Australian news and politics live: Israel responds to Albanese’s ‘important’ anti-Semitism strategy
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Key Events
20 PAGE PLAN: Anti-Semitism special envoy unveils strategy to combat anti-semitism
Australia’s special envoy for anti-Semitism has unveiled a sweeping plan to combat the issue after reported incidents across Australia has risen 300 per cent since the October 7 Hamas terror attack.
Jillian Segal announced the plan flanked by Anthony Albanese and Tony Burke in Sydney on Thursday, which includes recommendations on public broadcasting, migration, policing, and education, among other issues.
Ms Segal has been working on the plan since her appointment last year, which will include short-term and long-term recommendations — some of which would require new legislation to enact.
It comes after a spate of incident across Melbourne last week including the firebombing of a synagogue and protesters storming an Israeli-owned restaurant Miznon in the city’s CBD.
“In the space of just a year, reported incidents increased over 300 per cent,” Ms Segal said.
Trump and Rudd’s secret golf club meeting revealed amid rising US tensions
New details have emerged about a previously undisclosed meeting between US President Donald Trump and Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd.
Documents tabled in Senate estimates have confirmed that the pair met in private on January 11, 2025, at the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The information came to light through responses to questions on notice from opposition finance spokesman James Paterson.
“Ambassador Rudd met President Trump in the dining room of the Trump International Golf Club in West Palm Beach, Florida, on 11 January 2025,” the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said.
The department also confirmed that a diplomatic cable was prepared after the meeting and that Mr Rudd “has professional relationships with and has met with a range of senior administration officials.”
The revelation follows another shift in Mr Trump’s trade agenda earlier this week, with the former President delaying certain tariffs while introducing new levies on copper and pharmaceutical imports.
Wong warns of China’s power ambitions, calls for balanced Indo-Pacific
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has denounced global trade barriers and reinforced Australia’s role as a key ally to Southeast Asian nations as the US increases tariffs.
While in Malaysia for an ASEAN foreign ministers’ meeting, Senator Wong distanced Australia from the US on trade policy as the White House tests relationships in the region.
Tariffs are at the heart of contention between the US and ASEAN nations, which were slapped with further levies days ahead of Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first trip to the region for the summit.
Senator Wong used her keynote speech to rebuke trade barriers, saying while Australia and the US were close allies, they were also “two sovereign, independent countries with our own ways of doing things”.
“When it comes to Southeast Asia, Australia remains fully invested. We will be a reliable partner that you can count on,” she said.
“We are here for the long haul.”
Israel’s ambassador backs antisemitism plan, calls for swift implementation
Israel’s Ambassador to Australia, Amir Maimon, has welcomed the federal government’s newly released national plan to combat antisemitism and urged that it be put into action without delay.
“We welcome the release of Australia’s national plan to combat antisemitism – an important and timely initiative,” he said on X.
“Thank you to Special Envoy Jillian Segal and the Albanese government for recognising the urgency of this issue. The real test now lies in swift and effective implementation.”
Wong welcomes MH17 court ruling, urges Russia to pay reparations
Foreign Minister Penny Wong has welcomed a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that finds Russia responsible for the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 in 2014.
In a statement posted to X, Wong called the decision “another historic moment” for the 298 victims and their families, including 38 Australians who lost their lives when the passenger jet was shot down over eastern Ukraine.
“We again call upon Russia to face up to its responsibility and make reparations for this horrific act,” she wrote.
Trump’s trade war widens: More tariff warnings in global trade crackdown
US President Donald Trump added Wednesday evening US time to his growing list of countries that would face steep tariffs in the coming weeks if they fail to reach trade agreements with the United States, as he threatens to drag nations large and small into his trade war.
On his social media account, the President posted form letters informing countries, including the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Moldova, Brunei, Libya, Iraq and Algeria, that they should prepare for double-digit tariff rates.
Except for the name of the country and the tariff rate, the letters were identical to those he posted on Monday, which targeted 14 nations.
