"I am not on holiday for this trip": VP Sara Duterte visit gets mixed reactions from the community
According to the Office of the Vice President, Sara Duterte arrived in Melbourne on Wednesday morning, June 18, 2025.
Vice President Sara Duterte provided an update on her father's condition, former President Rodrigo Duterte in The Hague, who is detained on charges of crimes against humanity related to his war on drugs campaign.
She addressed the 'Free Duterte Now' rally in Melbourne, calling for her father's release from detention in the Netherlands.
Filipinos expressed mixed reactions to Vice President Sara Duterte's arrival in Australia. SBS Filipino
23/06/2025 10:37
Vice President Sara Duterte addressed the 'Free Duterte Now' rally in Melbourne, joined by the some Filipinos, calling for her father's release from detention in the Netherlands.
The supporters came from different state and territories in Australia.
Meanwhile, some Filipinos in Melbourne opposed Vice President Sara Duterte's visit to Australia.
According to some groups, the visit appears to signal support for impunity and could sow division within the Filipino community in Australia. | Photo credit: BAYAN Australia 📢 Where to Catch SBS Filipino
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Penny Wong to meet Quad counterparts in Washington
Australia's chief diplomat will meet her Quad counterparts in Washington this week as the Trump administration looks to ramp up pressure on China. The Quad, made up of Australia, India, Japan and the US, is a partnership broadly seen as a check on China's economic and military might. Foreign Minister Penny Wong said the upcoming dialogue reflected the challenges facing the Indo Pacific. 'This will be the second Quad Foreign Ministers' Meeting within six months, reflecting the importance of our partnership and the strategic circumstances confronting our region and the world,' she said in a statement. 'I look forward to engaging with my Quad counterparts as we strengthen cooperation to ensure a peaceful, stable and prosperous Indo-Pacific.' Senator Wong also said she would 'meet separately with each of my counterparts … to progress bilateral cooperation'. The meeting comes as pressure mounts on the Albanese government to bolster Australia's alliance with the US. Nearly six months have passed since Donald Trump's inauguration and Anthony Albanese is yet to secure an in-person meeting with the US President. Australian producers have been slugged with tariffs on most exports to the US, including duties of up to 50 per cent on steel and aluminium, and doubts loom large about the Trump administration's commitment to AUKUS after it launched a snap review of the defence pact. The Albanese government has also refused to budge after Washington's call to hike defence spending to 3.5 per cent of GDP amid alarm over China's military build-up. In her statement, Senator Wong stressed the US 'is our closest ally and principal strategic partner'. 'Our alliance contributes to the peace, prosperity and stability of our countries and the region we share,' she said. 'We will continue to work together to further our important economic and security partnership and advance our mutual interests.' Former US president Joe Biden was last year caught on a hot mic telling his fellow Quad leaders that China was 'testing' them, giving a rare glimpse into the candid nature of talks between some of the region's key players. 'We believe (Chinese President) Xi Jinping is looking to focus on domestic economic challenges and minimise the turbulence in China's diplomatic relationships, and he's also looking to buy himself some diplomatic space, in my view, to aggressively pursue China's interest,' Mr Biden said. 'China continues to behave aggressively, testing us all across the region, and it's true in the South China Sea, the East China Sea, South China, South Asia and the Taiwan Straits. 'It's true across the scope of our relationship, including on economic and technology issues.' Mr Biden's bluntness was a stark contrast of how leaders of all Quad countries have tried to frame the strategic four-way dialogue, often deflecting suggestions that it exists to counter China. The hawkish approach to Beijing has been adopted by the Trump administration, with US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this month warning of an 'imminent' threat to the Indo Pacific. Mr Hegseth said China could invade Taiwan as early as 2027. Such a move would deal a major blow to global supply of semiconductors – crucial components in modern tech – and massively disrupt vital trade routes. 'Let me be clear, any attempt by Communist China to conquer Taiwan by force would result in devastating consequences for the Indo-Pacific and the world,' Mr Hegseth said. 'There's no reason to sugarcoat it. The threat China poses is real and it could be imminent. 'We hope not but certainly could be.' Meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles on the sidelines of the conference, he directly asked Australia to boost the defence budget to 3.5 per cent of GDP.
