Category: Australia

Only a few weeks ago, Time Magazine selected Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

Only a few weeks ago, Time Magazine selected Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese

This year, Mr Keating will mark 70 years of playing at Anzac Day services and after reaching the platinum milestone, the 83-year-old said he planned to retire from official piping duties.

“It has been a great journey,” Mr Keating said. “But, there comes a time when it does stop.

Mr Keating took up bagpipes as a teenager because he needed a hobby and “didn’t mind getting out on the front verandah annoying the neighbours”

He would join the Robinvale and District Highland Pipe Band, which was formed by a group of returned servicemen in the early 50s, and perform at Anzac Day parades until the group disbanded in 2012.

Since then, Mr Keating has piped solo, performing the Scottish folk tune and traditional lament Flowers of the Forest during the laying of wreaths at the Robinvale Cenotaph.

“The pipes really make the occasion,” he said.

 

The event was organised by Affinity Intercultural Foundation and hosted by Labor state minister Penny Sharpe MLC and Liberal MLC Chris Rath while the guest of honour was Amar Singh and the keynote address was delivered by NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb. The veteran singer Kamahl mesmerised the audience with his voice, eloquence and spontaneous singing on demand.The theme of the evening was inspired by the profound words of poet Rumi: “The beauty of the plant comes from the goodness of the seed, and the beauty of man comes from his heart.”

Setting the tone for the evening was the charismatic MC, Darren Mara, a renowned SBS Presenter & Dateline Reporter, who effortlessly guided the proceedings with his warmth and charm.

The evening commenced with a moving Acknowledgement of Country & Traditional Owners by Professor Michael McDaniel AO FRSN, a Special Adviser to the Vice-Chancellor of UTS. Professor McDaniel shared insights from his own Wiradjuri First Nations Culture, reflecting on the philosophy and spiritual practice of Yindyamarra, which emphasises living lives of honour, kindness, and graciousness. His words resonated deeply with the audience.

The Acknowledgement was followed by a mesmerising Didgeridoo performance by Uncle Walangari Karntawarra, an esteemed Australian Aboriginal Artist and a valuable advisory member of Affinity. His performance captivated everyone in the room, showcasing the richness of Indigenous culture.

As the fast was broken, and the call to prayer, known as the “Adhan,” was delivered by Mr Bilal Kilic, a respected teacher from Amity College, the guests indulged in a sumptuous dinner.

The Hon Penny Sharpe eloquently expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to come together and engage in meaningful conversations with individuals from all walks of life. She shared a touching quote from her daughter, highlighting the importance of kindness, love, and compassion in creating a society where everyone belongs.

The Hon Chris Rath MLC also reflected on the significance of cross-cultural friendships in the success of New South Wales as a multicultural society, and praised the Iftar dinners for representing the best aspects of living in the state.

The Executive Director of Affinity, Mr Ahmet Polat, delivered the final welcome, emphasising the power of human connection and heartfelt conversations in fostering understanding and unity among people.

He drew parallels between the theme of the night and the current challenges of natural and man-made disasters, highlighting how communities can come together to sow the seeds of goodness and cultivate beauty in the face of adversity.

He also spoke about the importance of the Uluru Statement of the Heart as a powerful initiative that promotes mutual respect and understanding in working towards a shared vision for a better future.

Adding to the serene atmosphere of the evening, a beautiful Quran recitation was performed by Mr Ibrahim Karaisli from Amity College, bringing a sense of spiritual serenity to the gathering.

Honorary NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb APM’s keynote speech emphasised diversity, community collaboration, and addressing societal challenges. She highlighted the importance of partnership between community leaders and police to tackle silent crimes, youth violence, and indigenous community issues.

Her powerful message echoed the event’s theme of collective efforts for positive change, underscoring that our society’s success depends on coming together to make a lasting impact.

The audience was mesmerised as they were transported to the captivating world of Sufi and Eastern Contemporary music during a live performance by some very special guests who had traveled all the way from Adelaide to grace the event.

