BREAKING - the Inspector of the NACC has made the most damning findings against NACC Commissioner Brereton finding a comprehensive failure by home to deal with a clear conflict of interest in the Robodebt referral. naccinspector.gov.au/system/files/2… This is what the NACC Inspector Gail Furness SC found: “The NACC Commissioner made a number of declarations describing the interest in relation to that person as a person 'he knows well', 'who is well known to me' and 'with whom I have had a close association'.

I’ll be asking questions today on the inquiry into Senator Thorpe’s bill which would remove the requirement for the AG to consent to prosecutions for genocide - given the conflicted nature of governments on this issue that makes a lot of sense The first panel supports the change and also says it would be assisted by a specialist Australian War Crimes Investigation unit possibly in AFP or CDPP. This would draw together existing expertise, keep communities safe and show leadership on international law.

BREAKING

For months the Labor government has been misleading the public on its role in the two-way arms trade with the State of Israel.

Now we have a picture of an Australian-made DroneGun being used by an Israeli soldier.

And a picture of Albanese holding the same weapon.

We know that Australia is exporting military equipment to Israel from drone engines and military steel to parts of the F35 fighter jet.

The DroneGun is another stark example of the depth of the two-way arms trade, despite the Albanese Government trying to mislead the public.

🧵THREAD

We have obtained satellite imagery of destroyed Australian graves in Gaza.

This is a window into the scale of the impunity and destruction the State of Israel is currently enacting.

The picture below is from before the recent invasion of Gaza.

More below👇 This image is from March 2024 when the Australian Government was first made aware that the grave site was hit.

There are clear signs of damage.

The Albanese Labor Government said nothing about this and made no protest to Israel.

1/🧵Now we have had time to look at the deeper impacts of the Budget, as Greens spokesperson on Immigration and Defence, it is clear that Albanese just wants to be Dutton.

Massively militarising the region while punching down on migrants and refugees.

Read more below📉 2/ The first place to start should be the staggering increase in defence spending, which has doubled over the last decade.

Does this spending make anyone feel safer?

@SIPRIorg has released its yearly data on global military expenditure.

It showed the world is militarising and Australia is playing an outsized role in fueling this.

My main takeaways are below👇 2/  World military expenditure increased for the ninth consecutive year in 2023, reaching a total of $2.4 trillion, a 6.8 per cent increase.

LIVE

Currently in the final hearing on the AUKUS nuclear waste regulation bill.

There is only one witness this time, the arms manufacturer BAE Systems.

Follow below 👇 If you want a quick update, here is the live tweet from first hearing on the Bill.

https://twitter.com/DavidShoebridge/status/1767687689950974118

Australia has a secret defence industry cooperation deal with Israel and you’re not allowed to know what’s in it because apparently Israel has a veto on Australian FOI!?

Why, and what, are they hiding?

Defence says they can’t tell us about their MOU with Israel on defence because: “The release of such information could harm Australia's international standing and reputation."

That’s not a reason for even more secrecy, it’s why we need scrutiny of these arrangements.

LIVE THREAD:

I am about to head into a hearing that will decide where Australia will store nuclear waste from AUKUS submarines.

More below👇 We are starting with the @RoyInstNavArch followed by Australia's nuclear regulators @ANSTO and @ARPANSANews.

After lunch we have @IPAusNet @AusConservation & @ican_australia as well as @ASFUnions

And will finish the day with Defence.

Watch here👉
aph.gov.au/News_and_Event…

BREAKING

This year is looking like the first and only anniversary of AUKUS.

With the US budget making enough for US needs but no one else, more below.👇 2/ The US Navy Budget is out and the US has only budgeted for one Virginia-class nuclear submarine (the exact type Australia is meant to get under AUKUS).

The issue here is that the US will need to produce at least 2.3 a year to have enough to sell to Australia.

