone had been arrested.
Keep up to date with the latest developments on our live blog.
ASIO and counter terrorism police have swooped on homes across Brisbane’s south and in Sydney this morning in what is believed to be the largest anti-terrorism bust in the nation’s history.
Several arrests have been made in the secret pre-dawn raids in Sydney but the Courier Mail understands there have been no arrests in Brisbane thus far.
Hundreds of police executed search warrants in Logan, Underwood and Mt Gravatt East along with the Sydney suburbs of Beecroft, Bellavista, Guildford, Merrylands, Northmead, Wentworthville, Marsfield, Westmead, Castle Hill, Revesby, Bass Hill and Regents Park.
Police arrest a man in Guilford this morning.
The raid is believed to have been mounted following months of surveillance of people linked to the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.
The Courier Mail has learned that an estimated 600 officers from the Australian Federal Police, state counter terrorism units and ASIO launched the pre-emptive strike in the early hours of this morning.
The raids and arrests are believed to have been based on the execution of multiple ASIO and AFP warrants.
It is believed that dozens of suspects have been netted, with links to a Brisbane man who was recently arrested on suspected terrorism related charges.
It is believed that a terrorist network had been planning to carry out a series of attacks in Australia.
Another man is arrested in Guilford.
Last week, Brisbane man Omar Succarieh, 31, was arrested and charged with terrorism-related offences following a series of raids.
He’s accused of fundraising for Syria-based extremist group Jabhat al-Nusra and helping another man, Agim Kruezi, obtain funds to fight for a terror organisation overseas.
OMAR SUCCARIEH: Bail application to be heard today
TERROR RAID: Accused ‘misses his kids’
Succarieh, who is due to apply for bail in court on Thursday, is believed to be the brother of Ahmed Succarieh, who reportedly became Australia’s first suicide bomber in Syria last year.
Logan man Kruezi, 22, has alleged links to the Islamic State group.
The raid follows the lifting of the national security alert level from medium to high last Friday by the outgoing director general of ASIO David Irvine.
One of the detained men in the pre-dawn raids in Sydney.
It is believed the size of the raid eclipsed that of Operation Pendennis in 2005 when several hundred ASIO, AFP and NSW police arrested 13 men across Melbourne and the Sydney suburb of Bankstown, who had been planning bomb attacks in both capitals.
In Brisbane, a double story house on Creek Road, Mount Gravatt East, was among the properties raided.
One neighbour said he had lived near the family, who he described as “Middle Eastern” for more than 20 years but had rarely communicated with them.
The man said he had only heard dogs barking during the morning raid.
A number of Australian Federal Police officers remain at the address.
It has not yet been confirmed whether any arrests have been made.
An AFP spokesperson said further updates would be provided later on Thursday.
Senior government ministers were unable to shed more light on the raids, but praised the work of authorities.
“I note the security agencies, the Police, ASIO are working hard to ensure that we are safe,” Coalition frontbencher Malcolm Turnbull told ABC radio this morning.
“Our security is the consequence of continued vigilance and hard work on the part of the security agencies.
Police at the scene of a raid at Mt Gravatt East.
“There is no cause for being complacent about security.
“There are people, regrettably some of them in our midst, that don’t have the nation’s best interest at heart.”
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s G20 Finance Minister’s meeting in Cairns, Joe Hockey said he had confidence in the security measures in place.
“Everyone needs to make sure that with an increased threat level associated with potential terrorist attacks in Australia we have all the necessary precautions taken for both the G20 here in Cairns and also in Brisbane,” the Treasurer told Sunrise.
“But, I am very confident that all bases are covered.
“We have put a lot of effort into this for a long period of time.”
There are about 60 Australians believed to be fighting in Iraq and Syria with groups such as Islamic State, while another 100 are suspected of providing support from Australia.
Originally published as Hundreds of police in terror raids
A Cairns grandmother was charged with wilful damage to property after she allegedly placed a sticker on a pole.
Four police officers raided the home of Myra Gold, 60, on August 24.
The sticker, which was found by police on a pole at Raintree Shopping Centre, said ‘G20 benefits the 1%’.
Ms Gold told Daily Mail Australia the raid was an attack on freedom of speech.
‘It’s almost like the Thought Police,’ she said.
Myra Gold (left), pictured with a climate change poster, and the G20 stickers she was charged over.
As many as 800 extra police are being sent to Cairns to guard the G20 finance ministers’ meeting, held on September 20 and 21 at the city’s Convention Centre.
The finance ministers of the G20 – an influential international body – will hold a meeting in Cairns at the weekend.
As many as 800 extra police are set to arrive in Cairns early this week.
‘Over in Europe when they have things like this, they have thousands of people turn up to protest,’ she said.
‘They’re allowed to protest. They understand people have a different different view.’
Ms Gold said she has no memory of placing the sticker on the pole.
She said she never expected this could happen to her.
‘(It) was quite stunning,’ she said.
Ms Gold is scheduled to appear in court on October 1.
A spokeswoman for Queensland police refused to comment further because the matter is before a court.
China’s dirty coal ban will lose us billions of dollars in sales. Why air pollution in China. Abbott has said there’s no point in pursuing RET’s as they will have no effect on the global environment China and other major polluters don’t do anything. Well China now has. Guess Abbott’s argument will need to change. We don’t need to do anything because the worlds biggest polluters are now doing it for us. Would you employ him as a sales person for your company? The country has.
What are we going to do with our dirty coal if it takes 2 years to ship to China instead of one we can’t put up it’s already dropped to cost out of the ground. We can sack the workers whose jobs Abbott was saving. We could close 50% of those mines we have subsidised at least Clive Palmer has a job and assetts like cars to sell unless the bank owns them.
What do financial advisers really mean when they say “We are all trying to sort out what is going on. the information is fairly fluid right now” Your money is going down the drain. We will have to find ways of using more coal here at home gut the RETs
Our coal producers say China is propping up their own mines due to their economic slow down it really has nothing to do with pollution. They can’t dare admit it’s long-term can they. Caught between a rock and a hard place , ‘lie’. Another sound bite coming from the Minerals Council is “there is no evidence that it will affect Australia”. How much spin and bullshit can you put on this. Palmer has “the Chinese are fucking liars they really want our coal. They want our coal. Please want my coal” this is like the captain of the Titanic telling his passengers and crew not to panic the hole in the hull is a good thing it’s letting the water out.
We have reserves of good coal which will continue to be in demand is another line. Does this mean mines we have already subsidised will close and we will be then asked to subsidise new ones. If I was a mining company I wouldn’t worry too much nothing needs to come out of the ground and the government cheques will keep coming it’s Corporate Welfare.
10:45 16/09/2014 » Society
When you consider there are 12-14 billion Sunnis worldwide how many such young people are there to fill the ranks? If these young disenchanted kids feel emotionally seperated from family and friends in their world and need a sense of hope opportunity and justice aren’t they ready to be recruited into any number of movements. At the moment the non secular Sunni uprising is just one. Remember the Spanish civil war in the 30’s youth of the world were drawn to it like moths to a flame. At present and for sometime to come will that flame only be confined to the Middle East. If we go rushing in where angels fear to tread as is Abbott’s want saying ‘god and right is on our side’ aren’t we just waving a red flag?
Do your math how many potential recruits are in that figure of billions ready to fight what they see as the forces of repression and injustice? Forces they see as ‘the dark side’. Franco’s facist forces were defending the country from the evil of socialism, disbelief in god and the German bombs gave their ground forces the advantage. There wasn’t a pool of 3-4 billion to help out. Obama seemed to have a sense of folly but it seems he’s been pushed and our TonyAbbott is the fastest coalition member off the blocks. Someone forgot to tell him Christian Jews & Muslims believe in the same Abrahamic God. Closed borders are difficult to protect the possible fuel he’s about to throw on this fire.
