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Labor's Veteran Affairs Minister Matt Keogh's 'strategically incoherent' naivety on the Middle East war is cause for concern
Labor's Veteran Affairs Minister Matt Keogh's 'strategically incoherent' naivety on the Middle East war is cause for concern

Sky News AU

time4 days ago

  • Politics
  • Sky News AU

Labor's Veteran Affairs Minister Matt Keogh's 'strategically incoherent' naivety on the Middle East war is cause for concern

Neville Shute's haunting Cold War parable On the Beach imagines Australia as the final, fading refuge from a nuclear apocalypse. 'The world will go on just the same,' says naval officer Peter Holmes, 'only we shan't be in it. I dare say it will get along all right without us.' The line captures a persistent illusion in Australian foreign policy: that we can remain untouched by conflicts beyond our shores. This delusion has become dangerously entrenched, reflected most recently in the Albanese government's hesitant response to war in the Middle East. On Wednesday, Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh provided the standard government response to a question on ABC Perth about potential involvement in the Middle East. "It's not our primary focus area," he replied. "We are very much focused on our region." Yet only two days earlier, a Qantas Boeing 787 from Perth to Paris was forced to turn back more than seven hours into its flight, prevented from reaching its destination by the closure of air space over the Gulf. The geographical reality for an open trading nation like ours is that Australia has had a stake in peace in the Middle East since 1869, when the opening of the Suez Canal reduced the journey to Europe by weeks. Australian troops fought and died in the Middle East in two world wars, not just out of imperial loyalty but because it was in our interests. Our trading links have diversified, and freight handling is more sophisticated. Yet, Dubai, Doha, and Abu Dhabi are the first or last ports of call for nearly 400,000 passengers a month arriving or departing from Australia. Last year, more than 100,000 tonnes of air freight came by that route. As Australians, we should understand better than most that the threat to aircraft flying 30,000 feet over a war zone is not merely theoretical. Malaysian Airlines flight MH 17 Is one of three commercial airliners confirmed to have been brought down by surface-to-air missiles. Among the 298 people who died when the plane came down over eastern Ukraine were 38 Australians. What is unfolding in the Middle East is not an isolated conflict - it is part of a broader confrontation between liberal democracies and revisionist regimes. Iran, through its proxies, joins Russia and China in challenging the rules-based order that underpins global security. Australia's security and prosperity depend on that order. We are a trading nation that relies on open sea lanes, established legal norms, and stable regions. The notion that we can "focus on our region" while ignoring wider threats is strategically incoherent. In short, trade routes, military engagements, and energy security irrevocably bind Australia to the region. Far from being a distant or irrelevant conflict zone, the Middle East is - and always has been - part of Australia's geopolitical backyard. The Middle Eastern diaspora in Australia provides a human link to countries across the region and a profound interest in maintaining their sovereignty. Add to that Australia's historic resistance to nuclear proliferation and naivety of the Albanese government's attempts to distance itself from events in the Middle East becomes screamingly clear. Australia was drawn irreversibly into the geopolitics of the Middle East and, more broadly, the global system that binds the liberal democratic world together. The idea that we can stand aside from today's conflicts - whether in Gaza, the Red Sea, or the broader confrontation between open societies and authoritarian powers - is not just naïve. It is dangerous. Yet there is more to Albanese's foreign policy error than cartographic illiteracy and topographical detachment. The insistence of the intellectual Left to view every conflict through a colonial lens has created uncertainty about which side to support. The framing of Israel as a Western colonising force is no longer a fringe position on the Left. The resale to acknowledge the Jewish people's ancient historical ties to the Middle East and brush aside the significance of international involvement in Israel's creation has become mainstream thinking in Labor. Counter-evidence is dismissed through the selective use of colonial framing. The October 7, 2023, atrocities have not tarnished Hamas' reputation as freedom fighters. Open calls for the destruction of Israel, a genocidal objective incompatible with any liberation narrative, are discounted or justified. The narrative ignores genuine colonial regimes like China in Tibet or Russia in Ukraine, where national cultures are actively suppressed. Nick Cater is a senior fellow at Menzies Research Centre and a regular contributor to Sky News Australia

Radio ratings: 6PR slumps as 96FM triumphs with midday listeners
Radio ratings: 6PR slumps as 96FM triumphs with midday listeners

