UKRAINE EMBASSY TO REOPEN
Australia will reopen its embassy in Kyiv for the first time since 2022 as its support for Ukraine is set to surpass $1.5 billion.
Speaking in the Ukrainian capital, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong said: “We always said we would do so [reopen the embassy] when it was safe to do so. We are unwavering in our support for the people of Ukraine.” Australian ambassador Paul Lehmann and his staff, who have been working from Poland, will return to the Kyiv embassy from next month, the ABC reports.
Ukraine’s Foreign Affairs Minister Andrii Sybiha said of the move: “We deeply appreciate the embassy reopening … Also, it’s a show of solidarity with Ukraine. Australian people understand the hardships suffered by the Ukrainian people and we welcome deeper bilateral relations.”
During the announcement Wong said Australia would provide $66 million for reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine, plus $10 million to help Ukrainians access heat and electricity and $80,000 for a charity that supports vulnerable families, the broadcaster said. Wong said this was on top of $1.3 billion in aid already provided.
The AAP quotes Wong as declaring: “Ukraine’s fight against Russia has consequences for our national security and the security of the Indo-Pacific. Today and every day, Australia stands with Ukraine against Russia’s aggression.”
Yesterday the foreign affairs minister also made headlines after Israeli media claimed her counterpart had chastised her for what he claimed was Australia distancing itself from Israel in its “most difficult year”, Guardian Australia flags.
Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom reported Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Gideon Sa’ar accused Australia of weakening its support for Israel in international forums, believed to be a reference to the recent votes at the United Nations, during a “sharp verbal clash”, the ABC said.
The newspaper, which is said to frequently take a pro-Netanyahu government stance, claimed the call between the two on Tuesday took a turn when Wong said Israel was not doing enough humanitarian work for Gazan civilians. The ABC reports Wong initiated the call with the newly appointed foreign affairs minister.
The Age quotes a spokesperson for Wong as saying the call was “direct but respectful”, adding: “Minister Wong spoke with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar to reiterate Australia’s concern about the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the need for humanitarian assistance and our repeated calls for the release of all hostages. Minister Wong also noted that Australia’s position reflected that of many other countries. She conveyed Australia’s commitment to countering antisemitism and hate in all forms.”
Asked about the call during her visit to Kyiv, Wong declared Australia, “alongside many other countries”, was calling for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the provision of aid into Gaza. “That is the position we have been articulating. And that’s the position that I reflected to the Israeli foreign minister,” she said.
Also yesterday, Fiji’s deputy prime minister revealed the toxicology report into the suspected alcohol poisonings at a resort, which left four Australians critically ill, found no traces of methanol. Viliame Gavoka said the last Australian in hospital was returning home after four days in intensive care, the ABC reports. Fijian Health Secretary James Tudravu said “toxicology was continuing”.
AUSTRALIA’S VOICE CANDIDATES
Senator Fatima Payman’s new party, Australia’s Voice, will today put a call out for candidates for the next federal election after the Australian Electoral Commission approved its registration, Guardian Australia reports.
The site says the party plans to run candidates in all states, with a particular focus on NSW and Victoria “where Payman’s personal brand is considered the strongest, particularly in suburbs with high Muslim populations”.
The site highlights Payman, who quit Labor in July, is not herself up for reelection in 2025 but will campaign with her candidates around the country.
Guardian Australia states soberly: “Five months out from the latest possible election date, the newly formed party has no preselected candidates or party policies and just $25,000 worth of donations in the bank and will face an uphill battle to be in a competitive — let alone winning — position.”
Talking (as we do every morning) of the election, The Australian reports Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen has demanded Opposition Leader Peter Dutton reveal which “vital” transmission projects he’d scrap under his “reckless” nuclear plan. The Coalition’s controversial costings for its energy proposal claim the nuclear plan would involve cheaper transmission costs.
“Peter Dutton must tell Australians what vital projects which are modernising our ageing grid and getting cheaper renewable power into homes he will cancel,” Bowen said. In response, Opposition climate change and energy spokesperson Ted O’Brien said: “This is just the beginning. Labor’s agenda will require tens of billions of dollars more over time to overbuild poles and wires for its renewables-only grid.”
(By the way, if you’re already bored of this back-and-forth on the respective energy plans, I’m afraid you can expect much more of it in the new year as we enter the election cycle.)
Bowen’s comments came as Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek announced the approval of a major transmission project needed to connect the Snowy Hydro 2.0 scheme to the energy grid, the ABC reports.
The broadcaster said the $4.8 billion HumeLink project will link Snowy 2.0 through 365 kilometres of power lines in regional New South Wales. Construction is set to begin next year and be completed by 2027, apparently generating some 1,600 jobs.
“The renewable energy transition is real, it’s happening right now. And it’s the only plan supported by experts and business to deliver clean, affordable and reliable power for homes. I’ve approved almost 70 renewable energy projects — enough to power more than 7 million Australian homes,” Plibersek said.