By CEYLAN YEGINSU
The New York Times
Having spent most of his youth as a drug addict in one of the poorest neighborhoods of Turkey’s capital, Can did not think he had much to lose when he was smuggled into Syria with 10 of his childhood friends to join the world’s most extreme jihadist group.
After 15 days at a training camp in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the de facto headquarters of the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, the 27-year-old Can was assigned to a fighting unit. He said he shot two men and participated in a public execution. It was only after he buried a man alive that he was told he had become a full ISIS fighter.
“When you fight over there, it’s like being in a trance,” said Can, who asked to be referred to only by his middle name for fear of reprisal. “Everyone shouts, ‘God is the greatest,’ which gives you divine strength to kill the enemy without being fazed by blood or splattered guts,”
As many as 1,000 Turks have joined ISIS, according to Turkish news media reports and government officials here. Recruits cite the group’s ideological appeal to disaffected youths as well as the money it pays fighters from its flush coffers. The C.I.A. estimated last week that the group had from 20,000 to 31,500 fighters in Iraq and Syria.
So far, Mr. Erdogan has resisted pleas to take aggressive steps against the group, citing the fate of 49 Turkish hostages ISIS has held since militants took over Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul, in June. Turkey declined to sign a communiqué last Thursday that committed a number of regional states to take “appropriate” new measures to counter ISIS, frustrating American officials.
Hacibayram, a ramshackle neighborhood in the heart of Ankara’s tourist district, has morphed into an ISIS recruitment hub over the past year. “It began when a stranger with a long, coarse beard started showing up in the neighborhood,” “The next thing we knew, all the drug addicts started going to the mosque.”
Abbott with the chief of the defence force: 39% of those surveyed rated handling of ‘relations with other countries’ as good and 24% as poor, resulting in a net rating of +15%.
Choice of war hasn’t helped Abbott’s standing in the polls. However it’s a pity we are such such a bellicose nation and encouraged him on this decision.
I am starting to think that when Mr Abbott promised us a “grown up” government, instead of “responsible adult” government he actually meant he would treat us citizens like children, responding to unwanted scrutiny with that most hated parent refrain, “because I said so…” that will drive a kid to their bedroom in fury and frustration, normally with bonus door slamming.
That is just not good enough. It is not “ridiculous” to want proof and be assured that our Prime Minister – be it this one or any MP in future who aspires to the top job in our nation while Article 44(i) of the Constitution is on the books – is a “law-abiding” citizen who legally deserves to be in the position of Prime Minister of this nation.
I might be only a punter but I try to teach my kids that Rulz is Rulz! — whether you are Joe Blow, Jill Dill or Prime Minister of Australia.
With the Abbott Government’s RET review controversially advising abolishing Australia’s renewable energy target, a new international report suggests renewables are the only way forward.
RENEWABLE ENERGIES ARE INCREASINGLY SEEN as the best solution to a growing global population demanding affordable access to electricity, while reducing the need for toxic fossil fuels that are creating unsustainable levels of greenhouse gas emissions.
That’s the underlying message of a new report ‒ REthinking Energy: Towards a New Power System ‒ published this week by the Abu Dhabi-based International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
‘Rapid technological progress, combined with falling costs, a better understanding of financial risk and a growing appreciation of wider benefits, means that renewable energy is increasingly seen as the answer.’
‘Not only can renewable energy meet the world’s rising demand, but it can do so more cheaply, while contributing to limiting global warming to under 2 degrees Celsius – the widely cited tipping point for climate change
‘A technology once considered as niche is becoming mainstream. What remains unclear is how long this transition will take, and how well policy makers will handle the change.’
In the next two decades, the report noted, world electricity generation is expected to increase by 70 per cent.
But the report warned:
‘There is growing consensus on the threat of climate change brought on by increasing atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases, prompting worldwide efforts to reduce emissions.’
‘If business continues as usual, these efforts will not succeed. The average emissions intensity of electricity production has barely changed over the past 20 years. Gains from the increasing deployment of renewables, and less intensive fossil fuels such as natural gas, have been offset by less efficient power plants and the rising use of coal. Without a substantial increase in the share of renewables in the mix, climate change mitigation will remain elusive.’
There is also increasing concern about the health impacts of burning fossil fuels, the report said, adding the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently found that ill health caused by fossil fuels nationally costs between US $362 billion and $887 billion annually.
In addition, the European Union’s Health and Environment Alliance found that emissions from coal-fired power plants cost up to €42.8 billion in yearly health costs.
The report says something has to change:
‘Fossil fuels powered the first industrial revolution, but even in the new era of shale oil and gas, questions remain about their compatibility with sustainable human well-being. The stage is set for the era of modern renewable energy that is cost competitive, mainstream and sustainable.’
The report noted that the challenge today is how to finance and accelerate the continued deployment of renewables.
The report added that politicians have an important role to play:
‘If they make it clear that renewable energy will be a larger part of their national energy mix, and commit to long-term, non-financial support mechanisms, they could reduce uncertainty and attract more investors.’
Deploying renewables also stimulates economic activity, creates jobs, provides power for those left off the grid, the report said. Most renewables do not deplete finite resources and they also reduce the risk of ecological disasters.
In an accompanying media release, IRENA Director-General Adnan Amin said speeding up the adoption of renewable energy technologies is the most feasible way of reducing carbon emissions and avoiding catastrophic global warming.
Amin was quoted as saying in the release:
“A convergence of social, economic and environmental forces are transforming the global energy system as we know it. But if we continue on the path we are currently on and fuel our growing economies with outmoded ways of thinking and acting, we will not be able avoid the most serious impacts of climate change.”
Fools rush in: Tony Abbott joins a war without definition
Date
September 15, 2014
Committing of forces gathers pace
US Secretary of State John Kerry says countries inside and outside the Middle East have pledged military support against IS militants with some nations offering ground troops
The smart thing for Western leaders in the wake of John Kerry’s session with Arab leaders in Jeddah on Thursday last, would have been to bide their time. But Tony Abbott leapt straight in – committing 600 Australian military personnel and more aircraft to the conflict, thereby giving the Arab leaders good reason to believe that if they sit on their hands for long enough, the West will fight their war for them.
Either collectively in Jeddah or in one-on-one meetings with Kerry as in Cairo, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman and Lebanon all have baulked at making explicit military commitments to confront a force that they all see as a direct threat to their thrones, bunkers and, in one or two cases, tissue-thin democracies. With the exception of Iraq, which has no option because it is under attack at home, none has publicly committed military support.
Conversely, Abbott was coy in claiming that this new deployment did not mean that Australia was at war??? Australia has been at war since its first airlift of weapons and ammunition to the Kurdish Peshmerga in the north of Iraq last week.
Because they are on the ground in the UAE doing logistics and maintenance or in Baghdad and Irbil as military advisers certainly would not absolve any of them from being a target if IS fighters contrived to get access to them. It’s also a dramatic instance of mission-creep in a conflict bedevilled by uncertainty and missing any clear sense of a timeline or even the vague contours of what “victory” might look like.
US President Barack Obama demanded that Iraq form an inclusive, representative government before he would commit. But just three days after the new prime minister said he would behave himself, Obama had aircraft over Iraq, and we still know nothing about how different this Iraqi leadership will be from the last. There is no certainty that it will win the confidence of the Iraqi Sunni tribes.
An air war cannot succeed without a substantial boots-on-the-ground accompaniment – and that part of what Obama calls a strategy is very much on a wing and a prayer.
The Kurdish Peshmerga can fight, but they can’t defend all of Iraq. The Iraqi army, trained and equipped by Washington at a cost of hundreds of billions of dollars, is erratic and more likely to cut and run than to stand and fight. Next door in Syria, Obama is banking of the ranks of the Free Syrian Army – which for years he has complained could not be counted on, and which Washington now tries to convince us can be taken to Saudi Arabia, retrained and sent home to win the war.
