Asio chief reveals 16 terror plots have been foiled since Bondi attack
Sarah Basford Canales
Australia’s domestic spy agency says it has disrupted 16 terrorist threats in the nine months since the Bondi attack, including an antisemitic attack, a plot to kill Muslims and a violent racist allegedly found with weapons and ammunition.
The Australian Security and Intelligence Organisation’s director general, Mike Burgess, outlined the “evolving threat” in a speech today on the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks on the United States.
The Asio chief revealed his organisation had disrupted 16 terror plans since December where the “threat was considered serious but not necessarily imminent”. Burgess previously revealed in June the figure was 14, representing a minor increase. Since 2014, it has foiled 33 major terrorism plots.
Burgess said Sunni violent extremism represented the majority of Asio’s counter-terrorism caseload but that it was “too simplistic to assume there is a single terrorism threat or a most likely terrorist threat as we did in the aftermath of 9/11”.
He said the threats included an individual allegedly inspired by extreme right-wing ideology, others inspired by extreme left-wing ideologies and others inspired by “mixed and seemingly incompatible beliefs”, including one person who allegedly wanted to blow up a school who was allegedly inspired by ideological and extreme Christian beliefs.
Burgess said:
These dynamics make the contemporary terrorism environment different – and in some ways, more difficult – than a quarter of a century ago … Spikes in grievance, intolerance and polarisation are degrading our security environment and making politically motivated violence more likely.
Key events
Matt Canavan ‘welcomes’ communication between Barnaby Joyce and Andrew Hastie
Matt Canavan spoke to News24 earlier, saying he “welcomes” Barnaby Joyce reaching out to Andrew Hastie about the One Nation “traitor” cartoon.
Canavan began by condemning One Nation’s bids to “distance” themselves from the cartoon, noting the video was authorised and published by the party.
I thought that was pretty weak.
The Nationals leader said he appreciated that Joyce had explained to Hastie that he didn’t know about the cartoon.
I welcome Barnaby’s apology, it’s a matter for Andrew if he accepts it – but I think Pauline should do the same.
(In a statement, Hastie said he did accept it, but characterised it as an “explanation” rather than an apology.)
Canavan said he personally welcomed criticism but said that politicians did not need to “devolve” into this sort of language.
The interview took somewhat of an odd turn when Cavanan also referred to himself as someone with “communist sympathies” in his youth.
Luca Ittimani
Albanese is under fire over a grants program that benefited his local golf club. Were any rules broken?
Anthony Albanese is under fire after an invite-only grant program allocated millions to marginal Labor seats and his old local golf club.
The government claims it has broken no rules and delivered its election promises by the standard method but transparency advocates have said the system needs reform and have drawn comparisons to the notorious “sports rorts” affair.
What went wrong – and is this sports rorts all over again?
Read more here:
Marles says Hanson should take Hastie cartoon down and apologise
Back to defence minister Richard Marles, who made some other comments this morning about the One Nation video.
Speaking on Nine, Marles said the Australia’s veteran community would have been affected by the One Nation video’s use of the word “traitor”.
One of the issues here is to use that word in respect of any veteran is taken on by the entire veterans community … it’s distasteful. It’s inappropriate. It should come down and Pauline Hanson should apologise.
Pauline Hanson not backing away from Hastie cartoon, suggesting a ‘chill pill’ for critics
The One Nation leader, Pauline Hanson, is standing by the cartoon that labelled Andrew Hastie a “traitor” despite growing condemnation from Labor, the Greens, Liberals and the crossbench.
The video is currently pinned to the top of Hanson’s X feed, and she said on Wednesday she would not apologise and the uproar was “a storm in a teacup as far as I’m concerned”. She has denied ever calling Hastie a traitor.
Last night, Hanson posted a photo of Jacqui Lambie and herself in the Senate, alongside a post that read “I think everyone just needs to take a chill pill”.
A furious Lambie told ABC radio yesterday that Hanson was a “bloody coward”.
The One Nation leader posted again this morning on X to express her “thanks” to Hastie that the “cartoons make the news again”, sharing the “ten best episodes” of the animation Please Explain.
As we reported earlier, Hastie told Guardian Australia he accepted Barnaby Joyce’s explanation that he didn’t know about the cartoon. He said he now knows that Hanson “is the only lying coward”.
