Senate moves to discipline Mehreen Faruqi for anti-Israel protest
Greens Deputy Leader Mehreen Faruqi took part in an anti-Israel protest during the opening ceremony of the Senate.
It mirrors a call from the Greens for the government to impose tougher financial sanctions on Israel.

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Sky News AU
35 minutes ago
- Sky News AU
Drew Hutton ousting: Expulsion of Greens co-founder shows party is unashamedly at odds with men who raise concerns about biological realities and the trans agenda
The expulsion of co-founder Drew Hutton from the Greens is more than a warning shot to anyone in the party who thinks they can question gender ideology without consequence. It is bigger than trashing the legacy of a thoughtful 78-year-old who has dedicated his life to environmental causes. It is, I would argue, about every rational and reasonable man watching this circus and realising he could be next. Young decent Australian men, in particular, have been crucified over the past decade for the crime of being male, forced to routinely defend themselves from the toxic masculinity label. Now the Greens have declared war on men and they are not even hiding it. Men like Mr Hutton who built movements and stood for free speech are now rebranded as bigots and silenced as liabilities. And the male 'crime' is daring to raise concerns about biological reality and more broadly issues like parents' consent for puberty blockers and fairness in women's sport when females are being injured. Mr Hutton lost his life membership of the very party he helped build because he wouldn't toe the line on censoring alleged transphobic remarks made by other people on his Facebook page post from 2022. Exiled not for what he wrote but for 'failing' to censor what others wrote. This is not about discriminating against trans people either. In fact in those posts he said, amongst other things, that he of course supported their full human rights. But now in modern Australia, defending biological sex is seen as an act of hate. The new Greens believe you are what you say you are and if a man, especially an older one, dares to question that, he is dangerous. Yes, the irony here is suffocating. Mr Hutton said the party stymied open discussion about its transgender policy which declares that individuals have 'the right to their self-identified gender'. He called their beliefs 'a closed language, which they understand but nobody else does'. In an interview with ABC's 7.30 after his expulsion, Mr Hutton said: 'The main things they think are important are we get rid of the notion of biological sex and replace it with gender identity… 'What I disagree with vehemently is the way that anybody who actually voices any dissent with that policy and does so from a credible position, that there is such a thing as biological sex and there are two sexes, is forced out of the party.' That is correct. In this ideological revolution, men do not get a say. They effectively get told to shut up and go away. He also told Sky News host Chris Kenny that a 'transgender and queer cult' were at the wheel and driving the Greens off a cliff, effectively taking any environment-focussed party faithful with them. 'Their vision is one where particular identities prevail and the rights of those particular identities are far more important than any other issue that the party addresses,' Mr Hutton said. What was also very telling in this mess was the reluctance of Larissa Waters, the woman who replaced Adam Bandt as leader, to defend Mr Hutton. Ms Waters washed her hands of the whole episode except to say the result showed 'good governance' and claimed she had not read the documents that engineered her former party colleague's exile because she was busy preparing for Parliament with a focus on climate and tax. She added that any future decision about Mr Hutton's potential return to the party was 'not up to me'. In other words, defending him would mean challenging the mob. The Greens' purge of Mr Hutton sets a dangerously low bar of how Australian men are treated and ultimately silenced. The message to men is that your history, contributions and your view are null and void if you dare to question, even factually and politely, the new order. And that is not progress. Louise Roberts is a journalist and editor who has worked as a TV and radio commentator in Australia, the UK and the US. Louise is a winner of the Peter Ruehl Award for Outstanding Columnist in the NRMA Kennedy Awards for Excellence in Journalism and has been shortlisted in other awards for her opinion work.

Sky News AU
10 hours ago
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WA Liberals support motion to scrap Welcome to Country and exclude Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags
The Western Australian Liberal Party has backed a motion to reduce Welcome to Country ceremonies following a private meeting. The motion passed at the WA Liberal state council on Saturday also included excluding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags from appearing at press conferences involving the Prime Minister, ABC News has reported. A motion to scrap the net zero by 2050 target has also reportedly been passed by the party. ABC News understands the motions were passed with a significant show of support. The meeting comes amid a week that has seen the place of Acknowledgement of Country ceremonies within parliamentary proceedings heavily debated following a protest staged in the Senate. One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and all three other One Nation senators turned their backs during the ceremony on Tuesday at the opening of parliament. Ms Hanson, who has been vocal about her opposition to the ceremonies, has turned her back to the acknowledgment previously - but the rest of the party joining in made the incident one of the most significant protests of its kind to be staged in the chamber. Shadow Foreign Affairs Minister Michaelia Cash then took aim at Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong in the upper house on Thursday for having 'sought to dismiss" Indigenous Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price's stance on Welcome to Country. Ms Price said during the Senate session she was "sick to death" of Indigenous heritage being 'objectified" and used as a "political token". In response, Ms Wong then urged Ms Price to heed the words of Opposition Leader Sussan Ley, who is more supportive of Acknowledgement of Country ceremonies. The move by the Foreign Minister triggered a fiery speech by Ms Cash, which referred to Ms Price's past and upbringing.