BREAKING: The Albanese government’s proposed AUKUS nuclear oversight laws expressly open Australia up to receiving nuclear waste from US and UK nuclear submarines. smh.com.au/politics/feder… The Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2023 opens a back door to Australia becoming the dumping ground for tonnes of high-level nuclear waste from the US and UK nuclear submarine fleets. Labor doesn’t like this being pointed out. It’s inconvenient.

Speaking in the Parliament right now on a Greens proposal to create an LGBTIQA+ Commissioner to be in the corner of the community against the many many attacks they face including from within this very Parliament Labor supported an LGBTIQA+ Commissioner when they weren't in Parliament - but today they are refusing to support a sensible proposal based on the model in the existing act!

I thought we’d just changed the Govt?

But they just locked in the largest tax cuts for the rich in Australia’s history, real wages will go down and then flatline for the next 4 years. Oh and food, rent and power prices are going through the roof.

#Budget2023 As the Greens spokesperson on defence, justice & digital rights I have some thoughts on the Budget – I’m guessing you can work out which of these 3 areas got nuclear submarine quantities of funding, and which got scraps.

This artwork has been CENSORED by mining giant Glencore, for the sake of destroying the last untouched area of the Hunter Valley- a site of the massacre of 18 Wonnarua people. Doug Heslop’s artwork depicts the massacre of 18 Wonnarua people and is one of the best documented sites of the Frontier Wars in Australia.

However, his exhibition, 'One Man Soweth and Another Reapeth' was recently cancelled by Singleton Council, under pressure from Glencore.

Defence leaders have rejected the clear recommendations of an independent panel, choosing not to inquire into the accountability of senior commanders for the murders of Afghan civilians and prisoners, as identified in the Brereton report - important reporting by @bennpackham

https://twitter.com/bennpackham/status/1569479309320134664

Defence must not be a protected secret club where a culture of impunity allows the ADF to literally get away with murder. Senior commanders in charge when war crimes were committed must not avoid accountability.

The NSW Auditor-General today released its report on managing climate risks to the state’s assets and services – sounds important, right? Take a deep breath, it’s an alarming read...🧵1/10 The A-G report states the govt is failing to properly plan for flooding, bushfires, extreme temperatures, and the damaging impacts to transport, communications and energy infrastructure, increases in hospital admissions... the terrifying list goes on: audit.nsw.gov.au/our-work/repor… 2/10

Advance notice that the Education Committee of the NSW Parliament will table a report at 10am today into Mark Latham’s “Parental Rights” Bill - a bill which attacks teachers, students, and families in the name of a warped right-wing ideology #nswpol To the young transgender people who have had the misfortune to be exposed to this bill and the inquiry around it, I want to assure you that you are not alone. The Greens NSW join with all of those who will fight against this bill.

I'll be joining @AbigailBoydMLC and asking questions in the Treasury Estimates hearing today from 9.30am - we'll be live here: youtube.com/NSWParliament #nswpol @AbigailBoydMLC

https://twitter.com/nsw_upperhouse/status/1428500249383890944

Here's the Police Commissioner telling police there won't be consequences if they issue fines improperly or illegally - as if even more brutal policing is going to solve a public health crisis!! In what other job would you be given a free pass by your boss to break the law like this, again and again without consequence?! Of course if ordinary community members get it wrong they face massive fines and potential jail time

Across Australia child protection systems remove First Nations children at grossly unacceptable rates. This repeats centuries of state-sanctioned violence against First Nations families. Now we have another tragic, but appallingly predictable, death. abc.net.au/news/2021-08-2… The dreadful removal rates of First Nations children is seen by bureaucrats and politicians as intractable and impossible to solve. It’s not.

Parents of young people in Cobham juvenile detention centre are being informed today that an unvaccinated detention officer has tested Covid positive. Has been on shift for ten days apparently. Everyone very anxious. Seeking urgent clarification on this from juvenile justice. Multiple questions to be answered by Juvenile Justice. Are staff requested to be vaccinated? Are the rumours that there have been anti-vax messages passing from staff to young people discouraging vaccination true? Where is justice health in all of this? We are chasing answers now