Abbott must have had his hands over his ears last week as Obama spoke to the US nation and analysts around the globe distilled his words to mean a conflict that will last for years.Oddly, the Prime Minister warned Australians to prepare for a fight that might last “months rather than weeks, perhaps many, many months indeed…” Seems he’s in as much of a hurry to get into this war, as he seemingly thinks he will get out of it. He’s simply hides from the truth.
It’s not clear why. This “we must do something right now” response is likely to create a bigger mess than already exists in the region. Consider: the death of 200,000 locals in Syria failed to rouse much of a reaction in the West; but the deaths of two Americans – and now a Briton – has raised a crescendo for international war when it might have made more sense to tackle regional politicking and feuding first.
The prime minister and media should stop legitimising the terror group rampaging through Syria and Iraq by describing it as Islamic State, according to a coalition of imams and organisations representing British Muslims. Use of the jihadis’ preferred title, they argue, gives credibility to the Sunni militants and slurs the Islamic faith.
UK Muslims need to do more to dissuade their young men from being misled into taking part in the group’s “hatred and poison”. “We shall take every opportunity to continue to say clearly and loudly ‘not in our name’ and ‘not for our faith,’ ”
Six senior Islamic scholars endorsed the fatwa last month, describing Britons allied to Islamic State (Isis) cells as “heretics” and prohibiting would-be jihadis from joining the “oppressive and tyrannical” group in Iraq and Syria. It is feared that as many as 500 Britons have travelled to Syria or Iraq since 2011 to join the group and its affiliates.
“We are sure that most British Muslims would agree that ‘UnIslamic State’ is a considerably more fitting label for this poisonous group – and hope that our fellow citizens will join us in that.
ISIL is a far greater threat to other Islamic nations in its region than it is to Australia, says George Said; we should be helping them fight ISIL, not battling on their behalf.
UNDOUBTEDLY, the self appointed group calling themselves the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has to be defeated. This can only be done when the other Sunni nations join forces to reclaim their religion and the territorial gains made by ISIL. These nations are Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and even Syria. Australia should not be anxious to jump into the dispute ahead of these countries just because Abbott is failing at home.
We have had 13 years of the War on Terror and we lost that war. The West focused on Al-Qaeda and Bin Laden; the battle was won and the West lost the ideological war. The West should not have interfered with Iraq for its oil without a plan for the future.
Recently, the British Muslims had a valid point: they do not want their prime minister to refer to the terrorist group as the Islamic State. They are adamant that ISIL is not acting in their name and should be referred to as the UnIslamic State.
To quote two prominent Muslim organisations:
“We do not believe the terror group responsible should be given the credence and standing they seek by styling themselves Islamic State. It is neither Islamic, nor is it a state.”
The leadership that is required in this dispute is not that which comes from ‘Team Abbott’, but one that comes from the Muslims themselves.
Six British senior Islamic scholars endorsed the fatwa (a legal opinion on the interpretation of Islamic law) last month, describing Britons allied to Islamic State cells as “heretics” and prohibiting would-be jihadis from joining the ‘oppressive and tyrannical’ group in Iraq and Syria.
ISIL has hijacked Islam and parts of the Middle East and it is a greater threat to the Middle East Sunni nations than it is to us in Australia. We should assist these nations to do the fighting, not enter the battle on their behalf.
Given deep commitment that many fighters have to their idea of martyrdom and the Caliphate, then the few who chose to leave and return home will mostly be the disillusioned and the unfaithful. These individuals will have to escape in secret to avoid execution on charges of spying or desertion. It is these that will be of most use to Western intelligence and deradicalization programs. ASIO must have considered this and informed Abbott who however insists they are the most dangerous. Ones that haven’t left remain a closed book and it’s up to us as a community that will or wont determine their radicalisation. Abbott’s public war announcement is not going to help our security. Abbott’s continual TV appearances can only exacerbate things.
The bottom line is that the Islamic State group has learned the importance of operational security and the dangers of allowing western intelligence contact with its members. That is not to say that there will be no Islamic State-backed attack plots targeting the West and that western governments need not worry. But the selection of suitable operatives to carry out attacks will be highly problematic for the group, leaving only a tiny pool of possible options. Its commanders will have to choose individuals with a proven track record of competence, loyalty, independence and determination.Gauging those characteristics without exposing the individuals concerned to operational information will be very difficult. The Islamic State group is unlikely to take a risk in most cases and will probably only attempt to release a few trusted individuals for uncomplicated suicide missions.
The challenges of making and deploying suitable bombs without detection back in their home countries will probably be beyond most of these few. So, while the threat is real and must be taken seriously it must also be seen in context; one that is not as numerically great as the assessments of officials and experts have so far indicated.Failure to put the threat into context has dangers of its own. Firstly, the Islamic State group monitors the media and will be encouraged by the fear-mongering aspect of the debate. It might be tempted to amplify its terror impact by encouraging attacks in the West, having so far been regionally focused. So what the logic of Abbott’s public alarm is he making a public invitation to for ISIL to do more?
Abbott has achieved more headlines announcing a threat that, even if it materialises, will have a transient impact on the country compared with the Budget, Health ,Education and Pensions. Abbott and his cabinet aren’t stupid they know this and realise how problematic these issues are for them. It appears preferential for Abbott to avoid the serious internal issues and go down the path of raising a terror alarm despite the probability of radicalising more locals and inviting the further interest of ISIL.
Updated
The Federal Government is sending 600 Australian troops to the Middle East in preparation for military action against Islamic State (IS) militants in Iraq.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott said the United States had specifically requested Australia contribute to an international strike against the militants, who have captured large swathes of territory in Iraq and Syria.
Mr Abbott said around 200 troops would be sent to the United Arab Emirates shortly, including a Special Forces contingent “that could act as military advisers to the Iraqi armed forces or to the Peshmerga”.
They would be followed by around 400 Air Force personnel, up to eight super hornets, an early warning and control aircraft and an aerial refuelling aircraft.
Mr Abbott said Australia was “not deploying combat troops but contributing to international efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis from deepening”.
“Again I stress that this is essentially a humanitarian operation to protect millions of people in Iraq from the murderous rage of the ISIL movement,” he said, using an alternative name for IS.
“Again I stress that this movement is neither Islamic nor a state. It is a death cult reaching out to countries such as Australia.
“This is about taking prudent and proportionate action to protect our country and to protect the wider world against an unprecedented terrorist threat.”
Mr Abbott said Cabinet and the National Security Committee met earlier on Sunday to discuss the matter.
He said the action was part of an international coalition, “not simply something that is an American-Australian operation”.
“So far, there are a number of countries, western and Middle Eastern, that have indicated that they are prepared to contribute to military operations inside Iraq,” Mr Abbott said.
“The United States, the United Kingdom, France, Canada, Jordan, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Australia.”
Mr Abbott said “there are obviously further decisions to be taken” before Australian forces commit to combat action against IS militants.
“Should this extend into combat operations, it could go on for some time,” he said.
Dr Rodger Shanahan, a former Army officer who is now a non-resident fellow with the Lowy Institute, said it was hard to say how long the mission will last.
“We don’t know what the mission itself is, because it’s a precautionary deployment, but you would assume you wouldn’t deploy unless they assume they’re going to be used,” he told ABC News 24.
“We assume it’s going to be battling Islamic State. The question is how long is a piece of string? You assume this will last months at a minimum.”
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten was briefed prior to the announcement and backed the Government’s actions.
“We’re all in this together. The PM and I are partners in national security,” he said.
Greens Leader Christine Milne accused the Government of “blindly [following] the United States into another war in Iraq and Syria”.
“It’s really a shocking day for Australia that after ‘all the way with LBJ’ with the Vietnam war, after John Howard and George Bush, we now have Tony Abbott throwing in his lot with the United States and risking young Australian lives,” she said.
“Tony Abbott has made an open-ended commitment to support a new war in Iraq, no limitations on the number of people who may end up deployed, or indeed the timeframe on how long they might be there.