Carroll says NFL game in Victoria a moment in the state’s history
The Victoria premier, Ben Carroll, spruiked the NFL game at the MCG this morning, saying it was an exciting and historic day for the state.
The atmosphere, the weather for Melbourne, everything has just come on so perfectly. I couldn’t be more excited to be part of this day.
This event helps cement Victoria as the major events capital, not only of Australia, but of the world.
It’s going to be one of those events that people look back in history and say, ‘Where were you?’ Or ‘I was there’.
Catie McLeod
Woolworths increased prices of at least four ‘family staples’ during ‘Price Freeze’ promotion
Woolworths raised prices for popular items – including a 33% mark up on chicken fillets – within days of promising to freeze prices on 300 “family staples” for three months to help customers with the cost of living.
Pricing data, compiled by comparison website CW Scanner and provided to Guardian Australia, shows the supermarket chain increasing the prices of at least four key products after starting the three-month “Price Freeze” promotion on 1 May.
The supermarket nearly doubled the price of a 420g can of Woolworths “Mexican Style 3 Bean Mix” during the promotional period – from 60c to $1 on 17 June – the data shows. Woolworths dropped the price back to 60c on 17 August
Woolworths has justified the increases because it regarded the previous prices as promotional prices, rather than the “standard shelf price” for each product.
A Woolworths spokesperson said that the end of a temporary promotion did not represent a shelf price increase.
Read more:
The NFL is set to hold its first regular-season game in Australia today, a contest between the San Francisco 49ers and the LA Rams.
The showdown will take place at Melbourne’s MCG this morning.
Fans have been turning up in droves. The game starts at 10.35am and you can watch it on Netflix.
‘Profound’ increase in death rate for welfare recipients, report finds
People receiving an income support including disability, unemployment or carers payments had an average mortality rate more than nine times higher than people who did not access the welfare system, AAP reports.
The report from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare compared mortality rates and causes of death for people receiving and not receiving various income support payments by linking data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics and government systems.
Of the 287,000 people aged 22 to 64 who died between 2012 and 2022, almost three in five received income support payments.
The report showed the main cause of death for people on income support was cardiovascular disease but there were also higher rates of “deaths of despair” associated with alcohol, drugs and self-harm, University of Queensland social science research fellow Mark Robinson said.
The findings point to the profound health inequities in Australia despite its comparatively strong health record.
Bowen: ‘disappointing’ Greens crossed the floor to vote with One Nation on koala deal
Chris Bowen said yesterday was a “good day” for the government after the Greens reached a deal with Labor that will allow big industry to use a new koala national park in New South Wales to offset its climate pollution.
The climate change and energy minister told RN Breakfast this morning it was “disappointing that three Greens crossed the floor to vote with One Nation”.
I think if One Nation and the Greens are voting together, the Greens are voting the wrong way on climate. … I’m very pleased that this passed the parliament. I’m very pleased that the Greens party room worked with me, the majority.
This was a good day yesterday because it’s practical action. … [It’s] good for emissions, and also providing a route for investment and economic development in the regions where this logging has occurred and where now the economy can be diversified.
Hastie says he accepts Joyce’s explanation over One Nation video
Andrew Hastie says Barnaby Joyce had reached out about the One Nation cartoon that labelled him a “traitor”.
Hastie had this to say to Guardian Australia this morning:
Barnaby Joyce has reached out to me and explained that he didn’t know about the cartoon that called me a traitor eight times. I accept his explanation. I called him a lying coward because I thought he was protecting Pauline Hanson.
I now know that she is the only lying coward.
For context – Hastie told News24 the One Nation cartoon, first posted on social media over a month ago and now pinned to the top of Pauline Hanson’s X account, called him a traitor eight times.
“I would say that Pauline Hanson and Barnaby Joyce are lying cowards, and I’ll say it again, so there’s no ambiguity,” he said.
Pauline Hanson has denied ever calling Hastie a traitor, telling the Nightly: “I will call him a wanker.”
Joyce previously told Guardian Australia he has never called Hastie a traitor, “nor ventured anywhere close to any such narrative about him”.