Key points in the anti-Semitism action plan
The special envoy to combat anti-Semitism has released an action plan to stamp out the hatred across Australia, the culmination of a year’s work.
Jillian Segal has called for action by parliaments and civil society, including the justice and education systems, to create long-term change.
The 20-page plan includes 49 concrete actions across 13 focus areas, including a commitment to report annually on progress towards their implementation.
Read more: The key points in Australia’s anti-Semitism action plan.
Ley seeks clarity on which antisemitism measures the Government will adopt
The Opposition has welcomed the release of Jillian Segal’s national plan to combat antisemitism, but is pressing the Albanese Government for greater transparency on what it intends to deliver.
In a statement, the Coalition said the Government had shown “leadership on what has been a significant national issue since October 2023” and criticised the Prime Minister’s refusal to commit to the plan in full.
“We note that when the Prime Minister was asked directly if he would commit to implementing the plan in full, he refused to do so,” the statement read.
“Despite being willing to launch the plan today, it is not clear which measures the Albanese Government supports and which it does not. Australians deserve some clarity on this.”
Sussan Ley said the plan demonstrated that antisemitism was “not just a problem of security or law enforcement”.
“It’s a cultural and societal cancer that needs attention through our schools, universities, media, and even the arts,” she said.
Opposition legal affairs spokesman Julian Leeser added that the responsibility must go beyond the envoy alone.
“It cannot be left to the envoy alone, it needs the Prime Minister’s commitment, not just to hear the envoy’s advocacy, but to action her policies,” he said.
Wong: Australian security not simply defined by US or China
Australia’s security cannot be simply defined by American or Chinese actions in the region, Foreign Minister Penny Wong said in a keynote speech on Thursday.
“There are some who want to define Australia’s security in terms of what China or the United States is doing in the region. Or even more simply, define Australia by our traditional allies and partners alone. This has never sat well with me,” she said.
While these essential relationships were of “crucial importance”, Australia would take its “own approach to our relationships, to the rules and to this region that we share,” Senator Wong told the Institute for Strategic and International Studies in Malaysia.
Senator Wong, who is in Malaysia for ASEAN foreign ministers’ meetings, underscored the message of the Prime Minister in his weekend speech marking the 80th anniversary of the death of Labor’s wartime prime minister John Curtin, where he stressed Australia would forge its own path in foreign policy.
The US remained “critical” to the Indo-Pacific’s strategic stability, and China could also wield its strength to contribute to security and economic resilience, she said.
But the Foreign Minister also called out Beijing for the “worrying pace” of China’s nuclear and conventional military buildup, “without the transparency that the region expects.”
Ley says potential challenge of Bradfield election result in hands of the state branch
Opposition leader Sussan Ley says any potential challenge of the election result in Bradfield where Gisele Kapterian narrowly missed out would be in the hands of the state branch.
Asked what the Liberal party were planning as the deadline for a challenge fast approached, Ms Ley told reporters she was a “remarkable” candidate but left the decision for the State team.
“Gisele is an outstanding Australian. A remarkable woman of the Liberal Party and ran a fine campaign in the seat of Bradfield.
“In terms of processes that will now take place and in terms of what happens, that is a matter for the New South Wales division of the Liberal Party. I am sure there will be announcements soon.”
Antisemitism’s report finds generational divide in the views of Jewish community
Australia’s special envoy for antisemitism’s report has found a generational divide in the views of Australians’ share of the Middle East and the Jewish community.
Jillian Segal revealed there was a “stark difference” with those over and under 35, which she said reflected in the cohort’s media consumption and perceptions of the war.
“Antisemitism is evident within schools and universities and has become ingrained and normalised within academia and the cultural space,” the report stated.
“We are on a dangerous trajectory where young people raised on a diet of disinformation and misinformation about Jews today risk becoming fully-fledged antisemites tomorrow.”
