The Morrison government has shown no enthusiasm for repatriating the family members of IS fighters. But as other nations bring back their own fighters, Australia may find itself forced to act.
Focusing on China policy in a Monday address - released ahead of delivery - Penny Wong says Australia needs to ‘define the boundaries’ of its engagement with China as the relationship is in a new phase.
Australia now has one of the most comprehensive ranges of anti-terrorism laws of any Western democracy. It’s time to think creatively about solutions, rather than continually reworking old strategies.
As the Sri Lankan Tamil family from Biloela prepares to learn their fate tomorrow, Scott Morrison and Peter Dutton can’t avoid looking threadbare in terms of humanity.
While the ministerial direction represents a genuflection in the direction of press freedom, it provides nothing by way of protection for whistleblowers.
Federal home affairs minister Peter Dutton says the government’s “expectation” is that federal police should consider the importance of press freedom before investigating leaks to journalists.
Similar concerns were raised 40 years ago when the Department of Defence was formed, but the decision to merge several agencies is now held up for its strategic vision.
Australia already has an extensive suite of anti-terrorism legislation, and the government hasn’t clarified what gap, if any, this new bill would fill.
The Constitution says that the governor-general can only act to fill a vacancy in the prime ministership if there is one - but in this case, some complex questions would have arisen.
With parliament sitting next week, the home affairs minister is pressuring Labor to support a repeal of the medevac law. But the law has worked just as it was intended.
Australians should be concerned about any shift to an intelligence model that is based on the introduction of greater powers on the one hand, and less oversight and governance on the other.
Our increasing connectivity and reliance on information technology is a vulnerability being targeted by two key threats: cyber attacks and the subversion of our democratic institutions.
Dutton continues to insist the government could be compelled under the medevac legislation to transfer criminals, although the legislation gives the minister power to veto people on security grounds.