Defence correspondent Michael Brissenden told ABC News 24 it is an “open-ended” commitment.
The PM says that no decision yet has been made on actually deploying them from the base at UAE but clearly they’re being deployed there with the intent to do just that.
There will be no Australian troops’ boots on the ground as such.
Although SAS personnel will be involved in training Peshmerga and Iraqi forces and advising them and, in that sense, there’ll be boots on the ground, they won’t be involved in the combat.
The interesting thing about this though is that it is a very much an open-ended commitment.
The PM said it would be months rather than weeks. He says our contribution will … continue to be monitored continuously.
She said there was no doubt in her mind that “entering a Middle East war with the United States will be a rallying cry for jihadists to try and recruit young disaffected people against what they will propose as a western imperial drive into Iraq and Syria”.
But Dr Shanahan said that was unlikely to be the case.
“The people who are that way inclined have already decided that countries like the US, the UK and Australia are all part of some conspiracy that targets Muslims throughout the world, and so us providing armed forces as part of a coalition might reaffirm in their minds this notion that they already have,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s going to make it any more of a threat than it previously was.”
The Chief of the Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin, said the safety of troops would be foremost in his mind.
“What we’re talking about here is a highly complex operating environment in the Middle East and it continues to evolve,” he said.
“We now have a fairly substantial amount of work to do in planning to undertake this deployment and that will include very careful mission planning, force preparation and importantly force protection measures for our force.”
Australia has previously delivered weapons to outgunned Kurdish forces and dropped humanitarian aid to communities under siege from IS.
Mr Abbott’s announcement came after IS released a video purporting to show the beheading of captured British aid worker David Haines.
The footage, described by British prime minister David Cameron as “pure evil”, followed the same pattern as videos of showing the murder of American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff.
Mr Abbott said he reacted to the video with “shock, horror, outrage, fury”, adding that it strengthened his resolve to defeat IS.
He said IS militants were responsible for “cruelty on an extraordinary scale”.
“We’ve seen beheadings, crucifixions, we’ve seen mass executions, we’ve seen hundreds of thousands of people driven from their homes, we’ve had women forced into sexual slavery, we’ve had the deaths of very young children, we’ve had tens of thousands of people besieged on Mount Sinjar,” Mr Abbott said.
“What we have seen is an exaltation in atrocity unparalleled since the Middle Ages. All I know is that decent people everywhere regardless of their religion, regardless of their culture, should unite against it.”
Mr Abbott will visit New York on September 24 and 25 to participate in the high-level UN Security Council meeting which is to be convened by US president Barack Obama.
Last week, in a speech broadcast live to the nation, Mr Obama said he would not send US combat troops to fight IS, and that the US would act in concert with a broad coalition including Western allies and Arab states.
“Our objective is clear: we will degrade and ultimately destroy ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counter-terrorism strategy,” the president said.
Mr Obama outlined a four-pronged strategy which included expanded air strikes and sending another 475 troops to train local forc
He was a funded recruiter ?????
Where was our alternative recruitment drive Mr Abbott ?
ASIO is just a suppository for your intelligence!!
Policing with a heavy club is Neanderthall $650 Mill will take rights from all of us.
HAS ABBOTT A MANDATE TO CREATE AN ORWELLIAN WORLD?
16 and 17 year old Feiz & Abdullah secretly ran away from home last June to join the fight in Syria and Iraq. Feiz has returned home. Their parents did not know where they were. When they left they told them they were off to go fishing. It’s anybody’s guess where Abdullah is, Iraq most likely. A spokes-person for the Department of the Attorney General said all 60 should come home
“there are safer and more legal ways of helping the people affected by these conflicts than travelling overseas to fight”
Wow this is a significantly different sound bite coming from a government department than we have heard recently. Are these really the words of the Attorney Generals Department?Is this really policy? Expanded and driven by a community of Muslim parents you just might have a competing and alternative recruitment agency that supports these young idealists. Yes idealists not radicals they want to accomplish some good. They needed a good reason to stay here and help not just join your ‘death cult’. However you and ASIO had nothing to offer.
What could they do here to help? The war in Syria has been going 2-3 years in Iraq longer. ASIO has been fully aware of this. They know that revolution against repression always attracts young idealists wanting to help and not old people. Where were our intelligence advisers? What have they been doing trying to stop these young people seaching for meaning? If there was genuine help as the spokes -person was alluding to. Those boys and others like them would still be here and not over there. Is Abbott recruiting young Muslim boys to work in is Humanitarian Aid Drops.Probably not.
Instead the PM and all the voices behind him merely talk of increased surveillance and policing and stopping them. It’s a wonder he hasn’t put them all in detention camps as is his want with asylum seekers.
Please tell us who the above spokes-person is!! Put them in charge with a far smaller budget than the $650mill and most of the 60 Australians over there now would probably still be here helping in other ways instead of on their unwise boys own adventure. What is Abbott doing to help on the ground here? What is he doing in recruiting help from the community most affected? Nothing!!!!!!.
“Then he said with a look of concern that we had to raise our level of public alert because of David Irvine …Brilliant!!!”
“There are people with the intent and the capability to mount attacks,” he said. So what is new about that? We have always known that. You only have to go back and have a look at some of the news broadcasts of 2001 and 2002 to see that. There is no logic for this public alert.
So if we look at the man and where it’s coming from the Prime Minister Tony Abbott.It smacks of political skulduggery. Our existing security organisations engaged in fighting terrorism are highly trained, well equipped and properly briefed. They have had over a decade to train and prepare. They are the ones who will maintain a vigilant presence and foil a terrorist plot, not you or I. They don’t need a nervous public overreacting, spreading fear and uncertainty, peering curiously at Muslim women dressed in the hijab; people who are simply going about their normal business.
As a cynic I believe it’s a dumb plan by a political party and its leader to strike fear into the heart of the Australian community. However not all of us are it’s a cruel plan the kind of plan a student political bully might go for if his ranking in the polls was lagging
The terror threat level has just been raised in Australia from medium to high — but Bob Ellis isn’t buying it.
It’s interesting what the Liberals think is a popular thing to do. Spending a billion looking forever, fruitlessly, for bits of a downed plane. Spending a hundred million looking for bits of bodies on a downed plane and ‘bringing them home’. Inviting Protestants, Buddhists, Jews and Muslims into a Catholic cathedral to speak before a crucified Christ. Going to war, again, in Iraq if the guys who lost the last two Iraq Wars ask them to. And, lately, a Terrorist Red Alert.
There may be ‘inconvenience’ at football finals, we hear, and airports, as if the ‘terrorists’ would go anywhere near such places. The last terrorist outrage at a sporting event was the kidnap and murder of some Israeli weightlifters at the 1972 Olympics, which set back Arafat’s PLO by fifty years, and no-one has done any such thing since then; you don’t kill sporting heroes, you don’t do that. The last terrorist incident on a plane was the Underpants Bomber, and full-body imaging makes it hard for that cock-up to be repeated.
What ‘terrorists’ often attack is suburban trains (London, Madrid, Tokyo), and they do it for the obvious reason that they can bring suitcases, backpacks, shopping bags on to them, can leave them on shelves or under seats and detonate them remotely.
Curiously, this particular Red Alert makes no mention of this. It’s in part because it’s impossible to police. If random electronic searches hold up four trains each morning and nothing is found, and five school buses, the Government falls.
If the government is serious, they must do random searches on every opening night a politician goes to — the Wharf Revue, The King And I, the Bob Dylan concert. They must upend, disrupt and inconvenience every political party conference. Labor’s conference in Sydney Town Hall, which had a pro-Gaza demonstration next door, could be entered by anyone, and observed from the gallery upstairs. Carr, Shorten, Plibersek were at it, Clare, Rees, Firth, Robbo, Albo, Faulkner, any one of whom could have been seized at gunpoint and beheaded on Facebook. So could a similar cast at Neville Wran’s funeral in the same crowded venue.