SBS Australia
15 hours ago
- SBS Australia
Israel to allow foreign aid airdrops as Gaza starvation deaths reach 122
TRANSCRIPT Israel to allow foreign aid airdrops as Gaza starvation deaths rise to 122 At least six killed in gas explosion in southern Russia Dolphins take revamped squad with 10 debutantes to world championships in Singapore Israel has announced it will allow foreign countries to airdrop aid into Gaza, as the UN's World Food Programme says around one in three people in Gaza are without food. This comes as hospitals in Gaza record several more deaths from malnutrition, bringing the total number of people in Gaza who have died from starvation to 122. Israel has been restricting food, water and medical supplies into Gaza, claiming Hamas are looting supplies - despite a US report which found no proof of such actions. Dr Thienminh Dinh is Australian specialist emergency physician and Medical Activity Manager in Gaza for Médecins Sans Frontières, or Doctors Without Borders. She tells ABC's Breakfast program that Israel must allow an uninhibited flow of aid into Gaza immediately. "A few airdrops is not going to make a tangible difference. And what we feared a few months ago, we are starting to see. That people are literally dying because they do not have enough food. And let me be clear, when I say the aid blockade needs to be lifted, allowing a small amount of aid in so you can placate your allies is not the same thing as lifting the blockade." US President Donald Trump has responded to French President Emmanuel Macron's recent move in support of a Palestinian state, speaking to reporters as he arrived in Scotland. REPORTER: "What's your comment on...(Macron's plan to recognise Palestinian state?)" TRUMP: "Well, that's what he does. I mean, you know, that's fine. If he does that, that's up to him. It's not up to me. I'm with the United States. I'm not with France." Mr Macron made the announcement on Thursday in a post on X, saying it's urgent that the war in Gaza stops and the civilian population is saved. He added that he has decided France will recognise the state of Palestine, given its historic commitment to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East. The French president offered support for Israel after the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and frequently spoke out against antisemitism. But he has grown increasingly frustrated about Israel's war in Gaza, especially in recent months. Israel condemned France's decision, saying it rewards terror. At least six people have died in a gas explosion in an apartment block in the southern Russian city of Saratov. The civil defence authorities on Friday said at least one child is among the dead. Emergency services have rescued one person from the rubble of the building, with at least four people missing and at least 16 injured. The governor of the region, Roman Busargin, declared a regional state of emergency. Gas pipe explosions in residential buildings are a frequent occurrence in Russia, causing severe damage and casualties. Around 80 per cent of the country is preparing for a huge downpour of rain this weekend, as a monster rain band approaches from western Australia. Angus Hynes from the Bureau of Meteorology told Channel Nine the rain will stretch all the way from north Queensland down to Tasmania. But he says in most parts of the country there aren't serious concerns for flooding. "Parts of Central Queensland and also parts of Eastern and Northern Tasmania. We'll probably see those heaviest falls, and particularly down south in Tassie that could lead to some perhaps minor or even moderate riverine flooding. But other areas, I don't think the rain is going to cause too many issues, and in particular for those parts which have really missed out on rain, not just this year, but all of last year. That rain will be really, really welcome on those dry landscapes." Australia's swimming team are heading to the world championships in Singapore on Sunday, with a near-quarter of debutantes. Head coach Rohan Taylor says the Dolphins squad will face an immediate resilience test at the world titles. Proven performers and gold-medal winners including Kaylee McKeown, Kyle Chalmers, Cam McEvoy and Mollie O'Callaghan form a core of a team including 10 world championship rookies including 16-year-old breaststroker Sienna Toohey. The 10-strong coaching team under Swimming Australia's head coach Taylor has also been revamped after last year's Paris Olympics with five fresh faces.