Australia’s foremost Sufi Qawwali Group, led by the multi-award-winning Sufi Rockstar Farhan Shah, dubbed as the “Pakistani Pavarotti” by Advertiser, enthralled the audience with their soul-stirring melodies.

The event reached a peak of excitement when renowned Australian singer Kamahl took the stage. After presenting the Farhan Shah brothers with a gift, Kamahl wowed the audience with a spontaneous performance of his own, belting out ‘Nature Boy’ and regaling everyone with hilarious anecdotes from his own life.

It was an electrifying and unforgettable moment that filled the room with laughter, applause, and a palpable sense of excitement.

The program featured a moving segment with three firefighters from Fire and Rescue NSW AUS02 task force, who shared their reflections on their time in Turkiye responding to a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. They recounted their firsthand experiences, highlighting their selflessness, courage, and resilience in assisting those in need.

It was a poignant moment as the audience listened attentively, showcasing their unwavering commitment to humanitarian service in the face of adversity.

 

At the event, attendees expressed heartfelt support for global victims of wars, natural disasters, and calamities.

The evening featured an ‘Expression of Sentiments’ to honour those who lost lives, homes, and families. Ten faith leaders and representatives, including the Centre of Islamic Studies and Civilisation, Buddhist Council of NSW, Jewish Board of Deputies, Uniting Church of Australia, Hindu Council of Australia, Australian Zoroastrian Association of NSW, Shia Imami Ismaili Council for Australia and New Zealand, Office of the Ayatollah, Research Centre for Studies of the Second Vatican Council, and Faculty of Theology and Philosophy at Australian Catholic University, came together to showcase their collective compassion and solidarity with those in need.

This symbolic gathering reaffirmed their commitment to supporting communities facing adversity.

The evening continued in perfect harmony as the Guest of Honour, Amar, Founding President of Turbans 4 Australia INC, 2023 Australian Local Hero, and 2023 Volunteer Leader of the Year, took the stage.

He shared his inspiring life story and the journey of Turbans 4 Australia, emphasising the importance of multicultural diversity in creating a better home for future generations. His words resonated deeply with the audience, inspiring them to strive for a more inclusive and harmonious community.

The Hon Verity Firth, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice & Inclusion) at the University of Technology Sydney, expressed gratitude and extended a heartfelt vote of thanks at the Friendship & Dialogue Iftar Dinner and emphasised the importance of the Voice in Parliament in shaping inclusive societies.

Dr Graham Thom, Refugee Adviser of Amnesty International Australia and Affinity’s Advisory Board Member, delivered the concluding remarks at the event. He emphasised the significance of the holy month of Ramadan and highlighted the shared values of humanity, fellowship, harmony, charity, and respect that were evident throughout the evening.

The 14th annual Friendship and Dialogue Iftar dinner had truly been an unforgettable evening of connection, reflection, and celebration of the beauty of humanity, inspired by the words of Rumi and the spirit of intercultural understanding promoted by Affinity Intercultural Foundation.

The Friendship & Dialogue Iftar Dinner was made possible by the generous support of sponsors: Galaxy Foundation, The University of Sydney, Innovo Technology Solutions, Cultural Pulse, and other distinguished individuals. Amust

 

After more than a century languishing as the beta city to her New South Wales alpha, Melbourne has snatched the title of Australia’s largest city.

The Minns government has been inspecting the state’s books since taking office, and claims the former Coalition government hid the true cost and timeline for several stages of the driverless train network.

Internal government documents seen by the ABC show the City and Southwest Metro project is set to cost $20.11 billion, but the “publicly announced” figure under the Coalition was $18.5 billion.

The ABC understands the previously secret price tag may still not build a fully functioning metro, and the final touches could add another billion dollars.

Transport Minister Jo Haylen said she needed to find “solutions” to overspending issues.

“Every day, we are asking more about the Sydney Metro and discovering more key details the former government did not reveal to the public,” she said.

“We are being up-front and honest about the challenges we are inheriting.”