Abbott’s biking and Iron Man events must be discontinued, clearly. Joe Hockey’s visits to his Queensland farm must be overflown by vigilant thumping helicopters. Julie Bishop’s visits to Geneva must be accompanied by armed motorcades.
Do we believe any of this? Well, no, we don’t. The reason is that the terrorists’ resources are limited, and the people they want to terrorise aren’t living here in Australia. People wanting to set up a Syria-Lebanon-Iraq-Egyptian caliphate are not going to bomb Newcastle Town Hall. They are not going to kidnap and behead Peter Hartcher. They are going to concentrate their efforts round Mosul, Baghdad, Samara.
The ‘terrorist virus’ theory the Liberals are trying on lately – that young men, infected in Syria by beasts who want to overthrow Assad, will come back here and blow up a cricket match – lacks what Poirot would call
“… a believable motive, ’Astings. What do they ’ave to gain by doeeng zat?”
They have a lot to lose — their lives, their intimacy of their young wives, the love of their children, the suburban contentment of their mothers, cousins, old grandfathers. Why would they do it? What lost homelands would they liberate in Strathfield, Logan, Collingwood? Why would they do it?
And why haven’t they done it already? Muslim Afghans have been here since 1830, Muslim Pakistanis, Indonesians, Somalians for twenty, twenty-five years. And the last terrorist attack on our soil was by Martin Bryant, an Anglo-Saxon, in 1996, and the one before that, the Hilton Bombing, in 1978, was contrived not by terrorists but ASIO.
Oh, similar things do happen here. Bikie gang wars, Underbelly assassinations, suburban ‘incidents’ where the crazed fathers of kidnapped children shoot it out with the police. But nothing of the kind we know as ‘terrorist’ – the Bali bombing, the Tube train massacre – on our soil since the Battle of Broken Hill in 1916.
How much money will this nonsense cost us? Where’s it coming from? The shelved GP co-payment? What? And what evidence is there for alarm? None, evidently. Apart from two young men who are about to go to Syria to fight, as Obama advises, against ISIL.
Abbott, caught in a moral tangle as usual, says going to war with ISIL is a criminal offence if boys from Logan do it, but an heroic act if Diggers do it and it won’t endanger Australians at all — we won’t provoke the ‘terrorists’ by going to war with them.
And he won’t go to war unless the Americans tell him to — the Americans who got it so right last time, destroying six million lives, and causing ISIL while they were there. He’ll consult the Americans, but not the Australian people. And he’ll body-search Australians at football finals in case they’ve got atomic weapons up their clackers.
Dare we call this excessive? Deluded? Hyperbolic? Demented? Wasteful of, ho ho, the taxpayers’ money?
More Australians have died from backyard pool drownings in the last five years than ‘terrorism’ in the last hundred, on our soil. Fifty times as many from funnel-web spider bites. Twenty times as many, each day, from cigarettes. Four times as many, each week, from road accidents.
What you have to do in Big Scare politics is make the people believe you. Believe you, Tony Abbott. And one of the ways you do that is behaving as if you yourself believe it. And unless there are full-body searches of every foreigner at the Crown Casino, or The King And I, or the Melbourne Cup, or the corridors outside ICAC, no-one will believe you believe it.
Abbott says, ‘Carry on with your lives as usual’, and ‘Look, look, the terrorists might be strapped with bombs at the next Grand Final’ simultaneously.
What an oaf he is. What a creepy, Americanised, frantic fool.
What a Chicken Little-in-Chief.
The Sun Herald
Sunday December 13, 1992
ON August 29, 1976, police and customs agents, wearing paramilitary gear, swooped on an isolated hippie commune in thick scrub between Cairns and Cooktown.
The raid cost more than $50,000 and involved a helicopter, light aircraft and a Navy vessel.
The result was the arrest of 12 young people on drug and vagrancy charges.
But some police involved in the operation were later accused of taking part in an orgy of wanton destruction, which led to 25 charges, including arson, being laid against four officers.
The allegations opened a can of worms within the police force and thrust the then Queensland Premier, Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, into a slanging match with Church groups, civil libertarians, the State Opposition and even his own police commissioner.
The public began to wonder why such military-style planning, enormous expense and considerable State and Federal police manpower had gone into a small-time drug raid.
Queensland’s Federal Member for Leichhardt, John Gayler, who represented the Cedar Bay residents during the inquiry, claims hippies were arrested on”trumped-up” drug and vagrancy charges to cover up a blunder by Cairns police
Mr Gayler, breaking 16 years of silence, said the real target of the raid was a murderer who had escaped from Cairns watch house earlier that month.
Bernard Wilton, in his early 30s, was facing drug charges when he escaped from the lock-up through a hole in the roof.
A furore erupted within police circles when, hours later, Interpol revealed Wilton was also wanted for drug-related murders overseas.
“The police went ape when they found out they had an international murderer in their grasp – and let him escape,” Mr Gayler said.
“When police received information that Wilton was being looked after by hippies at Cedar Bay they planned the raid with Federal Police and the Navy.
“The raid had nothing to do with cannabis but the police were not going to admit their blunder.
“When they found Wilton wasn’t at the camp at all, they needed to justify such time, effort and expense.” Wilton, who was believed to have been involved in a drug-smuggling operation from Indonesia, is still wanted by Queensland police.
Former Queensland Chief Superintendent Don Becker said his investigations with Inspector Syd Atkinson into allegations of police arson and destruction of property at Cedar Bay led him to believe the raid was intended to snare drug smugglers.
“It’s possible the raid was solely intended to capture Wilton but, if so, it would make it one of the biggest fiascos I’ve ever heard of,” Mr Becker said.
“To try to capture one man – a very cunning criminal – from a helicopter is absurd. Whichever way you look at it, whether to capture Wilton or break a drug-smuggling ring, the entire operation was a fiasco.”
HIPPIES involved in the raid, and former Queensland Police Commissioner Ray Whitrod, who insisted on an inquiry into police conduct during the blitz, remember the bitter Cedar Bay affair with regret.
Former hippie Charles Gifford, who was a key witness at the Cedar Bay inquiry into police misconduct in 1977, describes the time as an “intense period of frustration and anger”.
Mr Whitrod, now living in South Australia, was then fighting for police reforms and said he was sorry the controversy “didn’t do more to raise public awareness” of the extent of police corruption during the Sir Joh era.
At the Cedar Bay inquiry, police were accused of burning huts, smashing personal belongings, destroying clothing, chopping down fruit plantations and, ironically, consuming alcohol at the site following the drug raid.
Police, in their defence, tendered evidence of squalid living conditions and described the commune’s inhabitants as “filthy, criminal hippies”.
They maintained they had done the right thing because it was “in the public interest” to burn the settlement to the ground.
Mr Gifford, however, believes the anarchic streak police displayed during the raid was fuelled by an “intense fear of people who chose to adopt an alternative lifestyle”.
He now lives with his family at Bloomfield, 10km south of Cedar Bay, and says his occasional visits to the site spark bitter feelings over the incident, the inquiry into police conduct, and the acquittal of the four police officers who faced arson charges.
“We were just harmless people living the way we wanted to,” he said.
“The raid started with a helicopter buzzing our camp, then came a troop of about 20 guys wearing paramilitary gear jogging up the beach, taking cover, then jogging up again.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes; it was just so weird. I dashed into the bush, hid, and watched.”
Mr Gifford said police trashed the camp, shot coconuts out of trees with their service revolvers and ripped out fruit and vegetable plots.
He said the most frustrating aspect, as a witness at the inquiry, was”knowing what really happened but not being able to do anything about it”.
“The police had done a great injustice and we just watched in amazement as they got away with everything,” he said.
“The stories and lies they told about us during that trial were absolute rubbish; they made it up as they went along, and they got away with it. I keep in touch with people who were involved with the raid and I think they feel pretty much the same way.”
Mr Gifford said he was living at Cedar Bay with friends in a “bush camp”arrangement at the time.