West Australian

time17-06-2025

  • Entertainment
  • West Australian

Radio ratings: 6PR slumps as 96FM triumphs with midday listeners

Nine Radio's Perth station has been hit with a midday slump, with 6PR's morning and afternoon programming dropping listeners. New GFK radio ratings released on Tuesday for the March to May period show 6PR hosts Simon Beaumont and Oliver Peterson both lost 1.2 per cent in their ratings. Overall, the station's weekday audience dropped 0.9 per cent to 6.6 per cent, after a turbulent year, including losing 4.3 per cent of listeners aged 55 to 64 — a key demographic for the station, Both Beaumont and Peterson were shifted as part of a programming overhaul late last year, with Nine's east coast bosses dumping the afternoon's show, forcing the pair to cover the space. Peterson's ratings of 4.5 per cent are now lower than when Nine dumped former host Julie-anne Sprague's show. Once a Drive host from 3pm to 6pm, Peterson was relegated to a 1pm to 5pm shift — now missing out crucial listeners after 5pm. Instead, 6PR now runs sports talkback into the early evening. Across town, ABC Perth saw a rise of 0.6 per cent — lead by new Drive host Gary Adshead, who defected from 6PR late last year, who saw ratings grow to 5.7 per cent, up 1.2 per cent. It follows new ABC managing director Hugh Marks visiting the ABC Perth offices last week, telling staff of a renewed importance of traditional broadcast — such as radio and TV. On the FM dial, after reaching stratospheric highs last survey, Nova dropped 2.3 per cent as a station, while breakfast crew Nat Locke and Shaun McManus were hit with a 2.2 per cent drop, as speculation continues over the absence of the pair's partner Nathan Morris. 96FM maintained a solid midday audience between 9am and 4pm, winning a fifth of the Perth market.

City of Perth suspends e-scooters after a pedestrian was struck down and killed by a allegedly drunk rider
City of Perth suspends e-scooters after a pedestrian was struck down and killed by a allegedly drunk rider

West Australian

time05-06-2025

  • General
  • West Australian

City of Perth suspends e-scooters after a pedestrian was struck down and killed by a allegedly drunk rider

The City of Perth has suspended the hire of e-scooters after a pedestrian was knocked down and killed by an alleged drunk rider on Saturday night. Thanh Phan, 51, died from a brain bleed on Tuesday after he was struck from behind by an e-scooter at the intersection of Murray and King St about 8.40pm last Saturday. British backpacker Alicia Kemp, 24, was taken into custody at the scene. Police allege she was under the influence of alcohol with a 26-year-old passenger, before she hit Mr Phan. Her charges were upgraded to dangerous driving occasioning bodily harm and dangerous driving occasioning death after Mr Phan died. He is the first pedestrian to die in WA from an e-scooter incident. Following the tragic incident, the City of Perth suspended the hire of e-scooters from midday on Thursday. Deputy Lord Mayor Brian Reynolds told the ABC it was 'appropriate' for the council to suspend e-scooter rentals in response to the 'horrible' incident. 'This is a tragedy on all levels … our thoughts are with the family and other extended family and friends,' he said. 'Information is coming to hand in every moment but, in our first instance, our responsibility is to act responsible in a respectful manner.' Mr Reynolds said the City would make a final decision once they had collected all the information they could and looked at the data around the events that led to the tragedy. WA Premier Roger Cook also told ABC Perth it was an appropriate response from the City and while e-scooters were a great way to move around and enjoy communities, there had to be regulations in place. 'We know that e-scooters are a regular feature of major cities right around the world and a way that people move around the cities,' he said. 'We have to make sure that it's safe and I think the council is moving in an absolutely appropriate way.' According to the Australian Medical Association WA president Michael Page, at least one person with major injuries caused from e-scooters presented to the Royal Perth Hospital's trauma unit each day. He told ABC Radio there was enough evidence for councils to act and seriously consider similar e-scooter bans. 'It's serious issue, we've been warning about it for years,' he said. 'There is ample evidence for city councils to act on this and to act on it in a more definitive way.' On Tuesday, Mr Phan's family and friends issued a statement calling for more governance and regulations around hired e-scooters to prevent further serious incidents and lives risked. 'We received the heartbreaking news that Thanh passed away as a result of his injuries,' the statement read. 'On Saturday night, Thanh Phan – a beloved husband, father of two, brother, and dear friend – was struck by an electric scooter and critically injured. 'We also call for a review of the governance and safety regulations surrounding hired e-scooters to help prevent further serious incidents that put lives at risk.'

