In this episode, we explore the week in Australian politics and international affairs, starting with the media’s breathless fixation on whether Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will secure a face-to-face with US President Donald Trump.
We examine how the Canberra press gallery and commercial breakfast TV – “When are you meeting Trump, Prime Minister?” – turn diplomacy into reality-show theatre.
As Washington’s unpredictable trade war threatens Australian exporters, we argue that “Albo-meets-Don” photo-ops won’t protect the economy and that Canberra must diversify beyond the United States toward larger markets such as China and India. Along the way we revisit Kevin Rudd’s famous “village idiot” spray at Trump, JD Vance’s Hitler comparison, showing how partisan spin obscures the fundamentals of Australia–US relations.
Then we go to Belmore in Sydney’s west, where police brutally assaulted former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas during an anti-war protest outside SEC Plating – one of at least twenty local contractors supplying F-35 fighter-jet parts used by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza. Using the draconian NSW “Places of Worship” laws, officers fractured Thomas’s eye socket, proving our long-held warning that expanded police powers crush dissent and protect weapons manufacturers. We connect this incident to Australia’s $4.1 billion stake in the F-35 program, ask why Canberra denies any military link to Israel, and highlight how protest rights are being selectively policed to silence pro-Palestine voices.
We then explore the Liberal Party’s gender crisis: just six women in the House of Representatives and 32 per cent female representation nationwide. While deputy leader Sussan Ley talks “quotas, merit lists, anything that works,” Angus Taylor and WA Liberals dig in against reform. Drawing on Labor’s 31-year journey to gender parity, we propose a radical but simple fix – women-only preselections for the next two elections – arguing that genuine democracy needs a parliament that reflects Australia’s diversity.
Finally, we analyse the landmark Yoorrook Justice Commission report, which labels Victoria’s post-1834 treatment of First Nations peoples an act of genocide. With 100 recommendations spanning compensation, land returns and curriculum reform, Yoorrook sets a blueprint for truth-telling, treaty and justice – if governments stop dragging their feet. We explain why acknowledging genocide under UN definitions is essential, how similar truth commissions elsewhere have driven change, and why Australia can no longer afford selective amnesia about its colonial past.
#auspol
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The post The obsession of a date with Trump and more police brutality in NSW appeared first on New Politics.