He said there “may have been a bit of smoke” (marijuana) at the camp but he had never envisaged a full-scale drug raid involving the armed forces.
“It’s pretty scary when people become so angry and resentful of others who choose to live differently. Perhaps they see it as a threat to their own way of life,” he said.
Mr Whitrod, 78, said the Cedar Bay episode was one of the most traumatic experiences of his life.
He said a great source of his angst lay in his terse relationship with the Premier, Sir Joh.
“My relationship with Joh at the time was severely strained because he felt he was acting as a perfectly reasonable person who was doing the right thing. I disagreed,” Mr Whitrod said.
“I insisted on an inquiry into the affair because I felt that police had acted improperly in destroying dwellings.
“I knew there had to be something more to the Cedar Bay business than just a drug raid but at the time I was in the dark about it.
“To my utter frustration, all police who were charged were acquitted – but then it was very difficult to get a conviction against a policeman in those days.”
Mr Whitrod said he believed Sir Joh “wasn’t acting in the best interests of Queensland” when he tried to stifle the inquiry.
“But he (Sir Joh) steadfastly believed he was acting in the best interests of the public and probably still does,” Mr Whitrod said.
“The potential for an incident like that to happen again in Queensland is certainly there. It will be only a matter of time before history repeats itself.”
More police at airports to slow things up Our airports will look and feel like Heathrow it will insure anger levels do rise. If anybody complains they won’t just be warned they will be taken aside and prevented from flying simply because your quick tongue offended security. Industries like jewellery will find onboard luggage will be banned and therefore lose what ever insurance cover they have. As to be insured their merchandise must travel with them at all times. If that’s not bad enough what about our education industry. Students from Indonesia, India,Malaysia & China will be checked coming and going more so than even Australian citizens. They already pay more than anywhere else for a fifth rate degree. The increased training drills alone of the AFP increase the chances of plastic explosive being left behind or gone missing. The prevention of people going on and coming on holiday will increase just because some over excited security . Abbott will blame the economic consequences of this change on his imaginary increased terror. Who is going to want to go to the MCG or any major event.
However there is a plus for Christopher Pyne an increased presence of police and security for politicians visiting university campuses. Student leaders can be apprehended before any visit why to diminish the possibility of lone Wolf terror. Student meetings will now be even more closely monitored. Topics up for discussion & lecture topics carefully watched. Waleed Aly and his wife dismissed on National Security grounds. and Andrew Bolt will smile.
The social media and campaigns like March against the government can be conveniently silenced as a possible vehicles for the internal radicalization of Australia. Lone Wolf radicals can be found anywhere, previously regarded as criminals not part of any terror group but now they can be redefined as terrorists. This government can use this argument for any nefarious means and will get ASIO support why? Increase any government department’s budget for any reason it’s in the nature of the beast to substantiate the reason for the increase. There’s little or no reason you will find any department to justify it’s budget reduction . The next government would have some difficulty in doing so as well . Besides Bill Shorten playing politics seems advised to support Abbott in this. They are brothers in arms on security. Obviously the polls are telling him scare mongering is good.
If all of this extra surveillance does not happen none needs to ask why?Why was this announced so publicly in the first place? Why is the normal goings on in daily life been called on to be treated as suspicious what was once thought of as single acts of crime being raised to an acts of terror. School burnings, phone threats, union action can all now be redefined. Join ASIO’s newly formed dad’s secret police, put your sunnies on and go dob in a neighbour.
The stronger terror assessment scenario painted by ASIO seems rather odd. Irvine chose to speculate publicly about the threat alert needing to be raised to the second-highest level, ostensibly however before giving any formal advice to the government.
Based on ongoing assessments, either a threat is likely to occur or it is not. If so, why the delay in advising the government? If not, why prematurely raise a “worst-case” scenario? Citizens remain stuck in terror limbo.
All the National Security precautions in the US didn’t stop 9/11 or the Boston marathon. Any incidents that have been interrupted in the US were by accident and an alert public. Australia has just experienced a near miss not at the hands of terrorists but at the hands of the AFP creating a dangerous moment during a drill at an airport. How would Abbott have explained that away?
Further, this drip-feed of vague warnings is being packaged by policymakers with a hyper-legislative insistence on introducing another round of “tough” terror laws. While some measures appear justifiable – such as up-to-date powers to suspend passports – many others do not. Some proposals remain decidedly inconsistent with past recommendations by watchdogs like the Independent National Security Legislation Monitor. We seem to be stuck on a rinse-and-repeat cycle to keep terrorising ourselves. The more immediate hazard is pointless overreaction and political exploitation of public fears. The build-up of these kind of tensions have had a track-record of leading into knee-jerk and totally counter-productive policy initiatives – like the unnecessary Iraq invasion of 2003. That had no clear national security benefit and contributed to much of this latest mess.
This type of “alert and alarm” scenario tends to lead in a couple of directions: it either creates wider public paranoia or greater public scepticism. Neither is particularly helpful for an effective, sustainable and clear-eyed counter-terrorism strategy.
In short, IS is a nasty piece of work, but it is not a global game-changer The instinct to “do something” and heroic calls to strong vigilant action might be good politics. However, such heavy-handedness is a careless and unhealthy national security stratagem. The good news is that the threat of foreign fighters is both manageable and marginal.Another bottom line is that these Australian foreign fighters do not represent the wider Islamic community – IS is keen to kill all Muslims who they deem to be “infidels”. (This makes many calls for “community” solutions by the overwhelming moderate Muslim majority in Australia overly simplistic and stupid. This is not a clash of civilisations as Andrew Bolt would have us believe. Australian citizens still have more chance of being killed by bee stings or car crashes than by a rare, albeit conceivable, home-grown terrorist attack.
Interestingly, former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger recently warned that traditional state-based threats remain a much more serious and long-term security headache.
” I consider Iran a bigger problem than ISIS. ISIS is a group of adventurers with a very aggressive ideology. But they have to conquer more and more territory before they can became a strategic, permanent reality.”
We are being scammed by Abbott who has quid pro quo arrangement with ASIO the AFP and security forces who will gain extra funding. Abbott get’s press to attack his negative standing in the polls.
We are being scammed at the expense of the Australian Muslim community and the increased possibility of further radicalization.
The first. ‘’Why Does Abbott Lie’’
‘’Everyone knows that our Prime Minister is a liar. He might even be the worst amongst the world leaders. He is certainly the worst this nation has ever seen. Many of our most respected journalists and media commentators have said so. He has even admitted he is a liar himself. The evidence is so abundant, so overwhelmingly copious that it is beyond contradiction. It is fair to say that in general the populace accepts his lying as a fact. I and many others have listed them, quoted them, itemised, analysed them and exposed them in crystal clarity. Even members of his own party have accepted that he is a liar of nefarious intent. And his sheer indifference to the fact that he lies together with his lack of conscience about it I find sickening. The list is as long as a toilet roll. Only people like Jones and Bolt seek to convince people otherwise.’’
“When it comes to controlling human beings there is no better instrument than lies. Because, you see, humans live by beliefs. And beliefs can be manipulated. The power to manipulate beliefs is the only thing that counts”.
― Michael Ende. The Never-ending Story
“If you tell a big enough lie and tell it frequently enough, it will be believed”.
Joseph Goebbels said it. Adolf Hitler re phrased it.
“When you tell a lie you deny the other person’s right to the truth”.Truth in politics matters. It is not a trivial matter in a democracy. Our whole system is based on the assumption that truth prevails over all else and that it is the people who judge its veracity. Without truth the people cannot give informed accent to office and democracy fails. There are ethical obligations of integrity and coherence upon which society depends. Our Prime Minister has failed the highest standards of political morality.