Australian news and politics live: Greens Leader Larissa Waters responds after Dorinda Cox joins Labor
Australian news and politics live: Greens Leader Larissa Waters responds after Dorinda Cox joins Labor

West Australian

time02-06-2025

  • Business
  • West Australian

Australian news and politics live: Greens Leader Larissa Waters responds after Dorinda Cox joins Labor

Scroll down for the latest news and updates. The Prime Minister has confirmed publicly he is seeking to meet with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the G7 meeting in Canada later this month. Canadian leader Mark Carney invited Anthony Albanese to attend the meeting of global leaders when they spoke shortly after the May 3 election. Mr Albanese confirmed on Tuesday the widely speculated meeting with Mr Trump was being organised to take place in Alberta rather than Washington.. 'That's what we hope to do there,' he told ABC Perth. He said his approach in dealing with Mr Trump was to be 'consistent and clear and unambiguous'. 'That is what I've been. I've had three really constructive discussions with President Trump, but it's important that you don't jump around and take different positions from day to day,' he said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is on ABC Perth talking about Dorinda Cox and the North West Shelf. He says Senator Cox had decided after much thought that her values aligned more closely with those of Labor rather than the Greens, leading to her defection. 'We know that the Greens have lost their way,' Mr Albanese said. 'That's one of the reasons why they lost three of their four seats in the House of Representatives, and the domination of issues that certainly aren't environmental have been their concerns.' Asked how someone who has so stridently spoken out against the extension of the North West Shelf project can now be on board with Labor, Mr Ablanese points out the Greens including Senator Cox voted for the safeguard mechanism as the primary way to cut emissions. 'The North West Shelf, like other projects right around Australia, the top 200 emitters, are all subject to that (safeguard mechanism) that requires emissions to be brought down each and every year or to be offset as part of getting to net zero,' he said. 'We have not just a policy of net zero. We have a plan to get there… You can't change the way that the economy functions through just good will or good thoughts.' Having worked as a delivery driver at Pizza Hut, as a cleaner, in a newsagency and at a call centre, Sally McManus used to depend on an award wage. Now, the 53-year-old firebrand leading Australia's top union body is calling for a 4.5 per cent pay rise for nearly 3 million workers who live pay-to-pay on an industry award or minimum wage. The Fair Work Commission will on Tuesday release its annual wage review decision. Ms McManus says it's essential the nation's lowest-paid workers receive a pay rise above inflation. 'It's about whether you can keep up with your bills or not, it's whether or not your life gets slightly better, whether it stays the same or whether it goes backwards. It's everything,' she tells AAP. 'When you're on those wages, you're not saving money. Everything you earn, you spend.' ​ Read the full story here. ​ With two Aboriginal women now having left the Greens, the party is facing questions about its representation and approach to First Nations issues. 'I think there's two very different reasons why those strong First Nations women made the decisions they made. It was definitely their call to make,' she told ABC News Breakfast. 'Senator Thorpe has gone on to be a really strong voice in the Parliament and I'm sure Senator Cox will continue to work for the issues that are meaningful for her,' Waters explained. 'But the Greens remain entirely committed to strong advocacy on truth telling, on treaties, on justice, on healing, on reparations. Our policies are still very firm for First Nations justice and we won't be changing course in that regard.' Read the full story here. The Greens are reeling after WA Senator Dorinda Cox announced her move to Labor, but party leader Larissa Waters says there's no animosity and wishes her well. 'Dorinda spoke for herself yesterday and said her values aligned more closely with the Labor Party. And people need to have values fit with the party they seek to represent,' she told ABC News Breakfast. 'Dorinda called me an hour before her press conference with the Prime Minister. And we had a very calm and measured conversation about it. And I did genuinely wish her all the best. 'There's no animosity there. It's disappointing for us to lose a Greens senator. But Dorinda says her values lie there. You need to be true to yourself, don't you?' Read about Dorinda Cox's surprise move here. Mental ill health and poor father-son relationships have been revealed as key factors that could contribute to men's violence against women. A longitudinal study conducted by the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) surveyed men and boys in 2013/14 and again in 2022 for critical insights into factors influencing the use of violence. The research has produced the first national estimate of male intimate partner violence perpetration, with the 2022 study finding more than one-in-three Australian men aged 18 to 65 have used intimate partner violence in their lifetime. This is up from one-in-four men who reported ever having used intimate partner violence among the same cohort surveyed in 2014. The latest study also found an estimated 120,000 men nationally were starting to use violence for the first time each year. Read the full story here.

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