Abbott welcomes ADF personnel being sent as part of Trump-led Gaza peace force
Up next on Afternoon Briefing is the former prime minister Tony Abbott, who is promoting his new history book Australia: A History, which he has described as “an account of our past that’s positive, while not oblivious to our mistakes”.
Abbott, whose book describes the Myall Creek massacre, is challenged on his attitude to Indigenous oral history. He says:
The true story of Australia is by no means all bad. It is not even mostly bad. It is mostly good, and if I may say so, I have tried to contribute to the good story.
Questions move to foreign policy, following the news that an Australian defence force officer has been deployed to be part of a Donald Trump-led Gaza peace taskforce. Abbott says:
The more Australia is involved in the affairs of the world the better … because I have no doubt about their quality and their capability. I believe that Australian military personnel are always useful. I would be very happy to see us there.
Key events
Josh Butler
RAAF member injured on prime minister’s plane discharged from US hospital
The RAAF member injured on Anthony Albanese’s plane has been discharged from hospital in the United States.
The crew member on Albanese’s jet for his trip to Washington DC was taken off the aircraft when it had to make an unscheduled stop in Missouri. He was taken to a local hospital after sustaining an injury.
A defence department spokesperson told Guardian Australia: “Defence can confirm that the member has since been discharged from hospital and will return to Australia in due course.
“Our highest priority is providing support to the member and [we] request that their privacy be respected.”
Caitlin Cassidy
More than 370 jobs to be axed at UTS, vice-chancellor tells staff
The University of Technology Sydney (UTS) will push ahead with more than 370 job cuts as part of the next phase of its controversial restructure, management has confirmed.
In an email to staff on Thursday, the vice-chancellor of UTS, Prof Andrew Parfitt released the latest operating model change proposal, which he said would be subject to consultation until December. The proposal outlined a standardisation of support and career services and increased digitalisation of organisational processes.
Parfitt said the proposals in their current form would now lead to the loss of 344 full-time equivalent (FTE) roles and 32.7 casual academics, with total savings of $85m. Initially, the university was seeking a combined saving of $100m, with a reduction of 400 FTE roles.
Parfitt said:
While any potential job losses are distressing, the reduced number of proposed reductions from 400 to approximately 374 FTE is welcome and reflects the considered thinking that has gone into developing these proposals.
The UTS restructure has faced backlash from academics, students and the NSW Labor government since the educational institution announced the temporary pause of enrolments for nearly a fifth of its courses. Almost half of Australia’s universities have restructured in the past year.
Abbott on Joyce: ‘What we need at the moment is a good, strong Coalition’
The former prime minister is asked to weigh in on the departure of his former minister Barnaby Joyce from the Nationals, amid speculation the Queensland MP could join Pauline Hanson’s One Nation. After praising Hanson’s “second incarnation” as a politician, he says:
I’m a friend of Barnaby’s. I admire him. I can understand his frustrations, but I very much hope he sticks with the Nationals … What we need at the moment is a good, strong Coalition. That’s what we need.
Asked if the Coalition’s calls for the ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, to be sacked is a sign of strength, Abbott says:
I actually think that a former prime minister can usually do a very good job in Washington … We’ve had a lot of former politicians in that position. And look, Kevin has the pester factor, if I may say. So that makes him particularly useful when you’ve got to lobby Congress, and it seems that Kevin really did mastermind this critical minerals deal, which I think is all to the good.
Abbott welcomes ADF personnel being sent as part of Trump-led Gaza peace force
Up next on Afternoon Briefing is the former prime minister Tony Abbott, who is promoting his new history book Australia: A History, which he has described as “an account of our past that’s positive, while not oblivious to our mistakes”.
Abbott, whose book describes the Myall Creek massacre, is challenged on his attitude to Indigenous oral history. He says:
The true story of Australia is by no means all bad. It is not even mostly bad. It is mostly good, and if I may say so, I have tried to contribute to the good story.
Questions move to foreign policy, following the news that an Australian defence force officer has been deployed to be part of a Donald Trump-led Gaza peace taskforce. Abbott says:
The more Australia is involved in the affairs of the world the better … because I have no doubt about their quality and their capability. I believe that Australian military personnel are always useful. I would be very happy to see us there.
eSafety commissioner says she has been doxed by neo-Nazis, rules out second term
Australia’s eSafety commissioner, Julie Inman Grant, has been speaking on the ABC’s Afternoon Briefing about some of the finer points of the incoming social media ban for under-16s. Inman Grant, whose 10-year contract expires next year, is asked if she will seek to continue in the role. She says:
I think if I make it to ten years, that’s a pretty good run. I think it’ll be time for someone else to take the reins. As you said, it’s a very bruising role. I mean, I’ve just been doxed again on Telegram by Australian neo-Nazis to a UK-based neo-Nazi group. So when it puts yourself, but mostly your family and your kids, in jeopardy, it does make you take a step back.