At this time in our history we are experiencing a toxic tide of political mistrust. No other politician has contributed to it more than Tony Abbott. Is he the most dishonest, the most cynical and pathologically perverted liar to ever lead our nation? I will leave you to ponder the question:
John Lord
USA & Australia sit on the UN Security Council and have no mandate to take action in Syrian Territory. The UN is committed to assisting the Syrian government. So Australia is about to commit an illegal raid in Syrian sovereign territory. Doesn’t that give Putin a green flag to do what it wants in the Ukraine? Isn’t Australia complicit in terrorist action? While Abbott proudly swans on the international stage as a member of UNSC and wants to be a member on the UNHRC he has no regard for the united Nations whatsoever. Will Tony Abbott start WW3
Washington and its Western allies have supported the insurgency against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and have ruled out cooperating with him to fight Islamic State, which seeks to create a cross-border caliphate.
However any foreign intervention in Syria would be an act of aggression unless it is approved by Damascus, a Syrian government minister said on Thursday, after the United States said it was prepared to strike against Islamic State militants in the country.”There must be cooperation with Syria and coordination with Syria and there must be a Syrian approval of any action whether it is military or not.”
Syria’s Western-backed National Coalition opposition has said it is ready to work with the United States against Islamic State, saying it had long called action and had repeatedly warned about the threat of radical Islamists.
Speaking in Damascus after meeting with Assad and other senior Syrian officials, U.N.-appointed mediator Mistura said it was important for the international community to tackle radical militant groups in Syria.
“The terrorist threat has become an international concern shared by everyone,” he told a news conference, adding that the international community was getting closer to taking action.
He said he had a “very long and useful meeting” with Assad, but declined to give details, saying only that the United Nations would work with Syria to help tackle the violence, provide humanitarian aid and work on a solution to the crisis.
“Syrians, wherever they are, and the government should be helped by the United Nations and the international community to find a Syrian-owned all-inclusive, positive, political process,” he said. However President Barack Obama “has emphasized repeatedly that Assad had lost all legitimacy and must go, but the President has also been clear and his first priority is the safety of the American people.
Syria has said it is willing to work with Mistura and has called on him to be fair and respect the wishes of the Syrian people.
Hyper alert wouldn’t have helped a single person in the world trade centre, or the sari club, being constantly on guard hasn’t been an effective defence in places where terrorism occurs frequently. When it has been thwarted it’s generally by normal people who just happened to notice something odd, and responded appropriately. Isn’t this something that the vast majority of us would do automatically, regardless of the government rated “threat level”?
So what is the point of all this talk such rhetoric seems to have is increasing the level of racism directed toward people of middle eastern descent. Statistically speaking we are far more likely to die crossing the road or in bed than a local terrorist.
So why is the Abbott government so intent on ramping up our levels of ambient anxiety? When it has been proven that ramping up the threat levels will not prevent anything? It does however seem to effect the governments standing in the polls. When Tony bangs on about terrorist threats his poll ratings go up. When we turn our attention back to the budget and the broader economy his poll ratings go down. Thank god for ISIS, middle eastern dual nationals, airport security upgrades, ASIO terror alerts, and Murdoch’s unwavering commitment to keeping them in the forefront of the news!
While Abbott and Murdoch seem to revel in their ability to keep us anxious, the fact remains Australia is an extraordinarily safe country. It’s stupid to deny we wont ever have an attack on domestic soil, but I am saying it is a fools errand to be working ourselves into a permanent paranoid lather, or aligning ourselves with some mythical, quasi racist “team Australia” in order to prevent such an attack from happening.
FEAR WILL STOP US ENJOYING OUR LIVES the only perceptible upside is Tony’s position in the polls?
TERMINAL TONY the TSUNAMI OF CUTS AND UNEMPLOYMENT
KAMIKAZEE TONY KILLS ECONOMY
BOTCHED BUDGET
HOCKEY HOSES DOWN A GROWING ECONOMY TO ZERO GROWTH
AUSTERITY ABBOTT AND AN AUSTRALIA RECESSION
PYNE POXES EDUCATION IN AUSTRALIA
BISHOP BENDS TO DJAKARTA
BRON BISHOP BITES BACK
MORRISON MAKES APOLOGY FOR DETENTION DEATHS IN CUSTODY
Putin has reminded the world Russia is a nuclear power. Pic: AP. Source: AP
GOING nuclear. It’s the last taboo in an age of hi-tech military equipment, where a single warhead can destroy an entire city, kill millions of people and impact generations for years to come.
Nuclear weapons have only been deployed twice in the world’s history — in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 — in a moment that saw leaders collectively vow to never use them again.
However this week, the terrifying prospect has reared it’s ugly head after Russian President Vladimir Putin told pro-Kremlin youth the world shouldn’t “mess” with Russia.
“I want to remind you that Russia is one of the leading nuclear powers,” he reportedly told a group of youngsters near a lake outside Moscow.
MORE: Putin talks nuclear power as he tells the West to back off
It comes after weeks of aggressive actions against Ukraine, which Western leaders are taking seriously. After imposing strict sanctions, members of the international military alliance NATO will amass a “spearhead” force of 4000 troops that can be rapidly deployed to the region.
So who really has what in terms of a nuclear arsenal?
Sources: Nuclear Threat Initiative, Federation of American Scientists, Arms Control Association. Graphic: Ron Erdos. Source: Supplied
GLOBALLY: It’s estimated there are about 22,000 nuclear weapons in the world today according to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. However it’s a number that is virtually impossible to verify as estimates are based on self-reporting and most countries cloak their nuclear programs in intense secrecy. It’s also made even more complicated by the fact that some weapons are due to be dismantled and not considered in active use.
It’s estimated North Korea has 6-10 nukes in their arsenal. Source: AFP
The Federation of American Scientists puts the total number closer to 16,300, with the US and Russia containing 93 per cent of the global stock. They estimate about 10,000 weapons are in nuclear arsenals with others retired and waiting to be dismantled. Around 4000 are available with 1800 on high alert ready for use at short notice, according to the organisation.
Five countries are officially recognised as having the weapons under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) including China, Russia, France, the UK and US. Here’s a breakdown of exactly who has what.
UNITED STATES: The US is the only country that has used nuclear weapons in the past — against Japan in 1945. Its nuclear arsenal peaked in 1967 at 31,255 warheads although this has since been reduced to 4804 warheads according to latest government disclosures in September 2013, reported by the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI), a non-profit organisation concerned with reducing the spread of weapons.
However it also has “several thousand” that have not been dismantled and about 200 weapons stored in Belgium, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Turkey.
Obama has committed to reducing the number of nuclear warheads to zero. Pic: AP. Source: AP
RUSSIA: There is “considerable uncertainty” surrounding the sites of Russia’s nuclear weapons according to the Federation of American Scientists. However NTI estimates Russia has 1512 strategic warheads ready to be deployed with a total number between 8500 and 10,000 warheads and another 3000 waiting to be dismantled.
CHINA: China is also seriously secretive about its nuclear weapons, even using underground storage facilities to conceal equipment. It’s estimated the country has 250 warheads in 12 locations, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
FRANCE: France has 290 nuclear warheads, which are thought to be stored in six locations around the country.
Russia is estimated to have the largest global stockpile of weapons. Source: AP
UNITED KINGDOM: The UK has fewer than 225 nuclear warheads, all of which can be launched by sea. It’s part of the NPT and is committed to scaling back its nuclear program.
INDIA: India regards its weapons as a crucial part of strategic defence and is not party to the NPT. It’s estimated to have between 90 and 110 warheads.
PAKISTAN: Is also outside the NPT and has 100-120 nuclear warheads. It has agreed to provide India with advance notice of tests.
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests and is thought to have up to 10 nuclear bombs. Pic: AFP. Source: AFP
ISRAEL: Israel is committed to a policy of “opacity” when it comes to nuclear weapons and has never admitted to having them, but is widely believed to have between 100-200 nuclear warheads.
NORTH KOREA: It’s not known for sure how many nuclear weapons North Korea has but the country has conducted three explosive tests and is thought to have enough enriched uranium for 6-10 weapons.
