Category: Penny Wong

Australia, Vanuatu Signal Closer Security Ties Amid Ongoing Beijing Competition in the South Pacific

December 13, 2022
AustraliaBusiness & MarketsChinaChina-Australia RelationsInternationalInternational RelationsPenny WongSimon BirminghamSouth PacificVanuatuWorld
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Australia and Vanuatu have indicated closer security ties amid ongoing competition between democratic allies and Beijing in the South Pacific region. The latest move comes after the Australian government inked a security deal with the Pacific nation Fiji in October. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong spoke in Port Vila, Vanuatu, on Dec. 12 along with…

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Bipartisan Group to Visit Pacific Nations

December 11, 2022
AustraliaPacificPat ConroyPenny WongSimon BirminghamWorld
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A bipartisan group of federal MPs will lead an Australian delegation to multiple Pacific island nations, the first such visit since the COVID-19 pandemic. Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Pacific Minister Pat Conroy and their opposition counterparts Simon Birmingham and Michael McCormack will visit Vanuatu, Micronesia and Palau this week. The delegation will meet with Vanuatu…

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The United States Will Address Australia’s Military Capability Gap, Says Secretary of Defense

December 7, 2022
2+2 MeetingAntony BlinkenAUKUSAUSMINAustraliacapability gapChinaGlobal ExpansionInternationalLloyd AustinNational SecurityPenny WongRichard MarlesSpecial TopicsTaiwanUSUS NewsUS-China relationsWorld
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The United States and Australia have committed to significantly increasing defence cooperation to plug Australia’s capability gap and counter the growing threat of Beijing in the Indo-Pacific region. Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles and Foreign Minister Penny Wong met with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in Washington D.C. for…

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‘It Doesn’t Change Anything’: Mixed Emotions as Court Verdict for MH17 Handed Down

November 17, 2022
AustraliaDutch MH17 TrialEuropeInternationalMH17Penny WongRichard MarlesSimon BirminghamWorld
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Families of Australian MH17 victims found some solace in the overnight conviction of three people in the downing of the flight but said their family members would never return. A Dutch court found two Russians and one Ukrainian separatist guilty in absentia of killing 298 people, including 38 Australians, when they shot Flight 17 down in…

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Australia Concerned Over Potential Missile Strike on Poland

November 16, 2022
AustraliaBusiness & MarketsEuropeInternationalNATOPenny WongPolandRussia-Ukraine WarVasyl MyroshnychenkoVolodymyr ZelenskyyWorld
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Australia is concerned over the potential Russian missile strike on NATO member Poland after authorities confirmed that a “Russian-made missile” dropped onto a village inside its territory near the Ukrainian border, killing two. According to a statement from Poland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a Russia-made missile dropped on the village of Przewodów, district Hrubieszów, Lubelskie province, at…

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Australia’s Israel Policy Reversal ‘Most Significant Mistake’ in Years: Opposition Leader

October 19, 2022
anthony albaneseAustraliadiplomatic tensionInternationalIsraelMiddle EastPenny WongPeter DuttonWorld
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The Albanese government’s flip-flopping over a decision to reverse Australia’s recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel has been called the “most significant mistake” made in years by the opposition leader. The Liberal-National party’s Peter Dutton told journalists at a press conference in the Northern Territory on Oct. 19 called the federal Labor government’s behaviour…

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Australian Foreign Minister Says No Change to Recognition of Jerusalem

October 17, 2022
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Australia’s Labor government has moved to assure Israel there will be no change to the previous government’s policy of recognising West Jerusalem as the capital of the country. On Oct. 18, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs was forced to respond to media reports that key sentences on its website related to Australia-Israel relations had…

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Australian Foreign Minister Announces Change to Recognition of Jerusalem

October 17, 2022
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Australia’s Labor government has announced that they will be walking back the previous government’s policy of recognising West Jerusalem as the capital of the country. This comes after a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, on Oct. 18, told The Guardian that  “no decision to change” had been made by the government…

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Australia, India Look to Deepen Ties as Beijing Continues Push Into Indian Ocean

October 11, 2022
AustraliaChinaChina-Australia RelationsChinese RegimeGlobal ExpansionIndiaInternationalInternational RelationsPenny WongSpecial TopicsSubrahmanyam JaishankarUS-China relationsWorld
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Australia and India will look to deepen diplomatic ties as both countries move to establish a network of stability and security in the Indo-Pacific. Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar spoke at a joint press conference on Oct. 11. “We’ve got a shared interest, and we share an ambition, and…

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Sydney Parade Raises Awareness About the CCP’s Shocking Atrocities

October 7, 2022
AustraliaChinaChina Human RightsChina-Australia RelationsChinese RegimeFalun GongFalun Gong practitionersforced organ harvestingInternationalInternational RelationsOrgan Harvesting in ChinaPenny WongWorld
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SYDNEY, Australia—Over five hundred supporters from across Australia rallied in Sydney to call for attention to ongoing human rights atrocities in China. Three Australian families who escaped persecution by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spoke at a press conference held by the Falun Dafa Association of Australia, telling the experiences of their family members who…

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