The City and Southwest Metro project will convert the T3 Bankstown line to a metro, with services leaving every four minutes in each direction between Bankstown and Sydenham.

It will link to a new line under the harbour between Chatswood and Sydenham, with stations to be built at sites such as Barangaroo, Pitt Street and Waterloo.

The internal documents show the former government had already budgeted for $20.5 billion.

A business case for the City and Southwest Metro, published in 2016, estimated the project would cost around $12 billion.

But the government announced in the 2022-23 budget that construction costs and the pandemic had pushed it to $18.5 billion.

The government has also flagged a cost blowout of the Sydney Metro West line, which will link the CBD with Parramatta.

It was meant to cost about $18 billion, but internal documents show it will now exceed $25 billion.

Ms Haylen hinted that project may be delayed as the administration comes to terms with the budget situation.

During the election campaign, Labor warned it a would take a more conservative approach to spending on some infrastructure projects announced under its predecessor.

Two further Metro sections — one linking Bankstown to Glenfield and the other linking Parramatta to the new airport line — will be put on the backburner under Labor.abcnew

 

Australia’s largest ever “meth bust” — the culmination of what was described by Australian Federal Police (AFP) as “the result of complex multi-agency investigation that traversed the country”.

It all started in July of that year, when police got wind of a successful importation of methamphetamine, involving a mid-ocean rendezvous between an Australian boat called the Valkoista and an “Asian mothership”.

That led to officers installing a secret recording device on the Valkoista which, months later in December, recorded the same thing happening again.

Those secret recordings were played to the multiple court hearings that followed, with an Asian voice heard saying “money, money” before the sound of thuds — bags of the drugs being loaded onto the Valkoista.

The key to the transaction — the “money, money” — was a half-torn $10 Hong Kong bank note, which each party produced to confirm their identities.

The Valkoista then made its way to the port city of Geraldton, where 59 bags of the drugs were transferred to a white hire van.

That’s when the authorities pounced, with heavily armed police officers intercepting the vehicle as it reversed off the jetty.

The drugs were seized, and the half-torn bank note that was the key to the transaction was found among the possessions of one of the men who was charged over the importation.

In total, 10 men were accused of involvement in the drug operation.

Six of them were arrested at the scene – three members of the so called “boat crew” from the Valkoista, and three members of the “ground crew” who were picking up the drugs.

Another two men, who were alleged to have been going to collect some of the drugs, were taken into custody in Perth.

The final two accused were arrested in New South Wales in the following weeks, with one of them, Jabour Lahood, alleged to have been one of the main organisers of the whole importation.

The other was Peter Harb, accused of organising the ground crew.

While their initial sentencing hearings were held in open court, they were sentenced behind closed doors and the terms they received remain suppressed.

The remaining seven men all maintained their innocence.

Their first trial, in Western Australia’s Supreme Court, started in March 2021, but after five weeks, the jury, which had hardly spent any time in court hearing evidence, was dismissed.

In the months that followed there were hours and hours of pre-trial legal argument, some of it in hearings that were conducted behind closed doors.

One of the men, Patrick Bouhamdan, who was on the Valkoista when the drugs were handed over, was given a separate trial.

Then a week before the scheduled retrial of the other six men, another accused, South Australian Stephen Baxter, walked free after the charge against him was dropped.

The trial of the remaining five men started in August last year.

The witnesses included Valkoista skipper Joshua Smith, a former oyster farmer from New South Wales, who detailed the late-night transfer of the drugs from the mothership in rough seas.

“That was sheer chaos, given everything that was going on,” Smith told the court.

He said as he manoeuvred his vessel alongside the boat, there was shouting, and he saw seven or eight men of Asian appearance.

After the captain of the other boat made “sort of like a rectangular sign” with his hands, Smith said he saw Patrick Bouhamdan, who was on the Valkoista, get something from his personal effects.”He retrieved a portion of a bank note. He put it through the Valkoista’s window to where the other fellow [on the mothership] was,” he said.abcaustralia

The decision to bar the platform comes two days after the Commonwealth government announced its own ban, citing concerns the Chinese made app could be used for foreign interference.