ABC News
an hour ago
- ABC News
Grattan Institute pitches blueprint to 'save' NDIS as foundational supports rollout stalls
A new report has recommended four policy changes to "save" the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), as federal and state governments continue to negotiate a funding deal for a new tier of services to be set up outside the scheme. That new system — called foundational supports — was agreed to in 2023 and initially slated to begin by July 2025, but those services are still a long way off and yet to be properly defined. The Grattan Institute's report, released on Sunday evening, posited that a "rebalancing" of current NDIS spending could help save tens of billions of dollars while also making sure more people outside the scheme could get support. The NDIS has been projected to cost $48 billion this financial year, before overtaking spending on defence by 2026-27 and reaching $63 billion by 2028-29. However, most Australians with disability are not supported by the scheme. The NDIS' 717,000 participants account for about 13 per cent of the estimated 5.5 million Australians with disability. The Grattan report has called for "firmer boundaries" clarifying who the NDIS was for, changes to how claims were managed to make outcomes more consistent, and a new National Disability Agreement to define the responsibilities of different levels of government. But the biggest saving would come from a "modest" redirection of funds from the pool of money set aside for individual plans, into a new tier of foundational supports specifically for kids with developmental delay and people with psychosocial disability. Overall, the thinktank estimated its blueprint could save $12 billion over 10 years and then a further $34 billion over the same period by not requiring new money to fund foundational supports. Do you have a story to share? Email Grattan senior fellow Alistair McEwin, a former disability discrimination commissioner, said the institute was in "no way" proposing anyone be kicked off the scheme unnecessarily. "What we're saying is that supports for some children with developmental delay and people with psychosocial disability can be provided more effectively, more quickly and more fairly in other state or territory-based schemes," he said. In a statement, NDIS Minister Mark Butler said the government would consider the report. "[This is a] really important piece of work focusing on securing the sustainability and original intent of the NDIS so it works for participants and their families," he said. Alongside foundational supports, the Albanese government has been making other changes to the NDIS in pursuit of the 8 per cent annual growth target it set two years ago. The scheme is now growing at around 10 per cent, down from more than 20 per cent when Labor was elected in 2022. Source: National Disability Insurance Agency This year's budget projections had the scheme on track to meet the 8 per cent target by 2026-27. However, they assumed foundational supports and the shifting of services back to the states (which ceased most disability services when the NDIS began) would have started by this financial year. Mr Butler said this week that funding negotiations with the states and territories were ongoing, and the Commonwealth was working to finalise them as soon as possible. Before the states sign up, they want the federal government to scrap its 6.5 per cent annual growth cap on hospital funding. One of the main drivers behind the NDIS's growth is the larger than expected numbers of kids — many of whom are autistic or have developmental delays — joining and then not leaving the scheme due to the lack of services elsewhere. Melbourne University associate professor Sue Olney, who has been researching the NDIS for more than a decade, said the scheme was never designed to support all people with disability. She said too many previous changes to the scheme's rules happened before alternative supports were put in place, and it was crucial that was not repeated going forward. Muriel Cummins of advocacy group Every Australian Counts said the disability community was diverse and what foundational supports eventually offered needed to reflect that. The NDIS has transformed the lives of its participants, enabling many to live more independently, gain employment, and give back to the economy through taxes. A 2021 report from thinktank Per Capita found that for every dollar spent on the scheme, $2.25 was returned to the economy.
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Greens candidate charged after being injured in protest
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas has been charged by police after she suffered graphic injuries during a pro-Palestine protest outside a Sydney business. Ms Thomas was photographed with a damaged left eye with streaks of dry blood caked onto her cheek in the wake of the protest outside SEC Plating in Belmore in Sydney's southwest on Friday. Protesters picketed the company because of reports it provides components in jets which is used by the Israeli Defence Force, the NSW Greens said in a statement. NSW Police attempted to disperse the group, stating the protest was not authorised, and issued a move-on order to 60 protesters. 'As police attempted to arrest the protesters who were not complying with the directions, a scuffle ensued between police and protesters,' NSW Police said in a statement. Police previously charged four people with a variety of offences. On Sunday Ms Thomas was issued by police with a future court attendance notice and charged with hinder/resist police and refuse/fail to comply with direction to disperse. She will appear in Bankstown Local Court on August 12. Ms Thomas challenged Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in the federal seat of Grayndler at the election earlier this year. A photo taken after the incident showed Ms Thomas standing next to an officer with visible swelling around her eye. Ms Thomas underwent surgery and remained in hospital on Sunday. The Greens said in a statement on Friday that NSW Police had 'violently attacked and assaulted protesters' at the 'peaceful picket … leaving one woman with serious facial injuries and arresting multiple demonstrators'. 'SEC Plating reportedly is involved in providing plating services for various parts used in F-35 jets,' the statement said. 'The State of Israel's fleet of around 40 F-35 rely on the global supply chain and supplement supply from countries like Australia to continue the genocide against the Palestinian people.' The Greens said Peter O'Brien Lawyers has been engaged to represent Ms Thomas and other protesters.