She continues:
It is a difficult job. It’s also a privilege and an honour. I think we’ve made a real difference in young Australians lives … This is what I’m hearing from the European Union, from the Canadians, from everyone else, that we’ve set a standard in Australia.
Ongoing hacking incident ‘intended to harm’ Western Sydney University, vice-chancellor says
Caitlin Cassidy
A swathe of personal information including bank account details, tax file numbers, legal and visa details have allegedly been leaked in a major data breach “intended to harm” Western Sydney University.
WSU first notified its community about an alleged data breach in April, which dated back to the beginning of January. The university believed about 10,000 people were affected.
The vice-chancellor of WSU, Prof George Williams, apologised for the impact the cyber incident was having and said the university was doing “everything we can to rectify this issue and support our community”.
Williams said NSW police had on Thursday approved the release of personal information that had allegedly been accessed and exfiltrated. He also alleged fraudulent emails were sent to some community members on 6 October which used stolen data.
The stolen information included contact details, employment and payroll details, bank account information, tax file number, visa information and legal information, among others.
Josh Taylor
Estimated 50,000 older Samsung devices to be blocked from mobile networks in a month
It is estimated about 50,000 older Samsung devices will be blocked from being able to connect to mobile networks in Australia, after Telstra and Optus yesterday advised the devices weren’t able to connect to Vodafone’s network in the event that both of their networks are unavailable and a user needs to call triple zero.
Under federal legislation, devices that in some circumstances cannot connect to triple zero need to be cut off from mobile networks. Customers will be advised if they need to upgrade their phones, and their existing devices will be cut off from the networks in the next 28 to 35 days.
The device models are:
Galaxy A7 (2017)
Galaxy A5 2017
Galaxy J1 2016
Galaxy J3 2016
Galaxy J5 2017
Galaxy Note 5
Galaxy S6
Galaxy S6 edge
Galaxy S6 Edge+
Galaxy S7
Galaxy S7 Edge
Newer Samsung devices may need a software update in order to continue operating. Telstra has provided a list of those devices on its website.
The shadow communications minister, Melissa McIntosh, has blamed the government’s handling of the 3G network shutdown last year, which led to some devices being forced off the networks if they couldn’t make triple zero calls over 4G on any network.
In a statement, Samsung said it was working with Australian carriers on the issue. A spokesperson for Vodafone said Telstra had advised it about the issue, which they described as “not a fault of the Vodafone network, but a limitation in how certain devices were originally configured to search for emergency connectivity”. The network has also identified users with Samsung devices on its network that are affected.
Greens condemn Albanese’s ‘photo-op’ critical minerals deal with Trump
The Greens senator and resources spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May has issued a condemnation of Australia’s framework agreement with the US on critical minerals.
As we reported earlier, bosses at mining company BHP praised Anthony Albanese’s meeting with “fierce” Donald Trump for the pair’s push to mine and process the resources.
In a series of posts on X, Hodgins-May said while Australia needed critical minerals for the clean energy transition, it was “reckless to shackle ourselves” to Donald Trump “with no assurances to protect our planet and communities”:
BHP executives cheering on the PM and Trump’s minerals deal tells you everything. When you’re on the side of fossil fuel giants and right-wing leaders like Trump, you’re historically not working for working people and the environment.
This deal signs us up to fuel America’s military – one of the world’s largest polluters – for the sake of a photo-op, while giving a potential US veto on who we sell to and invest with in the future.
Labor’s environment law revamp in jeopardy
The Albanese government’s second attempt at rewriting federal environmental protection laws is in jeopardy after the Coalition joined the Greens in criticising the proposed changes, leaving Labor without an obvious partner to get it through the Senate.
The opposition leader, Sussan Ley, claimed the nature laws were a “red light” for jobs, warning the Coalition would need far more convincing before agreeing to support the plan.
Ley’s sharp criticisms mark a significant shift for the opposition, which had appeared open to a deal after a series of “positive” meetings in recent weeks between the environment minister, Murray Watt, and his Liberal counterpart, Angie Bell.
Labor was hopeful the Coalition would be more likely to endorse the plan under Ley, who as environment minister in the Morrison government commissioned the Samuel review that has inspired the changes.
The Greens have separately accused Watt of drafting pro-business laws that are worse for the environment than the existing ones, signalling it was unlikely to support the legislation without major concessions.
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Nick Visser
That’s all from me, thanks for sticking with us. I’m going to make like a Christmas Island red crab and hand over to Penry Buckley. See you!
