This Month
Solomons, PNG win in $1b-plus Pacific play to ward off China
The government will provide funds for telecommunication cables in the Solomon Islands, help Papua New Guinea with a $600 million bailout and upgrade embassies.
- Andrew Tillett
PM’s pension now in the hands of Stephen Jones
Five still-serving Labor parliamentarians will have their pension schemes tweaked by the financial services minister. As will all the nation’s senior judges.
- Updated
- Myriam Robin
Labor accused of ‘rewarding’ Hamas with Palestine vote
Opposition frontbencher Senator Jane Hume said there could be no sustainable two-state solution without the consent of Israel.
- Ronald Mizen
Palestinians’ aggressive lobbying upset Labor but it worked
Australia’s decision to support Palestinian UN membership follows seven months of intense, and aggressive, lobbying by a network of activists.
- Aaron Patrick and Tom McIlroy
Australia’s ‘yes’ vote on Palestine at UN slammed by Labor MP
Penny Wong said Australia’s support for Palestinian statehood will help to broker peace, but a Labor MP has argued it will further isolate Jewish Australians.
- Updated
- Matthew Cranston
Australia considers voting yes on Palestine’s UN bid
Penny Wong says abstaining is a common diplomatic practice, amid pressure to admit Palestine as a United Nations member.
- Andrew Tillett
Military tensions flare on the road to stability with China
A near miss between a Chinese fighter jet and Australian helicopter show that friction remains despite improvement in ties between Beijing and Canberra.
- Andrew Tillett
‘Show leadership’: Palestinian plea ahead of key UN vote
The Albanese government is being lobbied heavily over whether to support a symbolic vote upgrading Palestine to full membership of the UN.
- Andrew Tillett
Wong warns on foreign interference after Indian spies expelled
Revelations Indian spies were asked to leave Australia in 2020 suggest Western intelligence agencies are unhappy about New Delhi’s espionage tactics.
- Andrew Tillett and Emma Connors
- Exclusive
- Foreign relations
‘No concerns’ with South Korean takeover bid for Austal: Marles
Defence Minister Richard Marles has given a fillip to Hanwha’s bid to buy Perth shipbuilder Austal, despite the deal raising security concerns.
- Andrew Tillett and Brad Thompson
April
Legitimate to question Higgins’ $2.4m compo: Liberals
The opposition says it is legitimate to question Brittany Higgins’ payout given Justice Michael Lee found there was no political cover-up of her rape.
- Phillip Coorey
Business braces for more disruption from Gaza protests
Arrests have been made as train stations, ports and parts of Australia’s biggest cities are blockaded by widespread protests against the war in Gaza.
- Patrick Durkin
Wong joins world calls for restraint from Iran
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has backed a US-led push urging Tehran not to attack Israel.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Federal election
Wong and Dutton leave Arabic and Islamic Australians feeling abandoned
Both major parties are wildly out of step with the views of people they must woo if they want to win the next federal election.
- Laura Tingle
Wong’s Palestine call was weeks in the making
Penny Wong spoke with numerous foreign ministers ahead of her speech on the Middle East.
- Andrew Tillett
Dutton decries PM’s ‘moral fog’ on antisemitism
In a blistering speech, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton blasted Penny Wong for “reckless” consideration of recognising Palestinian statehood.
- Andrew Tillett
- Analysis
- Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The serious flaw in a two-state Palestine plan
Penny Wong’s intervention begs several questions, one being: how is a two-state solution possible when both Israel and Hamas don’t want it?
- Andrew Tillett
- Opinion
- Middle East tensions
Like Biden, Labor is on its own Israel journey
Penny Wong wants a two-state solution, but the reality is Gaza is looking more like the US quagmire in Iraq
- Updated
- James Curran
Wong faces backlash; NAB CEO promotes rival; Dubber chief sacked
Read everything that’s happened in the news so far today.
Wong’s Palestinian statehood call provokes backlash
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says a two-state solution is needed as a pathway to a lasting peace, and criticised the actions of both Israel and Hamas.
- Updated
- Phillip Coorey