A demonstrator protests nuclear weapons ahead of the upcoming NATO summit in Wales. Pic: AFP. Source: AFP
IRAN: Has an advanced nuclear program, which it says is peaceful. However failure to report certain parts of it to the International Atomic Energy Agency has led to fears it is covertly developing nuclear weapons and the UN Security Council has passed resolutions demanding the country stop enriching uranium immediately.
SYRIA: No confirmed weapons but has reportedly received assistance from Russia, China and Iran to develop a weapons of mass destruction program.
Overwhelmingly they are negative. Only Rupert Murdoch’s paid liars and Michelle Grattan have a kind word, it seems. Catalogue of failures: broken promises, outright lies, excruciating gaffes, internal policy disputes, damaged relations with regional neighbours, inability to frame a fair budget, shifting wealth and income from the poor to the rich, climate vandalism, posturing in distant conflicts and inept attempts at jingoistic nationalism.
Let’s not be too cynical the Government has certainly stopped news of the boats and has ended reports of drownings. Some have hailed Abbott’s diplomatic ‘victories’ abroad. True, these generate positive press at home. But overseas?
More than 35 issues in the last year have generated news stories abroad ridiculing Abbott and Australia. Examples include:
Far more scathing assessments have appeared in other languages elsewhere. This journal has linked to about 65 media reports in more than 30 countries scoffing at Australia in recent months.
Surely it was obvious that Abbott in Opposition was dispensing slogans, negativism, half-truths and blatant untruths, but had no actual plan for government. This was openly admitted in June, when Abbott announced he would start looking at reforms to the tax system, with a white paper due at the end of 2015. He is attempting to run a government by media. Murdoch Media and that’s the lazy way which has come back to bite him.
The Abbott government has achieved only chaos in its first year
Unemployment, now at a 12-year high, is rising. The budget is blowing out. The “infrastructure prime minister” has built nothing. The outlook for the government is bleak, because the Opposition and crossbenchers have no incentive to start co-operating, especially on unpopular budget items. Beyond the budget, it’s unclear whether the government has a legislative agenda of any kind. Perhaps this explains recent efforts to reposition Abbott as an international statesman, in charge of keeping Islamic terrorism, Russian tyranny and Scottish independence at bay. He needs to be above the fray, because domestically his troops are stuck in the trenches, and they’re starting to turn on one another. They must be relieved the Opposition is showing no stomach for a fight.
How do you rate Tony Abbott’s first year as Prime Minister?
| Overall bad | 65% | |
| Overall good | 34% | |
| Somewhere in the middle | 1% | |
| Undecided | 0% |
24476 votes counted
‘’Everyone knows that our Prime Minister is a liar. He might even be the worst amongst the world leaders. He is certainly the worst this nation has ever seen. Many of our most respected journalists and media commentators have said so. He has even admitted he is a liar himself. The evidence is so abundant, so overwhelmingly copious that it is beyond contradiction. It is fair to say that in general the populace accepts his lying as a fact. I and many others have listed them, quoted them, itemised, analysed them and exposed them in crystal clarity. Even members of his own party have accepted that he is a liar of nefarious intent. And his sheer indifference to the fact that he lies together with his lack of conscience about it I find sickening. The list is as long as a toilet roll. Only people like Jones and Bolt seek to convince people otherwise.’’
One has to understand
Abbott leads a men’s club who can be divided into four groups: the religious right; the corporatist deal-makers; those who resemble the American Tea Party; and the technological luddites who deny science. They are a ministry of aging men with little practical work life experience and obscure views often deep-seated in neoconservative principles. Conservative men who can speak at will about what they oppose but have difficulty articulating what it is they believe in, or when they do it is clouded in the hue of feral, often hysterical, extremist privileged morality.
Prime ministerial lies, about-faces and broken promises are as follows:
Tony Abb0tt 32 so far and it’s his first year
Gough Whitlam: 7
Malcolm Fraser: 52
Bob Hawke: 4
Paul Keating: 3
John Howard: 41
Tony Abbott (as minister): 17
Kevin Rudd: 4
Julia Gillard: 6
The list.
1. Does not spend his first week as Prime Minister with an Aboriginal community – 14 September 2013. This promise was made in front of indigenous elders and participants at the Garma Festival on 10 August 2013, this is a live recording.
2. Fails to “stop the boats” – 23 September 2013. This promise was repeated so many times I can’t count. Here’s Abbott’s 2013 campaign launch speech.
3. Breaks his promise to support Gonski – 25 November 2013 and 13 May 2014. Fails to commit to future funding or to require States to match the Commonwealth funding commitment. See paragraph two from Christopher Pyne on 29 August 2013
4. Breaks its NBN election promise of giving all Australians access to 25 megabits per second download speeds by 2016 – 12 December 2013 This was the Coalition’s policy they took to the election first announced 9 April 2013.
5. Breaks his election promise of no cuts to education by cutting funding for trade training centres in schools on 17 December 2013. He made this promise at the National Press Club on 2 September 2013 and in writing on 5 September 2013 as part of their policy commitments.
6. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health. He made this promise at the National Press Club on 2 September 2013 and in writing on 5 September 2013 as part of their policy commitments. This promise was first broken on 27 November 2013 when they cut funding to the Alcohol and Other Drugs Council
7. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health on 17 December 2013 when they cut $150 million from hospitals and health services.
8. Fails to provide the promised customs vessel to monitor whaling operations in the Southern Ocean – 23 December 2013 Promise made by Greg Hunt –
9 April 20139. Breaks a promise to provide fibre-to-the-premises for all Tasmanians for the National Broadband Network. This promise was confirmed my Malcolm Turnbull on 17 August 2013 and confirmed as broken by the NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski on 13 February 2014.
10. Breaks a promise to introduce the paid parental leave scheme he took to the election on 30 April 2014 by reducing the promised benefit for those earning above $100 000.
11. Breaks promise of “no cuts to the ABC or SBS” by cutting $43.5 million from the ABC and SBS.
12. Breaks a promise of “no new taxes” by introducing a deficit tax rise of two percentage points for people earning more than $180,000 a year.
13. Announced to sacking of 16,500 public sector workers as whole Departments are abolished despite promising only 12,000 job losses and through natural attrition.
14. Breaks a promise of “no new taxes” by introducing a fuel levy.
15. Reduction in foreign aid budget of $7.9 billion over five years despite promise to not exceed $4.5 billion and cut via indexation.
16. Increases the pension age to 70 from 2035 after promising no changes to pensions
17. Cuts to old age pension by indexing to CPI, while it was promised there would be no changes.
18. Scraps The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) which was set up to support new and emerging renewable technologies and in doing so breaks an election promise.
19. Tears up Federal Government’s agreement with states and territories to help fund increasing health costs despite promise of no cuts to health.
20. Breaks a promise to make no cuts to health with a $368 million cut from preventative health measures.
21. Reduces the Medicare benefit for optometry services and allows optometrists to charge more, despite promise to not cut health budget.
22. Axes the Charles Sturt University’s dental and oral health clinics, despite promise to not cut health budget.
23. Abolishes Medicare locals, despite promise to not cut health budget.
24. Breaks a promise to spend $2.55 billion Emissions Reduction Fund by committing less than half this amount in the budget.
25. Breaks a promise to have one million more solar roofs across Australia and at least solar towns.
26. Breaks a promise not to cuts funding to health by dramatically cutting hospital funding.
27. Breaks election promise and slashes funding to Landcare
28. Breaks promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy after revelations that two public servants in the Department of Industry have been made involuntarily redundant since September.
29. Breaks promise that no public servants will be forced into redundancy as it is revealed that at least 30 staff in Treasury will be made involuntarily redundant.
30. Breaks a promise not to grant permanent residency to people arriving by boat by granting a visa to a least one refugee
31. Breaks a promise to amend the race hate laws
olddogthoughts 
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