Australia’s domestic spy chief, Mike Burgess, has declared the weaponisation of national security is “not helpful to us” after extraordinary scenes in federal parliament where Scott Morrison labelled a senior Labor frontbencher a “Manchurian candidate”. With Morrison ramping up the partisan rhetoric about risks to Australia’s sovereignty, the Asio director general told the ABC on Wednesday night the risk of foreign interference was “equal opportunity”. These risks affected all members of parliament, he told the 7.30 program, “so it doesn’t go after one particular party or the other”. Asked whether…
Tag: Scott Morrison
Australian embassy in Ukraine evacuated amid fears of Russian invasion
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has ordered the evacuation of the Australian embassy in Kyiv, warning the situation in Ukraine has reached a dangerous stage. Australia’s foreign affairs minister, Marise Payne, says the government has directed the departure of embassy staff to a temporary office in Lviv, with the buildup of Russian troops on the border. “The situation is deteriorating and is reaching a very dangerous stage,” Morrison said on Sunday. “I want to send a very clear message on behalf of Australia … that the autocratic, unilateral actions of…
At the prospect of ending a decade of climate bollocks, the PM donned a dusty Abbott onesie and zipped up | Katharine Murphy
The Coalition has weaponised climate change at every election since Tony Abbott took the Liberal party leadership. Weaponising doesn’t have to involve lying, but when it comes to climate policy, there’s been truckloads of bullshit as well. Unsurprising, then, that Scott Morrison – in between the rebellion of Liberal moderates on Thursday morning and a damaging cabinet leak in the afternoon – returned to the climate policy fray during question time. Hello darkness, my old friend. Morrison was asked why he wouldn’t back Labor’s 43% medium-term emissions reduction target given…
Fresh leak reveals Scott Morrison rolled in cabinet over plan to win back renegade MPs
The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has been hit with a damaging cabinet leak revealing he was rolled over a plan to convince renegade MPs opposed to the government’s religious discrimination bill. After a torrid start to the parliamentary year, which saw Morrison’s character come under question after the leaking of a damaging text message, the prime minister has spent the week attempting to corral MPs into supporting the religious discrimination bill. In a story published late on Thursday, The Australian reported Morrison had been rolled in a cabinet meeting on…
Morrison speaks out against China’s ‘economic coercion’ at Davos
Scott Morrison has taken aim at China for “economic coercion”, foreign interference and cyber attacks in a speech to the Davos World Economic Forum. Without naming the source of “sharper geopolitical competition”, the Australian prime minister warned of increasing territorial disputes in the Indo-Pacific region and urged an end to protectionist measures directed at Australia. Australia has been the target of Chinese tariffs on key agricultural exports, such as barley and wheat, due to a long series of grievances including “interference in China’s Xinjiang, Hong Kong and Taiwan affairs” and…
Scott Morrison tells Cop26 Australia will exceed 2030 target in bid to fend off criticism
Scott Morrison has used his national statement at the Cop26 to emphasise that Australia will probably overachieve on its 2030 emissions reduction target in an effort to blunt international criticism about his government’s lack of climate ambition. While the lead-up to the Glasgow summit was dominated by Morrison’s negotiations with the National party to land a net zero commitment by 2050, the UN-led event is focused on ambition for the 2030s. Australia – part of a bloc of big emitters and exporters at last weekend’s G20 summit in Rome attempting…
Australia wants deeper energy ties to help Taiwan decarbonise, amid China tensions
The Australian government says it wants to help Taiwan decarbonise its economy, flagging this as the next area of cooperation with the democratically ruled island, amid ongoing tensions with China. The trade minister, Dan Tehan, said he saw “real opportunities” to deepen energy ties with Taiwan, while arguing there was bipartisan recognition in Australia of “the greater assertiveness that we’re seeing from China”. Tehan also confirmed he had been aware of the former prime minister Tony Abbott’s plan to travel to Taiwan prior to his departure, but reiterated that “all…