Premier Chris Minns, who had more than 10,500 followers on TikTok, deleted his account on Thursday morning.

“I will no longer be using TikTok,” he said.

“I have asked for Cyber Security NSW to issue advice to NSW Government employees, to implement this change as soon as possible.”

He clarified the ban on TikTok only applies to using the app on government devices, and public servants and MPs can still have accounts.

“This is about government-issued mobile phones and government-issued technology,” Mr Minns said.

“And we’re doing it because that was the advice from intelligence and security agencies at the Commonwealth level, and that’s the advice I was provided by the state’s security agency in NSW.”

The NSW government ban will stop the app from being downloaded on its devices. In cases where it’s already downloaded, it will be deleted.

State government departments using TikTok to inform the public can apply for an exemption, but only after a risk assessment is carried out.

“There will be cases where apps such as TikTok are needed for communication to the community — for example public health and safety messaging,” Mr Minns said.

NSW joins a growing list of state and territories banning the app from government devices, following Victoria and the ACT.

The federal government banned TikTok on government issued smartphones, tablets and computers on Tuesday.

Australia was the last of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance nations to ban the app, joining the US, Canada, the UK and New Zealand.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the ban would come into effect “as soon as practicable”, with exemptions being issued on a case-by-case basis.

“After receiving advice from intelligence and security agencies, … I authorised the secretary of the Attorney-General’s Department to issue a mandatory direction under the Protective Security Policy Framework to prohibit the TikTok app on devices issued by Commonwealth departments and agencies,” he said.

TikTok’s general manager in Australia Lee Hunter on Monday evening told the ABC he had not heard from the government.

“We’re extremely disappointed with this decision. In our view, this is driven by politics and not by fact,” he said.

 

 

In a statement, the company said the criminal group allegedly responsible had claimed that 200 gigabytes of data had been stolen and that it would be reaching out to affected customers to let them know and what to do next.

“The criminal [group] has provided a sample of records for 100 policies, which we believe has come from our ahm and international student systems,” it said.

“That data includes first names and surnames, addresses, dates of birth, Medicare numbers, policy numbers, phone numbers and some claims data.”

It said the claims data involved where the medical service was and the codes that related to their diagnosis and procedures.”The criminal claims to have stolen other information including data related to credit card security, which has not yet been verified by our investigations,” it said.

Medibank said it understood the development was upsetting and that it expected the number of affected customers to grow as the incident continued.

Earlier this week, Medibank said it had been contacted by a group that claimed it had removed customer data and wanted to negotiate with the company, but investigations were ongoing to work out if the claim was true.

The company’s chief executive, David Koczkar, offered an unreserved apology for “this crime, which has been perpetrated against our customers”.

“I know that many will be disappointed with Medibank and I acknowledge that disappointment,” he said.

“This cybercrime is now the subject of an investigation by the Australian Federal Police.

“We will learn from this incident and will share our learning with others.”

Mr Koczkar promised to continue to provide customers and the public with updates as the investigation continued.

The revelations come hours after Cyber Security Minister Clare O’Neil confirmed the matter had been referred to the AFP and that Medibank was working with the Australian Cyber Security Centre and Australian Signals Directorate on the attack.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton encouraged businesses and individuals to use the resources on offer through ASD and the ACSC to better protect themselves.

“I would encourage people to visit those websites, just to get the patches, the upgrades, the updates and for the government to continue that messaging,” he said.

He said the government was missing the mark on making sure people knew where they could go and what they could do to protect themselves.

“Nobody is actually providing this support and this messaging out to the community and it is important that people just take the basics and upgrade your passwords to something that is not predictable. Do it regularly,” Mr Dutton said.

“Make sure that the software upgrades are installed as you receive them on your phone on your devices.”

Medibank was hit by a cyber attack last week but, at the time, said there was no evidence sensitive data had been accessed.

A trading halt on Medibank shares will continue until further notice.