Finally, the Nine newspapers report Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke will today “order department officials to put the brakes on processing student visa approvals once a university nears the target the government set for it”.
The report says the go-slow order is part of the government’s plans to continue to try and limit international student numbers despite Dutton killing its legislation at the last minute.
The papers say the new scheme “will maintain the essence of the cap system without the need for legislation”.
ON A LIGHTER NOTE…
Victorian highway patrol officers have let a driver who covered his car in hundreds of Christmas lights off with a warning after spotting the festive BMW driving down Melbourne’s Monash freeway at 1am.
Guardian Australian reports that while the driver wasn’t speeding, Senior Constable Josh Scarcella and his colleague deemed the car to be defective due to how distracting it could be to other drivers.
“He [the driver] said ‘I’ve been waiting for this to happen, to see how I go’, or something along those lines,” Scarcella said of the incident on November 30. “They [the driver and passenger] were both in good spirits, we had a laugh with them.”
The officers ordered the pair to immediately remove the lights but apparently the tape used was too strong to take off without damaging the BMW’s bodywork. So they were sent home to use a heat gun to remove the lights and told to send Scarcella a picture of the lights-free car.
“They sent me a selfie about an hour later of them pulling them all off,” he said.
Say What?
He died at his desk in his home, doing what he loved, writing.
The Alice Miller School
Australian author John Marsden, known for the Tomorrow series, has died aged 74.
CRIKEY RECAP
For some time, former Home Affairs secretary Mike Pezzullo has been engaged — primarily via News Corp papers — in a campaign of Nixonian rehabilitation, posing as a magisterial geopolitical thinker, prepared to utter the strategic truths others will not.
To be fair, this pose suits Pezzullo far better than his previous career. After his disastrous period at the helm of the immigration and then Home Affairs departments, one has to conclude he’s better suited to musing about the threat of China than actually running anything. There was the disastrous loss of control of Australia’s borders that occurred under the Coalition, which saw organised crime exploit Australia’s visa system; there’s the Paladin scandal, the stench of which still lingers over Canberra even now; there’s the spectacular failure of regulation of migration agents; there’s the hopeless bungling of maritime surveillance contracts costing taxpayers hundreds of millions; there’s the extended list of disastrously mismanaged procurement exercises and contracts.
We thought about the biggest shitstorms this year and who was behind them. We weighed up who punched (up) above their weight, plus whose handiwork left a lasting impact. And front of mind: who had fun (and showed flair) doing it? You can read more about our rationale here.
Earlier this week, we revealed those ranked 10-8 and 7-5.
Today, congratulations to those who ranked 4-2.
Just as the holiday season swings into gear, Qantas’ value of profits over passengers has caught the federal government and the National Rugby League on the hop, with the national carrier axing its eight-month-old Sydney-Port Moresby flight from February 1.
Awkwardly, the decision was made, although not publicly announced, about the same time as the Albanese government and NRL triumphantly unveiled a $600 million investment in a new rugby league team for Papua New Guinea.
Crikey understands that the national carrier’s move was so unexpected that transport teams for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade weren’t even aware and were scrambling for information on Friday. DFAT declined to comment. (Qantas, as ever, ignored questions from Crikey, as did the NRL.)
It seems Queen Vanessa Hudson of the Chairman’s Lounge can giveth, but she can also taketh away.
READ ALL ABOUT IT
How Facebook restricted news in Palestinian territories (BBC)
More than 140 Kenya Facebook moderators diagnosed with severe PTSD (The Guardian)
Supreme Court to hear TikTok’s challenge to law that could ban it (The New York Times) ($)
Gaetz defends ‘embarrassing’ past behaviour, fires shot at Ethics report (The Hill)
France: Sarkozy loses appeal, must wear electronic ankle tag (DW)
Raygun hits up comedy club owner for $10,000 (The Sydney Morning Herald) ($)
THE COMMENTARIAT
Might look like Chalmers is spending like a drunken sailor, but this is what’s really going on — Shane Wright (The Age): As economist David Bassanese noted, while it looks like the government is spending like a drunken sailor, “the spending is not on whisky and wild times but increased care for some of the most disadvantaged in the community”.
But no matter if the spending is well-intentioned or deserving, it’s still spending at a time when the Reserve Bank is trying to get inflation down.
The political buck stops with Chalmers and Finance Minister Katy Gallagher. They are the ones who have to make the choices about what to spend money on and what to cut.
There have been some nips and tucks but nothing that could be described as a serious attempt to rein in spending.
Devoid of showbiz, Jim Chalmers would rather you forget this budget update ever happened — Jacob Greber (ABC): And it’s largely bad news about worsening budget deficits and a sluggish domestic economy kept alive by government spending.
In other words, a fairly bleak affair. At this point in time, Labor is not in the business of making itself a large political target for the opposition with bold new ideas.
If the treasurer has his way, this update will immediately vanish from the public’s awareness.
Bad budget news is bad politics.