Johana Bhuiyan
More Anthropic researchers warn of AI’s perils
A day after a former researcher at Anthropic made an apocalyptic declaration about artificial intelligence, more researchers and staff members at the AI startup publicly agreed with him and posted their own dire warnings.
In response, Elon Musk and other conservative figures on X, formerly Twitter, called the chorus of concerns a “setup” and a “psyop”.
The Anthropic insiders fear the technology they are building could become so advanced and dangerous as to cause human extinction within the decade, and they assert many of their colleagues feel the same but haven’t said so publicly.
Read more here:
John Howard says Australia did the ‘right thing’ after September 11 attacks
Former prime minister John Howard, who was in Washington DC during the September 11 terror attacks, spoke to the ABC this morning about his experience 25 years ago.
“It meant that the world would never be the same,” Howard told Radio National Breakfast.
I just knew that it meant a lot to the whole world, and it certainly meant that I quickly came to realise just how important our association with the Americans was because this powerful country had been attacked in an atrocious, cruel manner.
Howard said he believes it was “only right” Australia join the US in Afghanistan, and the White House was “very happy to have our help”. He said:
I think we did the right thing. I was unhappy with aspects of the ultimate withdrawal from Afghanistan. It did look rather chaotic at the time … Overall, I don’t have any regrets. I think we did the right thing in going into Afghanistan.
Former prime minister Kevin Rudd, who also spoke on RN this morning, said he agreed with Howard’s decision to join the allied forces in Afghanistan.
“He got that right. What he got comprehensively wrong was Iraq.”
Marles reflects on September 11
Marles reflected on September 11 this morning, saying it was a day “which we remember most as having changed the world in which we live”.
He told the ABC this morning:
I remember on that night watching West Wing, a number of people I have spoken to in the last few days were doing the same thing. When it finished, it cut into this extraordinary vision of smoke coming out of the North Tower. We weren’t really sure what was going on. Then astonishingly it looked as though we were witnessing a plane fly into the South Tower.
What it then heralded was obviously a huge change in terms of wars in … Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 40,000 Australians served over the coming years in those, more than 40 lost their lives. Ten Australians lost their lives that day on September 11. We very much remember them.
Marles says One Nation cartoon about Andrew Hastie ‘tasteless’
The defence minister, Richard Marles, said the One Nation cartoon labelling Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie a “traitor” is “tasteless” and should be taken down.
Marles just spoke on ABC News Breakfast as many senior Liberals, independent Jacqui Lambie and RSL Australia condemned the cartoon.
The defence minister said this morning:
Andrew Hastie is definitely not a traitor. I know him well and I’ve said this publicly. I very much honour the service that Andrew Hastie has given to our country, wearing our nation’s uniform. I think to use that word in respect of a veteran is extremely tasteless.
No one should be using that word in respect of any veteran and in respect of Andrew.
Anthony Albanese marks September 11’s anniversary
Anthony Albanese has marked 25 years since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the US.
Ten Australians were among 2,977 people killed in the terrorist attacks in New York, Washington DC and in Pennsylvania – “lives tragically cut short far from home”.
We acknowledge the grief carried by their loved ones. We also honour the courage and selflessness shown in the face of unimaginable horror.
First responders ran towards danger to help others. Ordinary people reached for one another. In the worst of circumstances, we saw extraordinary acts of courage, compassion and humanity.
The prime minister said the anniversary was also an opportunity to reflect on “resilience in the face of profound loss”.
Australia remembers those whose lives were taken, those who survived, those we’ve lost since, and all those who continue to carry the weight of that day.
Opal Healthcare refunds residents after review into misuse of aged care standards
Opal Healthcare has refunded roughly $190,000 to almost 350 residents under a sweeping review into misuse of new aged care standards, AAP reports.
The standards came into effect in November and were designed to give residents more say over what premium products they opted to pay for.
Guidelines said services that were previously offered for free could not be charged, though they were not made law.
Reports emerged months later of aged care providers wrongfully charging residents for basic amenities, including television and wifi services.
In some cases, services were removed if they were not paid for.
An investigation was launched by the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission after the aged care minister, Sam Rae, informed the regulator of claims against Opal Healthcare.
He said at the time the removal of services such as air conditioning and televisions was unacceptable.
Good morning
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